Whats the nearest thing to a Plexi pedal in the helix stomp

[BigBob-Irwin]

Hi before anyone replies just use the plexi amp model what I am doing is going into a Fender Deluxe reverb Tone master  which does not have a send return circuit and I would like a plexi type sound either using the pedals in the helix or the plexi preamp and some EQ to make it less harsh. Does  anyone has any ideas or workaround before I resort to buying a pedal?

[SaschaFranck]

There's really not much in the Helix as far as MITB pedals go (possibly because there's plenty of Marshall amp models). I'd possibly check the Teemah, the Compulsive Drive or the Valve Driver (my favourite would likely be the Teemah as I usually find the tone controls to work quite well). You might as well slap a Kinky Boost behind the main drive, I found that to be a nice thing on some occasions, keep "Bright" off and experiment with "Drive" and "Boost" (can't even describe what exactly it does, but it adds something, hrrhrr...), I sometimes even slap it behind an internal amp for whatever unknown mojo.
 

[steelstringer]

I would think that the one of the plexi preamp models would be a good place to start. The Brit Trem is my personal favorite model for classic Marshall crunch, though I’ve never used the preamp model into the front of an amp. You could also boost it with a drive pedal for a different tone, if it’s too harsh. Give it a try. 

[StaccoP2P]

Within the Helix itself, I can tell you that some prepamps (Cartographer, the Victoria) sounds stellar into high headroom amps, such as the Twin or Hiwatt (and, w snapshots you can get a massive amount of tones between preamp and amp).

 

I hadn't tried this with the Marshall pres, but now you've made me curious. As mentioned, the kinky Boost (or even two of them in series) are also great for juicing up things) and you can Def cop some Marshall-type sounds with the Teemah.

[Schmalle]

1. It depends on which channel you use on the Deluxe since the Vibrato channel is significantly brighter and hotter.

2. It depends on the clean/crunch settings and volume you use.

3. It depends on what you imagine is a Plexi sound is.

 

In front of a Deluxe normal channel to have some plexi'esque fun my favourites are:

pedal: Coḿpulsion Drive

preamp: Brit Trem Brt

 

Interestingly both were mentioned before so there seems to be some common ground.

[codamedia]

21 hours ago, BigBob-Irwin said:

before anyone replies just use the plexi amp model what I am doing is going into a Fender Deluxe reverb Tone master

 

I would just reach for the "Brit Plexi Normal" or "Brit Trem Normal" pre-amp on the Helix... however the realism of the Plexi tone will depend on how you setup your deluxe. 

 

The normal channel of the Deluxe would be your best option.... as it doesn't have the "bright" cap. However, unless I am mistaken the Tone Master provides a deep edit option to disable the bright cap on the vibrato channel as well... either way, you will not want that engaged when reaching for a Plexi tone. 

 

2nd is the tone controls..... IMO you will need to keep both the treble and bass around 3. This allows the mids (fixed at 6.8) to come through better on the Deluxe. If you have them set in the 5 range (for beautiful Black Face Fender tones) it will compromise the realism of the Plexi tone you feed it. 

 

GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS FROM YOUR AMP

 

If you optimize your Normal Channel as I suggest above, you can keep your vibrato channel set for classic fender tones. All you need to do is insert a Send Block, run another cable from a Helix Send to the Normal channel then have that SEND engage at the same time you engage the Plexi Preamp. 

 

NOTE: To do this make sure the send is set to stop any signal from passing to the main output, and set it to instrument level in the global settings

[SaschaFranck]

1 hour ago, codamedia said:

If you optimize your Normal Channel as I suggest above, you can keep your vibrato channel set for classic fender tones. All you need to do is run another cable from a Helix Send to the Normal channel then have that SEND engage at the same time you engage the Plexi Preamp. 

 

As everything in this scenario would end up in mono anyway, wouldn't it be a more elegant solution to insert, say, a mono gain block at the end of the chain (in case you're using stereo FX, so they're summed to mono internally already), feed the amp from the 1/4 outs and control the channels by adjusting the output pan? That way, you could even blend between the two channels easily.
At least that's what I would do.

[codamedia]

1 hour ago, SaschaFranck said:

As everything in this scenario would end up in mono anyway, wouldn't it be a more elegant solution to insert, say, a mono gain block at the end of the chain (in case you're using stereo FX, so they're summed to mono internally already), feed the amp from the 1/4 outs and control the channels by adjusting the output pan?

 

That's is certainly another way to approach it... it becomes the difference of managing "pan" or managing a send block. 

 

1 hour ago, SaschaFranck said:

That way, you could even blend between the two channels easily.

My approach would allow for blending as well.... the SEND block has full control of how much signal goes each way. It could easily be setup via footswitch, snapshots or expression pedal. I suggested "on/off" as the simple first step :) 

 

Speaking of blending the two channels, that would depend on how the Tone Master deluxe is setup. The two channels on a regular Fender Deluxe are out of phase so blending is not an option without unpredictable results. I have no idea if the Tone Master is out of phase, or in phase with each other.... (hmmm, it might even be programmable)

[BigBob-Irwin]

Thank you all for the very interesting suggestions I have updated the Tone master which gives the equivalent of cutting C22 in the vibrato channel.  I have 2 external pedals a Nux Morning Star which is their take on a Bluesbreaker pedal for my attempted Blues Breaker Beano album tones and a Nux FET driven tube screamer which is my always on pedal at unity gain no overdrive. The reason I want the Plexi sound is to get Gary Moore type od I believe he used a Marshall governor into a JTM 45 and was considering buying a electro harmonix Glove pedal but I have the stomp so am giving it a go first. I am off to experiment will let you know how it turns out.  

[Schmalle]

For Gary Moore'ish high gain try the Meteor preamp with midboost engaged, bass cranked, low treble. It's fun.