Verne-Bunsen

I've been quite happily monitoring my Helix through an Atomic CLR cabinet since I got it, which was about three years ago I think. Fast-forward to today and I'm really wanting to get stereo monitoring in-the-room. Atomic doesn't produce the CLR in the cabinet configuration any longer, and they never pop up on the used market, so getting a second unit is highly unlikely. I don't want a wedge (call me old fashioned), and I want my stereo monitors to match, so really it seems that I'm going to have to seek life after CLR... The more I've read and viewed on PowerCab+, the more excited I've gotten about them. I'm eager to put this one through the paces and take an objective look at how it stacks up with my CLR! I'm hoping that this ends with me running stereo with two PC+ cabs...

I definitely am enjoying it! I've been figuring on incorporating MIDI functionality once I get a better grasp on what I'm actually doing with the pedal. Because right now I'm still in the "Pulling up random presets and playing until I start drooling" phase.... I did spend a couple of hours today organizing the presets by reverb type and loading some additional ones, that will make targeted browsing much easier. I used the Nixie program to do all of the editing, my goodness what a fantastic piece of software that is!

That looks great! The way I'm set up, every time I want to move a wire I have to replace approximately 6000 zip ties....

When I was actively gigging, which was quite a while back, I experienced various malfunctions with amps, pedals and guitars. You are quite right I think, this may just be the new face of the same old problem. Always have a backup, I suppose that rule has not changed.

Hi James, Thanks for your input! I’ve come to the same conclusion: it seems like there is a volitile element in there that can spontaneously “get sick”. In the time since this thread, I’ve experienced other bizarre issues, from drastic changes in the sound to Helix spontaneously and repeatedly forgetting all control assignments. They’ve all been fixed “magically” either by cycling the power enough times or by re-installing the firmware. I don’t play out live these days, but if I did this stuff would worry me! I love my Helix and I hope that if there is a fault in there that they are aware and will resolve it.

Definitely try with a different guitar cable. A guitar cable developing a short can result in significant loss of signal strength. Likewise with wiring issues within the guitar. Do you have access to an amp you can plug in to to check out the guitar?

I think they should go even further the other direction. Every category should be further broken down by firmware revision number. If you want a certain effect, you have to know which update it was included in. If you go to the wrong one then you’ll still be able to see the effect you are looking for in the list, but it will be greyed out. It will not tell you why it is greyed out. You have to keep going back through the firmware revisions until you find the right one. Eh?

I know this is an old thread, but I came across it when I was researching for adding a Big Sky to my Helix and wanted to contribute. Firstly thanks for the guidance on finding the "secret" input meter, very helpful! (Note: on Big Sky, replace "Tap" button with button "C" to access the Test menu) To combat the input clipping issue, I reduced the Channel Volume of the amplifier, placed the Big Sky immediately before the IR blocks in my chain, then increased the IR block level to compensate. The IR blocks have a ton of gain available, I only needed to increase mine from -18 to -12 but there is plenty more on tap. Now when I'm building a patch I set the IR level to -12 right from the get-go and build the patch around that. Just another option!

That's "New Multi-Dimensional Reverberator Day"... Strymon Big Sky has arrived! I sold a Telecaster and a Blues Deluxe to finance it, and I have no regrets. In stereo, in headphones, it is LUSH. I'm working on putting together stereo monitoring in-the-room, weighing some options there, but for now playing in the headphones is plenty. I've only had it a couple of days and have only scratched the surface of what it does, but man is it fun.... The underside of this board already looks the inside of a PLC cabinet, I'm going to have to tear into that to get a good clean permanent installation. Gotta figure out if I like this layout or if I want to move things around...

There is another thread discussing this topic here: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I enjoyed that video! It was an entertaining demonstration, but even more entertaining for the reaction of the guy on the left at the reveal. From “Helix sucks and I hate it” to “Helix sounds great but I still don’t like it due to certain aspects of operating it”. From an emotional and unfounded position to a rational and constructive one. Critical thinking for the win!

@MLSoundLabGood grief, just watched your Silver Jubilee video, sounds amazing! What platform did you record the audio for the video on? Is the Helix version built on a Helix Marshall model platform or is it something like GD’s custom amps that are a different amp with a trick IR? Regardless, sounds fantastic in that video.

What codamedia said. It definitely makes a difference in that the order of the blocks in your signal chain will impact how they perform and what the end result sounds like, but really there are no rules. You can choose to treat it like a traditional Pedal-Board-And-Amp rig or you can get as weird as you can imagine. It’s a wonderful time to be a guitar player!

The magic ingredient in Andy Summers’ “Message In A Bottle” tone: warm, fat mids.

Nice review, it does sound good! Seeing as you have a good long history with this pedal in its “natural habitat”, is there a significant change in the feel/sound of the actual pedal having it in a loop after the amp as opposed to in front?

I have experienced phasing when running any pedal in an FX Loop in parallel.

I suppose I fall in to this category, but not in the same way as you guys are talking about. I wasn’t crazy about Helix’s Spring Reverb so I was inspired to buy a Malekko Spring Chicken. I couldn’t get on with any of Helix’s fuzzes, so I was inspired to buy an Earthquaker Erupter. They both play very nicely with Helix. This isn’t a slight against Helix, I don’t expect any piece of equipment to be “perfect” for me without some work. I modify my guitars and my amps and supplementing Helix’s impressive compliment of sounds is much the same. I may have just recently sold my last tube amp to finance a Strymon Big Sky too, eagerly awaiting delivery...

Interesting, I wasn’t aware of the back story. Maybe they decided to buy one for the cause and finally made it to the top of the list? I don’t want to start down the release date rabbit hole, but a few months yet is further out than I was guessing. Ah well, it does a guy good to have to wait for something now and again...

So, the 2.8 pre-release notes already spilled the beans about including a model of the Analogman King Of Tone, but has there been any chatter about how it will be set up? The current version of the pedal is basically two independent pedals in one enclosure, each configurable between three “modes” (gain ranges) with internal DIP switches and an optional higher gain modification that can be requested when the pedal is built. I wonder if the model will have both sides in one block or if you just run two instances to get “both sides”? Will we get the option to pick DIP switch settings? Will the higher gain modification be a selectable option? Will it take 14 months to load after you select it (for realism...)? I don’t generally get too starry eyed about upcoming goodies, but this one does have my heart thumping a bit. I use the Helix Deluxe Reverb almost exclusively these days, and the KoT was pretty much designed around Jim Weider’s 60s Deluxe Reverb. I anticipate awesomeness....

This behaviour isn't specific to Line 6 or the Helix, I have had other delay and reverb pedals do the same. My Earthquaker Afterneath comes to mind: if it is oscillating out of control when you bypass it, then the madness will still be waiting for you when you switch it back on.... Not saying that it is a good thing, only that it goes beyond Line 6 and Helix. I suspect that what Kilrahi proposes would work, but it would impact your ability to utilize tails. You might be able to use the same idea of assigning feedback to the bypass switch, but instead of zeroing it adjust it just enough to allow the oscillation to die off but without totally killing off your tails?

Is the problem that the repeats don’t go away when the effect is bypassed, or is it that they are still going when you turn it back on?

I've been talking with Tech Support and they settled on installing firmware 2.71 (I was still on 2.70) to see if it resolves anything. Seems like a shot in the dark, but it is a sensible place to start. I gave the unit a "Footswitch 9+10" reset, updated to 2.71 without any issues, and reset it again. I'm not importing any of my old presets, going to start fresh. Which will be a chore, but I was kind of doing that anyway as it was forgetting everything. I will report back if anything develops. Or doesn't.

E-Bow comes very close to capturing the timbre of bowed notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEgkMDxMQrw And a cello Impulse Response couldn't hurt any either. https://www.3sigmaaudio.com/items/category/strings/

Just lost another one. This time I was not actively editing, I turned the Helix on and a patch that was fine last night had lost all of its assignments. Different preset, different bank. Rather discouraging, hardly worth rebuilding the presets at this point. I suppose it's good that nobody else is chiming in that they've encountered this, as it would be terrible for product confidence. I've got a ticket in, haven't heard back yet. I was able to upload two presets that have experienced the failure, so hopefully that helps them. I'm not sure what the status of my warranty is, but I did buy a Protection Plan from Guitar Center. If I can find the receipt...