rpossum Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 This may sound crazy, but is anyone using hx effects and helix together? As amazingly versatile as the Helix is, I still find myself getting into a jam and wanting to go for a certain effect that's not in the preset I'm using at the moment. Generally in that moment, I've built up to a huge tone with 4 - 6 effects on and switching to another preset just to get to the AutoWah or Pitch Down is just not feasible) In the past, I found that having a 2nd multi FX pedal in the mix was great because I always had access to certain "pedals" no matter what overall preset I was in. So this got me thinking, what if I just got an HX Effects and ran it in one of the effects loops on the Helix? That would allow me to keep, let's say, all my reverbs, delays, mods etc... everything that goes together in the chain (I run a 4-cable setup)... in one place and always available. Seems like this would also give me a lot more flexibility in my overall preset and snapshots as well... and I assume I could connect them via MIDI to send tap and any other controls I might want... in case I did happen to have a preset where I wanted to change parameters on a delay on the other pedal ot something... And the more I think about it, with several footswitches freed up on the Helix, I'd free up a switch or two that could be used for things like momentary 100% feedback on a delay etc Anyone tried this? Cheers Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I run an HD500 with an HX Effects for the very reasons you mention... but I'm pretty sure if I had a Helix I would be able to get by with just that. But, I am not you! If you are finding that you need immediate access to more effects, the HX Effects will patch in just fine. With midi you can control the HX Effects from the Helix as much as you would like to.... patch changes, snapshots, tap tempo, etc... etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 If you're playing weird ambient music where the instrument ends up sounding more like a spaceship than a guitar, then I suppose this might be a necessity. But that aside, I cannot fathom a situation where I'd need to do so much tap dancing that the available DSP and footswitches were insufficient... and frankly, I wouldn't want to... so not my thing, lol. But as always, ymmv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpossum Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 I hear ya... I know it sounds crazy... Here's an example though. (see image) I run an outboard TS808, a 2nd OD and 2 Comps in nearly every chain... because of the variety of lead tones I can get. The music I play leans towards Phish in that we open it up to adventure and improv quite a bit, so you never quite know what you're going to need in any given jam. So if I'm on this preset, I've got Pitch Whammy, an oct down, an Auto Wah, a Leslie and a Uni Vibe... plus a Delay. That's a lot of choices. But I'll still get into a jam, and generally it happens once I'm already revved up and everything is flowing... and I'll feel the need for some other crazy mod delay that I can step in to fill out some psychedelic texture, or maybe the new 1 Touch Looper to drop in a repeating phrase... or a phaser or flanger instead of the UniVibe. Switching Presets just to get to a flanger kills and completely resets my lead tone, so that's a pretty heavy restriction in that moment. For me it's not ambient and not spaceshippy... it's generally about more guitar tone possibilities to mix it up, because when the jams get good, you want as many colors in your palate without having to open more tubes of paint.... I've been experimenting with Snapshots a lot, and for our more complex tunes, that's been helping a lot, but I still need more "stompbox mode" options on hand all the time. It's an issue that wouldn't affect very many players, for sure... the Helix is the most versatile solution I've ever used... since I can't afford to go the full CAE (http://www.customaudioelectronics.com/home) route, I think adding an HX Effects to the rig would give me just that extra bit of versatility I need! Plus, since I don't need 2 Tap Tempo btns... that 7th btn should be available for some other functionality... hmmm.... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Man, I love that! Nice integration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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