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patrick_g_nelson

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Posts posted by patrick_g_nelson

  1. I have found the the new Archon Lead paired with Jim's B56_Edge IR is absolutely magical.  I may never use another Amp/IR combo ever again. LOL.  If any of you on here have Jim's IR pack give that combo a try.  I have pretty much nailed my Orange Rockerverb 100 MKII tone with this combo now.  I'm smiling ear to ear.  Thanks Jim....

  2. Yes, I was just about to post on the forum about this but found this post.  I can confirm that if you set the buttons/switches to 8 snapshots, off/bright for the LED Ring brightness and then go in and resave a different color for each switch you will get the bottom row off and then the top row dimmed to whatever color you set it to.  If you change them all back to auto they will all be off/bright as expected.  Seems like a pretty simple bug to miss since snapshot LED colors was a new feature.  I think the test plan should've included testing global setting options.

  3. Jim,

     

    Thanks again for making these and letting us use them.  I am really digging them.  Last night I was doing some jamming with them on clean amps and they really "warmed" up the sound.  They have a bit more body and warmth that I really like.  My problem with the stock cabs is they sound to bright and tight and seem to be missing some overtones.  These IR's fix that issue.  I agree the the sound/feel is a bit more real and a bit more "in the room" sounding when using them through FRFR speakers.    

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  4. I was going to wait to share this until it was mixed better since it sounds very "live" but I figured I would go ahead and share it.   I used the CV4-2 edge off figure 8 on one track with the soldano OD and then I used the 414 4 edge off with the Marshall 2204.  This is just to give an idea of what Jim's IR's sound like in a full band context and not meant to be a review of the song.. :)  

     

    https://soundcloud.com/patrick-nelson-1/omniloud-breathing-down-my-neck

    • Upvote 1
  5. The thing that grabbed my attention in that video is the high cut at 4.2kHz on the IR block.  That is an extreme cut but he still had good tones coming through.  I usually run my cut on the Ownhammer IR's around 6.5 but and never thought to go lower.  I may have to give it a try.  :-) I wish i new what the rolloff curve/slope was on the cuts. It must be a pretty gradual cut if he can go as low as 4.2 and still have it sound good.

  6. BJ, I hit a similar issue without the lockup and patch rebuild.  I reflashed after this post last night and things are good again.  I couldn't undo the change since it was impacting every existing preset and every new preset created, etc.  There is no global setting to change to say make eveything sound bright and super fizzy other than extreme eq but that wasn't on..  It somehow got in a funky state - bug in there somewhere.  So, to the OP I would say try to reflash the bios again and reset the defaults.  That helped fix the issue for me.  I wish I knew why it got in this state but at least I am back to normal now. 

  7. Strabes - It wasn't just with one preset.  it was with everything including building new patches.  Last night after this post I went ahead and re-flashed the bios again, reset all the factory defaults and reloaded my presets.  Things seem to be better again.  I don't know what happened or what changed to make the unit get in that state where it was all shrill and fizzy but re-flashing and resetting corrected the problem and it is sounding good again (assuming you do the high and low pass filter on the cabs). Hopefully it doens't get in that state again.  Line 6 should default to a low and high pass filter on all the built in cabs since they sound pretty nasty on FRFR systems without the cuts.

  8. I don't think you are losing your mind.  I just posted this on another thread in here where somebody was complaining about dull muddy sounds:  I am actually having the opposite problem.  I have been loving this unit for months and now all of a sudden I can't get a usable clean tone out of it.  All of a sudden it is very, very brittle and fizzy.  It is like the cab sim is off and it is running direct into a mixer.  Or, like somehow part of the dry signal is clippig and running in a parallel flow.  I don't have the global EQ on, I have the low cut at 90 and high cut at 6.5 on the cab models.  I have even started fresh with new patches with just and amp/cab block and nothing else and it is still bad.  It is all high end fizz and low end but no warmth, no overtones or usable midrange. The only way i can warm it up is to turn the impedance to around 32K but then it just sounds like less fizz and high a dull high end.  I have tried on all my normal listening environments - headphones, studio monitors, PA and they all have the same obnoxious fizz to it.  The vox amps are particularly bad and it is even worse if I try any of my guitars with Seymour Duncan JB pickups.  It isn't just one guitar since my tele, which is already bright but it is now take your head off bright, my strat is a bit better than the tele but still bad, my 2 PRS and 2 Les Pauls are so bad that the neck pickups sound like really bright bridge pickups with zero warmth now.  The humbucker equipped guitars really bring in the fizz. I've had this unit since Feb and have loved it but the last 2 days I want to throw it in the driveway and drive over it.  I was messing with a patch the other night and was playing with the bias, hum, ripple, biasx settings and had set the hum to 0, bias high, biasx low, ripple low, and lowered the sag - just experimenting with tones.  It is now like it applied that to everything on the unit even though that isn't the case.  I am going to try a reset as well but this is very frustrating.  It would've sucked to show up at a gig, turn on the unit and have tones this bad....  I had to fire up the Orange Rockerverb tonight so I could practice with good tones again - until I got told to turn it down the kids were going to bed..  :(

  9. I am actually having the opposite problem.  I have been loving this unit for months and now all of a sudden I can't get a usable clean tone out of it.  All of a sudden it is very, very brittle and fizzy.  It is like the cab sim is off and it is running direct into a mixer.  Or, like somehow part of the dry signal is clippig and running in a parallel flow.  I don't have the global EQ on, I have the low cut at 90 and high cut at 6.5 on the cab models.  I have even started fresh with new patches with just and amp/cab block and nothing else and it is still bad.  It is all high end fizz and low end but no warmth, no overtones or usable midrange. The only way i can warm it up is to turn the impedance to around 32K but then it just sounds like less fizz and high a dull high end.  I have tried on all my normal listening environments - headphones, studio monitors, PA and they all have the same obnoxious fizz to it.  The vox amps are particularly bad and it is even worse if I try any of my guitars with Seymour Duncan JB pickups.  It isn't just one guitar since my tele, which is already bright but it is now take your head off bright, my strat is a bit better than the tele but still bad, my 2 PRS and 2 Les Pauls are so bad that the neck pickups sound like really bright bridge pickups with zero warmth now.  The humbucker equipped guitars really bring in the fizz. I've had this unit since Feb and have loved it but the last 2 days I want to throw it in the driveway and drive over it.  I was messing with a patch the other night and was playing with the bias, hum, ripple, biasx settings and had set the hum to 0, bias high, biasx low, ripple low, and lowered the sag - just experimenting with tones.  It is now like it applied that to everything on the unit even though that isn't the case.  I am going to try a reset as well but this is very frustrating.  It would've sucked to show up at a gig, turn on the unit and have tones this bad....  I had to fire up the Orange Rockerverb tonight so I could practice with good tones again - until I got told to turn it down the kids were going to bed.. :(

  10. You place it inline with the input and not on the ext amp. I have 3 different amps that all had this issue. Orange Rockerverb MKII, Fender Blues Deville - by far the worst buzz with this one, Mesa Roadster.

  11. where did you have to place it when using the Ext Amp out for switching? on the actual inputs of the amp? or inline with the Ext Amp switching cable?

     

     

    I would also like to note to Line6 in general

     

    we shouldn't have to be buying $30-50+ USD products to stop something a product shouldn't do.. :angry:

  12. I had this same issue also with multiple amps. The HumX by Ebtech didn't solve the issue. The only way I solved it was to use an Ebtech Hum Eliminator inline from the helix out to the Ebtech to the front of the amp. The hum was completely eliminated. I have since stopped using the helix with an amp but I struggled with this for quite some time. The Ext Amp control is my only real complaint with the Helix.

    • Upvote 1
  13. What is it that isn't sounding right to you?  Is it too bright, too boomy, not warm enough, too piercing, lacking response, etc?  I struggled at first when I picked up the Helix.  I didn't think it sounded much better than my HD500 and didn't think it was worth the extra.  Fast forward to today and I haven't turned on my real amps (Mesa Roadster, Orange Rockerverb MKII 100, Fender Blues Deville) in over 4 months.  The Helix sounds so good now.  I sort of forgot all the tweaking I had to do with the HD500 to get it working with my PA and Monitors.  The biggest thing for me on the Helix was using Low and High pass filters on the guitar cabs - Cut the low at 80Hz and cut the High at 6kHz.  Normal guitar speakers operate in that range and when using good monitors or FRFR speakers it might not sound real with the extra frequencies coming through.  I also had to pull the 3.2khz range down a bit in the global EQ since my PA speakers have a pretty pronounced hump right there that made the thing sound pretty bad.  Now with the filters and EQ it sounds and responds just like my real amps and I prefer playing it now.  It takes time you may need to adjust EQ more depending on your pickups.  Also, play with the input impedence and pad settings.  You may find you like a lower impedence setting or like it better with the the pad on even if you aren't using the active pickups.  I myself like the Pad on.  I also set my impedence to 230 ohm.  Too me anything else was too bright and brittle sounding.  

  14. Basically, they let you have one preset that has defferent settings for each block and allow you to change "patches" without any latency.  The biggest advantage is no delay when switching sounds.  You can create new presets to do the same thing but when you switch presets the helix has to unload everything from memory and reload the new preset which takes time and you will notice the delay.  With snapshots you can save different verson of the same preset and recall them instantly.  Example:  You can create a preset that has multiple amps and multiple FX in it and then each snapshot can have a different state of the blocks or send controller changes.  I have one preset now that does everything I need using snapshots.  Snapshot 1 is Path A with a clean amp and reverb, Snapshot 2 is  Path A with a clean amp drive pedal and reverb, Snapshot 3 is Path B with a Soldano loaded for dirty rhythm, Snapshot 4 is the same as 3 but with a dely added and a boost added for leads.  Snapshot 5 is Clean with Chorus and Reverb, Snapshot 6 is Clean with a drive pedal, Tremelo, delay and reveb, Snapshot 7 is the same as Snapshot 3 but with Univibe added, Snapshop 8 Path B with Univibe (both with different intensity settings than on snapshot 7) delay with diffent feedback and mix than on the other snapshots, and another delay block on with dotted 1/8 notes.  So with one button click I can now go from a lead tone with tones of FX over to a crunch tone or to a clean tone wth chorus, etc.  It is like presets but there is no latency like when using presets.  I had presets for each change mentioned above but It was pretty unusable live, at least for me, since the time it took to switch messed with my timing.  I have many songs that go from one extreme to the next and I am the only guitarist so if the change isn't instant is sounds like you missed the change.  With snapshots I don't have to worry about that now.  They really are amazing.  I have pretty much ditched all my presets and went down to 2 with Snapshots.  The one preset is my core preset that I use with the band and I never leave it but just switch snapshots.  The second one is my blues rock preset with fewer snapshots and completely different amp arrangement.    

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  15. Page 3 on the amp model itself has the 5 band EQ (80, 240, 750, 2200, 6600).  So, you don't need to use it as a separate block.  It is available as a separate EQ block if you want it though.

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  16. My Asus Desktop has 4 USB ports on the front of the machine... If you crack it open, it is basically a USB hub built in to the tower and doesn't play nice with the Helix. When using the ports on the back of the desktop machine it works fine.  If you are using a desktop make sure you plug into the ports on back of the machine and not something on the front of the case, which many times are just a hub to a single port on the motherboard.

  17. I found that you need to use both high pass and low pass filters (Around 70hz and around 6khz) on cab models or it sounds to fizzy on the top end and too boomy on the low end. Have you played with the filters on the cab models already?  IR blocks have the same adjustments.  Most real guitar speakers cabs aren't putting out as much as these IR's and Cab models are.  Take a vintage thirty for instance, it's frequency response is only 70-5000hz.  I was really unhappy with the tones I was getting, especially through headphones until I started playing with the filters on the cab blocks.  Now I am loving the tones with all my guitars (Strat, PRS, Tele, and Les Paul).  In fact I haven't even turned on my real amp in over a month now (Orange Rockerverb MKII 100). That is saying something since I used to think that amp was the best thing ever....

  18. Thought I'd mention that the amp is already running in 4cm.

     

    I might try unplugging those other cables and see if the hum still occurs.  I think It might be easier to isolate the signal cables with a Hum Eliminator or something - not sure if one of those would work on the EXT amp socket.

    You can use an Ebtech Hum Eliminator between the send from your Helix to the front of the amp.  I had the same issue you are having with massive hum when plugged into the EXT Jack.  Also, you will notice the level value on the the volume/expression pedal is moving all over at the same time.  Putting the Ebtech Hum Eliminator inline solved the issue for me.  I also use a Ebtech HumX to plug the Helix into the wall but all you really need is the inline hum eliminator.  You won't use it on the EXT jack but rather on the send to the front of the amp.  It works great and I haven't had any issues since adding it to my rig.  

  19. Well blaming the Helix for ground loops when using the 4CM and the amp switching is kind of like blaming your car for sliding on an icy road. It is possible that certain things can be done to a car that make it less likely to slide, but sometimes even if everything is done right, you'll still slide. When I used the Helix in the 4CM with my Egnater Renegade, it was quiet, even with the am switching, but ground loops are simply a fact of life when hooking up equipment. Having multiple connections going back and forth from the same two pieces of equipment is actually kind of a recipe for how to get a ground loop. Even with the Fractal FX8, which has "humbuster" jacks, I've seen a few people having issues with ground loops with certain amps and setups.

     

     

    No, the ground lift switch only affects the XLR outputs.

    Phil, you missed my point.  I wasn't blaming Line 6 but stating support wasn't useful in addressing the issue.  I had to go through the forums and find other users that had fixed the issue and do the same.  Support should say that the hum is an issue that will happen and you can fix it by using an inline hum eliminator.  Their answer was to send the unit back for a replacement item.  The replacement item was not a fix.   This is a direct quote from support, "I was talking with the product owner and neither of us have seen a hum like you're describing. I'd like to have UPS pick up this unit and we'll get it here to take a look at. Thanks for your patience."  So, my issue was with support not knowing what a ground loop was and how to address it.  I will say that when using all my analog pedals both in front of the amp and in the FX loop with a pedal switcher (Joyo PXL8) to control channel and reverb there was zero ground loop hum with the same amps in the same room  on the same outlets.  That said.. again it was supports response that was bad not the fact I had to use a ground loop isolation unit. Like I mentioned I love my Helix and I'm not here to bash on it.  :)

  20. Have you had a chance to speak with CS? They should be able to get you sussed out.

    I worked with CS and they were pretty useless when it came to the ground loop hum when using EXT Switching.  It is a major problem but I solved it by using an Ebtech hum eliminator between the Helix and Amp in when using the 4 cable method.  It was unusable with both amps I tried it with (Fender Blues Deville, Orange Rockerverb MKII 100).  The forums are full of people complaining about this obnoxious ground loop problems and CS doesn't seem to know it exists and simple thinks exchanging the unit will help. In reality others on the forum have already stated they had exchanges and the problems persisted. I know this is off topic of updates but I wanted to add my experience with the hum that rudomat called out.  Now, he can go back to Fractal but the AX8 doesn't even offer External switching so that doesn't solve the problem.  I solved the noise issues with the Helix by plugging the unit into a Ebtech HUMX and then when running 4 cable with EXT switching I put the Ebtech Hum Eliminator inline also and it is almost silent.  I love the Helix but the noise with ground loops is really bad and required spending another couple hundred on isolation devices...  

  21. There is a template that does exactly 

     

    I got the expression pedal to go from almost no gain on the amp to 

    a lot of gain on the amp, but that's not quite what I am looking for. I

    guess I am looking for a clean amp with heel down, and crossover

    to a distorted amp with toe down. I don't really no how to set up 2

    different chains yet. Pretty new at this. The song I am trying to do this

    for is Whitesnake's Love Ain't No Stranger. We used to have 2 guitar

    players and the other one played the clean part. Now it's just me doing both.

     

    There is a template that does exactly what you want.  Go into presets and select templates.  From there choose the 02D Two Tones Blend.  You can swap out the amps for whatever you like better.  It has two chains and switches between them using inverse controls on the volume pedal.

  22. I look at this a bit different.  I can accomplish most things in one patch with the supplied approach but not everything.  My live rig is a pretty simple Orange Rockerverb  100 into a Marshall 4x12 with the amp doing both dirty and clean.  I have a Joyo PXL Pro loop/switcher with a Wah and OCD in loop bank 1 in front of the amp and then in loop bank 2 I have EQ, Trem, Delay, Reverb that goes through the FX loop.  The joyo also controls the reverb and channel switching on the amp.  With the Joyo the FX pedals are always on but can be assigned to a switch or rather multiple switches. You can have both switch 1 with delay on and switch 2 with delay on and switch 3 with it off.  It doesn't toggle on/off of the pedal like the Helix but just changes whether it is in the loop or not.  If the switches on the Helix worked like that you could do a heck of a lot more in one patch.  On my "analog" set up I do switch 1 - amp clean with Reverb, switch 2 - amp clean with the OCD on,  trem on and Reverb on , Switch 3 - amp dirt with reverb off, Switch 4 - amp dirt with eq on for boost, delay and reverb on. Other banks have more combinations.  You can't really do this in the Helix without adding multiple delays, trems, etc.  You also can't assign reverb on/off to multiple switches to make it an instant change a switch.  I have made a patch that is "close" with 2 chains and multiple delays and trem blocks but it is still not possible completely emulate my live amp rig.  I guess this is what Axe FX calls scenes.  It is nice to be able to assign multiple pedals/amps/splitters/etc to one switch but it would be way nicer to be able to also assign pedals to more than one switch.  If one could do that you could do almost anything in 1 patch without needing to switch patches.  It also sucks that if you assign a dirt pedal to a switch with other things you can't assign it to another pedal to switch it off/on outside of the multi-assignment. I guess the desire is to have an option for the switches behave like a loop switcher (Joyo, Carl Martin, Voodoo Labs, tRex, etc).  Having a loop switcher really spoiled me with the ability to completely change with zero latency and one button press.  I bought the Helix thinking I would replace the pedal board and switcher and use it in 4 cable method but it can't do what the simple pedal board can so for now it sits in my studio for recording and practice and my amp and pedal board still go to shows.  Plus, I needed to add an ebtech hum eliminator to the equation to kill the horrible ground loop when using the EXT jack on the Helix.  I love the Helix and what it offers but for true live use without needing to pedal/switch dance it still has a ways to go.  I is crazy that my $159 Joyo offers better pedal routing and ext amp control than the $1499 Helix.....

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