Feedback issues

[jova]

Hi , I use hi gain settings in the band and although I get great sounds from the LT I get major noise from my amp when not playing, I’ve played hi gain pedals when playing live and not had these problems as far as I do with the LT .I’ve tried the noise gate but I’m  just not confident enough to play live with it and went back to my trusted pedal board but I find the helix better for changing the sound without dancing around the pedals, it’s probably just my ignorance in the unit but any ideas how to sort this without lowering the gain?, cheers 

j

[DunedinDragon]

This probably has way more to do with the placement of your speakers, what you're using as your speakers, how mics and stage monitors are being placed and used and the overall noise levels created during your performance than it does the Helix.  Feedback is really a simple issue.  It's all about creating a noise loop.  Where the noise loop is happening can sometimes be hard to determine, but it's absolutely related to acoustic issues and typically not digital electronics.  The quick fix is simple.  Turn it down...volume or gain.  Or determine where it's coming from and isolate the noise loop.

[Schmalle]

If you close the volume knob on the guitar do you still hear hum/buzz? Is that what you call "feedback"?

[jova]

On 9/22/2023 at 11:22 AM, DunedinDragon said:

This probably has way more to do with the placement of your speakers, what you're using as your speakers, how mics and stage monitors are being placed and used and the overall noise levels created during your performance than it does the Helix.  Feedback is really a simple issue.  It's all about creating a noise loop.  Where the noise loop is happening can sometimes be hard to determine, but it's absolutely related to acoustic issues and typically not digital electronics.  The quick fix is simple.  Turn it down...volume or gain.  Or determine where it's coming from and isolate the noise loop.

Cheers, Yeah we have tried everything regards positioning the equipment but the problem is they are usually small stage set ups and it’s not as bad with my  pedals, lowered the volume / gain to fix it but we can’t hear it properly, frustrating,

j

[jova]

On 9/22/2023 at 11:47 AM, Schmalle said:

If you close the volume knob on the guitar do you still hear hum/buzz? Is that what you call "feedback"?

Yes If I close the volume it stops all sound.

[Schmalle]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:30 PM, jova said:

Yes If I close the volume it stops all sound.

That answer is highly ambiguous. Can you answer my question again?

 

Is it "No, I don't hear hum/buzz when the guitar volume knob is closed."

Or is it "Yes, I do hear hum/buzz when the guitar volume knob is closed."

 

Is it "Yes, hum/buzz is what I describe as feedback."

Or is it "No, hum/buzz isn't the issue here."

[jova]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:18 PM, Schmalle said:

That answer is highly ambiguous. Can you answer my question again?

 

Is it "No, I don't hear hum/buzz when the guitar volume knob is closed."

Or is it "Yes, I do hear hum/buzz when the guitar volume knob is closed."

 

Is it "Yes, hum/buzz is what I describe as feedback."

Or is it "No, hum/buzz isn't the issue here."

No I don’t hear the hum/buzz when the guitar volume knob is turned closed. 

[Schmalle]

I'd A/B the" trusted high gain pedal" vs the HX pedals and maybe preamps.

[DunedinDragon]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:50 AM, jova said:

Cheers, Yeah we have tried everything regards positioning the equipment but the problem is they are usually small stage set ups and it’s not as bad with my  pedals, lowered the volume / gain to fix it but we can’t hear it properly, frustrating,

j

I think we're going to need more info on how you have things setup.  Given it's a small stage are you routing your Helix direct to the mixing board from the Helix and relying on stage monitors or are you feeding into some amp or powered speaker on stage?  If you're using stage monitors or amps how are they positioned?  If using amps are they mic'd and sent through the PA?  A confined space is always going to be more problematic with feedback simply because of reflections off of the walls.  How many instruments and vocals are in the band and how large is the actual audience area?

 

You realize lowering the gain doesn't mean you have to lower the volume, right?  Gain adds a certain amount of noise to the signal which can be accentuated by hotter pickups.  Generally speaking most music, even rock music, doesn't use as much gain as you might think it does.  A combination of lower gain and a bit more compression often gets you to a cleaner and more distinct and punchy overdriven sound.

 

Another thing that probably needs to be considered is your signal level.  Generally on traditional pedals you don't worry about it too much because they all work with instrument level signals.  The Helix provides a number of options as far as signal levels on the different outputs.  Mic signal level is considerably lower than Line signal level for example and therefore has a lot less noise in the signal.  That's why you need to be aware of these things and keep track of how high your signal level is coming out of the Helix by selecting the output block on you signal chain and looking at the display at the lower right of the display on how high the level is.  The higher the signal level the more noise it's likely to have.  I personally keep my output levels around 40% even on heavier rock songs on the Helix meters and let the mixing board or powered speakers manage the volume levels to ensure I don't clip or have volume/noise problems.  It doesn't have any affect on the sound, just the volume.

[jova]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:30 PM, DunedinDragon said:

I think we're going to need more info on how you have things setup.  Given it's a small stage are you routing your Helix direct to the mixing board from the Helix and relying on stage monitors or are you feeding into some amp or powered speaker on stage?  If you're using stage monitors or amps how are they positioned?  If using amps are they mic'd and sent through the PA?  A confined space is always going to be more problematic with feedback simply because of reflections off of the walls.  How many instruments and vocals are in the band and how large is the actual audience area?

 

You realize lowering the gain doesn't mean you have to lower the volume, right?  Gain adds a certain amount of noise to the signal which can be accentuated by hotter pickups.  Generally speaking most music, even rock music, doesn't use as much gain as you might think it does.  A combination of lower gain and a bit more compression often gets you to a cleaner and more distinct and punchy overdriven sound.

 

Another thing that probably needs to be considered is your signal level.  Generally on traditional pedals you don't worry about it too much because they all work with instrument level signals.  The Helix provides a number of options as far as signal levels on the different outputs.  Mic signal level is considerably lower than Line signal level for example and therefore has a lot less noise in the signal.  That's why you need to be aware of these things and keep track of how high your signal level is coming out of the Helix by selecting the output block on you signal chain and looking at the display at the lower right of the display on how high the level is.  The higher the signal level the more noise it's likely to have.  I personally keep my output levels around 40% even on heavier rock songs on the Helix meters and let the mixing board or powered speakers manage the volume levels to ensure I don't clip or have volume/noise problems.  It doesn't have any affect on the sound, just the volume.

Hi thanks for all this advice, I just go through an amp and the other guitarist/vocalist goes through a mixing desk, bassist goes through his amp and the drummer is not hooked up. The stages are normally very small we barely have much room to move small pubs etc, it’s interesting what you said about the gain and volume as I’ve got them high and when I boost for solos it is very saturated, I’m practicing next week in the studio so I’ll take your advice and take the gain/volume down. I really appreciate all your time many thanks and I’ll let you know how I get on,

j

[DunedinDragon]

Just out of curiosity, how exactly do you have your LT connected to your amp?

[jova]

On 9/22/2023 at 10:45 PM, DunedinDragon said:

Just out of curiosity, how exactly do you have your LT connected to your amp?

Two cable method mate 

[jova]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:30 PM, DunedinDragon said:

I think we're going to need more info on how you have things setup.  Given it's a small stage are you routing your Helix direct to the mixing board from the Helix and relying on stage monitors or are you feeding into some amp or powered speaker on stage?  If you're using stage monitors or amps how are they positioned?  If using amps are they mic'd and sent through the PA?  A confined space is always going to be more problematic with feedback simply because of reflections off of the walls.  How many instruments and vocals are in the band and how large is the actual audience area?

 

You realize lowering the gain doesn't mean you have to lower the volume, right?  Gain adds a certain amount of noise to the signal which can be accentuated by hotter pickups.  Generally speaking most music, even rock music, doesn't use as much gain as you might think it does.  A combination of lower gain and a bit more compression often gets you to a cleaner and more distinct and punchy overdriven sound.

 

Another thing that probably needs to be considered is your signal level.  Generally on traditional pedals you don't worry about it too much because they all work with instrument level signals.  The Helix provides a number of options as far as signal levels on the different outputs.  Mic signal level is considerably lower than Line signal level for example and therefore has a lot less noise in the signal.  That's why you need to be aware of these things and keep track of how high your signal level is coming out of the Helix by selecting the output block on you signal chain and looking at the display at the lower right of the display on how high the level is.  The higher the signal level the more noise it's likely to have.  I personally keep my output levels around 40% even on heavier rock songs on the Helix meters and let the mixing board or powered speakers manage the volume levels to ensure I don't clip or have volume/noise problems.  It doesn't have any affect on the sound, just the volume.

Hi thanks again for your reply, I was at the studio yesterday was much better, I turned the volumes and gain down on the channels of the helix and  turned the volume /gain up on the amp and it worked really well. Simple but seems to have fixed the noise really happy, thanks again for your help much appreciate,

j