Howdy Folks,
I have no idea if this already has been discussed but I'll share it anyway. I've been using the Helix for a few years now and used it on various non tube amps including a Powercab+. Although I've been content with the results I couldn't get the real tubeamp feeling. So I decided to buy a used H&K statesman 6l6 because I loved the sound of that specific amp. Once I plugged in my guitar turned on the amp I instantly knew, this was the feeling I've been missing on a helix/frfr combi. The only problem....the neighbours did not. The volume of this amp is louuuuuud.
Since I'm not in a band anymore and thus only playing at home you could say that an uncontrollable amp is'nt the right choice. A friend told me about a attenuator, so I checked and found those to be quite expensive except for some that use the fx send and return on the amp like the JHS Pedals Little Black Amp Box attenuator wich is actually doing nothing other than act as a master volume between pre and end stage.
And this is the part were the Helix comes in. The idea, use one of Helix's paths to controle the volume in the fx loop of the amp, either by placing a volumepedal block in the loop or just trim the return level. By doing this you can crank up your amp without a neighbour complaining. I chose for the last option and this works perfect. One warning though, turn back the volume if you go back to a Factory preset.
Are there others using this method and if so any other suggestions?