Helix and L2T

[archisc]

For Helix output to L2T, do you guys uses global Eq?

 

Please share your settings. Thank you.

[cruisinon2]

Global EQ is really for fine tuning to the acoustics of the room you're playing in...different venues, listening environments, etc. You don't want to create patches with global EQ on...it's a handicap. It's for after-the-fact, small adjustments when you move your rig somewhere else.

 

As such, somebody else's settings aren't gonna do you much good, because they're not static. I use mine, but it changes with the room. Anything anybody gives you is more likely to make your tone worse, rather than improve it.

[DunedinDragon]

When I first started with modeling I used global eq, but that was on the HD500X which pretty much needed the adjustments on any and all of the patches.  On the Helix it really wasn't necessary, especially after I began using some decent IR's.  Now I rarely even touch EQ and let the IR's do most of the work for me.  Every once in a while I may tweak something slightly, but it's more about making slight adjustments to the frequency response profile of my speakers than anything else.

 

There's a huge amount of difference IRs can add to a sound based on the type of cabinet, what microphone(s) they used and how they placed them.  It takes a bit to find out what works for you, but when you do there's not much else you really need to adjust.

[JonnyPM]

^^^ What he said. I have a JTV89F, Helix and L2T and I haven't touched the global EQ once. IRs all the way and it sounds killer.

[archisc]

Thx guys.... I knew I was doing something wrong....

[beascott]

I use the digital L6 Link cable (AES/EBU) and this negates global EQ settings, is an easy setup, and produces great sound with the L2t.

[astroturf]

For Helix output to L2T, do you guys uses global Eq?

 

Please share your settings. Thank you.

I have an L3T and if I don't put on a filter at ~6k the entire band complains of the harshness and it makes your ear's bleed. I personally think if something is modelling an amp and cab it should cut out what the cab doesn't produce automatically.

 

Lastly, it just doesn't sound very good. Going through a FR amp to a cab sounds great, but terribly limiting, going through headphones sounds like butter as well but doesn't help much live...

[Rewolf48]

It isn't modelling a cab alone - it is modelling the signal from a microphone listening to a cab and that can include a lot of higher frequencies that are present when close up and on axis.  The Cab model includes the ability to apply high and low cut to suit your taste.

 

Getting it to sound best a live volumes simply comes down to creating the patches at live volumes and ideally in the context of a band mix.  If you are doing this already then you need to be aware of the room in which you are doing that editing as that can also impact on the sound you perceive so you really want a larger and neutral (dead) sounding space in which to work. Audience is a very good at absorbing sound (in the physical definition). 

 

If the room you are in has odd resonances that impact on you sound then that is when you use Global EQ

[cruisinon2]

I personally think if something is modelling an amp and cab it should cut out what the cab doesn't produce automatically.

 

If you put your head an inch from the speaker cone of a guitar cabinet, you will hear harsh, unpleasant frequencies that you would not otherwise hear sitting or standing 4,6, or 10 feet away, and off-axis by a considerable amount. Those frequencies are what a mic hears, and thus what the modeled tone ends up sounding like through an FRFR speaker. There's not much that can be done about it, except a high cut filter. Any modeler will suffer from the same problem.

[DunedinDragon]

It has less to do with the FRFR and more to do with gaining some knowledge about cabinets, mic and mic placement.

 

This is one of the reasons many of us have opted to use IRs because the variety of mic and mic placement variations that come with the cabinets can resolve 95% of the issues you run into using native cabs which have a nice assortment of mics, but is very limited in how the mic can be placed.

 

As cruisinon2 mentioned, the sound of a cabinet gets warmer and less harsh the further out from the center the mic is placed.  Some microphones such as an SM57 tend to pick up less of the harsh frequencies or at least mitigate them more than other mics at the cost of having less dynamic range.  The more you learn about mics and mic placements you can pretty easily determine what variation of IR is going to best suit what you're trying to play.

 

Bear in mind also that most powered live monitor type speakers will sound more harsh the closer you are to them.  This is why you place PA speakers a ways away from the listener so the high and low frequencys blend together a bit better.  Typically about 5 feet or so will give you a better feel for the sound being produced.  This isn't as big a problem with studio speakers as they use tweeter speakers rather than horns for high frequencies and aren't really designed for long distance projection of sound.

 

I realize this can be very frustrating given what many guitarists have become used to of simply plugging into combo amp or amp with speakers.  But it's just a little bit of additional knowledge regarding live sound that sound people already know, but is necessary to understand in order to best exploit the full range of capabilities in modern modeling units like the Helix.

[astroturf]

If you put your head an inch from the speaker cone of a guitar cabinet, you will hear harsh, unpleasant frequencies that you would not otherwise hear sitting or standing 4,6, or 10 feet away, and off-axis by a considerable amount. Those frequencies are what a mic hears, and thus what the modeled tone ends up sounding like through an FRFR speaker. There's not much that can be done about it, except a high cut filter. Any modeler will suffer from the same problem.

 

It has less to do with the FRFR and more to do with gaining some knowledge about cabinets, mic and mic placement.

 

This is one of the reasons many of us have opted to use IRs because the variety of mic and mic placement variations that come with the cabinets can resolve 95% of the issues you run into using native cabs which have a nice assortment of mics, but is very limited in how the mic can be placed.

 

Thank you both for the explanations. It seems to get the sound I want with the flexibility of modeling I have a whole lot more to learn then plug in and tweak a few knobs.

[vmoncebaiz]

I typically save the global eq to fine tune things for the room or PA, as most users mentioned above.  My patches themselves tend to have high cuts and low cuts already applied to the cab or IR blocks (typically 80-90hz low cut and 5.8-8khz on the high cut) 

 

If you're new to modelers, try messing with 250hz, 500hz, 750hz, 2khz and 4khz. Those seem to make very noticeable differences.  If you like the tweaks you make, I'd recommend adding them in as eq blocks in the patches, and saving the global EQ for fine tuning across all patches.

 

But for the L2t specifically, I find myself cutting frequencies at 300hz and again at 2.2k-2.4khz.  I do it with the global EQ as its quicker than adding in an EQ block for every patch I want to use.  Its just what works for my ears. 

[cruisinon2]

Thank you both for the explanations. It seems to get the sound I want with the flexibility of modeling I have a whole lot more to learn then plug in and tweak a few knobs.

We all went through it. There's definitely a learning curve with these things. Eventually you'll get the hang of creating tones you're looking for, and you'll be able to build patches from scratch in very little time. The experimental phase kinda sucks initially...lots of trial and error. Heavy on the "error". ;) You'll get there...