chuskey

Helix works great with acoustic instruments. Here's an example of using it with 3Sigma Audio IR's. Well worth the money!

I assumed it was a Dumble model at first too, especially after seeing the graphic in the editor. Looks exactly like an ODS. It is BY FAR my favorite amp model I've ever played! Not just on Helix, on any device. I've played through Axe Fx II, all of the previous Line 6 gear, S Gear 2, Guitar Rig 5 pro, etc. In fact I've run it through a power amp and guitar cab and played it right next to a Friedman Dirty Shirley (I know that's not exactly the same kind of amp, but still a high end tube amp), and I'll take the Litigator all day long. Absolutely brilliant. The thing about modeling a Dumble though after you really look into what they are is which Dumble would they model? Each one was more or less made specifically for the player it was built for. So Robin Ford's Dumble doesn't sound like Larry Carlton's Dumble, etc. I think that the Litigator does a great job of nailing what we all think of as the "Dumble sound", meaning very responsive and good touch sensitivity. I love the fact they didn't go for a specific model, but just built an amazing amp model from the ground up. Makes me excited to see what lies in the future for Helix. It's cool they aren't limited to just modeling existing amplifiers. The 2.3 update is supposed to have 7 new amp models in it. Can't wait to find out what they are. Though I have a hard time imagining anything replacing the Litigator in my main patch ;)

I agree, workbench gives so many tonal possibilities. Really allows you to build your dream guitar. The only pot changes I usually make are the tone pot. General rule of thumb, the lower the value the less high end you get.

I'm more than happy to help! I've been using Line 6 gear since the AxSys 212 in the late 90's. Their gear has revolutionized how I'm able to gig and made my life exponentially easier :) I know what the gear is capable of and I'm always happy to help others get to where they want to be with it. Any way I can be of assistance I'll be glad to. Good luck with your setup!

I'm more than happy to! Here is a link to download the custom bank I use for my Variax. It's Strat Neck, Strat Middle/Bridge, Les Paul Neck, Les Paul Bridge, Strat Bridge P90. It's setup to give me my favorite 3 Strat settings and sandwich in a Les Paul for good measure. https://www.dropbox.com/s/o1ldonb67exi0tl/Chad%20Bank%208_20.bnk?dl=0 Here's basically the patch I was using in that video on the Helix. I'm always tweaking little things on it, but the core of the patch is the Litigator amp model: https://line6.com/customtone/tone/2633943/ Here are a some of videos I did on tweaking Variax. You can skim through to see what is useful to you:

Good catch :) If memory serves that was recorded when I was waiting on my replacement circuit board for my JTV69. I installed strap locks and the screw that came with the strap locks were slightly too long and hit the circuit board. It still functioned on 1/4" and battery, but the VDI cable wouldn't power it. Once I got that repaired I went back to the VDI and that's all I use.

I have used a JTV69 and 59 for several years, and a Variax 600 before that, with great results. You just have to dial in the tones in workbench, don't go by the stock sounds. Here's an example of my setup using Helix/Variax:

This just deals with the 3 note generator, but hopefully you can get some info from it.

I use an Alto TS110A and have been very pleased with it. Patches translate fairly well. I generally use it for my own monitoring if the venue isn't able to give me my own mix. But have also used it as a main speaker when I've done low key solo gigs with good results. I haven't directly compared it to speakers costing 2-3 times as much, but for my needs it really fits the bill.

Funny thing is I had a YouTube commenter tell me the singer was out of tune :)

Thanks!

Thanks! I double checked my patch to make sure I'm giving you correct info. BTW if you want the patch it's here: http://line6.com/customtone/tone/3042964/ I'm using the litigator model and the eq and presence are all on 5. I'm using a dual cab block with the Dr.Z 2x12 and the Greenback 4x12 cabs, using Condenser 67 and ribbon 121 mic respectively. On the cab block I have the low cut on both cabs set to 80hz, which I pretty much do on every preset, and the high cut between 8.5-9k for each one. I wasn't using any global EQ. I absolutely love the Litigator model. I think it's so smooth and I literally don't touch the EQ on it. I like using ribbon/condenser mics on the cabs because I find dynamic mics tend to have more top end and it can be tougher to tame. Of course that depends on the amp/cab model you're using. In lots of cases a SM57 works great. For this tone in particular I liked the smoother ribbon/condenser mics.

Here's a video from a gig that I played a couple of weeks ago using Helix and Variax. Helix is running straight to front of house with no amp on stage. This setup really is a Dream Rig :)

Here's a patch I made that I use with the JTV69: http://line6.com/customtone/tone/1967148/ Of course you'll probably want to adjust the EQ to taste and I use an external looper, so you can take out the blocks in path 2B that I use for that. As others have mentioned how hard you attack the strings can affect the acoustic sounds quite a bit on the JTV. I tend to be heavy handed with my right hand so I have to remind myself to lighten up when using the acoustic models :) If you want to hear what it sounds like:

Thanks for the share, I saw this post and was going to put a link :) Digitech did respond on my video and say that if you put it pre gain pedals to back the gain off some on the Freqout to make it less prominent. I haven't had the chance to try this yet, but honestly I'm pretty happy having it after the drive pedals. This weekend will be the first time I actually play a small gig with it so I'll have a better idea how it incorporaes into my rig/playing. Very fun pedal for sure!

This! From the XT Live days I've always preferred the computer editor. I realize the Helix UI is MILES ahead of older units, but I still think it's just easier to edit with a mouse. I have also had an issue with accidentally rotating the joystick when trying to just move up/down/left/right. BTW, I absolutely think an undo feature would be great. Even with the computer editor it would be useful.

You're very welcome :)

I agree. But they launched in 2010 I believe and if it takes them another year to get the new version out that's a pretty long life cycle for a technology based product. The nice thing is that my JTV59 and 69 will continue to be great guitars. Even if I just used the mags they are great instruments. So even though I know I'll be the first in line for whatever the next gen is it will be hard to part with my two JTV's :)

Spent some time tonight trying everything to get happy with the auto swell pedal. In the end it does ok, but not sure it will be replacing the volume pedal for swells.

Glad you got it working!

I sure hope so! But I haven't heard any real chatter about it on the forums or Facebook. However Line 6 did send out an owners survey about Variax last week asking what new features would be important and what current features you use the most. So I think that's a great sign that Line 6 isn't done with the Variax! I'm pretty sure I remember getting a survey from Line 6 similar to this before the JTV line was launched several years ago. I'm not unhappy at all with my JTV guitars, but would love to see an update. It would be incredible if they made a leap forward like they did going from the HD500 line to Helix. Of course it would mean buying new hardware, but that's the way it goes.

Loving the fact that with Helix 2.20 you can now use it as an interface for Variax and Workbench. The Variax USB interface is going back in the drawer :) Did a quick video about this as well as some Workbench tips

That's strange. Did you do the global reset after you updated to 2.20? If you don't do that step things don't work quite like they should. If you haven't be sure to backup all of your patches and IR's before doing this because it will wipe them. Also you'll have to redo your global settings after the reset. To do the reset you hold down footswitches 9 and 10 when booting up. That's the only reason I can think of that it wouldn't work for you.

Thanks! It's a very fun patch and easy to spend a lot of time playing with it :)

I did a video yesterday doing a drone type thing with it. Really fun new effect.