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mileskb

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Everything posted by mileskb

  1. I would not worry as much about EQ to front of house as I would consistent volume between presets. As DunedinDragon mentioned. send a solid signal out front and get your monitor the way you like it. Let us hope the FOH guy is doing more than adjusting levels. EQ in front of house is his/her job, not yours, you don't have the tools. FOH is eq'ing to the room, the material and the other instruments. Long gone are the days of just moving sliders for levels... with the power and clarity of today's systems, that's just a recipe for damaging people's ears as the speakers and systems can replicate frequencies that can do serious harm. What's so nice about the Helix, you can ask the FOH what kind of mic's he usually uses. If there are other amps on stage with e609's or SM57's, you can supply the same signal as if he had that mic on your cab... except your "mic" won't have all the bleed-through or noise and it will be perfectly placed. THAT is what makes a good signal to front of house... rather than pre-thinking the tone you think they need.
  2. mileskb

    Preset Viewer

    It does seem that a "Viewer" would be able to just read the .hlx file and display the blocks. The info and parameters are all there, just no engine or ability to save etc.. Why you might ask... Just an example.. you remember using a preset that has a certain delay you really liked. The viewer would allow you to view that preset and see the parameters. Another example would be you hear a great preset... you just wanna see what amp it uses... or maybe what IR it uses to see if you already have that IR... I can really see a lot of uses of a preset viewer. Native is my viewer now..
  3. So what you're saying is that it acts just like an RE-201 Space Echo. :) Although, I wish there was a more this = that for the controls because this effect has more control than the real unit had. I think splice may have to do with the length of the tape loop as example.
  4. I just made use of the discount... I spent about 5 minutes with Native and was so impressed...... I had a dry guitar track recorded... and for giggles just dropped Native into that channel as the plugin... I'll never get the next two hours back... I was trying different amps, different delays and effects... cabs with different mics... the power was amazing. What does this mean? So in the future, I will worry more about recording a decent dry track. I may listen to whatever amp I feel like while recording, but the focus/goal will be to ensure the dry track is solid. Then when it comes time to mix I can tweak all day long if I want to with mic placements on cabs and finding the perfect reverb etc.. All things that used to waste precious time in setup and seriously interrupt the creative process can wait until the idea is down and solid now.. Native Rocks !!!!
  5. FWIW, there are several keyboard remapping programs out there. KeyTweak seemed to work although at first attempt I messed up left and right :( SharpKeys or KeyMapper may be a better/easier to use programs. AHK or AutoHotKey is a pay product that allows you to run macros for specific programs and while I haven't tried it, it seems you should be able to remap the arrow keys only when the editor is in focus.
  6. mileskb

    New Presets?

    Guys'n Gals.. probably a day late and dollar short on this, but maybe will help someone.. After the update, if you want to see the new presets, DON'T RESTORE OVER THE FACTORY PRESETS. You can select which setlists to restore. I just chose everything except the Factory1 and Factory2 setlists...
  7. Yep, that sums it up. The fact that we got some cool new effects like the RE201... stability and some new amps too... I'm happy.
  8. My general setup is the same and I generally have chrome, the helix editor and itunes or mediaMonkey (another itunes-like music app) open and I switch and work between them all the time. I'll play videos or jam tracks off of Chrome, or look up chords or lyrics while playing a tune from itunes and I'll make changes to the presets... Never had an issue
  9. This difference between a CAB/IR and using this (or simliar) EQ setting is that the CAB/IR is designed to provide a signal of a particular cabinet/speaker with a microphone on it for recording or sending to a full range PA. This EQ simply is sending a signal to make a Full Range speaker act more like a Guitar speaker. Big difference. To take this a little deeper, when I mic a speaker, I use the best mic or combination of mics and placement to get the best sound from that speaker and amp combination. Simply changing the amp (in the real world) often changes the type of mic and placement on the same cabinet. Don't know why, I'm sure there is science to it, but I have had guys with one cab... switch to another head... and I had to make minor adjustments. Which brings me to cabs in general. They all "color" the amp signal. That's a good thing for the most part, but not every amp sounds great through the same cabinet, for whatever reason. WIth this EQ.. it's a pleasant baseline based on your speakers. Some people really like it, some don't, but no matter it can be a baseline for comparing one amp to another. I have run across several amps that I didn't give the time of day because I didn't line them up with the right cab when I listened to them. They sounded great with this EQ setting. That's not to say I can't find an IR or Cab that may be more appropriate, I don't know... but at least now I'll look as before they I didn't even imagine them having a sound worth looking into. When combined with a Variax, this EQ takes on a whole new level of cool. That Les Paul models sound like Les Pauls, the Strats, sound like Strats, the Tele's sound like teles and even the more odd things like Banjo and uke all sound so much better via this eq setting than ANY cab or IR I have found. By this I mean that I can get a great Strat tone with a twin or jc120 with the right tweaks, but then when I switch to something else, I have to find a new amp and cab or make more tweaks. I can switch between ANY of the Variax models and they sound good via this EQ setting. Certainly not for everyone, but I'm like'n it.
  10. This is great to use to audition amps. Rather than have all the variables associated with how each cab was modeled, what mic etc... this eliminates all that with a decent sound... so you can scroll through the amps and essentially just hear the differences between the amps.
  11. Actually lots of folks. Depends on if you are copying someone else's sound, or creating your own.
  12. So I was going to pile on the "this is an oversite" thing... but having been a programmer and designer for over 30 years I went into the other room and looked at the Helix Editor and now see how making the editor act like the hardware when it comes to saving would be a bit awkward and confusing. My first thought was... well just use "Save As"... under the "File" menu... Well there's a whole can of worms right there. We're not saving a file, were sending data, but we "could" mean to be saving a file if we want to back up our current work or move it to another device etc.. So rather than having a "Save As" be the oversight, I think the terminology is the error. We "Send" to the Helix, we "Save" to hard drives.... but now... there is the Helix plug-in for DAW's. In this case Save would be to a hard drive and send... could be to a device I guess... The bottom line is that Line6 wasn't thinking "File Management" with the Helix. This is evident in the way IR's are handled. In the "Current" GUI, the only clear way to implement this "save as" function would be to offer... "Send" "Send As" "Save" "Save As" At least these titles if not understood would not be misleading. Send = Send to Device Send As = Send to Device and prompts to find to new location Save = Save to Disk Save As = Save to a Disk location. This little woulda-coulda-shoulda scenario would have been great if the USB drive could be used as a backup device... then the functionality would be the same across all platforms hardware and software. With the new software and firmware on the Horizon, I think we should probably just hold our thoughts.... as what happened when 2.0 came out pretty much negating a half dozen ideas on how presets should work as Snapshots made those issues just go away... I have confidence that this new HX version, is going to have the same affect. I've been pretty impressed with what Line6 has come up with, to the point when I see something I don't like, I just figure they're going to fix it eventually.
  13. mileskb

    Tube amps Gone?

    Haven't played through a Tube Amp (more than just noodling for my own entertainment) since the 80's.
  14. All too often people overlook the obvious. If it works at home/rehearsal, and not at the gig, and I take the OP at his word that nothing else has changed... it's likely power. And yes, a loose jack with all the vibration could cause an issue without actually killing the power. Want clean power? Run off an inverter. I haven't tested it, but I'm pretty sure a motorcycle battery and a power inverter will run for a gig... HOWEVER.... if the inverter is bouncing an inch off the deck every time the drummer lays into the kick.... you're digital gear is likely going to fail. Seriously your best bet is a line conditioner. It helps maintain the voltage and keep said voltage clean.
  15. So we're getting a new tuner ??? Sorry, someone had to go there... I'll be hiding in the panic room now if anyone needs me...
  16. Gonna sound silly, but make sure you have the input set to Variax
  17. LOL... yeah... something like that. I try to address potential feedback issues during setup and soundcheck and such. With IEM's it becomes less of a risk on one hand, and real potential for a disaster if it does happen as you can get away with some really hot mics on stage now. I only really get nervous with Drummers who move their mic maybe behind them, or above them when they aren't singing, and singers that head out into the audience.
  18. Wow, surprised this thread is still around. It's taken on a life of its own. The original issue I had was that I thought I was playing though flat response speakers and it turns out they weren't really flat. But I like the speakers, so I used the Global EQ to compensate for the lack of flatness of the speakers. If you already use flat response speakers... then no need to do this. You might use global eq to control the highs and lows a bit, but you are already flat which is the point. As far as pink noise and balancing a system... I always try to do it. I do it as fast as I can and just bring it up, and I have my RTA in max-hold mode so when I stop the signal, it maintains the pattern on the display. If there are some people in the venue, I warn them. If I can't run pink noise I have a mix CD of a few specific tunes that have elements that I look for that are mixed high. Tunes like Jet City Woman has panning, as the jet passes, has high-end cymbals, nice upper mid but not screaming guitar, deep bass, nice snare snap and crisp vocals. I know what it "should" sound like, so I know how to tweak the system if it doesn't sound like is should. Garbage's Stupid Girl has a lot of stuff going on in the mix. Again, I know what it "should" sound like, so I get the system to go there. This is not nearly as accurate as an RTA, but it keeps people from getting a blast of pink noise in their face and it generally gets me close enough to make the actual talent sound good. Anyway... enjoying the read that resulted from my little experiment...
  19. Yep, I'm guessing that's what is actually taking the time. Tidying up what's there to be optimal while likely providing new things too. File management is my constant stumbling block. The only affect I'd like to see is a whammy wah. The Rockman modules would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. Pitch to MIDI would be nice, but hard to beat the TriplePlay.
  20. I'm more interested in a whammy type pitch shift. The Helix does what i need for harmonies now "good enough" and will only get better.
  21. Piezo works best... unless of course you have one of these... and that's pretty much all you need.
  22. Was at the great SEATAC Guitar show this weekend. Loads of great high-end, low-end, and all points in between amps. Some really excellent players that could really get fantastic tones.... As I walked around, periodically being drawn to some amazing sounding vintage amp... I kept thinking to myself... "yep, I got one of those, and one of those, and a couple of those and if I wanna stick that amp into that cabinet I can do that too... " I like my Helix.
  23. I really like the 3Sigma IR's as they pretty much sound like the cabs they are emulating with mic placement, right out of the box. The new ACE ones are enhanced somehow and are even better. Ownhammer is the go to, id you need to mimic a specific rig. If you know someone recorded something (maybe you), with a certain speaker and certain mic placement, and you need to as seemlessly as possible add something, Ownhammer might be a good choice. Also, guys that tour, who are just eliminating their favorite cabinet... Ownhammer is a great choice, although 3Sigma might work as well. I look at 3Sigma as giving the best sound of the Cabinet as possible. That generally IS NOT what the typical Marshal 4x12 sounds like with an SM57 stuck in front of it. If you need that, especially if you play live... you might drift toward the Ownhammer as it will be a more familiar sound to the sound guy... enough to where he'll forget there isn't a mic on stage. Whereas with the 3Sigma he might say.. "wow... amazing sound/tone"... and just have to deal with it into the mix.
  24. I'll take the comparison one step further. So many people ignor RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB !!! Tonally to the Audience, it's unlikely someone could tell the difference between any of these units if they were all setup to their optimal settings, but they all have jobs they are better at than others. Kemper = If you have a tone you are trying to achieve, maybe a few, and you don't want to drag your huge rig all over... Perfect solution. As example, I have a friend that has a great tone. He plays originals and some covers of course, but he always has HIS tone. Another example might be someone like Howard Leese, or Billy Gibbons. They essentially are guitar-into-amp guys, with minimal if any effects. A Helix or Ave FX is a waste to them. Axe FX/AX8 = You need a lot of high end effects, you likely play with AMPS/CABS on the stage and you don't need to use specific outboard gear. Maybe your tech is doing the switching for you even. Maybe you have a studio and have many guitar players from many genre's. Also, consider how often you might "tweak things" on stage. If you do Open Mic's and Jam with lots of bands or do a lot of Session work, you might consider the Helix instead as routing in external gear or adding effects on the fly is much easier. If you have a more fixed setlist that you mostly sortof at least stick to the tunes... Maybe Axe FX is for you. Helix floor = Bang for Bucks.. If you do a lot of different types of gigs. Like maybe you have a band or two you play with, you teach, you record, you do session work, you have ALL the tools you need at your disposal without the use of a computer. If you are touring, not only is your gear load minimal, you can also adapt to nearly every stage plot. IEM's, Real monitors, XLR, 1/4", recording... Big point on recording... built in interface that you have WITH YOU. If you have a laptop you can laydown tracks and re-amp etc etc.. while on a bus or in a hotel room. Expression pedal included... edits on the fly easy... Regarding the YouTube videos... remember that it's unlikely except for a few folks to be an expert on all three models to know all of the nuances to get the best from them. Also keep in mind, Helix is essentially new. And really... until the 2.0 update (snapshots and some of the amp models) wasn't really ready for prime time. Now some well respected musicians are just finishing up tours where they used the Helix. Also, worth considering, if you ever have any thoughts of a Variax... I'm biased, because the Helix is the right tool for me. I had a friend over recently to see what he thought of the tone. The same one mentioned above. He liked the tone. But it would be a total waste for him... He uses one, maybe two pedals, and has one tone. He'd have one preset and that's it He's better off with a Kemper if anything.
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