StruckingFuggle Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I read a tip a while back on how to get the tones you want for specific songs (or just sections of songs). Pick an amp/cabinet to start with, something in the ballpark for the tone you want. Put a looper at the front of the chain. Star the looper, play the part. Put the guitar down and tweak away. I've been working on a Comfortably Numb patch, since the day I got Helix really, and I've been struggling to get a sound I liked. It was either too much gain, or not enough gain, or too much noise, or not enough delay, etc... The initial learning curve for Helix is steep. Amps/cabs/mics/IRs/eq. When I first got Helix I would throw an amp/cab in the path and go 'nope, I hate that', and then try something else, never quite finding exactly what I wanted. What I know now, is to not give up too early on a model. Using the looper technique I've been able to find some pretty darn good tones. I'm learning to REALLY listen to what's going on, and then tweak just a thing or two, and really listen again. Get an overdrive sound I'm happy with before adding the delay. Get those things really close before I add the chorus. It's probably driving my wife batty, listening to the same Comfortably Numb solo for an hour. :) But I'm getting something I'm really very happy with now. It's great to be able to tweak the tone while listening instead of while I'm playing. My latest favorite is the Soldano Lead with some 3 Sigma IRs. Can't wait to try this patch in a live practice. Still learning something new every time I sit down and start tweaking. using the looper it's super easy to try out different ODs with different gain settings and A/B between them. Works so nicely. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireproof Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Wow - thanks for sharing. I had not read that tip about the loop - that's pretty genius. I may have to give that a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingsCool Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Once you get a tone you like, it might also be good to add a backing track of drums and bass etc. to go along with it to see how it really sits in the mix as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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