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Hi, Really there is nothing to understand about using headphones with your HX Stomp - simply connect some suitable headphones to the 1/4” stereo socket on the side of the Stomp and turn up the volume. The issue you have is that your “JBL E55BT” cans don’t immediately qualify as “suitable”. The big clue is in the name - BT = Bluetooth. The type of connection you describe is a detachable cable which has a one button universal remote and built in microphone. Quincy Jones may love these, but essentially they are for hooking up to your phone or iPad. There are many, many, more suitable headphones out in the world. Basically, you don’t need to spend a small fortune on a pair of quality cans designed for studio monitoring and mixing. Try to avoid “audiophile” stuff as they are made to make things sound “better”, whereas you need something that tell the truth about your sound. Lots of users on here use Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro, Sennheiser HD 600 - also Sony, AKG are highly commended. Personally, Audio Technica ATH-M50x usually get my vote, and if you’re on a budget there are the Audio-Technica ATH-M40X. Tools to do the job - Helix’s headphone out is designed to drive even high impedance studio headphones. Hope this helps/makes sense. EDIT: Your attached picture is not a picture, it’s a .php file - not sure what’s happening on here with attachments.

I think at this level it really comes down to personal preferences. I can only speak to DT770's as I've owned 2 different pairs of them. I did compare them at one time to the HD600, and I thought they were both excellent headphones, but I went with the DT770's mostly due to comfort. When I use headphones I normally wear them a long time...like all day and the DT770's feel like pillows on my head and I've actually forgotten I was wearing them from time to time. You may be better off just going to trying both of them out and see what you think. I've heard other people remark they don't like the isolation of closed back headphones and you may be one of those kind of people. Anyway...sorry to hear about your band. We just had a minor shakeup in ours as well...or will have come May 1st. You get used to it after a while....

There's no trick to sending direct to the mixer, so I'm assuming you're talking about simply hearing the preset at home in some accurate way. It's really less about the audio interface and a LOT more about the headphones. I very seldom ever do that, but in my case it's really just about a good pair of headphones with a fairly accurate representation of the sound. BeyerDynamic DT770's have been a very popular choice and that's what I use ( 80 ohm version) and they come pretty close to what I use live on my PA which are Yamaha DXR12 speakers. I also have the option of listening to my presets through a good pair of studio monitors (Yamaha HS7) as both my headphones and monitors are connected directly to my Helix floor. Between the two I can get a fairly good feel for what it will sound like through the PA. You can rest assured the 'fizziness' you speak of is there in your amp. Just move your head in line with the center cone of the speaker and you'll hear it loud and clear. Headphones probably emphasize it more as they aren't as susceptible to changes in what you're hearing based on where you're standing relative to the speaker. But then neither are PA speakers generally. A higher end pair of legitimate studio headphones will give you your best shot at getting a good representation.

Hi All I'm looking for a pair of headphones to play through either Helix Native (Focusrite Scarlett) and HX Stomp. This is just for quite practice home playing so no mixing. I have a line on pair of new Beyerdynamic DT1770 at a good price but it will still be more than double what I would pay for a set of DT770 250ohm. I don;t need closed backs so another option is a set of DT1990. Anyone using the DT1770 have any comments how they work with modellers? Better yet anyone able to compare them to the DT770 and feel they are a worthy upgrade? Alternatively anyone using the DT1990 and can comment in how they compare with DT1770? I'd also be interested any comments on general music listening

We have a client who is a guitarist/vocalist and uses a helix. Normally we are just micing up his vocals (TLM103/K2 in MS > VMP400e pre) so it retains the stereo space around the vocal. DT770 for monitoring (tight isolation) The helix is going in via the tube DI inputs...and everything is sweet...right? NO The artists switches presets along the way...as you do for various parts of the take and it also part of his performance. The foot switches are really loud, they are downright distracting on the otherwise great takes...some of them are on top of the singing so I can just gate/edit them out. I cant use any null of mics etc because of the way we need to capture him (as described above) Has anyone had any success in quieting them down? I mentioned for my own live stuff during covid ie in small rooms with people standing close etc...and seems no one else notices here Thanks

Hi All I've settled on the DT770 for guitar playing through Helix Native (Scarlet Solo). There are a couple of threads on here from a few years back asking for recommendations on the preferred impedance plus info scattered across various threads. Good info in those threads but a lot of it is comments from people only owning one impedance. I have also done a lot of reading and watched youtube reviews so have a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each, but that's in the context of general music listening and other non guitar uses. Anyone able to compare both impedances and recommend which is best for guitar playing - home practice? BTW - I have an Objective O2 headphone if needed to run the 250 ohm version. Thanks

I have searched, and the 2 popular ones I see most are (correct me if I'm wrong: Sennheiser HD600 - Open Back - $400 roughly Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm - $160 roughly What will I noticed with the variation between open back and closed. My current phones are closed...but I dont have any experience with open back ones. My current phones are pretty heavy in the 240hz range and pretty light on the 6k range. Which is why i need to find a more 'flat' response set. I've been able in the past to dial in with my headphones into my bands PA system, however my band is no more...and PA systems will fluctuate a bit more going forward for me, so I just need a better straight up reference pair. Also dialing in the acoustic simulator is impossible with those 2 frequencies running wild I mentioned above. I really would only be using these for preset creation, practicing at home to Spotify....so I dont need studio, mix-mastering level of quality....but I need something quality as I dont have the budget to try, replace, try, replace. Also, my gf will likely buy them as a birthday gift, so I'd prefer to not have to exchange her gift being that she will basically buy whatever I suggest. lol. I guess from a quality sound perspective (ignoring the closed vs open back concept) what would be the difference between the two models? Secondly, how does the closed vs open back affect my first question? Appreciate any help here. The information on this topic is overwhelming and I know I'm dumping a glass of water into the ocean by asking in another thread, but I feel I've come down to these 2 options and its hard to sort out opinions, reviews etc with all other posts in those threads.

Regardless whether I'm using my Sennheiser HD 650 300 Ohm, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm, Shure SE530, or Sony MDR-V6, I find the HX Stomp's headphone out serves very well. If you're seeking thunderous near pain threshold headphone SPL levels, you'll need a headphone amp. Otherwise, you should find the HX Stomp more than adequate. YMMV.

In the meantime I read many reviews and it seems that the quality of the audio for the headphones line out is ok and that it works good with the DT770 Pro 250 Ohms or even IEM.

The issues tend to be related more to how human hearing works than how the Helix works. As mentioned about the Fletcher-Munson curve is a very real thing and can deceive you in terms of dialing in your tones. Over the years I've found that an SPL reading of around 90db at 6 ft or so tends to be adequate for getting a good representation that won't vary much in a live performance which is in the range of a food blender or hair dryer or maybe slightly above that. If you think that may be too much for your living conditions then your best option would be a good set of reference headphones (not consumer headphones). A popular choice is the Beyerdynamic DT770. I use the 80ohm model in my studio and it gives a fair representation of my presets. It's not as accurate as my Yamaha DXR12 (which actually IS a PA speaker) which is what I use most when dialing in my presets, but it might suffice until you can tweak things at a good rehearsal space. The more important consideration for going silent stage is getting your presets gain staged accurately and consistently. I have a pretty involved process at home in which I run my Helix through an actual mixing board (QSC TM-30) and then into the DXR12. This allows me to get an accurate signal level reading of my presets so they will always be consistent on any modern mixing board. As a matter of course I have my Helix global ins/outs configured so that the XLR output is disengaged from the Helix master volume knob and set to Mic signal level. This sends my preset at a signal level most used on mixing board inputs and at full volume. I then manage the output levels within the Helix presets by adjusting either the channel volume on the amp model in my preset or on the output block as I monitor the PA signal meter neither of which will affect the tone of your preset. Although this is a fairly involved process, much of it can be done by simply selecting the output block on the Helix preset which gives you the output signal level and keep it in the 60 to 65% range. If you have a final compressor such as the LA Studio compressor you can also get a gain reduction indicator on the Helix by selecting that block to help manage the peaks in your signal. The value in all of this is a huge savings in time at sound checks by only having to check a single preset as the adjustments the soundman makes on one preset will be consistent across all your presets. If you gig every week like I do that's incredibly important.

I use Sennheiser HD600 300 Ohm and they've been the ones I've like the most. Helix has no problem driving 300 Ohm headphones so no need for a preamp. http://a.co/d/f16nOsW I also use Sony MDRv6's with my Stomp ($80) and they sound very good, too - lower ohms so the Stomp can drive them better. The Stomp's headphone amp is not as strong as the Helix so it had trouble driving the HD600's. Note - I've tried many headphones back-to-back - Sony MDR 7520, Sony MDR 7506, Sony MDRv6, Sennheiser HD600, DT770's, and the two I chose to keep were the Sennheiser HD600's and the cheap Sony MDRv6. If I was doing it again, I'd have to try the HD650's, too. Many people like the DT770's or any number of reputable headphones. I think it comes down to personal preference, comfort, whether you like open back or closed back, etc. After buying a few pairs that came highly recommended by others here, and not caring for them, I decided to buy a bunch, pick the one pair or two I liked the best, and send the rest back. (Thank you Amazon no-hassle return.) Each of the ones above have their strengths, though. Open back, closed back, more comfortable, not as comfortable, frequency range and flatness, etc. The Sony MDR 7520's are great for blocking out external sound - I used those when doing Kemper profiles with pretty loud amps and positioning the microphone and they do a great job of blockout out very loud amps while monitoring the mic through the 7520's. So actually, I guess I kept a few of them and use them for different purposes. A buddy of mine got the DT770's and likes those better than the HD600's. So really, it's hard to say which ones YOU will like the best. If you can buy from a place with a great turn policy, I recommend buying several, trying them all back-to-back, and choosing the ones you like the best for your purpose. For me, it's really hard to beat the prices of the MDRv6 and MDR 7506. I liked the sound of the MDRv6 on the Helix and Stomp very slightly better than the 7506's. I like the 7520's for their sound isolation, but thought the lower priced Sony's (v6 and 7506) sounded better to me for Helix and Stomp. I really didn't gel too well with the DT770's. And I've never tried the Senn HD650's.

Email from NewEgg this morning has Flash Sale on BeyerDynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm headphones for $114 USD Free Shipping using Promo Code: SSBP225.

Thanks all for the info. Yeah the rabbit hole of headphones and the audiophile world is something I want to avoid. And honestly I wouldn't even hear the difference unless it's back to back critical listening. DT770 is probably the better option for me. Not overly expensive and is an industry standard for a reason. The way I'm looking at it now is that I prefer not to spend too much on a closed backed design. I have never had closed back headphones and want to experiment with them. So the DT770 is a good, and a cheaper, option for now, and if like the Beyer sound and choose to spend more than I can look at the DT1990 for the open back design (or is the 1990 classed more as semi??).

I really hope you guys can help me with this. I have been using a set of beyerdynamic DT770 pro 80ohm with the helix floor. All was working great. Just tried them there and the sounds is muffled distorted and glitchy. They work fine with other devices. I have no idea why they have just stopped working right with the helix

FWIW, I just figured I would throw my 2 cents in. I just switched over to Helix and only Helix and nothing but Helix, from my old tried and true rig which consisted of two 2 tube amp heads, one through a 4x12 cab, and one through a 2x12 (though not used at the same time, at least not too often) and an analog pedal board (the RV-6 and DD-200 were digital, so mostly analog), or through a Two Notes Torpedo Captor 16 with a Two Notes CABM+ whenever I did any recording without fooling with all the mics, which became always because the Two Notes products were great and produced fantastic results. Anyway, several factors played into this such as, getting a little older, not playing out quite as often, and others, but the biggest is the fact that my wife and I moved to a different place and the new spot is not secluded or set apart from the surrounding homes in the area whatsoever, also, I no longer have my detached garage, so it got to the point that I was rarely able to plug in my amps and really jam the way I liked to, and so I began looking for an alternative, at which point every other suggestion was "Helix is the answer", so it didn't take long for me to decide to try it. It took a little longer before I decided to sell most of my gear, but after I began to get the hang of the Helix and became comfortable with it, it blew me away and still does today. Sometimes I look at it, and as cool as it looks, I still ask myself "how can I actually be happy with this and have no regrets whatsoever about selling my gear", yet I am and there is really no question in my mind about it. The Helix alone does WORLDS more than my other gear could ever hope to, and I'm still working on patches that push what I know how to do with it and take it to new levels, and I have a blast doing it. And even the guys I play with who gave me grief have ALL been silenced at this point, and one of them even went and bought a Helix himself and has already told me it's all he's bringing next time we jam. He's always calling me asking me how to do this or that, which brings me to the subject at hand. He mentioned to me one evening on a call not long ago that he plugged headphones into it and that it sounded terrible, and I trust his ear for tone and his ability to achieve a decent one from just about anything he's given. So I asked him what cans he was using and he told me a pair of JBL over ears. So I let him borrow my Sennheizer HD 300 Pros, and a half hour after I left he hit me up and thanked me and basically said problem solved. I then told him I prefer my Audio Technica M50x set over the 300 Pros, and not just by a little bit, but A LOT. Two days later he came to return my 300 Pros and thanked me again for the other suggestion, saying that he agreed the M50x monitors blow the 300 Pros out of the water. I prefer them, but the 300 Pros have their uses too. I've come to find that I actually prefer them when I'm playing stuff that's clean and ambient. Perhaps it's the flatter response, as opposed to the slight bump up in the low end that I otherwise much prefer from the M50x set, or maybe it's the added openness/airiness from the drivers being a bit further off the ear (similar to DT770 Pro 80s which are great as well), or maybe it's both along with something else I haven't put my finger on, but the Fender Strat through a clean amp does sound better to me through the Sennheizers, and it only gets better when you start adding reverbs, flangers, delays and the like. Anyway, I know this is alot, but the gyst is that I personally don't believe too many exceptions were made when they engineered the Helix at all. As a guy who came into using one completely green and new to the digital world from a backround of nothing but tube amps and cabs with minimal effects, the Helix has been anything BUT a device that displays any evidence of corners that may have been cut or areas that did not receive a proper thinking through prior to it's being put into production. Rather, it embodies the idea of an "all bases covered" (and THOROUGHLY) type of device in every way that I can think of, certainly every one that definitely counts for something. I can't think of another device I've encountered in my 25 years of playing guitar that comes anywhere close to achieving what the Helix has, and then you take the price point into consideration. $1500 might be a chunk, but my perception tells me that it could have been priced plenty higher and would be just as deserving of the praise it has received, and I've been so pleased with it that if I ever do think about what it cost me, it's just that I can't believe it didn't cost more. I learned how to do some killer stuff in NO TIME, and it only took watching a few youtube videos from guitar channels I watch anyway. The Helix is an amazing and fully featured tool, and every one of those features is extremely well thought out from every angle. The last thing any team building a device like this would settle on if they were going to settle on anything, would be one of it's options for monitoring and being heard. From a 100% honest standpoint, perhaps offering a bit of constructive criticism, but without intending to be in any way offensive, and perhaps in hopes it might save anyone learning the Helix some time if they were to happen upon this thread/post..... If you aren't getting a completely usable, great tone using headphones, the first thing to troubleshoot should be "possibilities in regard to user error". I think its been said before in relation to this subject, in this very post if I recall correctly, and others... Why would one spend $1500 on a piece of gear such as this, only to plug a set of $40 skull candy headphones up to it? And if one were to do so... when the result is less than satisfactory, why does avoiding the headphone out and posting on a forum about how the units heaphone out is insufficient and lackluster, seem to be the logical next step forward, as opposed to taking into consideration that perhaps there is a reason music supply stores sell headphones too, not just Target? And while the music store cans are obviously more pricey than most of the Target offerings, perhaps there is something to that yet as well. You might think of it like this... You bought a Helix at $1500 rather than an ME-80 at $300 or a GT-1 at $150 or $200, why? Likely the answer or at least part of it has to do with quality, and the fact that in every way, the Helix outperforms those other products. So much so that it is well worth spending $1200 more than an ME-80 to own one. Well, the same can be said for headphones. There is a difference between headphones and studio monitoring headphones, a very big difference, and while one need not spend the $500 to $600 for some of the most expensive sets out there, still, finding and purchasing a budget set or something priced in the middle somewhere is certainly an improvement over whatever set they have beside the ipods at Target to be sure. Personally I prefer the Audio Technica M50x headphone monitors over anything else when it comes to playing and recording/tracking guitar. A set of M50x headphone monitors will only set you back $149 at your local guitar shop, and if they don't have them its only because they sold the last set, because these are some of the most popular studio cans on the market period, and their price-point only aids further in making them a best seller. You can also order them from any one of a ton of different places online, if you can't think of anywhere else, try the "A" word place, they'll be a lock to have M50x or any other type your heart desires. A couple other sets that sound great but won't cause you to be late on your car payment, are Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros (there are 3 different sub-models of these though, so research the differences between the 32, 80, and 250 ohm sets before you run out and spend your money. Don't want to mess with an extra headphone amp, then the 250's probably aren't for you, although with the proper setup they are very very hard to beat in terms of frequency response and the amount of detail they produce. Think you're chops are mistake free, play through a set of these and I promise they'll show you EVERYTHING you DO still need work on... Able to drop $180 on cans, but want to make sure you can use them across all your devices, the 32s are definitely your best bet. If you want the best option for plugging straight into the Helix and that's the sound you are focused on, the 80s won't steer you wrong) and lastly, Sennheizer HD 300 Pros will run you $200, have amazingly flat response and are extremely accurate at only 32 ohms, so they will also work just fine with your phone, tablet or xbox. Its worth mentioning the M50x set is 32 ohms as well so will work with all devices as well and sound just as amazing on all of them as they will with the Helix. Not getting good headphone tone straight into your headphone jack... Don't be "that guy" (or girl for that matter), common sense may not be so common, but try it on for size anyway and in this case I can assure you you won't be let down. I can't promise the sound will translate the same through FRFRs or a tube power amp, or any power amp and cab, or even your desktop monitors, but I'm confident in saying any one of the 3 suggestions above will put you close enough that you can figure it out with minimal tweaking necessary. If not, box the headphones back up, do the same with your Helix, and send them both back from whentz they came and find something on which your $1500 would be more wisely spent because for right now the Helix is a little too advanced. Maybe think about purchasing and mastering a POD GO after which you could give Helix another go.

I'm using the Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro 80ohm and they sound great. I tried several different makes and models before finally choosing the DT770's and my decision mostly came down to the comfort factor. All headphones I tried in that price bracket all sounded great to be fair, but with the DT770's I can wear them for very long periods of time with no discomfort whatsoever. I'm not entirely sure what the difference in ohms does, but mine are certainly loud enough. I usually have the master output set around 10 o'clock and that's ample.

Hello. I was wondering if any of you have experienced any issues with the headphone output of the Helix LT or Helix Floor? I have an Helix LT connected as an audio interface to my Windows 10 laptop. I only use headphones and like to jam along with YouTube and guitar pro and recently when I listen to a preset through my headphones connected to the output jack of my Helix LT, the panning/volume is all wonky and is not balanced with the right side noticeably louder than the left. The issue is across all my patches including factory and user). The issue seems to be volume related, if you crank up the amp or add a distortion block it seems to pan harder to the right and becomes very off putting. If you turn the volume knob below 12 o’clock the panning balances better, turn the volume knob up to 3 o’clock or to full then panning is almost hard right and I can hardly hear anything from the left as if you’ve have duff headphones. As a temporary work around I have to pan the output block at the end the chain by at least 30% to the left to balance the sound. I've tried different 1/4 inch adapters and different headphones, I have some in ear monitors and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 pro 250 ohm and the issue persists. I have even sought a second opinion from my wife who agrees there is Definitely a panning/volume issue. There is no problems when listening to music and videos from YouTube etc. It only affects my guitar patches. Also, this seemingly started happening out of nowhere. I do not recall making any changes to global settings, but perhaps that is where the problem is? I am updated to firmware version 2.92 and have been since it was released. Out of desperation I have completed a factory reset and even rolled back the firmware to 2.8 and reinstalled 2.92 with no joy and I am now worried it may be a hardware issue. Everything has been working fine until now. If anybody could help me figure this out, I would really appreciate it! Thank you.

I own both Yamaha DXR and QSC K series speakers as well as a couple of other types. Both are great options, but I have to admit I really prefer my QSC K10.2 as my live monitor more than my DXR12 which I use at home to dial in my tones and often use them as front PA speakers for the band. There's something about the presence in the QSC that just makes it easier to work with in the context of a group as floor monitors. BEST infers a subjective opinion, so you can get plenty of those. I only know what's worked perfectly for me as a live musician playing every week in a wide range of genres for many more years than I like to admit to. Any of these speakers will work equally well for amp models as well as acoustic guitars or vocals. That's what they're made to do and why they're so prevalent and popular. I personally play a wide range of instruments live through mine including various electric guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass, keyboards (piano, organ, synth), pedal steel, bluegrass fiddle...and of course multi-part vocal harmonies. They are general purpose, top of the line, live performance speakers. Since going to the Helix 7 years ago and using high quality speakers like these I have sold all my amps and have none in my house. The thing that's important to me, ultimately your audience is going to hear your performance through one of these types of speakers. Even if you play through the Mesa Boogie, once you mic it and send it through a mixing board, it's going to come out to the audience through one of these types of speakers sounding the same way as the Helix modeled speakers going direct to the mixing board...so what's the point? I don't use these type of speakers in my studio because that's not what they're made for. For that I use Yamaha HS7 speakers or a DT770 set of headphones. I do, however create certain backing instruments for our live performances on that system and play them back live through these type of PA speakers and they sound pretty much the same as a live musician would sound.

Hello guys! I’m using Helix LT for short time and I’ve got a question. How do you create your presets? I’ve created few of them but it doesn’t sound how I wanted. How do you place your fx’s and what’s the best order for them? I’m using Bayerdynamic DT770 pro as a headphones. I’m new in your helix community so sorry for my stupid questions.

That really depends on what you mean by real life. Real life as far as live performance or real life as far as recording? In both cases it comes down to your output device, but the output devices are different. In live performance you need to simulate what your audience will be hearing and that can be somewhat complex depending on your live setup. In my case I go direct from the Helix to the mixing board so all I need is a quality, modern FRFR speaker mounted appropriately at chest height to get a good representation of what the audience will hear. That should work in almost any type of configuration as long as you can isolate that sound from what you're using on stage such as a powercab or more traditional amp/cab using 4cm. You're not going to like my next statement, but you really do need to use a higher quality FRFR speaker representative of the type that will be used on a live performance system. I mostly use a Yamaha DXR12 but I've also used a QSC K10 from time to time. In both cases I can set the DSP contouring on the speaker for how it's likely to be used in a live front of house speaker. That's the best and simplest arrangement to get consistent results. The studio is much simpler. I use my Helix floor as my audio interface and have my studio monitors attached directly to it for output. In addition I have a Beyer Dynamic DT770 set of headphones for when I'm doing vocal work. My studio monitors are Yamaha HS7's and are placed on my studio desktop in an equilateral triangle with my chair and positioned relative to the walls (back and sides) as recommended by the vendor. I realize this may not be as budget conscious as you'd like, but ultimately it's about getting a consistent and realistic representation of your guitar sound in the environment you're working in. You may be happy enough with a lower budget approach to speakers, but that's a judgement call on your part.

Hi, I just got an HX Stomp XL. I'm brand new to it, and I'm starting to learn my way around. I will be using it in two ways. First, it's basically a portable travel rig that I can use with headphones. Secondarily, I have it on a small pedalboard with a few other fx that I will put in the HX loop, and I can use it as an fx rig with an amp. All my questions--for now--are about getting optimal tone out of it with headphones. One of the things I was expecting right out of the gate was to be able to look for presets that had "DIR" in them, because I thought those were the ones that would already be most closely dialed in for my needs. Instead, all of my presets are generically labeled "New Preset." There is no other information about them. So, to get an idea of how they sound and how they are built, I have to load each one and then examine all of the blocks. Is there a way for me to d/l the stock presets with their names, so I have a quicker way to scroll through what I might want to try out first and skip past the ones I know I don't have any interest in? Should I be checking out the ones labeled "DIR" first? I know they are designed to go to FOH or to a studio monitor, right? So using them with headphones is similar. Despite that rough start, I started tweaking the presets that sounded decent to me, and I tried setting up a couple from scratch. The results so far have been mixed. I want to take one example of a preset I was trying to create that ended up not sounding good to me at all, even though I would have expected it would be pretty easy to dial in. I wanted to use a JTM45 model, a KOT OD, some tape delay, and a 4 x 12 cab with 25w Greenbacks. That is a tried and true combo that--I would think--should sound great without a lot of tweaking. Instead, with the KOT added in especially, it sounds way too fizzy and harsh through my headphones, despite all the adjustments I've made. Easy solution (give a man a fish): Could someone send me their JTM45 style preset that they think sounds great, and I can see how it sounds with my setup? I'm using Beyer DT770 headphones, btw. I'm also using a Strat with this preset to try to get slightly broken up cleans and then a somewhat, chewy, saturated tone with the KOT engaged. More complex solution (teach a man to fish): Could someone tell me what parameters I should be adjusting first and foremost to get a good tone without having it get fizzy and ice-picky? I've done the obvious: cut the highs, turn down the treble on the amp block. Where should I set the master? Where should I set the drive? I can't tell yet if it's the drive that is making it sound fizzy or the master. I will experiment more. I'm certainly open to using IRs, if anyone thinks that's a solution. But I didn't think I necessarily needed to go down that rabbit hole just yet. KOT question: I own this pedal, so I know how it works. But how does it work in the HX Stomp? It looks like --just like the real pedal--you get to tweak both the "yellow" and the "red" drive settings. I assume you can choose to have one or the other--or both--engaged? If I want to just use the yellow side, for example, I can select if I want it to function as a boost, an OD, or a higher gain drive, and then I can tweak the other parameters as well. I was able to figure that out without much trouble. How do I turn off the red side? Just dial everything down to 0? What if I want to leave yellow on, but then engage the other side as a boost? I don't think there are two dedicated stomp switches to do that, are there? Anyway, when I engage the KOT model, things go south pretty quickly, despite me turning down the gain and adjusting other parameters. It just sounds too fizzy and muddy to me. Bottom line: I don't want to get discouraged because I trust what I've heard elsewhere in demos, on YT, and so forth. I should be able to get a really good sound out of this unit and out of this amp model in particular. I am a little concerned about trying to be able to get authentic amp tone and feel through headphones, but I'm trying to lower my expectations a bit, too. I just want it to sound good; I don't expect it to sound/feel exactly like sitting in a room with a cranked JTM45, but at a volume that isn't deafening through my headphones. That's surely not possible. Just help me get rid of that fizz/sizzle, and help me get it to feel pretty good under my fingers? Thanks for any suggestions, presets, tutorials to read/watch, etc. Jeff

I think it really depends on your speakers. In my studio I use Yamaha HS7 studio monitors which seems to be a pretty good match to what I hear with the DT770's...not enough difference to fixate over. I think in all audio output devices you tend to get what you pay for. I think the biggest leap in tone differences can come when you take the preset to a live environment because the speaker designs are so different than headphones or studio monitors. Again, I think the quality and consistency is part of what you pay for with any speakers including live powered speakers. There are differences in the sound from what I hear in the studio and what I hear on stage using my Yamaha DXR12 or my QSC K10.2, but I really don't worry about it because the overall general sound of a live performance is different just because of the requirement to fill a large space consistently and the audiences can't really tell the difference because they don't listen to studio monitors generally.

Here's what I would suggest for getting settled in with building your presets. Spend some time watching Jason Sadites "dialing in" series of videos on YouTube. He just recently re-did some of the originals to exploit some of the newer features in recent releases. The reason this is important is that Jason goes through a pretty full explanation of the different values you can use in the different blocks and their effect on the sound so you're not just turning dials and hoping for the best. His YouTube channel has a very wide variety of topics and I'm sure you can find some that will hit on topics to help you figure out the system. The fact is, everyone is different in what they're looking for in tone, and much of what people describe in their tone such as "chewy, saturated" tone might mean something very different to me than what it means to you. I will point out a couple of important take away impressions I got from reading your post. One thing is that the amp models are all going to be a little different in terms of how they handle the master volume based on the design of the original circuit. However as far as the channel volume they all should be the same in that the channel volume on the amps doesn't affect the tone. It only increases/decreases the volume. That is the primary thing I, and many others, adjust in my presets to get them gain staged to the same volume level. The amp master volume can have a significant influence on the tone by itself as well as when it interacts with other OD type pedals before it in the signal chain. Similar to you, I also use Beyer DT770 headphones when I use headphones. I don't necessarily get a lot of "ice picky" sound, but then I'm pretty moderate in my use of gain and OD on most of my presets because at a certain point you're going to get a lot more noise than definition because you've turned the gain into a limiter with very little dynamic response. You can mitigate a considerable amount of the "ice pick" sound in a couple of ways. The most important way is the use of different mics and position of mics on your cabinets. I tend to prefer a combination of mics such as one dynamic mic such as an MD421 which has a good, round (less harsh) midrange along with a ribbon mic such as a R121 for a more pleasant overall full range. You'll hear a lot of people advocate high cuts which I do use on many presets at the very end of my signal chain using a parametric EQ which has a faster slope than the cabinet high cuts. However, I agree with Jason Sadites that you don't really need drastic cuts if you've got a good mic'ing situation on most cabinets. My high cuts are seldom deeper than 8khz and more likely up in the 9khz or 10khz range and help retain the high end articulation for pick attack on strings. I'm convinced a lot of folks end up cutting down to the 5khz range because what they're hearing is not high frequency harshness, but high mid frequency harshness. That's especially true when using single coil guitars. In those cases I find I get better results by slicing out a deeper but narrow slice in the 4.2 khz range with the parametric EQ. You may also find you get some better results on some amps by simply adjusting the SAG and BIAS on the amp. The first thing I thought about when you mentioned the "chewy and saturated" feel is a new effect in the modulations area named the "Retro Reel". This simulates the natural vintage analog tape effect and might be worth looking at. You can place it before the amp or at the end of the signal chain with different effects, but you don't need much of it to get that lovely, rich saturation you might be looking for. Again, all of these things are covered very completely by Jason Sadites so I'd really encourage you to take a look at some of his videos as they've helped a LOT of Helix users get comfortable with building their own presets.

Ultimately, it wouldn't do any good if you did get FRFR speakers that would match your DT770's since you're going to be playing live through a PA system and NONE of them will are going to sound like your DT770s. That's why getting a FRFR speaker that's consistent with what PA's use is the most accurate way of getting your sound where you want it to be...and that's not for you, that's for the audience.

Like the title says I spent the last two years stuck in my little studio apartment with tight noise regulations. So I built, tweaked and tuned all of my sets and snaps to what I could hear in my DT770'S (250 ohm) Now I with weekend bookings starting to return I am needing to find some good frfr monitors that pretty much match what the 770's put out. I don't have time to go back and redo all of the work I did with the day job making me go back to the physical office 10 hours a day. I doubt a real "perfect" match exists but I really need to get as close as possible. Any ideas?