ricksteruk

If you don't have any other studio monitors you could use then I'd go ahead and get a pair. That way you can listen to stereo mixes on them... so when you decide to start making recordings (by plugging your computer or iPad by USB into Helix) you can properly listen to your mix in glorious stereo. Also you can use them to listen to any old music. I'd also suggest that there is still a place for the BlackStar used in conjunction with Helix if you want to. If you set it up in 4cm you should be able to get some nice tube grit from the preamp, but then use Helix's volume control to limit the overall level that comes out of the speaker. Or just use Helix modelled amp (not cab) and then feed that into the Blackstar's FX return. But it will still sound like your Blackstar in the room and not a miked Fender twin or Archon or whatever - so the studio monitors, a Helix cab block (or IR) and a pair of monitors for that.

The only thing I wish I knew before I bought is that the Ext Amp jack does not work with a lot of traditional tube amps (eg. Marshall, Fender ) Other than that Helix is an absolutely fantastic piece of hardware, and the software just gets better and better.

Is this what you want to do? http://www.marshallforum.com/media/basic-helix-4-cable-method.9219/full http://www.marshallforum.com/media/basic-helix-4-cable-method.9219/full There are Pre amp FX: Wah and Dist, then a Snd/Return block for you tube amps preamp, then Delay and Reverb. The path is then split. The top path carries on directly to the 1/4in out to feed your tube amps via it's FX return. The bottom path adds a Cab block and then feeds to the USB 1/2 outs. EDIT - Man adding pictures on this forum really SUCKS :blink:

Yes you can do this with Helix no problem. I often run amp in 4cm with my tube amp (with no cab sim obviously) - whilst the XLR out feeds PA with a cab sim on that path, which can also feed via USB into mac for recording.

Good work :) Shame to have to resort to a piece of wood when it would be much better to be able for us to move the bank switches elsewhere and out of the way.

The Delay block on the lower path is not in parallel - it's in series. That's why it sounds different. You need to drag it down to Path 2b - (if it will let you.. should do) so that it's in parallel and has the same loop around it as the Delay in the upper path.

No problem :) Yes I see your point about the possibility of there still being a parallel signal even when the mix is 100% and it should be off. I have had this happen with one of my amps before actually. (it's my current H&K switchblade I think... you still get a very very small amount of signal through even when the loop is in series mode.. but it is is slight that it does not affect the sonic quality of the amp when you are playing.. I only noticed it when I was using headphones with Helix in 4cm for some 2am practice so there should have been silence.. but a TINY bassy signal came through the speaker). You could test your Marshall for this by plugging the guitar into the front of the amp and then running the Marshall's Series/Parallel at 100% with Helix in the loop - but turned off so that no signal comes through Helix. Then if you can hear any sound through the Marshall you know there is a leakage. Once you've decided on how to plug it all in - the next step is setting levels. Choosing instrument / line level on Helix and -10/+4 on the Marshall, as well as setting the send and return block levels in Helix so that the overall signal level / gain through the Marshall remains exactly the same as it was before adding Helix. I can talk you through this if you need help.

Yes it sounds like the problem is being caused by one thing - parallel mode. It is much harder to get your head around and has a lot more problems than serial mode - most likely none of the presets you will see anywhere will work for you - none of the factory presets for example should ever be turned on! Firstly - the mix ALWAYS needs to set to 100% on the delay and reverbs. You NEVER EVER want any dry signal to go through Helix and back into the amp - this means you can't use any FX that might include the dry signal like tremolo or chorus (these would need to be in the PRE amp part of 4cm - which is where you normally would put them anyway thankfully). If you bypass the delays FX blocks (or have a patch with no FX blocks at all) then you will be sending some of your dry guitar signal back through Helix - which is most likely causing your feedback. And also.. the dry signal through Helix is delayed by one or two milliseconds due to the A/D and D/A converters so when it gets back to the amps parallel FX return and is mixed with the original dry guitar sound then you can get nasty phasing interference between them (which is probably what you describe as the sound being a bit mutilated) You cannot simply Bypass an FX block - you need to add a gain block to turn down / off the Helix output on that path. You can use parallel with Helix if you 100% understand how to rig it up - but in my opinion any minute sonic benefits are totally outweighed by the lack of flexibility you are making for yourself - you lose so many possibilities. For example - a post amp volume volume pedal.... (which needs to live in the FX loop.. and only will work in serial mode) I love using a delay pedal after my distorted amp and then use a volume pedal to fade in and out the distorted sound into the delay. This isn't the same thing as putting a volume pedal before the amp... it sounds different... as your volume is pre the distortion so when the volume pedal is low you are feeding a clean signal into the delay.. not a quiet distorted one.

There are 7 easily accessible inputs on Helix: Return 1 Return 2 Return 3 Return 4 Guitar In Mic In Aux In I think to get an 8th input you'd either need to use the variax input or go in via the SPDIF if you have a device like an old DAT machine or something lying around with an AD converter and digital out you could use.

I think the first step is to learn how to dial in a cab or choose an IR to get rid of the fizz. I was dialling in a new preset yesterday - where I had a Helix amp feeding directly (via a send block) to my Laney tube amp's FX return (as a reference to what a real cab should sound like) , and then also via a Helix cab into an RCF 712a mk2 PA speaker which was on a stand just above the amp. It was surprising - but I had to dial the Helix cab blocks's HF cut down to about 2.5kHz before the general level of top end was similar to the amp's celestion speaker. (and I also needed to roll the bass to about 170Hz) As has been noted on the forum before - the slope on the Helix cabs is perhaps not as steep as we might like - so this is why you have to dial the HF cut to such a low frequency (2.5kHz ish)... and whilst it reduced the high end fizz nicely - it also was taking out to much of the upper mids and making the clean tones a bit muddy - so I had to use a bit of high mid on an EQ block to bring that back. Once done though it worked pretty well no matter which Helix amp I threw at it.

Yes I usually just use an OC3 for this purpose. As Bob says - in Poly mode the range control works pretty well so that it only be adjusted to work on the lower strings. It's not a sharp cutoff.. what happens is that the pitch shifted notes get quieter over getting on for an octave range from full on to full off. So you get a tiny bit of pitch shifting on the G string as well as the D but it's very low in the mix. However I've recently been experimenting using my iPad plugged into Helix via USB/CCK and running MIDI Guitar app along with synth apps. I can get some really nice bass sounds this way - much better than than the muffled oomph OC3 produces in Poly mode. It is a bit tricky to set up though and I've not used it live yet... but soon I will :)

Hey all, seems it won't be long until an update comes our way... I am really hoping that we'll get increased routing options for the SEND and RETURN blocks - especially USB. This will enable Helix to interface really easily with an iOS device or desktop machine. Imagine being able to setup a SEND/RETURN block to USB that went to an awesome Reverb / Shimmer plugin / app... wet through the app, dry direct by using the dry mix control on the send/return block Imagine being able to easily send your guitar signal off to an iOS / PC looper app - Loopy or Ableton Live for example. Please vote on this: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/idea-v2/818624#idea-tab-comments (NB. It is possible to do some of these things already - but you need to dedicate a path output - and you can't send the path to two places... so for the Shimmer app example - yes you can route through USB - but no easy way to get the (latency free) dry signal through.

I'm afraid there's no way to switch that many channels :( You'll probably struggle to get the 3 working as you describe, as I think that method relies on momentary pressing of either button or both together - whereas Helix EXT seems to operate in continuous (latching) connection of the switches. For me, Helix's EXT amp socket is completely useless as it does not work with ANY guitar amp I have plugged into it yet. It does not work with Laney, Marshall, Fender, Mesa.. etc... You will need to buy a switcher box - probably one that uses MIDI to connect to Helix and that has jack sockets to connect to your amp. like this - http://www.rjmmusic.com/products/mini-amp-gizmo/ . It works in both latching and momentary modes. Shame to have to spend an extra $230 though.

Yeah I've had this problem with the bank buttons - wish they could be moved elsewhere - that bottom left button is the easiest one to hit when you're singing and playing at the same time ... shame it's wasted on a bank button :(

I'd really like to be able to move the Bank buttons too. When I'm trying to sing, play and press a stomp at the same time I have on occasion accidentally pressed the bank down button - it's really hard to figure out what went wrong and get back to where you should be without having to start staring down at the floor and moving away from the vocal mic. The easiest button to successfully hit without looking is the bottom left - shame its a bank button :(

Alas - no MIDI through :(

Ahh I wonder if we'll still get 2 years after everyone's good old favourite that is Brexit ;)

That is nice :) A very encouraging sign that Helix is here to stay. ( it will be even nicer for us Brits if it would apply to use as well.) I am looking forward to developments with Helix as Native comes into play. I especially am hoping for more flexibility with routing send / return blocks and so on to USB.

The three mic technique as pictured above works really well - and can be enhanced by adding extra close mics for Toms / Snare to help bring up those drums where necessary due to playing dynamics etc.. You normally would use mic inputs to connect microphones (obviously) - and Helix has just one mic input. However - in the past (back in cassette 4 track days) I've had success plugging drum close mics into 1/4in jacks as you are doing. You can also use the Return 1/2, 3/4 as well (So 1/2 could be Tom close mics for example) - you need XLR to mono 1/4in jack cables to do this. So I would recommend.. 1) Mic in - connect a good capacitor mic (48v phantom) and use it as an overhead to capture all the crisp high frequencies from the kit especially the cymbals. (USB 8) 2) Guitar in - a battery powered capacitor mic - like an AKG C1000 to go on the Floor Tom side (USB7) 3) Return 1 - Kick drum, dynamic close mic (USB3) 4) Return 2 - Snare drum - dynamic close mic (USB4) (if you have the mics available) 5) Return 3 - Tom 1 - dynamic close mic (USB5) 6) Return 4 - Tom 2 - dynamic close mic (USB6) This would work pretty well I think... You could probably buy quite few decent budget mics for the price of an 8 channel interface. The cheaper drum mic sets like Samson work really well and are pretty cheap - I recently got a Samson 3 tom set for just £40 on eBay and a pair of tiny capacitor mics for overheads for about £40 as well to take out to gigs. Whilst these won't quite give you the Abbey Road studio sound they will work very well for demos and for live sound. EDIT - routing - you will need to set up two separate stereo paths for Return 1/2 and 3/4. Just assign them with stereo inputs (Return 1/2 and 3/4) and then set the outputs to USB 3/4 and USB 5/6. The Guitar in and Mic in should automatically come out of USB 7 and 8 unless you've changed default settings. I can explain the routing better if you need help :)

I think the gain on the JCM 800 models is way over the top - so I'd say be careful with the gain knob setting. I think gain on 5 on the Helix JCM 800 is more distorted than a regular JCM800 with gain on 10.

There are lots of threads about it - search "Ext amp" and you'll find them. http://line6.com/support/topic/18401-amps-that-helix-doesn´t-switch-correctly

It sound sleek the problem is that you're not sending the right signal levels to and from the Marshall. if you are wanting to put Helix in front of the amp input and use it just for Pre-amp FX then you'll need to set Helix 1/4in outs to" Instrument" - make sure the Helix volume knob is turned up to maximum or you'll be sending a very small signal to the Marshall (hence no gain). The Marshal Master volume is the one you'll use to set your level. If you are wanting to use it in 4cm then you'll want to make sure the Send/Return blocks are set for "Instrument", and also the 1/4in out needs to be "Instrument" as well. I think the way the Marshall works it's MV is pre the FX loop, so in this case you need to set the Marshall MV fairy high (maybe 8) and leave it there ALL the time. You will then use your Helix volume knob as your Master volume. That's how it worked with my Marshall JCM800 4210 anyhow.

If you were to use a Double tap like this: 1) First tap... prepare to save the current snapshot settings replacing the original setting. 2) Second Tap (within "x" seconds)... recall the original snapshot setting ** If any other button is pressed between 1 and 2 then proceed with 1) i.e save the current setting immediately and then do whatever the new button wants ...then it should work without causing any undue delay.. it could work as fast as you can double tap.... or if you set the "x" parameter to 5 seconds then you could prepare Helix to recall the original setting by hitting it once and then hit the button again to recall it instantly. Would that work? EDIT: It could even work like this: 1) First tap - Save current snapshot settings instantly (but store the original settings in a temporary buffer) 2) Second Tap (within "x" seconds - recall original settings from buffer)

Have a good gig! I am sure the rig will work well - it sounds like it should. Hopefully you'll get to have some fun with FX too :) I fitted a new pickup to my DB this weekend - a "Lifeline" Realist by Gage. It fits under the bridge adjuster (so it picks up from the same place as the Fishman Full Circle), and is very easy to fit - only took about 10 minutes, and it was pretty cheap too - only £160 I am really happy with the sound of it - great woody tone, plenty of bass and extremely feedback resistant. I was testing it out standing right next to my amp in my front room with it set quite a bit louder than I normally need for gigs and no hint of feedback at all. Hmm.. maybe I should try it with Helix too ;) I've never tried wah on my DB before.

I'm using a H&K Switchblade 50 combo with Helix. I did think of upgrading to the Grandmeister, but like Jugghaid says there are so many options with the combination of Helix plus midi recalled amp presets it is quite mind boggling. And yes Helix's effect are better than Grandemeister's so that is no reason for me to change. I often find myself just using 6 or 7 main H&K presets as a starting point (very clean, cleanish, light crunch, heavy crunch, lead, heavy lead, ultra) and then shaping the tone from Helix as required by use of gain blocks and eqs. In fact I think I could probably be very happy just with a standard dual channel tube amp - clean and drive and use Helix to add boosts etc. Not to mention of course that sometimes you can just bypass the tube preamp totally and use one of Helix's amps straight into the amp's FX return.