Verne-Bunsen

I just recently had my Helix replaced due to failure of that joystick, and many others have faced similar. It seems to be a bit of a weak link in the hardware package. Make sure your Helix is registered and the warranty stuff is in order...

If you are having excessive noise problems with the Lollars, you might check your wiring and look into environmental culprits. I have the Lollar P90s in a Les Paul and without shielding or noise gates they are no noisier than my Strat or Tele single coils. As for the pickup output, that's not uncommon. The strings physically move further at the neck than they do closer to the bridge, so they induce more current. This is why overwound bridge pickups are common. You can either balance the output by adjusting their heights, or you can deal with it. If you were so inclined you could assign a gain block or eq to a footswitch for switching back and forth. I've done similar for the dark circuit on my Jazzmaster. I hope you find a solution that works for you!

Thank you!

I've got those two as well, they're worth having!

Ok, here is the link to the original patch: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xaw0g3fz9wgqrta/P-90%20LP%20EH-185.hlx?dl=0 Two things to note: It has IR blocks, so you'll either need to point them at appropriate IRs or replace them with cabs. The "Big Reverb" switch toggles multiple blocks and currently indicates backwards: it shows off when it's on and vice versa. Just touch the switch a couple of times to cycle through the assigned blocks and it will indicate correctly. I corrected this in the previous version that I tried to upload, but I'm not at my Helix now so I can't edit it.

Shoot. I left town yesterday and won't be back for a couple of weeks. I have the original patch backed up on my computer at home, I'll try and have my wife copy it into Dropbox. Sorry about that.

Thanks guys! D0stenning, if you do try that patch out I'd be interested to know how it works for you. Seems like so often these things just don't translate right from one rig to another. When sharing presets I'm always curious to know if it meets with a "Hey, nice"" or a "What the heck is this?!", haha!

I played that song almost exclusively for months getting the arrangement worked about and getting to where I could actually play some of the parts in-context, I can't pull it off quite like that anymore either, haha! I appreciate your comment, it was a significant commitment of time and it's rewarding to hear it appreciated. Thanks!

Ha ha! Just wait till I break out the Tele! Thank you for the compliment.

Wow, that's quite an analysis! We're you comparing the input vs output meters in your DAW for those numbers or something else? Thanks for that info, I'm still digesting it somewhat but I do love tech specs!

They aren't necessarily run together, there's just more than one of each in the preset that can be toggled on/off with the foot switches. The 3 modulation blocks are a vibe, a chorus and a tremolo. They are positioned as they are because I like the vibe before the overdrive (a Minotaur in this case), the chorus after the overdrive, and the tremolo between the amp and cabs. I can't say I ever use more than one at a time. The two delays are a simple delay set for dotted 8th with one repeat at unity, and a tape delay set for more repeats at a much lower level, a more "traditional" subtle setting. Generally I'd only use one at a time, but at the time of this screenshot I was running the vintage delay into the tape delay simply because it was producing an effect that worked nicely for what I was doing. The three reverbs are really more like two that are used either/or. The one that is on in the screenshot is a spring reverb set rather subtly. The other two are assigned to a single foot switch and turn on/off together. The one before the cabs is a '63 spring reverb set much heavier and the one after the cabs is (I think, not at my Helix right now...) a chamber reverb to help get it a little thicker. That's more of a compromise than a preference though, as I don't think the spring reverbs (either of them) get near as thick/drippy/surfy as they should. That's a different conversation though.... Not all of the presets follow that exact formula, some of them have reverbs or delay in parallel instead of series or whatever the case may be to achieve the desired effect. That's the real "power of helix" in this context, to borrow your thread title: you can configure things however you please! I hope some of that helps!

Thank you, sir! Yeah, I used to think it was an odd business decision to keep dis-continuing his various collections, but I've since discovered that it's maybe a little brilliant: I'm out of IR slots on Helix, but when he puts up something I find interesting I buy it anyway so as to not miss it. I have many IRs waiting for the day our benevolent benefactors in the Line6 Tower give us access to more slots...

Hi coachz, Most of my presets follow this general formula: Path 1A/B in serial (1A output is muted) going into Path 2A which then runs a pair of cabs or IRs in parallel on 2A/B. The configurations of the various effects, delays and reverbs vary, but this is kind of my "template"...

Hi Martin, Thanks for listening and for your kind words! This amp is a tough nut I still feel like I haven't quite cracked. It breaks up pretty easily and I wanted to keep it in warm clean territory, so what I did was to use an EQ in front of the amp to pull things back, then put a compressor after the amp to bring them back up and smooth things out. I used two Ownhammer IRs from the Gibson Goldtone 10/12 collection which, sadly, is no longer offered. It's a great collection! I re-loaded this preset and played with it some just now and found that I was getting a nice sound from a 1x12 Bluebell with a 57 and a 2x12 Jazz Rivet with a 121. I saved the preset with them loaded and will post a link to it here, but by all means play around with the cab/IR selections. Everything else is just how I had it. I'll be interested to know how it works for you! The preset: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vnr6io2l68pitoa/P-90%20EH185%28cabs%29.hlx?dl=0 (You should be able to download it by going to the "..." menu in the upper right hand corner, let me know if it gives you trouble. Dropbox can be wonky...)

Welcome!

I suspect that what you are encountering is "fizz", which in itself is not a malfunction but is the topic of plenty of raucus debates. There are many schools of thought on handling it, I typically use the high cut in the cab/IR blocks to reign it in if need be. Usually a high cut between 5-6k will knock it down appreciably, but don't be afraid to go down lower. Chase the sound, not the number. Keep in mind that the high cut parameter can be assigned to a controller like snapshots or the footswitch that activates a dirt pedal, so you can set the cut high to keep the top end sparkle in clean tones and then have it clamp down on dirty tones. Hope that helps!

I didn't run a stereo rig before Helix, so I found a single FRFR cab was most comfortable and familiar. I got an Atomic CLR and couldn't be happier. I do my mixing in headphones so I can deal with stereo.

Could be that monitoring the un-used inputs introduces some noise that causes the tuner jitters?

I never had the extreme difficulty that others have encountered with the tuner, but even so I changed the input parameter on mine from "Multi" to "Guitar" and dang if it wasn't noticeably better. Many thanks to you (and klangmaler!) for the tip!

"One Warmoth Strat and a Warmoth Jazzmaster; Digitech Trio+, Helix Tone-crafter; iMac and Logic Pro, two sets of strings; Them's what got used to cut 'My Favorite Things'... (Oom Pa Pa, Oom Pa Pa, Oom Pa Pa, Oom Pa Pa)" I've been toying with this for some time, finally got it laid down. I'm pretty happy with how it came out! The Helix Twin Reverb, AC30, Litigator and Plexi Bright are featured. I do so love this machine :) https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/my-favorite-things

Not sure if maybe it's something on my end, but I'm unable to view your pictures.

First things first, I'm a happy Helixer and would be hard pressed to go back. As Robbie61 said, Helix was good when I got it and it's only gotten better since. Having said that, I'll try to touch on some of your specific questions. Helix + Atomic CLR is my first modeling/FRFR rig, coming from a lifetime of tube amps. The biggest hurdle in my learning curve was realizing that this setup doesn't, and was not designed to, sound exactly like an amp-in-the-room. It sounds like an amp mic'd up. I wish I'd figured that out quicker. Not because it would have changed my mind on the Helix, but because it would have saved me a lot of time on figuring out how to dial in tones! I highly recommend making your own patches, as that is the only way to learn the machine. And get acquainted with using the stock cabs before you plunge in into the IR rabbit hole. You'll ultimately be able to get more out of the IRs that way. I've got a collection of IRs from many of the major players and have to say that I have the best experiences with Ownhammers. The "OH" mixes in the summary folders of their collections are fantastic. I go straight into my iMac and Logic via USB for recording, no problems. I have a couple of my favorite fuzzes in the loops. I'm sure that clipping the Helix with an external device is probably possible, but I haven't experienced it. Also I use a Digitech Trio+ In conjunction with one of the loops. Dialing in a JCM-800 or whathaveyou at meltdown will still sound the same at bedroom levels (taking the whole human hearing frequency response thing into account, of course), but it will not necessarily FEEL the same. In the same way that Panama over the speakers at the grocery store is not particularly moving, but Panama cranked on your car stereo will make your pulse pound. There's something about decibels... Hope some of that helps!

I did a similar thing under mine, Helix and Trio+ are powered by the courtesy outlet on the Pedal Power via a Y-splitter and I used a switched IEC cord for the supply to the Pedal Power, so the whole board is on one cord and one switch. I do like that right angle IEC on your Helix, very clean, thanks for that link!

That is awesome, talk about a secret weapon! I was able to mount my Pedal Power underneath my board with a bracket, but those rails down below on yours are brilliant.

It definitely does. You have to touch one of the set screws as opposed to just the surface of the button, but doing so you can do the block bypass assignment, switch between parameters controlled by the switch, swap assignments with other switches, all of the capacitive functions. I was pretty tickled to discover that.