Kelbyactr Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Hey guys, new Helix user here. Just started building tones.....have a question about a particular method. But first: My current live rig: Helix Pedal board Seymour Duncan Power stage 170 Shure GLXD16 Wireless Temple Audio 34 board. EVH 2x12 Cab EVH 4x12 Cab The cabs swap depending on what venue our band is playing at. I have yet to run my helix in a live situation. I am coming to a helix from a POD Pro X rack mount. I am curious, I plan not to run FOH is there a issue with not utilizing a digital cab in the chain? Just micing my EVH cab. I have built a couple tones this way and they sound pretty decent(I did throw these together in a pretty quick fashion) So I am sure there are things I will change the more I dig into the unit. I can't really find any info regarding this subject. Genre: Metalcore(Don't know if you needed this info or not) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonandtice Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 If you are using physical cabs you probably do not want to have a cab model in your chain. So micing the physical cabs is the way to go. It doesn't mean you can't do both though. This is the Helix, after all. You can split your signal towards the end of your chain and send one path to the PowerStage (via 1/4" out) and the other path through a cab model to FOH (via XLR). This way the sound tech can mix your mic'd cab with your modeled cab. Not sure why you would want to do this but some sound guys might like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I plan not to run FOH is there a issue with not utilizing a digital cab in the chain? Just micing my EVH cab. I have built a couple tones this way and they sound pretty decent(I did throw these together in a pretty quick fashion) So I am sure there are things I will change the more I dig into the unit. I can't really find any info regarding this subject. Opinions vary. When using a "real" cabinet, the perceived wisdom is that a cab model in the chain would be redundant... but it all depends on the sound you're after, and how you set up your patches. There are no "rules". In my 500X days, I did use cab sims into a 4x12...couldn't get a sound I liked with any other configuration. Without cab sims, it sounded like a rusty chainsaw no matter what I did. Helix is a different beast though, and I'm running FRFR these days, so the 4x12 stays home. Try it both ways and see what you like. The end result is all that matters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelbyactr Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Also, global EQ? Turn off or use to adjust to different places I play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Also, global EQ? Turn off or use to adjust to different places I play? Yeah that's for tweaking to the room you're in...turn it off to dial in your tones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Also, global EQ? Turn off or use to adjust to different places I play? The EQ for your patch or snapshot should be specific to the patch or snapshot. Different amps will need different EQs so the last thing in the world you want is a global EQ messing with your patches. If you happen to run into a room that needs it, then use global EQ. But in two years of running my helix I haven't used it at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 The EQ for your patch or snapshot should be specific to the patch or snapshot. Different amps will need different EQs so the last thing in the world you want is a global EQ messing with your patches. If you happen to run into a room that needs it, then use global EQ. But in two years of running my helix I haven't used it at all. I use the same approach as DunnedinDragon. Although some have used the Global EQ for a quick fix for all their presets I only use it if I am all of a sudden going through a different monitoring rig or a room that requires it and that is rare indeed. One way it can be helpful in this context is to run through a bunch of presets you are designing and utilize it to figure out if there is a general Global EQ profile that is working for a number of presets. Then turn off the Global EQ and replace it instead with a parametric(PEQ) in each preset with the settings that were working in the Global EQ as a jumping off spot. That way you can fine tune the EQ for each preset as DD mentioned and reserve your Global EQ for the scenarios listed in the beginning of this post(different monitoring rig or room). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelbyactr Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Wow guys thanks for all the support. I never knew the line 6 Community was this helpful. Kudos to each and everyone of you for the answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Question is, do you like the tones from the EVH gear? If so tweak your sound to those cabs. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelbyactr Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Question is, do you like the tones from the EVH gear? If so tweak your sound to those cabs. :) Most definitely. I think the Evh cabs are my favorite cabs next to all the mesa cabs I used to own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brue58ski Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 One little trick I like to do with a cab is to tune in the patch with no digital cabs and when I'm done I then just zip through all of the cabs once. They act like an EQ and sometimes can make a patch pop. And it doesn't take that long to zip through them. It often doesn't work, so don't be disappointed but it can be done very quickly and I would get a very pleasant surprise every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorbeats Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I was curious about this too and since the post is too digital cab or not I did a little experiment last night. I took 4 different patches that I use with just FOH, swapped the digital cab I had in the patch for the 1X12 in the helix. Copied the patches and re-did each patch with just the pre-amp (no cab) and sent to a small tube amp I have with a 1 X 12 british voiced speaker. Nearly identical in sound! So I don't think you take too much risk using the cabs in the helix or an IR (plus they are lighter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelbyactr Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 One little trick I like to do with a cab is to tune in the patch with no digital cabs and when I'm done I then just zip through all of the cabs once. They act like an EQ and sometimes can make a patch pop. And it doesn't take that long to zip through them. It often doesn't work, so don't be disappointed but it can be done very quickly and I would get a very pleasant surprise every now and then. Yeah, defiantly a fair point. I did go through a lot of digital cabs in the unit. Unfortunately it sort of "buried" my high gain patches, so I pulled them off. I am however using a digital cab in the loop for my clean tone. It definitely worked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brue58ski Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Yeah, defiantly a fair point. I did go through a lot of digital cabs in the unit. Unfortunately it sort of "buried" my high gain patches, so I pulled them off. I am however using a digital cab in the loop for my clean tone. It definitely worked out. Yeah, like I said, it often doesn't work, but it's so quick and easy to do, it's worth the time to just see what kind of a difference including them, makes. I have had more than a few very pleasant surprises. And, to your point. I believe they were mostly clean patches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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