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Next Level Patches - How and Why


WytchCrypt13
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Hi all, I've had my Helix for a couple weeks now and love it.  What I'm finding though is my knowledge and understanding of how to put more complex patches together is pretty much a big zero.  I've been playing since the late 70's and about 30 years before the Helix (and PODXTLive before it), I'd run very simple pedal chains...guitar->volume pedal->distortion->stereo delay->stereo reverb>recorder input.  Now with the Helix, just about anything can go just about anywhere and if that's not enough, you can set up parallel signal chains etc.  Problem is I don't really understand why I would do these things.  I feel like I'm only using maybe 5% of what the Helix can do and don't really know how to move to the next level of patch creation (or even be more creative in simpler patches as well).

 

What would people recommend I do to catch up my effects processing knowledge to 2021 and really get the most out of my Helix? 

 

Thanks!

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2 hours ago, WytchCrypt13 said:

What would people recommend I do to catch up my effects processing knowledge to 2021 and really get the most out of my Helix? 

 

hi,

 

As you are coming at this fresh, then spending some time watching these tutorial videos would be time well spent. 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

 

Enjoy!

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I've been saying this for a while that the Helix environment is FAR more like a recording studio environment from back in the day when studios were filled with different amps, cabs, mics, effects, etc.  So a lot of what you're experiencing is based on a very simple paradigm that most people used when playing live over the last 30 or 40 years of a pedalboard feeding into an amp.  So most of your experience is based, like many people, on effects that feed into the front of an amp and occasionally can be placed after the amp through an effects loop.

None of that is wasted knowledge, it's just that a wider level of freedom is now available just like it was in the studio days of old.  Many of those people used different amps and effects on different songs and placed effects in adventurous ways to achieve unique sounds.  And that's what's available to you in the Helix environment IF YOU CHOOSE TO EXPLOIT IT.  <-----THAT is the key phrase.

Just because the options are there doesn't mean you MUST use them.  Start with what you know, learn as you grow, and decide on what seems interesting to you.  Like you I started playing MANY moons ago in the late 60's and didn't get into modeling until about 10 years ago with the POD HD500X.  I cut my teeth on that and by the time I got into the Helix 6 years ago I was getting pretty good at coming up with new ideas and approaches.  Even then I would NEVER have thought I'd be doing the sea change of things I'm doing right now with my Helix using complex MIDI integration even a year ago.

This is an environment you grow in.  And thankfully we have people like Jason Sadites who are very talented at giving us videos that introduce us to new approaches and ideas we can incorporate.  The only thing that will ever hold you back on the Helix is being fearful of change or being afraid to try something new and different.

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8 hours ago, WytchCrypt13 said:

I feel like I'm only using maybe 5% of what the Helix can do...

 

Welcome to how the majority of us use the Helix. 5% of the Helix still adds up to a  lot of toys... if you actually owned that number of amps, cabs and pedals. 

The point is though, your 5% is likely very different from my 5%... there is something there for all of us. 

 

I don't believe there is a "new way of doing things" that needs to be learned, you just need to learn how the "traditional ways" are applied inside the Helix. 

 

Basic setups on a Helix... (followed by how it applies to an older setup)

  • A few effects before an amp....  (typical pedal board into amp setup used by thousands of players)
  • A few effects between the amp and cab ... (old school rack setup in the loop of an amp)
  • A few effects after the cab... (studio style addition of effects, eq's and compressors)
  • Parallel effects.... (just like some amps have parallel loops, and studios effects are often added in parallel)
  • Combine any number of the above... 

I find that any old article on how a famous tone was achieved can usually be duplicated on a Helix quite easily... from the first pedal to the last studio effect added. 

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Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses!  I checked out one of the Jason Sadites youtube tutorials and it looks like it will be a great series to work my way through and I'll learn a lot.  Also good to hear I'm not the only one thinking I'm using just a small part of the total Helix capability.  It's a funny thing I've found over maybe the past 20 years...as the technology of our instruments/processors grows exponentially I wind up with pieces of gear that I'm feeling like I'm wasting as I only need/use a small percentage of what they can do.  Makes me feel like I'm wasting money on gear that I'll never fully use, but I guess the reality is manufacturers pack so many features and capabilities into today's gear that I guess it's just impossible to find a use for every nuance and feature.  I guess on reflection it's a good problem to have and better than the other alternative...having gear that can't do everything I want :-)

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