External Distortion Pedals Into Helix Without Amp Model

[drewstunes77]

Hey everyone,

 

Just a quick question - I recently saw an older Glenn DeLaune video where he talks about using distortion pedals (he was using the Bogner Ecstacy) into the Helix straight into a cab model and not using an amp at all.  Sure enough I plugged my JHS Andy Timmons pedal into the effects loop, bypassed the amp model and dialed up a Marshall cab and it actually sounds as good if not better than running into a clean amp model.  I'm just curious how this works - I know you can't run a drive pedal straight into a cab in the real world so why does this work in Helix?  This maybe a dumb question but I was just curious.

 

Thanks,

 

Andrew

[GlennDeLaune]

Hi Andrew, you are basically using the Helix as a cab simulator. That's why it works. 

[pbatts]

Sure, you can do that.

 

It works because it's digital.

[jbuhajla]

The beauty of the digital realm. You can't break it, it either sounds good, or it doesn't. 

[MusicLaw]

Not a dumb question at all! In the digital realm, many of the analog rules no longer apply.

 

If your audio recipe cooks up something that works for you, go with it!

 

This is one of Helix's fantastic aspects. It's sort or a warehouse of great equipment in a studio/stage quality package without all the physical fuss of dollys, patch bays, patch cords, etc. And, it keeps improving with each firmware release.