HonestOpinion

Ah, like a Taurus type dealie, thanks for the clarification. Very cool!

I am interested to see how the "4 Osc Synth" will sound. Anything that makes it easier to get violin, sax, harmonica type sounds is welcome as the keyboardist or I routinely have to cover those parts or adapt them for our band. I like traveling light so if I don't have to carry a GR-55 and a hex pickup guitar around with me, all the better.

Amazing tune, love it!

Well done! Always wanted to do "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Tie Your Mother Down" but never seem to have worked them into a set list.

Big question, was your guitar sounding "weak" only on stage or in the PA as well? If it was just on stage then the answer may be as simple as where you were positioned in reference to the L3t on the stage. A similar thread to this came up a while ago. Band dynamics, setting or bumping your level high enough during solos, EQ, amp/cab and mic choice, and finding a space to 'sit' in the mix between the bass, drums, keys, and sometimes even vocals, all play into this equation. You might try fiddling with the mic choices on the Helix cabs to find one that helps you cut through better. You could try using a parametric EQ to accentuate a band or two of frequencies. Instead of using a narrow Q (as you might to find offending frequencies) try a wider Q and a significant db bump and then sweep to find the frequencies that help the guitar to cut though. Dial back the db bump on the parametric to something reasonable once you are decimating the band with your guitar hero sound. A 10 band EQ might also be used in the same fashion to bump up the frequencies that you need to cut through the mix. The best time to do this might be at rehearsal when the band is playing as that is when you are experiencing the issue. As you know, what sounds great and balanced when you are jamming by yourself and designing your presets may not cut through or sound right in a band context. Just for reference, the fundamental frequencies of the electric guitar are at about 80-1,200hz with harmonics occurring above that. The suggestion above from shanegriffo about bumping mids is probably dead on (assuming you are not getting everyone else to turn down). Try bumping the 400-500hz range but poke around to find what works best; perhaps some upper harmonics need boosting as well. Here is another thread on this topic, different opinions abounded with some good tips, hilarity ensued ;) .... http://line6.com/support/topic/23533-need-help-with-live-setting-sound-not-cutting-through/page-1

Fascinating, thanks for the lowdown. You were waaaay ahead of the curve on this. I can see some of the inherent challenges you point out having been showstoppers, especially the cross-company support issues. Having worked on some fairly complex systems myself that spanned not only several intra-company departments but also multiple software and hardware vendors, I have been through too many emergency conference calls with various parties claiming it was the other guy's software/hardware causing the issue and batting it back and forth until someone (usually) tracked down the root cause. I have personally experienced the problem you are describing. I can also understand the limitations of a relatively static OS and application implementation if the plugin technology continues to outpace it. Being able to nimbly update a "Helix III's" OS/application might well be instrumental to its longevity. It would not hurt to see plugin extensions/hooks get standardized to the point where it was simpler for various devices to interface easily and reliably with them. Maybe not yet, but at some point someone will get this at least half right and if anyone can do it Line6 would not be a bad company to bet on. I hope you guys reintroduce the idea when the time is right. A Helix descendant that could also run at least some/many of the available stable plugins would be one nice piece o' gear to own. I think these two worlds - standalone floorboards and computer based DAWs, are headed towards each other at ramming speed even if they move at the lumbering pace of a large ship. Reassuring to know the idea has been out in the wild for a while now. That means it will be that much less time until fruition assuming that there is a resolution for the issues you have detailed.

Whether L6 is headed in the direction of being able to host 3rd party plugins in a Helix-like device or not, someone is. Why? Because it is a great idea! I think being able to run plugins from a dedicated floorboard that allows third party plugins to be downloaded and therefor does not require being connected to a computer to run them is definitely coming.

Helix as a VST and AU wrapper is probably nextgen. Hope they do it though. Sooner or later one of the big three will do it and then it is off to the races.

There was also a promotion where the backpack was free if you bought the floor version of the Helix.

:)

Good question, apparently these are only for use with the 'Bodilizer' VST. You can get the 'Bodilizer' for free here: http://www.ijdata.com/products.html

I think Silverhead may have nailed it here. One additional note, if you are connecting to the side panel using 1/4 instead of XLR you may want to change the settings in Global Settings --> '1/4 Outputs' to 'Instrument' instead of 'Line' or whichever sounds better. Also make sure the 'Acoustic Modeling' switch on the L3t is set to 'Off'.

This is probably not your issue but always worth mentioning. The send/return jacks on the Helix are placed horizontally not vertically, so make sure your send and return are next to each other and not over/under each other.

Good question, this link needed some more info. Apparently they are only for use in the "Bodilizer" VST.

Some free stereo acoustic IRs from Sacco_Belmonte posted in another thread (thanks): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0iCj7xEijuUcVR3VVJ6ZHpKQmM/view

Try checking to see if the selection on the back of the L3t is changing from "Reference/PA" or whatever you had that was yielding the "10" setting to see if it changes when you plug into the side panel. Also try playing with the input level, it probably changes when you connect to the mixer on the side from the direct input on the back.

As you have stated that you have no intention of taking your show on the road I agree with those who are suggesting the Helix Native alternative and using the 15 day trial period might be a great way to determine if it is for you. I am wondering how and if the Helix controller half of the Helix rack will work with Helix Native. If so, if you have to have the ease of functionality of the proprietary Helix controller, the scribble strips (they are great), colored footswitch rings, etc., perhaps the Helix controller will be a good choice. The other option is I am assuming Native will probably be able to use any programmable MIDI capable pedal which you may already own. If not something like the Behringer FCB1010 can be had for peanuts and would probably work just fine with Helix Native. Now if they start offering Helix Native for a discount, e.g. $200 with just the purchase of the floor pedal controller of the Helix Rack I would absolutely purchase the floor controller (assuming it will work with Native). That offer does not exist right now, don't want to start any rumors.

It is on Amazon video right now as well but I think you have to pay extra for it.

Forgive these suggestions if you are strictly looking for some details of the mechanics of your EQ placement. If you are using the built in Helix cabs start by listening and cycling through the microphone choices before you start EQ'ing. They make a dramatic difference and you may find that one of the darker ribbon mics or the like work better for you as a starting point and that you may as a result require less or even no EQ depending on the blocks used in the preset. Putting a looper at the beginning of your signal chain and recording a loop and letting it play is a great way to free up your hands while you make adjustments to your preset. After I choose the microphone I want to use with my cab I generally adjust the amp settings and then tweek a 10 band EQ before the amp/cab and finally a parametric afterwards placed after the cab to dial out anything I don't like using the sweep method. Depending on the preset, I also as you have already experimented with, set low and high cuts in the cab. There are a multitude of other strategies available for EQ settings and placement however including ones that EQ between amp and cab. I think the best way to learn how the different EQs and their placement interact with the other blocks is to kick off the looper and start experimenting. Good question regarding Global EQ. Don't have my Helix on at the moment so I am not sure where it is in the signal chain. My guess would be at the end but that could be wildly incorrect.

I stand in solidarity with my Northern brethren across the border ( 'O' Canada') as well as those across the pond. Any progress yet on those retroactive promotions? :)

And stabilizes the one on the Helix... :P

Although I use a Variax as well as currently a PRS with my Helix I don't use the Variax for acoustic guitar. I use actual acoustic guitars with piezo pickups. I have heard some people get some fairly convincing acoustic tones out of the Variax but I still find the Variax acoustic sound substandard for strumming. The Variax acoustic models can sound quite good on finger-picked, arpeggiated passages.

I love to see my fellow musicians get a great promotion but I wish these free backpack and free Mission pedal offers had been around when I purchased my Helix. Hey DI, think we can get these offers honored retroactively? I still have a valid receipt. :D

I will have to give this a try. It would never have occurred to me to set up the components in my signal chain in this order.

Multi band compressors rock, what a great tool! I always use them when mixing live sound if available.