Adam_F

Thank you for your kind words :) As I mentioned in the original post, I seem to have found a solution - which sure isn't stopping me from further experimentation ;) True that, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding!

Thank you for your input! When I send the signal to my DAW without any processing (empty patch) I get a comfortable -18dB, so I'm not particulary inclined to concede this could be the root of the problem... In fact, I struggle to get much distortion at all if I don't boost the signal early on in the chain, for example with a compressor or just a gain block. I have tried the input pad of course - when it's on it's even harder to get any distortion at all, even with pedals. BTW - as far as energy goes, it's actually the other way round - higher frequencies carry more energy than lower ones, assuming equal amplitude. The energy a wave carries results from the relation of amplitude and frequency - to increase energy either amplitude or frequency must be increased, all other things being equal. In other words - a lower frequency wave must have higher amplitude to match the energy of a higher frequency wave with lower amplitude. I know it might seem counterintuitive, but it's a fact. https://study.com/academy/lesson/energy-of-waves-amplitude-frequency-energy-loss.html Certainly, an amp may boost lower frequencies to higher amplitudes more than higher frequenices, thus pushing the tubes more in lower registers - which is I suppose what the two of you must have had in mind - but if that was the case, one might expect lower frequencies to distort sooner than higher ones, leading to more crunch in lower registers instead of more fizziness in higher registers - which apparently is not the case.

Hi all! Here's the problem: When I try adding distortion to my bass guitar tone it always gets extremely fizzy. I have tested different options (lowering high cut even down to 2 kHz, various amps, cabs, IRs, EQs, different models of distortion pedals and amps, different amp settings etc.) - though it's possible to mitigate the problem to an extent, the fizziness is always there. The solution which seems to work best for me is lowering the input impedance, even all the way down to 10k Ohm, which works more or less like turning down the tone knob on the guitar. Basically with that solution I'm quite happy with the tones I'm able to get now, so I'm not really asking for help with solving my problem - I'm just curious if anyone else has come across this issue and what solutions they may have come up with. BTW - with guitar tones setting the amp/IR block high cut to somewhere between 5 and 8 kHz basically always solves the fizziness problem - the more surprised I am at how hard it is to eliminate it from bass guitar tones. [edit] One thing I forgot to mention - the bass guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Junior Tribute DC - what I mean is I don't suppose the quality of the bass or it's pickup should be a problem. Cheers all!

Forgive me if this seems like a very basic question, but I haven't been able to find any conclusive answer to this one... Line level is hotter that mic level, so sending line level into a device expecting mic level may result in clipping, is that right? But what about the opposite? Will it have any negative consequences (other than lower volume) if you set output level to mic when plugging into, for example, active studio monitors which expect line level?

Mi español no es muy bueno... ;) Try using High Cut EQ at 5-8 kHz after the speaker cab block or high cut at the speaker cab block at 4-5 kHz.

Thank you all for your input :) Should anybody have a similar problem, here's the settings I've settled for (for the moment ;) as a sort of starting point: All EQs after the IR block in this order: Low and High Cut EQ: Low Cut 100 Hz, Hi Cut 5 kHz Simple EQ: Low Gain +1, Mid Freq 275 kHz, Mid Gain -3, High Gain +3 Tilt EQ: Bright 75, Center Freq 400 Hz I've decided to stick to the IR from the Summary folder - other variations of the IRs sure do sound a bit different, but all of them sound dark and muddy anyways without the EQ above, and I guess the IR from the Summary folder gives me a good generic tone of the speakers in question, so I don't have much of a need to delve into the myriad of possibilities the range of IRs has to offer. I'm quite sure that at gig volumes the sound might be too bright now (Fletcher-Munson, and all that), and I might probably raise the high cut if there was a problem with cutting through the mix - but it sure sounds good on my speakers and headphones now. Of course, YMMV and all that... :) Cheers!

Ok, so we all know our tones will sound different at different volumes... But... I created a tone based on Grinder by Judas Priest, at a relatively high volume - it sounded close enough. Then when I turned down the volume - as expected, the tones changed - both my tone and the tone of recorded guitars, but while my tone went from "close enough" to "can of buzz", the sound of the original didn't change THAT much... It was still punchy. So, what's the deal...? Why does the tone created in helix change so much more than the recorded tone? Cheers!

Hello there! I've been wondering - is it normal that IRs need so much EQ to make them sound decent? I've recently purchased the OwnHammer Core Tone Bundle, and the IRs seem to me very bassy and muddy and lack punch, as if the cab was covered with a thick, heavy blanket... For instance, with a simplest of setups - Plexi Bright model with stock settings, basic OwnHammer Marshall cab IR (OH 412 MR82 M75A from the Summary folder), I found myself using quite heavy EQ to make it sound at least acceptable, to remove the heavy blanket, so to speak. I put the Cali Q Graphic after the IR with settings like this: 80 Hz - 0 dB 240 Hz - -4 dB 750 Hz - -2 dB 2200 Hz - +4 dB 6600 Hz - +4 dB IR low cut - 100 Hz, high cut - 6,5 kHz The guitar used is a Gibson Les Paul Junior Tribute DC with a P90 pickup. I listened through headphones (AKG 271 MkII) and monitor speakers (Alesis Active M1 Mk3). I tried comparing to the tone to AC/DC's Back in Black and The Cult's Electric album (yes, of course, I know - different pickups , mics and all - just trying to get in the ballpark, not looking to copy the tone exactly!) So my question is - do you also find that you need to EQ IRs so much, is it normal? Cheers! :)

Well, we played another little gig, I used the Helix into PA again, the PA had no subwoofer nor crossover - and it sounded good, maybe not perfect, but really good. As far as I'm concerned - it goes to show that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with plugging the Helix straight into PA, as long as there is a little time to get to know the PA and decently set it up. Once again - thank you all for your input!

Thanks for all the advice! Truth be told I was kinda hoping I wouldn't have to lug around too much heavy stuff, especially to such small gigs, but well, I'll have to reconsider...

Yes, you're absolutely right - none of us has enough expertise to settle this matter... And thank you for the lot of useful info! Sadly I don't think we can reliably count on having the possibility to use a PA system with subwoofers and filters... If we play in venues which have all this gear - they will usually have somebody to run it. So the problem is when we play in a little bar or club, like 50-100 people, where they usually just have a mixer and a pair of more or less standard cabs, and more often than not no competent person to set it up - and we have to deal with all the technical issues ourselves. Do you think it would be better if I didn't use any cab sim on the Helix when plugging into the PA? Or perhaps you could give me some advice regarding specifically the setup of the Helix itself to make it more workable? I think what I'm struggling to say is - is it possible to sort of transfer some of the things you mention above to the Helix itself if the PA doesn't offer such possibilities? Between an amp and an FRFR I'd rather go for the latter - I could use it as well when I play the guitar and keys - which doesn't happen too often, but still it would be a more versatile solution. Can you recommend any FRFR? Is it even possible / does it make sense to get one which doesn't cost more than, say, around 300-350 dollars? Or perhaps could you give me some general guidelines on how to go about the overwhelming task of making the choice? ;)

Indeed, the communication situation is not perfect, and we'll have to deal with it one way or another, and I really do appreciate your insights and I mean absolutely no offence, but I just wanted to consult the technical issue whether there is anything wrong with running the Helix into the FOH together with vocals... :)

I don't even have an amp at the moment, so I figured the Helix and the house PA would have been more than enough for a place like that... I'm totally in favour of having a band meeting the discuss the problem, however the guitarist insists there is no problem to discuss - the only thing he has to say is that the PA is not supposed to handle the bass guitar and vocals at the same time so the root of the problem is the fact that I plugged the Helix into the mixer...

The PA wasn't much, but it was the sort of thing you might expect in a small club which sometimes organises live gigs - the mixer was a Lexicon, I don't know what model, with 8 channels and all the stuff like sends, returns and effects, and the speakers were 2x12 cabs which looked like a kind of real thing, not your average home hi fi system... Sorry I can't provide more details... I managed to find out what the mixer is - it's a Soundcraft Spirit Powerstation 600.

Hi, I'll appreciate any insight on the matter below :) So we played this gig yesterday in a small club, the PA was nothing special really and we had no time to properly set up the sound. The end result was obviously far from satisfactory, which led to an argument between our guitarist and myself. The thing is I plugged my bass and Helix into one channel of the mixer, and the vocals were of course run through another channel. Now our guitarist insists that this is not the way it should ever be done and that the bass and vocals are not supposed to be run through same speakers. Of course I disagree with that, but I can't find any way to convince him that it's perfectly alright to run bass and vocals together through the mixer into the same set of speakers. He insists he's right so vehemently that in the end I've begun to have doubts whether perhaps he is right after all... So the question is - am I right, or is he? Any input will be appreciated, thanks!