WickedFinger

Wickedly cool, a hard exit ramp off my usual listening highway. I really have no idea what I am hearing or the effects, etc being used. Is that all priv or can you tell us some of the things you were doing?

What an amazing array of optioned IRs and some cool EQ tone shapping ones. The Marshall preset for testing is really nice. I have a very late night planned with all this. I have a feeling these are finally going to be some IRs I like. For one thing love the 4x12 that is my go cab forever. This is treasure trove of IRs we are going to have to pony up some donations if even a fraction of them are good. Thanks for all this, You may have saved my Helix.

If helpful is agreeing all the time or supporting things I find out of my paradigm, do excuse me, freedom of speech and allowed to present my opinion which carries at least as much weight as yours. Patronizing things which seem pointless or absurd to me is not really anything I am capable. Cutting through the mix in a church, just offering a bunch of people singing makes that rather impossible.

All tracking in the Helix is monophonic and glitches. which is a shame for such an expensive unit. One can buy numerous modern pedals with polyphonic tracking on std 1/4 cable these days which are not really expensive. After hearing how bad an old version of the Whammy sounds and glitches I can see why many hate them. Why would you not copy/mimic a Whammy V if you were going to clone one?? The new Whammy V and DT model are polyphonic and true bypass now. The harmonizer modes on that are to die for. I just got a T-Rex Quint for my octave pedal, +/-1 8va and a 5th up with flawless chord tracking, polyphonic glitch free, no latency coolness. I would like to have Helix amp models and IR stuff in a box without all the effects, does any of their products do this? That desk top unit maybe?? Not interested in POD models just the Helix HX.

To much human voice occupies the same range as guitar. Rather impossible to accurately pink noise a big church like area as all the people would completely change the sonic characteristics. I've never seen or heard a guitar in a church but haven't been near one since I was like 9. I do not look for such environments to produce good sounding anything. But to each his own.

ONLY with their music card. No card or approval on zzounds,com. I've bought a ton of stuff off them. Been denied a card from Sweetwater's card dealer at least 6 times in the last years. I live on a golf course and drive a Mercedes but they cannot see fit to give me a music card. I get offers for credit cards once a week. Don't want them, wanted Sweetwater's for same as cash deal. But yeah, it's with the card, I know this without a doubt.

Most intelligent thing I have seen on this board, let me tell you.

zzounds.com often offer 12 payments on the Helix for min no qual, no credit check, no music card application. Just FYI. Pretty sweet deal. Sweetwater, love 'em but they only offer 3 no qual payment plan. I think they only give out their music card to lottery winners.

(Power User*****) Single best write up on compressor use and function I have ever seen. Extremely well done!! This is a must have reference paper for guitar compressor use!

If there was one in the same galaxy, easier just to make one from scratch than fix everything as that's what it ends being anyway. Clearly I am not hearing whatever it is these chaps are hearing.

Sounds pretty wicked!

Like those guys as well. I had POG and others. I do think the POG does a rather wicked organ tone the Quint does not really get. The shear power and fidelity of the low octave is unmatched. The upper has that same sort of POD octave tone but the POG modulates it into more of an organ reverberation hence it does a better organ mimic. The 5th is rather cool and unique for an octave pedal. The tracking and overall tone quality is unmatched for my 2 cents. I have been learning to use the mix control and dial down the octaves and 5th for a more subtle enhancement on my main tone. My only complaint with the unit is I much more prefer a lowered 5th like I was getting on my Whammy V. Upper 5th is OK and novel at times but I do prefer the lowered 5th, sounds more Jeff Beck like to me. Anyway, killer pedal, beats the tracking and tone of anything currently in the Helix. A fine example of std cable polyphonic tracking technology. Oh by the way, Cello, the Mel9, amazing pedal. I was doing a rendering of the Game of Thrones theme and my wife actually came into the studio room as it sounded so dead on Cello. You do not want to run the Mel9 in your std chain but on a separate feed. You do not want to try running that into any gained amp or OD pedals. Sounds marvelous by itself, a lot of things you can do, strings are pretty awesome as well. I'm not a huge fan or user of EHX stuff but that series of keyboard pedals is pretty unmatched stuff.

I often hate the sound out of the cans and I use high end Byerdynamics. You can easily clip them especially cleaner stuff or if you have powerful pickups. I get the best sound from a secondary source for my headphone feed. Sort of buffers it down instead of right out of the unit. I use a small Mackie mixer on my rigs which serves to convert my other chains from unbalanced to balanced for my FRFR rig. Running my cans off that helps a lot plus I use BBE units and that allows me to hear the BBE processor in line. I use multiple chains on my guitar not just the one XLR stereo on the Helix. Anyway, have the same thing with headphones, I have had many units and never really like the sound in cans on anything save maybe my GR-55 guitar synth.

Classic is often another term for nostalgic crap. personally I have no interest in reusing old stuff I had when I was teenager. Glitch out octave pedals and whatnot. Noisy bad quality pedal circuits. No thank you. The best thing about the Ross and Dyna comp circuit was what others did with it modifying it and improving it, like the tubescreamer OD circuit, better versions of it abound everywhere. Compressors are an acquired taste. Country players like overt squeeze. I prefer more transparent. I always used Wampler or Keeley, just has to have a blend control for me. I do use the LA Comp from time to time but probably not in the way most would. The more gain and tube dist thing you get on guitar the less compression you want as that is already a part of that sound. Too much compression is dreadful. It's a useful tool and accomplished studio engineers know how to apply it. Most guitarists go over board. It can just flat out ruin the natural dynamics of the guitar, less is more in that case, if there is another case of that being true. Just enough to bring up the response of the lower volume string picks without getting too much unnatural sound is where I am at. Compression offers an illusion of loudness and a spike reduction but too much might be novel for some "chicken pickers" but in general it ain't a good thing.

IS that a vacuum cleaner??

Yeah, LOL, it is a mystery sometimes as to what some are hearing and what they seem not to hear. I am a many decade player and have been there and done that with a whole lot of gear and guitars. I suppose it's ironic paradox now that I have the best gear in my life I am retired from the live thing and band thing where I have to play things I do not like. I thought about messing around with recording but not having any delusions of grandeur that is an awful hungry alligator to start feeding with no return on net assets. I try to just have fun playing and creating amazing tones. Quite freeing actually not having to deal with all the pressure and set list thing. Too old to be a rock star or to suffer the egoism it requires. __________ I prefer well tweaked and great sounding cleaner amps, ones that work well with pedals and effects. I have external gains and drives I like over a cranked amp gain. Sometimes novel to mess with but in general I like the most tube like clean I can get without being too high ended or shrill. The most difficult thing for amp modeling is that edge of breakup tone and the response as you push it over the edge. That to me is the true test of a model. Rather easy it seems to get high gain and super clean, the trick is not sounding too sterile and digital. That is one reason I use two MIC Studio Tube preamp models (ftswitched) one pre and post to wrap the amp model in a more tube-like shroud, sounds less digital to me. I have been narrowing down my choices to just a few and the cab and mic that sounds the best for me. I use Les Paul's and prefer lower to mid gain drives. I am mainly into the Helix for the amp model tones and everything else I can farm out. I use the delays and reverbs right now but whenever I can get my hands on a Styrmon or Eventide I will farm those out as well. Delays are HX and pretty decent the Reverbs are hand me down from POD, which are usable but for my view the farther you advance and modify from the POD thing the better. Been there done that and over my POD phase. I was done with L6 completely but the Helix deserved another shot and it is the best modeler at that money level I have used. If I had to do it over again I would have gone in a different direction entirely but no one on the Helix forum cares about that. My fav amps so far: Mesa CLN channel SLO CLN channel Hi Watt Shiva set CLN If anyone knows another amp that does well clean, do tell. The Fender stuff has not really impressed me that much on the Helix, maybe I just have not tweaked on them enough. Tend to prefer the 4x12 cabs and I like the Coles Ribbon 4038 I think, can't remember. I like it's darker quality and tone over the usual 57 and whatnot. Just sounds warmer and less digital to me. Most IRs do not do it for me either which I am frankly scared to buy them as of the hundreds of free ones I have tried, just did not care for them much. Maybe its the mics they use or the fact you cannot change them on the Helix. Also moving the mic across the speaker is a dire tone changer. Not sure where the Helix is supposed to be, but seems to me more to the edge like 3/4 is a better sound. All in all I am getting what I like out the Helix and hope they continue to improve it with better amp models. Effects wise outside of well done delay and reverbs, I prefer pedals.

Without a doubt the best octave pedal ever. Polyphonic tracking, no latency, no glitch tracking. 8va up, 8va dwn, 5th up, and dry mix. Added this to my externals with the new Whammy Ricochet so all Whammy and Octave things covered and then some. This Quint is a wickedly wonderful pedal, so much fun to play. Sure spending money, did anyone think playing guitar ever reached a no pay for play zone?

Any tips to ones you thought were usable? I gave up, too much effort to load them up, I would just rather make my own. Once you get your personal templates figured out things get simple. I find no one has my taste in EQ, or what constitutes tone. Maybe others would find my presets too deep, heavy, fullrange, punchy and glass over shrill, tinny midrangy, preamp gain. Due to my extensive and growing use of external pedals really only my amps would be of use to anyone, but they sound good, so that is probably not helpful. I find more and more there are but a few amp models that work for me as they just have to respond and sound good with pedals and many do not.

TRIO, best drum machine ever. Plays what you teach it to your pattern and chords. Not the greatest thing that ever will be but a damn site better than canned drum patterns that are monotonous and repetitious. The plug in stuff you can program your own drum hits and whatnot, for me I would rather play guitar than record stuff. I found I never go back and listen to anything much less anyone else. Far as recording, can't help with that, that alligator is just way too expensive for me to start feeding.

There are only so many ways to make a wheel only a few variants to making most circuits. I doubt if most realize 95% of almost all overdrive pedals use the same basic circuit to create such a thing, there only a few ways to create a circuit that does that. So you cannot copyright generic electronics and basic circuit design. Maybe instead of trying to "copy mimic" things, maybe the engineers could do something and create their own thing. Else, leave it out. The Helix is an expensive unit I do not need copies of low budget and low tech effect pedals. Obviously in various pedals using polyphonic detection tracking their cost is very low so it cannot be a money issue. Maybe fire the old POD engineers and designers and get some new blood to expand the horizons? If you cannot offer a pedal that does not glitch and burble then perhaps work on the HX amp section or I don't know some HX reverbs??? "Model" does not have to mean a copy mimic of something involving copyright and whatnot. L6 makes several amps and things of their own design without copying anything. I am just saying effects that work well or not having them. A few killer sounding amps are better than a 100+ ones than do not really sound very good at all despite if they are a copy mimic or not. Keep pushing the Helix to a higher level not another POD version.

Really perhaps you should read through my programming tips on how to do do things to make the presets better. If something is not really any good do not expect me to fawn all over it. Not impressed by the front end effects in the Helix, are they workable sure, better than pedals, oh h ell no. The longer I use the Helix the more I am migrating to external pedals for the effects I want. No big deal, I am into the price of admission for the amp models and features not the effects. Excuse me if I sound "negative" my pin is negative polarity but my tones are noteworthy. And yes the pitch shifting, Whammy, and octave effects suck,like the tuner, big time. Delude yourself otherwise if you wish, want the truth here it is. As far as "righteous and hopeful", I have no idea what that means in relation to guitar and processors. Inject your church jams elsewhere.

I actually had one before I sent it back as it was just too limited for $600. Amp models were good, effects mehhhhhhh. There was an annoying digital clock tick on the delays that was a deal kill for me. And yes, limited number of footswitches, only one loop. Just was not worth $600 bucks being that small and limited. Amp models were good but that clock clicking noise in the delay line was a no go for me. I just sold my GSP1101 that was the best modeler I have had before I got the Helix. The models in my GR55 guitar synth were pretty good but I honestly never used them much. I think for me from the Helix it is Fractal time and I want the flagship unit not the smaller new version.

I plumbed in a external pedal on effect loop 3 mono, in and out. I assigned a footswitch to it, When I have the switch off and kick on the pedal it comes into the unit. I tried setting a force mute on the return using controller assign reversing the min and max so when the switrch was off the level would drop to -60db. When I set the values it keeps changing the level on the return to +6db when I set it at+.3db. No matter how I save the +.3 value, delete and redo the block, it keeps changing to +6db. So loop 3 has a problem not muting the signal when commanded to be off???? And changing the level to +6db no matter what you set it at. I am using loop 2 for some drives and have not noticed the same problem. Tomorrow I will switch over to loop 4 and see if it has the same issue. When a loop is off it needs to mute the signal period. What also caught my attention is when the external pedal is off and the loop is supposed to be off the sound is not the same it alters the tone. If I turn off the block using the panel function bypass it shuts it off but assigning foot-switch is not killing the loop and this is a true hard wire bypass pedal yet when off the loop is changing the sound at least on Loop 3. I did a support ticket on the problem. This is a big problem for me as I plan to use all of the loops for external pedals.

There are other units using polyphonic tracking EHX has it on the Tuning Fork, tc's Sub N Up, their poly tuner, T-Rex Quint, Walrus Audio's Multiple octave pedal, POGs use it also. The most amazing example of it is the new Boss SY300 Guitar synth which uses std cable and poly tracks notes and chords. It is super important to have when using a Whammy or Octave pedal because that tracking glitch burble is not a part of the "tone" it is the inability of the circuit to track notes properly. The Morpheus Detune and DIgitech Down also use it for drop tunings. I am just saying if they cannot step up on the quality of the Helix effects then please stop with the cheese. Just work on the amps. I do mind at all opting to farm out to external pedals. Just a note on the Klon, Timmy these sound good in front of the amp models but in regards to a real Klon it no way gets that clean Klon boost quality of that pedal. I never used my Klon gained up, the magic of that pedal was the clean boost quality, it made whatever it was in front of or after sound better. Other things like some of the fuzz and what not spare me, terrible buzz fest. The Rat is pretty good but it is just not like the pedal. I really have no desire for Helix effects, you can work on the Delays and reverbs but the modulations are not great either. The Flanges are terrible, the Phase 90 is just not the same. So why bother with them. I can just get the few pedals and have what sounds better without turning the Helix into a POD. Unless L6 comes out with some wheel reinventing update I would assume the effects are going to be close to the same. Personally I would rather have Strymon or Eventide pedals as no way they can get that level. How about just concentrate on the amps, cabs, and IR ability. Amd really who needs hundreds of amps when a handful of great sounding ones is more than enough.

You can also use the MIC Studio Tube preamp after the model as well, I have started using one in front and one after which serves as a boost as well. I keep mine set at gain 4.0 impedance on line, level 10 a which is just a little above unity. I use mine to add some tube emulation without really driving the amp, I use my loop drives to do that. When kicked on after the amp it brings up the level. Helps clean, mid or dirty amps. Just a note on my GSP1101 experiment, I sold the unit and back to just the Helix now.