Dylanguitar Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Just cracked it open tonight and spent a few hours with it. Seems like it has some nice clean and semi dirty sounds. I was a little underwhelmed or disappointed that I didn't find any higher-gain classic rock type of amp models that I loved. Also, the higher gain models seemed to all be a bit overcompressed, lacking dynamics. I backed off the Guitar IN impedance a few clicks and that seemed to help. I also fiddled around with the amp bias and the master section, but that didn't cure the "over-compressed" sound. Compared to the JC800 patch on my X3, ......yes the X3 could sound a bit synthetic, but it also had a certain feel to it that I found to be a little more natural than similar moderately high gain patches in the Helix, which is a bit disappointing. I'm really hoping I can make this work. All the bells and whistles aren't' going to matter if I can't find a distorted rhythm patch that I like. I'm wondering how much a difference some of these 3rd party Impulse responses will make. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. Dylan Schiavone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Be sure to look at the "page 2, 3, and sometimes 4" parameters of the amps. Honestly, once you dive in, if you still think the X3 sounds better, I'll be really surprised. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dshow Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Just cracked it open tonight and spent a few hours with it. Seems like it has some nice clean and semi dirty sounds. I was a little underwhelmed or disappointed that I didn't find any higher-gain classic rock type of amp models that I loved. Also, the higher gain models seemed to all be a bit overcompressed, lacking dynamics. I backed off the Guitar IN impedance a few clicks and that seemed to help. I also fiddled around with the amp bias and the master section, but that didn't cure the "over-compressed" sound. Compared to the JC800 patch on my X3, ......yes the X3 could sound a bit synthetic, but it also had a certain feel to it that I found to be a little more natural than similar moderately high gain patches in the Helix, which is a bit disappointing. I'm really hoping I can make this work. All the bells and whistles aren't' going to matter if I can't find a distorted rhythm patch that I like. I'm wondering how much a difference some of these 3rd party Impulse responses will make. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. Dylan Schiavone My advice: Give it a little more time Explorer the factory presets Copy those that sound decent to you and adjust to your taste After that - Make your own patches! Play around with the amp settings (Master, Sag, Bias, Bias X) Adjust the cab parameters if needed (Low Cut, High cut if needed) I wasn't that impressed by the factory presets eighter, but after I build my own sounds I'm pretty happy. I had all versions of the POD including the X3. It is certainly a matter of taste but I would be very supprised if you wouldn't like the helix after playing around a bit. I think you have to get used to it after playing with the X3 for such a long time. Let us know your opinion in 1 - 2 week or so ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanguitar Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Will be diving back in tonight. Will probably try some 3rd party impulse responses as well. Got a gig thursday I can test fly it. Thanks for the tips. Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graemey Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 My advice: Give it a little more time Explorer the factory presets Copy those that sound decent to you and adjust to your taste After that - Make your own patches! Play around with the amp settings (Master, Sag, Bias, Bias X) Adjust the cab parameters if needed (Low Cut, High cut if needed) Hey, slightly off-topic but is there a quick and easy way to copy and paste a whole preset? I've checked the manual but couldn't find any clues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Save the preset to any desired location. That's copying it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graemey Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Save the preset to any desired location. That's copying it. I may sound a bit daft here, but can I create a preset, then copy the whole thing and move it to a new location and save a duplicate of it? Thus having two identical presets? If so, how is that done? I'm still very new to the Helix. I've already mastered so much by refering to the manual and messing around, but the above is something I'm struggling with. Any advice appreciated! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I may sound a bit daft here, but can I create a preset, then copy the whole thing and move it to a new location and save a duplicate of it? Thus having two identical presets? If so, how is that done? I'm still very new to the Helix. I've already mastered so much by refering to the manual and messing around, but the above is something I'm struggling with. Any advice appreciated! :) There is not a "copy patch" function. Go to the patch you want to copy from. Press save. select the location you want to copy to. You can even change banks. Press save again. Patch is copied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncann Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 There is not a "copy patch" function. Go to the patch you want to copy from. Press save. select the location you want to copy to. You can even change banks. Press save again. Patch is copied. When you say banks, I take it you mean setlists? One of the things I'm glad they did was allow for just straight numbering from 000 to 127 within a setlist, basically getting rid of the idea of banks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archisc Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I had a Pod 500.. and comparing to Helix.. Helix is far superior... even just comparing having only a single amp in the chain... if you found x3 is better.. there must be something wrong in the setting.... I output my pod and helix to L2T in PA mode.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graemey Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 There is not a "copy patch" function. Go to the patch you want to copy from. Press save. select the location you want to copy to. You can even change banks. Press save again. Patch is copied. Excellent. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensington Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I'm very happy with my Helix I must say. But I had the same experience going from X3 to HD500....I could never make it work.I had it for a couple of months, but never got a good sound out of it, and my band members had this grin on their faces. So I had to get rid of it and get a used X3 instead. It just served my purpose.Then I got the axe-fxII...and that's a beast of course, but still, I had to use the X3 as a backup on a gig, and even then I felt more at "home" with the sound.So yeah...."newer" doesn't necessarily mean better....for YOU! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 When you say banks, I take it you mean setlists? One of the things I'm glad they did was allow for just straight numbering from 000 to 127 within a setlist, basically getting rid of the idea of banks. Either. You can save a patch anywhere of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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