berylmichaelgage Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 So I have been trying to create a Metal/Metallica preset for my Helix LT and I have been having problems. Either it sounds way too over compressed, there is way too much background noise, or the tone just doesn’t sound good. Does anybody have any setting recommendations? I have seen tons of them in CustomTone that don’t sound any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Hard to tell without having the preset. Attach a copy of the preset so we can have a look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 18 hours ago, berylmichaelgage said: I have seen tons of them in CustomTone that don’t sound any better. Yep... and that won't change, no matter how many get posted. Nearly everything you'll ever get from Customtone will be hot garbage... and it's not because the guy who posted it is deaf or crazy. It might sound spectacular... to him, on his end. But that guarantees absolutely nothing for you. He's using different gear than you are, has his own definition of what "sounds good" means, and it's all being filtered through his perceptual lens... and that makes all the difference in the world when it comes to tone. Welcome to the wonderful world of modeling, where my settings won't help you, and yours won't help me. Why? Because the patch is the only common denominator. Everything else in our respective rigs is different.... the guitars, pickups, output method, relative volumes, my fingers, your fingers, the listening environments... and the list goes on, and on, and on. If you're hearing too much compression, back off the gain... you don't always need a much as you think, and having everything dimed isn't necessarily the answer. If you're using a distortion box in front of the amp model, ditch it and try some of the higher gain amp models instead. The two REVVs and the Diezel would be good places to start, and they have so much gain on tap it's ridiculous... you'll never need it all. If the noise floor is a problem, use the noise gate in the input block, that's what it's there for. Next I'd look to your cab block or IR. A tremendous amount of tone shaping happens there... Experiment with different cab/mic combinations. If you're inclined to use 3rd party IR's, the choices are nearly limitless. It requires lots of A/B-ing to find one(s) you like, but it is more of a drag and drop solution, which can be a bit less daunting than tinkering with the stock cabs. An IR is what it is... you either like it or you don't, and there's really nothing to fiddle with. Don't like one? Next... Experimenting is really the only way to find what you want. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 As cruisinon2 says. If I looked at your preset, gain would be the first thing I looked at. Next would be turning on the noise gate on the Input Block. IOW - the obvious. Beyond that, making it "sound good" is a matter of adjusting the preset for YOUR system, from fingers to final output speakers. No magic bullet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themetallikid Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 I dont recall what I used specifically for settings, but the Horizon Drive into the Diezel, mesa 5 band EQ into a good V30 cab. roughly.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macello Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 On 2/8/2021 at 2:07 AM, berylmichaelgage said: So I have been trying to create a Metal/Metallica preset for my Helix LT and I have been having problems. Either it sounds way too over compressed, there is way too much background noise, or the tone just doesn’t sound good. Does anybody have any setting recommendations? I have seen tons of them in CustomTone that don’t sound any better. If it sounds too compressed it is usually caused by too high gain or with too dominant low frequencies the trick, even in the recording studio, is not to have an amplifier with exaggerated gain, just use a little trick, use an amplifier that is very responsive to palm muting or a combination of pedal + amp and realize a different preset for L channel and R channel. Basically the stock cabs of the helix has a very dark and undefined sound, you can work around this by using a combination of the 4x12 T75 and a touch of equalizer to reduce the mids and increase the treble a little. My favourite metal amp was Badonk and ENGL, with a touch on the bias you can correct many part of the sound. If you share you preset and describe what guitar you use I can give you more precise suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmalle Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 My quick and dirty Hetfield setting: L6 Bandonk amp stock settings, 4x12 XXL V30 w/ 57Dyn, 1.0". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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