theElevators

If you want to have your output switch between 2 output jacks, you can use a panner block at the end of the chain. Pan left in snapshot a. Pan right in snapshot b. or you can use send 1 and send 2 blocks. Enable send 1 and disable send 2 in one snapshot. Then do the opposite in another snapshot.

In my experience, a cab of any kind needs to be loud to produce adequate sound. Mixing monitors, however, sound great at any volume.

LMFAO..... OK, you'll get only one reply from me on this thread. Just to make sure, because the first part about HX Edit makes no sense to me.... YOU WANT A BUTTON TO BYPASS ALL YOUR BLOCKS IN A GIVEN PRESET? You press one button and all blocks get TURNED off? That's very easy. You CREATE A SNAPSHOT where all the blocks are bypassed. In that snapshot, you have a direct signal through without any blocks doing anything. It's as if the preset is blank. When you press that snapshot, all your blocks will consequently get bypassed. In Command Center, assign a button to that snapshot. PS: for a solutions architect, scrum, Jira, story points, etc.... you add SO MUCH frikkin useless information without cutting to the chase.

You can also buy an external expression pedal that you can angle however you want. Lots of inexpensive options, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-EX-P-Expression-Pedal/dp/B000NLRWEI

I have the Helix backpack -- it's great except it won't last you long. It starts fraying and with heavy usage will rip after about a year. I only use it when I fly with the Helix as it packs everything I would ever need. As for the hard case, there's this: https://www.thomannmusic.com/thon_effect_case_for_line_6_helix.htm It's very sturdy and even with shipping it's cheaper than Gator ones. What I like is that the Helix can stay in the case itself live on stage. It's important to me when I'm playing somewhere where there's a chance of a spilled beer on stage, or something. This case has enough room to put your power cable and a couple lead cables. I wish there was slightly more room to put my wireless system in, for example. What I came up with is using either a small backpack or a fanny pack and putting it around the case itself with the buckle through the handle. Something like this for example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/402838121360?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=673079503054&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

I for one always use the volume knob on the guitar to clean up my sound a la Brian May, Eric Clapton, etc. So I can see how putting VOL block in the beginning of the chain can be useful to have all the gradations of clean-to-dirty sounds. So, sometimes, somebody who is on stage singing and playing and may not have enough time to reach down to the volume knob on the guitar -- that's when a volume pedal could be useful. I do something different: I have a fixed volume block in the beginning of the chain to cut my input signal in some of my snapshots.... something I would otherwise achieve with the volume knob. Some of the songs where the clean / dirty change is very fast is where I use the volume cut trick. The end-result is exactly the same, just that I can immediately go from clean to dirty with a button press. I always achieve my clean tones by cutting the input signal rather than turning off the distortion block. Well, unless I have a snapshot with an acoustic sim --- the distortion block needs to be completely turned off for it to work properly.

I realize this may not be the type of music people here'd listen to, buttttt. I'm showing some cool tricks I discovered on the Helix and sharing them. You can download my preset (link in the YouTube video description). In this video I'm going over the main sounds and showing how I'm using the EXP pedal + snapshots. One more thing to note is that I use the same EXP pedal in multiple snapshot to control different things.

You have no idea what the tempo is. Solution: you START TAPPING THE TEMPO IN. UNTIL IT BECOMES WHAT YOU NEED. Follow the drummer. tap on 1-2-3-4. seriously Play and while you are playing, tap tap tap your tempo aight.... I'm done with this thread. Buh-bye.

Also "Global Settings > Preferences" > Snapshot Edits to "Discard", so you don't accidentally wind up making any changes to your snapshots, and can always re-enter the snapshot to revert all changes that could have happened.

Yes: command center. It allows you to reassign all your 10 buttons, including preset up/down to do whatever you want: stomps, presets, snapshots, momentary switch for stuff. You can create wormholes where one preset takes you to another preset when you press a specific FS. This could be great for people who only use a couple of souped up kitchen sink presets to play their entire set. I can see this getting way too confusing for myself, personally. Give it a try.

let me try one more time:

This is a great way to achieve the "global gain" functionality that Helix sadly lacks. I have 2 Brian May guitars: one a close replica, the other one a production tribute. The production one needs a 3db boost to match what the other one sounds like. One cool thing about this wireless system is that it remembers the boost setting per wireless pack. So you can have 2 wireless transmitters and one of them can be set to be hotter than the other one.

Have a preset for every song. Even if you only use one sound throughout the song, still create a new preset. I use snapshots to change all my sounds in the preset. Eg: verse, chorus, solo. Some people like the pedalboard approach or a combination of both Then before each service, arrange the presets in the desired order. It’s very easy to do with HX Edit. Also you can do it on the Helix: there is a knob that can move the selected preset into a desired place.

The steps I listed cover that scenario: the thickening consistent delay. And the improvised tap tempo delay.

Yes, but just be advised that there may be popping sounds as a result of this.

I don't understand what the issue is. 1. Use this formula: https://tuneform.com/tools/time-tempo-bpm-to-milliseconds-ms 2. Obtain the desired BPM value for your note. Save that BPM value in snapshot A. For example: you want 500 ms for every quarter note. So you save the tap tempo value of 120 BPM in snapshot A, and select that it's a quarter note. It's really easy to do in HX Edit: simply type in the desired BPM value, rather than tapping it in, which is not 100% accurate. Now......Every time you select/re-select that snapshot, it'll be at that value. Messed up the tap tempo? - reload the snapshot. 3. Use the Tap tempo button to change the BPM as you please during your gig. Drummer decided to speed up? -tap the Tap tempo button until your new BPM is correct. 4. If you want to go back to your pre-saved BPMs, re-load snapshot A. This is the way I have my Helix set up: I don't have global Tap tempo value. The tap tempo is as I saved it in each snapshot. To change this behavior, touch (don't press) the Tap tempo button and you will see a menu, you can change the setting with the knobs under the screen. I play in a band that plays to a click, so all our tempos are predetermined. But if I ever needed to modify my delay time setting, I can tap in the new tempo. And I can re-load my snapshot in question to go back to the saved tempo. I use the preset-per-song approach: there are some presets where the delay timing changes, so I have the tempo pre-saved, no need to use the Tap tempo button for me at the gig personally.

It depends where you placed the volume pedal. If it's at the very end of the chain, turning it down should completely mute your sound. If you put the volume pedal somewhere, and also have a parallel path, then that path will let some of the signal through.

You can simply max out the big volume knob, and put a stereo volume pedal in your chain at the very end. That way you can change how loud you are. I think this is what you need. You can set the exp pedal to persist globally from one preset to another, as opposed to it being set to a pre-saved value in each preset (under settings / expression pedals -> set the EXP control to Global) That's what I would do. If I were playing an acoustic show for example and want to be able to quickly turn myself down, I'd use the volume pedal at the end of everything.

If you are talking about the 6 knobs under the screen--those cannot be assigned to each adjust a different thing on various blocks, unfortunately. These knobs control parameters of the block that is highlighted in your preset. You can save your preset with the cursor on a specific block, for example your delay pedal. That way, when you enter that preset, the 6 knobs can be used to adjust your block of choice right away, without having to scroll to it. You can then quickly reach down and change whatever settings you need. If you want to change the settings on another block, you need to use the joystick and put the cursor on something else you want to adjust. Helix has something "better", arguably. Not something that I would ever ever ever use live, but there's this: you can adjust all the parameters of anything you want in your chain with your feet. You hold down the "mode" button and then can select a block, and parameters, and adjust the parameter value with the expression pedal. You can basically make changes to your sounds while continuing to play your guitar. I mean, how cool is that?

In my honest opinion, the string gauge does not make enough sonic difference to justify changing it.... Everything makes a difference. I've seen that Rhett / Beato video where they put 8ths on their guitars where they loved how it sounded. For myself: I want the strings to be slinky enough, and taught enough. Let me explain: I want to comfortably be able to do a bend of a tone and a half when I want, and not rip my fingers in the process. I also want to be able to strum chords without having to be cautions that the strings do not go out of tune ( a la Helter Skelter ). I play a short-scale guitar which has exactly 24" long and I use 9-42 on it. I use the same strings on my 'Strat. On the Les Paul I have 10-46, because that's what it was initially set up with. I like 9's, but 8ths for me would be too slinky, especially on the 24" neck. 10's for me are more difficult to bend because I'm not used to it, but I could also get used to it. What makes a world of difference, however is gunky old strings vs. brand-new strings. You always notice how much brighter your guitar sounds right after you change your strings. So in short: use the gauge that works for your playing and allows you to effortlessly play solos/rhythm as you please.

Just curious -- could it be the interface that is the issue? Try an exaggerated left/right ping-pong slow delay and check left and right channels separately in an amp/FRFR. If you only have the user interface as your amplification source, try connecting both sides separately. Or pan the delay hard-left or hard-right so that you could be 100% sure that left and right sides are coming through. The reason I'm saying this is that in Logic, for example, you need to enable your track to be in stereo, otherwise it's in mono. Just for reference, here's how to change your track to stereo in Logic:

I've experienced all sorts of popping noises when certain blocks are enabled/disabled when switching snapshots. First of all, ensure it's in fact the amp block, not something else. For example, I had issues where acoustic sim would pop really loudly. If you checked and the issue is actually the amp blocks, and if you must use 2 different amps, use the A/B switching. Place one amp on path "a", the other on path "b" and switch between them (they'll be on all the time, non bypassed).

"sit better in the mix" is a sort-of a broad statement. What are some of characteristics of a good sound mix, when it comes to your guitar sound? 1. Guitar does not interfere with other instruments, and vocals 2. solos are nice and loud 3. rhythm sound complements the rest of the band, without sticking out, and all notes are heard as needed. 4. no crazy out of control delays that overpower the rest of the band, and there's enough 3d effects so it sounds like a CD. 1. You don't want to have too much bass in your guitar, so I always resort to cutting the extreme lows on the amp block. I like the Jimmy Page sound approach -- the sound is pretty mid-range-ey. In other words, I don't ever want to have the "and justice for all" guitar sound. The 1990 "metal zone" sound only works in the bedroom when you jam by yourself, and live is too boomy. There are certain frequency spectrum ranges that are known to be occupied by instruments. For example, the "2k" range is typically reserved for the vocals. So IMO, a nice mid-range is what guitars should go for. When you have multiple guitars, they need to be eq'ed differently, one more honky, the other one more bright and together they work nicely. Also stereo panning helps separate several instruments. 2. For my solos, I add an EQ block before the amp block where I radically boost 2k 10db. This is the vocal range that is occupied by the vocals normally, but when you play a solo, this frequency range makes your solos pop out. 3. Don't have too much dirt in your sound. Once again, the sound that works in your bedroom may not always translate to the live situation. 4. Delays/reverb also needs to be adjusted to taste. After playing several shows, soon after I got the Helix, I went home and listened to the recordings of the live performances and made several adjustments. In one case, the stereo delay was pretty much overpowering everything at home, but on stage was not nearly as loud as I wanted it to be, so I turned it up. In another instance, there's this one tricky intro to one of the songs that is very very recognizable and needs a certain sound--I always struggled with it live until I bumped up the delay some more and then it became easier to play and sat so much better in the mix. Tweaking your sound takes a long time. Each piece of equipment has so many different parameters. If you used to have good results with your analog gear, and then are struggling with the modeler, maybe it's time to take the "modular" approach to your sound -- try to replace one piece of gear at a time. That's actually what I did in the beginning -- I connected the pedalboard to the Helix and then one-by-one replaced all my pedals doing A/B comparisons. At first I played through my physical tube amp, and got rid of my pedalboard, when I found all the effects on the Helix. Finally, I got rid of the amp too, also doing A/B comparisons: with the tube amp / with the Helix emulation. Finally, I took the Helix to the rehearsal and made tweaks as I saw fit. Eventually, the Helix is my only piece of equipment that goes to the FOH and to my monitor mix. The sound guy still needs to make volume adjustments, he says, but the consistency is a lot better than with the old pedalboard I used to use. Because of the pandemic, I didn't have time to finish setting the loudness of all my presets/snapshots, but when I have time, we will go to a big space and run through our set and make those final tweaks. That is pretty much impossible to do unless you play on a big club stage. Those issues can never be addressed at home or even during the band rehearsals.

Was messing around with the Helix yesterday and came up with this, if anybody is interested in getting the signature delay sound...

Add a stereo volume pedal at the end of your chain, boom! You can un-assign the expression pedal from it. Put the cursor on it and save your preset. When you enter that preset, the block will be highlighted and the knobs will allow you to adjust the parameters as you please: position % and curve. So if things are too loud, reach down and turn down the percentage with the knob.