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real live for line 6


sgrain
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what added value to the line 6 as a reference brand was to invest heavily in demos with amps , that is , as a guitarist and user of line 6 for 20 years , I am often confronted by young people who can not even get close to the sound of guitar that you present in youtube demos. In other words, young people buy line 6 and are frustrated with the sound.I give some examples taking into account what I see and watch in the country where I live; many young people buy the helix, stomp etc thinking it will be plug and play, but when they get home and connect it to the amplifier, the sound does not match, some do not use the amp preamp to try to make the most of the simulations but even then they do not succeed. For example for users of the best selling amps in the world: Fender Deluxe 5E3 «Tweed» Vox AC30 Top Boost. Fender Bassman 5F6A '59 «Tweed» Marshall JTM45. Fender Twin Reverb «Blackface» Fender Deluxe Reverb «Blackface» Marshall 'Plexi' 1959SLP Super Lead. Hiwatt Custom 100 DR103. line 6 should provide an equalization setting for users to come home and connect to the front (or just to the pre (using only the amp's power)) and be immediately satisfied with the result. And the same should be done to the 3 types of guitars , les paul , strat and tele This little job for line 6 would double sales.

 

 

 

Hugs and thanks for your attention.

 

 

 

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There are like billions of discussions, examples, video tutorials from hundreds of players, line 6 live tuts on youtube and facebook, covering every single Helix/HX aspect.

 

I mean, billions, literally.

 

 

 

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On 1/8/2023 at 2:52 PM, sgrain said:

line 6 should provide an equalization setting for users to come home and connect to the front (or just to the pre (using only the amp's power)) and be immediately satisfied with the result.

 

Not possible.

 

Tone is ENTIRELY subjective. One person's killer tone is another person's hot garbage.

 

The final playback system is a HUGE part of the sound. What sounds great through one person's $3k Genelec monitors sounds like trash through a pair of $50 3.5" computer monitors. Your Marshall amp sims might sound great through the FX Return of a DSL40 Creamback, but your Fender amp sims probably won't sound all that great through the DSL40. Neither is likely to sound great through the input/preamp section of a no-name transistor amp with an 8" speaker.

 

Some companies do factory presets better than others. FAS, for instance, tends to score better. I would contend that if you can afford an AXEFXIII, you probably have a decent or better playback system. Factory presets are, IMO, mostly intended to showcase a modeler's capabilities. They are not intended to showcase tone so much as "How To" technique because, all of the above, and NO modeler I've ever seen has a "Use THIS preset for INSTANT GRATIFICATION even through a $30 pawnshop boom-box!" preset.

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On 1/8/2023 at 9:52 PM, sgrain said:

many young people buy the helix, stomp etc thinking it will be plug and play, but when they get home and connect it to the amplifier, the sound does not match,


Well, what a surprise, and they would be wrong in thinking that it would match!

 

If they are not using the exact same guitar, strings, technique, play back system, monitors and listening environment what do you think it would sound like?
 

Exactly - Certainly not a match!

 

Oh, yeah, and I have been using Line 6 stuff since the Kidney Bean POD, via the XT Live and HD500

 

Get real, breathe deeply, relax and rethink!

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

 

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Thank you very much for your answer , yes you are indeed right , although line 6 is a vanguard company and constantly looking for customer satisfaction , it should focus on the playability of its products . I have a vox ac 30 cc2 for example, and I bypass the pre, I only use the power, I get a good clean sound but the leads are nothing special, and they are only better because I spend hours and hours modifying sounds,

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Your point is a good one and is probably shared with mostly newish or new to modeling level of players.  I can see where it would make sense, buy this and it will sound like this!  However, in reality as many have said (in billions of posts) that is not possible.  The most Line6 can do it try to make the defaults for the amps, effects, etc. sound the best it can through a range of monitoring systems (maybe the wrong words but I mean whatever is used to get sound from the Helix).  IMO, they have gotten better at that.

 

For the new players that don't get immediately turned off, this can be a great learning opportunity that can improve their knowledge of what makes a good tone which I believe can help them be a better player.  I don't know if it would be possible to "qualify" new customers' expectations on the possibilities of the expected sound without hurting the product sales.  However, I believe that would help new players not get discouraged so fast.

 

I know in my case, I really have enjoyed the "tone" rabbit hole and have learned so much from sites like this.... and I have been playing line6 stuff since the first beans.....

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What you are asking for is impossible with a unit as deep as the Helix. If you can't get at least something OK out of the Helix, you're swimming in the wrong pond. You could try the impedance parameter. That may help. May I also suggest The Big Book of Helix Tips & Tricks v1.1 by Craig Anderton

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AndertonHX-e--sweetwater-publishing-the-big-book-of-helix-tips-and-tricks

 

Also there are a lot of patches that you can pay for that may do what you are asking. Just doing some quick math, you want them to create 21 patches that will satisfy every guitar player out there if they use any of the mentioned guitars. And let's not forget, the guitars mentioned can and do come with several different pickup types as well.. So let's just double the amount of patches you want from Line 6 to 42. And are you proposing they leave the Rickenbacher, Gibson hollow body, Gretsch, etc. guitar players on the curb? Not going to happen.

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On 1/8/2023 at 5:43 PM, sgrain said:

I have a vox ac 30 cc2 for example, and I bypass the pre, I only use the power, I get a good clean sound but the leads are nothing special, and they are only better because I spend hours and hours modifying sounds,

 

In this world of instant gratification players often forget that yes... it did/does take countless hours of learning in order to create great tones. We do it differently these days, but putting in time is still not an option. IMO the learning never ends, you just get better/quicker at it over the years. 

 

Could Line 6 provide some better guidance/presets? Maybe.  There is no shortage of discussions and video's on these subjects already and personally I would rather Line 6 work on the product(s), not enhanced training. For that we have Jason Sadites, Craig Anderton, and many others already. 

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On 1/9/2023 at 1:54 PM, brue58ski said:

May I also suggest The Big Book of Helix Tips & Tricks v1.1 by Craig Anderton

 

Thank you for the mention. Part of the reason for writing The Big Book of Helix Tips and Tricks was to encourage people to create their OWN sounds. I can truly say that I have never used the Helix to try and get a specific sound, other than the ones I hear in my head. Helix has such an incredible toolset for making sounds that go beyond what has been around for, let's face it, over half a century.

 

Besides, sounding like someone else doesn't mean that you'll play like someone else. I totally understand that when starting out, it can feed one's enthusiasm to be able to appropriate the sound of an admired guitar player. And it makes sense that if someone can get a sense of instant gratification from Helix, they might be less likely to abandon learning guitar. But if you get stuck in the mindset of copying guitarists you admire, you won't become a guitar player others admire.  

 

Make a statement - your own statement. Individuality! Jeff Beck didn't become Jeff Beck because his goal was to sound like Buddy Holly. 

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