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Hello everyone. I really want to enjoy the HELIX world, but I’m struggling with an issue I can't seem to resolve. I've read countless posts on similar problems and tried every possible solution, but to no avail. In short, my problem is that on any amplifier, as soon as I increase the gain slightly (even with low gain and adding pedals like the Klon or TS808), I get an awful sound. I would describe it as a "buzzing, dark, grey noising, clipping". Especially on low frequencies, it sounds like a fuzz. It's as if a synthesizer is playing alongside my guitar, dirtying the sound. It is impossible to achieve "definition". The issue occurs across all amplifiers and is particularly noticeable in edge-of-breakup tones. While it might also be present in high-gain settings, it tends to be masked. Some amplifiers exhibit this effect more prominently than others. To illustrate the problem, I have exaggerated the effect in a sample recorded on a VOX AC15 with only the amp and cab. The first part features the bridge pickup, followed by the neck pickup, with both volume knobs fully open. Despite varying the settings, I cannot achieve a "defined" sound unless I remove all the gain, which is not the desired tone. Another sample with MATCHLESS amp is provided (maybe on this it's much more evident). Please listen carefully to the samples before you comment. My setup: Epiphone Les Paul Standard (standard pickups, correct height, open tone pots) Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (gain at 0, input set to “instrument” – input level is okay, never in the red) HELIX Native in REAPER (please notice, in recent past I owned Pod Go and Helix LT and faced the same problem) ALTO MS8A speakers on proper stands in the correct position (I also tried with Edifier R1280T studio monitors and headphones, but the result is the same) 1st Sample - AC15 AUDIO SAMPLE VOX AC15 2st Sample - MATCHLESS AUDIO SAMPLE MATCHLESS I have tried everything: Cutting low and high frequencies in the cabs Trying different combinations of cab, amp, and microphone positions Equalizing before and/or after the amplifier Lowering the input (though I was already below -18db, so that's not the issue, even at very low levels I face the issue; the output volume is also low) Gain at zero on my audio interface Different buffers on the audio interface Different cables Different DAWs Lowering the bass in the amp’s EQ Lowering the gain and/or master on the amps Nothing has solved the problem. Listen to this at 08:28: [MEDIA=youtube]6Gqy-p0kKZ0[/MEDIA] Yes, I know… different guitar, amp, cab, but I've also tried with a Stratocaster and a Telecaster which I own, and the issue is still there, even if it's more evident with the Les Paul since it's a "darker" guitar. The key concept to me is that I find it impossible to get that “clarity” with only an AMP plus CAP (like my samples are made, and yet like the video from Whorship Tutorials). I really hope you can help me! Thanks in advance to all of you.

I have hd500 also black top fender jaguar I use hd500 direct(via usb) with macbook pro retina>garageband today when I finally started to make my own tone I started with amps. clean and fat sound is great. then I tried distortions, noise gates, EQ, reverb etc... everything was fine. after a while I tried to turn off and turn on the distortion to see the difference but suddenly tone got ugly/muddy. I was just jamming on my own. Didn't touch anything else. Then I realized noise gate does this for a reason. did I fry something? this isn't normal right? Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jt9tMo2EKQ