Verne-Bunsen

There's a little bit of the whole answer in all of these, just for clarification the manual sums it all up as so: "48kHz, 16-bit, mono, .WAV type IRs of up to 2,048 samples are natively supported. But the Helix app allows you to import IR .WAV files of different sample rate, bit depth, length and stereo format, and the app will convert these attributes automatically before sending to the Helix hard- ware." Enjoy your IRs!

Helix uses 48 kHz, 16 bit, 2048 sample wav files.

The output of Path 1 is routed to the input of Path 2, but it looks like the input of Path 2 is also set to receive the raw guitar. That will produce exactly what you describe.

Totally. Up-voted!

Not at all, in fact I'm pretty pleased about it. Not because I plan on getting an LT but because if it makes Helix accessible to more people and grows the user base then it stands to reason that Line 6's commitment to the platform will will remain stronger for longer. That's good for everyone!

Glad you're enjoying it! I haven't updated yet because work related travels have me away from my Helix. My big points of interest were the swell functions and the Clawthorn. Seeing as the swell stuff isn't getting really high marks, I think I'll hold off for now. I'm with hideout at this point, not really enough going on for me to make it worth the update ordeal. At least until the bug-fix patch that is bound to follow comes out.

Man, that happened quietly.

I've wondered this myself. It's been my assumption, based on absolutely nothing empirical whatsoever, that bypassed blocks would be tone-neutral, but I'd be interested to hear from someone with nuts-n-bolts knowledge of the machine.

That's interesting, I'll have to check that out. So you're saying leave the numbering in the filename and use the Title field in the metadata to describe the IR, and Helix will file by filename but display the contents of the Title field? That would sure be sweet, thanks for the tip!

That's what I've done, except that I used a three didgit number for consistency (001, 002, 003...) It certainly works around the issue but the loss of character spaces to the numbering system sucks given that the allowable filename lengths are so short. I have a couple where I had to abbreviate to the point that I can no longer interpret my own shorthand and have to go back to my notes to remember what they are. I too would like to see an update to the update process that would eliminate the need.

I think DD has done an excellent job of answering your questions point-for-point, I can't add much there. I will say that the ability to assign your high and low cuts to Snapshots is very powerful and shouldn't be overlooked. I find that with squeaky clean tones I generally like a good low cut to mitigate boomyness, but minimal high cut or none at all to maintain all the sparkle. On the flipside, for dirty tones I often have low cuts off but high cuts in place to eliminate fizz. With Snapshots you can give one tone whatever it needs without having to sacrifice anything on another.

I had a similar learning curve. For me I had a honeymoon period where everything was great, then I started getting more critical and discerning and I found I was getting frustrated with Helix, things just sounded bad! There were a couple of big lessons I learned that really turned my frown upside down, as it were. The first was to do away with the notion that all of my favorite guitar tones were going pour forth from Helix like a magical fountain. That just isn't the case. It's different from plugging into a tube amp, you have to put some time into it. Second, don't limit yourself to the cabinets that are associated with the amp you're using, and absolutely DO consider using two cabs in parallel (two blocks on parallel paths, not a dual cab block). I credit this video right here with changing everything for me: Others will tell you to load some IRs, but my advice would be to spend time learning to get what you want out of the stock cabs first. The stuff you learn through that process will make moving into IRs much easier and you'll get a lot more out of them. Don't be afraid to use the Hi/Low cuts in the cab blocks. The high cuts can tame fizzy top end and the low cuts can rein in a boomy low end. I generally have them assigned to snapshots so that I can run them differently for different tones: what makes a crunchy tone sound good may make a clean tone a bit dull and what lets a clean tone sparkle may well be unpleasant when you crank the gain. Lastly, while it's been said a few times in this thread, I don't think your home theater system is doing you any favors as a monitor. Consider investing in a monitor that is appropriate to the application and you'll have a better experience. An FRFR monitor or PA speakers or some studio monitors or even a good pair of reference headphones are all very good options. As for the volume issue, there should be more than plenty on tap. I run Helix through an Atomic CLR cab and at about 10:00 on the Helix volume it'll rattle the rafters. Good luck. I can tell you from my own experience that once you get over the big hump in the middle of the learning curve Helix becomes a beast and you'll be able to get tones from your head to your speakers in no time. It's worth it!

I can't speak with authority on the DSP consumption, but my own experience has not indicated any difference at all between an amp+cab block or the same amp and cab separately. With regard to the advantage of running them separately, I can think of two. The first is the ability to put stuff in between them. For instance I find that spring reverbs and tremolos, among other things, can sound fantastic after the amp but before the cab. The second advantage is that, if you are running two cabs, you can balance them. By running two cab blocks in parallel with an A/B split you can adjust how much of each cab is coming through. And you can apply reverbs and delays separately which allows you to create a much bigger space. I guess a third advantage is spreading out your DSP consumption. I tend to run pre-amp effects and the amp on path 1, route path 1 down to path 2, and run post-amp effects and cabs/IRs on path 2. With regard to your patches not quite jiving with what you now find yourself wanting to do with them, all I can say is that I feel your pain. It seems like every time I learn something new about Helix I'm re-building everything from the ground up. Good thing this stuff is fun!

I'm with you, it wouldn't have occurred to me to try it that way. A little Rivera magic could very well be part of that recipe, they are spectacular amps! Good reminder that rules are made to be broken. I'll be interested to see if anyone else chimes in with similar experience?

Awesome that you found your sound! You say "through the front" of the Rivera which to me means into the pre-amp input (where you'd plug a guitar in), are you also running a Helix amp model?

Cool, thanks for that. It's stuck in my head now so I'm pretty sure it just cost me $900, haha! I have a couple of amps that have been sitting around collecting dust since I got Helix, might be time to suck it up and trade 'em on in...

That's food for thought. I'd been thinking about investing in another CLR but the idea of combining two complimentary monitors is intriguing. You say your patches are mono, so does that mean you are using the same Helix cabs and/or IRs for both the CLR and the Friedman?

Dude, that's nice! If it's good enough for Toki Wartooth then it oughtta be good enough for any of us :D

I'm away from my Helix right now so I can't make you a purpose-built demonstration, but I do have a recording I made a while back demonstrating some pickups I wound for my Strat and I do some volume knob twiddling in it. I think it provides a good example. I'm very much a volume knob player myself and being able to clean up a hot amp with the guitar volume was a make-it-or-break-it factor for me with Helix. It handles it just like it should, it's really quite impressive. Anyhow, here is the clip. I don't remember the patch precisely but I think it was the Jumped Plexi, no dirt pedal, there is a vibe on the first section. You can hear me turn the guitar down at about 0:22, back up at 0:43, and then back down at 1:17. Hope it helps you! https://www.dropbox.com/s/xw32bdqqhrwbgwk/ABOVE.mp3?dl=0

Sounds quite interesting, I'd love to hear some of what you do when you get it all sorted out!

Nice tones and nice tune! Made me think of Ned's Atomic Dustbin.

I'm absolutely holding my breath for your report. That's the first pedal that has given me GAS in the year+ since I got Helix. I'm interested in getting one to put in a Helix loop and would love to get some real world feedback (pun not intended, but not avoided either...) about how that works.

There is probably a setting in whatever browser you are using that determines where downloaded materials are directed. You could change that but then everything would go there. Since everything you download is not (presumably) custom tones it would probably just be easier to drag them to another folder as jbuhajla suggests.

Sounds like a fun, I mean meticulous and very serious, project! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I bought an Atomic CLR cab when I purchased Helix and have been very happy with the pairing.

Don't be afraid of the Hi/Low cuts in the cab/IR blocks. Figuring out how to use those was probably the single biggest jump in my Helix learning curve. Remember that they can be assigned to Snapshots as well, so you don't have to have your screaming arena rock lead tone set the same as your sparkly clean tone!