Need tips on dialing in a clean/crunch tone and managing High/Low Cut on Helix

[PercyThrottle]

Hi everyone,

I've been using the Helix for a while now and love the flexibility it offers, but I'm still trying to fine-tune my approach to dialing in great tones, especially for live/mix settings.

Specifically, I’d love to get some advice on a couple of things:

1. Amp & Cab Pairings: What are your go-to amp and cab/IR combinations for dynamic clean-to-crunch tones that cut through the mix without sounding harsh?

2. Global / Cab EQ Cut Settings: How do you usually handle High Cut and Low Cut filters? I currently apply a low cut around 80Hz and a high cut around 6.5kHz on the cab block, but I'm curious what works best for others.

3. Snapshots: Any tips on keeping volume levels consistent when switching between snapshots (from clean rhythm to lead boost)?

My main setup is a HSS Strat going straight into Helix, monitored through a pair of studio monitors and occasionally an FRFR speaker.

Any tips, block signal chain recommendations, or workflow suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for the help!

[waymda]

Best YouTube resource I know of https://www.youtube.com/@JasonSadites

 

Best local resource, your ears and playing with (all) things, including order of things, splits, joins etc, expect to find some uncoventional things that work really well and conventional that don't. Think like a recording engineer. Frankly everything else is opinions based on likes/dislikes and gear configurations. My meat may well be your poison, and lead you down a rabbit hole you don't need.

 

Other than that there is about 10 years worth of dicussion in these forums about all of these things, so do some searching, work out who's opinions align with yours or not.

 

My opinions/approaches:

 

1. I swap out cabs with every amp I use until I find what I want. I use all stock cabs, no IRs. Once I have a cab thats close I change mic's and move them until I have the sound I want. I ALWAY use more than one cab and different types to get the overall tone I want.

2. I don't use global or cab EQ, I use mic placement, and tune the overall sound for the room using the desk. IE very standard recording technique, get the source sound as good as possible with the least interferance/processing. I always fine tune a tone in the mix (I get multitack live recordings from practices/gigs and listen then adjust in real time).

3. Use a metering tool in a DAW or hardware to get ballpark levels, and tune with your ears in the mix - perceived volume is different to measured. That will involve not just gain, but EQ and/or compression. It takes time and you build experience, there's no shortcuts. I run a patch per song across 80+ songs, each with snaps so have got it down now, but it took a while to get there.

4. Not asked, but expect to need to tune patches differently for live vs recording/monitors and/or accept compromise. Your playback system colours your sound more than anything else. What sounds good to you on stage (often) sounds crap in a mix. Just like with analog gear.

 

 

[theElevators]

My approach to cleaning up the sound carried over from the old school technique of rolling down the volume knob.  I too was struggling with cleans vs. distortion sounds, without the cleans sounding dead on the Helix.

 

So my approach is that I set my overall distortion (using legacy distortion pedal) plus a pretty clean amp -- Mail Order Twin.  It's one of those garage band-sounding amps, but I managed to dial it into something that is more flexible and usable.  The whole chain is set up so that at "5" out of "10" on my volume knob, the sound cleans up, but doesn't lose loudness.  It was a lot of trial and error, until I got it, adjusting it very slightly over several weeks.  I tried every single distortion block available and only that legacy distortion worked for my needs.  My cleans are a tiny bit dirty still, but only if you really dig in.  So you can call it the edge of breakup.  

 

Anyway, the technique that I use is to either physically turn down the volume knob, .... or more recently simply cutting the overall volume in the beginning of the chain with a fixed volume pedal.  The distortion pedal never gets turned off in my chain EVER!  It's part of the sound, compression, etc.  I did not touch any global eq (god forbid), or anything else on the cab side--all default settings.  

 

I used to like the ability to use the volume knob, because it really frees you.  You can effectively change your sound from clean to distorted without being near your footswitches.  Then I started incorporating the volume cut trick for parts where distorted/clean changes were too fast for me to use the knob.  And more recently I play in bands that have minimal number of instruments, and I do a lot of actual nuanced playing, so I completely abandoned that volume knob trick for the time being. 

 

Regarding taking a solo, I take my clean or dirty sound and boost the 2K frequency anywhere from 2 to 10 db.  I put that EQ block before the amp typically.  That EQ makes the solos pop, but also cleans up the sound somehow, makes your solos pop.  

 

If the solo doesn't have enough oomph... or I need that twangy compressed sound, I add an LA compressor using the default settings, using the volume setting to taste.  And I put that compressor between the amp and the cab (default cab for my Mail Order Twin).  I also turn the ripple on the amp to 0 whenever I need to use that trick, because otherwise with distorted sounds it generates low-frequency hum.  

 

It's all personal what approach you use, what amp you use.  But I dialed in my core sound 7 years ago at this point, and have not deviated from it at all for all these years.  Except adding delays/reverb and other special effects to my sound.  Every preset has the same identical distortion, amp, cab settings at all times.  

 

Even with my tried and true approach, some songs just sound louder than others.  Some pickup combinations change the overall dynamics.  Or even if you add a pronounced delay to your signal chain, your volume will change.  When in doubt, I go and record myself either on the phone or in DAW, and I listen how all the parts sound.  Sometimes signal volume does not equate "perceived" loudness.  If you want to cut through the mix for that deafingly-loud solo, use the EQ.  You know this for sure, but if you turn up the reverb with a high mix, it will lower your overall sound.  Etc, etc.  Every preset needs to be tweaked a bit more.  Using the "level" setting on the delay blocks, or reverb block, or EQ block. 

 

Take a look at 1 of my videos explaining what I'm talking about....

 

 

And the volume knob video, demo'ing how I get clean sounds.  

 

[Schmalle]

Try a parametric eq after the cab block to un-icepick-ify your sounds. Starting point: 3.2 kHz, -6 dB, Q 4.

 

With that reduced harshness you can afford to put the mics closer to the center to add focus and clarity.

 

I use that trick all the time - highly recommended!