Phasey sounds particularly on Matchstick preset

[zoogy]

Hi All - Just got a Helix LT and noticed the Matchstickjumped preset is really phasey - there are no effects turned on ( elephant man is not turned on) - some other presets have a bit phase going on but this one is pretty stong-is this normal? .Wav attached.

Thanks for any insight

2.71.0 firmware

-b

PhaseyMatchstick.wav

[njglover]

I'm not hearing anything sounding like a phaser there, but it'd be easier to detect with held chords than with noodling.

[zoogy]

this was when it was most apparent- holding chords did not have any "phaseyness" -  thats' why i didn't record that - sustained single notes and two quick notes alternating created the phasey sounds.

I can hear a phase shift going on in the recording - but thanks for giving it a listen. guess im crazy  ;) 

[HonestOpinion]

On 2/8/2019 at 6:10 AM, zoogy said:

Hi All - Just got a Helix LT and noticed the Matchstickjumped preset is really phasey - there are no effects turned on ( elephant man is not turned on) - some other presets have a bit phase going on but this one is pretty stong-is this normal? .Wav attached.

Thanks for any insight

2.71.0 firmware

-b

PhaseyMatchstick.wav

 

I think I can hear the phase effect you are referring to although maybe it's just the power of suggestion. Is there a possibility that if you are in stomp mode one of the footswitches is not reflecting the bypass state of an effect or other block properly such that an effect block is actually engaged? I would check the LT screen as well as the footswitch to see if a block is unexpectedly engaged. Also as part of the troubleshooting I would delete all blocks from this preset one by one until you only have the amp/cab and see if the phasing effect continues. You could also try changing the amp/cab model without changing anything else in the preset and see if the phasing sound persists; that might help you determine if it is only occurring on the Matchstick amp/cab model. If it turns out to just be the Matchstick model you could try adjusting amp parameters such as 'ripple'.

 

Is there anything in the signal chain such as stereo effects or splits after the amp block (which is mono) that might have your left and right outputs getting out of phase?

 

Btw, how did you monitor and record this? Are you outputting in mono? Direct recording to PC? If for example you are monitoring with a 2x12 or 4x12 physical cab, one or more of the speakers could be wired out of phase. Recording with two or more mics at different distances can also cause this.

[njglover]

It's also possible that the reason you only hear it when you play that particular way is because the way you are picking is what's creating the sound and the Matchstick is accentuating the frequencies and making it more noticeable.

[Ka5par]

Is the jumped Matchstick a combination of 2 overdriving sections? Maybe one distortion somehow modulates the other? No real knowledge here, just guessing.

[willjrock]

If you guys are not hearings the artifacts the OP is describing, you really need to look into new monitors, your room acoustics, your ears, whatever. Thats no knock. Just stating- if youre not hearing it, there is a real problem somewhere. It is plainly evident. 

 

OP - you need to give full details on your set-up for anyone to make a reasonable guess. Post the preset here, ect. Not likely, but this may have been a problem in the past, and your prior set-up simply not having the bandwidth to reproduce the distortion. It literally could be anything without having some sort of details.

 

One bit of advice i can give is that the treble control on this amp gets a little squirrely right around 6.8,  6.9, ect and can cause some weird artifacts (Really dial it and monitor it closely in this area) but i havent noticed it sounding like your example at any point. Simply could be any number of choices, such as but not limited to, my effect choices or chord choices,  NOT being AS capable of highlighting the offending freq.

[malhavok]

Sounds to me like it's probably the "ghost notes" or intermodulation distortion or whatever you want to call it (caused by the power amp's sag and exhibited by real amps as well). Vox-style amps (like the Matchless) are very prone to this sort of artifact.

[njglover]

On 2/15/2019 at 9:57 PM, willjrock said:

If you guys are not hearings the artifacts the OP is describing, you really need to look into new monitors, your room acoustics, your ears, whatever. Thats no knock. Just stating- if youre not hearing it, there is a real problem somewhere. It is plainly evident. 

 

It's... not. As suggested, possible there is something with the model that sounds "off" to you or the OP, but it is not a "problem" in the sense that there is nothing wrong with the signal chain or the Helix. It is either an issue of playing style or misunderstanding of what it is supposed to sound like.

[Umanile]

I'm not a Matchstick owner/connoisseur, but the amp sounds pretty dimed. Some amps, when jumped and dimed, can sound a bit "phasey".
Try a not "jumped" version of the model and dial the eq.

[jgmccormick]

Sorry to revive this, but I have a similar issue with the Matchstick Ch2.  I am using firmware 2.82.  No matter what guitar, cable, cab/IR, gain level, effects on or off, etc, etc, etc; I use with Matchstick Ch2, I hear a ghost note 4 steps lower than the note I am playing.  So, if I play an E on the 9th fret of the G string, I hear the G# on the 6th fret of the D string in the background.  I have muted all other strings, taped the strings above the nut and below the bridge.  Nothing stops it.  I love this amp, but it is unusable like this.

[SaschaFranck]

On 2/9/2020 at 5:51 AM, jgmccormick said:

Sorry to revive this, but I have a similar issue with the Matchstick Ch2.  I am using firmware 2.82.  No matter what guitar, cable, cab/IR, gain level, effects on or off, etc, etc, etc; I use with Matchstick Ch2, I hear a ghost note 4 steps lower than the note I am playing.  So, if I play an E on the 9th fret of the G string, I hear the G# on the 6th fret of the D string in the background.  I have muted all other strings, taped the strings above the nut and below the bridge.  Nothing stops it.  I love this amp, but it is unusable like this.

 

Post the preset for others to evaluate. And ideally an audio file of what it sounds like at your place.

[codamedia]

On 2/8/2020 at 10:51 PM, jgmccormick said:

Nothing stops it.  I love this amp, but it is unusable like this.

 

Although I didn't hear it exactly as you described.... I could hear overtones on Matchstick Ch2 when I loaded it up. However, I easily got rid of it by simply turning the BIAS up to 7.5 or higher. I found the bias sweet spot to be closer to 9. While doing that, I also turned the HUM and RIPPLE down to zero... but that's just something i do with most amps. 

 

FWIW... and back to the original topic of this thread (the OP). Turning the bias up as I described solved that problem as well.... at least in my setup. 

 

IMO, Line 6 should not have let the default settings of that amp be rolled out as they are. It doesn't sound like any Matchless I've played and/or heard until I raise the bias substantially.