surfsup1955

On 4/25/2023 at 7:43 AM, Paulzx said:

This is interesting. The FM9 is a great unit for sure, but I don't think I would give up my Helix floor at this point just due to familiarity and functionality. My impression is that if you're playing anything other than high gain, it may not noticeably be any different in terms of sound quality. Are the FM9 Marshall tones noticeably any better than the Helix, does anyone know?

The FM9 factory Marshall presets I played were 100% outstanding - dynamics are wonderful -  but not sure they are any better than Helix.  My problem with Marshall tone is that my style of playing always leans me towards the Fender tones, which I can dial in pretty good.  I typically rely on 3rd party for good Marshall tones.. John Nathan Cordy (YouTube) has repeatedly demonstrated that yea, Helix can nail down Marshall.  But, then again, he can nail jello to the wall. 

On 4/25/2023 at 7:43 AM, Paulzx said:

This is interesting. The FM9 is a great unit for sure, but I don't think I would give up my Helix floor at this point just due to familiarity and functionality. My impression is that if you're playing anything other than high gain, it may not noticeably be any different in terms of sound quality. Are the FM9 Marshall tones noticeably any better than the Helix, does anyone know?

On 4/20/2023 at 6:12 PM, theElevators said:

That, my friend is an indication that your micro-switches need to be cleaned.  My Floor was fine, then it stopped liking flip-flops.  And then the foot switches stopped working reliably. Got them cleaned, and it like flip-flops again. 

 

I think for me, besides what everybody speculates is that the foam inside the Helix disintegrates and small crumbs of it get inside the switch.  It was also not helpful that I played in a band where I was constantly switching sounds: like 30 times in one song.  So practicing alone was putting a lot of stress on my 2 buttons that were used the most often.  But then again, the Helix was only 2 years old for me and it was not used that much, because I have another Helix LT that I use as my practicing board, the Floor was for gigs and dress rehearsals.  So there...

I need to try and clean the switched for sure.. haven't been inside the unit yet.  soon 

On 4/19/2023 at 2:14 AM, craiganderton said:

You can think of the Helix multiband compression as a three-band graphic EQ where you can choose the frequency ranges for each band. The parametric is more about boost and cut rather than amplifying or attenuating a range of frequencies.

 

I use the MG compressor a lot to create 3-band crossovers for multiband presets, without necessarily using any compression. If you have my Helix eBook, the Favorites folder in the Free Files section has presets for high/mid/low crossovers using the MB Compressor.

 

I did an article about using multiband compressors for equalization. It's not specifically about the Helix MB compressor, but the principles are the same. It might give you some ideas on how to extend the MB Comp for other applications. Fun stuff! 

I’ll definitely read the article Craig, thanks.  Regarding the MBcomp, I was able to dial in a threshold for the mids for my D18 (Martin) preset which softened the attack (ring sound).  Then I went back to the Q setting on my ParaEQ and was able to pull that back some to let some of the problem low-mid frequency back into my tone.  So playing the MBcomp and ParaEQ off of each other is a pretty effective tool - especially for acoustic guitar.  I’m totally onboard with the MBcomp now, have all ideas I’ll be using it more across my other presets.  Look’n fwd to the read..

Yea.. sweet deal there!!

Did a search on the MB Comp and found the above topic, some really good info there so I thought I’d link it and create a new post in lieu of a resurrection.  Also, my input is more in line with using the MBcomp specifically to tame the mid EQs on acoustic guitar in addition to the Parametric EQ.  I have successfully used the Para for years with my acoustic but recently delved into my main preset to see what I could do to tame the pick attack harshness in the mids.  That dead ring sound that I hate.  I need another day to re-check with fresh ears, but I think I have found a good use for this MBcomp in this preset, in fact it might even be pretty frigg’n good?!  

On 4/18/2023 at 12:02 PM, datacommando said:

 

I managed to grab my Helix Floor a couple of months after it was released back in 2015. Never used a factory preset for anything.

 

I'm studio based, but the Helix has been in almost daily use right from the off, and still going strong. I watched as others jumped ship to various versions of Fractals offerings and the Neural Quad Core, but never felt the need.

 

There are some things that Helix doesn't have, but it's not a real big deal - I utilise the FX Loops to patch in external Loopers, and oddball FX and reverbs (with adjustable shimmer on all types) such as those available on the DTP Ocean Machine. I still have a rack full of vintage 80s stuff that can be pressed into action when required (Yamaha SPX90 - Preset 15 - Symphonic for example). 

 

I can't see me making any changes, unless something truly spectacular arrives out of the blue with a sensible price tag - but it would have to be very special.

Ordered mine late 2015 - waitlisted by Sweetwater - arrived Feb, 2016.  The M13 was a big part of my signal chain, so I was pretty sure it was gonna be special.. it is.  I enjoyed tweaking with the FM9 and can see why it has such a loyal following but from what I could tell on the forums and YouTube, a lot of Fractal owners use 3rd party presets and don’t build their own - whereas it’s the opposite with HX gear.

On 4/17/2023 at 3:25 PM, theElevators said:

I was told people really like factory 3.50 presets.  But then again first thing I did when I got my Helix was to erase all of the factory presets, but that's just me, that's what I do with every single piece of gear. 

3.50 presets are the best they’ve ever provided to my ears..

On 4/17/2023 at 3:41 PM, DunedinDragon said:

I bought my Helix Floor when they first came out in 2015 and I don't think I've ever even touched a factory preset.  What's the point?  It's highly unlikely they used a guitar like the one I use, and it's probably not likely they're using the same output rig as me.  I can waste my time a WHOLE lot better than that!!!!

I strolled through them when I first got the Helix, then once or twice after a few of the big updates, most notably v3.5, just to hear and see the settings.  But had I kept the FM9 I would have used quite a few of their presets with minor tweaks, they are that good.        

Still going strong.  The tap tempo/tuner footswitch is a bit quirky but still gets the job done.  It doesn’t like flip flops or my house slippers at all - it prefers stiffer soles.  Other than that the Helix Floor has been, and continues to remain, on the cutting edge of the growing list of modeling units out there.  

However, recently I took deliver of an FM9 to play around with just to see what it was all about.  One pro the FM9 has over the Helix is that a good many of the factory presets are totally usable as is - very little tweaking required to get going.  The next pro - being the unit provides visual metering for input, preset leveling, and output.  In fact, at initial set up of the FM9, Fractal strongly suggests that the operator gets these levels adjusted correctly, which ensures the factory presets sound right.  That’s about it.  Well… it does have more DSP but a non issue for me, I build and use fairly straight fwd presets.

I won’t go into all the Helix pros, but naturally there are quite a few for anyone who has spent so much time using it.  The most important and obvious being the logical and easy to use interface on the hardware, firmware, and the software.  The FX, amps, cabs are tit for tat, subjective, etc.

I’m pretty certain most new users that have a hard time liking Helix factory presets - or dialing in great presets is mostly due to the lack of metering/leveling.  I discovered (years ago) that building Helix presets via FOH mixer meters made a huge difference.  And with Helix Native, metering came along, and everyone realized that made a huge difference as well.

I ate the shipping and sent the FM9 back.  

Saw this post and went to check for the 3.52 update for my Mac (Logic) and there is none.. 3.51 is still the latest.  

Only posting as an fyi.

Exactly what I was looking for, I’m attempting the to match the Tech 2112.  Downloading both your tones soon and will reply with my results.  Thanks!

Working great with mine.. maybe I’m not up to date on OS?

There has been discussion on that subject here and there, not sure if L6 will be doing that though?  I feel they should label the product more accurately.. something like “Helix Plug In for DAWs” lol.  Having watched several HN YouTube videos it really isn’t clear that the product is a plug in  - most screen shots make it look like an app?  

However, after a few days of using it inside Logic Pro I can tell you it’s pretty much a game changer for tones and recording functionality - acoustic guitar IR tones (HN with Logic Pro EQs) are, for me, some of the best acoustic tones I’ve dialed in to date.  Also, I’ve found, it’s best to just build new presets for HN.  The ones off my floor unit were ok in HN but not great.  Makes sense since my floor unit presets are set up for FOH mono, whereas I am building stereo tones in my DAW.

On 2/14/2022 at 8:08 AM, Hillman1312 said:

Would be nice to have indeed. I use Ableton rather than Logic on a mac M1. I don't do anything crazy like lot's of CPU heavy plugins so can run HXN with low enough latency. Same is true for Mainstage which also works great with HXN. 

 

Perhaps an option (workaround) is to disengage your CPU heavy plugins when recording your guitar tracks and only use a high buffer size in the mixing stage. In Ableton there is a "Freeze" option that you can use, not sure if anything similar is available in Logic. It essentially produces a temporary wave-file from the tracks with your plugins so that they don't eat away your available CPU. Although at present I din't need it that also works great. Alternatively, why not use one of the built-in amps in Logic when recording? They may not sound as good as HXN, but once you have recorded the guitar DI signal it's pretty easy to replace the Logic amp with the Helix amp.

 

just some thoughts .. hope it helps

That is a really good idea.  I just installed HN today and have to run the buffer at 128 minimum and it still has a faint lag… mostly in the feel of playing.  Still annoying.  Tones are really good though.  Looking for all ideas.. thanks?

Going on 6 years with the Helix Floor and if it died tomorrow, I’d probably get the Stomp and streamline my presets accordingly.  My son has the Stomp, I helped him set it up and have used it a few times, love it.

On 5/27/2019 at 12:07 PM, mikefstewart said:

Total random, curious question.  I am likely to buy a Helix Floor in the next couple of months.  Been researching for too long now.  Thought about Kemper, Fractal or buying a tube amp, etc.  How long do you think it will be before Line 6 says we need a new Helix version, like a Helix 2?  Thanks

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it won't happen before July 2021..

23 hours ago, rd2rk said:

 

To clarify:

 

The Global Setting "Snapshot Edits" applies to ALL changes made to a Snapshot, both Bypass and Parameters. The setting referred to above, "Snapshot Bypass", accessed in a block's right-click menu, applies ONLY to that block, and ONLY to the Bypass setting. So, if a block is normally ON/OFF depending on the Snapshot, you can turn it OFF/ON and have that setting persist across all Snapshots regardless of the saved state, and regardless of the Global "Snapshot Edits" setting. This way, if you want most blocks' bypass settings to return to the saved state when changing Snapshots, you set "Snapshot Edits" to DISCARD. Then, if there's a SPECIFIC block whose Bypass setting you want to PERSIST across Snapshot changes, such as the Poly Capo in the example cited by @Hillman1312, you disable "Snapshot Bypass" on that block.

That’s clever, did not know that!  Thanks

On 6/3/2021 at 3:29 PM, kurkowskij said:

I wonder when some good promotion again

Looks like you can get it right now for $99.. Memorial Day (lingering) sale?

On 5/27/2021 at 6:43 PM, Drybonz said:

 

I also often find Apple infuriating... but I'm here to talk about Line 6.  I find Line 6 very infuriating.  Apple is going to provide them with all the tools they need to be ready for the next macOS in just over a week or so.  Will Line 6 take advantage of this and be prepared when the next OS hits the public, to say that they are compatible?  Based on past performance... no... they will dump no resources into this, ignore their customers, a year will pass and they will finally have their software ready, just before macOS 13, or whatever the next phase is.

 

I find it infuriating that some forum users will suggest that the right thing to do is run a years old OS (High Sierra, etc), when other people want to keep their macs up to date.

I get it.  I’ve been 100% Mac OS and iOS for a long time and have been a Helix owner since their first machines (2015/16?) and this is the first long term OS incompatibility issue that I’ve seen.  Also, Line 6 was not the only company in the same boat.  Hopefully it was just a one off and due to the magnitude of Big Sur? 

Do you have any acoustic IRs?

Where did you buy it?  If it was Sweetwater, and you've had it less than 30 days, tell them you want to return it.

Your Line 6 support scenario doesn't sound typical to me?  

On 12/14/2020 at 5:24 PM, djyelland said:

The above replies address perfectly my experiences with both units. I hope this is also useful to others. Thanks

To my ears, especially in the mix, I can easily miss the mark on perfect tone.  So as a Helix owner/tweaker for almost 5 years I can't tell much difference in the Helix and tube/analog gear (have sold off most of my amps and analog pedals as a result).

I'd be interested in seeing if you or anyone here can get (guess) Jason's setup correctly:

Jason's tone test..

If anyone takes the test please paste your response here before the deadline.

Thanks..

Created a Sound Cloud account, hopefully you can listen to these short files:

Acoustic Natural

Acoustic Strumming

Acoustic Ambient

16 hours ago, HonestOpinion said:

Btw, anyone happen to know exactly where that bit of buzzy piezo nastiness is located? That area of the frequency spectrum that makes it sound more artificial and less pleasing to the ear. Some might say the "piezo quack" . I tend to sweep for it with a parametric and adjust per whichever guitar I am using but curious if anyone knows exactly where those frequencies tend to reside.

Try sweeping a high Q (narrow) reduction between 750-850 hz.. I set the parametric EQ as my first fx block to get the best sound possible from my dry line in tone (guitar and pickup only), then I switch on the IRs.  I prefer 2 IRs in parallel, one with more bass and one with more mid/highs), then I use the IR block level settings to mix the tone.  I add the wet stuff last.  Works for me.     

I would like to share some of my acoustic preset samples but even the short wav files are a few MBs and too large to post here..