Can Hx Stomp replace the "VERBY" preset 12A in a Strymon Time Line

[uddude]

Hi am relatively new to Helix ( I have the HX Stomp XL) I am trying to get it setup and running well to replace a big board for fly dates.

 

I have gotten close but not quite there yet in terms of getting the HX to replicate the factory preset 12A VERBY in the strymon timeline, I have a couple of tweaked versions of this in my timeline that I use alot. 

 

Any tips on getting this out of a block or 2 in the HX ?

[datacommando]

On 3/13/2023 at 12:30 AM, uddude said:

Any tips on getting this out of a block or 2 in the HX ?

 

Hi,

 

Interesting idea, but as a Timeline owner you will, no doubt be aware that in order to generate all those complex time manipulation processes, it uses a very powerful Sharc DSP.

 

As new owner of a HX Stomp XL (that can simultaneously handle 8 amp, cab, IR and/or Looper blocks), you will know that also uses the same type of Sharc DSP to do all that.

 

Armed with that information, I would guess that your chance of recreating the Strymon preset would be very difficult using only 2 blocks.

 

There is a young man on YouTube (John Nathan Cordy) who has created emulations of some Strymon effects from Big Sky and even Cloudburst, but the certainly can’t be done with two blocks.

 

I suggest you checkout some of his stuff - for example.

 

 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

 

[uddude]

Great tip I'll check out the video you are suggesting. 

 

So if I understand correctly you are saying that Timeline and HX stomp have a similarly powered chip but the TIMELINE ( any Strymon product I suppose) is devoting ALL of the processing power to what would be a single block on the HX, where the HX is sharing it across as many as 8 simultaneous algos?

 

Of course that would explain why no single delay or reverb is quite as juicy as my strymon and source audio stuff. 

 

Makes sense this is shy I have a Fender Tonemaster amp - 4 processors dedicated to a single amp emulation......

[datacommando]

On 3/14/2023 at 2:19 AM, uddude said:

Great tip I'll check out the video you are suggesting. 

 

So if I understand correctly you are saying that Timeline and HX stomp have a similarly powered chip but the TIMELINE ( any Strymon product I suppose) is devoting ALL of the processing power to what would be a single block on the HX, where the HX is sharing it across as many as 8 simultaneous algos?

 

Of course that would explain why no single delay or reverb is quite as juicy as my strymon and source audio stuff. 

 

Makes sense this is shy I have a Fender Tonemaster amp - 4 processors dedicated to a single amp emulation......

Hi,

 

Yes, that’s correct, essentially the Sharc processor in your Strymon TL is dedicated to doing the job of creating a whole variety of delays, whereas your XL shares the workload of 8 different tasks with the single DSP. With the larger Helix units this not really too much of a problem as it has a second chip that theoretically could reproduce something very close to the TimeLine.

 

You could try playing around with a reverb block and one of the more unusual delays such as the Crisscross, Heliosphere, Multipass or Euclidean, but one of the multi-tap delays could help in creating the ping pong pattern delay used in the “Verby” preset. Strymon has all the parameter settings for that particular preset available on their website.

 

Also, this is worth knowing - a while back someone posted this info after another user asked about generating Big Sky emulations in the HX units.

 

Glitz = Strymon Big Sky Bloom

In the ‘90s, more diffusion blocks were added to reverbs to ‘smooth out’ the sound. A side effect of this was the tendency of the reverbs to have a slowly building envelope that ‘bloomed’, resulting in big ambient reverbs that sit nicely with the dry signal even at high Mix levels. The Bloom reverb features a ‘bloom generating’ section that feeds into a traditional reverb ‘tank’, and adds a unique Feedback parameter that expands the possibilities exponentially.

 

Ganymede = BOSS RV6 Modulate

This reverb adds modulation to hall reverb, producing extremely good-feeling reverberation.

 

Searchlights = Strymon Big Sky Cloud

A gorgeously big, ambient reverb that draws from techniques developed in the late ’70s. Using processing power not dreamed of in those days, the Cloud reverb machine obscures the distinction between reality and fantasy.

 

Double Tank = Strymon Big Sky Plate

The Plate machine is a rich, fast-building reverb that creates depth without early reflection cues to a specific environment. The Tone knob and Low End parameter are simple but powerful frequency shaping tools.

 

Plateaux = Strymon Big Sky Shimmer

Two tunable voices add pitch-shifted tones to the reverberated signal, for resplendent, unearthly ambience. The voices are carefully created from the reverberated signal itself to generate maximum radiance and beauty. The Amount and Mode parameters allow for a range of shimmer effects from laid-back and subtle to full-blown majestic splendor.

 

History Note: - I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but Terry Burton, the guy who started the Strymon brand in 2009, and is now running Meris, had previously worked as an engineer for Line 6. Small world, eh?

Furthermore, I thoroughly recommend a look through the videos posted by John Nathan Cordy. He has tried to recreate emulations of various famous names in the delay and reverb realm. Volante, Big Sky, El Cap, Meris, Halo and even the Hologram.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[PierM]

On 3/14/2023 at 12:26 PM, datacommando said:

History Note: - I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but Terry Burton, the guy who started the Strymon brand in 2009, and is now running Meris, had previously worked as an engineer for Line 6. Small world, eh?

 

And the Strymon guru, Pete Celi, was Senior DSP engineer at Line 6 back in the days. Small indeed! ;

 

"When I started there (Line 6), Variax was really a blank paper project. They told me they wanted me to start researching how they could take what they did with [emulating] amps and do it with guitars, and two or three years later: “Hey, this actually works!” I wrote all the DSP sound generating code for the original Variax. Getting involved with that, writing DSP code for a product and being instrumental in shaping the sounds of that product really felt a lot more true to what I really wanted to be doing." Pete Celi.

[uddude]

Very cool - thanks for the info - I hope Pete Celi, Terry Burton, and the folks at Line 6 are all still pals.    So many players ( including me go back forth between these products all the time) I am also a big Source Audio fan / user.