impulse responses ?

[bullfweet]

Hi All,

I just got my Helix floor for Christmas. I’m migrating from my old HD-500.

During install in my system, During install of the Helix control software I was prompted to install an update from 221 to 230. I followed the instructions and backed up my Helix, then performed the update...after the update, I reinstalled the backup.

I’m not seeing any impulse responses listed...have I lost whatever came with the unit ?

If there were any they didn’t seem to be reinstalled...

Am I missing something here ? I’m not really familiar with the unit yet...but so far, I love what I hear :j

 

Mike C

[DunedinDragon]

New systems don't have any IR's installed, so you're not missing anything.

[cruisinon2]

IR's are do-it-yourself, 3rd party add-ons....but if I we're you, I'd start with the Helix cabs until you get a handle on the unit. IR's are a nice option to have, but there are tons of them out there, and it gets overwhelming quickly. Get comfy with Helix first...it's easy enough to get sucked down the endless tweaking rabbit hole with the stuff that's already in there.

[PeterHamm]

I echo the sentiment that you can ignore IR for now. Just learn the unit. I tried a few IR but ended up having a handful of built-in cabs that I like better than anything else I’ve tried. My faves are the Matchless (I use both in a Dual cab with ribbon mikes... mmm. Mmm) and the Z 2 x 12 and the Fender 4 x 10. YMMV, of course.

[willjrock]

i would not ignore IRs right off the bat. Helix is pretty uninspirational sounding without them. Unless your monitoring matches up with the onboard Helix cab sounds pretty well, you'll just be wasting your time trying to dial sounds that are hard or impossible to get, when the right IR will do the trick instantly and let you concentrate on the other aspects of Helix.You dont want to be fussing around trying to get good sound AND learning Helix. Just use an IR that sounds good and you wont have to worry about that part until youre ready to worry about it.

[shanecgriffo]

it only takes a minute or two to get the helix cabs sounding great.. give it a try

[PeterHamm]

it only takes a minute or two to get the helix cabs sounding great.. give it a try

totally my experience, too.

[zooey]

As you've probably figured out, there are different opinions as to the importance of IRs in getting good sounds with Helix :)

 

It's your call, obviously. Many people use only the built-in cabs, because they're built in, free, adjustable, and you don't have to mess around with which IR goes where so your presets work right. (Presets store only the IR location you selected, not the actual IR.) Others use only external IRs, because they tfeel they can get better sounds with them.

 

Others, like me, use both, because I like to see what my options are and how they work out. I've gotten sounds I like a lot from both. Some of my presets have a footswitch to pick one or the other, since I haven't decided which I want for that sound yet.

 

No wrong answers! Have fun! If it sounds good it is good! There are lots of free IRs out there if you want to check them out.

[willjrock]

While its true that its not all THAT difficult to dial a useable sound with Helix cabs, though you will never get the quality of sounds achieved by an IR, nor will you get the range of tones available in an IR without a lot of effort.. This is why i use them, why every person dialing tones in my studio tends to choose them , why every pro ive seen using helix uses IRs, why any polls ive seen show more people tend to choose IRs, why you dont see posts here of people complaining about shrill and unsatisfactory high end when using IRs, ect. Its no accident. 

[zooey]

My impression is that that's way less universal than you're making it out to be. The only poll I'm aware of is split about 55% IRs to 45% stock cabs, not what I'd call an obvious and indisputable truth that applies to everyone.

[cruisinon2]

My impression is that that's way less universal than you're making it out to be. The only poll I'm aware of is split about 55% IRs to 45% stock cabs, not what I'd call an obvious and indisputable truth that applies to everyone.

 

 

This is nothing new...opinions expressed as objective, indisputable truth are a daily occurrence around here. In a nutshell:

 

"My finely tuned perception makes my assessment "correct"...and if you believe otherwise, you are deaf, stupid, or crazy".

[bullfweet]

Thanks guys !!! Plenty of good insights here !!! I will use the stock cans at first, get used to the unit, then do some experimenting later on. Like I said, I just got the Helix and updated. So far I’m loving it :)

 

Thanks again, the journey begins !!!

Mike C

[erniedenov]

As you've probably figured out, there are different opinions as to the importance of IRs in getting good sounds with Helix :)

 

You think?!  ;)

 

I use both, but truth be told, I use stock HX cabs more frequently than third party IRs. And I think if Line 6 ever gives us the ability to virtually move mic models across the speaker rather than away from it, I might not feel the need to use anything but the stock cabs.

[hideout]

it only takes a minute or two to get the helix cabs sounding great.. give it a try

Agreed.

[hideout]

This is nothing new...opinions expressed as objective, indisputable truth are a daily occurrence around here. In a nutshell:

 

"My finely tuned perception makes my assessment "correct"...and if you believe otherwise, you are deaf, stupid, or crazy".

^^This!^^

[hideout]

And I think if Line 6 ever gives us the ability to virtually move mic models across the speaker rather than away from it, I might not feel the need to use anything but the stock cabs.

I really hope this happens. Even the way it is now, the only IRs I use are for my acoustic sounds.

[hideout]

Also, in those polls, how many have chosen IRs simply because they’ve read somewhere or some one has convinced them that IRs are better than the stock cabs. Not necessarily because they can actually hear the difference but... who’d admit to that? I’d bet that there’s a good portion of these folks.

[zooey]

Of course a difference is audible, between nearly anything and anything. As to "better", much harder and more ambiguous.

[PeterHamm]

Also, in those polls, how many have chosen IRs simply because they’ve read somewhere or some one has convinced them that IRs are better than the stock cabs. Not necessarily because they can actually hear the difference but... who’d admit to that? I’d bet that there’s a good portion of these folks.

 

 

If someone has spent a lot of time and effort on IR from 3rd parties, there is not a lot of incentive to not say that they are way way better.

 

Confirmation bias at its very best.

[hideout]

If someone has spent a lot of time and effort on IR from 3rd parties, there is not a lot of incentive to not say that they are way way better.

 

Confirmation bias at its very best.

Also true.

[ric1966]

Ultimately whatever works best for you is what’s right. That is the beauty of Helix, it’s flexibility. I prefer certain IRs only because the recording engineer who made them apparently has an ear for tone that happens to be in line with my personal tastes. His “all-mic†mixes sound very balanced and full to me and don’t require much additional EQ to achieve the tones I like. They just sound good “out of the box.†I can get a dual cab block pretty close but haven’t been able to quite find the “three dimensional†fullness of the IRs. That said, I would be perfectly okay using the tones I’ve dialed in with dual cabs. Both flavors sound great, just different. When asked for a preference, my wife says “they both sound like you playing an electric guitar.†I’m willing to bet 99% of my audience would say the same thing! For me the cabs and my short list of IRs are close enough to each other that my style, pick attack, dynamics, etc. come through just as well either way. At that point I default to whatever I think sounds better, which is an IR, by a small margin. I can also hear the difference between the 1024 and 2048 sample IRs, with about as small a distinction as the Cab vs. IR comparison.

[brue58ski]

Try these "official" Line 6 IR's and compare them to their stock cab counterparts.

 

https://line6.com/allure/

 

It will give you an idea of what kind of difference IR's can make compared to the stock cabs. I think there's only about 6 and they're free. They are done by Dan Boul of 65 Amps. Here's his website (don't go here to get the Line 6 IR's)

 

http://www.65amps.com/