cruisinon2

Cutting corners and rushing things to market only makes sense to the bean-counters among us (and they all have tunnel vision). It irritates the rest of the world. Plus, the whole product integration angle is HUGE for L6, so leaving it out makes little sense to me. Having everything work together sells more stuff...period. How many times have you seen someone post that they shelled out for the entire dream rig all at once? I've seen it a number of times. Why sell just a Helix, when you could tap somebody for a JTV and an L2T at the same time? And why pi$$ off those who already have the other pieces? Do you want them to continue buying your gear, or not? Loyal customers keep businesses afloat, not the guy who buys one thing, and never comes back. Besides, I seriously doubt that they would have lost any sales. It's still less expensive than most of the Fractal stuff, and guys have been salavating for this thing since June. Lots more still waiting because as soon as anyone gets a few in stock, they disappear. If the current wait time hasn't driven most of them to Fractal and Kemper, nothing will.

This has been debated before, and others are bound to disagree, but I really don't think it matters one way or the other. Despite the official specs calling for higher impedance cans, I use a pair of AKG 240S @ 55 ohms. They sound great, they're only ~$100, and the wire which is always the first thing to crap out on any pair of headphones, is replaceable for a few bucks. As long as you don't crank the volume so high that they start to smoke, they should last essentially forever...but there are lots of nice headphones out there, and as long as you get a pair with a fairly flat response, it should be fine.

There's no such thing as a noise-free guitar rig, whether it's a modeler or a "real" amp. More gain = more noise. You mentioned more than one distortion effect in the chain. If you're running them both at the same time, aside from being overkill, this is likely contributing to the problem. There are enough high gain amp models in the POD that you shouldn't need to daisy chain two distortion boxes together. Gain is not always your friend, and you don't need to pile it on to get a nice fat sound. Sometimes less is more. Pickups make noise too, even active ones...less noise than passive pickups, but they're not silent. Other electronics in the room may be contributing to the problem as well. Ceiling fans and/or dimmer switches in close proximity are a disaster...and I won't even discuss neon beer signs, as I think they should be outlawed ;). Try plugging in on a stage that has 3 or 4 of those things hanging behind you...it's a travesty. You might as well try to compete for decibels with a jackhammer. If all else fails, use a noise gate...that's what they're there for. The only patches I have that don't use one are my clean tones. The POD is a moderately noisy unit without them...

If you ask me, it's borderline absurd to have left it out in the first place...

This is the quickest and easiest way to tell if it's the axe or not...I'd start there.

Lol...a creative solution. And it should make things a bit easier for you. Since you're running FRFR anyway, just get a good pair of flat, studio headphones. What you get from those should at least get you in the ballpark for live sounds. There's not a huge difference between my headphone patches and live ones...in fact, when I made the jump from an amp to the L2T, I used my headphone patches as starting point. Now I just run the L2T as a monitor, and the POD straight to the FOH.

Any or all of those EQ options might be necessary...depends on the room. And thats the thing, global EQ is for fine tuning everything for the room you're standing in, not creating your tones. If you try and build patches with the Global EQ on, you're gonna end up with a colossal mess that will require constant tinkering. I was just having a similar discussion in another thread, I'll cut and paste: "Bottom line is, you have to set up your patches at the volume at which you intend to use them, with the Global EQ OFF, otherwise there will be problems. Trying to EQ the Fletcher-Munson curve away doesn't work...it's putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. You're likely to have the opposite problem now...if you apply tons of EQ to account for large volume differences, when you try and use those same patches again at bedroom levels and the same global EQ settings, they're not gonna be anything close to what you now have at stage volume...you trimmed the highs. When you now lower the volume significantly, they're gonna disappear altogether, and it's gonna sound like your treble and presence are at zero. Global EQ is really for fine-tuning for the room you're playing in, not patch creation, or for boosting/cutting large swaths of the audio spectrum. You need to start with a clean slate, everything flat...otherwise you'll find yourself overcorrecting for volume differences all the time." I can't play at concrete-melting volumes at home either...I have 3 sets of patches. One for live, one for comfy living-room volume, and one for headphones. It's never gonna work any other way, at least not conveniently. You're better off spending the extra time at the outset, creating patches for different uses, rather than constantly re-EQing everything to account for volume. It's more work up front, but you only have to do it once. The first couple of rehearsals/gigs with new gear are always dicey. In 25 years, I've yet to find a way around that...

If Helix won't/can't connect, then you're gonna need the goofy USB dongle that came with the guitar, a fully charged battery in the JTV, and a 1/4" cable plugged in to "turn on" the guitar, otherwise it won't be recognized.

Bottom line is, you have to set up your patches at the volume at which you intend to use them, with the Global EQ OFF, otherwise there will be problems. Trying to EQ the Fletcher-Munson curve away doesn't work...it's putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. You're likely to have the opposite problem now...if you apply tons of EQ to account for large volume differences, when you try and use those same patches again at bedroom levels and the same global EQ settings, they're not gonna be anything close to what you now have at stage volume...you trimmed the highs. When you now lower the volume significantly, they're gonna disappear altogether, and it's gonna sound like your treble and presence are at zero. Global EQ is really for fine-tuning for the room you're playing in, not patch creation, or for boosting/cutting large swaths of the audio spectrum. You need to start with a clean slate, everything flat...otherwise you'll find yourself overcorrecting for volume differences all the time.

I haven't lit up in 20+ years, however... Depending on where you are, and the relative absurdity of your local taxes, (levied by all those ultra-caring politicians who claim to be up all night, concerned about YOUR health, yet are still prefectly willing to collect tobacco tax revenue) that might be a whole lot sooner than you think. Here in NY, most packs of smokes will run you $10...so a pack a day habit will cost you the price of your Helix in a little over 5 months...food for thought.

1/4" outputs everything the VDI does...just doesn't supply power, or allow for control of the Variax from a POD.

Conceptually, I get it...but in an economy where brick and mortar retail is on life support for a variety of reasons, it's just funny that companies continue to cling to dying business models. On the rare occasions when I've wandered into any of my local UberShredporiums, it's always a ghost town...even in the densely populated suburban sprawl in which I'm cocooned, with one of the highest costs of living in the country. Years ago, it was often standing room only (and the horrible cacophony that went with it)...I have no idea how they stay in business anymore.

"Platinum" stores? Anyone else find this amusing, or is it just me?

Aren't they all long evenings over there this time of year? ;)

I don't have Helix yet either, but I remember vividly just how disgusted I was with the 500X on day one...took quite a bit of tweaking (and an abundance of profanity ;) ) before I was anything close to happy with the tones I was getting. And it wasn't hours or days...I spent several weeks building patches, seeing how others went about building them, before I was comfortable with the unit. Ideal? No...but I'm happier now with my sound than I've been in years. I don't expect my Helix experince to be much different when I finally get around to dropping 1500 bucks on one...these are complex devices. Plus, you're moving from a DT amp to FRFR...they're very different animals. You may have to spend a while, perhaps longer than you would like, experimenting with different combinations of amp models, cabs, and mics, before you hit on what works for you. And it won't always be the "obvious" choices for any one particular tone. All the options that these devices offer can be both a blessing and a curse.

There is no answering this question without at least a hint of what sound you're trying to attain. Fusion, country, death metal, jazz, adult contemporary, classic rock, 80's hair metal? You could be in a tribute band playing Polka versions of Devo tunes for all we know. And there's a thousand options for each of the above...Boils down to what you like and are comfortable with. A "best" amp option doesn't exist, for a Variax or any other guitar. If it's an amp you like, then it's the right one.

It gives me no pleasure to say this, but is it not obvious yet that you're all being lied to?..."you're #7, you're #40, Dec 12th, first of the year, we changed your shipping address, oops canceled the order instead. We have 40 in stock, but wouldn't you know it, you're #41." They make this sh*t up as they go along. The longer the conversation, the more fantastic the lie. They simply don't enough to fill their orders, if they have any at all...and they have no idea when more are coming. They're never going to admit this, and you're not going to get the truth no matter whom you talk to. The farther up the totem pole they are, the bigger the lies they're authorized to tell. It's how business works, regrettably. How much more evidence do you need?

I'm wondering why this gizmo didn't become a "thing" with the PODs. Seems like it might have won over some of the "modelers will never sound as good as my tube rig" purists. And for anybody who really wants one, Amazon has them even cheaper...$39.99.

I have not yet made the jump to Helix myself, so perhaps I'm wrong...but if by "clone" you're thinking that Helix functions like a Kemper, and can "learn" the sound of a particular mic-ed up amp, I don't think so. To the best of my knowledge it's a modeler, not a profiler.

You might have better luck sending him a PM...this thread is well over 2 years old.

Whew!...what a relief to find out that this thread has nothing to do with Lionel Ritchie...;)

It's retail folks.... Here's the thought that immediately preceded that statement: "Uhhhhh...I have no idea what's coming or when...Damn it, I forget my underwear again...But I need to tell this guy something. Quick, be vague and non-commital, but with just enough cautious optimism that he doesn't ask for a manager or cancel the order".

Tubes... Yes, the DT amps have on-board pre-amp models, but they're also actual tube amps. There's still a sizeable contingent of players who want the dynamics and feel of a genuine tube amp. With the pre-amp only models in the POD, and the ability to control the topology of the amp's power section, it gives you all the flexibility of the POD's different amp models, with a real tube amp driving a traditional guitar speaker(s). Though because they are not FRFR, the sound you'll get from the acoustic models in the JTV will suffer...just depends on what you're playing. Guys without a Variax won't care about the lack of FRFR, because they don't really "need" it.

C'mon, why not? So what if the "sound man" is the same guy who refills the ice bins behind the bar....;)

You're right...those are entirely subjective questions, answerable only by you. There's no such thing as a "best amp" to pair with any one individual instrument, be it a Variax or any other guitar under the sun. It's like asking for the best car to drive to Hoboken...as long as the wheels turn, they'll all get you there, but nobody can tell you whether or not you'll enjoy the ride. Are you playing bluegrass, smooth jazz, or death metal? A Fender Twin Reverb won't do you much good if you're trying to sound like Slayer. Everybody in here is likely to have a different definition of "affordable". Do you live in a 3 million dollar home, or a cardboard box under a bridge?