cornerstonetom

I wish the Helix had a smartphone option. I spend WAY too much money for time, data and obsolescence. As for the Helix itself? Why wouldn't one expect it to decrease in value, only to be replaced by something better, faster and more addictive?

That's what I use. Also, the 20x30 provides enough room (for me) for additional items/exp pedals. Added plus, both have wheels and are pretty light, yet strong and offer great protection. BTW - I do not work for Gator... http://www.gatorcases.com/c/210109/standard-mixer-cases

And then, with Billy, there is that whole Dumble thing going on...

That was great... really well done! As far as the hand/muscle thing, I found that limiting coffee/caffeine and taking supplements that deal with muscles/cramping really help. When I have too much coffee, my hand cramps up. As far as string gauge and tone (Dumble amps notwithstanding), remember, Billy Gibbons "only" uses .006! According to an interview of his guitar tech, Billy has never broken a string. If you had been playing a SG, I could've sworn that was Derek Trucks!!!

I agree, it's a problem for some. My playing doesn't require that capability all the time, but sometimes I find it to be problematic. So, in certain instances, instead of Helix replacing my rig, I would have to use it as a compliment... at least I wouldn't have to lug the amp around... I think.

That's how I have my "overweight" analog pedal board set up and that's how I've set up my Helix. It's easy, effective and, with the Helix, much easier on my back! For studio use I find that latency is easy to control and eliminate. It seems that the most effective way to use the Helix is to mimic the analog world you created before getting a Helix. That's essentially what L6 packed in there to begin with (great modeling of analog equipment)... works for me. I really enjoy not having to lug around 180 lbs of gear anymore and the audience can't tell the difference. Besides, at church, the congregation never wanted to see an amp. (We'd keep the amp behind the curtain.) For some reason, if they saw an amp, the sound was automatically too loud! (A perfect example of psycho-acoustics.) And yet, they never complained about latency...

Great job, L6 crew! USB/bluetooth support of my coffee maker would be nice... Tell your bosses to give you all a huge raise, if only for all the whining you've dealt with!!! So, when does the smartphone app come out??? :))) I'm running Win 10, no issues, everything went just fine. Thanks, this is awesome.

Think of the difference between sequential grounding and star grounding. Sequential grounding, say in a guitar's control cavity, going from pot to pot to ground will set up a loop. Star grounding, where each pot goes to one central point and then to ground avoids the loop. If the slats on an aluminum pedal board were isolated from each other, then I would think the possibility of setting up a ground loop would exist. However, all those pieces are interconnected, essentially a ventilated ground plane. While a ground plane does not create a loop, it could create an opportunity for capacitance and RF reception - which is environmentally dependent, not power dependent. The Helix and the isolated power supply each have their own discreet grounding paths that do not intersect. You'd have to know if the chassis on the Helix is isolated from the ground or not. This can be determined by using a volt meter by putting one lead on the chassis and another lead on one of the bolts that runs through the rubber feet. Bottom line, it seems unlikely that you'd get ground noise, maybe more RF. It would make for an interesting experiment. Worst case, you'd need to use some sort of insulation which may or may not impact the height of the unit from the pedal board. And then there is the cable issue...

In reading this, DI did provide a solution... perhaps one you don't like, but it's still a solution, which I personally find to be helpful. I also want my Jeep Liberty to behave more like a Porsche Cayenne, other than when I'm waiting at a stop light.

Lincoln Brewster playing his Danelectro through his X3 Live sounded pretty good... I don't think any device could make me sing, jump AND play lead all at the same time the way he's able to. :blink:

From what I've read in other posts related to this, everything can be set as it's supposed to be and there's still noise for whatever reason. The work-around is taking the 1/4" outs into a DI box and then going into the board.

LOL!!! I need to go back and stand in front of my microwave while it's cooking something and shout hurry up!

Better make that four towels and a bucket! Sometimes anticipation is more than half the fun...

I guess I'd check to see which firmware version is loaded. The most important thing to keep in mind is how the real world devices and amps modeled by Helix act in the real world. It's also a good idea to wear a bib and have an extra towel nearby to prevent drool from messing up your unit! :p You'll definitely have fun!

GREAT IDEA! +1 Got my vote...

Let me know if cranking away on the bias helps. I haven't gotten into tweaking that setting yet. The other thing to keep in mind is that the shift, or improvement in tone may be subtle and may not be apparent until you're really hitting the unit with some serious output from your guitar.

While I can't comment on "Hum" as that varies from ear to ear, I can tell you what I know about bias (in the electronic sense). Also, I don't know if this will really help with how you're trying to set everything. I used to work in the film industry in post-production audio. We would have to set the bias for every roll of film/tape. It is essentially a point of saturation that yields the best frequency response at 0 db when running tone through the machine. We would be able to tell where the optimal bias setting was by looking at a VU meter. What would happen was that (with the deck set to record) we'd run a tone from an oscillator, crank the bias, watch the VU meter needle go from minus to 0 and keep cranking until the needle went way into the positive side and then, while still cranking, the needle would start coming back to 0 and that's where we would stop. Going past 0, still cranking away and watching the needle fall back to 0 would ensure the tape could yield a full frequency response. For tubes, you're setting a certain amount of voltage hitting the plate by using a resistor or combination of resistors until you can measure a full response without everything getting fried. I guess the approach to Helix would be to try going past what sounds good initially to see if you can get to a point that sounds better if you keep cranking away. I don't know if this will help, but this is how it's done in "Analog Audio Land."

While I personally don't find it difficult to track these three items and I use Updater to do the "thinking" for me, I'd like to know what you would suggest to manage this. What would be ideal for you?

Yep, just like you would with regular analog pedals. That seems to be the overriding logic with the Helix.

The PX-8 looks nice. Have you ever looked at the Carl Martin Octa Switch? I've looked, haven't bought... same with the Keeley 4 knob compressor... So, what about assigning multiple fx to a single switch on the Helix? http://line6.com/support/topic/16701-can-a-footswitch-both-turn-off-an-effect-and-turn-on-a-different-1/ http://line6.com/support/topic/16727-assigning-parameters-use-case-question/ I also suppose what I lug around and actually use are very venue dependent, ie worship team stuff vs clubs... some churches I've played for use a full blown performance hall (1,200 plus seats) with acres of space and lots of help for set-up and an amazing sound system. Others, maybe a postage stamp sized "stage" and a small, old, analog board that was once used in a garage type studio. (Ah, the good old days!) Thanks for the reply. Tom

You don't have enough Keeley pedals! :))) You're making me WANT TO KEEP my HEAVY pedalboard! Maybe I should start looking for a sherpa... That's definitely given me more "food for thought." Not quite what I was expecting but definitely well worth giving serious consideration. I was thinking that I could sell some pedals, pay for the Helix with just what I sell and keep a few choice analog pedals for fun. I would also have a lower back that would still function relatively well. Are you making these decisions based on sound alone or is there another factor involved? Thanks!

I think these threads answer your question: http://line6.com/support/topic/16701-can-a-footswitch-both-turn-off-an-effect-and-turn-on-a-different-1/ As well as this one: http://line6.com/support/topic/16727-assigning-parameters-use-case-question/ Good luck...

If you're asking about making the OD stand out within a preset without affecting overall gain, I believe "Digital Igloo" answered that with this post: http://line6.com/support/topic/16279-unity-gain-setting-signal-to-noise/ If you're asking about a boost function, there are other posts on volume boost.

The Helix OD models are quite usable and can be tweaked to sound the way they should in the "analog world." Although, to my ears, my Keeley modded Rat sounds better, but it's close. I don't think the audience would really be able to tell, especially when you take all the other factors into consideration that go into a live performance. What's tricky for me currently, is getting the sounds I want by stacking ODs. On my board, it's really simple. With the Helix, I don't have the settings of all OD pedals involved sitting right in front of me like I do with my board. Checking the gain structures is easy with either, but just being able to make subtle tweaks is more of a challenge for me. The other thing for me that's easier with my pedal board is just being able to select certain ODs from time to time for color rather than copying a bunch of presets and tweaking one value. For now, it's easier for me to make a quick visual check with my board. In time, I'm sure I'll learn the equivalent with the Helix. One huge advantage with the Helix is that I can pick a number of different amp/cab/mic combos to get that OD (dirt/crunch/drive... whatever) sound, which when combined with the Helix OD models, yields some spectacular results that I could never get with my current rig, as I don't own a bunch of amps. Some artists just use amps and cabs to get their OD sounds and nothing else. And, considering they've sold millions of albums, they can afford to have a couple of techs set up 100 amps (no joke) to get the sounds they want without having to use the analog equivalent.

There seems to be a general notion that your signal goes into distortions (modulation) first then stick things like EQ and compressors in there and then have reverb, delays, chorus (time based) after that. Some people have the signal go straight into compression first. I suppose depending on how you set up the compressor, that could be a good thing, especially if you're going for a bowing sound to emulate a violin, viola or cello. For the types of sounds I prefer, I do think that keeping modulations before time-based is a good thing because the other way around tends to make things sound muddy. You might be striving for something completely different, which is why experimenting with the order of things can yield some amazing results. David Gilmour got that "seagull sound" because someone didn't plug his guitar into his wah pedal correctly. At least if you understand the fundamentals, then breaking the rules can be really rewarding.