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v2.12 Update - Better HX Cab Response?


roscoe5
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Ok, I was on v2.11 this morning messing with the Helix HX 412 Cali V30 cab and the Redwirez Speaker Impedance Curve IR's and/or parametric eq blocks to get closer to the Ownhamer California Duo 412 cab, which seems to be my obsession these days. I updated to v2.12 and I swear the HX Cali 412 and other HX 412 cabs are livelier and more resonant on their own now.

 

They are sounding and feeling closer to the Ownhammer free demo Mesa 412 V30 cab.

 

http://www.ownhammer.com/free/v4-demo/

 

Is this a possible v2.12 improvement/optimization or am I imagining this?

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Ok, I was on v2.11 this morning messing with the Helix HX 412 Cali V30 cab and the Redwirez Speaker Impedance Curve IR's and/or parametric eq blocks to get closer to the Ownhamer California Duo 412 cab.  I updated to v2.12 and I swear the HX Cali 412 and other HX 412 cabs are livelier and more resonant on their own now.  

 

They are sounding and feeling closer to the Ownhammer free demo Mesa 412 V30 cab.

 

http://www.ownhammer.com/free/v4-demo/

 

Is this a possible v2.12 improvement/optimization or am I imagining this?

Yes for sure Roscoe5 I agree after i updated to 2.12 everything sounded better more pristine really close to the real amp models..

I played for 4 hours straight  lol.... Couldn't get enough.... 

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Is this a possible v2.12 improvement/optimization or am I imagining this?

Have you changed anything? I took my monitors off the pads to clean under them and that lowered them about 2 inches and it sounds pretty different. Not accurate but different. Now that the tweeters set lower i dont hear the highs as well ...surprisingly so for 2 inches.

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I was playing in headphones today before and after the upgrade, Sennheiser HD280s.

 

After the standard post update wipe and global reset, I cruised through the factory presets. I didn't rember the presets sounding that good. So i went for the single high gain Cali Recto head and single Cali 412 cab block which has always invoked the "ew" response and it had some thump and sparkle I don't think I have ever heard before.

 

Ah well, whether it was firmware or some earwax shifting, I'm digging it :)

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I'll hit it tomorrow with some fresh ears, but I just cranked some high gain riffs through just the single HX amp and HX cab block through both my Tannoy 802 studio monitors and JBL 515xt's and it's really sounding great. It's really on par with the Ownhammer IRs now. Its not like a huge tonal difference, more like the difference between 1024 and 2048 samples in an IR.

 

Maybe Line 6 sweetened things up for NAMM next week. I'm still not ruling out my sanity though...

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it would be good to have official word on whether there has been changes made there.. i haven't updated yet, as i'vd had no problems since the update with archon/litigator amps included.. but i probably would if there really have been some sound enhancements made to the amp/cabs

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it would be good to have official word on whether there has been changes made there.. i haven't updated yet, as i'vd had no problems since the update with archon/litigator amps included.. but i probably would if there really have been some sound enhancements made to the amp/cabs

IMO 2.12 sounds much better! Better cabs and amp tone/matching, Better overall volume and clarity! I woulds definitely do the update!    

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it would be good to have official word on whether there has been changes made there.. i haven't updated yet, as i'vd had no problems since the update with archon/litigator amps included.. but i probably would if there really have been some sound enhancements made to the amp/cabs

Shane, do me a favor.... Before you do the update, record a DI track, and then re-amp it in 2.11 software with any preset or cabs you may be interested in.

 

Then after you update to 2.12 you can re- amp it again with the exact same preset or presets and test it against the 2.11 re-amp.

 

 

Basically what it boils down to is playing the two re-amped tracks at the same time and flipping the phase on one of them. If the sound cancels out and you hear nothing at all, then the sounds are the same, and the software has not changed from 2.11 to 2.12.

 

If after youve flipped the phase and you hear anything at all, then the sounds from 2.11 HAVE in fact chaged, and are different than the sounds in 2.12. To what extent is harder to say.

 

....and then if you just wanna be left alone to play guitar thats cool too  ;)

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Shane, do me a favor.... Before you do the update, record a DI track, and then re-amp it in 2.11 software with any preset or cabs you may be interested in.

 

Then after you update to 2.12 you can re- amp it again with the exact same preset or presets and test it against the 2.11 re-amp.

 

 

Basically what it boils down to is playing the two re-amped tracks at the same time and flipping the phase on one of them. If the sound cancels out and you hear nothing at all, then the sounds are the same, and the software has not changed from 2.11 to 2.12.

 

If after youve flipped the phase and you hear anything at all, then the sounds from 2.11 HAVE in fact chaged, and are different than the sounds in 2.12. To what extent is harder to say.

 

....and then if you just wanna be left alone to play guitar thats cool too  ;)

 

 

 

haha i'll see how i go .. if i get time to do that i will

 

 

Well @willjrock and all, I guess I will eat a little crow here.  I rolled it back to V2.11 at lunch, recorded a dry track, re-amped it through the same Cali Recto amp and 412 and recorded that, then exported the preset.  I then re-upgraded to v2.12, brought the preset back in and recorded another re-amped track of the original dry track.  When I played back the two tracks and inverted the phase of one, there was no sound.  The two tracks sound identical too when solo'd.

 

Unless there was some kind of v2.12 optimization or improvement on the Helix guitar input or headphone out, I guess I'll be taking advantage of my company's mental health benefit.

 

Silver lining...I learned a new trick with DAW phasing :)

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Well @willjrock and all, I guess I will eat a little crow here.  I rolled it back to V2.11 at lunch, recorded a dry track, re-amped it through the same Cali Recto amp and 412 and recorded that, then exported the preset.  I then re-upgraded to v2.12, brought the preset back in and recorded another re-amped track of the original dry track.  When I played back the two tracks and inverted the phase of one, there was no sound.  The two tracks sound identical too when solo'd.

 

Unless there was some kind of v2.12 optimization or improvement on the Helix guitar input or headphone out, I guess I'll be taking advantage of my company's mental health benefit.

 

Silver lining...I learned a new trick with DAW phasing :)

Whoa!!!! Awesome. Somebody actually took the time to do the test!

 

I really wasnt trying to "set you straight" or anything like that. I hope it didnt come off that way.

99/100 times i would be the first to say "placebo dude" but ive had an experience with the Mandarin 80 over the last couple of days that had me thinking........ "surely they didnt update this amp and not tell anyone".  I mean two months ago i was annoyed at line 6 for putting this waste of time amp into the mix, and now recently i cant get enough of it. I would be EXTREMELY disappointed to NOT have it.  Ive been at this stuff a looooong time, and ive seen a looooot of things, but this is bewildering to me.

 

So anyway, long story short, between your experience and my own, i though something was up. 

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Whoa!!!! Awesome. Somebody actually took the time to do the test!

 

I really wasnt trying to "set you straight" or anything like that. I hope it didnt come off that way.

99/100 times i would be the first to say "placebo dude" but ive had an experience with the Mandarin 80 over the last couple of days that had me thinking........ "surely they didnt update this amp and not tell anyone".  I mean two months ago i was annoyed at line 6 for putting this waste of time amp into the mix, and now recently i cant get enough of it. I would be EXTREMELY disappointed to NOT have it.  Ive been at this stuff a looooong time, and ive seen a looooot of things, but this is bewildering to me.

 

So anyway, long story short, between your experience and my own, i though something was up. 

 

No worries.  I didn't take it negatively at all.  You made a great test suggestion and I was the one making the claim.  I really didn't want to spread inaccuracies and have others going out of their way to test and scrutinize.

 

Honestly, it has been a while since I had tried just a straight Helix amp and cab.  I've been so obsessed and immersed in IR's this year (trying, buying, creating, etc.).  Maybe there was an improvement in an older update or something I missed, but I'm not about to go witch hunting, rolling back to each one until I shake it out.  It's probably just me.

 

Maybe it's a good example of how your ear and tastes can change in a year going from being a live player with traditional tube rig to working with Helix and learning the engineering side of things.  Seems like it's a common evolution though.  Next thing you know, I'll be playing through an FRFR rig...or not  ;)

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Thanks a ton for doing that test roscoe5. I love having ACTUAL information in these cases. So much of the amp-guitar-player-ears interaction is subjective, it's really easy for rumors to take hold in the community, and this is one case where we can KNOW.

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No worries.  I didn't take it negatively at all.  You made a great test suggestion and I was the one making the claim.  I really didn't want to spread inaccuracies and have others going out of their way to test and scrutinize.

 

Honestly, it has been a while since I had tried just a straight Helix amp and cab.  I've been so obsessed and immersed in IR's this year (trying, buying, creating, etc.).  Maybe there was an improvement in an older update or something I missed, but I'm not about to go witch hunting, rolling back to each one until I shake it out.  It's probably just me.

 

Maybe it's a good example of how your ear and tastes can change in a year going from being a live player with traditional tube rig to working with Helix and learning the engineering side of things.  Seems like it's a common evolution though.  Next thing you know, I'll be playing through an FRFR rig...or not  ;)

Guess I was wrong too thanks Roscoe, although the cabs could have sounded better because of the general stability improvements /minor bug fixes and optimizations!   

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 although the cabs could have sounded better because of the general stability improvements /minor bug fixes and optimizations!   

 

They couldnt, because that would mean they would have to sound different (better in this case) and as roscoe has noted by testing, they are identical to what they were in 2.11. No change whatsoever.

So could someone who thought they heard a difference figure out which cab(s) that was, so they can get tested? Let's confirm or debunk this for real, if possible.

I plan on updating in the next day or two, so it would be a breeze for me to do, however with your comment i cant imagine we would hear anymore "2.12 sounds way better" comments .

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Think roscoe5 pretty much settled this, unless there's a difference in certain amps and/or cabs and not others. I doubt it, but logic and science are what they are.

 

Unless anyone plans to test each amp and cab separately, it be great to identify specific ones roscoe5 didn't test and where someone thought they heard a difference.

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