Having trouble emulating tones

[patriot2006]

I have tried on multiple occasions to emulate guitar tones that I have copied exactly from other Helix Native users online and cannot for the life of me get anything to sound even close. I recently have been trying to get the sound of Jimi Hendrix and nothing works. I follow every setting from various users to no avail.  Do I need to try some other approach?

I am currently playing an Ibanez Prestige 2204NMG. The neck and middle pickups are single coil and the bridge humbucker can be split.

I had the same issue playing my 1991 American Standard Stratocaster.  Maybe it is the reverb choice? I don't know but any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

[silverhead]

I expect it’s all about input and output.
 

What is your setup? Are you using the Helix Native presets in your own Helix Native? Are you applying the plug-in to a dry guitar track? Are you using HX Edit to transfer the tone into a Helix hardware device? 
 

What are you using to monitor the sound? Guitar amp? PA speakers? Studio monitors? Headphones? You need to make sure your recording and playback systems are similar to the one used by the preset creator when building the preset.

[patriot2006]

At this point in time I am using the following with intent to transfer the preset to my HX Stomp.

Audio interface SSL2. Studio monitors Kali 6s. Helix Native as a plugin in Reaper Daw. 

[silverhead]

On 8/5/2026 at 10:55 AM, patriot2006 said:

I have tried on multiple occasions to emulate guitar tones that I have copied exactly from other Helix Native users online and cannot for the life of me get anything to sound even close. ….

The setup you described should give good results. The issue may be with the other user’s setup and settings. For instance if you are listening to YouTube videos be aware that there may be other audio processing that is not mentioned. If you are copying specific settings from a picture/video of someone’s computer screen you will also need to know their setup (i.e. the first questions I asked you). And if you are downloading tones from Customtone be aware that there is no moderation there; anyone can post a preset using whatever equipment they have and describe it however they want to. Doesn’t mean it will sound anything like their description when played in your environment.

Having said that I have found some pretty good starting points for custom tone development on Customtone. Filter for HX Stomp and search for Hendrix. Read the descriptions for comparison with your setup, and select the highest rated presets to download and audition.
 

Suggestion: experiment with some presets you can find in Helix Marketplace. They will cost a bit but for a minimal initial investment you can find high quality presets that are designed for the HX Stomp and FRFR/studio monitors that you can import into both your Stomp device and Helix Native. See if they sound better. If not then there’s probably something wrong with your setup or equipment.

[patriot2006]

Thank you, I will look into Custom tone and the Marketplace and see what I can find.

[silverhead]

From Customtone:

https://line6.com/customtone/search/?submitted=1&family=hx_stomp&sort=rating&sort_dir=desc&search_term=hendrix

 

Click on the image of each preset before downloading and read the details, especially the Comments section. That may tell you whether the preset was designed for output to a guitar amp or PA/studio monitors. You want the latter. A preset designed for output to a guitar amp will sound pretty bad but can be improved by adding a Cab or IR to the preset.