cruisinon2

Yeah...I don't get it. It's the "amp in the room" sound I couldn't stand. At volume they're all nasally mid-range...couldn't dial it out. Sounds like I'm playing through a 1000 lb nose... but there are guys who make it work. Different strokes.

In a really busy patch, you might...depends on the amps in question, and what else you've got going on in the chain. Some models chew up more DSP than others.

There are numerous cab sims to choose from, and the list of 3rd party IR's is nearly endless...so you're only stuck with a "persistent" cab sound if you refuse to try others. So having more options makes it less likely that you'll be able to dial in any one specific sound? That really doesn't make much sense. You might not find it in the first 5 minutes, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. And with the example you've cited...a modeler into a power amp and real cabinet...you're stuck with whatever the inherent characteristics of that cabinet happen to be, yet you think that will make it easier to achieve one specific tone? That's a huge contradiction. I've tried tons of gear over the years that I just plain didn't like....I suspect it happens to everybody. But there's a difference between not liking something and labeling it defective or incapable of accomplishing a particular task. For example, I loathe Mesa cabinets. 1x12, 2x12, 4x12, doesn't matter. Tried em all and I've never been happy with any of them. Yet I've heard plenty of other guys who get great tones with them, so is it Mesa's fault or mine?

Of course it's subjective, but you've missed his point... he's not arguing that there's some universal definition for what constitutes "good" sound. He's saying that anyone should be able to achieve a good sound, whatever "good" means to them...and that the persistent inability to do so isn't the gear's fault.

What cabinet issue? Many of my patches range from crystal clean to heavily saturated rhythm and lead tones... often with a Blackface or Matchless model for the cleans, and any of several mid to high gain amps for the rest. More often than not I'll run them both through the same cab model or IR. Or I might have two totally isolated chains with separate amps and cabs. There are nearly a limitless number of ways to organize a patch... and no rules. The only thing that sucks is the experimental phase... you just have to poke around and see what works for you.

lmao...

If you've undertaken major surgery like that before, and are confident that you know what you're doing, then have at it.... but you're not changing a tire. There will be numerous opportunities along the way for you to butcher a perfectly functional instrument.

1) 2/19/2020 @ 3:11 pm, GMT 2) Around the office they're calling it the "safe space update"...100% personalized. A brand new 24/7 hotline will address any and every ridiculous/fleeting complaint. By lunch the following day you'll be downloading your very own 3.ME! update. For an extra $50 you'll get your very own "Gripes", the official L6 plush Firmware Bear... machine washable. Nothing worse than a teddy bear with grown-man tear stains on it. ;)

If Woody had gone straight to the police....

Well I used to be one of those 80's rack-mount processor guys (some days I still miss my hair... sigh) lol... technically, the FX units used to live between the pre-amp and power amp, not the amp and cab. If you put any sort of multi-fx unit that's expecting a line level signal between a power amp and a cabinet, bad things happen....often involving the fire department, lol. In the virtual world however, you can put whatever you want, wherever you want... if it sounds good, it is good.

The only thing you missed was the inevitable lament that the interval between updates is unacceptable, because Fractal schedules one every 17.3 minutes...

Nobody knew the first 1000 times it was asked, nobody knows now, and the next 1000 times will be a mystery too... because as is always the case, the only ones who actually know the answer ain't talking.

No, I mustn't.

I have no idea what a "USB pilot" is, but if you're referring to the cable one would use to connect it to a computer, it's the same as most printer USB cables. Any will do.

Can't imagine what such an interaction would be. You essentially turned it into a stop-tail... if the piezos were gonna throw a fit at that, then nobody would have a working 59.

Indeed. I'm never going back to Arkansas...;)

Ahh... but this instant gratification society of ours promises exactly that all day long. Faster, easier, automatic this, that, and the other thing. Tell people that the world is their ash tray often enough, eventually they start believing it. But then reality arrives, and they have to come to terms with the fact that the only things in this life that come fast and easy are old age and bills... everything else is a slow burn.

Lol...I know you're a life-long touring pro, stadiums and the like... but the overwhelming majority of us are not playing MSG with signed national acts, and we don't have booking agents, tour managers, and a guy who drives the 747-sized bus. Now for the few years that I toiled in a wedding band, there were contracts and deposits... but that was between the band and couple hiring us...it had nothing to do with the venue, and equipment was entirely our problem. That aside, not once in 25+ years of playing hundreds of small bars and clubs, have I signed a contract... and were you to ask for one from Red's Corner Bar, you'd get laughed at. Just ain't the way it goes for most, if not all of us amateurs...

Though there is frequent obsessing over speaker size and its impact on low end, I don't think you'll notice a night and day difference. I have a pair of 5" JBL monitors that give me plenty of low end. Much depends on the quality of the speakers in question, the volume you're pushing, the listening environment, and the style of music you're playing. If you're in a carpeted living room with lots of puffy furniture, that's a place where treble goes to die, so you might actually perceive muddy low end from anything you play through. On the other hand a hardwood floor and Spartan furniture will probably have things sounding a little thin.... either way, that's what EQ's are for. Will you have to tweak your current settings to find a new "happy place" with whatever speakers you choose? Yes... that's a given. How much is anybody's guess... we all hear things differently, and speakers are at least half your tone. The biggest thing you might notice is the size of the sound stage... you essentially have a pair of PA speakers, designed to throw sound around a big room. Smaller, near-field monitors are exactly that... designed primarily for mixing when you're sitting right in front of them at a desk. Doesn't mean you won't like the way they sound, but don't expect the same kind of spread that PA speakers provide.

Generally no, but I have done it here and there...and I didn't notice any significant difference between the headphone out on Helix and direct monitoring from my Focusrite interface, which is pretty transparent.

Well it really depends on the headphones... if your cans say "Beats" on them, they will be useless for this kind of application. But a decent pair of studio reference headphones should get you similar results to a pair of studio monitors. I've got a set AKG K701's that get me very close to the sound of my JBL monitors... not identical of course, but only very minimal tweaking required to transition from one to the other. Gig volume through a PA is a completely different ballgame, however... my live patches are EQ'd very differently. Significant volume differences will ruin you every time...can't do an end-run around Fletcher and Munson.

Yes... there are numerous options. Stick with the big boys, JBL, Sony, Yamaha, etc.

Boost, cut, a little of each (if it's a Tuesday). They're either level, or they're not. Assuming that nothing is clipping anywhere, in the end you'll never know the difference.

Clearly you've never played Walt's Trout Hut...

If you're ultra- precise with measuring and cutting stuff, there are companies online that will make you a custom pick guard. Usually have to send them a template if it's not a standard shape.