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Output: Don't I Feel Stupid


erniedenov
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After 13 months of owning a Helix, I made a discovery that I should've made the first week: you can get 20 dBs of additional volume via the output menu on each preset (smacks palm on forehead)! To cut myself a slight break, I can't find anything in the manual that mentions this.

 

I've only done a handful of live gigs using my Alto FRFR powered speaker though I've played many gigs with Helix going direct to FOH while using in-ear monitors. Because I have a gig coming up in 10 days where I will be using the Alto, I had an "at volume" tweaking session yesterday in my home; that's when I made the big (to me) discovery. On the live gigs I have done with the speaker I was always wondering why I can't get more volume out of it; after all, it's rated at 1,100 watts. I've never exactly been overpowered by the rest of the band, but I've had to crank the master volume on the Helix all the way up on occasion. Now I'm realizing that I can hold my own with anyone who might want to involve me in a volume battle!

 

I'm bypassing my pride here just to pass along this revelation in case anybody else has been struggling with getting enough volume out of their rig. I've now added 10 dB on the output of all of my presets in my "speaker setlists" and I won't have to turn my Helix master volume much past noon on this upcoming gig. Pleased!

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After 13 months of owning a Helix, I made a discovery that I should've made the first week: you can get 20 dBs of additional volume via the output menu on each preset (smacks palm on forehead)! To cut myself a slight break, I can't find anything in the manual that mentions this.

 

....

 

Not trying to be a smarta$$ here, but here's a snip from pg 22 of the manual, describing the Output Block:

TIP: Use Knob 2 (Level) to set the path's overall level, which is important to ensure all of your presets maintain a consistent volume throughout your set.

 

Again, I mention this for the benefit of readers - not to further smack your forehead! ;)

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Not trying to be a smarta$$ here, but here's a snip from pg 22 of the manual, describing the Output Block:

TIP: Use Knob 2 (Level) to set the path's overall level, which is important to ensure all of your presets maintain a consistent volume throughout your set.

 

Again, I mention this for the benefit of readers - not to further smack your forehead! ;)

 

Ha! Maybe I need new bifocals. DOH!

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Glasses have to be one of the most aggressive annoyances there is. I can't wait for the day when it's discovered how to grow eyeballs in the lab and have one's eyes transplanted. Human eyes are one of nature's malfunctions I guess.

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If it makes you feel any better, on a semi-regular basis, I'll fire up my rig, then spend 5 minutes trying to figure out why I have no sound at all... only to discover that I haven't plugged in the damn guitar.

 

Been there more times than I'd care to admit.

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If it makes you feel any better, on a semi-regular basis, I'll fire up my rig, then spend 5 minutes trying to figure out why I have no sound at all... only to discover that I haven't plugged in the damn guitar.

Did that at church this morning. Everything was fine when we ran through the songs before service. Checked my global settings, had the sound guy make sure I wasn't muted, etc... Looked down and saw my G10 wireless transmitter sitting in the base, not in my guitar...geez...

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Glasses have to be one of the most aggressive annoyances there is. I can't wait for the day when it's discovered how to grow eyeballs in the lab and have one's eyes transplanted. Human eyes are one of nature's malfunctions I guess.

Lasers. That's all I have to say about that.

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I catch myself tweaking a compressor while mixing, can't hear any changes for 5-10 minutes only to find out I had it in bypass...

 

Haha. What's worse is doing that for an entire session, saving, and thinking you made significant progress, with only the remote possibility of your mistake being revealed the next day...

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You're just beginners....  :P

I tweaked with many many changes an amp model (at loud volume), I noted that the changes of many parameters didn't affect a lot the sound, but you know: when the volume is loud some differences are just subtle. After a while I finally saved the preset, because I thought I had found a good version. And at that moment, I realized that I was tweaking the second amp model in my preset and it was in bypass mode... 

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You're just beginners....  :P

I tweaked with many many changes an amp model (at loud volume), I noted that the changes of many parameters didn't affect a lot the sound, but you know: when the volume is loud some differences are just subtle. After a while I finally saved the preset, because I thought I had found a good version. And at that moment, I realized that I was tweaking the second amp model in my preset and it was in bypass mode... 

 

LOL, I have been guilty of this more than once myself, particularly when I first got my Helix. Increasing the volume on the radio will not make the car go faster...  :P

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There are so many places to tweak the signal level. Drive, master, channel volume, output, big volume knob (which may or may not be assigned to whatever output you’re frantically cranking up one song into a gig).

 

Make sure you build in some headroom. I try to set patches such that I can increase the output by 3-6 Db live. It’s easy to turn a patch down, but if you’re maxed out with drive or master and output then it’s hard to turn up.

 

All the Ownhammer IRs come set to -18, which leaves LOTS of headroom. I like the sound of hem set around -10, and then I have an easy 6 dB boost just using the IR level.

 

Helix is flexible, but that usually comes at the expense of complication. Ah, the old days where I had one knob and it went to 11.

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There are so many places to tweak the signal level. Drive, master, channel volume, output, big volume knob (which may or may not be assigned to whatever output you’re frantically cranking up one song into a gig).

 

Make sure you build in some headroom. I try to set patches such that I can increase the output by 3-6 Db live. It’s easy to turn a patch down, but if you’re maxed out with drive or master and output then it’s hard to turn up.

 

All the Ownhammer IRs come set to -18, which leaves LOTS of headroom. I like the sound of hem set around -10, and then I have an easy 6 dB boost just using the IR level.

 

Helix is flexible, but that usually comes at the expense of complication. Ah, the old days where I had one knob and it went to 11.

This is why I set my main volume knob to 2:00 then let the sound guy (if there is one) adjust to that. If the overall band volume drifts, I can drift with it on the main volume knob globally. 

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