guitarno

I'm dredging up this old thread. I previously had a JTV-59 which had the exact same issue (F# resonance) mentioned in this thread. I sold that guitar after a few years. Fast forward to now - I recently picked up another (Used) JTV-59. I regretted selling the 1st one at times and found myself in a position that I need to do fast changes from acoustic & electric guitar for gigs. The Variax seemed to be the perfect answer to that. I also forgot how nice the JTV-59 is to play. It is a really nice guitar in it's own right, without considering the modeling. Well I've got the same acoustic model F# resonance issue with this one that I had with the 1st. It was so bad at a recent practice at a hall I play in that I had to abandon the patch (and acoustic Variax model) I was using. I later edited it to include a notch @ 180 Hz (Para EQ won't do 185 Hz, only 180 or 190), and that helped but I couldn't cut enough to eliminate it completely. I also ended up with an acoustic tone that was not great but at least didn't howl. I totally reject the notion that it is caused by fret buzz. It plays very well, the action is not uber low, there is no audible fret buzz, it does not happen with the mags, or other models. This is definitely something with the acoustic model itself, or the interaction with the model and other physical factors unknown at this point. I remember screwing around with the string volumes in work bench and maybe that will help but I do want to hear that string in balance with the others on all other notes. Here we go again...

Sounds interesting. I have owned a GP-10 for a number of years and it is a great little unit. I have a Godin that has built-in electronics to drive Roland/Boss synths (internal GK3). I got a helix a year ago or so and have been using it for gigs routinely. I did add the GP-10 on for just one particular song (One Vision by Queen) for synth tones. I just recently got a Variax (JTV-59), but I haven't used it with the GP-10 yet. There's a lot of crossover in what they both do as far as the instrument modeling and I like them both. It really would be cool to use them both together. I will have to do some experimenting with that.

Same here - can't access your track...

Could you be a little more specific?,,, :lol:

Your Avatar could get tarred and feathered for this... :angry:

^^^ What he said! ^^^ The Boss GP-10 - You can order one Direct now! :lol: Actually, you should go over to "VguitarForums.com" and look around for the group buys, and order through them... B)

Having to use a switch to change between intervals isn't really "Intelligent" harmony. That's "static" (dumb) harmony and no intelligence included. The term "Intelligent" implys that it knows to switch intervals to stay in the harmony within the chosen scale when you change input notes. The GP-10 is a much cheaper device, and although no one from line 6 has directly answered this question, I would be stunned if the Helix couldn't do true "Intelligent" harmony as well as or better than the GP-10 and similar effect devices.

I believe your looking for intelligent harmony (keeping harmony note in a particular scale). If that's what you mean, Roland VG units do this pretty effectively. I have a GP-10 that will do this. I don't play Thin Lizzie tunes and haven't tried it on that song, but I'm thinking it would work that way. The VG units rely on hex pickup processing to do a lot of the synth processing polyphonicly. I'm not sure if a hex pickup is required to get intelligent harmonies or not. I'll have to try that lick on my GP-10 & see if it works for that. Yeah, I just listened to that clip again. I'm pretty sure that the GP-10 will do this no sweat. The helix ought to be able to do this as well if it has a good usable harmony effect. On the GP-10 you just specify (in advance - written into the patch) what scale your playing in (G Minor, F Major, etc...), and when you play any note, it will automatically switch the interval for you to force it to stay in that scale. I'm just not sure if you really need a hex pickup to do this or not. If you are using a Variax, you've got that, but not on a regular guitar. See this related post to show how to do this with a JTV / HD500: http://line6.com/support/topic/11487-how-2-approximate-hotel-california-harmony-with-ur-jtvhd500/?hl=hotel+california

I agree! B) The VoiceLive processing is very cool. Some people might not want to use it, or might regard it as "Cheating", but it can really make a good vocal better without sounding phony or over-processed if used with a little discretion. I'd really like to see some of these features in the Helix for doing vocals alongside the guitar processing for live use, and for recording purposes. If I spend the money to get the helix, I won't have much left to stick into outboard vocal effects, so it would be great if Helix had some of these vocal effects. I put in a feature request for this. Vote for it in IdeaScale here: ---> http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Voicelive-type-vocal-processing/772456-23508

They just released the "Standard" so I doubt they would change or update it so soon after release. I guess they could release another new "Pro" model, but I hope there's some kind of upgrade path for those of us who already invested in current variax's. I own a Korean JTV-59, and while I'm all for any improvement in guitar modeling and alternate tunings in the variax's, there's a limit to how much more I'd be willing to pay to get them. I'd have bought an American version if the modeled sounds were really better, but with everything else involved, it was really too much money. I'm hoping there are some small improvements in the guitar modelling of the current JTV's when using the Helix, without having to replace the JTV with a newer model. Maybe some king of upgrade kit to update the electronics currently in the existing JTV's someday.

For better or worse, I sold my HD500X, and pre-ordered a Helix. I'm generally not an "Early Adopter", but when the Helix was announced I decided to become one, and I'm hoping that I end up being really happy with that decision.

What kind of shape is the kidney in?? How many drinking hours are on it??

Are you implying that the Helix's switches are the same as the X3? or the non-HD Pod 500's? If that's the case there is reason for concern. I had switches on a earlier pod fail and have to be replaced. I had a HD500X and never had that problem with the switches and I believe that they updated the switches on the HD model, and they were less prone to failure then the ones used before. I would like to think that the switches on the Helix are even more robust that the ones used on the HD500X considering the price difference.

I agree - some of the "fanboyism" and "tribalism" that gets exhibited on some of these forums gets pretty tiring to read. I have to admit that I've engaged in it myself on occasion - just human nature I guess. I don't begrudge people having a contrary opinion, as long as it doesn't get abusive and out of hand. Nothing's as annoying as weeding through 30 posts in a row with 2 guys having a pissing match over opinions about tone, or which amp or effects box is better. We are all after the same goals more or less, we just get to them in different ways, and have different tastes in sound. Tone is pretty subjective, and one person's "dream tone" may have the next guy covering his ears and grimacing.

radatats, Didn't mean to get down on you, I just had to point out that Steve is not a forum troll. He was being critical of Line 6 modeling tone, but he has his reasons for preferring other choices. He does great work @ vguitarforums and when he express an opinion on something, I listen because he knows what he’s talking about. Hopefully when the sound clips for the Helix start coming out, they're impressive and people that aren't fans of Line 6 modeling will find something they like.

Actually Steve is a very knowledgeable and experienced player and a brilliant musical gear wizard. He has a lot of guitar modeling wisdom to offer. The Vguitarforums site is a treasure trove of knowledge for a variety of guitar gear from various manufacturers. Although it is a little more Roland/Boss VG/GR centric, it deals with instrument & amp modeling in general. You guys should spend some time perusing the site if you don't already. You will find a lot of general guitar gear knowledge, some great and helpful forum members, and a lot of info & patches for Line 6 gear (JTV, Workbench). He is being a little critical of the Sweetwater Helix vid, but he’s entitled to his opinion, and the sound quality and the tones featured in that video weren’t exactly outstanding, or the best the Helix has to offer (hopefully!).

Glad I could give you that info in time for you to take advantage of it. $300 off is a nice discount - makes it a lot easier to afford than the $1500 list price.

I think the feature set looks incredible. The routing options, multiple FX loops, IR loading, the new UI, all look great. Having 2 processors with more DSP and more blocks available should equate to better overall sound. Haven't heard enough sound clips yet to really evaluate how much of an improvement in modeling has taken place, but I am gambling that it is significantly better, and I took the plunge and pre-ordered one.

Well, there's a lot of debate about how good the sound and features are or aren't or whether it will compete directly with the Fractal & Kemper units, but I really like the feature set. I haven't heard enough of the sounds to make a valid judgement based on the tones, but I couldn't resist & did a pre-order through WWBW. They have a 20% ($300) discount that ends tomorrow, and seeing as how it won't ship for a couple of months, I have a little time to hear what comes out between now and then, so for right now, I'm in. I'm hoping I don't really see or hear anything that's an absolute deal killer for me, but I really like what I've seen so far as far as features. The price is at the top edge of what I can spend (better with 20% off!), but that being the case, there's really no way I can justify another $500 or $1000 to get into a Fractal or Kemper, so that's a moot point for me. So far, it looks like it should be a quantum leap above the HD500X, and a lot easier to dial in using the interface, which was always a downside of the HD500 for me. I just didn't like editing on the HD's UI in a live situation, and that made fine tuning live less than a smooth process. I did do some editing live but I'm just not a big fan of the HD onboard UI. The software made it so much easier to visualize what was going on. I really like the look of the new interface, and hopefully it's more intuitive and works better for me.

Done!

Thanks Nico! Mucho appreciado! B)

How do you return a purchased HD Model pack? I recently bough on for my HD500X, and I'm now considering selling my HD500X and moving to the new Helix when it's available, but I don't see how exactly to return the model pack I purchased for the HD500X??!! I'm within the 30 day window. Can anyone explain how this is done? Thanks!

Yeah I'd send it back too. That crack & malfunctioning controls sound like it was used and abused - a non starter for sure. You should recieve a better instrument than than unless you got a sizable discount & knew about those things up front.

If you want studio monitors, I am using Presonus Eris 8's that I really like, and got new for around $200 apiece on a discounted price deal. They are fairly large, and are not designed for gigging, but are great monitors. The also have a 5" size in that model. If you want speakers that are reasonably priced, but are giggable, I hear good things about Alto TS110A'S & TS112A's, but haven't used them myself.

Nicely done Peter. "Part 2 of your Video Series" ? I wasn't aware of your work. I was just checking out your website. I will have to spend a little time there & look at the 1st series of video for the Pod HD500(X). Great stuff!