High Gain Pedals with Helix (Boss HM-2 clones, etc.)

[imoldcraig]

I am new to the forums, so I apologize if this question has already been addressed (I did not find it in a simple search), but I am getting an uncontrollable amount of noise from my Abominable Throne Torcher (an HM-2 clone) when running it into nearly every amp/cab combo on the Helix. I've tried blending in the signal, using all the noise gates and a few other EQ tricks to no avail. An HM-2 is integral to my guitar sound, so giving it up and finding another option is off the table. Has anyone else had any success with super high gain pedals ran in the effects loop of the Helix? Is there an amp that works best? Overall, what am I missing?

 

p.s. Yes, I am one of those people that do the "crank the knobs on the HM-2 for the Swedish Death Metal approach." It still sounds super noisy with the distortion turned down and the volume backed off, also.

[ricstudioc]

- Running into the front end or thru a loop?

- If front end, is the noise present with nothing plugged into the input?

- Does the noise track the volume control on the guitar or always present?

- Battery power or AC adaptor?

- Swapped cables around?

 - What is the airspeed of a fully laden swallow?

[MonkeyXT]

Could be that your loop needs to be switched to Instrument level from Line level in the Global Settings panel.

[imoldcraig]

- Running into the front end or thru a loop?

- If front end, is the noise present with nothing plugged into the input?

- Does the noise track the volume control on the guitar or always present?

- Battery power or AC adaptor?

- Swapped cables around?

 - What is the airspeed of a fully laden swallow?

It is running into a loop. The noise is present with the pedal engaged, but nearly silent with the pedal off. I use an isolated 9v power, so there isn't any issue with power and the cables are all clean, too. And what do you mean? An African or a European swallow?

 

Could be that your loop needs to be switched to Instrument level from Line level in the Global Settings panel.

That could very well be the problem. This is my first foray into a mainly digital rig, so I forget about tiny differences like that. I'll check it later and report back.

[HonestOpinion]

There is also a ground lift switch on the Helix that usually helps more with hum then the noise you are describing but it might be worth a try.

[ricstudioc]

 An African or a European swallow?

Nicely caught, sir - nicely caught.... :P

[imoldcraig]

So, I ran it through multiple amps, cabinets, flipped grounds, EQ'd, pretty much the whole nine yards and somehow got a good sound with it. The ground lift and instrument level did not really factor in, it is just a noisy pedal while running into an already high gain amp. There were a few amps that the Throne Torcher did not get along with, but a few that really worked well despite the noise. The biggest change came when I switched to an IR (it was pre-loaded from a previous user into the Helix when I got it, so I'm not exactly sure what company it comes from). The noise gate magically started working before and after the Throne Torcher and the pedal sounded much tighter when playing. When switching back to the stock cab, the noise would appear. I didn't want to be one of those people that loads a billion IRs to replace the stock cabs on the first day, but I'm finding that they are more compatible with analog and built-in effects as well as just overall sounding more like a real amp. Thanks for the suggestions guys, I will do my best to become a more loyal poster on the forums to repay the debt!