jondufour

EVERY time you change the way you're listening, you can expect a change in tone... sometimes a drastic change. Headphones will never sound the same as an amp, or even another FRFR speaker solution. For one thing, they're right on top of your ears...there's no room acoustics to contribute to what you're hearing. But even if that weren't the case, no two amps, FRFR speakers, or even 2 different pairs is headphones will ever sound exactly the same. Just the way it is.

 

The fact that you are happy with the tone through the Friedman indicates that there's nothing wrong with the gear, only that you'll habe you EQ things differently for each output method. It's the nature of the beast.

I understand very well but this is far more than just a different speaker or EQ issue. I'm almost believing there is a potential problem with output to headphones via the headphone jack. I purchased the Helix just under a month ago and so I'm new to the forum but I've been playing 25 years, almost all of it live. The Helix isn't my first digital modeler either, but I've been away from Line6 since the XT Live because it just wasn't quite there.

So you're using Helix for guitar input and headphone output in both cases - Helix amp/cab/IR and S-Gear? If not, then I'd suspect the impedance of your headphones isn't agreeing with Helix's output. If so, then there's a couple of possibilities.

 

One is that you might need some high and low cut on your cab or IR models to compare with S-Gear. S-Gear amps have a fair amount of mid focus in the distortion voicing, lots of bass cut before clipping, lots of treble cut after clipping. You can do that which Helix, but it isn't necessarily the default of many of the amp and cabinet models.

 

The second possibility is that S-Gear is really something special, a bit beyond anything else that's available. That could be because of the underlying technology used to build the amplifiers and/or it could be a result of the digital amp designs in S-Gear - they're not models of existing amplifiers, rather they are boutique guitar amplifiers imspired by existing styles, but built from the ground up in the digital domain. It could also be a result of Mike Scuffham's ears.

 

I still use S-Gear amps and back of the amp effects (mods, delay and reverb) for all recording. The flexibility, ease of use and tone are very hard to beat. But I'm anxious to get Helix Native to have that option too, and to have the additional front of the amp effects from Helix Native that are missing in S-Gear. But Helix is a fantastic live performance rig in every way, especially coupled with a good Variax. Its great to have both options.

It was another post you had made mentioning S-Gear and on a whim I thought why not and as soon I hit a chord I was like WHAT!?? That is what it's supposed to be sounding like.

I've also owned an Eleven Rack paired with a G-System and that had the similar sound in the headphones so it suddenly made me realize that there has to be something going on with the Helix, at least regarding output to headphones.

I totally agree that live, I know of nothing else right now even coming close the Helix in it's usability. 

When you loaded the S Gear trail version and used the Helix as an interface and got great sounding results, what were you using to listen?

 

I use one of several pair of Sony MDR-V6 (nearly identical to the MDR-7506) with my Helix and other gear for years. The Helix sounds great through the Sony MDR-V6 headdphones. I also have a pair of Shure SE530 IEMs that sound great with the Helix.

 

Do you have another set of headphones to try?

Have you tested the Headphones with another source device?

This could help isolate if it may be the Headphones, or the Helix.

Yes, same headphones both instances. Headphones are operating perfectly, tested listening through them on the computer and phone.

I have another pair of headphones at work I can bring home and test, that pair is a cheap pair but will suffice for a test.

Same headphones in both cases, same guitar, same cable, etc. In fact all I do is change to a preset on the Helix that has nothing on it, start up S-Gear and boom, sounds right. Close S-Gear go back to a preset on the Helix, sounds dead, thinner and as if a majority of the frequencies dipped considerably. Global EQ is off. I can change to a new patch on the Helix and just add an amp and an IR on it same result. Amp with Helix cab, same result. 

I do have another pair of headphones I'll bring home from work tomorrow to test but I already know the outcome considering that it sounds perfectly fine using S-Gear (headphones through Helix in both cases) and not when using when helix amps,cabs, etc and changing nothing else. Not even unplugging the headphones.

Helix has been powered off and back with no difference.

...gotta run, I'll be back to get some more details and testing shortly.

This past week I'm using my Helix with my Sony MDR-7506 headphones and it just really sounds bleh. Somewhat dead and flat, no liveliness from the guitar. All the patches and amps sound similar, of course they are different mostly in gain but there is this likeness between them all. Another way to explain is like a very bad eq curve. But the Global EQ is off, no eq in the patch. Just amp to cab. I also have OwnHammer IR's and scrolling through those is hardly an improvement.

Bad enough that I started to think something was wrong with the guitar's electronics.

But then today I downloaded S-Gear trial, load that up, Using the Helix as an interface on a patch with nothing on it and what the heck, everything sounds excellent, tone for days, guitar is awesome, that liveliness is back, the organic feel of the guitar is back. The OwnHammer IR's really sound good and they are vivid.

So...what the heck, using the Helix with the built in amps, cabs, IR's...whether is a factory preset or my own preset sounds like garbage in the headphones.

I have a Friedman ASR-12 and last weekend I was playing through that with the Helix, same patches and it was awesome. Later today I'll connect to the Friedman again just to make sure it still is sounding that way.

I'm on firmware 2.20 and I'm using the headphone output jack.

Anyone else experience this?

Ohhhhhhhh, thank you!!

I misunderstood the manual and was pressing and holding the bank switches rather than press and release.

thank you again!  :)

I'm on version 2.12. According to the manual and some video's I've watched when I press the two bank switches together to enter snapshot mode I should see the 8 scribble strips change to snapshot. Although on mine they are just blank. I do see the camera icon at the top right and I do have the preference for showing 8 snapshots on the FS set.

The manual says this,

"The middle eight switches flash, indicating a snapshot is ready to be selected. The current snapshot's footswitch lights red and its camera lens appears inverted."

Simply nothing happens on mine other than the bank switches change to snapshot and that so far it seems is the only way I can move through the snaps is by pressing the bank switches up and down.

Am I missing some configuration?