themetallikid

Someone asked this in another thread and I havent had a chance to look into it, but its an interesting thought. With the Helix Floor (full Helix version) that has the mic input. Could you essentially add a Send 1 (or 2,3,4) block to send the signal to the Banshee, but then return the mic sound into the Helix Mic Input? I know that part is easy, but the options at this point could be interesting 1 - get an XLR > 1/4 cable to go back into the Return 1 Jack 2 - go into Mic Input, but then would need to make sure that the 2nd path is set to Mic input and that could cause problems for some presets 3- is there a block you can insert that would take its feed from the Mic Input similar to how the Return 1/2/3/4 would work? So you would go Send 1 and the next block would be an input block? I'm thinking this can't be done, but if you could fit your preset in the top path with a send block being the last block before the output, you could use Path 2 to be your Mic Input and you'd have a talkbox path then.

I love the Dimension, I use switch 1 only, usually about 32-35% mix. I saw Jason Sadites demo of the Ampeg Liquifier and when listening with headphones and it run in stereo it sounds pretty great.

I can't pretend to understand what half of those specs mean, but 10 slots is enough for me. I use 4 currently. and that leaves 6 experimenting or adding other sounds. I typically will have about 6-8 sounds for my own tones and then build song/presets off those. Usually the cleanish ones share the same cab/IR and the gainier ones share as well. Unless there is a unique enough sound I need. Also, beyond the 10 slots restriction....is anyone going to notice the difference in those specs live? In a sub 200 capacity club, in a band mix....I doubt it. Again, waiting to see what the upcoming update brings to the table. Edit, the Iridium looks good as well. Which at that pricepoint I might as well just get a stomp then right?

Found this, it seems like the perfect option for me. And maybe others..... https://www.joyoaudio.com/product/11.html

1) I have asked myself if I 'need' one and I think the payoff could be worth it. I asked if there were options that others were using that would meet MY needs. I asked myself, searched, and didnt find an exact product that met my criteria so was asking for help on products I may not be aware of. 2) My usage needs are just that, a cover band, mostly. However even in my own tone needs, I prefer keeping a cab authentic to the amp I'm using. Fender > Fender Cab, Marshall > Marshall type cab etc. In my current project the original artist (tribute band) uses a dual amp type setup. Thus the need for a stereo option, or at least a cheap enough option to run 2 that can be controlled by the helix on a per preset/snapshot level. I run 2 different IR's (one for each amp), Sometimes I run 2 of the lighter gain amp to get the right sound for the song and sometimes I run 2 of the heavier gained amp to get the right sound. There are also a few songs where there is an acoustic sound and the lighter gain sound, which then gets me into 3 or 4 different IR's in the same song/preset. So being able to switch them would be greatly beneficial. 3) I'm not one to get lost in the 'rabbit hole' I find sounds that work for what I'm using. I'll try other ones out, but I don't buy the 700 IR packages. I'm happy with York IR's and even have been happy with stock cabs, which is why I had at one time considered the Powercabs, however I just don't know if the issues I read about those would be worth it to me or not for the price point. 4) the TC Electronic one would be perfect, if I had a way to control the IR via snapshot at all. Priced and designed well for sure. In a crazy world where I had a well educated sound guy, I suppose I could just run 2 of the TC's and run them from different outputs. Not sure how it would affect the sound guys mix overall. But I could run 3 TC's and just make sure each IR is going to its own output. Each output would then be Mono essentially and panned. Light Gain Cab - Left Output XLR Heavy Gain Cab - Right Output XLR Acoustic Cab - send 1 That seems like a mess though and for the $300ish plus shipping and taxes and such I might as well just spend a little extra on a HX Effects, which then gets into more than I wanna spend.

Ok so I'm debating about getting an offboard IR loader to offload the DSP requirements for cabs/IR's in my presets. While I'm not 'running out of 'dsp' on my presets often, I have a few that do suffer the compromise as I create presets for songs and when you get to 2 or 3 amp sounds in a song, it gets tough. Even as creative as I can be with moving blocks and routing things. So, pending the upcoming update and if it solves anything that way for me, what IR loaders would/could accomplish what I'm looking for? I've searched the Sweetwater App and messaged my rep for advice, but curious if anyone here is doing something similar. I'm looking for: Stereo IR/Cab capability (not a deal breaker if not available) control via Helix (midi or otherwise) If the stereo thing isn't available, I would not be against buying a 2nd one to split the L/R potentially. Not a deal breaker though. I love the specs of the TC Electronic pedal, but it just doesn't have the controlling capability I'd like as some songs would require changing the IR via snapshots. Anything anyone is using?

All of the above is great material. To make it more concise.... Gain staging is just a fancy term for making sure the output of one piece of equipment (or block in the helix) doesnt exceed the input level the next piece of gear (or block in the Helix) needs in order to do its job properly. It doesnt take much to do this properly, but also doesnt take much to make this a mess if you dont do it properly.

Pete Thorn just reviewed some IEM's that actually have an external mic in the bud and allow you to mix in room sound via the battery pack. Was debating getting these.... I dont recall the link, but if you go on youtube and search Pete Thorn IEM review, it should be top of the list or near it. I've never liked IEM's for full band stuff. Great for singing, horrible for guitar. Ultimately I ended up using one IEM in (right side facing band), one out (left side facing my powered wedge). I put the rest of the band and my vocals in the one ear and then had my guitar coming out the wedge only. This had me keeping volume in check and also allowed me to mix my 'mix' easily. Generally my mix in the 'right' ear was mostly just vocals and a little of the other guitar players guitar as I could catch enough bass from the FOH speakers. When I was happiest with IEM's, you really need to dial in a subtle but present reverb/delay sound to make it seem a bit bouncy in the room.

I know this is based on a AITB setup. But lots of videos still show people running it into an amp on a edge of breakup sorta setting, but getting all their tones from the Legacy settings. I know its a 'use your own way' sorta use-case..... but what would be the advantage to do it that way vs drive>IR/Cab? I'm toying with the idea of redoing my bands presets using this as it seems super flexible, sounds good and uses less DSP than the 2 amp blocks that I am currently using.

Lol, I agree with your first statement for sure. Yeah that is true, I did not think of it in terms of DSP and how that would affect things changing from Favorite amp 1 - Brit 2204 changing to Favorite amp 2 - Badonk and the differences in the DSP required for those. Good point.

So there was a post in the Helix TGP thread where someone mentioned being able to change between favorites via snapshots. Got me thinking...this could be a very simple way to create a 'global block' approach to things. You can already change IR's via snapshots, any reason why this wouldn't apply to Favorite Slots as well? I don't know much about coding things.

sure, that all makes sense. I'll check it out. Appreciate the suggestion.

Where did you add it in your chain? I'm curious and will explore as well.

Ok, So here are the 4 of the 6 blocks I use for my acoustic tone for my Stone Temple Pilots band. These were taking from my Creep preset because that one has a lot more acoustic banging/strumming in it than the others that are a little softer. These are starting points for me, I will tweak to taste per the song needs as well. Again I play with these in the order of Gain Block>Acoustic Sim> EQ > IR The Ir's I use are from 3 Sigma I believe. The ones I use specifically are the Martin 45E Piezo 5b and 5c IR's in a split path on path 2. They each have their own EQ's to help them fill out the space. The 5b is the brighter sounding side and the 5c is the thicker one. The Eq's help that along to seperate a little more what the IR's are doing. I play this on the Bridge for this song (because I need the bridge for the chorus) and also the bridge on Interstate Love Song's intro. I use this on Sour Girl as well, but play the middle pickup position to soften it. The bass does get out of control on that preset using the middle selection so I have it eq'd differently to help. I use the Hetfield EMG's so they are hotter. I found that the -4.5db gain reduction mimicked what the input pad was doing for me or got me very close, I just prefer it in the block form visually. STP Acstc 2.fav STP Acstc Brite .fav STP Actsc Dark.fav STP Acstc Gain 2.fav

I run into it quite often, but I also run a preset/song approach and sometimes those songs with 2 or 3 sounds in them can be tricky. I find splitting the amps (line 1) and cabs (line 2) help a lot. I think of the 2 paths as a pre/post section of my signal flow. Only sometimes depending on the amp or poly block choices do I have to shift an amp to the bottom line.

Should add as well, that I typically play this on the bridge pickup, sometimes on the middle position (2 pickup config)

I use it quite well in my Stone Temple Pilots band for full songs (Sour Girl) and for parts (Interstate Love Song, Creep). It took a few breakthroughs to get it to sound right. I can share the blocks of what I have saved if that could help, rather than a full preset. I believe my current 'acoustic path' in my presets where I need it consists of this: Gain Block > Compressor > Acoustic Sim > EQ > IR (I use 2 Acoustic IR's here, one more bright and one more wooly and mix the levels) The trick for me (I have the signature Hetfield EMG's installed) is the gain block. I found that, similar to the poly blocks, too hot of an input will trigger the poly/sim block to be fed too much information. Not that it cant keep up, but rather that too much 'noise' was coming through. By reducing the signal level by about 4-6db, it let me get more of the acoustic attack only coming through and not as much unwanted noise that wasnt needed for the part I was trying to play. You could use the input pad instead, if you arent already, however I prefer having the number of reduction there in front of me, and I had space in the preset, as well as making it snapshot assignable for songs where I split between an electric sound as well. Also the compressor, I feel is important to set right. Too much and you miss the dynamics of the strumming an acoustic. Its a flat wall of sound and sounds like an effect. If you get it just right where it needs to be it helps maintain a consistent signal, without crushing the dynamics. I played with putting this before and after the acoustic sim, and felt it was better before. As far as making any tweaks to make 2 guitar sound closer overall, I would start with whatever acoustic sound gets you where you want on your main axe, then add the EQ or tweak the gain block to help match that one with the 2nd guitar. I'm at work, if I remember later I can share the blocks I use.

I use it similarly. I have my mine permanently mounted under my board with the tub running through the floorboard itself. I have the Talkbox hooked up to the Send 2 on my Helix (send 2 only because its jack is convenient to here the talkbox is mounted under my board). When I create a preset where I will utilize the talkbox, I add a 'Send 2' block to my preset in the appropriate spot. For myself, I like using the preamps of my preset, not the onboard one of the Banshee (I have the first version) so I set the level/tone as needed and the gain of the Banshee, just high enough to pass audio decently without adding a ton of its own gain. Sorta acts like a separate post preamp boost, weird, yes....but it works for me. A typical preset flow for me to be similar to this: Guitar - Helix In - Wah - OD - Preamp - Send 2 - Cab/IR - Retro Reel - Helix Output In the Send 2 block, from memory, there is a level and a dry-through parameter. The Dry Through amount will allow you to still let you to send your guitar out Send 2, as well as through anything after the Send 2 block. Most songs I play require guitar on/talkbox off or vice versa. Rarely have I ever 'blended' the sounds by allowing my dry through to process along with my talk box sound. But it can be useful. So for me, I turn the dry through, all the way down. That way the when I turn the talkbox on, it mutes the normal guitar sound completely. Now because of the way I set my Banshee, I have to have the level on the send 2, pretty high. You'll need to find your own level here that makes you and your output happy. I like my tube screaming into my mouth for maximum vocal effect, but thats my preference. A great example of where you could use the 'dry through' maybe mixed partially in would be Man In The Box by Alice In Chains. I've always been a single guitar band guy (mostly) and when I do this song by myself with the talkbox its weird. So adding some of that dry (normal) guitar sound and allowing my talkbox sound to be an effect along with it is helpful. Now in the preset itself, you can trigger the talkbox on/off several ways. All depends on your own preference. I have presets where I have the Send 2 engaged as a whole separate snapshot. I also have ones where I'm singing and can't really look down to constantly turn it on/off (as in Alice In Chains song mentioned above) so I have the expression pedal auto-engage (similar to a wah setup) to turn on the Send 2 block when the pedal dips below 98%. That way I can leave my foot and only rock it when needed and not have to shift my weight/position much. You could also assign it to a seperate button that is set as a momentary switch so that talkbox is only on while pushing that button down. could be helpful if there are only little parts for a couple seconds that are needed for effect.

Yeah, I think if I remember correctly the example from my preset back then was literalliy for a nice lead boost that didnt lose pick attack or clarity, and really hit the amp like a clean boost.

At some point when I had my axe fx years ago, someone had posted compressor settings to use in front of an amp as a 'clean' boost in a way. I loved the tone, and how it pushed the amp. I have limited but beginner level competency of compressors....so I'm not sure how to approach settings to achieve this again for experimenting. Any Suggestions?

York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) CE1 (Cone Edge - placement 1 or 1" from cone edge I'm thinking) York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) CN (Cone) York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) CNE (Cone Ege) York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) CNT (Center) York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) FCN York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) FOA (F? - OA=Off Axis) York Audio Marshal 4x12 T75 (speaker) 57 (mic) OA (Off Axis) Just my thoughts, some I know, but some confuse me. I love YA IR's. If you want to ask the source themselves, go onto The Gear Page Digital Modeling forum and there is a thread that York Ir's has that stays pretty relevant. I'd ask there as well.

Same here, that is my go to chorus block. If I can't get it to match the song I'm playing I'll try others, but its so simple. I like switch 1 on only, and about a 30-35% mix. I havent tried it yet with my presets, but Steve Sterlacci (spelling?) has some great vids. One of his more recent ones talks about the Legacy Tube Comp and putting that between the amp and cab/ir to give a slightly spongier type feel to the sound.

I do this all the time with my wham/wah effects. I do not like leaving the effect on, at 100%, I 'feel' something when the effect is just on. Elevators is right in that there is a brief interruption when it becomes engaged. I set mine with toe down as off (100%. I set the bypass to be engaged at 98%.

Maybe.... If you utilize Stomp Mode/Command Center, in that layout you can assign buttons to jump to presets. The trick is that in Preset 1, you need whatever options you need. It takes you to preset 2, you need all options for that preset, then same with the 3rd. So not snapshots necessarily, but you could utilize presets that way.

If space is a premium in your preset, I would find the minimal setting on channel 1 to allow audio to past through and then dial in channel 2. Not perfect, but might be the only other workaround if you can't afford a 2nd block.