Active vs. Passive Guitars - Global Gain Change?

[guellis]

Long-time Helix/Variax/Powercab user here.  I'm in the process of transitioning to using some of my non-variax guitars for gigs.  Updated all of my patches for one of my guitars with active electronics, but brought a guitar with passive electronics as backup.  When I switched over, I found that all of the patches sounded much weaker and that the gains were all wrong.  

 

Is there a setting somewhere on the Helix that would allow me to quickly globally dial the input gain up?I'm not in a "use this guitar for this song and this other guitar for that song" situation.  I just want to be able to reliable switch to a backup guitar if I need to.
 

[Schmalle]

The only parameter to adjust the input gain globally is Global Settings -> Ins/Outs -> Guitar In Pad. You can use it padded for the active and non-padded for the passive pickups.

 

Or put a gain block first in the signal path,and use it as a boost for you "weak" passive guitar.

 

Or use a footswitch to dial in two different gain settings in the amp model using Controller Assign.

[rd2rk]

Since all of my guitars are PASSIVE, I have the GLOBAL INPUT PAD set to OFF.

If I were to get an ACTIVE guitar, I would assign the Input Block Pad of each preset to a FS or SS which would toggle it ON/OFF.

That may or may not be enough, depending on the guitar. If it's not enough then you'll need a GAIN Block first in your signal chain that would toggle with (or instead of) the PAD to make up the difference.

[theElevators]

Guitar pad is a single non-adjustable volume cut.  Some guitars are much hotter than others.  There is no global gain control... (bummer!!).

 

To overcome this, you have various options:

1. Use a wireless such as a Shure, and cut the volume or boost the signal on the receiver.  That's what I personally do if my main guitar breaks my spare guitar needs a 3 DB boost on everything so all the filters work the same way, etc.

 

2. In the beginning of your chain, add a volume block that add/cuts the signal.  You can assign it to a button in the pedalboard mode, to get the desired level. 

 

3. Add a gain block at 0 in the beginning of every preset.  Once you decide what guitar you are using at the gig, adjust the gain before the show and save every preset.  Very easy.  In the other band I kept switching up the guitars, since it was just "rock".  So I would re-do my presets a couple of weeks before the show, once I made up my mind which axe I was using. 

 

4. Build your presets with multiple inputs.  Some people claim it adds certain noise, but in my testing it worked flawlessly.  Here's a video how to set it up, if needed:

 

Every guitar is different.  Every guitar has a different EQ.  To REALLY make all your guitars sound and behave similarly, you need to measure what each guitar does, and compensate.  That's what Billy Gibbons's guitar tech did--he stored various EQ/gain settings for all his different guitars, that way he could play an SG, a Tele, or whatever else and the sound would be very very close.