Verne-Bunsen

The Mecca! I love me some Rainbow Guitars... I share your geographical preferences, there are many very scenic ways to avoid Phoenix :D

Hey man, what gives? Why don't I sound like that when I use your presets? :lol: Maybe the next firmware update will model one of these for me? Very tasty, nicely done!

You've really got to get after that toe switch, it's quite stubborn. Not a "stomp" so much as "applying firm pressure". If you are on a padded or carpeted surface it's even harder. I ultimately got another expression pedal and don't use the toe switch for anything. Not only because the switch is a pain, but also because switching between two functions with the one expression pedal never really worked for me. You have to go full toe-down to get to the switch, which isn't very subtle if you are using that expression pedal for boost, or Whammy, or huge outer space reverb....

I use the input meter in Logic Pro to set levels. I set all of my patches to around -12db.

For what it's worth, I purchased Fremen's preset and IR pack and loaded all of them and have not experienced any of what you are describing. I have the floor controller, not the rack unit.

Well, I can't speak much to the rest of it, but I do believe that the minimum mic distance with the factory cabs is 1 inch (1") not 1 foot (1').

I'll second that!

It's certainly true that there are lots of great clean amps already in there. I'm kind of working through a process though. After getting my Helix, I immediately got caught up in making wildly complex presets with multiple amps and all that, and now I'm trying to bring it back to basics somewhat, swing the pendulum back as it were. As I'm going through the different amps, I'm trying to treat them like I was plugged into the real thing. I've never owned multiple tube amps at the same time, two simultaneously tops, so the option of just plugging into a different amp hasn't existed. Which meant that I spent a lot of time tweaking knobs finding the tones I wanted with what I had. And I was generally successful. That's what I'm trying to do here, make myself put in the time to really find whats in each model before just going to the next. I'm not after the impossible, I don't expect to find Fendery cleans in the Line 6 Elektrik or any such thing, but I knew that the Shiva had great cleans in it and I wanted to find them. And I I'm happy with what I've got! As for the "mic-less" IRs, I've heard that concept compared to "taking a photograph without a camera". I don't know the nuts and bolts of IR capture, but it seems the mic is not added for color or character but is rather an integral part of the process.

If there was a Line 6 Headquarters in Tucson, I'd be all over it. I do hope you'll tell us all about ut!

I guess I'm going to eat my words. I picked up Fremen's collection of presets last week and buried in there was a really nice Shiva clean. I borrowed some parameters from him and I'm quite happy with what I've got going. To date, everything I've had difficulty getting helix to do has been less a "What Helix can do" issue and more a "What I've figured out how to GET Helix to do" issue. It's all in there, just got to find it... And thanks, Fremen!

That's a fair point, it just seems like an odd omission given that other multichannel amps are so thoroughly covered. That's been my experience with it. You can keep it voiced nicely, but then it's still too hot for good cleans. Or you can turn everything down and put a gain drop in front of it to get it all cleaned up, but then it loses its character. Not ideal. As you say, an alternative is probably in order.

I've been batting this around too. When I did the 2.0 update, I was unpleasantly surprised to find that my IRs weren't backed up in a way that put them back in the same slots. That took some time to sort back out. Not sure if it's worth the hassle of doing that dance again. I've thought of numbering the file names, but the names are already so truncated by the OS that it's hard enough to capture the relevant info without sacrificing a couple of characters to numbering. Decisions, decisions!

After building a patch, I plug Helix into Logic Pro and set levels using the input meter. As Phil said, the level in the output block is the most neutral place to make the adjustment. As for the lead boost, there's a lot of ways of doing it depending on what you're after. An overdrive in front of the amp, an eq with mid boost before the amp, cranking the tone/gain levels on the amp, a gain block or eq after the amp, the level in the output block... The best approach will be dictated by what you're after and what else you have going on with your various controls. As a starting point, I usually find an overall boost of around +3db (at the input meter) is a good place to start. Adjust according to what you're trying to get in front of with your lead.

Hello all, I've been struggling to find the sparkling cleans that I know are within the Shiva, but I just can't get there. Do any of you folks know why the clean channel was left out when the amp was modeled? The omission is a bit of a head scratcher to me, given how thoroughly the different channels of other amps were covered. VB

While I am still waiting with bated breath for the ability to assign snapshots to a footswitch in 10-Stomp mode, I've been doing well running in Stomp/Snap mode with 4 Stomps on top and 4 Snapshots on bottom with oddball stuff accessible in Stomp mode. The 4 Snapshots are gain/voicing settings (clean, crunch, dirty, jazz clean...) and the 4 Stomps are frequently visited effects. I have functions like toggling Vibe mode between chorus and vibrato, or changing Whammy settings from octave harmony to Wham, assigned to footswitches accessible by switching to Stomp mode. It's working pretty nicely.

I don't know, I think that the definition of "using the unit" varies to some extent. For me Helix wasn't so much about the advanced signal routing options (although they are awesome), but was more about being able to plug my Tele into a Deluxe Reverb,my Strat into a Bassman, my Jazzmaster into an AC-30, my Les Paul into a JCM-800... and being able to record without the need for mics or additional interfaces. So even if I'm designing simple patches, I still feel like I'm putting the unit to work.

I can relate to this, it's like option overload! Everything has to have multiple amps and multiple cabs and parallel signal paths with different effects because... Because it can! I initially felt almost obligated to go full-tilt on absolutely everything. I'm currently swinging the pendulum back the other direction, going back to "Keep it simple, stupid!" To that end, I went and made a "straight into the amp" patch for every amp model, just guitar -> amp -> cab/IR. I've been digging it very much. I'm getting back into exploring what the amp has to offer with different guitars and figuring out how to get more out of everything. I'll add effects here and there, but I'm keeping things streamlined for now. For the record, I did this in my analog life too: my pedalboard would swell to bursting, then I'd ditch it all and go back to straight-into-the-amp. Some things never change I suppose...

Man, I had been completely blowing past that, great to know!

Man, I've really been enjoying these. I've been trying unsuccessfully to nail, I mean REALLY NAIL, the Run Like Hell tone for about, I dunno, 20 years? Finally, haha! It would have been worth the $50 just for that!

I've been trying to find a workaround for this as well. I have the "touch" feature turned off because it creates problems for me. I haven't yet figured out how to assign "on/off" any other way, so I've just been turning it on, making the assignment, and turning it back off. Not a big deal, but it sure would be nice if "bypass" or "status" could be a parameter in the menu.

That is a fact! After updating to 2.0 I spent a lot of time just staring at the Helix, trying to figure out where to start. Paralysis by analysis!

I'm new to exploring MIDI, but it didn't take long to identify that the single command limitation is kind of a bummer. Good submission, up-voted!

I've always enjoyed watching Glenn and Scott talk about their presets, but I never really felt inclined to buy them because I enjoy tinkering with the machine as much as playing the guitar. I enjoy the trial-and-error and discovering the cool stuff, in short I tend towards "do it yourself". That said, your stuff floored me and I think I'll be throwing down for this package, even if just to learn from it! Really impressive!

Had total success modding both my BYOC wah and my Dunlop Roto-Vibe into expression pedals for my Helix. Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread!

I concur. I'm not familiar with Jason, but I studied Scott and Glenn's videos like a college course while I was waiting for my Helix to arrive. Felt like a power user before I ever took it out of the box. They are an asset to the community for sure.