jonboyuk Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Hi all, I've just acquired a Helix (very excited!), updated my PowerCab+ to 2.0 and the Helix to 2.8 and plugged them in. At the moment it all seems very complicated, but I think I'm getting there :) Am I right in saying that to use the default tones Helix, I need to set the output on the Helix just to FRFR mode? I'm guessing to use the built in PowerCab Cabs I need to manually go through all the presets and assign a Powercab cab, and remove the cab block from the Helix? If so - what a faff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uelef Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Congratulations for your new gear … Well, there are different ways to use your PowerCab. After using it for one month with the built-in cabs (yes, you have to delete the cab blocks in your presets) I now use the PC with LF Raw (without cab block in Helix!) – but that needs special tweaking with EQs. But I like the sound I get this way … You may have a look at my preset here: https://line6.com/customtone/tone/4527729/ It's for heavy tones, but checking the EQ settings you can see, what you have to do, if you use PC in LF Raw mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboyuk Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 I've not experimented with LF Raw yet, but that essentially turns it into a 'normal' guitar amp, right? Thank you, I'll have a go with that. I suppose it's quicker with HX Edit :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uelef Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Yes, it's a bit like a normal amp – but with different presets and amps you have the flexibility that Helix makes a good choice … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboyuk Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 Do you prefer the cabs in the PowerCab, or Helix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uelef Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Well, at the moment I prefer to use an amp in Helix without cab – PowerCab in LF Raw mode (see above). But before I preferred PowerCab cabs, although I found that different amps with the same PC cabs sound very similar. With firmware 2.0 you can change the PC cab via Helix presets – that's a great advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboyuk Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 That is very convenient! So in effect, the cab you now use is literally the physical PowerCab cab (by using LF Raw mode) and there's no emulation going on anywhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PierM Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 17 hours ago, jonboyuk said: Do you prefer the cabs in the PowerCab, or Helix? There are not Cabs in the Powercab. A cab algorithm in the Helix, it's simulating a guitar cab, with a microphone in front of it, in a room. This is like listening an amp+cab+mic+room in a recording, offline. A powercab it's a a real cab, which can works as it is (using its own speaker), as a speaker simulator (still isn't a cab, but a simulation of a speaker. No mic. No room.). THis is like an amp in the room. Then you can use it as FRFR speaker, and you need a cab in the helix, or would sounds rubbish. Then you can load your own IRs, at this point it's just acting as a IR block in your Helix, going through a FRFR. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uelef Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 4 hours ago, jonboyuk said: That is very convenient! So in effect, the cab you now use is literally the physical PowerCab cab (by using LF Raw mode) and there's no emulation going on anywhere? I am not an expert – but in my opinion the EQ settings in my preset with low / high cut and other tweakings simulate what a real cab does. PowerCab is only a speaker – not a cab. An LF Raw mode is the one that is the nearest to simulate a cab. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxmeister Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 On 8/2/2019 at 6:02 PM, uelef said: I am not an expert – but in my opinion the EQ settings in my preset with low / high cut and other tweakings simulate what a real cab does. PowerCab is only a speaker – not a cab. An LF Raw mode is the one that is the nearest to simulate a cab. Sorry, but I have to disagree with you when you say that "PowerCab is only a speaker - not a cab"! If you are using the PowerCab in speaker emulation mode, it *is* a 1x12 cabinet with a guitar speaker in it, albeit with a built-in power stage. I would imagine that you could, in theory, take a Powercab and strip out all of the electronics and replace them with traditional speaker cab wiring to the 12" driver and you would have a regular 1x12 cab using the natural voicing of the custom speaker. From the new manual: Quote Instead, a speaker model takes an existing speaker, resonating in a cabinet, and only changes its frequency response to match that of a different speaker. The result is, when standing in front, it still behaves like a traditional guitar amp, just with a different speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uelef Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 As I said before – I am not an expert … But it's not a real cab, it's an emulated cab; and it's more, because a guitar cab has no 1" compression driver … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxmeister Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Try telling my 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion F12-X200's that it isn't a real cab because the speakers contain HF compression drivers! ;) Powercab *is* a real cab - if you want to be really pedantic about it, if you use the "Natural" speaker mode, no EQ is applied and the HF compression driver is disabled, so nothing is being emulated or simulated. From the manual: HF OFF / Natural – This is the natural sound and feel of the speaker in the Powercab with the high-frequency compression driver disabled and no EQ of any kind applied Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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