erniedenov

I think I've learned as much about Helix here at this forum as I did from the manual.

I've also had the experience of option overload with an Ownhammer set. I'm glad to hear you say that because I've found the difference between several IRs in an Ownhammer set to sometimes be so subtle than it's barely perceptible. And after going through a few dozen of them, you can easily lose perspective. I've purchased from Ownhammer and 3Sigma and gotten the free Allure set. Still, what worked best for me was this freebie from Celestion Plus: https://www.celestionplus.com/free-download/ I think I'm going to purchase a few of their IRs in the near future.

Baby Wipes, who knew?! And I just happen to have a 1 year old step-granddaughter living with me now. Thanks for the tip!

I've found the same thing. Well no, it doesn't sound as good as my old TC G-Force. That harmonizer REALLY sounds like 2 or 3 guitars. But I didn't expect it to; TC Electronics and Eventide are about the best there is in that field. Then again, they're not amp and cab modelers. I haven't found Helix's harmonizer to be particularly glitchy. I beg to differ; there ARE user scales! Maybe there aren't any exotic scales, but it has major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, diminished (half step/whole step) and whole tone. Pentatonic too, though I don't know what the point is since pentatonics are partial scales. Without going into a lecture about the modes that are derived from those scales, you've got just about everything you're ever going to need except for a fixed chromatic scale (and I do sometimes wish it had that). You can tune the harmonies you want to play by what scale and key you want them to be in. And you can set the intervals from the primary pitch you want the harmonies to be.

I don't think the reverbs are all bad. The Plate reverb is pretty nice and one of the 2 spring reverbs sounds pretty close to a good spring reverb in an amp. I had a Boogie Mark III combo and a Mark IIc as well. They were pretty similiar except the Mark III was a little brighter sounding. They're very nice amps, but the fact that the two channels shared the same EQ was what began my quest for finding a more versatile rig. It was a long journey through lots of gear and I ended up with the Helix. I don't own any tube amps anymore, though I'll admit that I regret letting some of them go; one of them was the Mark IIc. In the band I tour with, I use rented Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers with a Line 6 M13; so I still get to have the tube amp experience. It's cool, but digital modeling has come a long way and I don't really prefer tubes anymore. The picking dynamics in Helix are very much like a tube amp. Some amp models are more responsive than others, but they're all pretty good like that unless you're using mondo gain of course. In one band I play with, the leader doesn't allow amps onstage anymore; makes him feel that the volume won't get out of control. In that band, my Helix goes direct into the mixing board and everybody in the band uses in-ear monitors. Mine are Shure SE535s with custom molded sleeves; I think they sound great, but they're not cheap. I don't know how my Helix is sounding in FOH, but we've had a handful of soundmen run the board at different gigs and nobody has complained (my experience with soundmen after playing guitar professionally for almost 40 years is that they rarely keeps their opinions to themselves). Of course the overall volume of that band is probably pretty polite; it might be different with a loud band; Fletcher Munson curve figures prominently. I do gigs in Vegas at least once a year and though I've never played at a casino there, I have noticed that most bands play at a very polite volume at them. When I play in small to medium sized clubs with some other bands I use a powered FRFR speaker. I made different patches for that situation; the ones that I made for my in-ears tend to have a bit too much bass and treble for that speaker, especially at a certain volume. But the cab models have hi and low cut filters and with the additional EQ models, it's pretty easy to dial in just about any tone you can imagine. I think you'll like (and perhaps love) the Helix!

More often than not, I think it was an illusion to give a sense of security to those who believed you couldn't get a good sound without at least one tube. About 12 years or so ago, a buddy of mine bought a Rocktron 2x12 combo amp called the "Taboo Twin." It didn't model specific amps, but it was basically a digital modeling amp. Sounded pretty good too, at least for the time. And it had a glowing preamp tube in it. So... A bit later, they came out with a stomp/preamp version of it. It did not have a tube. I bought it and copied every parameter of a few of the Taboo amplifier's presets. Armed with a Rocktron Velocity (solid state power amp, probably the same as what was in the amp) and two closed back 1x12 cabs with simliar speakers to what was in the Taboo Twin, I did an A/B test between my rig and that amplifier... and they sounded virtually identical! That experience made me believe that the tube in that amplifier was placebo. I think a preamp tube can make a difference in some distortion/overdrive stomp boxes that use them, but in a digital modeling amp? I doubt it.

I love the backpack; best case Line 6 has ever made for any of their products. Before buying, I thought it was too expensive but it turned out to be worth every penny! I had the same experience but I think it's just a little stiff (I'm probably setting myself up for a snarky joke here) when it's brand new. I struggled to get the Helix in it on the first day or two, but it slides in easy now (get your minds out of the gutter!).

I felt the same way, but I updated anyway. The time I updated before that one was disatrous for me; I lost most of the presets I made and I was "once bitten twice shy" about the whole process. But I figured the best way to conquer your fears is to face them. It went much better this time around, thanks to some help from this forum! I imported my presets individually and it went without a hitch. It's still a bit of a pain in the butt, but it might be made simpler in a future firmware update. I have a love/hate relationship with tweaking. The "hate" part is because I have tinnitus (I've had it for 30 years actually) and tweaking for FRFR at approximate gig volume isn't helping; in fact the ringing in my ears has gotten worse. Like you, I'm happy with the sounds I'm getting now, but I still can't resist discovering what the new models will sound like, especially when it's free!

I'm a little reluctant to comment since I'm not a bass player. Bass players tend to like biamping, 10 or 15 inch speakers and higher wattage power amps than guitar players. But there ARE several bass amp and cab models in Helix and I suppose they're intended for use in FRFR speakers (along with other options). Being a full range speaker, I'd imagine it would handle bass frequencies just fine (and yes, you'd probably have to cut low and high frequencies just like us guitar players do). But you'd be better off getting advice from real bass players. I played a couple of gigs on bass a few decades ago. I knew what notes to play and where to put them in the beat but what I discovered I didn't know was how important note duration is to make a groove feel good. If I was serious about playing bass I would've figured it out eventually, but I wasn't; guitar is enough of a challenge!

Yes. Interestingly a 1/4 inch cable provides more volume than an XLR; I don't know why but others here have noticed the same thing. But yes, this thing can hold it's own with an overly enthusiastic drummer. I've used it with a couple of loud bands with no problem.

I'm using the TS212; very satisfied! I suppose there are better FRFR powered speakers out there if you want to spend 3 times as much, but I didn't have that kind of money and the Alto is working just as good as I hoped it would.

Well I'm glad you get it! Particularly if you're playing at a wedding or corporate party, the guests just want to dance to songs they like and as long as the band can do justice to those songs, they're happy! The leader of the wedding band I play with decided to do away with amplifiers on stage a few years ago; it made him feel like he had more control over the volume. Prior to that, I was using a Pod HD500 with a Line 6 DT-25 amp. The two sounded good together, but once I had to ditch the amp and go direct with the Pod HD, I really was not digging it; just couldn't get tones that I was happy with. Buying the Helix changed all of that drastically, thank God! I still play in clubs for fun, doing the kind of music that I want to play (mostly jazz/rock fusion or straight ahead jazz; the closest to pop is a Steely Dan cover band I play with sometimes). I always play Helix through my FRFR speaker in those situations (I take the speaker's direct out into the FOH), which I greatly prefer. Usually, half of the crowd are fellow musicians and at the risk of sounding like a jerk, I DO care about what they're hearing. Luckily, with that setup they're hearing what I'm hearing; it's a win/win situation!

I think you and I had this discussion before. You get brownie points for your altruism, but personally, I can't even play at my par if my sound isn't inspiring me. Maybe it wouldn't make a difference if you don't improvise, but I do. In one band I play with, I go direct to the FOH with my Helix and we're all using in-ears. My setlist that I made for FRFR sounds like crap through in-ears so I decided to go with the setlist I made for them using the headphone jack. I've gotten applause for my solos at wedding gigs on a few occasions (which is a rarity), so I'm guessing the audience was not suffering. I guess it comes down to personal choice. I figure the other musicians in the band are listening to me more intently than the guests at a wedding are and they're hearing what I'm hearing through the in-ears. I've never heard what's coming out of the FOH; for all I know, the soundman is EQing my guitar. My point is that a crowd like that aren't the kind of tone connoisseurs that we are; they're more likely to respond to playing quality than the tambre of our instruments. Different strokes!

No. I've come to think of the headphone setlist and the FRFR setlist as separate entities and if I'm building a preset from scratch, it's for the application at hand; I don't bother trying to make the same block choices work for the other setlist. But that's just me; I basically just use 8 presets in each setlist and what works for headphones won't necessarily work for FRFR. Just as an example, I tend to use stock Helix cabs with headphones but third party IRs often seem to work better for me with FRFR. And I'll often use different amp/cab models in the different setlists for the same type of sound I'm going for. That probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but to me, headphones or in-ears are a different beast than FRFR.

I have one setlist for headphones (in-ears, actually) and another one for FRFR. I initially made all of my presets for headphone and when I got my FRFR I saved them on another setlist and re-EQed them and made other modifications. I don't make new ones that way anymore, but I always keep them in the setlist they're intended for.

Oops, my mistake; I do the same thing. I've always done that in the tube/analog world too. If I want to clean up the sound I'd rather do it with my guitar's volume than with a volume pedal. Of course with Helix, you could have two volume pedals in the chain; one in front of the amp that would clean up the tone and another after the amp to just control the volume without affecting anything else. If you so desire anyway.

Same for me except I prefer some modulation effects (like chorus) after the amp and cab.

Well, that's one thing I was thinking when I said I didn't recommend it. Of course Helix is doable as a multi effects unit in front of an amp, but if that's what you want to use it for, there are much less expensive options that would do the job, like the Line 6 M13. It has 12 footswitches at the ready for toggling effects off and on where with Helix you'd only have 8. Each unit has a few different effects models than the other, but for the most part they're of the same quality. And the M13 is 1/3rd the price of the Helix. I use one with a (rented) Mesa Triple Rectifier amp with the band I tour with. I use the 4 cable method with it, but you could easily use it just in front of an amp with 2 cables too. I love my Helix, but to me the best things about it (and the main reason for getting it) are the amp and cab models. I don't mean to be a naysayer; just thinking about what you want to do in practical terms.

I can't recommend it. You'd have your power amp AND preamp coloring the sound. I take it your amp doesn't have an effects loop?

Tried it at my gig last night. It was a little less jumpy, but nowhere near "problem solved." Sometimes I wonder if no two Helix tuners are the same.

I'm not sure if it's that or simple loss of perspective. Maybe they're the same thing. But I've realized that when you're working on sounds, it's good to take a half hour break... or maybe call it a day and go back to the drawing board tomorrow. I'm constantly refining the same 6 or so patches on my Helix. I always save the original though and once in a while I end up preferring it.

My quest for a rig that would execute several commands simultaneously was what gradually brought me to digital modeling. I initially did it with tube amps (Egnater IE-4 MIDI switchable 4 channel tube preamp, VHT 50/2/50 EL34 power amp, TC Electronics G-Force, Ground Control MIDI switcher, wah, volume and expression pedals and two Bogner cabs). It sounded great but it was a lot of stuff to lug around and it took me at least 15 minutes to set it all up. After a while I went through Line 6 products like the AxSys and Vetta and loved the convenience, but none were as realistic sounding as the Helix! This might sound weird to you guys but I do all of my practicing without an amp. When I set my Helix and FRFR speaker up, it's mostly for tweaking; in fact I can't resist constantly trying to refine my patches. That's one thing and practicing is another. I gig often enough to get plenty of playtime with amps and effects.

I've gradually gotten rid of all of my tube amps. I've had many over the years and there's a few I deeply regret selling; most notably my Mesa/Boogie Mark IIc combo and my Bogner Ectasy head. I don't think I've dialed in a lead sound in my Helix that's as perfect as the ones in those two yet, but I haven't given up hope; getting closer every time I work on it. And neither of them could possibly be as versatile as Helix. Besides, I'm 63 years old and tired of being the equivalent of a furniture mover. Man, I've bought pairs of matched power tubes when one of them was bad right out of the box. On one occassion it blew out my transformer at the beginning of a gig. I still use (rented) Mesa Triple Rectifier half stacks with the band I tour with. You'd be hard pressed to find two of them that sound identical. Not to mention that tube amps can be sensitive to the electric wiring of a venue. I'd imagine many of us have had the experience of having a tube amp sound great in one venue and sounding like crap in another one... and not just because of the respective acoustics. Yeah, tracing a short amongst that many cables isn't that different from finding a needle in a haystack. I've been making a living as a guitar player for 40 years (discounting 2 miserable years in L.A. in the mid '80s when I became a full-time telephone solicitor). Did I somehow lose my status as a pro when I went digital? And you wonder why people might take issue with that statement? BTW, I read your other post about using a digital rig alongside a guitar player with a tube amp and can't agree with it. I know a fair share of people who have had the opposite experience, including myself.

I use in-ear monitors with Helix going straight to the board for one band and an Alto TS212 for other bands that I have to bring my own amplification for. The in-ear monitors are good ones (Shure SE535), but I had to make a separate setlist for the Alto using hi and low cuts on the cabs; the EQ from one to the other are different. Two things you should know about the Altos: 1: They need to be mounted on a pole or amp stand because of floor coupling. 2: You can take a direct out from the Alto to the mixing board. Good luck!

Same with a Yamaha solid state combo I had in the early '80s. Saddest tone I've ever gotten. :)