Vanderdecker

Here is an up to date classic example. Two paths = much power and waayyy cooler sound possibilities!

Last I heard was ~ 2x the dsp of the OG helix, but how much more powerful really depends on the dsp usage of the new models as well as any new effects. And has there been any more optimization in the old effects? Pretty much a lot of big guesses atm.

This is my standard advice for a good metal tone. Having a good starting point helps a lot. Below is the one custom tone that sent me down the correct path! My advice is to start here and then shape to make it fit your needs. https://line6.com/customtone/tone/5292982/ I find that searching for IRs at all I think they are a rabbit hole. Pillars and the screamer 808 are your goto distortions. Also I only cut at 15k and above in the global EQ then EQ to taste.

@silverhead Solution Found! Ok, I take no credit for this solution but....I posted this on reddit as well and the command center instant commands was the needed trick!! You can connect an instant command via the lightening bolt icon to a snapshot. so now when I tap snapshot 1 it also starts recording the loop, snapshot 2 plays the loop, and snapshot 3 stops the loop. All the while I have whatever amp and effects I needed running in those snapshots...so for example if I want a clean loop but distortion on top, BAM that can now be done!! here is the thread

My goal is to accomplish the following with as few foot taps as possible. Snap Shot 1 (panned left) enter looper and create a single simple loop. Enter Snap Shot 2 (panned right)and play with loop(still panned left). Enter Snap shot 3 (full stereo with different effects) with all loops stopping when entering this snapshot. (this should be possible with a single tap right??) Right now I feel like I need to be Fred Astaire to accomplish this. There has got to be some tricks to make this smoother. Advice?

I am trying to emulate a lot of different band sounds. So sticking to the same signal chain is not a viable option. It looks like looping or playing the same few notes open A, open G, muted E, muted B, bar chord, open chord etc. and using a meter in a DAW (monitor LUFS etc.) and then adjusting by ear for every preset is the way to get close. Then having a backup of 4db/eq option for the live gig is the way to go. Someone mentioned add a 0-4db gain control to the expression pedal of every preset. If anyone has any other suggestions, I am all ears!

This guy always turns 2 minutes of useful information into a 20 minute video ;). But I think I was able to sift out the useful parts. Thanks.

I think I understand, but any chance you could provide a simple example of the Channel Volume/Output Block setup? For example let's say in preset A I have 2 different paths, one for clean with effects, one for distortion with effects, with volume blocks at the front of each chain for smooth sounding switching. For preset B, I have 2 different paths/routes for harmony guitars, panned slightly left/right in stereo. So in these examples I might have 4 different amps and cabs total. (2 in each preset). My goal is maximum signal/gain out of both presets that will maintain the same overall volume when switching.

I am interested in learning the various ways to achieve a stable signal level across presets for a live setting in order to minimize adjusting the levels at the FOH/mixer. I am running a Helix LT. Any advice is appreciated!

I know every venue/speaker system has its own unique requirements but I was wondering if anyone had personal experience/suggestions or some good resources they could recommend for EQing both the Helix and possibly the FOH speaker mix for use with a helix in a live 6 piece band setting. One issue I am addressing is the "harshness" of the sound as the volume increases. However, I don't want to lose that tactile "sizzle" feeling the guitar tone has! For reference I am looking at mostly hard rock / heavy metal / jazz / funk using FOH/monitors in the JBL EON 7xx line.

Update: 1) I tried the Del Sol but here were the problems: A) I still didn't have enough dsp unless I dropped one of the 3 effects I had in that chain (compressor, flanger or delay). B) I tried dropping the compressor and replaced it with the Del Sol (which worked dsp wise), but the tone suffered badly even with adjusting the Del Sol like crazy C) I tried removing all the tail ending volume blocks to eak out any extra dsp, it was not enough. 2) I tried using IRs and just cabs after the compressor in the clean channel. That worked somewhat! I had a limited selection of cabs and I am trying different IRs. Thus far the tone is not significantly better for the clean channel than what I had before but i can sculpt it a little more this way. (The IRs are essentially cabs after all). Still not the world killer tone yet, but it is OK for the clean. For a different preset I might try replacing the PV Panama amp with a less dsp intensive amp. That would probably free up enough dsp for a 3rd amp in the 2nd channel. But right now the distortion tone is just sooooo good =)

I am not sure about the issue, but my first question is why not update to 3.80? You said updated firmware, but did it fail? My go to advice is disconnect everything. Update firmware. Just connect guitar and headphones and see what happens.

Thanks for the idea. I will give that a go and report back!

I haven't tried IRs yet, but that is an interesting possibility. Yes, First row is distortion right 2nd is clean 3rd/4th row is distortion left, with a bunch of attributes to make it distinct. The two volume blocks at the end of the 1st row: 1 is expression pedal volume and the other is an adjustment to help separate the guitars. But as you said they use almost no dsp. The greyed out delay in the 3rd/4th row is a test block and not needed, but since all my dsp issues are in the top two I didn't bother removing it. All the rest are used. All the volume blocks at the beginning are for switching seamlessly as mentioned previously.

Most people swear by the new Fender Fr 10 and 12s. I haven't A/B them myself but there is a lot on youtube about them. Thus far I generally send the signal straight to PAs aka FOH, but with all the ogling over these new Fender FRs I might take the plunge!

So I tried every trick I could to use a 3rd amp, but the dsp wall was impregnable no matter how hard I tried moving the paths/connections. And swapping amp settings didn't sound great either. I ended up using the 3 parallel method and completely dropped the amp out of the 2nd path entirely(because there wasn't enogh dsp for any with this config!). I have included an image of what I ended up with below. The distortion sounds awesome and the clean is acceptable, but not awesome. I am still looking for a better solution. Maybe I need to accept that I may need two different presets to get the ideal tone for both, then how to switch senselessly is the new issue. Anyway if anyone has more suggestions please let me know! Thanks

I tried the 3 parallel path method, but unfortunately I ran out of dsp on the 3rd path. The panama +reverb is just to dsp heavy. There wasn't enough dsp for another amp+reverb and effects. I am in the process of trying Ben's method, where I use as much of the original path effects, cab, etc. as possible. If I get it working I will post an update.

Thank you both. These are both viable solutions to try. I am worried that if i go with parallel paths I wont have enough dsp for the effects I want on both the clean and distorted paths. Changing the setting on the amp to clean is also viable, but then I am may again have issues with not having access to the effects I want for the clean/distorted tone (and the sound of the clean amp). I will try these out and see how close I can get. Thanks again. If anyone else has thought I am open to suggestions!

I made a similar reddit post, but I thought I would see what the experts here thought too! =) So here is the issue: I have an awesome 2 path (2dsp) harmony distortion guitar tone. It uses one path for an PV Panama distortion tone with effects etc. that completely uses the entire path. set to mostly right pan. The second dsp path is dedicated to another amp/cab with different effects AND a harmony so that it sounds like a completely new guitar. Panned mostly left. This is the only way i have gotten that true 2 guitar feel. I have tried every trick I can for getting this sound on a single dsp but it just doesn't have the same feel. Great, so I have the tone I love but, I also want to be able to switch to a clean tone seamlessly. Unfortunately the standard trick of adding a new amp/cab block doesn't work because a) I don't have enough DSP left and/or b) the switching noise is terrible My usual solution for the switching noise for distortion/clean effects is to use 1 path (dsp) for clean and the other path (dsp) for distortion, by placing a volume block in front of the path and set the gain to 0 or -120 via the foot switches. Obviously what I really need is 3 dsp paths, but I don't have that since the helix only has 2! soooooo, long story short. I am looking for solution this problem. TLDNR: I want to make a 3 path (3dsp-ish) preset, 2 distortion+1 clean, all with different amp and effects without any switching noise. I would love to hear your thoughts!