WarringtonCJ

Thanks, I really do hope this helps people. VST Sims are not plug n play, no matter how much they try to advertise they are. A lot of people fail due to user error, which isn't entirely their fault to be fair. After all if your guitar input is too strong or too weak for the sim, then no amp will sound good and they'll just assume the sim or ALL sims are bad and that's just one example of something that could go wrong. Too much gain? You're done. Lots of people get lost in endless tweaking because of the overbearing amount of options in VSTs like this and end up ignoring something as simple as ensuring proper gain staging or that their guitar is in tune. One final thing I'll mention is: Yes, dual amp/cabs or dual micing IS a thing but i recommend avoiding this unless you're experienced. With a sim, or even in real life, a 57 in the sweet spot (on or off axis, whatever tickles your fancy) WILL give you a good sound so just stick with a single amp/cab/mic until you can get "good tones" with them before you jump down that rabbit hole.

I had to look up what that was, as I am not familiar with it, but my answer is no based on the fact that it seems to be some kind of pedalboard/interface combo? If it has an XLR input and phantom power, maybe?, but a DI box is meant to be used with a mic pre (not the Hi-Z input) on an interface or console. If you're talking running the output of the korg into a di box and then into a mic pre. The DI Box will color the tone slightly, but you'd need to set the output to instrument level rather than live level.

Alright, this thread is old as crap but I figured I'd throw in my two cents since this is still on the front page and I assume everyone else with this problem is coming here to look for an answer. I have a "definitive guide" to amp sims available on Reddit but it's really long and i'll condense it here, there are a lot of possible reasons why your patch "sounds like lollipop" but I'll list the most common reasons: 1) Poor gain staging. The line 6 manual says -36 to -12 is the optimal level for the sim, so make sure your peak is around -12. 2) Not using a DI Box. The scarlett is a great cheap interface to be sure, but Hi-Z's suck. Literally all of them, even on extremely high dollar interfaces. Don't rush out and buy a cheap DI Box though, you need one of good quality. The Countryman Type 85 and the Radials are a good choice, and used they run about 100 bucks. A bad Hi-Z, which again is all of them, can make your tone extremely muffled or extremely thin (kinda depends on the interface and how bad the Hi-Z is) 3) Not having a properly set up guitar or turning away from noise sources. If your guitar is set up like crap, out of tune, and/or your guitar player sucks there is literally nothing an amp sim or impulse response can do to remedy that. It's not a miracle worker. Also with passive pickups you need to make sure you turn away from your computer/tv/monitors/ect and on every guitar mute your strings with foam/tape/whatever after the nut and before the bridge (if applicable) 4) Dial in your tone at an optimal level: First off, don't try to dial in a tone while you're playing the guitar. Your ears are going to trick you. Record something short and sweet, loop it, and dial in the tone. Also don't fall into the "bedroom tone" trap and try to dial in a tone at a low volume. You need to be bumping, at least 80dBSPL (google fletcher-munson curve for info). If this is not possible for you over studio monitors, use a good pair of studio headphones with a good frequency response. Now if you're doing those 4 things properly then you've entered "Personal Taste Territory". No one can help you get "your tone" but you, but I do have some simple advice. 1) select your amp/cab and set all the controls on the amp to noon. No tube screamers or fancy crap here, just amp and cab. 2) play. Does it sound like lollipop? if yes: Change the cab if still yes: Change the cab if STILL yes: change the amp head 3) once you found a combo that sounds the best to you in it's "neutral" state then add your pedals and start your tweaks but keep a few things in mind here: #1 An Amp sim does not replicate what an amp/cab sounds like if you're sitting next to it. It emulates what amp/cab sounds like AS CAPTURED BY A MICROPHONE. Therefore if you don't really have much experience recording real amplifiers you might not even be aware of what they're supposed to sound like with no studio magic or mix to support it. #2 Your "mono" tone is different than your double tracked/quad tracked "panned tone". You will lose a little high end and low end, so if in mono it sounds a little boomy or harsh, it's OK. #3 Too much gain on amp sims is bad #4 Too much gain on amp sims is bad #5 Too much gain on amp sims is bad #6 Too much gain on amp sims is bad #7 Too much gain on amp sims is bad #8 Also, if you weren't aware: too much gain on amp sims is bad. Use AS LITTLE GAIN AS YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH. You want the gain set to where you really have to work for the distortion. The tall-tell signs of too much gain: zero note dynamics, really obnoxious harsh high end, you pick softly and it sounds like a slayer album. The fizz is your best friend when determining too much gain, pay attention to what it's telling you. In my experience this is where 90% of amp sim users FAIL miserably. The helix is just as good as any other amp sim in the head department, the cabs. EH, they're usable but not great. You can get a usable tone without 3rd party impulses, but if you're ultra-super-picky then i suggest using impulse responses but this kinda defeats the purpose of Helix native because you can get equal quality heads for free or much cheaper. Finally, you'll never get the tones you hear in demo videos. You aren't them and you don't have their gear or their picking hand. "Tone is in the hands" is a real thing mate, sure you can do what Glenn Fricker did and try to disprove this by cranking the gain up to 8 and boosting it with a tube screamer so literally a piano would sound the same out of that amp but trust me: don't fall for demo tones. Always try before you buy. Hopefully this has helped someone, if not feel free to PM me. I do reamps professionally and own basically every amp sim (besides helix ironically because the trial didn't impress me and the authentication system is terrible) and they all are usable. Even Bias FX/Amp........ but I won't go on a rant about positive grid. Addition: One final thing I'll mention is: Yes, dual amp/cabs or dual micing IS a thing but i recommend avoiding this unless you're experienced. With a sim, or even in real life, a 57 in the sweet spot (on or off axis, whatever tickles your fancy) WILL give you a good sound so just stick with a single amp/cab/mic until you can get "good tones" with them before you jump down that rabbit hole.

If you're just going to use an impulse response then I don't really see a point in using helix native in the first place, especially emulating a 5150. There are a lot of cheaper/free alternatives, so you really only have to buy the impulse. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the PV Panama head was just straight up reused from the POD HD in all honesty. If I still owned a POD HD and had the native trial I could test this theory. I'm not bashing the Helix (arguably Line 6's best product) or you, just want people to know that if you're just going to be using 1 or 2 heads (like most metal guys) and using 3rd party impulse responses then the Helix is extremely overpriced in that application and i recommend exploring other options. You'd be surprised how easily something extremely cheap like a TSE50x/Nick Crowe 7170/Kazrog Psycho can compete with something like the helix/axe-fx when using the same impulse response, especially in a mix. The heads are really easy to get right, the cabs are not and the cab/IR is where the majority of the tone is going to come from. The rest coming from your playing, which as Brian Hood said "Pick like a B*tch, get B*tch tone". I wouldn't really consider this a "helix tone", but it's a good plug for Ownhammer impulses I guess. As for the guy above me wanting a preset, don't fall for that trap mate. You don't have his signal flow or his picking hand and chances are his preset is not going to give you anywhere near the results in the video without some serious tweaking. Signal chain: looks like some type of passive pickup (although the actual DI track looks crushed like an active but this could be due to the zoom level)and probably a DI box such as a Type 85/Radial. Gain staged to -12 peak to fall in the nominal range of the plugin as described in the manual. Having a DI Box and proper levels is key to a good sim tone.

This happens to me with all kinds of gear due to ASIO. If i'm in Reaper with my Behringer XAIR selected as my I/O and I unplug it without exiting reaper first I'll blue screen every time. Whatever DAW you're running make sure you exit that first or change your I/O before removing the USB, just to be safe make sure you exit Pod HD Edit before disconnecting as well.