ajcrowder

8 hours ago, hideout said:

 

...Still pretty happy with my Helix the way it is.

 

You got it! That's how I'm feeling

5 hours ago, robertgoddard said:

Would something like this be possible?  Maybe get rid of fx loops and knock down L/R 1/4" outputs down to a stereo TRS with a splitter (included in box)?

I think a $800-850 price point would put it in between the Stomp and LT

While that is probably all I would need for most things, I can't imagine asking for less! I would think an HX effects with full amp modelling would be tempting but as someone who already owns a Helix, I would not replace it with something like this. When (if) it dies, I will buy another full Helix. You cannot beat the flexibility.

On 6/9/2019 at 7:51 AM, donrizzi said:

 

Looks great with that Temple Audio board. I've always wondered what a good solution would be to power the Helix on a board, do you mind sharing what you're using and how you have it all plugged in?

Congrats! One of the best gear purchases I've ever made

As for the original video of the AXFX3, they were good sounds. I will say though, it seemed like he put a lot more effort into the Cliffs of Dover opening track than the others. That one sounded great! The rest sounded about par for the course, and as others have said, there is no better, just preference.

I agree with everyone above but feel compelled to share anyway!

I tend to create/rework my patches all the time, always tweaking and trying out different things. That being said, for the most part I will get a general template down of delays/reverbs/boost and then try out different amps/cabs. Once I have an amp I like I'll focus on one guitar and then dial in overdrives/gain tones. Then switch guitars and dial in the amp, add OD, rinse and repeat. I like to use IR output levels and the overall output gain as ways to balance patches so that different guitars have a similar volume/level that I send to the house. It's a lot of trial and error but the more you do it the quicker and easier it will get.

This really is a great method for reverbs! Typically I've set up my patches with snapshots to control gain/drive sounds but never thought of using them for reverb levels. Thanks for sharing this!

Treat it as if you were in the studio... there, you'd be adding all your FX at the board. Yes, I know if this were a "real" amp and cabinet, the cab is the last thing in the chain...but this is modeling. It's not an amp, and things get weird sometimes.

 

I use plenty of high gain tones. Reverb is always dead last in the signal chain, and I have no problem hearing it. In fact, the default settings for most of them will leave you drowning in reverb. There's hardly one I can use without backing off the mix control.

Agree 100%. Throw those reverbs after your cab, they will fill right up!

I'm about to put a Fishman Powerbridge on my Tele and run dual paths for piezo and magnetics on a single preset. So I may run path 1A for MP3 pads via USB 3/4, 1B for piezos, and 2A/B for magnetics. 

The craziest part of all that....is you can do it with Helix

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to take a minute and share some fun I had with the Helix last week. I work at a church and typically use Helix as my all in one electric guitar rig. Recently, however, I've been using Helix as an effect board running into an amp.

Last week I also needed an acoustic guitar for one of the songs so I set that up through Helix as well. Electric guitar through the guitar input, using the 1/4in out and the Acoustic through the Aux input and XLR Out. Worked great! It was great having access to all of the reverbs and delays with the acoustic guitar and it all worked seamlessly together.


For many of you, this might not be much of a revelation but I had a lot of fun working it out and using it!
 

My view every Sunday. Not much of a setup, just Helix, an expression pedal, and G10 wireless. 5 minute setup. 

Same! Minus the expression pedal. So simple, so easy, such good sound

I use an amp stand and it works great!

 

I've got the UE5's and love them, wish I'd gone for the 7's though!

I feel like I have mine setup for auto engage?  By assigning the Wah to one of the expression pedal settings and then turning it off in the chain, just by hitting the toe switch it engages.  Has anyone else done this or am I not interpretting the "auto" part correctly?

Hey everyone,

I was leading a rehearsal last night and was having some weird problems with my JTV.  I use a Helix currently and earlier in the day had tweaked a couple patches and tried a few different guitar models, all with good results.  I was however just using a 1/4 cable in my office.

At rehearsal I switched over to the VDI to make sure my battery wouldn't die from playing a lot during the day and noticed a few different things:

  -  Tuning  -  With the VDI cable, I was unable to get the guitar in tune.  The tuner on the Helix looked fine, even just listening with my ears and the volume down sounded fine.  But with the volume on (models and mags I think) the tuning was all over the place.  Couldn't play a chord without sounding strange

 -  EQ/Frequency/Phasing? -  With the VDI I was also noticing that none of the sounds I had programmed were anywhere close to what I had worked on.  I'm used to this a little bit with going from headphones to a floor wedge (through PA) but I could not believe how awfully different it was last night.  It sounded as if I had no lows, extremely bright highs and a thin sound.  

After about a half an hour, I got fed up and grabbed a 1/4 in. cable (should've done sooner).  All the problems were gone!  I had my sounds back that I had been happy with.

Has anyone had a similar issue?  Upon a quick visual inspection, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the VDI and it shouldn't be the guitar if it all works well through the 1/4 in jack.  Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks

I mentioned this in another Helix Tuner thread also, but I have found that the tuner is worse through the Variax VDI!  Plugging in a 1/4 in cable seems to give me accurate enough results, and then I use my ears to judge.  With a tuner that size of Helix, it should be possible to give more than just the 7 or 9 bars, double it and make us feel like it's more accurate at least!

In recent years I've played a Mexican deluxe strat and an American 60th Anniversary Strat (still have this one) and the JTV pickups stand up pretty well!  They all have a slightly different sound, as any guitar would, but the pickups themselves sound great.  Throw them in a Fender and no one would bat an eye, I would think.

Nice!  Very cool logo to go with

I had the same issue and like a fool I decided to just pry the inside connector a little bit.  It wasn't centered properly in the housing.  Now it works great!  Just be careful not to bend it too far or break it

I haven't been bringing a spare.  For what I do, though, if my gear fails the rest of the band will pick up the pieces and I can keep singing!

Turn on global EQ, try these (Glenn DeLaune) settings as a starting point:

 

Low Gain, Mid Gain and High Gain are ALL set to Zero.

-the Low Cut set at 90Hz

-the High Cut set at 6.0 Hz

 

This is a great starting point.  When I plugged these in I felt too much loss in the highs, so I bumped the cut up to 9.0Hz to give it a little more sparkle.  That being said, it sounds much better than without the EQ!

I use the D'Addario nickel wound XL's, .11-.49.  EXL115 to be specific, you can grab a 10 pack for $30.  Never had a problem with D'Addario strings!

I have the 59 & 69S. I've tried the tape on the string ends and have not noticed a difference before or after, but didn't have a particular problem with it either, so I must be one of the "lucky ones".

 

Dave

I'm in mostly the same boat with a 69S.  Wrapping the ends of the strings in the bridge didn't make a lick of difference for me.  I did, however, notice a distinct difference when dampening the strings behind the nut.  I was getting really wild resonance and vibration back there that was picking up very easily.  Wrapped a little velcro and it's gone.

I've experienced the same as well.  What is more frustrating is trying to tune a Variax guitar.  I can tune up with the mags and sometimes the Variax model will show as being out of tune.  Ear training has been a life saver and stress reliever.

Anyone using one of these as their main axe and recommend it with Helix?

Yup!  Great guitar, bought it on Guitar Center's site a month or so ago with a 20% off coupon.  Plays very well with the Helix