soundog

There are a lot of quality Helix youtube videos out there, but I've really gotten some outstanding ideas and tones watching John Nathan Cordy videos, who generously shares his knowledge and detailed parameter settings (as well as some excellent riffing). I especially enjoyed his recent videos on Strat clean tones using the new cabs in a Stomp.

Similar to @musiclaw's advice, I've edited patches on flights using Helix Native (set in Stomp mode) using a set of pre-recorded loops of my guitar in Logic. It worked dandy, though was editing through headphones so later tweaked the EQ a bit when using hardware and PA.

All good info from @datacommando. Another topic regarding playing live via plug-ins rather than hardware; there are some folks who have shunned all the wires and heavy hardware and setup, and just do all their guitar processing (and ins and outs) in a computer using a dedicated application that host plug-ins such as Gig Performer. There are plenty of videos of folks using Gig Performer on youtube (though most are keyboard players). Here's a good example of a guitarist using it: I experimented with a similar setup (using Helix Native and S-Gear, a MacBook Pro, and a Focusrite 18i18 for ins/outs direct PA). It all worked splendidly, but in the end I went back to hardware since I'm kind of old school, and trusting everything to software at a gig always spooked me a bit.

This thread is a good one. If you distill all the learnings here, you will be most of the way there when going direct to a PA. As mentioned already, the one thing that helped me immensely was settling on one amp and cab (or IR) that sounded the best with a single guitar, and that would provide good cleans, ODs, and leads using no other blocks. I then shape all of my presets (adding blocks as needed) based on that one amp. It gives me a signature sound, and makes it a lot easier to dial in tones, and saves a ton of time dinking around with too many variables. (If you're doing cover tunes, however, it's beneficial to use different amps to match the songs.)

FYI, I've tried various Windows emulations trying to use original Workbench on a newer Mac. I've had no reliable success. I ended up keeping an old retired Macbook, and I run Mountain Lion on it. I use it for Workbench, as well as other old software that won't on recent OSX.

It's frightening to think that IEMs are meant to protect your ears, yet might run amuck (or be misused) and permanently damage hearing. +130 dBs mainlined.

I would love to see the Variax technology evolve. I own a Variax Acoustic 700 and a Variax Standard and keep them around for gigs and recording. The single best feature for me is the ability to create custom alternate tunings and call them up at the flip of a switch. That ability comes from the Variax treating each string as a separate sound source. I would love to see this taken to a new level; better modeling, ability to create alternate + standard tuning for each string (for octaves and harmonies - the Standard will give you +12, but not -12), ability to send out audio (and perhaps MIDI) for each individual string, standard digital interface (eg USB), ...

Looks like he's playing his Collings 470JL in that vid ....closest Variax model would be the Les Paul. Not sure what amp or amp modeling you're using, but as silverhead sez, you'll have to take it a step at a time (guitar, strings, amp, etc). Beautiful tone, though. Good luck in your pursuit of it... This article has good info on his gear https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/julian-lage-interview

My sense: when producing music (studio, DAW) pristine reverb is essential. When playing guitar at gigs (especially in rooms with poor acoustics) the quality of the reverb is not as important, and "good enough" is usually "good enough." I find the selection and quality of reverbs in Helix to be more than adequate for playing guitar. For guitar tracks in the studio, however, I rely on good plug-ins such as LiquidSonic's Tai Chi and Seventh Heaven (Bricasti emulation). FYI, from the interweb: "The Bricasti M7 is running six dual-core Analog Devices Blackfin ADSP-BF561 processors that run at 600MHz and have a combined performance of 14400 MMACs (2400 per processor)."

Never found IEMs I liked. A lot is due to fit, I think. I could get a custom fit, I suppose, but $$$. The IEMS in the vid above are $$$$. Crazy. Semi-open headphones work good. I like 'em. To save my already-diminished hearing when playing with a band, I use good but affordable musicians ear plugs that turn down the dBs reaching my poor little eardrums. Either way, get your Helix sounding good without ear covers. And never stand next to the drummer.

This may look like a regular XPS Mini, but inside its really a Frankenstein. My Mini quit working years ago, but I saved the parts. After reading this thread (thanks @cbrillow for the idea and the handy wiring diagram!) I decided to rebuild the old thing. I recycled the case, the power on LED, and the input and output jacks. I used a 2A USB power supply for the voltage in, and dialed in 7V out. The power regulator fits inside the case perfectly, and my Variax guitar is quite happy with the whole shebang. Cost: $9.29

No similar problems here using Logic with the latest HXN version. I'm not a Cubase user, but this sort of thing is usually caused by your monitoring setup. This, perhaps?: https://steinberg.help/cubase_pro_artist/v9/en/cubase_nuendo/topics/recording/recording_asio_direct_monitoring_t.html

Damn, I don't know why we didn't think to try that! I've had lots of problems with the XPS A/B and Mini A/B. Usually its a bad MOSFET. Another time I had one with a bad capacitor. At least its a cheap and easy fix ($1 part), but I think Line 6 did a bad job designing those power supplies.

Makes sense. Good luck with your repair...

Very relaxing music to play first thing in the morning. ;-)

Cantabile or Gig Performer (my preference) work nicely if you want to use Helix Native for live performance.

Yes, there are advantages. With standalone support (S-Gear, for example) I just plug in my guitar and play. Without standalone support, I have to launch Logic, create an audio track, select the correct audio input, open the Native plug-in and play. Another example. If I am running a large Logic project that requires me to use a large buffer size, monitoring through Native introduces long/bothersome latency times. But if I'm using S-Gear, I can open up a copy of S-Gear running standalone, and run it with a low buffer size (and monitor my guitar through it). Latency problem solved. All of my other amp sims provide a standalone mode. Native does not. I wish that it did.

... this 2016 thread is destined to loop over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over

Easy on the compression to avoid feedback (or don't use any). Tune the eq (parametric recommended) to your voice and mic (and roll off the extreme lows and highs). Dial in a little reverb and delay to match the sound you want. Keep it simple.

This thread is gold for folks adding a looper pedal to their Helix!

Legacy Plate/Hall/Room Reverb Legacy Delay Quick, easy, sound good enuf in live setting, low resource requirement

Last gig I set up tunings using the 5-position pickup switch and it worked a lot better for me than using the alt tuning knob because I could "feel" the number of clicks to select a tuning on dark stage. I think that's the way I'll go in the future.

@PerS - the sneak peak looks good to me. I agree, it would indeed be difficult to maintain updates using PDF, and Excel makes a lot of sense. I run Excel (and Numbers) on Mac, so would be happy to take your beta file on a quick spin and see if its working OK for me.