Wondo100

I would agree with that and would add that if you are at home playing along with your favorite music, modeling is great. You can sound like what is on the recording because that is what modeling does best. What is on the recording was in a studio with a microphone and different cabinet, guitar, etc. If you like the sound of your tube amp...then great, but that sound is going to have to be mic'd in a live situation or in the studio then the sound on the recording or through the PA will be different from sitting in the room with the amp. Recently, my tube amps still sit in my room and from time to time I plug in and set tones for what I will be doing in a given situation, but overall, the Helix to the PC+ is doing a fine job of emulating my favorite recordings and the stuff I hear in my head when composing music. It is a great time to be alive when all of this is right at our fingertips, so to speak.

Yeah, I have never had much luck with just the preamp (maybe I am missing something). Even when I was using the 7CM with two Grandmeister tube amps in stereo, if I wanted to bypass the Grandmeister preamp and just use the power amp return of the Grandmeister with the Helix acting as a preamp, whenever I chose just the preamp (which in theory should be what you would want to do) the full amp in the Helix worked much better as the preamp in to the tube amp’s power amp. That situation actually sounded the best. Maybe I need to work on that situation again to see why the preamp does not sound as good as the full amp when used as a preamp. But, as of late, I have been using the Helix into two PC+ and having figured out how to really dial in some great tone with IRs in the PC, I am finding I am getting tones that go head to head with my tube amps and in some cases even a bit better. (Can’t believe I actually just said that). I must have had too much saki with my sushi dinner tonight.

I had forgotten how to do this... Running PC+ from Helix with L6 Link. Using IRs in the PC+. I want to send this out to the house. I think I remember being able to do this by just sending an XLR out to the house. What I cannot remember is if the PC+ will use the IRs out to the house or if you have to use the speaker mode in the PC+ to do this and thus stuck with the just those options. Thanks for anyone that can jog my memory.

Since you may have both units still (at first) you can bring up the presets on the HD and then bring up the similar amps and effects on the Helix and manually dial in on the Helix some of the settings you had on the HD. You will probably find that this will only be a starting place, since the Helix is beyond what the HD could do both in function and in tone. I had the HD and it is sold and long gone. The Helix rules the day.

What are you trying to do exactly? What amps are you using? Are you using the Helix?

There are three ways you can use the Grandmeister with the Power Cab Plus. One is to use the red box and go into the XLR in on the PC and then dial in the tone. Because the GM Redbox has speaker emulation, you can go FRFR to capture what the GM is doing with Redbox. You can also use the Line Out, which is the preamp out to a power amp (or to a tuner). Here, you can use the PC like a power amp and cab. Here, you could use the speaker setting or the IR setting on the PC. This is truly using the PC as a power amp and cab. The third way to do this, is probably the best and that is to use the GM in the FX loop of a processor that allows you to do this like the Helix. Here you could use an FX Loop with the GM in the signal chain and then the out goes to the Power cab from the processor and then you dial in speaker, IR or FRFR

Well, the jury is still out for me with using just the onboard expression pedal. I do volume swells and some of the things I do are quick and the pedal needs to be tracking well. The onboard expression pedal tends to drift on heel down. For example, you may start out with full heel being at 0 but then over a short time, full heel will drift up to like 3% and sometimes more. You can adjust the torque on the pedal with the adjustable screw till your hearts content, but it will still drift. I think for uses like adjusting internal parameters and even wah, the onboard is good, but for intricate volume swells, I have not decided if I will get a Mission EP1 or just use my old volume pedal before the Helix. I wanted just the Helix to do this, but so far not 100% accuracy.

He usually is. There are a few chaps like that on the forum and they are most helpful. Gotten me out of a few jams where support was either taking too long or did not have a clue. (Don’t get me wrong. Customer support at L6 is really good for sure, it is just that some forum members here know their sh**). That alone should be worth the price of admission. I say go for it.

I put in a ticket about this and they got back saying to check that I did a firmware update and that I am using AES/EBU cables. I told them that I am and that this is a known issue on the forum. I am waiting a response. I suggest that everyone here put in a ticket. Only takes a few minutes. It needs to be addressed. Knock on wood, it is not happening with me lately, but that could change.

Had two PC+ 112s. There was a problem with getting one to work with L6 Link. Sent them back, got the 212+. Loved it. It is really a great cab no doubt. However, for my studio, just too big and loud and I liked the spread of the two 112s, so I just got two new 112s during the sale and am really happy. They both have their place. The 212 is a monster. Stereo spread is good in it, but not quite as nice as two cabs actually separated by a few feet.

I hear you about the time, but it will require some. Do a little bit at a time. rd2rk is correct about what most people think of the speakers of which I am one of them. However, IRs are a different story. In my presets, I go back and forth between FRFR Flat with the IRs in the Helix and some with the IRs in the cab. It depends on what I am looking for. When I do IRs in the Helix and use FRFR, I am getting more of a Hi-fi sound. Very polished. The IRs in the PC are a bit more raw and really like a cab in the room (although both options are more like having a cab in the room vs. studio monitors). For me, both options are great. The speaker option in the PC....meh. So, how I would do it is keep everything that you did thus far in the Helix and use the PC with FRFR Flat. Then take some of those presets and copy them to a new preset and take the IRs out and start using the IRs in the PC to build new presets and save some space on the Helix. If you are using IRs in the Helix and they are .wav files, you can just move those over to the PC and see how they sound in the PC vs the Helix. The stock IRs in the PC are decent the Vintage and Green are good. However, if you want to get third party, I would suggest Getting the Redwirez free GM12 Pack to start if it is still available. I got that one and then went ahead and purchased their Big Box. Great IRs. Also the Live Ready Sound Power Cab bundle is good. Ownhammer is good as well, but I find these are a lot of work to dial in with the PC and tend to be better just in the Helix. One trick I have learned is that if you are going to use IRs in the PC and also use FRFR and switch back and forth, you may want to bring the IR speaker level up a bit and then bring the FRFR level up a bit and get good matching room volume. The PC take some time, but I have learned, and rd2rk will tell you, I have spent some time with these, back and forth and keep coming back to them because they sound great and with the Helix are so easy to operate with tons of possibilities.

And with the above info, If I chose 1 or 2, then I can edit each cab to do its own thing? For example. Cab 1 is FRFR and Cab 2 is speaker? Or Cab 1 and 2 is speaker but each is a different speaker? AND THEN THIS CAN BE STORED FOR RECALL?

Ah, the ole coffeemaker attachment. Long time coming. I get the award for the most tinkering with the power cabs. Had two 112+ There was something wrong with one of them, at least I thought because it would never link up to the other cab. Then went with the 212+. Really loved it, but proved to be too big for my studio and was still wanting to use my tube amps live. Then starting playing more ambient music and so decided on the pair of 112+ again. I really like the small size and weight and the wide stereo spread. Then I remembered the link up issue. But, I think my method works almost all of the time. But they really should fix this. I think I will put in another ticket just to keep it on their radar.

Yup. Same issue here. Just got two brand new 112s and it does this a lot. You have to turn off the second one and turn it back on again, if not working. Not sure if there is an exact way to turn everything on and get it right the first time. What a bummer. The way that seems to work with the most consistency (meaning here that it works about 95% of the time). Is: 1. Turn on Helix Wait for it to load. 2. Turn on 2nd Cab - the one that is linked to the 1st Cab (1st Cab has the L6 Link coming from the Helix and daisy chained to the 2nd). 3. Turn on the 1st Cab. 4. Turn up both volumes. Both cabs should work.

Yeah, everything works okay and the grey track bar could be argued to be just a purely aesthetic thing, but I had grown used to it visually as a way to kind of let me know where I am with the parameters without always looking at the numbers. I use the numbers with certain things obviously like frequencies, etc. If I had to chose between the two, the older style was more to my liking and feels more like a DAW. But c'est la vie I suppose. I will get used to it. Just glad it was not something wrong with the software. We'll see what the ticket brings.

@HonestOpinion This is the answer I was looking for. Yes. I am speaking of the grey track bars in the background behind the sliders and they are missing in 3.11. (alphanumeric numbers are still there, just did not capture them in the picture). I knew this must be it because the grey track bars were there right in front of me when I was doing the update and then they disappeared when the update was complete. However, since I thought maybe something was wrong in the system, went through the whole process of what datacommando was saying above. Sometimes, we are not crazy and L6 just dis something stupid. I know the track bars are not essential, but it was an environment I have been used to and I think this version looks really odd.

Submitted ticket. Tried everything and it sill will not work.

Yes. I am familiar with the procedures. Factory reset done. No problems on the hardware unit. Restarted the computer. Also, did a hard shut down of the computer. Uninstalled HX Edit and reinstalled HX Edit. Still, same problem. No slider paths just the slider. Not to my liking anymore. I need that reference of the slider path. This sucks as a ticket does not always yield results. I wonder if I am the only one experiencing this.

Is it just me, did I do something wrong, but the new 3.11 update, the slider paths for parameter adjustments are now gone. I liked having that. Where did they go?

I was on here searching for word on if it is okay for me to upgrade to Big Sur. I thought with the latest Helix update, that we could go ahead and do this, but I am hearing this is still not a safe thing to do???? I am also thinking of getting a new iMac with M1, but may now wait until later until there is some confidence in the compatibility. They may be releasing the 27" iMac soon. Please let me know if you think that upgrading to Big Sur is safe now.

I have a guitar with two outputs (Humbucker and Piezo). Can I get two G10 units and have both units plugged in to the guitar and the other ends hooked into Helix Guitar input and Aux input?

Hey David, I have been down that road before. It is easy to give up on the Helix and then especially when adding the Powercab. It is hard to accept sometimes that because the Helix covers SO much ground, that plugging in and landing on the tone you like is not so easy. It is not always plug and play. First thing to do is determine what you want the Helix and Powercab for. If you are getting it to replace your tube rig and make things easier, in the long run that is possible, but you will not land there right away. With a regular amp, you just plug in and then turn some knobs. The Helix is a professional piece of gear suited for studio and live playing. It is a big investment in time to get things right, but well worth it in the end. To say the Helix is garbage is just not fair. It is just something that takes time to learn. If you have the Engl stereo power amp, try plugging the Helix in to that with no cabs and into a regular speaker cabinet. That sounds awesome. Adding Powercab is another learning curve. Gets good results, but takes time. Garbage they are not. I own the Helix and have had the PC 112 and 212. For me, running the Helix in 7CM with two Hughes and Kettner Grandmeisters sounds the best for what I want from a live rig, recording is Helix all the way. With my live rig it has taken quite sometime to even dial that in because with the Helix there are so many ways to hook things up and how it interacts with the amp takes some work, but that would be true with any multi effects. I have dialed in some great tones now, and I know the Helix is not garbage.

Still no ideas about this? I continue to have issues with this.

Well, when it comes to the PC, be prepared to spend time tweaking like you do with the Helix. What I have come to learn with the PC and the Helix is that the tonal options are huge, so expecting it to land on what you like is not realistic. You need to spend time with it. I had two PC112s and sent them back because I had spoken to a few people on the forums that suggested what I was going for might be better produced with the PC212. Got the 212 and have had it a couple of weeks and have spent some time with it. Still working on getting to fit in just right. However, I do see some promise with this unit. Here are some things I discovered and if anyone here has a different approach or I am doing something wrong....all advice welcome! When you get the PC make sure you first download the latest firmware update. Turn off. Turn back on. Make sure you download PC Edit (If you are using Helix into PC via L6 Link, you will not need much of PC Edit, but will need it to load IRs. If you are not using L6 Link and going into PC with XLR or 1/4 inch, then you need to be storing your presets in the PC and controlling changes through MIDI). First big learning curve- getting the right gaining stages to drive the PC. The jury is out on this one as many here have different ways of doing this. Below is one way: You can leave the PC as is. That is don't adjust any of the levels on the PC and just use the Helix. If using L6 Link. In Global Settings on the Helix have the Master Volume on Helix for digital turned OFF. (This is like having the big Volume Knob always all the way up). Use only the Amp Channel Volume to drive the PC and perhaps bring up the Output Block as needed. You could default to 0.0db and add in a +3db boost if you like. If you can get the PC to move from green and into the orange with perhaps an occasional dip into the red, then you have a really good signal to the PC. You do not want it pushing into the red easily, but you do not want it staying in the green either. Another way of doing this is how I am finding is working best for me, but I have not tested all of the presets I will be using to see if this works without too much volume variation: Using FRFR, Speaker and IRs If using L6 Link, control everything through the Helix. PC Edit to load IRs. No need to save presets as the Helix will call up your PC settings as stored in the preset through the Helix. If using XLR or 1/4, then extra steps of storing and possibly assigning MIDI will be required. If wanting to use FRFR in a preset and even within a snapshot within that preset, pick your cab or IR model in the Helix and that is what will be sent to the PC. This usually sounds good as is. May need to adjust ch volume or output block. Keep all of your Helix settings as you normally would when listening to studio monitors. Speaker mode in the PC for me, as many have stated, are mediocre. Some of the models are okay, but not as good as bringing in your own IRs IMHO. Choose IR mode and load in some IRs. What are good IRs for the PC? Matter of preference really, but I have found that the Redwirez are really the best for the PC IMHO. Don't know what it is about them, but there are some really good options there. I own Ownhammer, Live Ready Sound, Celstion, Sun City, Arcadia. I use all of these in the Helix and only some Ownhammer and Live Ready Sound in the PC. Redwirez are showing up in the PC pretty much all of the time for me now. You can get the free Redwirez GM12 pack from their Big Box set to try them out. Definitely worth the effort. They just sound like a real speaker in the room. Some of the Allure IRs already loaded in the PC are also not bad. Here is where the debate is. A lot of people keep the PC speaker levels at -18db and increase the gain staging from the Helix. All fine and good, but I find that the speakers in IR mode sound muffled and off in the distance even when you bring up any gain staging in the Helix. We are used to having our amps do all of the work to push a cab. In analog world, yes, that is what we do, but in digital world, the speakers have the options of being increased in volume. What I do is bring the speaker levels up in IR mode. I usually bring it up between -12db and -10db. When I do this, the PC input goes into the orange and sometimes dips into the red, but only when really picking hard. This sounds really good. The plus is that when I switch to FRFR mode, I do not have to tweak hardly anything in the Helix. However, you will need to bring up the speaker volume in FRFR mode, unless you want to lock in Ch. Volume and Output Block Volume in snapshots within the Helix. This is another way of doing this. So, do not be afraid to bring up the speaker levels in the PC. That is why there is the option to do this. I think this is really where the PC comes alive. So, all of this said, can the PC sound like an amp in the room? Yes. It can. Can it sound like a tube amp? Yes, believe it or not it can. It took me a while to get there and some people on here know the pains I went through to get here. The key is to not give up (I did a few times, but ended up with the PC again determined to figure this out). If you hate taking the time to dial in the tone, then don't get the PC. Better yet, don't even use the amp models in the Helix. Just use it as an FX processor and run it 4CM with your tube amps. Sounds great and it is usually plug and play. Of course you will also need to set up MIDI, but all things considered, it is an easier route. However, if you can spend the time with the PC and work with it in FRFR and IR mode (maybe speaker mode if Line 6 can do an upgrade) and getting both options to line up, the possibilities are endless. I have even toyed with sending the 212 back, but with the Holiday deal getting $250 off the price, I think it is worth it to just put the time in and get this working. We all won't be gigging at any usual capacity for a while, so why not take this time to dial it in?

Oh, okay. That would make sense, I think in that you have to adjust levels to go from one to the other. I think I noticed that happening, but once you get everything programmed for a specific preset, going back and forth should not show up.