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If you have experience with a real amp that Helix models, start with that since you are already familiar with how that one is supposed to sound and react. Drop in that model and adjust it to how you typically would with the real thing. Drop in an appropriate cabinet model and appropriate settings on how you may have experience mic'ing the real cab. Also, try a guitar that you have already been using with that same rig. With all of that, you now have a reference to compare to the real thing that you are already used to playing. Also check out posts about "My Helix sounds really bad through headphones". There are a LOT of factors that influence the sound through various headphones. If you don't have any experience with the real amps that Helix is modeling, then the only reference you have is trying to achieve a tone/sound that so-in-so is using on a particular recording. It also seems that most posts about not being able to get a "good" sound is from heavy gain players. There seems to be a lot more variables that play into a "good" high gain sound. I am not a high gain player so I don't have anything to offer in that respect. I can drop in a Fender Bassman or Dr Z Route 66 amp model/cab, plug in my Tele, and it sounds great without moving a single knob.

Make sure that you it has firmware 1.04 too even though it seems to be working. 1.04 fixed a sleep mode bug, and it would not go into sleep mode all the time which will prematurely drain your battery.

Any noise in the power conversion is probably taken care of in the digital domain I would assume, but I am not familiar with what Line 6 engineers are doing in the guts of the thing. It may sound strange, but I almost can't wait for mine to fail (or the Sweetwater warranty ends) on mine so I can make the conversion.

Can you post a pic of what your signal chain looks like on the Helix?

You can to out to the Plexi with a 1/4" out of the helix AND to the two Altos at the same time, and you can blend if you want. You can run one Helix path with no amp models, just effects, to the Plexi, then a separate path with amp and cab models and effects to the Altos. The attached video is not exactly your scenario because he is using 4cm on his real amps, but it is the same concept. Dry to the real amps, and wet to the two FRFR cabinets left and right of the real amps.

Go with an external pedal on EXP3. I use EXP3 for creative stuff like that.

Plexi, with an FRFR/PA speaker on each side of it... a great opportunity for dry wet dry with your Plexi at the core. You can also use the expression pedal to cross fade between dry/wet as needed.

None. Helix only.

Unfortunately we run totally isolated on stage, so monitors/backline is not an option. I think I just need to fiddle with EQ on my monitor channel only at the board to fatten up IEM a bit, without effecting everyone else. This is all still relevant to the original post. Be aware of what you are playing Helix through (guitar amp, PA speaker, headphones, etc...) because going from one to the other will sound a lot different. Playing through multiple devices will require a little creativity to get it all to sound "right."

I don't trust what's going on FOH, so that's why I live with a less than ideal sound for the in ears (church venue with volunteers running sound). I try to compensate a little with in ears eq (we use Behringer P16s), but I live with it. I'd rather it be sounding on point FOH. I have my channel set flat on the board and I rely on Helix exclusively for my sound/EQing. I do my own sound checks weekly by walking around different areas of the main room with my wireless to ensure everything is sounding good.

Ok, we are in the same boat then. I play mostly strats/teles, not any high gain stuff. Initially I was setting up all my presets using in ear monitors at home. My presets always sounded boomy front of house to our QSC PA system. So I bought a couple of JBL Eon 610s for at home. I put them into "monitor mode" as floor wedges and went over my presets through them at close to live volume. I ended up cutting almost all of my cab/IR blocks at 90-110hz, and high cuts at 5-10khz. I also found myself decreasing the "bass" on some of the amp models I was using, especially the Plexi, Mesa MkIV, and US Deluxe models . After doing that, my presets translated over very well to our PA system live. My sound is pretty thin in the in ears now, but I just ignore it knowing that front of house is good. So, eq adjustments on the Helix may not follow "normal" procedures as playing through actual amps/effects. Just keep tweaking at it until they sound magical through your Mission system.

I have found that the tuner has been greatly improved, but I still cannot rely on it 100%. I still keep my Polytune clips on my guitars. The most issues I notice now are in the lower frequencies around the low E string (E2/82.41hz). It will be stable for almost a full second, then just goes bonkers no mater what guitar/pickup configuration I am on. I do hit the string at a consistently soft attack, so that is not a contributor.

Anytime you import ANY presets to a setlist, those preset "slots" are rebuilt after cycling power. I don't think it is rebuilding the actual preset, just the preset slot that you just moved new data into. You will also notice that it only rebuilds all 1024 preset after an update. After that it only rebuilds the preset slots that you move new data into. If you import an entire setlist of presets (128 presets) it will rebuild those slots next time you boot up. For that reason, I always reboot after importing presets just in case, even if it is just one preset. I have no solid knowledge of why it is best to do that, I just assume that the rebuilding process is important and is probably a good idea to do after importing.

Yes, a lot of guys run their helix in the "4 cable method" to their real amps. So they can choose to run their real amp or to by pass the real amp and run a preamp model into the power amp section of their real amp through the real amps effects return.

^ what Phil_m said^ I use that to my advantage and I always save my presets with the volume block on EXP2 in the heel down position. That way when I call up a different preset, volume is at zero until I move the volume pedal. Your application needs may vary though, but just be aware that you can leverage that functionality to work for you.

There is no universal answer to your question. Some amp models sound more "boomy" than others especially when coupled with particular guitars/pickups. What amp model/guitar/pickups are you using and what type of tone are you looking for?

Not that using Global EQ is wrong for this, but it is generally used for some final tweaks for a particular room you may be playing in. A general rule of thumb is to make your core tone what you want within the preset, utilizing EQ blocks if need be. Global EQ is just that...global. It effects you signal from ALL of your presets going out of the output jacks. Any PR speaker is going to be generally FRFR, so it should sound great. If you do upgrade later on, you may need to tweak your presets a little because no two speakers sound exactly the same. Another great speaker option that quite a few use are the JBL Eon series (610 and 612). I got a pair of 610s on Amazon for $330 each. You really don't have to break the bank for speakers to sound great.

Same here. Another advantage of using a PA frfr'ish speaker is that you can also listen to music through Helix USB while you practice over it if you desire. Other things to consider when buying a speaker are: Do you just play at home? If you play out, is this speaker your primary amplification device or just used as a monitor? Do you play other instruments (7 string, bass, vocals, etc..)

I use the mixer in Reaper to get me "normalized", then just tweak with the ears as necessary at rehearsal. Using the meter in Reaper is much faster and gives me a master reference so that the person running FOH will see a "normal" looking level across all of my preset changes. Yes you can use your ear to make all volumes close relative to each other, but you may still be off with your signal to FOH if you play that way. If you are just going to a speaker or amp, then it's probably no big deal. People sending their signals to FOH is a different story.

I've had mine for a while now, play out once a week, and use it all the time at home. Zero issues. I treat it just like any of my other electronic devices, and it will last a long time. When people come to the forums for information about issues about their product, they are reading through a condensed set of example of issues. So if Line 6 has sold 10,000 units, you find 20-30 on the forum posting about how bad the product is, but you don't have the 9,970 posting about how there is nothing wrong with theirs. With EVERYTHING that is manufactured, there is a small percentage of failures. That is why manufacturers have a warranty and a return program from everything from a flashlight to an automobile.

He is busy tweaking his preset and doesn't have time to type on a keyboard period

^ All of what DD said^ The one that sticks out to me as maybe the most important is get your core tone (amp and cab/IR) sounding "good" to you BEFORE adding any effects. I do that first, then add OD/Dist pedals after and make sure each of those sound good (while normalizing volume levels along the way), then sprinkle on effects to taste after that.

If you were importing individual presets, make note of the one that you imported when you experience the issue. That preset is probably "corrupt".

Floor model 9 months, zero issues. Play out once a week. Adjusted the on board expression pedal tightness once. Sold all of my pedals and almost all my amps. Keep in mind that most of the people posting on the forum are experiencing an "issue" so the number of posts concerning issues are not a true representation of the ratio of sold units that are good versus ones that have an actual issue.

Nice find, and nice feedback from Line6. Looking forward for the update on this.