barkerm Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Certainly I haven't searched well. No formant filters for Helix. . . yet???!!!. Ok, I can't believe that. it's a DSP based unit. There MUST be a way. Have we all just gotten a talkbox from somewhere and no one sent me the memo (I'll bet my spam filter deleted it!)? I don't see any new topics on this. I'm teetering on just dropping a "C" note (PLUS!) on an EH CockFight Plus. But I just CAN'T believe my Helix won't do that . . . even better than! I don't even see recent topics or posts on this. Nobody wants/needs a talkbox "tone" today? Someone please slap me and wake me out of this. We just giving up on L6? Or did I miss the post where L6 said "look elsewhere for this . . . we're NOT doing it?!?!" Edit: I missed one - someone created a GREAT Formant filter (that I haven't found) . . . now everyone is happy!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Is your Helix up to date? I'm pretty sure there is a "voice box" effect under "filters > legacy" which was added in the 2.5 update. That might get you close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Yeah...it's pretty amazing that there's so many of us that have been happily using our Helix units for well over two years, gigging each week, doing productive studio work and having the best tone and performances we've ever had in almost 5 decades of being a musician, getting extraordinary value out of our investment and in doing so and haven't missed not having a formant filter!!!! What in the world is going on????!!!! How in the world are we going to play that small handful of songs that might require it??? Gosh, I invested a whole $1500!!! For that price I'm entitled to get anything and everything my little heart has ever desired, regardless of whether or not I've actually taken the time to write it up in IdeaScale for other users to vote on!!!!! I think I need to find me a safe space and do some serious crying......or maybe just hold my breath and stomp my feet until Line 6 gives ME everything I want whether anyone else wants it or not!!!!! HINT: Voice Box is in the legacy section of Filter blocks if you bothered to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipelineaudio1 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 To be fair, some formant controls would do wonders for everyone complaining about the harmonizer (though I find the harmonizer to be fine as is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parapentep70 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Not sure if this is the same or not. But I think Helix should include some kind of harmony effect (similar to "pitch" or "dual pitch") that preserves formants. This is a basic (or perhaps THE basic) effect for vocals. I think this should be included in Helix since it can process 2 or more paths, and Helix includes a good microphone pre-amp. This effect does NOT require any special DSP resource (like, for example, a looper with a longer time or a convolutional reverb with long impulse responses). The effect is intended to generate vocal harmonies avoiding "smurf" or "monster" voices (when raising / lowering pitch, respectively). Someone asked for this in Ideascale. I think it is a must for musicians who sing and play guitar. Not my case, I cannot sing! : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I bought my Helix for what options it had at the time. Everything else they add after that is a bonus. If you need a talk box, buy a talk box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 3 hours ago, Parapentep70 said: Not sure if this is the same or not. But I think Helix should include some kind of harmony effect (similar to "pitch" or "dual pitch") that preserves formants. This is a basic (or perhaps THE basic) effect for vocals. I think this should be included in Helix since it can process 2 or more paths, and Helix includes a good microphone pre-amp. This effect does NOT require any special DSP resource (like, for example, a looper with a longer time or a convolutional reverb with long impulse responses). The effect is intended to generate vocal harmonies avoiding "smurf" or "monster" voices (when raising / lowering pitch, respectively). Someone asked for this in Ideascale. I think it is a must for musicians who sing and play guitar. Not my case, I cannot sing! : ) I suspect since this effect wouldn't apply across the entire Helix family given the lack of microphone input on the LT and therefore would negate the practice of having one consistent firmware update across all the various units, you should probably plan on buying this vocal effect separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbieb61 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I tried out the "Voice Box" filter in Helix. It's pretty useless if you are trying to replicate a "talk box" effect like Joe Walsh or Peter Frampton. But since my band does do a few songs with talkbox in them I too needed a solution. What I ended up doing was purchasing the EHX "Talking Machine" pedal and looping it in. It gets real close with vocal sounds (just make sure to use the fuzz in the pedal along with the effect and put it through a clean amp...any amp with gain on it and the effect kind of disappears) and I use it on "Rocky Mountain Way" and "Sweet Emotion" in our set list. I tried my best to get the "Voice Box" legacy filter to come close...but it's not even a contest. The EHX is miles above it. Plus if you ever want to "experiment"....it has tons of sounds other than just a talk box: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkerm Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 HA! Thanks to all - both to those that offered the slap and those that offered advice and options. First, I should have expressed appreciation for EVERYTHING the Helix does have. I find with minimal hardware and headache (well, a little headache in using it sometimes, but overall the good WAY outweighs the need for Advil) my jamming needs are mostly covered. Just trying to not add additional pedals. The rack and floor controller are incredible combo with a couple of Mission pedals. I just often wonder - with so much Helix processing prowess, why can't one of those pedals control a built in "talkbox?" Thanks for the info on the legacy section voicebox - but I find that it is not quite cutting it. Might be me. I'll dig in further (though I think I've done that already) to see if there is any way to make that useable. Sounds like others have already done that also with less than stellar results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 The question is NOT whether the DSP can handle a formant effect, the question is whether or not users are wanting it more than they want other things. So I checked out IdeaScale and saw that the Voice Box and Formant effects have a grand total of about 50 votes combined, compared to 1530 votes for signal metering, 1149 votes for digital clipping indicator, and about 300 higher ranking suggestions. I believe that may have something to do with it not being there. You may have to wait a while...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Ahh, the joys of a good multi effects. Buy the latest model because it has everything you need and you don't have to carry extras pedals around any longer. Then you realize it can't do "abc" well enough so you begin hooking up the provides "loops" with added gear. Soon you begin to look like "The Edge" Repeat 1 through 3 in an infinite loop! In fairness, that is why there are loops. If you need something the unit is not capable of (to your satisfaction) there is nothing stopping you from adding it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_Igloo Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Helix was designed to act as the centerpiece of one's rig; it was not designed to replace every component in someone's rig. If a formant filter is mission crucial, we've provided multiple ways to incorporate it into Helix's signal flow. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andurian Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I am shocked and horrified to find that no Helix includes an emulation of the Miku pedal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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