andrewyost Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 my helix arrives tomorrow, so perhaps this will become obvious once I start fiddling with the unit, BUT.. What are the primary differences between the two modes: preset & stombox?? From an application standpoint, I mean. I would love to have 5 or 6 FS assigned to different amp stacks. None of these amp stacks will have any fx built-in. I would also like 2 or 3 FS assigned to my most used delay & verb. I plan on running most of my spacial & modulation fx through the fx loops to my eventide h9's...using the helix mainly for different amp tones. I'm in a gigging cover band, & I'm trying to envision what type of tap-dance I will have to do during a show. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommasi Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 In stomp mode, the helix performs like a pedalboard. The most common configuration is to have a number of pedals configured, and normally 1 amp -- you then switch effects on and off by using the footswitches as you would with a traditional pedalboard. In preset mode you change the patch entirely, which reconfigures the "virtual" pedalboard (and/or the amp). Clearly, the two blend at extremes: in stomp mode you could turn amps on or off, of you could have 2 separate patches that only differ for an active stompbox in preset mode. The main application differences the way I see it are these: if you want to emulate a single amp + stomps setup, go for stompbox mode. That's what I do. By configuring 10 pedals, I have 2^10 sound configurations available in 1 patch (though many might be useless). If you want to change amp and effects (including the settings) altogether, rather than turn single effects on or off, go for preset mode. I do not like preset mode all that much especially because leveling patch volumes is always a lot of work. If you play a tribute/cover and are trying to recreate tones faithfully, preset mode is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelForbin Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 This video is pretty good; Glenn sets up his patches where toggling into stompbox mode expands the options to turn on/off additional FX and such. To toggle between multiple amps with the FS, most likely you are going to be doing patch changes, but to a certain degree you should be able to morph or toggle between at least two, maybe three amp rigs in one preset. I dunno, my Helix isn't going to be here until end of December, so I've got some waiting to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewyost Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Thanks for the help, friends. I actually contacted Glen (video above) to ask how to configure the helix like he does in this video...where he can toggle on/off stomp FX while still in preset mode. Global settings, set preset mode to BOTTOM FOUR (or top, whatever your preference) foot switches. Then, you can MAP stomp fx within the active preset to the other four foot switches, while still in preset mode. I have my bottom four FS on my four most used amp tones presets. Then the top 4 set to my most used fx ( I have the same fx saved to ALL of my amp presets in the same location). Kinda feels like a blend of stomp & preset mode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommasi Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 It *is* a blend of the two, and a v. useful one esp. when you don't have to control very many effects per patch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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