Rekosz Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Hey! So I have a little problem with overdrives on my Hx Effects that I just bought a few days ago. I play standard telecaster through Fender Princeton 5e2a clone, only hx effects directly into amp nothing else in the chain. I updated firmware to 2.71, input signal is set to instrument and overdrives are first in the signal chain, dont know that else to check. So, most of the overdrives doesnt sound like on the sample videos on youtube (Andys demo for example), so lets say I take Minotaur overdrive, even when I set gain to 10 it almost doesnt produce any overdrive just gets more trebly and loud the same with Screamer and few other models, models that work kinda ok are Compulsive and KWB, but still when gain set to 10 I just get a mild overdrive also most of them are suuuuuuuper loud even with level set to 1,5-2, something seems a bit off to me. Any ideas? here is the demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isPRfIMX0g8 even when set gain is set to 10 in minotaur, I cant get that kind of overdrive. I used lots of analog overdrives before with my amp and guitar and I could always get satisfactory results even at low volume, tried all kinds of stuff thats why something seems to be off for me but maybe I'm setting something up wrong. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Just a couple of things to check... In the HX MASTER settings.... make sure the INPUT is set to "Instrument Level"... not line level. Make sure your guitar is turned up full. Turning the volume down will "clean up" the signal. That's fine for when you want it, but for initially setting up an overdrive, keep it full. If an overdrive effect has a "blend" or "mix" control, make sure it is set to 100% or the clean signal will be blending. Make sure you didn't inadvertandly setup a "path B" around the overdrives... which effectly sends a parrallel dry signal around the overdrives just like the scenario in #3 above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekosz Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 thanks for reply! 1. yes, its instrument 2. yes, its full 3. checked this too 4. nope, only one path and overdrives are at the start :/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Something is not right... Even with the gain at 5, you should notice a lot of drive with a lot of those effects. Does your dry tone with everything off sound the way you’d expect through the HX Effects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekosz Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 yes, dry tone is great, just as expected, other effects work just fine too, reverbs, delays etc. sound is full, volume is allright etc. it seems to be something with overdrives :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Have you tried turning the gain down and the level up? Is the issue just that it doesn’t sound like the video or that you think there’s not enough drive overall? What happens when you try something the OCD model (Compulsive Drive)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekosz Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 theres not enough drive overall, I set up my drive pedals in unity with the amp, OCD sounds allright, I can get some gain out of it and it feels usable, Minotaur for example set to gain 10 produces really trebly sound with almost no gain, I understand that its not gain heavy pedal but I got a lot more from my Blues driver set to 50% only, seems suspicious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, Rekosz said: theres not enough drive overall, I set up my drive pedals in unity with the amp, OCD sounds allright, I can get some gain out of it and it feels usable, Minotaur for example set to gain 10 produces really trebly sound with almost no gain, I understand that its not gain heavy pedal but I got a lot more from my Blues driver set to 50% only, seems suspicious How clean do you have your amp set? There's just a lot of moving parts... If everything else is working OK, I have to conclude that there's not some sort of flaw that would only affect the drives. The Klon can be pretty bright depending on where you have the tone set. Even at 5, it can be kind of bright. Actually, that's one of the main things I like about it. I tend to turn the treble down on my amps and use the Minotaur model to brighten them up. It just sounds more natural to me this way. One trick I've used for years with Fender amps is having a boost after any overdrives. I often use the Minotaur for this, too. I will set the gain to 0.2 and have the level at 6 or so. I just like the way this makes other drives sound. I have a Fender Princeton that I use a lot with my HX Effects, so that should be pretty similar to your amp, I suppose. Have you seen this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 excellent example video ... nailed the Minotaur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 It sounds like an input gain problem to me. The drive pedals are not being pushed hard enough. That fact that you don't notice this with other effects such as delay, reverb or modulations would be normal. Overdrives and compression would be two effects you would notice this on. I no longer own an HX Effects (went to a Helix) but when I did I never had this problem. I tend to play Tele and Strat single coil setups so my pickups are never hot. Naturally a Tele or Strat will not produce the gain of a Les Paul or other Humbucking guitars but you should still get enough to work with. Have you tried a different cable between the guitar and HX? (don't just assume it's fine because it worked with pedals, there could still be impedance issues) Do you have any effect in the signal flow "before" the overdrives? Something potentially lowering the gain or changing the interaction (eg: compressor or ???) What happens if you put a GAIN BLOCK as the first in he chain (signal flow chain, not necessarily footswitch chain) and set it to +6db? Do you get usable (or even too much) gain on the drives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekosz Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 it's quite clean, also I have WGS 10" G10C/S 75WATT speaker inside which keeps the amp really clean even at high volume/gain. BUT, before I used boss blues driver which is not a gain heavy overdrive, I would say its kinda in the Centaur range and I could get all kinds of mild cruch to heavier overdrive with it at room/apartment volumes, using Minotaur clone in HX, setting level to unity and gain to 10 I get only slight crunch, maybe a little bit more when I hit the strings really hard, seems weird, I dont know, maybe thats my setup's character? Also I notticed that some of the drives are not that sensitive to tone change on my guitar. @codamedia 1. thanks for reply! yes I tried different cables, 2. nope no effects before drives 3. how to add dbs? you mean using eq as pedal in the chain? anyways, I really like the unit so far, great effects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 4 hours ago, Rekosz said: 3. how to add dbs? you mean using eq as pedal in the chain? Just add a Gain Block to the first block or the signal chain and turn it up to +6db. Alternatively, and EQ block will work, or you can add the kinky boost and crank it up a little. I'm suggesting this to TEST the unit... not as as a permanent fix. Adding gain before the overdrives should increase their gain substantially. If it doesn't... there is definitely something wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leond60 Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Did you try making a simple patch with only one overdrive and nothing else? Basically, guitar -> cable -> HX Effects -> cable -> amp. This would remove as many variable as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G_atr Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 I have the same problem, all distorions sound equal and no overdrive or gain at all, just volume and noise added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 (edited) On 1/25/2023 at 4:32 PM, G_atr said: I have the same problem, all distorions sound equal and no overdrive or gain at all, just volume and noise added Hi, A "me too!" post to a thread that has been quietly slumbering for the past 3 years could use a little more clarification. It's all a little vague. The OP on this subject was using HXFX - is that what you are using? Usually it's a good idea to upload an example preset so that other users can check it out and see if they suffer the same issues. Although having said that the HXFX has no amp modelling, so, ideally you could inform us of what you are running your FX unit into and how it's connected - straight into the front of the amp or 4 cable into the FX loop. Has this been and issue for a while, or has it just started? Have you recently updated your firmware? If you did - did this start happening after the update? If you didn't - do it now. Help us to help you Hope this helps/makes sense. EDIT: I found this which may be relevant to HXFX. Edited January 25, 2023 by datacommando Added Video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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