Xylodoken Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 I have a Line6 Helix that I’m using with a pedal board. I’ve got the board going through the Helix effects send/return loop 1, and the Helix-out goes to the input jack of the amp - an AC30S1. The first pedal in the chain is a Fryer Treble booster. Through the Helix everything sounds anemic, thin, and totally underpowered. No matter what pedal I stomp on or off. All I’ve got in my Helix signal chain is the effect send/return loop object. But if I plug my guitar directly into the pedal board and go straight from the board to the amp, the sound is fantastic: beautifully overdriven and sweetly distorted. Sustain is great. I’ve checked that I’ve got Line (not Instrument) checked in my global settings. I’ve checked the impedance on the guitar IN for the helix. The higher I set the impedance the more the sound improves. But even at the max setting, the distortion sounds “farty” and the sustain is really poor. Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated. - X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Do you have the single FX Loop block in the Helix or separate Send and Return blocks? If you're using the separate Send block, there's a Dry Thru parameter that's set to 0.0dB by default. That would mess things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xylodoken Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 I’m using a single FX loop - but also tried the separate send/return blocks and got the same result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 I didn't notice it earlier, but you actually probably want to have the effects loop you're using set to instrument level, not line. Most stompboxes are designed to work with instrument level signals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 On 9/18/2019 at 10:58 AM, Xylodoken said: I’m using a single FX loop - but also tried the separate send/return blocks and got the same result. Do you have the Mix parameter in the FX loop set to 100%? If not than some dry signal(unaffected by your pedal board) from the Helix will be sent directly to the Helix's next block bypassing your pedal board which could potentially thin out the sound. Try playing with the Send and Return levels. Another thing I would try is bypassing the input block's noise gate if it is engaged for long enough to see if it is causing an issue. It can kill the sustain if is set too aggressively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xylodoken Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 PLaying with the mix worked. Thanks for the tip on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 On 9/22/2019 at 12:21 PM, Xylodoken said: PLaying with the mix worked. Thanks for the tip on that. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.