Search the Community

Oh boy. I'm in a mess. I have been trying to plug in my HELIX in three different FOHs of three different bands now ... and it ALWAYS sounded like perfect lollipop. I always had to kick out the Helix and go by classical tube amp in the end, I never succeeded to get a decent sound, no matter, if those sounds were of my own programming or factory presets or even Jason Sadites presets. And the PAs were very different from each other, there was one huge one from the late 70ies, one compact one from the 90ies and one very new Dynacord powermixer. The problems were very different, but could in no case be solved, no matter, what I tried. On one PA (70ies) the Helix sounded damp, no dynamics, like some badly adjusted, old transistor amp, and on the Dynacord it sounds dull with some strange frequencies and some clipping, although input gain is set very low and there is no clipping on my headphones or studio monitors at home. I have no FRFR yet and I won't buy one, unless I am convinced, that going with a HELIX into FOH really will get me a great sound and not laughter from my band mates. But I am far from being convinced after all my bad experiences. Friend of mine has a Kemper, just plugs in, sounds great from the start. Forget Fletcher Munson, it just works! Furthermore, on no PA did I get adequate pressure like with my tube amps. Only volume ... Did I buy the wrong gadget??? Or am I just too stupid to check out, how this connection can be performed satisfactorily? I found out some problems such as phantom power and how to avoid them, but no overall solutions. So I would be VERY thankful for some instuctions on how to dial in the perfect XLR output signal. I know that the problem IS HELIX based, because the keyboard sound as they should. A Kemper sounds as it should. But not the Helix. There are so many possibilities that maybe I just lack the correct combination of settings to get it done ... So, if anyone could help me with a list of settings (such as: Should the XLR output better be on MIC or LINE? I tried both, but there is obviously more to think about ...). How need the global settings be set? How to balance frequencies on the mixing console on one hand and on general EQ on the other hand? How should I set the large global volume wheel? I love the Helix, it is quite easy to use and gets me the results, I want, when doing recording (USB connection), but live ... as I said, it's a mess and a drag.

Hi all! About a year ago, I was using an MXR 10-band EQ in the FX loop of my amplifier and it sounded amazingly good. I noticed it was giving me some bad hiss though, so I switched it out for a Source Audio EQ2 about 6 months ago, which also sounded good. I wanted to add delay, reverb, and an amp modeler into the amp's FX loop along with the EQ, so I ultimately decided to sell the EQ2 and put an HX Stomp in the amp's FX loop to do all of this. Currently, this is how my HX Stomp functions and here is my signal chain: Guitar > front of amp effects > preamp > FX loop send > HX Stomp 10 band EQ > HX Stomp digital delay > FX loop return > power amp The problem is that upon switching out the EQ2 for the HX Stomp, when I set the Stomp's 10-band EQ parameters to what the previous EQ's were set at, I realized there was an extremely noticeable jump in some of the frequencies. The signal immediately sounded very nasally. Through messing with the frequencies, I realized there was a boost in frequency right around 1K Hz. To give an idea of how different the frequency hike is, 1K Hz on the old EQ was set at +2 dB (I run a little hotter for more gain in the FX loop). On the HX Stomp, I have to run this same frequency at -2.0 dB to achieve a comparable sound. However, running this frequency this low on the Stomp's EQ is causing some fidelity issues; coming out of speaker, anything around 1K Hz sounds like it coming out of an AM radio. You can imagine this is frustrating. Has anyone had this issue and/or does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions, or advice on how to fix this? Thanks in advance.

Hi is there a way of setting up the Helix Stomp EQ for a Preset. I'm trying to set up a preset for a bass but, when i change any eq module in the edit the eq graphics in cubase don't show much change at all. For example if i use high/low cut instead of doing a cut the eq don't appear to be a cut at all.

Looking for some EQ tips for my Strat to stand out in the mix. I play on my church’s worship team and find that my tone coming through the PA and through online streams sounds really dark and thin at times. How can I clean this up and make it really stand out in the mix? Ideally it sounds more “full” and is able to be clearly heard. I’m using compressors and hi/low cuts on the amps and cabs when necessary. Appreciate the advice!

Hi, folks I recently acquired a Helix LT unit and I've been learning how to use it since. Something came up to me today. How can I view the graphical view - frequency versus dB - of an EQ block? I really like to tweak the parameters both by ear and by analyzing the graph.

Hey all. I was wondering why the minimum frequency for a hi cut block is 1000 hz? I'd love to have access to a lower frequency so I can do some fun filter sweeps with an expression pedal or even with the knobs. Is this going to be in the new update? Is there a work around to achieve this goal?

I have been tone chasing with this piece of equipment for quite some time now. About a year to be exact. This is definitely a complicated piece of equipment in my eyes, nonetheless, i am quite determined to learn as much as possible to fully utilize this beast. I have been reading this article http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/ampTone#preEQ in order to try and help me better understand some aspects of this pedal. Perhaps i should sell and buy the pro as i dont really tend to use the peda effects and i am using this more for a amp/cab sim in recording my own material. Or perhaps i should sell it and invest my money elsewhere. I am not sure what to do. My problem is that when recording my tone will sound ok before i open my DAW and i am playing through my interface. Once i open my DAW the sound tends to be pushed up higher and im not sure where to compensate here. Im looking at the eq cause i have turned down the gain on my interface and the ch. volume on my cab sim. I was reading about pre-eq to get rid of some buzz/fizz and i am wondering if that is where the problem is. Does the pre-eq come before or after the amp in the chain? Where do I access the frequencies as explained in the frequency chart of this guide? please Halp. Relieve me of my ignorance.

I've been loving the HX Stomp for the past month or so, but there is one limiting factor that I can't seem to find a workaround for. What I would like to do is sum several EQ blocks into a single Impulse Response in order to save DSP power (like was done in this video). However, unlike in the full Helix, the USB in/out selection options in HX Edit seem to not be nearly as flexible on the Stomp. This means that when I try to use deconvolution software to make the IR (I'm using the Impulse Response Utility through MainStage), it won't let me because I can only chose USB 5/6 on the input (which are the re-amping slots that bypass the Stomp's effects) and the only output option is the 1/4 line outs on the back of the Helix. Therefore, when I do the audio sweep to make the IR, it doesn't work because the sweep doesn't input through the helix effects and won't come out through USB (unless I'm doing it wrong...). Does anybody have any ideas on how to get around this? Here are some links that have gotten me close to an answer, but I'm out of my league here when it comes to understanding how to get what I'm after... Thanks for your help in advance, this is my first time posting here! -How to use the Stomp as an audio interface -How to make an impulse response on a mac -Converting SDIR files to WAV -Relevant forum discussion

In the process of trying to figure out what a 4 Band Shift EQ is, I put my HD500 on the test bench and measured the frequency response of ALL the EQs in the HD500. I thought you'd find it useful so I'm sharing the results here. For example, what does a 100% shift mean? What does 0% Q mean? And just where is Freq = 38% in the Parametric EQ? Did you know when you set 2.2kHz of the Graphic EQ to -12dB you'll get a +12dB boost (!) at 1kHz before it dips down at 2.2kHz? No wonder it didn't work very well to eliminate a pesky feedback problem, but caused another one instead. Using these can give you insight into which EQ you really want to use. I've attached the most pertinent pictures here (zipped together to make it easy). The only potential problem is the 4 Band Shift Hi Freq which has mismatched L/R channels (~3dB at 1kHz)! Every other EQ and every other setting has perfect L/R balance (less than .1dB mismatch) but this one does not. I've contacted Line 6 support before submitting this here but they see nothing out of the ordinary (i.e., it sounds fine, which may be true, but there's still a mismatch, big enough to be called a bug in my opinion). I've labeled those two graphs channel 1 & 2 because that's what my test equipment calls them. Unfortunately I didn't have the forsight to find out which was left and which was right before I tore down the setup. But the fact of a mismatch remains. Some things you need to know to properly interpret these: An Audio Precision APx525 was used to generate the sound source and measure frequency response. Output = S/PDIF Input 1 = Mic. Input 2 = same. Mic level on back adjusted to give -20dBFS output with the Graphic EQ Unless otherwise indicated, the gain of all the other EQs were set to nominally give -20dBFS. The gains were recorded so you can see which EQs have built-in gain or loss compared to the Graphic EQ. There were no other FX or amps in the signal chain. Sample rate = 44.1kHz (factory default) I have more complete files that contain the actual data (not just pictures) as well as more settings than shown in these few pictures attached here. Until I can find a better place to put it, you can download the entire 160M set of Excel files from: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/56306778/HD500%20Measurements.zip. I am open to ideas of where to put this on a more permanent basis. Enjoy! I hope you find these as useful as I have. ---------------------------- I took the HD500 back into the lab and verified that it's the Left Channel that has the odd frequency response in the Hi Freq portion of the 4 Band Shift EQ. I re-uploaded the Excel files to indicate this and re-uploaded the new 4 Band Shift EQ figures here. ---------------------------- I measured the frequency response of the Q Filter (per meambobbo's post) and attached it here. I also updated the giant zip of Excel files. I think this could emulate a pretty Morley wah if you make toe = hi Freq/hi Q/hi Gain and heel = low Freq/low Q/ low Gain. Also, mix attempts to add the filtered signal to the straight signal, which it does. But the filtered signal has some processing delay so the mix includes some notches in the 4k-8kHz region you may not be expecting. You can see this in the attached graphs. For the signal levels I was using (-20dBFS thru the Graphic Equalizer) you can also see some gain compression with the Q filter. So if you want it clean, stick to the lower Gain levels. ----------------------------- Added a PDF file that lists the frequencies (in Hz) represented by the Parametric Frequency (in %). Updated links to ALL my measurement files: Amp Frequency Response Pre and Full (Excel) Cab DEP Parameters (Excel) Cabs with 121 Ribbon (Excel) Gains (Excel) Mic Frequency Response (Excel) Amp Tone Controls (pdf) Amp-Pre Frequency Response (pdf) Cab Frequency Response (pdf) FX Gain (pdf) Model Pak Frequency Response (pdf) Global EQ (zip) Huge 185M EQ frequency response file (zip) This last one was the original subject matter of this thread.

I started converting some of my HD500 tones to Helix and realize there is no "Mid Focus EQ" in Helix, I didnt notice this before but 3 out of my 8 most used patches in HD500 used "Mid Focus EQ", I tweaked these patches (and probably this EQ as well) a lot over last several years and really love those tones I get out of HD500. I thought I could get closer in Helix by using "Low and High Cut" EQ but thats not it, next stop was "Parametric EQ" and I think thats my best bet but thoroughly confused with what to do with how to get my high pass and low pass frequencies? any suggestions?

I have a rookie question. I am a long time user of the Helix but have never understood parametric eq. I educated myself and now understand it but have one question. How do you sweep a frequency on the Helix. It's very simple using the plug in that comes with pro tools. Maybe I'm over thinking it. Can somebody please explain?

Hi all! Im new to the POD HD500 (yea i bought an old one cheap)so this might be an easy fix. Or not haha... I play acoustic and sing so have setup a dual path, input #1 as guitar, input #2 as mic (XLR input). Both paths start with a 'disabled' amp then split into the required EQ settings, comp boost, then rejoin to the reverb unit, volume pedal etc. Looks like this: So my question is how can i use the physical EQ knobs for tweaking overall tone (of the above patch) at various gigs/rooms? Is this ^ whats called "Global EQ" or GEQ"? Hoping its just a setting somewhere or it can be assigned to the mixer. Thanks in advance! Clint

It would seem that today is FRFR Topic day. Anyway, my JBL EON 610 has a programmable EQ built in and I'm wondering if those of you that use an active speaker that also has the same feature, have used it to tailor the speaker's sound for your Helix. Or do you just use the Helix's Global EQ? I ask because I think the two methods might have some differences in effectiveness.

Hi All, sure you have discusse dthis before but.. Do you use EQ globally or as a block or not at all? The reason I ask this is when i hear guitar players not using Line 6 Helix they seem to have a more mid range sound and when I hear Helix (most of the time) its like the sound of it has a EQ curse that ..well is lacking that mid range. So if you see that too do you add a global EQ or EQ in line in a block? Its kinda like when you add a good IR thats been properly mic in the studio with EQ. https://hearthis.at/joejeffries/sumo-2018-3-16/ (latest recording) our post process deals with this but i want to have a more pleasing sound during our session Someone described it as a kinda a scooping EQ (describing Line 6 sound by default

My First post here and I'm sure that similar questions have been asked regarding dialing in tone for "FOH vs FRFR Cab", and when to consider Fletcher-Munson as a factor. Number 1 sound concern for me is that the best possible tone is going to the FOH mixer/PA so that the sound guy needs to do minimal EQing but just volume leveling and my guitar sounds warm and crunchy. I am loving my Helix (8 months) but I want to take experimenting and guess work out of tweaking my tones for club gigs performances. I have been building patches and EQing through my Atomic CLR or my Sony headphones and realize that the stage situation/volume will deliver to my ears something different from what I had originally built, perhaps the Fletcher-Munson phenomenon is at work here. (bass boomy or not, highs shrill or not, different rooms etc.) I can take into account this and adjust the EQ so my live stage sound is cool to my ears but it might be at the detriment of what i am sending to the FOH, (not really sure but maybe). I also want a god stage tone but am reluctant to put Fletcher-Munson 10-band EQ into each patch for fear what it will do to FOH signal, (or does FOH also need the Fletcher-Munson curve to guitar signals?). I don't have a PA available to tweak on, no time to tweak at sound check but I want a way to build tones/EQ at home that will sound good through FOH, as I'm less concerned with the stage sound because I may be going in-ear monitor for up-coming shows. 1) My 'Dream-world' Question, what headphones or EQ or monitor or 'tool' will represent live FOH sound delivery while I am making tones and rehearsing at home? 2) Question is for anyone who has live experience with Aomic CLR. I have been using the CLR wedge in "TILT" setting (not BL or FF). Which one of these settings (FF, TILT or BL) is closest to FRFR, or closest to how the FOH will deliver the guitar frequencies? Your comments and wisdom are appreciated, Cheers!

I have a gig next weekend and plan on using my Helix directly into a PA. I was wondering, how should I adjust my presets (equalize) so that I can cut through the mix well, while still having a killer tone? A preset made in a room will NOT sound the same when played in a live setting (with drummer, bass, etc). I have heard that I should boost my mids to cut through the mix well, so maybe I should do that. What do you all think? Do any of you have good live presets you would like to share with me? Or explain your methodology behind creating your preset? The songs I'm playing live with a band include the following: - Bubble Dream by Chon - Book by Chon - Elliptical Illuminations by Chon Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated :)

The Helix LT is awesome. Not had it long, but damn is it impressive. There's just one thing bugging me about amp emulation. Example… Fender Deluxe Reverb. On a real one (excluding the built in Vibrato and Reverb) the only pots are VOLUME, TREBLE, BASS. Note that there is no MIDDLE pot, unlike a Fender Twin. However, on the Helix Deluxe Reverb model, I have DRIVE, BASS, MIDDLE, TREBLE, PRESENCE, CH VOL, MASTER, etc. I dislike how Helix amp controls seem to be a one size fits all approach. I find it very hard to dial in the sound of my real Deluxe Reverb into a Helix emulated version. There's effectively THREE pots that control volume! There is no DRIVE channel on a real Deluxe Reverb either, yet dialing down the DRIVE to zero gets you complete silence. Then there's the EQ issue. I could be wrong about this, but I've heard that the EQ on a Fender blackface only 'removes' frequencies and doesnt add any to the sound. It certainly behaves that way. So having both TREBLE and BASS dialed up to 10 is basically your guitar's original signal, and anything less is either removing bass or treble, depending on which pot you adjust. The Helix pots do not seem to behave like this though. It seems more like 50% is the normal signal and anything more will ADD to the signal. Again, frustrating. I realize that Line 6 can't really change this way of working without screwing up everybody's existing patches, but it would be nice to have an option in the preferences (or perhaps on a per patch basis) for 'Legacy' or 'New' amp controls. 'New' of course being a more faithful to what controls are on the actual amp. Strange that they DO appear to go all out on modelling the controls of effects pedals, e.g. I noticed that the OCD effect even has the HP switch and a switch to toggle between versions of the pedal! You may ask why I need to have the amp modelled so precisely, if I have the real amp, but there's a million obvious reasons why i'd want an emulated version too, such as for playing through headphones or recording direct to Logic. Anyway, i'm mainly just sounding off, but any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

Hi, I made this video in the hope, it might be of use for some who have difficulties to dial in their guitar tone on the Helix. Subjects are; amp sweet spots, delay's on parallel path, and the use of external EQ to sculpt the tone. (Sorry for my English and accent, but I'm afraid I'm living too long in France now, to properly speak the International language .. :D )

I'm Interested in buying a Pod HD 500 X, but i didn't have the chance to try these tricks yet... so I'm wondering if is it possible to create the following effects for use them live... 1 - Autofilter or High cut Filter Sweep, maybe assigning an Eq to the Exp Pedal??? ( example at 4:45 ) 2 - Auto pan, and maybe set the speed with the tap/tempo??? ... or do I need extra pedals, or tools?

Colleagues: I've had the Helix a month and it's fantastic and I'm definitely keeping it. The versatility (especially using IRs) is amazing. But my experience is a bit similar to "joseroys" who started a thread 2-14-17 with a title like I used here. I have a high-frequency "fizz" that spans the spectrum when using a flat global eq (turned off). Rather than take up any time now with what I'm using , etc., if a couple folks could simply recommend factory presets that they find have a clean sound no ovedrive) with global eq off, I will take a listen and be sure my unit is OK. I want to be sure I'm hearing what you're hearing. I've been a guitar player for nearly 50 years and have played in the modeling/digital realm since I bought my first POD a long time ago and I can be hyper sensitive to certain sounds. I can get the tone I want using global eq with a couple eq's in the signal chain, but I need to do significant adjusting when going between my ultra strat and PRS custom 24. I have been reading the forum on this and other topics for a couple weeks and that really helped me get control of the Helix sound. Thanks in advance for your replies! Doug

So the way I've been recording is I use the Helix into an interface which then goes into my Mac. On the Helix I have the guitar patch EQ'd and Compressed. I was wondering if I would get better mixing results by bypassing the EQ and Compression on the guitar patch for when I record, and then do the EQ'ing and Compression on my DAW.

So when I place an EQ block pre amp, no effect is present (even on extreme settings, nothing is heard). it is only once I place it post amp is it heard. Why is this? Am I the only one having this problem? Or is this not a problem and was Helix designed this way?

Hey friends. I am looking for others that are playing a Gretsch hollowbody with filtertron pickups. I use a Black Falcon but anyone with a similar guitar, hopefully you can help - I can get pretty good tones from the guitar and the Helix, however i wanted to see what EQ settings (parametric, etc) others may be using to tame the hollowbody. Getting the best sound you can from the guitar. I play mainly worship/rock music. So i go from clean to a bit of high gain.

Excellent report. Last night the Helix with FW 2.0 knocked it out of the park. Great tone, many compliments (including my wife who is very critical ... which I actually admire and enjoy), and great band mix. Using the Global EQ, setting the output to max letting the mixer channel control signal, and just playing was very easy and extremely enjoyable. I didn't get to the snapshots of any of my presets during the 4 hour show so at this point the Z value was not addressed nor did it in any way detract my tone from FH. Thought maybe someone would like to get a report on this. That's my story and ... Dennis

I have been looking for but can't find it. When in some venues the sound is just right but in other venues the sound sometimes needs a small tweak. Is there a global EQ that can make changes across all patches globally?