marvio

Hello again everybody! :) I've owned the HELIX for close to an year now but only recently have I put it to the "band test" :) Had not played live for a while so I never came across this issue, and I'm going to put my hands up here and fully recognize this is probably something I'm doing wrong! So, I have my helix configured with what I think should be a snapshot for live playing, 4 super simple patches, 1 for acoustic (I have a Variax as well) with no amp, just some verb, light chorus and EQ, 1 clean for guitar, AMP+VERB+DELAY, one for rhythm, DIST+AMP+EQ+VERB, and one for solo (same as crunch with some delay and a bit more saturation). You probably have heard this a million times before from noobs like me, and are sitting there smiling to yourselves (all good, I deserve it), but when I change "patches" I have this split second "drop in sound", even in between the crunch and solo ones which use all the same amp/cab/dist/eq/verb, only adding delay on the solo. Could I live with it? Sure! Is it a deal breaker? Absolutely not! The only thing that bothers me is that I KNOW this is my fault for not knowing how to configure the hardware, and not the HELIX itself :) Would a good soul out there help me rectify my own shortcomings? LOL

Hey Bryanblackburn, Just thought of giving you a suggestion on your problem... Maybe the bug is limited to Win8? I have HX Edit running on 4 different Win10 machines, with completely disparate software/hardware with no issues... The update to Win10 from Win8 is free, maybe you should go that route? Just type "Windows 10 media creator" on a Google search, just make sure the link you are picking belongs to Microsoft, download the tool and run it :)

David, I know this is an older post, but I'm starting to think the power cab is the way to go... I haven't used one yet, but it seems to me that the connection between the HELIX and DT was an afterthought, to my ears the POD HD actually sounds better than the HELIX. IT's not like you can't get pretty good tones with the HELIX+DT, but they sounds too processed? Which defeats the purpose of lugging around a full tube amp, you know? I can't see the power cab sounding worse than the DT, and it weights about half, not even that?

Scott, Absolutely, tubes would not prevent the AMP from powering up, it would just not make any sound... Also, as far as the power cabs playing nicer with the HELIX, other than the Line6 link being an afterthought between the helix and DT, that is NOT what is killing your amp, there is no power being send through that cable (the only thing that could kill it, and even then, I would think the HELIX would die, not the amp). It's a coincidence, but your amp is just dying, period, sorry man.

HEy, thanks for answering that man! :) Yeah, in my experience it was much easier to get some really awesome tones out of the POD HD + DT than it has been with the helix + DT, I guess it's because the POD and DT were made to work together, and it seems it was an afterthought with the HELIX? Not sure... I play heavier rock, in my new band, it's not quite metal, but definitely "guitar driven" music, put it that way :) The tone "in my head" is definitely classic 80's metal derived, but a lot "cleaner" sounding, I want to hear all the notes on a 7th/add11th/suspended/diminished chord, but with enough "heavy" for some occasional "chugga chugga" too , if that makes any sense!? :) I had it down pat with the pod HD and the DT, I was using the JCM800 "special" DT pre amp, with the blue compressor in front (to push and give clarity), and some super light EQ on the rear, just pushing less than a DB on some mid to high frequencies, it was really perfect :) My patches tend to be that simple, especially for live playing with the DT, maybe I should think differently with the HELIX?

Alright, like many of you I was "surprised" that the HELIX did not have native control over the DT (in my case 50 2x12 combo). I've found some OK tones, but they sound too processed? IS that the word? Tried using just the pre amp models, but they don;t sound good, it sounds like midway between not having a cab and having one (if that makes sense), using the "full amp" is what gave me the best results, never really tried to use the amp+cab (that seems crazy to me). So, after reading the thread, I'm now confused! :) How should I set up the HELIX to best match with the DT (over line6 link)? Just the pre amp? The full amp? Also, what is it that you guys were talking about setting the topology on the DT? ( I know what it is, and how to set it on the DT itself), but how to set it on a patch from the HELIX? Do I just choose the topology I want on the DT, load the patch on the HELIX and hit save, and HELIX somehow remembers it? I gotta say, I liked how my POD500X sounded a lot more than the HELIX. I really hope, as someone suggested, that Line6 could create a sub section of the amp models for the DT users, and make those work like the POD did

Cruisionon, Not quite sure I get it? I'm trying a similar thing with an ADA-MP1 I have, and if I do that it sounds like absolute crap, much like plugging the ADA directly into my interface. I understand there is no real anything, it's all modeled, sure, I get it, but just for sake of the argument... In the real world I would either use the ADA through a Power amp or on the effects return of a tube amp, I would do that to get what the tone shaping of the power amp and the end result of this set up is that the sound coming out of the speakers was what ADA intended you to hear. What you suggest here, in real world terms, it to connect the ADA right into a cab, which you can do, and sound comes out, but putting aside actual loudness for a moment, the sound coming out of the CAB directly connected to the ADA is, much like the modeling counterpart, crap, because it doesn't have a power amp to shape the final tone... On the POD HD there were stand alone power amps just for this purpose, but unless I'm missing something I can't find a power amp on the HELIX? Is there a way to put the ADA on the "effect return" of a modeled amp?

Regardless of genre, that's an example of an extremely "round" sound to me, like I said, that's way too much on the other extreme, I just need some "hair" off, not almost all of it like this guys :) Coda, Tried the PAD trick, and it definitely helped, also, tried my 30+ year old "lollipop" Kramer, and helped even more! LOL Do you guys find that the guitar affects the tone this much? I've been using a Les Paul standard throughout, but I though :"What the hell, I have all these guitars hanging on my wall..." The ones I liked the best were the Kramer and my N4, both of which have Bill Lawrence L500XL's on the bridge. HUmm, maybe the helix likes those pickups for this mythical round sound I'm looking for?

Coda, YES! That's exactly what I mean! :) It's the extra "stuff" at the "edges" of the note I will check that thread out for sure, thanks again man! As an example of the "round", "modern metal sound" I'm talking about? Just take any of the youtubers who do gear reviews, no matter what they play through it all sounds the same! LOL :) Like I said, that is on the other extreme of "round", those sounds are "round" to the point of being boring... Let me see if I can find something quick... This for Example :)

Coda, BBD I'm a very pragmatic guy, and I hate for people to miss understand me, that's the only reason I'm posting again. I wasn't trying to fix my "hairy" sample, that tone is just the way I wanted it, super hairy! :) I only posted that sample to exemplify what I meant by hairy, not to try to fix it :) I don't dislike hairy tones, in fact I quite love them, there is something more "real" , "vintage" about them, but sometimes I need a very round sound for modern metal, that is what I wasn't seem to be able to get from any models on the HELIX, I tried a recto, for example, and the "hairiness" was still there... If you think about the current "standard" metal tone, which seems every metal guitarist uses these days, that's more what I'm talking about, "non hairy" that is, now that is way too much for my tastes, as I think the "modern metal tone" is too round, to the point of being boring, but that would be the other extreme from the "hairy" sample I posted Makes nay more sense now? (brain explodes) lol

That is another very good suggestion sir! Have lots to do when I get home today :) Thanks Coda And thanks everybody! Rock on!

Yeah, maybe the Engl was a bad example, but absolutely, you a right on with the Mesa/SLO, have not tried an EQ before the amp, I've traditionally have put them on the FX loop of real amps and I was trying to replicate that, old habits die hard :) I'll try it when I get home today, thanks Gunpoint

Coda, Thank so much for taking the time to do this, you guys are awesome, but I guess I cannot put into words what my ears are hearing? LOL In your example I hear as much "hair" in the beginning as I do in the end, like I said on my last post, "hair" to me is not an EQ thing, it's a gain structure thing, and "hair" is not a bad thing at all, I expect to hear "hair" from a plexi, that's how the gain structure is set up :) The settings on the valve driver were intentional, I wanted a very bright tone, and in that case i did want a very "hairy" tone, I'm not trying to fix that example, I only put it up as a sample of what I meant, my "problem" is that no matter what amp I choose I always get "hair", even on amps that are supposed to have a much rounder/tighter tone, like an Engl , for example. Again, I don't dislike "hair" at all, I use hairy tones all the time to fill in a mix, but I also need something very tight/rounder for fast metal riffage, where that tone in my example would not work 100%, like I said, gain structure not EQ :) Sorry everybody, I feel like I'm being a pain in the lollipop, I swear, I'm a really laid back guy, I'm just not smart enough to translate to words what I'm thinking/hearing I guess! LOL

Coda, Hey, thanks man :) The patch is super simple, really nothing to it, this is what the chain is Noise gate (thres -22db, decay 60ms, level 0db) > Valve driver (gain 2.9, bass 0.7, treble 6.5, level 9.8) > Amp - brit plexi jump (brt drv 7.6, nrm drv 7.2, bass 6.9, mid 9.0, trb 7.3, chvol 6.7, pres 7.8, mstr 10, sag 4.4, hum 5.0, ripl 5.0) > IR - Ace marsh 1956V 5a (L-cut 68hz, H-cut 19Khz, mix 100%, lvl -18db) > Hard gate (O Thresh -47db, C thresh -60 db, H-time 10ms, decay 10ms, lvl 0 db)

One more try for the guitar only non hairy tone (now shorter, so you don;t have to endure the terrible playing!)LInk to non hairy just guitar because the forums won;t let me upload anymore!