mileskb

That's what its really about. And even to use a bartender metaphore... I don't "expect" to get tips when I bartend, but I do put out the jar. If someone wants to tip me, they don't have to make a fuss or interrupt me from something else.. They either use it... or don't. It's all good with me.

I have created both freeware and commercial software. I have several fillable/printable pdf forms out in the world. I almost always put a "donate if you found this useful and feel moved to do so". For me it's easy to do, because I have actual Acrobat software, not just the reader. And no, saving as .pdf from a word isn't a real acrobat form either. But I digress.. If someone wants to donate, they can and it makes me feel good too. I do the same on forums I run. Some people feel that if you've saved them a ton of money with some advice, they just feel they'd like to give back in some form. Helping to pay the bills works for me. I DO get what you are saying about "putting a donation button up" right away, does seem like putting the cart in front of the horse... on the other hand.. for the average person that wants to make a donation... they shouldn't have to work even harder to make their donation. Contact you... ask how.. then you either have to set something up in PayPal then or give them an addrees... etc etc.. now they're making me work harder for something that I don't really care about but makes them feel better.. nope... easier just to put the donate button up and if people use it... hooray... if not... hooray as well. glad to help.

I'm not disagreeing with your premise, but as someone who has helped MANY people over the years with their vehicles... you'd be surprised at how many smart talented people can't "turn a wrench without knocking (someone) unconscious, and (don't) have even the most rudimentary spatial orientation skills" I'm just say'n.

Again, like anything related to the Helix, it should be prefaced with how you use your Helix. If you are playing in a cover band where you need to sound like 100 different guitarists on any given night, or if you are looking for "your" sound. I'm a bit of both in that I'm working on "my" sound, but also... I like jamming with others and it's just quicker to dial up a tone that's already 90% there. The other part is how to get the tone I'm looking for. Time is a factor for me and while my ears for "eq" and "instruments placement" have been a gift, my ability to know if the breakup I'm listening to is distortion, sustain, compression, bias, sag, or ripple is admittedly lacking. Also, having played with the same gear for so long, I'm not familiar with the subtle differences and nuances of many of the effects.. or more importantly how to invoke them. Purchasing presets from a reliable source like Scott of the THeHelixChannel or Glenn Delaune or the Fremen set... enable me to learn how to do what they are doing and how they did it. So when it's time for me to tweak a patch, I now have a place to start.

Yeah the Bolt 60 is my exception to the EL34 preference I have. It has 6L6's. I generally just used the clean channel and ran my Rockman gear into them. The clean is a very clean that can handle a lot of input and stay clean... but get warmer rather than break up. I had to keep spare 12AX7's in my bag cause when I would hear distortion on the edge... they were going. In the 80's when the Marshall JCM800 combo came out, I had saved all my pennies to buy one. While I was waiting for them to get it out of warehouse the sales guy told me to check out this Bolt 60... By time he got back I ended up taking the Bolt 60 home. A few years later bought a second one.

The Roland Bolt 60 !!!! One of the best amps I have ever owned. I still have one. Ran two in stereo for many years.

I have posted versions of this before, but I think I have the words to convey my thoughts more accurately this time. I think of the Helix this way..... It has component modeling technology. There are 25 basic setups of amps. Honestly, I'm not sure how they stretched it to 25, because an amp with 6L6's driven by a 12AX7 isn't going to be much different than another amp with 6L6's driven by a 12AX7. Except for some boutique and experimentation, there are not that many options of tubes and class of amplification in the scheme of things. WIth those 25 "configurations" for starting points.. we can change parameters such as Bias, Sag, Ripple and more that dramatically change the tone and playability of an amp. Lets not forget compression, gain, and eq. The changes that we make with the twirl of a knob can be the difference between a Marshall, Carvin, Laney, Fender, etc.. Sure other components change, but in the real world, you have to change transformers, and caps, and filter circuits to compensate for the changes that we take for granted at the twirl of a knob. Now add not only cabinet IR's but the ability to do tone matching with IR's and add eq, sustain and compression, gain... and well... we all have 1000's of amps in our Helix. While we're on the subject of tubes... really we were... Which version of which amp? What brand tubes? In some cases tubes are swapped completely in the same model... My Carvin can have EL84's or 6L6's. My Roland can use a 12AX7 or a 12AT7. With the helix, we just turn a knob or three. My wish is to have a reference of what the actual amplifiers used. Not just "hi-watt" or "Engl" but basic configuration, easy to look up. I know I like amps with EL34 power tubes... Of the amps modeled in the Helix, which ones have EL34 tubes, EL84, 6L6, 6V6, 6550 or KT88. If you are unfamiliar and think the list goes on and on... nope... it doesn't. There are a few more, but basically... that's the majority of guitar amp power tubes and that combined with the "Class A" or "Class AB" circuits, and you define the overall sound of an amp. The only thing left is the pre-amp stage..... Oh... yeah that's right... we can sorta mix'n match pre-amps too.... Seriously... I think there are enough amps in the Helix already... and while there are even a couple I'd like to see added at some point, I'd rather see IR Management, maybe some Reverb and Looper enhancements, etc etc. FIRST...

Well there are a couple around here (Pacific Northwest) and there was a huge one that was more "classic rock" sound back in PA. They are more "concert hall" than church. One of the ones around here is open mic on Sunday. Yes, it's a church... They study... they rock. It's not my scene, but I thought it was pretty cool when I heard about it.

Actually not really. You'd be suprised. I've done this on some pretty big stages. Yes, bigger=louder, but no where near the volume of normal monitors.. As I said, if they pull their IEM's in the middle of song, they don't hear the monitors, or at least not enough to where they are useful... it's a weird thing/effect. But put the IEM's back in... and it sounds like sound is everywhere. Turn monitors off (or forget to turn them on after a break) and they're all like... "why can't I hear in the IEM's."

Regarding setting up patches at performance volume... just to clarify.... "performance" volume, not "audience" volume. You should set things up for as loud as YOU need them on stage. I also have a tip for those using IEM's... They are fantastic... but if you can, put some monitors or sidefills on the stage... you will be able to lower the volume in the IEM's and have a more in the room feeling than that isolated thing that happens sometimes with IEM's. The monitors or sides need NOT be up to normal monitor levels.. Just put guitars, vocals and keys in them at a rough mix... I'm sure someone knows the mechanics of this.. but they just need to have some level in them and it's like it pulls the sound from the IEM's and surrounds you with it. When I do this I hear things from the singer like "I don't hear the floor monitor unless I put in my in-ears"... yep.. you read that right, and those that know the trick know what I'm talk'n about. I think it also enhances the foldback from the FOH speakers... like I said... I never learned the mechanics... or maybe I did and forgot... but it's a great trick. And when I mean low levels in the monitors.. I mean LOW levels.. Like low enough to hear if you stick your head in front of them, but not enough to worry about feedback if someone drops a mic.

Ummm that kinda depends on the church... Heavy Metal Praise music has been around for awhile... then there's TSO, and Stryper.. just say'n.

Go to the 20 minute mark, actually start about 20:00 on this video. Step-By-Step..

Sounds like you answered your own question. If you care about the sound out front, and it's your system, you should get someone to take care of the sound out front.

Next we'll be finishing each others sentences... 4 minutes apart this time.. LOL

So I do a lot of FOH work. Like anything else, everyone has their way of doing things... here's me... and maybe this will help you. I just wanted to put this out there before I answer the OP question. 1. The musicians should be comfortable. I let the band setup as they will, I listen to them play a little and then I select my mics and setup. Accommodations made for DI's and such of course. 2. I would ultimately prefer if the musicians didn't have volume controls for anything but the backline. Hey, a guy can dream. 3. It is absolutely my job to make the band sound as good as possible. It benefits them, me and most importantly the venue/audience If I have to make lemonade out of lemons, so be it. As far as bringing lead instruments into the mix, be it guitars, bass, vocals or keyboards, channel eq's are my friend. I rarely touch levels on anything except parts of the drum kit, or to balance multiple vocals with each other. It's not a "hard" rule as the only rule in FOH sound is there are no rules, but as much as possible, I try to not mess with levels once they are set. I find I can just touch the upper mid. The boards I use generally have a center-freq on the mids so I can just plant it where I need to for the instrument and boost just a little and a lead guitar will leap off the stage. Depending on the complexity, size of venue and gear, I may have things panned a little. Not much obviously because you don't want to have all the guitar on one side, and all the keys on another, but just slightly panned. Then if appropriate, I'll lift the mid freq I chose and pull the guitar up the middle for lead. But it really depends on the material, venue, the player etc... What can be done from the stage. When I am on the stage, I figure the FOH guy knows the system and I setup for me. It's the FOH's guys job to make me sound good, it's my job to play. Any band I have been in, I (or someone) supplies the soundman with the setlist and appropriate notes or leads or instrument changes and such. When I'm out front on sound, I generally get at least a setlist. If I'm not familiar with the band or their arrangements, and they haven't given me notes, I'll ask for what I don't know. Bottom line... I would not adjust my rig to the house unless the house sound asked me to do something specific to help. And trust me, if the soundman can get you into the mix, likely any changes you make to "help" will only make things worse. Put it this way... if you boost the mids to get you into the mix for leads, and the soundman doesn't understand how that works... he's just going to pull the level down for your rhythm parts and you won't be in the mix at all. Either he/she knows what he's doing, or doesn't. And if he doesn't, that's kinda on the venue. YMMV JMHO

While I can't help directly... I just posted a video from Richie Castellano in another thread where he seems to be doing exactly what you are trying to do. He uses MIDI to switch parameters and channels with snapshots and it seemed to be working, but there were more/different steps that you have shown above. You might go check it out just to be sure. I believe he's using an Engl head. http://line6.com/support/topic/23527-great-new-demonstration-controlling-amp-pedals-and-other-gear-from-helix/

Sorry... I had missed it... He just kinda snuck it out there and I guess I shoulda used search here first.

Here's his previous video which is a basic tutorial for setting up the Helix as an effects unit or 4CM. I have watched a lot of tutorials over the past year, most seem to show an "after the fact" how to use it, rather than "this is how you do it". I really appreciate the "this is how you do it" approach. Figured others would like it too.

Richie Castellano just posted another great tutorial that really gets into the nitty-gritty of how to setup 4CM, channel switching, use of internal and external expression pedals, CV, external effects and MIDI. All in one, pretty straight forward lesson.

A pinch higher in price, but coming from the Event 20/20 world my next set of monitors will be Adam A7x's. Do not overlook eBay as a good source for decent studio monitors. Buyer beware and all, but decent studio monitors can be had for a lot less than you might think. Many of them in unopened boxes, just last years model or whatever. Even the "used" part of Guitar Center sites.. some amazing deals.

So I'm working on a little project where I need to record the same signal through an effect with several different settings in hopes I can get it tone-matched. My DAW of choice is Sonar (Cakewalk) which I have been using since it was a DOS program !!! So I kinda know my way around it. I'm currently using a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 interface. After about 30-45 minutes of epic fail and a few occasional loud squeals from attempting to use the loop-back ability of my DAW, I remembered the Helix manual mentioned re-amping... and the helix has the ability to add loops. About 15 minutes was all it took and most of that was copying the source file to the laptop I use with the Helix in the other room and plugging things in. The DAW (Sonar) was up and running and setup to record within the 1st 5 minutes. I just followed the instructions on page 53 of the manual. I created a pre-set, and the only blocks were a send and return (set to 100% mix). Done !!! What an amazing unit.

I believe the issue not only cache, but also the session settings, and possibly cookies. For the past several weeks this has cropped up intermittently and like HonestOpinion found, just clearing cache only works sometimes. I use a tool called CCleaner from Pinform. Be careful if you are not used to using such tools, but I set it to only clear the cache and session settings for chrome and I manually clear the Line6 cookies from within Chrome. This seems to work most of the time. Once you get back to the forums, you may want to Log In and then Log out and then back in again. I'm not positive this helps, but it can't hurt as if they changed any session settings, this will cause them to get refreshed. However... trouble-shooting is compounded by there actually apparently being issues with the forum. A good test to know if it's you or them.... if you get bounced to the home page when you try to use your forums bookmark... scroll to the bottom of the home page and click forums. If it brings you to the Forum index and you are able to access other Line6 product forums, than it's clear the cookies/cache/session time.

It could be argued that one unit may have presets that enable you to get to your starting point quicker. Even while that is subjective, it makes sense that if you are looking for a mesa boogie model and one unit has 3 mesa boogie presets and the other has 50 mesa boogie presets... the one that has 50 mesa boogie presets is more likely to have a preset pretty close to where you want to start from. So in that respect, comparison might be useful. However, unfortunately the only genuine comparison test, I do not believe has been done yet. That is where people who are experts with their respective units, sit down and attempt to create the same sound or sets of sounds. Like each create a typical Engl, or Fender, or Vox or Roland, etc.. or just a gain sound and a clean sound. Basically getting together and trying to get their modelers to sound the same as each other. ALl the units hooked the same way through the same monitors. I think if someone could put that together, you'd find the differences boil down to features such as the UI and routing and that if you were testing lets say a Helix, Kemper and AxFX, you'd end up with three units creating sounds that you couldn't tell apart from each other. The next step would be where it gets interesting. Now that all the units sound the same pick an aspect such as Sustain or EQ make the same changes to each and see what happens. Will pushing the 1Khz EQ, with the same q factor up 3db on all the units result in them still sounding the same? Will reducing the gain on each result in them sounding the same? I would think they would no longer all sound exactly the same, but then comes step 3. The real test, just pick one units sound now that there was a slight change, and match the other two to it. Again, my guess is that you'd end up with 3 identical sounding units again, but worst case would be you'd end up with three very similar sounding units that you wouldn't really be able to make a "better" call... just note they have subtle differences. It all comes down to the features..

All IR's are technically "baked" with an AMP.. Something has to drive the sweep signal through the speaker. 3Sigma uses a modded 5150 for and a Custom Flat sold-state amp for their two versions of each position. The resulting "imprint" is the result of what the speaker does with the sweep signal and who knows exactly what they are sweeping with? If you notice they use an assortment of microphones to create ONE imprint. Each mic adds it's nuance but they have figured out the formula that mimics the cabinet the best and they do this in the 5 basic positions. Oddly enough the "a" position is usually the best sounding (to me) although in real life, that's likely the LAST position you'd ever put a mic on a cab... My point is... there is more to IR's than just pointing a microphone at a speaker. Back to your question... first the Caveat... if NOT using amp, pre-amp, cab, or whatever sounds good... use it. THERE ARE NO RULES... However, likely the best place to start is using an AMP (no cab) before the IR. But... maybe... depending on the CAB, it might sound better with an IR after an actual CAB to dial it in even better. Looking at the way Glenn and Scott use IR's has really gotten me to think outside the box so to speak. One thing that is very apparent, and maybe should be a requirement in ANY post about "creating a sound" is "what are you trying to accomplish" first. I know it sounds basic, but as I read people's input... you have to figure out what context they are using The choices are "create a tone that you like" "create a tone that mimics an existing amp/cab out of the box" and "create a tone that mimics the sound of an artist either live or recorded." This was real apparent when I dropped some coin to Glenn, Fremen and Scott. I use Scott's presets mostly for genre and songs. I use Glenn's presets mostly for Artists sounds I use Fremen presets mostly for just great sounds for me. They all do a little of everything... but back to your question... "So my question is: do you guys run just the preamp block and the IR that has the power amp baked in? I" Sometimes, unless I run the preamp into an amp to an IR or unless I run an amp/cab block with an IR or or or or or or or or or .........

Well if you're actually interested in getting those sounds with the Helix, I'd contact Scott at theHelixChannel or Fremen. (Just search around for either of them). Additionally there is going to be a huge difference in the clips because one is compressed on YouTube and the other SoundCloud, I'm not as good at tweaking sounds as others, but nothing in that clip sounds out of reach for the Helix, especially with the right IR's.