Using the Helix live - mixing presets with stomp mode

[lespaul0338]

Got the Helix a couple of weeks ago to explore an alternative to my normal valve amp/cab and pedal board. I'm already confused and losing enthusiasm to keep going. I'm impatient and want to just crack on using it live and so am yet to be convinced such a complex peice of kit is right for me

 

At this stage I don't want to set up presets for each song on our set list but rather set up maybe 3 or 4 amp/cab presets to cover clean/break up/crunch and then be able to switch various individual effects boosts, overdrives, modulation etc in and out as I need them. In other words use it like a pedal board but using the amp/cab settings in the Helix.

 

Can't seem to find anything yet in Line 6 manual that covers this

 

I know the way I want to use it is probably missing out on a lot of the features - but one step at a time.

 

Any (simple) advice?

[HonestOpinion]

Got the Helix a couple of weeks ago to explore an alternative to my normal valve amp/cab and pedal board. I'm already confused and losing enthusiasm to keep going. I'm impatient and want to just crack on using it live and so am yet to be convinced such a complex peice of kit is right for me

 

At this stage I don't want to set up presets for each song on our set list but rather set up maybe 3 or 4 amp/cab presets to cover clean/break up/crunch and then be able to switch various individual effects boosts, overdrives, modulation etc in and out as I need them. In other words use it like a pedal board but using the amp/cab settings in the Helix.

 

Can't seem to find anything yet in Line 6 manual that covers this

 

I know the way I want to use it is probably missing out on a lot of the features - but one step at a time.

 

Any (simple) advice?

 

I personally like using the Snap/Stomp mode so that I have both snapshots and stomps available. Hitting either Bank switch pulls up the presets for easy selection, I select a preset, and Helix automatically drops back to the snapshots and stomps for the newly selected preset.

[silverhead]

"....

I know the way I want to use it is probably missing out on a lot of the features - but one step at a time.

Any (simple) advice?

Going one step at a time, here's a progression to consider......

 

Start with a single amp/cab combination per preset. Use Global Settings to set your display to 8 Stomps. This will allow you to control the on/off state of up to 8 FX blocks assigned to footswitches. You will be able to use the up/down footswitches to switch the presets, and within each preset you turn your virtual pedals on and off just like you would on your 'real' pedalboard.

 

With certain presets you may find yourself wanting to change the state of multiple FX blocks at the same time. For instance you might want to turn on/off the Chorus and Delay blocks as a pair. Now it's time to learn about assinging multiple FX to the same footswitch.

 

Soon you might find that you typically progress through a song with certain groups of FX being turned on and off at specific points in a song. You might have one group of FX for the Intro of a song, another for the verses, and yet another for your blistering solo. You might also wish you could change some of the settings of these individual FX while still playing!! Imagine no bending down to your pedal board to change the depth of your Chorus, or the number of repeats on your Delay, for your solo. Now it's time to learn about Snapshots, and to change your display to Stomps/Snaps so that you can have access to 4 FX on/off switches and 4 Snapshot switches simultaneously.

 

Eventually you will end up with a few very versatile presets that will make it very easily to turn individual, or combinations of, FX blocks on/off and changing selected parameter values with a single footswitch. It actually won't take you very long to reach this stage once you get used to how things work.

[MusicLaw]

Also do not overlook how useful hands-free Pedal Edit mode is when dialing in the various parameters of Block elements!

[amsdenj]

I tend to use very few patches, preferring to get the most out of individual patches with effects like you would with a traditional amp and pedalboard. This is mostly to avoid distractions, having to align patches with changing set lists, and establishing my own "identity tone".

 

So I configure for 10 footswitches to give maximum control within a patch. Then I use the mode switch to get to Patch/Snapshot mode. This gives me four patches on the top for Acoustic, Clean, Mid-Gain, High-Gain configurations. Each of these patches have similar effects in similar order so there's no confusion going from patch to patch. The bottom row has four snapshots for significant changes within a patch - mostly for open tuning and for those situations where I have to switch between acoustic and electric in the middle of a song. In this case the snapshot for acoustic simply turns of the amp and IR blocks, and changes the settings on the EQ block at the end of my signal chain. By the way, I'm really liking my new JVT-69S.

 

This is simple, consistent and works great. But the alternative is to craft individual patches that are specific to each song. Richie Castellano does this for Band Geek and it also works great. Personally I don't want to be hunting for patches during a performance, so I keep things a little simpler and consistent.

[erniedenov]

I personally like using the Snap/Stomp mode so that I have both snapshots and stomps available. Hitting either Bank switch pulls up the presets for easy selection, I select a preset, and Helix automatically drops back to the snapshots and stomps for the newly selected preset.

 

Or if you want, you can set Helix to display presets on one row of (4) switches and effects on the other row, as shown on the box it comes in. You can do that from the global menu. Whenever you go to a preset, it'll display the effects that you can toggle on and off in that preset. And as said, you can have one switch toggle two effects on and off simultaneously. 

[lespaul0338]

Thanks to all for the advice - its really helped

 

I'm starting to make things work much better now and am working through the features - just needs time and concentration I guess..........not got much of either mind :-)

 

Cheers

[gazman58]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 7:48 AM, amsdenj said:

I tend to use very few patches, preferring to get the most out of individual patches with effects like you would with a traditional amp and pedalboard. This is mostly to avoid distractions, having to align patches with changing set lists, and establishing my own "identity tone".

 

So I configure for 10 footswitches to give maximum control within a patch. Then I use the mode switch to get to Patch/Snapshot mode. This gives me four patches on the top for Acoustic, Clean, Mid-Gain, High-Gain configurations. Each of these patches have similar effects in similar order so there's no confusion going from patch to patch. The bottom row has four snapshots for significant changes within a patch - mostly for open tuning and for those situations where I have to switch between acoustic and electric in the middle of a song. In this case the snapshot for acoustic simply turns of the amp and IR blocks, and changes the settings on the EQ block at the end of my signal chain. By the way, I'm really liking my new JVT-69S.

 

This is simple, consistent and works great. But the alternative is to craft individual patches that are specific to each song. Richie Castellano does this for Band Geek and it also works great. Personally I don't want to be hunting for patches during a performance, so I keep things a little simpler and consistent.

How do I configure my Helix to show 10 fottswithes?

[silverhead]

It's in Global Settings - Footswitches. (see manual page 52)

[arkieboy]

So my approach to getting to grips with my Helix was to stop thinking about presets as individual sounds - instead think of them as a virtual rig and use snapshots to dial the sounds you want out of that rig.

 

Take a preset and configure it with everything you would have in a dream rig if you only had the roadies; pick stuff you're familiar with because you'll be relying on your notion of what sounds right to guide you when setting things up.  I've never got on with Boogies and I've never owned a tweed Fender, but I have owned several Marshalls, a Vox AC30 and a blackface Twin so I started off using those.   If you route the top path to the bottom you can get two amp/cab combinations into your preset - and if you use IRs instead of cabs will help save resources if you're struggling.  Remember if a block is switched off, its does not effect the signal so you can alternate between the two amps really easily.

You'll then need to go through each block and assign the parameters you want to tweak to "[snapshots]" so they will be saved per snapshot rather than being constant throughout the whole preset: for stomp pedals you normally switch them either in or out so don't worry about these so much; for your amps you should set drive, EQ, channel volume and master volume.  For reverb and delay you'll want to select delay/decay times an mixes.

 

Now having assembled your virtual rig, turn on/tweak the bits you need for your clean sound and save it as a snapshot.  Ditto chorus + compressor clean - bring the FX in and out as you need them.  Forget you have a helix and pretend you actually have the gear and when you dial in a useful sound, save it.  Make 8 configurations that you would realistically use in a live set.  And then play it lots, tweaking as you go until you think you're on top of it.

I said two amps because I don't know how you could =not= get through any gig's worth of sounds with two different amps on stage with you.  Personally I have an AC30 and a JCM800 in my preset.  

Don't be afraid to go to Ownhammer or RedWire to buy some IRs - I can tell you that Brit 2204 into the RedWire Marshall1960B-T75s with a SM57 Cap Edge Off Axis IR is exactly how a JCM800 should sound on a classic/hard rock record.  You can get good sounds out of the cab blocks, but its not anywhere near as easy to do so.

Once you're on top of your rig, then copy it somewhere safe and start to change bits.  Experiment with the fuzz boxes, the wah pedals, a different amp sim.  But get something straightforward that sounds good first - you are now both the guitarist, a guitar tech, a studio engineer and a producer - take a little time to expand into those new roles.