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What are your favorite amp models in the Helix?


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Just curious what styles of music you guys play, and which amp models you're diggin' in the Helix.  Should be getting mine after the 12/18 ship date I was told... but not too confident that's when it'll be.  And of course I love to hear what others are sayin' about this thing.  Hit me!

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90s rock mostly with some newer and some older stuff, my standby models are the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and the Solo Lead OD!

The Solo Lead OD is kinda noisy, need to have noise filter on it it but I love the way it sounds and feels!

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2203 does the job for me, Prog with Drop C tuning. Marshall voicing always cuts it.

 

Do you do the tuning on the guitar itself, or on the Helix?  I've heard the tracking is really good, but I've also heard the tracking is lollipop.

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all styles, rock, prog, metal, fusion.  Loving the Divided by 13, Jumped Plexi, Uberschall but seriously they all sound great, especially through the DT25.  I try to use them all just so I don't get stuck on anything specific

 

The Divided by 13 really has me intrigued.  Combining that with a Bassman 4x10 sound I think would yield some awesome tones.

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90s rock mostly with some newer and some older stuff, my standby models are the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and the Solo Lead OD!

The Solo Lead OD is kinda noisy, need to have noise filter on it it but I love the way it sounds and feels!

 

Can't wait to try each one.  Does the Mesa clean up well?

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No ones mentioned the bass models yet, so ill chime in. Iv been LOVING the GK Cougar amp for bass. Running it through the 8x10 SVT cab sim, and it absolutely slays! Iv gotten crisp and clear clean tones, and grindy driven tones out of it. I did a quick recording of what sounds I got so far, the sounds were just using the GK Cougar, and the ANGL meteor!
Iv been loving the ANGL Meteor, though I didn't dial it in very well for the recording for some reason

 

https://soundcloud.com/joelthekiwi/simple-boy-helix-test
 

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If y'all are looking to dial in some more modern high gain sounds for the Angl Meteor or panama models, try using the "30" mic.  It sounds a bit more processed, which sort of lends itself to metal.  It works pretty well on its own or blended with your standard 57.  

 

For you dudes dialing in bass tones, I've had tons of success setting tones up with a parallel path for the bass DI and using the expression pedal to blend between the DI and the modeled amp sound (Gk has been my favorite so far).  I also copy and paste any effects to both paths so hitting a footswitch will trigger the same effect on the DI and modeled paths.  Been pretty fun.

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If y'all are looking to dial in some more modern high gain sounds for the Angl Meteor or panama models, try using the "30" mic.  It sounds a bit more processed, which sort of lends itself to metal.  It works pretty well on its own or blended with your standard 57.  

 

For you dudes dialing in bass tones, I've had tons of success setting tones up with a parallel path for the bass DI and using the expression pedal to blend between the DI and the modeled amp sound (Gk has been my favorite so far).  I also copy and paste any effects to both paths so hitting a footswitch will trigger the same effect on the DI and modeled paths.  Been pretty fun.

 

Thanks for the tip on using the 30 Dynamic mic.  Sounds like it'll help a lot of us.

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So far, Orange (although it behaves very differently from the one in the Vintage Model Pack in the HD 500), Deluxe, Bassman, Dr. Z, and, WAY more than in the HD 500, the /13. That amp cleans up much nicer in the Helix (actually, everything does).

One dynamic I've noticed... as I've gone in the past 15 years from POD to 2.0 to Vox ToneLab SE (that was a seriously nice unit) to XT to X3 to HD and now to Helix... every generation removes more of the "guitar gap" from the usability of the amps.

What do I mean by that? In the original POD, I had 3 guitars, each one only worked well with one amp, and sounded so-so with the others.

In XT/X3 it improved. In the HD, it got to the point where I could find a number of amps that worked well with each guitar and there was SOME overlap.

But...

In Helix, I'm finding that the amps I like best sound great with any of my guitars. Which is more like the real world.

So instead of saying "I like the Bassman, but only with my Tele" or whatever... I'm finding that I like the amps I like with all my guitars... and... I am finding that one patch works with all the guitars. THAT is new for me.

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WhoWatt, Solo Cunch and Lead, and the Angl have been my favorites so far. I can cover the most ground with those. Although, I'm getting ready to work on some patches that are more specific to sone songs that my band plays. I plan on using several other amps such as Vox, Marshall, etc.

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So far, Orange (although it behaves very differently from the one in the Vintage Model Pack in the HD 500), Deluxe, Bassman, Dr. Z, and, WAY more than in the HD 500, the /13. That amp cleans up much nicer in the Helix (actually, everything does).

 

One dynamic I've noticed... as I've gone in the past 15 years from POD to 2.0 to Vox ToneLab SE (that was a seriously nice unit) to XT to X3 to HD and now to Helix... every generation removes more of the "guitar gap" from the usability of the amps.

 

What do I mean by that? In the original POD, I had 3 guitars, each one only worked well with one amp, and sounded so-so with the others.

 

In XT/X3 it improved. In the HD, it got to the point where I could find a number of amps that worked well with each guitar and there was SOME overlap.

 

But...

 

In Helix, I'm finding that the amps I like best sound great with any of my guitars. Which is more like the real world.

 

So instead of saying "I like the Bassman, but only with my Tele" or whatever... I'm finding that I like the amps I like with all my guitars... and... I am finding that one patch works with all the guitars. THAT is new for me.

 

That sounds so awesome.  I can't wait to get mine and play with my Strat, Tele, and Les Paul.  I started with Pod 2, then went to a few others (Peavey Transformer 212 anyone? :D) and a few tube amps in there (Peavey Classic 30, Genz Benz El Diablo, etc).  Then POD XT, and POD HD500X.  You're spot on about the L6 stuff getting better and better, and more usable across the board, with all guitars.

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So far, Orange (although it behaves very differently from the one in the Vintage Model Pack in the HD 500), Deluxe, Bassman, Dr. Z, and, WAY more than in the HD 500, the /13. That amp cleans up much nicer in the Helix (actually, everything does).

 

One dynamic I've noticed... as I've gone in the past 15 years from POD to 2.0 to Vox ToneLab SE (that was a seriously nice unit) to XT to X3 to HD and now to Helix... every generation removes more of the "guitar gap" from the usability of the amps.

 

What do I mean by that? In the original POD, I had 3 guitars, each one only worked well with one amp, and sounded so-so with the others.

 

In XT/X3 it improved. In the HD, it got to the point where I could find a number of amps that worked well with each guitar and there was SOME overlap.

 

But...

 

In Helix, I'm finding that the amps I like best sound great with any of my guitars. Which is more like the real world.

 

So instead of saying "I like the Bassman, but only with my Tele" or whatever... I'm finding that I like the amps I like with all my guitars... and... I am finding that one patch works with all the guitars. THAT is new for me.

I agree with the "guitar gap" analysis here. I had the HD500 and Flextone III before that. With the Helix, even though the patch reflects the different dynamics of each guitar (I switch between an Ibanez, Telecaster, and Variax Standard), the differences sound natural--like PeterHamm said, more like with a real amp. As a result, most of the amp models sound great for whatever you're looking for. Lately I've been interested in clean sounds that break up by adding overdrives and gain boosts in front, so the Fenders, Voxes, and Highwatt have been my favorites. I have played around a little with the higher gain amps and they also do what they intend to do well. I haven't been able to get the 5150 to give me a sound I like, but that could just be personal taste.

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I'm liking the Angl Meteor the most.  I play a lot of 80's 90's metal sounding stuff.   BOC, Hagar, Riot, Fastway etc etc. 

 

I like the Angle (Engl) models not only for the tone, but the control.   Especially using the just the pre-amp I can use the EQ of the model as the post-distortion EQ and just put a noise-gate, compressor and EQ in front of it and I'm about 80% on my way to replacing the Rockman Sustainer. 

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I haven't been able to get the 5150 to give me a sound I like, but that could just be personal taste.

 

 

It took me a little while to get this one to do what I wanted too.  It can be a very saturated, sizzly amp, so I try to smooth it out.  It's the block logo 5150, and I don't really like these amps in real life either, but boosted with a tube screamer model (gain at 0, level 8-10) it feels better, and you can get away using less amp gain.  Then using the high cut filter (sometimes as low as 11k) on the cab helps this one sound a little less fizzy.  Pulling the mic away (or using a second cab with a mic placed further away) can also help this amp sound a little less thrashy. 

 

With the updates some of the default values change around,  check the master amp levels.  On the PV panama I was lowering master volume to around 3.

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It took me a little while to get this one to do what I wanted too.  It can be a very saturated, sizzly amp, so I try to smooth it out.  It's the block logo 5150, and I don't really like these amps in real life either, but boosted with a tube screamer model (gain at 0, level 8-10) it feels better, and you can get away using less amp gain.  Then using the high cut filter (sometimes as low as 11k) on the cab helps this one sound a little less fizzy.  Pulling the mic away (or using a second cab with a mic placed further away) can also help this amp sound a little less thrashy. 

 

With the updates some of the default values change around,  check the master amp levels.  On the PV panama I was lowering master volume to around 3.

 

I tried your suggestion and it does help make this model sound more pleasing to me. But it raises a philosophical question. When do we just switch up and use the Mesa or Marshal? I find that I really want to use all the new amp models that weren't in the HD500, even at the expense of not focusing on the models I really like.

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WhoWatt, Solo Cunch and Lead, and the Angl have been my favorites so far. I can cover the most ground with those. Although, I'm getting ready to work on some patches that are more specific to sone songs that my band plays. I plan on using several other amps such as Vox, Marshall, etc.

 

I spent some time with other amps... I dialed up both a clean and dirty AC30, a Plexi BRT, Twin, a Plexi (jumped), JCM800, and a Bassman. All of those amps sound great! Surprisingly, I used Marshall Cab IR's for all of the amps. Just sounded better to my ears. I really can't find a bad sounding amp in the Helix. I don't dig all of the amps for my personal use, but they are still impressive. 

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I really dig the Vox and Doc Z models. The Cali Rectifier is also pretty killer. I really like most of the amps on there. I've set up a pretty killer Jazz/ Fusion tone with the JC 120 model that is surprisingly rich sounding.

Definitely going to have to try out the Doc Z and Rectifier models tonight :)

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