High gain amp tones sounding weak/fuzzy

[mitch103]

Hey everyone, i've had my helix for a couple months now and i really like it so far. Im kind of a noob so bare with me, I might need some annoyingly simple things explained. Im playing a PRS Tremonti USA guitar and im running out of 2 (new) adam a7x monitors and using the XLR outs from the helix. I've noticed that when im sitting directly in front of my monitors a few feet away playing through amp models like the cali, bomber uber, etc. just jamming power chords and palm muting that the sound comes out very fuzzy. I make my signal chain basically just the amp head with the default cab and i've been putting a shure sm57 mic model 1" away but I dont know how to adjust the amp's parameters such as gain, mids, etc. to get rid of the excessive fuzziness. I also am having a hard time understanding what the user manual says regarding the bias and bias x, etc. type parameters so ive just left them alone. I've noticed that if I stand up and back away from the monitors it seems to sound a bit better and clearer. I've noticed a lot of you guys use eq's and ir's in your signal paths but im just not understanding quite yet how that all affects the tone. I know im asking a lot and that ive got a lot to learn still but any advice or input I could get I would really appreciate!

[Roberttheprole]

What I've gathered is to get rid of the fizz, or at least lessen it, is instead of pulling out all the bass, and treble in the amp parameters, use high, and low cut in the cab parameters.Definitely play with the Mic selection, ribbons seem to have the most warmth. Also you could check out some of the IRs available for download out there.

[spikey]

IR's (mic and speaker simulators) are used in the Helix to "mimic" if you will, speaker cabs and the mic that was used in recording the sound of the speaker cabinet. Without the "impluse response" (IR) and then played thru studio monitors, the amp (by itself without a speaker) would sound sterile and tinny. Because most of the tone comes from the speaker cabinet, and because its being played without the speaker/mic simulation. Does this help?

[amsdenj]

The SM57 has a high-mid boost that can create some fizz when played through a PA speaker with a horn in your face. I tend to like a warmer speaker tone and use the ribbon mics for most cab and IR models.

[gunpointmetal]

depending on the amp you can set that low pass in the cab block all the way down to 5-6kHz, which kills a lot of the fizz. An SM57 1" off a speaker is going to be pretty bright anyways. I'd try the low pass and mic selection options. Make sure the input pad isn't turned on, either.

[mitch103]

Thanks for the responses. I'm starting to gather what IR's are all about. So then the helix has these IR's already built in or am I supposed to download those separately? Now the main reason I wanted to use an sm57 1-2" away is because I've used that before in real life on my dual rectifier back home and it sounded great. I just figured it would sound the same through the helix that way. I tried switching to the 421 and bring the high cut down to 5khz and that seemed to help a bit. Switching to one if the ribbon mics made it sound too muffled and muddy or something

[spikey]

I don't have mine yet, but I believe that there are some already installed and ready for use the Helix, and there are 3rd party IRs available for free and for purchase.

[totgate]

I had the same experience so i bought some iR packs from cabIr.eu and it made a huge difference in my case. Tried some other IR:s out there but the ones from cabIr are the ones i like best.

[vmoncebaiz]

Thanks for the responses. I'm starting to gather what IR's are all about. So then the helix has these IR's already built in or am I supposed to download those separately? Now the main reason I wanted to use an sm57 1-2" away is because I've used that before in real life on my dual rectifier back home and it sounded great. I just figured it would sound the same through the helix that way. I tried switching to the 421 and bring the high cut down to 5khz and that seemed to help a bit. Switching to one if the ribbon mics made it sound too muffled and muddy or something

I've had good luck using the sm57 with greater distances 6" or so and increasing the bass on the amps eq.  The other thing I love doing is using two cabs, same cab model but different mics usually with the volume offset a little bit between them.

 

The ribbons do have a lot more bottom end, for those i end up using the low cut on the cab block.  I set it anywhere form 80z-110hz

[BigRalphN]

I don't have mine yet, but I believe that there are some already installed and ready for use the Helix, and there are 3rd party IRs available for free and for purchase.

Sort of true. There are not any additional IRs included but all the built in cabinets are actually impulse responses.

[Dylanguitar]

You can use the built in Mic/Cabs or you can download 3rd party IR's. (Ownhammer, etc...). Instead of chopping of all of the high end to get rid of the fizz, try pulling up a 10 band eq and start pulling out all the higher end frequencies to get aquatinted with what each one does. You can do the same thing, more surgically with the parametric EQ. Programing these pedalboards is made vastly easier if you have a somewhat functional knowledge of frequencies, and working with the onboard EQ's is a place to start. 

Also, rather than messing with the bias, you might make sure that the master is cranked up high on the amp ( I believe it's on the same page as the bias control). That really brings the higher gain amps to life.

[mitch103]

Where should I place the eq in my signal path? When I turn the master up past about 3 it kind of just seems to add to the fizz. In the user manual it says the master setting is highly reactive with the other power amp parameters. So should I crank up master and then mess with the bias and bias-x? Or should I try turning the gain down?