Jitsunigy Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Dear all, i am using my Helix Line 6 in front of my blackstar HT-Club 40 Mkii. I want a simple set up, with all my presets programmed and ready to go for gigs withouth needing to fiddle! I love the tone of the blackstar preamp which is why i have set it up this way. I have tried teh 4CM (correctly :) ) but the preamp sounds different - i cant seem to get the same tone. I have tried directly into the return of my amp, but again the sound is not quite what i want. So I have stuck with the Helix in front of the amp, and sound wise it does exactly what i need. BUT, i cannot get any of the methods of boosting volume or gain to work for solos. I have tried every method, but only get a boost of probably 1-2 db even when i have it maxed out on +12db. I have tried different positions, different techniqes (e.g. ouput level increase, EQ, gain pedal, clean boost model) but NOTHING seems to work. I have tried a clean boost in the Helix FX loop - still doesnt work as it should. The only way i can get a boost with the helix in front of the amp, is to put an external boost pedal in the amp's effects loop. But then this means tap dancing when i do a solo (to hit my solo snapshot on helix AND the external pedal) which the whole point for me of having a helix was to prevent tap dancing. This has been driving me mad for months. Can anyone please please help? Many thanks Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulTBaker Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 others please correct me if I'm wrong, and keep in mind I don't use it the way you do.... however, it seems to me that since your helix is in front of the amp (which I'm taking to mean the front input and not the effects return which would bypass the preamp) then your max volume is going to be limited to your amp. When you send more gain, you are just hitting the preamp harder. This may make it a little louder, however, it will probably just make it more distorted. if just using the helix, the gain comes after the amp, which lets you add more volume without changing the tone. I believe this is what you are running into. Maybe try changing some of your amp setting to allow for more range of gain hitting it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 On 2/24/2025 at 12:09 PM, PaulTBaker said: …. I believe this is what you are running into. … I agree. If your Blackstar preamp sounds different in 4CM that would be a setup or preset issue. Double check the cabling and make sure you have the Helix Send, Return, and Main Out Levels set to Instrument. To test, turn off all FX in the Helix preset, including amp and cab as well as Noise Gate on the Input block. Leave only the Send/Return blocks active. The sound you hear in this arrangement should match the sound of connecting your guitar directly to your Blackstar, with no connections to Helix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitsunigy Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 On 2/24/2025 at 5:09 PM, PaulTBaker said: others please correct me if I'm wrong, and keep in mind I don't use it the way you do.... however, it seems to me that since your helix is in front of the amp (which I'm taking to mean the front input and not the effects return which would bypass the preamp) then your max volume is going to be limited to your amp. When you send more gain, you are just hitting the preamp harder. This may make it a little louder, however, it will probably just make it more distorted. if just using the helix, the gain comes after the amp, which lets you add more volume without changing the tone. I believe this is what you are running into. Maybe try changing some of your amp setting to allow for more range of gain hitting it. Thank you so much for this Paul - This is really helpful and yes seems to exactly explain what is happening here. Thanks for your time and response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitsunigy Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 On 2/24/2025 at 5:56 PM, silverhead said: I agree. If your Blackstar preamp sounds different in 4CM that would be a setup or preset issue. Double check the cabling and make sure you have the Helix Send, Return, and Main Out Levels set to Instrument. To test, turn off all FX in the Helix preset, including amp and cab as well as Noise Gate on the Input block. Leave only the Send/Return blocks active. The sound you hear in this arrangement should match the sound of connecting your guitar directly to your Blackstar, with no connections to Helix. Many thanks for this advice. I have followed this carefully and it WORKS!! Such a relief, it was really driving me nuts. It now matches exactly my Blackstar. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Glad it’s working for you. Enjoy! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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