JLondon

Congratulations!  I went with Stagesource speakers and never looked back.  I have an L3T (for the extra mixer and acoustic guitar feature) and an L3M for use in my studio at home.  I bought the Helix for it's simplicity and compactness so having cables strung all over the place is totally counterproductive to me.  I love the fact that I can simply connect the Stagesource speakers in series via the LINK out connection.  I also have an L2T that I use to play out (lighter/smaller) as an on stage personal monitor.  When I want for things to get especially real, I put the 3 together for an authentic WDW mix.    I'm also adamant about keeping them in "PA reference" mode and adjusting my presets as needed.  I do find that due to the FRFR speakers broader range (as compared to a traditional guitar speaker cab), you have to not be afraid to make some pretty radical cuts to bass and highs (It's hard to do but I just shut my eyes and go by sound alone and let my jaw drop when I look at what I've done).  Also, it's a memory eater, but putting a preamp in the chain before the amp mod overcomes any thinness and loss of gain said cuts might cause while rendering a more 'tubey' sound in general. It's also my opinion that the Helix cabs (or dual cab mix) sound better with FRFR and IRs sound best with traditional guitar cabs.  Have Fun!  You/we not only have a great guitar rig, but also one the best stereo music systems I can imagine.

Yeah, if I'm understanding your question/example correctly, it's similar to a problem I'm having and trying to figure out a simpler workaround for. I have a preset with a tone generator effect running independently in the bottom half of the chain (and a clean guitar tone in the upper half) for the intro to "Shine on you Crazy Diamond". There are 3 snapshots to change the background chord generated by tone generator (Gm,Dm, Cm respectively) while playing the intro lead. I wanted to introduce a foot switchable muff (or other gain effect) into the signal chain that would remain "on" when using the same 3 snapshots. Not going to happen unless I quickly switch on the muff for each snapshot and then if I want to go back to clean do it again but turn muff off for each snapshot. The only fix I've found is to just create separate banks (banking up/down would obviously be easier than just described), 'OR' switch to the "8 snapshot mode" (rather than 4) in global and create 3 more (identical to original) snapshots for the tone generator but with the muff switched "on". This, however, requires that you go back into global and change it back to the original snapshot mode when finished if you want the rest of your presets to work properly. I guess it's true of life in general that every time we make a new positive step forward, it creates a new set of potential problems.

I'm very happy to have the option, but if I wanted to hook up a bunch of normal external effects pedals to the Helix, I'd just use my pedal board. I purchased the Helix for it's simplicity and convenience. That said, since I play through stereo Stagesource speakers rather than an amp, am investigating the idea of incorporating my RC300 loop station and/or Roland GR-55 midi with the Helix.

Your FRFR speaker covers (as intended) a broader spectrum than a normal amp speaker/cab so you are just gonna get more bass than a typical guitar speaker cabinet. I use Line 6 Stagesource monitors and have the same problem with every preset. People using their amps via 4 cable method might not have this problem as much. But I still am 100% in favor of FRFR. I prefer to use Helix cabs over IRs with an FRFR system because by the time you cut the bass on an IR enough to compensate, the IR gets too thin and fizzy. I feel the Helix cabs hold up better to more extreme bass cuts. As much as I love the ribbon mics, the FRFR speaker already kind of has that kind of sound and is too boomy when used together. I'm pretty much an SM57 user all the way with stock cabs. Don't be afraid to experiment with the mic distance and reflections adjustments also. They can replace some of the character lost from an extreme cab bass cut. My advice is to not be afraid of cutting the cab or amp mod bass as much as you need to. Do it with your eyes shut so you're not influenced by visual preconceptions. Then use other effects to add eq and/or a clean boost. A boost method I just discovered recently thanks to a shared Gilmour preset someone created, is putting a Helix studio preamp in the chain before your amp mod. It's a DSP hog, but wow! Nothing I've tried to date has proven as useful in getting the tone I've been searching for (so much so that I'm actually considering selling 'all' my analog gear). And I find that what it uses in excess DSP, it 'can' make up for by taking the place of two or more other effects such as EQ, gain boost, clean boost, treble boost, etc. I'm in love with this thing as it replaces that tubey sound that is lost with extreme bass cuts. I don't know if your Mission FRFR has "modes" like those mentioned in other posts to this thread - but I'm passionately in favor of keeping my Stagesource speakers in "reference Pa" mode and adjusting my presets accordingly. Yeah, some other mode might sound better from the start, but for the life of me I can't understand why someone would monitor themselves in one mode while sending the signal to FOH in another. Grinning like a possum on stage because you like what you're hearing while the sound man and audience is hearing something else is insane to me. Well, that's my dime's worth!

This is EXACT issue I have with both my Ax8 and Helix into FRFR, any tips you can provide how to tweak the preset or the purchase preset to avoid the muddy or bassy etc,.. ? I have EV ZLX and alto TS, both have same issues 

I use the L6 LINK and cable so I can't use global EQ as suggested previously in another reply.  LINK disables global eq.  Anyway, my main suggestion to you is that you use consistency in whatever method you take.  For instance, I suggest you make a template preset just for the purpose of storing eq blocks.  One for each guitar you own or guitar/speaker combination.  Then  just copy/paste it into whatever preset you are using or making.  I would also recommend eq blocks for different size venues if you play out.  Also the low and high cut settings are extremely important when you dial in a cab sim.  And in most cases, stay away from the beyerdynamic microphones in your cab sims when using FRFR cabs.  I love them, but I think most FRFR speakers already display that microphonic characteristic.  IR cab sims 'can' be problematic as they are less tweak-able than stock cabs and are basically made to sound one way

I'm very pleased with the Line 6 Stagesource speakers. But you have to make a choice whether to use them in "guitar mode" or "PA reference. Guitar mode will sound better with factory and other downloaded presets as is for your own listening pleasure. But if you want to use the speaker as a reference monitor for live performance and you want the FOH to have the same sound your are hearing, you need to use "PA reference mode" and suffer the inconvenience of having to tweak every preset you purchase or download because they will all be too muddy/bassy in their original form. This is because FRFR speakers have a wider range than regular amp speakers. The latter is what I choose to do and I believe it's worth it. No more 4 cable method for me. I use two L3s at home in stereo for fun (and awesome for just listening to music), and a single L2 for live play as a reference monitor via L6 LINK. XLR out in back of Helix goes straight to FOH.

I'm in agreement with previous posts.  Definitely the Glenn Delaune preset for sale on his website.  I've tried a lot of others and this was, by far, the most realistic sounding one for my rig.  Not only does it sound the best, but it's also the least finicky.  A lot of these types of mods are very  touchy in regard to pick technique and which (or how many) strings are played at the same time.

Sounds like this would be a useful feature although, as mentioned previously, "global lead" sounds more like what would be described as a 'global snapshot'. Then I suspect if the Helix had this feature people would be asking "why just one?". I guess since, as also mentioned previously, the Helix doesn't really have the capability, the next best thing is for us to do is create a single template preset containing all our favorite tone/effect/amp/cab/EQ/gain blocks (w/adjustments intact) for copying/pasting them into new presets as they are created.

Cool! How would you do it?

Depends upon which effect of the Kilobyte you want to replicate.  Watching the video I heard at least 4 different unique effects.  I imagine you might get a more detailed reply if you are more specific as to which effect you are interested in.  Didn't watch the whole video so don't know - but if the Kilobyte doesn't have some sort of a preset feature, it's going to be pretty useless, in a real life situation, regardless of how good it sounds.

I love the L6 LINK feature for connecting to my Stagesource speaker because I have more than one speaker (for stereo). Many overlook the fact in their manual that using LINK disables the "global EQ" so I obviously am not a user of it. The Stagesource speakers tend to be a little heavy in the bass so I generally compensate with the use of bass cut, as needed per preset, in the 'cab' settings. Definitely continue to use the speaker in "PA reference" mode.

Just repeating what everyone else has said. Keep L3 in PA Reference mode and adjust various presets accordingly. Otherwise, if you are running to FOH you're not hearing the same thing the sound man is hearing - and there's nothing happening in the speaker's Electric guitar mode that can't be compensated for within the Helix anyway. A general process/opinion for duplicating E-guitar mode might be a good subject for another thread or a continuation of this one but I suspect right off hand it's going to involve a lot of bass cut via Helix EQ and/or cab sim (which to my ear is somewhat necessary with the Stagesource speakers in general). Oh yeah! If you haven't found out the hard way already, you should always check the Stagesource speaker before playing to make sure it didn't automatically change to another mode due to speaker position or mounting (as it's supposed to do but doesn't always). That's a smart feature and selling point of the speaker that I wish they had just kept dumb.

I don't do anything. I create my presets at home using an L3 speaker. For live play I do go straight from the Helix into an L2 speaker (for my personal monitor) via L6 LINK and to FOH via XLR. So I hear pretty much exactly what the sound man is receiving. My biggest hurdle is creating a tone at home that still sounds good in a big venue through my personal monitor (due to the difference in atmosphere) regardless of FOH. But when I do find/create a tone that sounds good (to me) at a larger venue through my own monitor, the sound man EQs it to whatever he see's fit at FOH anyway.

I typically use Helix with L6 Link and Stagesource speakers and have never had a problem that wasn't due to user error.  I thought I'd try a simple setup going straight into front of  an amp using Helix 1/4 out (left/mono) jack.  I've got input set to guitar and output set to 1/4 out and global set to instrument level.  All I'm getting is a lot of noise and a barely detectable signal from guitar.  Yes, I've checked the cables, guitar, and amp.  Am I missing something?  It appears as though something is wrong with the 1/4 out jack.  I tried the 4 cable method when I first got the Helix (numerous updates ago) and it worked fine.  I haven't tried it this time though.  Thanks in advance!

Sorry, I think I get what my confusion was about.  We're talking about a 'Global' setting for all effects - not just within a single preset.  If that is in fact the case, I agree 100%.

Maybe I misunderstood the original post.  But a parameter adjustment to one snapshot 'is' automatically assigned to every other snapshot already.  Any change you make to a parameter of any effect/amp/cab/IR/etc in one snapshot is automatically applied to all the other snaps as long as you don't press 'down' on the parameter knob when making the change.

I agree with a previous suggestion that a special IR is the closest answer if you can find someone to make it for you.  But like others have expressed, I'm at my wit's end trying to understand why someone would want a guitar with only a bridge pup and then ask this question.  There are two obvious answers here.  1- Switch to a guitar with a neck pup when you need one.  OR,  2-  In the famous words of Bob Newman: "Stop doing that!" (buying 1 pup guitars) 

Absolutely NOT necessary!  But in my personal opinion, if affording a Stagesource speaker is an option for you - why not?  My personal use of the Helix is for the purpose of simplicity.  Everyone has a different reason for using their Helix and I don't wish to disrespect any of them.  But the idea of having to string up the Helix like a Christmas tree with 4CM and external pedals in the loops is the last thing on Earth I wish to do.  2 cables, a single Stagesource personal monitor, and connection from back of Helix to FOH is the life for me.  Get 2 stagesource monitors if you want to play stereo/WDW for personal enjoyment.  PLUS if you get a L6 speaker with the optional monitor, you also have your own acoustic amp and small PA to boot.  But no more hauling huge pedal boards, amps, and speaker cabs unless I just get a sudden desire to do something different/old school.

To say that an off-line editor is useless without being able to immediately 'hear' the results in order to improve their working knowledge of the Helix is like saying a Dr. should only learn their craft from a direct working experience with a human body without need of a textbook.  No, learning to be a Dr. and learning to use the Helix are not equal - but the Helix 'is' a pretty deep well and my point stands.  And I hate to start an argument - BUT!  I can't understand how so many think an off-line editor is not of much use (I didn't get a single vote when 'I' posted it on ideascale months ago), yet are constantly chomping at the bit for more amps/effects on the forum/Facebook/etc. and often even criticizing Line 6 for not being faster about delivering them.  In my opinion, if you can't get your sound with what amps/effects are already in the Helix at this point - you ain't gonna - and your problems probably stem from something other than a perceived lack of amp/effect options in the Helix.  Improvements to existing amps/effects - perhaps, or even yes in some cases.  More - no thanks.   

This has been my only complaint about the Helix since I've owned it.  Before for an editor not being available - and after for an editor that is practically useless.  There's no reason for not being able to open the editor without being chained to the anchor.  I would love to sit back in my easy chair and study others presets and the differences between them, compare my amp/effects settings to others to learn what makes them tic, or to upload/download presets and IRs wherever I and my laptop happen to be at the time, or to organize my setlists, or to pre-load amps/effects into a particular preset to be ready for real-time editing later.  This is not rocket science.  I already can do all these things and more with my Line 6 Amplifi and cell phone app.  This topic has surfaced on the board numerous times and I have yet to hear a single real technical reason for why Helix editor can't do the same thing.     

I'm a Chatty Cathy today.  One more thing (most important) concerning your expectations.  The quality, or value, of your FRFR speaker should not be based generally upon how it "sounds" with a particular preset.  Generally, if one speaker sounds great with a preset you've downloaded - and another speaker sounds terrible - it often only means that you got lucky and downloaded a preset that sounds good with at least one of them.

Depends upon what FRFR unit you bought.  Why they can all claim to be "FRFR" and still not sound closer to the same I don't pretend to know.  But speaking for Stagesource (my personal favorite), my beginning experience was downloaded presets that were created/uploaded by people using anything 'other' than FRFR monitors will typically sound woofy/muddy and will require some EQing to sound as expected.  Also I have found that the Helix/FRFR combo sounds a little more like a perfect, clean, recording of a sound rather than a live one.  But this can be said of "digital" vs "analog" across the board.  My more current experience is that I have had practice with the obvious learning curve that comes with equipment containing this many options.  Some time down the road you will learn to see the forest through all the trees.  I'm getting an awesome 'amp' sound from my Helix/STagesourse system.  The thing NOT to expect - ever - is to be able to have an audible experience from a single preset that sounds the same regardless of venue OR equipment used. This will always require tweaking (sometimes drastic) and once accomplished should always be saved as a duplicate preset with some sort of descriptive notation.  Also, consistency is of utmost importance and the best way to accomplish this with as many options as provided by the Helix is 'simplicity'.  If you're FRFR  has different modes (like the Stagesource does) my recommendation is that you don't complicate things further.  Keep the speaker in PA/Reference mode regardless of how logically tantalizing the other 'mode' descriptions might be.  Stagesource speakers are designed to automatically choose whatever it thinks is best for it's present surroundings/orientation.  So I have to check and make sure it's in reference mode every time I turn it on otherwise I find myself unnecessarily and incorrectly tweaking my perfect preset.  While being slightly disappointed that shelling out the bucks for FRFR was not a magic BandAid for my previous tone consistency woes like I thought it would be - I have absolutely no regrets.  Quite the opposite.  I now have not 1, but 3, Stagesource speakers.  I keep two at home/studio where I play in WDW/stereo and I keep one at church where I play live weekly along with a group of stored presets for that venue.  I don't have to wire-up a bloomin' Christmas tree every time I set up at a different location.  No "4 cable systems", amps, heads, return/sends, etc.  Just one cable going directly from back of Helix to FOH and one cable going to back of FRFR Speaker that I have pointed directly at me as a personal monitor.  Both the soundman and myself hear what my preset is 'supposed' to sound like and the sound man does whatever he wants with it from there (gotta luv em').  The only thing I know for sure is that if I can't get a 'better than needed' sound for use at my (large) church venue, then I've got bigger problems than my choice of output speaker.

I've wondered about this topic as well - not only from the aspect of the docked transmitter battery draining while base not powered on, but also about just the opposite.  Is it bad to leave the transmitter plugged in for long periods of time while the unit 'IS' powered on?  I've always thought it was bad for batteries (like laptops, notepads, phones, etc.) to leave them plugged into charger for long periods of time without allowing full drain in between.  Doing so causes battery to lose it's ability to hold charge as long as it's supposed to.  Am I correct in assuming that if the transmitter goes into sleep mode after 4 minutes that the base and charge does also?

Congratulations!  You're gonna luuuuv it!   I have my pair of L3s in a very small room (about 11 X 14).  Occasionally I'll bring my L2 home from church and create a WDW  mix with only my guitar and gain pedals coming out the middle and stereo mods at sides.  Almost sounds awesome enough to make me feel like I'm talented on ocassion.

Thanks so much for everyone's input.  I guess I'll just be using "autowah" if anything because I bought the Amplifi 75 for ease of use in practicing in my living room without having to set up a bunch of 'stuff'.  In other words: "clean & simple".  I already have a Helix w/stagesource speakers and numerous amps/pedalboards etc.   Having yet another accessory pedal board is out of the question for me.  Even the free Relay G10 that came with it is more fuss than I thought by the time I have to plug it into a power source and amp so I'm going to enjoy it for a purpose other than with the Amplifi.  (In other words: "the wife doesn't want a bunch of crap sitting around her living room".  [grin])

Thinking of options here - and there are so many just from 2 L3T's.

 

 

So, even if I'm just using the Helix - I skip the L6 Link if I want to use both speakers?

Absolutely not.  If you are only using Helix and 2 stagesource speakers, you simply daisy chain them with L6 cables and it does all the the stereo routing automatically.  The only reason you might want to do anything different is if you like using Helix's

Global EQ.  L6 Link disables Global EQ (for some reason).  I don't use the Helix Global EQ myself.  In my opinion it just adds another element of inconsistency to the equation.  Make your presets and play using "reference PA mode" at all times.  If you are playing a gig add an eq to your preset to compensate for venue differences, save it, and it will sound the same the next time you use it.  I only use one stagesource unit when playing out.  As a personal monitor.  I make my preset to suit myself.  Then a separate connection directly from the Helix to the soundboard.  Then the sound guy does whatever he wants with my sound anyway.