Helix LT into ATH-M50X and Beyerdynamic DT 880s - distortion/crackling?

[wildwestmlp]

I bought a Helix LT about a month ago and I'm just now getting to dive into it - initially just had a pair of ATH-M50X headphones but I got a pair of 250 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880s today.

 

Basically, unless the amp model and guitar are turned way down for a perfect clean sound, at the start of chords (especially, but also individual notes) I get a crackling sound that's distinct from the guitar sound, kind of like it's on top of the sound coming from the Helix.

 

Volume is low so I'm fairly sure it's not distorting the headphones themselves. Not very high output pickups - Voodoo TE-60 Telecaster single coils, Supro gold foils.

 

GUITAR IN PAD is on, I changed the headphone out to the 1/4" setting instead of multi. 

 

The sound of the amps underneath the crackling is good, but it's hard to ignore the noise.

 

Not sure where to go next - global EQ, high/lo cut? 

[Verne-Bunsen]

I suspect that what you are encountering is "fizz", which in itself is not a malfunction but is the topic of plenty of raucus debates. There are many schools of thought on handling it, I typically use the high cut in the cab/IR blocks to reign it in if need be. Usually a high cut between 5-6k will knock it down appreciably, but don't be afraid to go down lower. Chase the sound, not the number. Keep in mind that the high cut parameter can be assigned to a controller like snapshots or the footswitch that activates a dirt pedal, so you can set the cut high to keep the top end sparkle in clean tones and then have it clamp down on dirty tones. Hope that helps!

[jbuhajla]

It may be the sound of your clean amp that is "breaking up" when it is pushed a little harder when playing chords, or digging in on single notes. When the amp model (and real amp) starts to break up, the tone is having some natural distortion introduced. The Helix models are that good in that they react the same as the real amps they were modeled after. 

 

That is just my guess though without hearing the actual sound. 

[wildwestmlp]

Thanks, I played with the high cut on cabs but didn't get below 10-12k because I didn't have a great idea what I was doing. I'll keep monkeying with it tonight on that.