aleclee

I really like my 880s.  I'm partial to open-backed cans for home playing so my family doesn't have to scream at me to get my attention.

How about using an rubber isolation washer between the pedal or Helix and the metal fastener/board?  Wouldn't that solve any grounding issues as the units wouldn't be in contact with the board directly?  Rubber washers are cheap and readily available in many sizes too....just a thought.

Wouldn't the bolt still provide continuity?

I downloaded Glenn Delaune's High Gain set and to my ears they sound terrible. Has anyone else downloaded this set?

One thing that was a little tricky when I downloaded one of his artist sets was getting the presets pointing to the right IRs.  I had IRs loaded into the slots that his presets were expecting so I had to rejigger things a bit.

You need to BEGIN WITH THE EDITOR installation package. To get the editor package go to the Downloads section of this website. Select Helix in the middle (software) field, NOT the leftmost (Products) field. Leave the Products field blank (all Products). READ and FOLLOW the installation instructions. Use the Get Download button at the bottom of the instructions panel to download and install the editor package when directed.

Given the need to export presets/IRs with the editor that matches your firmware version, it might be good to put that as the "first" step, before installing anything new.  Better not to assume that the person has been diligently backup up their presets/IRs.

Is it a CAB file or a WAV file?  Helix won't load the CAB as it's specific to AA.

I throw a 3-band compressor in between amp & cab (or after amp if using a single amp/cab block).  Most effective trick I've found for managing high gain tones.

If anyone else is interested, I put in a request.

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Standard-Scale-Shuriken/893855-23508?submitted=1

Try throwing a 3-band compressor between the amp & cab or right after the amp/cab if you're using a single block for them.

I agree Line6 does generally have terrific customer service and nobody is saying they are not smart enough or don't care. I have no idea how you derive that from my posts. This conversation about the tuner has just been dragging on for months now and I would like to see the issue resolved.

If you 

1. believe they care about the problem
2. think they're competent

What's left but to believe that the problem is either hard to isolate/identify or much harder to solve than it might appear?  If the problem is well-understood, they care about the issue, and it's truly an easy fix, why do you think it hasn't it been fixed yet?  

I meant to ignore the fine indicator until ALL strings are coarsely in tune.

I ignore the fine indicator on a string-by-string basis.  I just use the trick of tuning the high-pitched strings before the low-pitched ones.  It minimizes the iterations of running through the strings with a floating trem.

I cannot believe what I am hearing on this thread as people try to think and talk there way out of a problem that requires action in the form of a fix, not more "investigation" and discussion. 

Dunno if this was (partially) directed at me but I'd give the folks at L6 enough credit that if the tuner is having the sorts of issues you describe, the most likely reason it hasn't been patched is because they don't have a good way to replicate it.  I see too many examples of terrific customer service to assume they don't care and figure they're smart enough to find a solution if they can identify the issue.  

You are of course free to assume that the powers that be don't give a whit about your tuner issues but that doesn't really fit in with the overall behavior of the organization, at least from my perspective.

One strategy I've been trying recently is to ignore the high-res top display, at least until all strings line up on the bottom one, which jumps around a lot less. It's less accurate of course, but it bothers me less.

I'm new to HX but this is the way I've done it since day 1.  It just seemed fruitless to look at the fine indicator before lining up the rough one.  I wonder if it might help cue folks better if the fine indicator was inactive / grayed out until the pitch got to within a certain number of cents of the correct pitch.

All I can say is I don't have this issue, so it's hard for me to understand how others' experiences are so different. I have used the Helix with probably a dozen different electric, several acoustics, and the other stuff I mentioned, and the note is registered right away... It certainly doesn't take me 2-3 minutes to tune. I have the same time limitations as other players. I'm tuning between songs or during other breaks as I get a chance.

As I mentioned above, I have no issues either.  Thing is that a number of folks do and it's hard to believe that operator error is the cause in something as simple as using a tuner.  Heck, I generally tune using the bridge pickup with tone on 10.  It might be useful to get data from folks about their satisfaction with the tuner and the gear used:

• Active vs. Passive
• Humbucker vs. Single Coil
• Cabled vs. Wireless
• Heavy picks vs Light picks vs No picks
• etc.

That might give some indication of the commonalities across those experiencing issues and some clues about why some folks are struggling.

I often wonder how embarrassed people get when they go off on a rant only to find out they would have known how to fix their problem if they'd only read the manual....hmmmmm   :huh:

If they were sufficiently self-aware to get embarrassed, they wouldn't do it again.

@aleclee, what sorts of settings do you use for the 3-band? I was experimenting with it for the same purpose yesterday, didn't come to any firm conclusion as to whether I liked it more than the LA Studio.

Still figuring it out as I've only had my HX for about 10 days.  I find that the default settings are a pretty good start for removing harshness (to my ear).  

Overall, I tend to leave the mids alone, at least in terms of compression (i.e., keep threshold pretty high) and monkey with the lows to keep things beefy without booming and a lot with the highs to get them to sit right.  Dunno if it's right but I tend to mess with the crossover freq and high level more than the high threshold. Still getting used to the common ratio across bands after years with the AxeFx.

I have had this problem for a long time. Its not just with Helix but other multi effects too. When I record using active monitors sound is ok. When I listen it with PC's surround system guitar sound is much worse, all the clarity is gone. When I listen other peoples videos from youtube etc I can hear perfect tones coming out from this PC surround system.

My thoughts in no particular order:

• Surround speakers are probably adding some EQ and perhaps spacial cues.  How do your recordings sound through other playback systems?  
• It sounds like your HX is hooked up directly to the monitors.  If so, have you tried playing back via USB through the monitors?  Is it more like when you're recording or more like playback through the surround speakers?
• What (if any) processing (EQ, compression, etc.) are you doing on playback?  

I find the 3 band compressor to be the most effective tool for taming high end harshness. Much more effective than just EQ.

Dunno why but it's happened to me as well.

Thanks everyone comma I'm getting closer. When I switch to direct as opposed to going to an amp, I find a lot of wonderful things. However there are a few things that I greatly Miss and this particular patch is one of them exclamation point I know it won't be the same but as long as I can get a close I'll be happy period I'll be tweaking for a few hours this evening and I'll try your ideas

Looks like your speech-to-text isn't detecting punctuation. (period)

I run before the cab/IR block to minimize the impact on formants. If I have the CPU cycles, I'd go with a second amp (different settings if not model) and split paths to get things more distinct.

I read it as his neighbor's computer is running ML, not his laptop.

Archon for me.  No matter how much people rave about it, it's not too much love as far as I'm concerned. :)

Rather than further derail my Free IR thread, I thought I'd start a new topic since there was some discussion potential.

I'm partial to the free Taylor CE IRs and created a clip of the magnetic pickups on my Strandberg running through my "Fauxcoustic" preset. link

http://www.aleclee.rocks/media/FauxcousticHX.mp3

Personally, I'm partial to not so much body tone.  That affected my choice of IRs as well as EQ. For those who prefer more body/air in the tone, a different IR might suit you better but pushing the EQ at 400Hz can help, too.

I have some other free IRs I'll share when I get them into a downloadable location.  

Any IRs or tips you'd like to share from your experience with acoustic simulation?

I think it might be passable in the context of a full band, but I think some of the characteristics of a solid body limit the amount of depth the sound has.  It makes me wonder how it might sound with a hollow body electric.

Personally, I don't care for too much body sound in my acoustic tone so a preset I dial isn't going to have a ton of that character.  IME working with IRs as acoustic sims, you can dial in more body sound / "air" by boosting around 400Hz.  The effect varies from IR to IR but if you're looking for a bit more of that, it can help quite a bit.  

It's fun to speculate but if you have the time, download the IRs linked above. It's pretty easy to try it yourself and see what works and doesn't work. 

At the risk of turning this into a "Let's define 'acoustic' guitar sounds" discussion, what's missing for you?  Is it the sound of "air" in the body?  The ADSR? Cues such as handling noise? 

I'd never claim that an IR-based approach would work for nylon string simulation because the attack is so much different than with steel strings but as "acoustic simulators" go, I think using the acoustic IR of choice gets you there about as well as anything else.

Here's a quick and sloppy clip of a preset I created using one of the Taylor IRs I mentioned in my free IR thread.  No piezos used here, just one of the in-between positions on my Strandberg.

http://www.aleclee.rocks/media/FauxcousticHX.mp3

link