cruisinon2

And you're right, it does feel odd in those stores now. The last time I ventured into one the employees were all huddled together in corners, muttering under their breath to each other, unless you get close enough and attempt an interaction. Then the "spokesman" responds while the rest hang back. It's kinda like going to the zoo...which is similarly depressing. ;)

Wow...now there's a movie that doesn't get referenced every day, lol. "I came here to chew bubble gun and kick a$$...and I'm all out of bubble gum". Oscar Wilde couldn't have said it better. 😂

Sweetwater is the exception to the rule...so pleasant and accommodating, that one wonders what the ulterior motive could possibly be, lol. They're my first stop for most things...haven't set foot in a GC or Sam's A$$ for years.

Well "problem" is not really a fair characterization. It's just how this stuff works...to be more precise, it's how our brains work. I've never used the BOSS unit, but I've had pre-amp/multi fx units and modelers from Digitech, Rocktron, ADA, Zoom, other L6 stuff, and probably a couple of others that I've forgotten about at this point, and none of them were any diffrent. Our perception of loudness at any given amplitude varies with frequency...if you have two tones which are EQed differently, at any given volume one is guaranteed to SEEM louder than the other, even if both register the same on a dB meter (which is why those things are useless for leveling diffrent tones, but that's another discussion altogether). Biology is to blame. It's just how our brains perceive sound. Nothing you can do about it. Nip here, tuck there, and hit "save"...just make sure you do all your leveling at (or as close as possible) to the volume at which you intend to use the patches. Turn up or down significantly from that point, and you're back to square one.

It's not...at least not automatically. It would be nice if volume normalization were built-in, but it isn't. Some amp models are inherently louder than others...it's been griped about for years, but it is what it is. You have to level everything out yourself by ear. Fortunately, there's no shortage of ways to do it. You've got the mixer block volume, channel volume, and certain FX (like most of the distortion boxes) have adjustable output. You can also use one of the more transparent EQ blocks as a boost, if need be. So you've got plenty of places to boost and cut. It's a balancing act, and an insufferable pain in the a$$, but there's no quick fix. Balancing clean and dirty tones has always been a chore, on any rig I've ever used. Good rule of thumb is to get your clean tones as loud as you can without clipping, and adjust the crunch tones accordingly, otherwise you'll always be drowning out the clean sounds. I've used that approach with every pre-amp/multi fx unit/modeler I've ever had. It's really the only way to make it work.

Ahh yes...the Great Void where 99.97% of all questions posed to "customer service representatives" mysteriously vanish and spend eternity. It can be viewed safely from a distance, but do not follow the blinking "hold" light that beckons you inside. Those who follow seldom return... ;)

Not a chance. They screwed the pooch last year. Couldn't crank them out fast enough, and they missed a bunch of holiday sales...at full price...because there were just none to be had. For all intents and purposes, this is Helix's first Xmas season. Besides...all that Black Friday crap is for products that The Great Unwashed gobble up in large numbers...TV's, tablets, phones, etc. Lining up before sunrise, and stampeding each other to death to get their hands on. You couldn't get enough Helix customers together in one place to get a decent stampede off the ground. ;)

The OP is the second guy I've seen posting this week with a newly purchased, rattling Stagesource speaker...if the newer production runs really have had the problem rectified, then there are obviously still a bunch of older ones rotting in stock rooms...

Who knows? I just looked at mine...there are no other stickers on it in the vicinity of the serial number now. Don't recall anything else when it was new either. We'll never know either way. It would be nice to think that they stopped producing units with the faulty fans. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. But if it's cheaper to replace the faulty ones rather than retool production with a new part, it wouldn't surprise me if that's what's happening. The almighty dollar make$ the$e deci$ion$.

If the place has another one in stock, that's what I'd do. It's almost guaranteed to be a faster turnaround. And if you can, crank it loud in the store and see if that one rattles too, before you take it home. Edit: never mind that last part, you ordered it from MF, right? I'd still send it back for another one. Not much to lose.

Don't hold your breath for getting it done while you wait. "Authorized service centers" tend to leave much to be desired, especially if they direct you to your local Megalomusic. But no matter where they send you, it's unlikely that they'll have a new fan assembly just sitting there. It's gonna take a couple of weeks.

I asked about the serial number prior to purchasing my L2T, hoping to avoid the issue altogether, as it was already a known problem. I spoke directly to customer service at L6 and was told there's no way to tell a manufacturing date from the serial number (which I find hard to believe, but I digress). However, they didn't question it much. If you describe the symptoms, they pretty much authorize the repair on the spot, and they should be able to tell you the nearest place to take it.

Let me guess...it happens with F# on the 6th string, right? In all likelihood it is the fan assembly. I had the same problem. Took 2 attempts for the repair to stick, but now it's fine. And yes, you probably got "new old stock". Stuff sits in warehouses forever sometimes. Or it was returned by someone else for the same reason, and pawned off on you. That happens all the time, too. MF is GC's online counterpart. You do the math...

The factory patches, regardless of the intended genre, are widely regarded as garbage...and for the most part,that's exactly what they are. You gotta start from scratch and create your own.

Here we go again! Welcome to another episode of "My Credentials Are Way More Awesome Than Yours"... What time is recess over? ;)

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do. Downloaded patches aren't gonna help you, because the Helix isn't the problem. the DT25 is the problem. It's an electric guitar amp, with the same limited frequency response that they all have. Far too narrow to produce acoustic guitar tones. You could plug an actual acoustic into that rig, and it still won't really sound like what it is (yes, I've tried...it doesn't work). If you want to take advantage of the JTV's acoustic models, you're gonna have to think about moving to an FRFR rig.

You couldn't be more wrong. Just go to the website and browse the "in stock" section. You'll be at it all day. There are hundreds to choose from at any given time. Each one photographed from multiple angles so you know exactly what you're getting. There tend to be fewer of the more "exotic" wood combinations in stock, but there are some...not to mention PLENTY of the more traditional maple/rosewood/ebony options.

You don't need months. With enough heat and humidity, a few days is more than sufficient to throw off your set-up. Put a guitar in the trunk of a car on a hot enough day, and you can utterly destroy a neck in a matter of hours. And yes, older necks that have "settled" tend to respond less (or at the very least, slower) to environmental changes...but none of them are immune. The kind of wood and the construction matter too. I have a one-piece (no separate glued on fretboard) bird's eye maple neck that's like a sponge. Requires more frequent adjusting than any other guitar I own. Won't make that mistake again. Glued on fretboards, even if it's the same kind of wood as the rest of the neck, seem to impart additional stability somehow.

Something is very wrong. Back up your patches and do a factory reset.

I second this.... I tried the pre-amp only route with a tube power amp and cabinet. It was awful...screech owl having a panic attack awful. No matter what amp model I tried. Full models, studio/direct, and all was right with the world.

Without more details, the only answer anyone could give you is "just about anywhere". Are you monitoring straight from Helix? Through a DAW with an external interface? Are you using good cans that are up to the task or crappy $10 ear buds? What FX are in the chain? etc etc... Or you might not be clipping at all. Headphones can bring out lots of unpleasant high-end fizz that could be mistaken for clipping, when all you might need is a little EQ.

I'm not gonna say it's impossible, but it won't be simple either. Monitoring through a DAW with headphones or studio monitors is VERY diffrent than running into an actual guitar amp. The frequency responses are worlds apart, and you can expect to do a great deal of editing of any and all patches that you've been using to record direct. Now this doesn't mean that you can't get good tones with this kind of set-up...plenty of guys do exactly that. Just know what you're getting into ahead of time.

Don't apologize. Some things are deserving of ridicule. I'm still baffled by it, years later. "Gimme a 3dB cut at 27%, Bob!"...no one has ever yelled that to their sound guy. ;)

They exist, yes. But I'll bet you every dime in the collection plate that you're not gonna find any of those acts at your local parish on Sunday morning...;)

Tell that to Kenny G...didn't he set a record playing the same note for like a week and a half, once? ;)