craiganderton

Thanks for bringing up this topic, it seems many guitarists are confused about the difference between germanium and silicon diodes. This is why I love being able to update books - when people have questions, I just answer them in the next version (v1.5 of the book is slated to come out later in the fall). Please note the eBook includes a tech support email address that I check every day. Several of the revisions in my books come directly from reader feedback on future topics they'd like to see covered. Anyway, you can pretty much assume any distortion uses silicon diodes unless stated otherwise. Germanium diodes were first used for radar during WWII. Silicon diodes have many advantages over germanium (stability, manufacturing cost, better specs, etc.), so these days germanium diodes are used only in niche applications, mostly involving radio frequencies. There's a description of the three different types of diodes used in distortion, and how they affect distortion characteristics, on pages 55 and 56 in v1.4 of the Helix book. Page 65 covers LED vs. silicon-based fuzz in the Pillars OD. Also note that diodes of the same type can give different distortion characteristics, depending on how they're configured. See page 66 in the section on the Vita Dist. It's important to remember that the only significant difference between germanium and silicon diodes is that germanium diodes clip at a lower level (0.3V for germanium, 0.7V for silicon). There's no significant difference in tone between the two types of diodes themselves. So, preferring one distortion over another has more to do with the design elements that aren't diodes. Furthermore, virtual distortion is not like hardware because clipping isn't "baked into" the hardware. With virtual distortion, if you want something to clip at a lower level, just put more gain in front of it. I hope this clears things up!

Most (all?) VST3 amp sims don't respond to program change messages, but sometimes VST2 versions work as expected. For more information, please check out my article Avoid Frustration with Program Changes and Amp Sims in the library section of craiganderton.org.

The Waves Graphic EQ is highly underrated, especially the "modern" option. I think people tend to dismiss it as "oh, a graphic equalizer." They probably should have called it a "customizable multiband frequency AI engine," LOL. That's a really, really good line!

31-band EQs are used primarily in studio and fixed installation room tunings. If you want to go to that level of detail, more power to you! But in reality, there are really only two ranges that are going to cause problems with guitar: Bass frequencies, especially in small rooms, and high frequencies, where hard/soft acoustic surfaces affect frequency response. If you're trying to flatten a PA that's reproducing a band's frequencies from bass to cymbals, that's a lot more critical than guitar, which is pretty much a midrange instrument. Cabs (and virtual cabs in presets) shave off everything over 5 to 10 kHz or so, and guitars don't generate much low frequency energy. Granted, there may be resonances in a room that you'd want to tune out. These will be different in every venue. So, record your guitar on your smartphone, play it back through the FRFR system, walk about the venue, and listen for whether there are any nasty resonances. If they exist, one or two parametric stages should be able to take care of those. Low-shelf and high-shelf EQ can likely handle anything that sounds wrong in the low and high frequencies. While I admire/respect people who pursue perfection, I recommend being careful not to overthink things. The sound will be different in different parts of a venue, and you can't make the sound equally good everywhere. Also, consider that if it's winter and everyone walks in with jackets but then they get hot and decide it's worth paying for the coat check anyway, the high frequencies will change as the surfaces become less soft. As with so many aspects of sound reproduction, all you can really try to do is deliver the best sound to the greatest number of people that you can. I'd also add I'm not saying I'm "right," so you should ALWAYS find out what sounds best for you. All I'm saying is that it's not too hard to take a system from 0% to 90% of its potential...but trying to achieve that last 10% can drive you crazy :)

Bingo. I can't think of anything I'd want less than an AI thingie that could generate guitar parts for me. Creating guitar parts makes me happy. So does creating Helix presets.

Few marketing blurbs differentiate between Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, so it's hard to know exactly what they're doing. For example: Machine Learning could go through all the presets you use in live performance and balance their levels. It would "learn" what level each preset uses, compare them, and edit them for the same perceived value. Artificial Intelligence could go through all the presets you use in live performance, and generate new presets which meet the same general criteria as what you seem to like. Companies are finding out that AI isn't generating much $$ yet, and there are also legal issues involved. AI has much potential - I used it to generate two recent book covers. It could also be tremendously helpful in reducing repetitive work in the studio. But, so far, practical applications for music that truly use artificial intelligence don't seem to be very common. Presonally, I'm a fan of artificial stupidity. Some of my best sounds come from making mistakes and thinking "y'know, that actually sounds kind of cool."

Unfortunately I've used up my forum space for posting images or audio. However the "Bass Blast" tip in The Big Book of Helix Tips and Tricks adds a parallel bass track to the main guitar sound, which works much better for me than using the frequency split crossover. The parallel path means the main guitar path has nothing to do with the bass path, so that should keep your high end from sounding dull. Here's the description of what's in the bass path, hopefully it will be of some help: Adding two EQs before the Poly Capo helps keep the higher notes from reaching the Poly Pitch block. The first EQ cuts out everything except the low notes, and uses a 10 Band Graphic EQ. The second EQ boosts the low note levels with a Parametric EQ. As a result, you hear only the guitar’s lower strings play an octave lower. The compressor that follows the Pitch block helps bring up the sustain, which makes the low frequencies sound more like a bass. The level going into the Poly Capo is relatively low, so its Level adds +6.0 dB. The Mixer adjusts the balance between the amp path and the bass path. You may want less bass level than the preset’s default setting.

Nice sleuthing! I just checked, they have 4,979 in stock :)

Disclaimer: The following is pure speculation. In my experience, companies often prioritize dealers over direct sales. If inventories run low due to parts availability, supply chain issues, shipping delays, etc. it's important for companies to maintain good relations with their dealers. Dealers don't like it turning customers away. As to the future of Helix, the future is that I'll keep using it :) I'm sure something new will come along at some point, but Helix is so ingrained in my setup I would see it being supplemented rather than replaced. Quick comment about Helix Native: It's an outstanding plugin for vocals, drums, synths, etc. I often have multiple instances in a song, but only one or two of them are for guitar or bass.

It's good you brought this up! New users should know that updating requires following Line 6's instructions to the letter. Always read through all the update instructions first before attempting an update. This forum is filled with "update bricked my Helix!!" and "new amps don't show up since updating!!" posts, which were pretty much due to user error. Outlier problems are losing internet or power in the middle of updating.

I've used Helix for 8 years and had only two issues. One was the joystick not working well about 5 years ago, after it wasn't used for about a month due to moving. I just moved the joystick back and forth multiple times, and it fixed itself. Regular use seems to make it happy. If it hadn't fixed itself, I would have tried contact cleaner. The other issue was that I didn't think the footswitch pedal was working. It was, it just requires a LOT of pressure to trigger. For that reason, the Helix floor needs to be on a hard surface. If you use it in a studio with a rug, you'll have to push extra hard. Finally, at the risk of being self-serving, I wrote an eBook about the Helix that, among other things, describes what all the parameters do and includes 300 presets. You may find it helpful as you learn your away around what I think is a truly fabulous guitar processor.

The "Tilt" EQ was designed for speed. By simultaneously boosting/cutting treble and cutting/boosting bass, a single control could make a sound warmer or brighter. Back when studio time was expensive, this was a big deal :) The original hardware Tilt circuit had a fixed center frequency of 700 Hz, unlike the Helix's variable midrange frequency. Tilt has several uses. For example, from my Helix book: Legacy cabs can’t move the mic toward the speaker’s edge. However, the Tilt EQ can create an effect like moving the mic horizontally across the speaker. Moving the Tilt parameter toward the left (fig. 6.10) reduces the high-frequency response, so the sound is more like placing the mic at the speaker’s edge. Another comment: Use Dark to give single-coil pickups a humbucker character, and Bright to give humbuckers more of a single-coil vibe. Also note in the book's analyses of the new 3.70 amps, several of the tone controls that are built into the amp have a tilt-like response. This is particularly noticeable with the Aristocrat Bass and Treble controls, the Carillon's Treble control, the Voltage's Presence control, and the Mandarin 200 Bass control. This shows the advantage of designing original amps that don't have the restrictions involved in emulating specific amps.

Any delay that has a Note Sync function can do dotted eighth notes. And I'm with you - that's my favorite delay time L)

Also remember that the DAW saves a "snapshot" of your settings, regardless of the setlist. For example, I have only three main setlists when using Native. One is my multiband guitar stuff, one is everything except guitars (vocals, drums, bass, keys, strings, etc.), and one is the presets included with my book. So, I call up an appropriate preset, tweak the settings, but don't bother to save the preset because the DAW will save the tweaks as part of the song when I save it. When I re-open the song, the DAW will show the name of the preset I loaded originally, but it will retain all the tweaks I made while working on the song.

Agreed 100%. It also lets you develop presets for HX Stomp. It's how I made sure the free presets in my Helix book were Stomp-compatible. And...Helix Native is incredible for vocal processing in your DAW.

Totally! It's pretty cool that EH figured out how to separate the individual strings for separate processing. As far as I know, Helix isn't set up that way.

Okay, what you want is very different from what's commonly called upward compression. With upward compression, the signal increases at a faster rate above the threshold, rather than decreasing above the threshold. Very different things! I use upward compression with acoustic guitar to emphasize attacks and strums, so I thought that might be what you were trying to do. Since your main issue is reducing peaks, try the Studio Comp in Limiter mode.

Basically, yes, but there are two fine points. If a compressor has a soft knee, compression actually begins below the threshold, and doesn't reach full compression until a point above the threshold. Also remember that in most cases, people apply makeup gain due to the level loss caused by compression. So, this brings up all audio. The audio under the threshold isn't compressed, but it is louder than it was originally. That's why some say that technically speaking, as soon as you apply makeup gain, you're raising the level of audio below the threshold. This is how compression brings up low-level sounds, like room sound with drums. As to upward compression, there is a workaround for Helix but it's a little touchy to set up. Insert a Studio Comp set to Limiter mode in Path B, with Mix set to 100% wet, in parallel with your dry signal. Invert Path B's polarity. If you get the balance of the two just right so that audio below the threshold cancels partially with the dry audio, then when the compression kicks in, there will be less cancellation between the two, and the dry audio will be louder for as long as the compressor is above the threshold. This isn't as precise as proper upward compression or transient shaping, but it may do enough for what you want. Good luck!

FYI it's up to version 1.4 now, so download it again to get the latest version :)

Thanks for circling back, I'm glad to know it's working as expected. As you can imagine, companies that sell things may not have mechanisms in place for giving away substantial amounts of stuff for free :)

I have an older Komplet keyboard. If you're not using a computer so you have to use the 5-pin DIN connector, I believe you also need to use the accessory power supply that's not included with the keyboard.

Thanks for handling tech support for me :) Hopefully everyone has things sorted out and been able to download the new version.

If you already own any version of the Helix book, you can download version 1.4 for free from your Sweetwater account. Here's what's new compared to version 1.3: 534 pages (45 more pages than v1.3) In-depth analysis of v3.70’s nine new Cabs In-depth analysis of v3.70’s ten new Amps Complete parameter descriptions for the new effects (Prize Drive, Regal Bass DI, Feedbacker, Dynamic Bloom, and Nonlinear) 27 new presets featuring the new models in the v3.70 update I'm particularly proud of the new presets. Even if you don't read the book, just import the presets and have fun :) All except for three of them work with HX Stomp. I also did something a little different this time. I described the preset creation process for the new presets, and why particular blocks and parameter values were used. Also, many of these are oriented toward lead sounds. I felt the book needed more of those. And of course, I'm always interested in your feedback for when I start work on v1.5!

Wow. Many years ago, Apple orphaned a Universal Audio DSP card by changing the PCIe spec in their machines. So, I bought a Universal Audio Satellite, which uses FireWire. Now that won't work with Apple computers. At least it still works with Windows. As to support for older Line 6 gear, I assume anything that existed before the Yamaha acquisition was eligible for the chopping block. Yamaha already had a line of pro-level interfaces from the Steinberg acquisition. I had a Roland VS-700 controller that worked with Cakewalk Sonar. When Windows 10 came out, it no longer worked. However some smart Sonar user figured out how you could change a few characters in the driver's code in a text editor, and have everything work just fine. Why Roland would not put a revised driver on their website mystified me. They could have even said "We don't support this driver, but if it works for you, great." I had a Matrox video card that no longer worked with Windows 10. Matrox said it was incompatible and I'd need to buy a new card. Their driver specifically said it wouldn't work with Windows 10. Well, I poked around their website and found a driver package for servers, and it had a driver for the card that worked perfectly. Welcome to greed. On the other hand, I've had Helix for 8 years, and it just keeps getting better. You win some, you lose some.

It sounds like you bought an early copy before they had the updating procedure totally nailed down. This has happened to some other people, and they'll take care of you. I submitted the v1.4 PDF and free presets/files last Friday. They usually get a new version up in a week or less, so they may wait to reply until the latest version is live so you don't have to download v1.3 and then download v1.4 a couple days later.