zooey Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Never had a real one, but wished I did, and a really love the Helix version. Sounds great, and has a bunch of different flavors, especially for not having a rate control. However, I don't actually understand the 4 button controls. Doesn't matter in a way, just try the different combos, and I like em all, they're just different. Still, I usually have a pretty accurate mental model of what's going on in my gear, physical or not, not so with this. Doesn't seem like the buttons are straight up additive, in strength or speed, or subtractive, or have any other obvious pattern to how they interact. Found a manual online for the original Roland version, no help. Anyone have a clue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Never had a real one, but wished I did, and a really love the Helix version. Sounds great, and has a bunch of different flavors, especially for not having a rate control. However, I don't actually understand the 4 button controls. Doesn't matter in a way, just try the different combos, and I like em all, they're just different. Still, I usually have a pretty accurate mental model of what's going on in my gear, physical or not, not so with this. Doesn't seem like the buttons are straight up additive, in strength or speed, or subtractive, or have any other obvious pattern to how they interact. Found a manual online for the original Roland version, no help. Anyone have a clue? Heh, reminds me a bit of the original in that respect. It has been decades since I owned the Roland but essentially the buttons went from most subtle to most obvious level of chorus from 1-4 as the current Helix model does. My memory is a bit hazy at this point but I seem to recall that even on the original pushing multiple buttons simultaneously could be subtle or even undetectable can't quite remember at this point. The original Roland Dimension D manual is completely lacking in any detail on using the buttons in combination which might have been an omission or perhaps it was due to the fact that the buttons were really intended to be used one at a time. Haven't put in enough time yet playing with various button combinations with the Helix version to have a good sense of how the buttons interact with each other. Will have to do some more experimentation there. The Helix Dimension chorus does capture some of that subtle chorusing effect that the original was so famous for and truly made it different from every other chorus I have owned or tried since. As stated in the manual the DImension D adds a subtle spatial effect without "the apparent movement of sound produced by most other chorus devices". This was truly what differentiated it from other choruses. Almost as if the rate and depth on a typical chorus was dialed all the way down but with a "better" sound than those settings often yield on other choruses. The modulation on the Dimension D was quite "gentle" for lack of a better description. Was very happy to see this effect arrive on the Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 Yeah, it's great. Besides the subtle stuff, it can also be very much not, without sounding too detuned or doing that fast warble thing. It's a nice collection of classic sounds really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedulrich Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 I think the confusion is more or less because the Dimension D was never really intended to be a "chorus" effect as much as it was a spatial expander. I think the modern translation would be more along the lines of the four program buttons being "presets" of the signal path through specific components. Basically Roland saying "here's four of the best sounds we could come up with on this hardware, pick which one best suits what you're doing in the moment". That thing originally dates back to the 70's, when effects technology was far from what it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 Understood, just curious about the logic with multiple buttons engaged. Bottom line though is that I really like it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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