DarthHollis

Thanks again everyone.  I love the guitars I have and I don't need or want a Variax.

The Whammy DT works very well but takes up a lot of space on the floor.  I'm looking to only have the Helix on the floor, nothing else.  I plan on having my wireless on top of the amp and have a 30' cable run to the Helix just so it looks cleaner and I don't need a separate pedalboard.  Luckily I have 3 good guitars so I will be able to compensate.  We only have about 5-6 songs that are in drop C or standard D but they don't sound good up at Drop Db/Eb standard.  I play everything else in Eb and use a D-Tuna.  I have used the POD HD 500 to tune for songs that are a little off, like some Black Sabbath and AC/DC stuff for practicing but I would never use that live.  Way too glitchy.  So although the Helix is not a solution it's not a breaking point for me.

Being able to copy blocks will make life much easier.  I plan on having 20 preset or more for live setting using the 4CM and then copying those presets and adding amp modelling for practicing with headphones at home.  Not having to individually set up amplifiers for 20+ presets will make things much faster.

Well, It means I will need to buy a Drop pedal or just bring a 3rd guitar that is specially set up and tuned for Drop C. Ugh.  Don't want to have to do either of those.

Thank you for the responses.  It really helps.  I've been using the Whammy DT for tuning down for certain songs and it has been pretty flawless.  

Although it's not the same as having global amp settings, being able to copy and past blocks is pretty awesome.

Hopefully my pedals will sell fast.  I'm about halfway there.

Hello, and thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

I am selling all of my pedals for the purchase of a Helix but there are two questions that I cannot find the answer to on forums or in the user manual.

1. Does the Helix do the drop tuning thing?  I want to be able to drop my guitar down at least a 1/2 step like the Digitech Drop pedal can do.  I saw the video of Glen DuLaune where he had a button he hit for "Eb" tuning.  Looking in the manual the Helix can do harmony stuff, but it is really intended for drop tuning and does it track as good as the Digitech pedal?

2. Does the Helix save global presets for FX and amps?  For example, if I set the phaser a specific way I like it, can I set it globally so that whenever I pick that phaser on another patch it comes up exactly how I like it?  Pete Thorn mentioned something about this in his demo of the Helix but I did not see how to do it in the Manual.  I would also like it to do this for the amp settings.

These too things are kind of important. I will probably get the Helix no matter what, but for the price the FX8 is looking pretty good.

Try placing the FX loop right after the mixer and boost both sides of the mixer up to +6dB.  This compensates for a loss of volume that is created by the FX loop.  Not sure why it happens, but it sucks.  Luckily the solution is pretty easy.

Using this currently but I change it around all the time.

4CM with an EVH 5150 III 50 watt into a matching cab with 65 watt cream backs.

All pedals are in front of the POD.  

It works.

Here is a clip of my band doing some Van Halen.  I am using a Line 6 G50 wireless, Digitech Whammy DT and the POD HD 500 in 4CM.  I use the method described above with the mixer before the FX loop and each side turned up 6dB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grkFGZFf4k8

I use the amp for the guitar tone and the POD is sending midi to the amp to switch channels.  No one can tell the difference and I think it sounds pretty good.

I agree with Tboneous.  The sweep/feel of the Exp pedal on the POD is to large.  I like the feel of a real wah much better.  And, the custom Chrome sounds the best on the POD, most like the Jerry Cantrell wah, which is the setting I use on my 535Q.

Go to Custom tone and look for my uploads.  My username is the same "hollis1003".

The tone name is:  PODHD 4CM Dirt VH style

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/239880/

Try one of my patches and let me now if it helps:

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/239880/

Output mode should not matter in 4CM cause you are not using any cab simulation.

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496052/

try that as a patch. should work for you.

If you are using a pre-amp in the POD and bypassing the one in the amp then the volume on the 6505 won't matter. That volume knob is before the FX loop. You have to think of the 6505 as being maxed out. The power amp is always on 10.

A couple hints:

Keep the Master Volume knob on the POD (the one by the EXP pedal) all the way up and all the switches in the down position.

Set the volume on the amp within the patch all the way up.

Keep the mixer at the end of your signal chain and use it to control the overall volume.

There are multiple issues with your approach (using preamps in the POD and in the 6505). What you are doing is possible but there are just many many hurddles to overcome.

One big issue, and the main reason I would not suggest using your technique, is that once you have the volume set for the clean amp in the POD you are stuck at that level. The only way to change it is to go into the settings on the patch you created. As opposed to just being able to change the level on the amp.

Hopefully this helps. Reach out to me if you think I can help in any way. I have several videos on YouTube with Patches I have loaded to Custom Tone.

Try these patches I use:

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496052/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496053/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496054/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496055/

Reach out to me if you have any questions.

One thing to rmember is that the Post Volume on the amp is before the FX send.... not after the FX return on the amp. You may be doing something in the POD that is keeping the volume low and now know it. Are you using amp sims in the POD?

If it helps, here is a video I did with the presets above.

Good luck.

Hurghanico, Thank you for pointing this out. Maybe I should have clarified because when I have used dual inputs I've had a major problem with this. If I have guitar/same as the inputs and I'm using a noise gate, I usually lose the amp in path B in a dual amp set up.

Maybe I need to do my homework, but that's what I remember.

The noise gate is a mono effect so it only sends a signal to path A. You would need 2 gates and have to put them after the split right in front of each amp or right after each amp. The way to do it above means that the path is being un-stereo'd after the amps. You created a stereo path but the gate combines those signals into a mono signal. That's Ok, if that's what you want.

The POD HD series has a huge issue with the complexity of the routing scheme. Good luck.

There is too much going to get a full understanding of what you are doing.

It seems like when you are on FS5 and FS6 you don't have the FX loop engaged. Do you have those switches set up not as ABCD?

I have the exact same set up you do and I have no problems at all. Please watch a few of my videos and it should get you straightened out. Here are a few patches also:

http://line6.com/cus...ne/tone/494457/

http://line6.com/cus...ne/tone/494456/

http://line6.com/cus...ne/tone/496052/

http://line6.com/cus...ne/tone/496053/

http://line6.com/cus...ne/tone/496054/

http://line6.com/cus...ne/tone/496055/

PM me if you need any help.

Here are a couple of videos I did explaining the 4 cable method and the patches I made.

The video about the clean patches is different because of the "volume jump" complaint that people have about the 5150 III 50 watt because the amp shares channel 1 & 2.

The patches for the Blue and Red channels should work with any normal amp.

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/494457/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/494456/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496052/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496053/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496054/

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/496055/

Videos are here:

I just sent you an email with some presets to get you started and a link to a youtube video I did about the 4CM.

Hope it helps. Good luck.

Here are a couple of videos of mine you might want to watch.

Enjoy the amp. It's very awesome.

If you private message me I can send you some patches that you can use to get started.  You can also watch my videos on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt81sBhWi3QdFVNGRykjVOA

Starting as suggested above (treating it like a squelch) it all depends on how much gain you are using and what style of music you play.

I like a very quick reaction so I keep Decay at 0 and the threshold at 30 is just enough to keep the hiss out when I'm not playing but allows me to turn down the volume on my guitar for a cleaner sound without cutting out notes.

On the Vox amps the Master volume is automatically set at 100%.  If you are dead set on using the Vox for a clean sound turn that Master volume to somewhere below 50%.  That's the Master volume in the Amp:Edit area, not the Volume of the amp or the Master of the POD.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that we have to do this just to get a 4CM that doesn't suck tone or volume in some way or another.  

I still use my POD HD 500 for practicing but I gave up on using it with my amp.  Even the convenience of the Midi channel switching wasn't enough.  I use a pedal board that limits my effects use but I'm much happier with the sound and not having to trouble shoot everytime something goes wrong.  There are several switches on the POD that if even one is turned to the wrong way it will seriously screw up your tone.

I've said it before and I will again.  When Line 6 tried to make the POD HD series work for everyone they made it too complicated.  They also didn't prepare for the ways some people would want to use the product.  That's OK normally, it's not for everyone, but they promote the product like it works great for everyone and in some ways that it "should" work, like as a stomp box modeler before your amp or the 4CM it falls very short.

I bought it used so I tried it out at the guy's studio which was great.  I brought my guitar and met a really cool guy in the process.

The last few times I've been to Sam Ash in Clearwater (McMullen Booth) they have had an EVH 5150 and a 2x12 to match.  I would call them first.

If I was closer I would meet you somewhere and let you try out mine.  My time is very limited right now with newborn twins and a 6 year old, all boys.  Plus my wife needs some attention every once in a while too. LOL.

I can't imagine what the problem is.  It's either something really simple or your POD is not working.  Without seeing the screen and how  you have things set up diagnosis is almost impossible.