6 Mistakes to Avoid Using The Line 6 Helix & HX Stomp
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
- 6 Mistakes to Avoid Using The Line 6 Helix. After using this guitar processor for over 3 years, I have made my fair share of mistakes and have helped others along the way. Hope these tips can help you along your way!
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My biggest mistake with the Helix was : Why Am I watching This, I Don't Even Have a Helix.
This made me laugh out loud 🤣🤣🤣 i appreciate the view and comment though! I hope you can find something useful on the channel
Me too.
LOL 🤣
buy one! You know you want it. Unless you don't play guitar... hehe
@@accidentals_hacks yessssss!
you dont have one yet. Embrace the change! Ch ch ch changes
Commenting before I watch: My biggest mistake in all modeling devices with a visual signal path layout was to put the amp first in my patch. I don't know why I never thought about it in real-life terms where most of my effects would be going before the amp, but holy crap did it make a difference. It's especially a thing with overdrives and distortions. It turns out it's super important that they go before the amp so they can actually BOOST the amp signal. It sounds super obvious, but I spent like ten years thinking this was just what modeling sounded like.
Yes! Thats very important! Lol funny, but glad you fixed it
My biggest mistake with the Helix was: I should have bought it a long time ago.
Preach!
Me too when it was costing less around 1600$ but now in my country it's for 1900$ : (
Your Tip with bypassing everything and take that Level as "default" helped me a lot! TY!
Glad to help! A lot of people disagree that it makes no difference, until they try to make a clean tone and wonder why its never as loud 😅
Best Helix advice I've heard. I am guilty of a few of these, and now I can't wait to sit down with my Helix and apply what this video has taught me! You rule, Steve! Subscribed.
Thanks Carl! Means a lot. Glad to help. I think I am up to about 70 Helix videos at this point
My biggest mistake was to invest in FRFR speaker. What I missed was the sound of amp punching air. Ended up using the effect loop of amp and 4x12 cabinet. Huge difference that brings me back to the old days. Nothing beat the real cabinet
If thats the feel you need, thats the best option. Some people will always need that!
I put it thru my 1x12 guitar cabinet from day one. No computer, no audio interface, no monitors etc. Same with the Kemper sounds fine. Is it as a great as a great amp and a great pedal no but it’s fun to fool with. Btw I add in a distortion, overdrive or fuzz into the kemper or helix and it really helps with feel and sound. The best modeler imo and simple to use and overlooked and now Yamaha owns line6 anyway is the Yamaha 100hd.
I got yamahas hs 8s
Absolutely hear ya on the advice to learn stock cabs. This really did it for me. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for checking it out and commenting !
Great video. The reason that sounds different at loud volume is because of the Fletcher Munson curve and how we perceive sound. Old stereos had a loudness button to turn up bass and Highs at low volumes to compensate for this
I'm new to Helix and had my first show with it this past weekend. I'll just say that the experience was impressive and enjoyable! I'll also say that the support resources for this device on UA-cam are endless! Thanks for this video BTW. I spent hours at home using my Electro-Voice ZLX-12BT 1000W 12-inch Powered Speaker turned up to stage volume as my monitor in which to build my presets which I have on stage behind me at the gig. It really only took a few minutes of tweeking the stage volume and patch levels between snapshots and I was ready to go! Definitely going to try your patch volume and gain staging idea.
Simple, direct and to the point! Great tips Steve! Thanks for the info. I always listen to the advice of those out on live gigs, and bro, yours are awesome! Stay blessed and keep it rockin'!
Thanks again man!
Great tips and notes!
Thanks for your time and arrangement
Thank you for watching and commenting! Hope to have earned your sub!
Everything covered here has been very helpful for me. Thanks so much Steve.
Glad to help! Thank you for watching
Thanks, Steve! I've been thinking about getting a Helix & this is the 1st video I saw that has "don'ts" instead of all the good about them.
I try to be different when I can!
The home to stage stuff is paramount! Excellent!
Huge mistake we have all made for sure !
Big help, cheers Steve - just subscribed! I play in a folk band and use Helix for fiddle as well as acoustic and electric guitar. The high volume thing is so true. It's great to get some pointers as the Helix is a complex beast and tough to shape your sound, especially when you have to take into account venue and audience sizes. Will check out your other vids!
Much appreciated!! Any questions feel free to reach out
Great tips, thanks man. Just got the stomp and I'm loving it.
Thanks John!!! Much appreciated
Great vid. I’ve gone full circle - stock cabs to IRs and back to stock. Just learning how to use them and max out their potential. Big problem was learning not to rush into a full rig chain and just starting with a great amp and cab tone. Lose hours just tweaking!
Definitely need that solid foundation
My mistake was definitely not using snapshots with my HX Stomp. I was kind of disheartened when I could hear a noticeable gap in audio when switching presets, but with a little creative thinking I was able to get my 3 tones (clean, rhythm and lead) onto one preset and can now use Snapshots for tone, with no gaps in audio!
Awesome! I have a little "hack" video to navigate presets and get more snapshots out of it. It's somewhere on the channel 😅
@@SteveSterlacci Will try find it, love your videos Steve! 😁
@@bridean3819 thank you! Means a lot
I’m a year or so into helix ownership and still haven’t delved into the world of snapshots… I know I’m missing out as I recognize times on a daily basis where I need them
Great comment about starting with a blank preset and checking for unity gain as you adjust each effect. Consistent gain structure is how you avoid getting clipping in your clean sounds.
Really good advices ! Thank you so much !! i totally change my presets and my sound
Glad to help! Thanks for watching
Great video. I think I have "hit" all of these mines. Learned some lessons by watching these Helix videos and just try-and-error. Today really happy how my Helix sounds.
Thanks for checking them out! Glad to help
Great tips Steve! Thank You!
Thanks! Just got my HX and will take notice of these mistakes.
Good luck! You're gonna love it
Only started on this helix path so this is incredibly helpfull thankyou sir
i have had my helix Lt FOR 6 MONTHS trying to push buttons but now i am watching videos and trying to learn the system . this is my first modeling effects system . i use to use TC electronics G Major with voodoo lab midi control and use my Marshall for channel switching so i have a big learning curve .
Awesome tips! Especially re: matching to the bypass volume. Currently going through my helix and doing this with all my presets now. Man, were they loud!! Haha.
It's not the worst thing in the world, but you definitely want to avoid blowing up a venues board 🤣😅
Great list. I haven’t made any “mistakes” per say as much as just the learning curve. Making patch after patch and perfecting each one. I learned a ton from you, Rhett Shull, Rick Beato, Jadon Sadites and Richie Castellano. I have fairly simple signal paths yet very full and real sounding rigs. Great video though, very helpful.
Thanks for sharing man! I dont belong with such company 😅 but i am glad to help when I can
@@SteveSterlacci I recently bought my Helix. I watched hours and hours of videos trying to dial in presets, assigning switches etc. I was ready to send it back and then I found your channel. I love your Helix 2 minute tips and tricks videos. I've learned a lot and I'm enjoying my Helix now. Thank you for taking your time to share your knowledge with us. It really helps
Hey Rob! That really means a lot. Thanks for watching and commenting!
GREAT video Steve.
Thanks Jerry!
Thank you for your time and knowledge steve , its a game changer for guys like me
I appreciate that very much! Comments like this make me want to continue so thank you!
helpful yes thank you. So true about the tone being quite different in the live setting as opposed to home.
thank you steve for keeping it real for us
Thank you for always dropping in brother! I look forward to your comments every time. #booty
I’m late to the helix game but love it so far. Thanks for these useful tips! Subbed
Much appreciated!! You're gonna love it once you get a workflow down
I’ve just started watching your videos Steve…really helpful thanks….The reason really is I found half a dozen tones I really liked and just stuck with them. Recently I started tweaking….something I did for years before Helix…in search of “that tone”….I’ve sorted myself out now and gone back to playing….but always keen to learn….
Honestly, thats the way to go once youre inspired to play!
Hey Steve, great concise video! I was already pretty happy with my Helix tones but your bit on gain staging made me question myself… yep sure enough I was waaaay too loud. Dialled some presets back and it’s like a whole new toy! Thanks!
Its only normal for us guitar players 🤣😅 thanks for checking it out!
Subscribed. Great tips and live it when youtuber responded to fans!
Thanks so much! I appreciate the support
Thank you, I’ve been struggling with ALL of these for months
Glad to help!
The Helix is a great product. However, it is abundantly clear that some of these comments come from people who still have to concentrate on just the guitar and the amp. Effects are like anything else, you need to learn all the angles, otherwise everything ends up sounding bad.
This was a great video for any modeler user, even, us, the abandoned Firehawk users.
Thanks Jason! Means a lot. Wish I had one to put some content together lol
I switched from a Firehawk years back and don't regret a second of it. Flexibility, tone, routing, ease of use, community. Save up your pennies and look for an LT on special. You can find them for as little as $700. Best gear money you'll ever spend if you like the tones from the Firehawk. It is a Firehawk on steroids!!!!
This info is so good!… thanks man!
Thanks for checking it out!
Man I’ve been using the Helix live and in the studio since 2017. And recently had to wipe it and rebuild all my patches. The tip about not making the patch too loud really spoke to me and since I already have to rework everything, I’m gonna try that. Thanks!
I think you will see a big difference, especially on whatever is receiving the line from the Helix. Sure, you can't clip within the helix, but you absolutely can clip whatever its going into
Gain staging is paramount on modelers imho
Thank you bro !! very useful !!!
Glad to help! Hope to have earned your sub
To deal with different situations (at home, studio, live, or with headphones, or a cab, or monitoring speakers etc etc..) the real secret with modelers like the Helix, is to use the low/high cut to always stay in the mix. It will do the 90% of the job every time.
Personnaly, I always make my tones with headphones, that's my "sound reference", and after, depending on the situation, I will use the Parametric EQ block with it's low/high cut parameter to go back in the mix without touching anything else. Always works for me.
Super helpful man. Thank you!
Glad to help!
Enjoyed the cool tips.. 💯% looking fwd the Rack + Controller soon...Nice Vid Thanks
Thanks Jono! Glad to help
Great video - thanks
Thanks for checking it out!
Hey man, just wanna say thanks. As an analog guy I felt a bit overwhelmed when I got my hands on a Helix, to be fair - I still am. You tips help a lot. Even if you just repeat my thoughts out loud, it helps a lot to get some confirmation. So thanks and stay strong!
Much appreciated! I'm glad to help and hope you get more comfortable with the unit
How is it? I get mine in 2 days
@@douginny its great!
I appreciate your channel. You are a professional but are providing tips that apply to everybody who uses these line 6 products-even hacks like me! :-)
I appreciate you watching and commenting! Means a lot and helps keep me going 🤘
Great video! I don't own one yet - just about to buy one. It's rare to find a vid that's really helpful and this one is! Thanks for posting!
Thanks Richard! That means a lot. If you wanna see some of the workflow, i have a few preset builds from scratch if you wanna check them out!
GREAT post, as usual. Valuable content. I'd love to see topic timestamps in the description; this is the sort of thing I'd refer people back to.
For discussion's sake, I have mixed feelings about IRs vs stock cabs. A $30 IR bundle gave me a few IRs I use everywhere, and a guitar teacher would have charged me that much for a tone-shaping lesson. I also see pros and UA-camrs making patches with wildly different cuts of high and low end, each claiming they're optimized to sit in the mix. I'd say tone shaping is one of the biggest amateur challenges. I could follow you building a preset knob for knob, playing my Helix through the same speakers as your video, and not sound like you at the end. I've had this happen with other artists' commercial presets, sounding so much darker than the demo video on the same speakers that I can't use the preset I just paid for.
Its definitely a tough animal. Situations being so different it is really hard to nail universally usable presets. I know I make mine for live use and wind up making slight adjustments for studio use based on the track. I guess its instinct for me at this point but maybe walking through my thought process on making presets work for an individuals needs is a good video topic!
I a newby and some of your acronyms aren’t understood, but I’ll research more. So far love your channels and I will be back! 💙🙏🏼
Thank you for watching!
Hey Steve, Great video. I haven't checked my bypass level yet, but I'll do that. One of the most challenging issues I've had with using every Line 6 multi effect pedal, (which I've been exclusive to Line 6 since the original red kidney shaped unit to now Helix, from Line 6 Variax 700, to now every JTV, 59, 69 & 89F), has been, trying to match levels of amps. The fender amps are nowhere near the output levels of Marshall amps. I typically add post boosts to even out the levels, and I've definitely gotten great tone I've used to record and play out with in 800 plus sized arenas, but I'd love to get your take on how you go about correcting this issues. On a different note...I purchased your Brad Paisley patch. Great work! Thanks for posting these videos, they're really helpful.
Thanks for checking it out and for the support! I think this will absolutely solve your problems with the amp volumes. Just use that channel volume and it won't affect your tone!
These are all mistakes I used to make. Glad that we agree
YEP! LOL glad to be passed them
Brilliant! Thanks!
Thanks for checking it out!
Bang on, found a lot of this myself!
Glad to hear it!! Thanks for watching
Steve, for those using it FOH and folding back into in-ears, a big mistake is ignoring an ambient mic. When I first go the Helix, we were not using an ambient and I thought "Well this was certainly a mistake!" It sounded pretty bad. Installed an ambient in the middle of the church and fed it into the foldback mix. Viola' great tones again.
In ears without an ambient mic is definitely rough! I know what you mean there
I absolutely agree with the IR thing. I made my best presets or patch with stock cabs. also because the scenario of IR shops is so bog that is someway confusing people
Yesss!
All good points. Sound reference is definitely the thing. It’s what you trust as, the actual sound. I found a $299Berhringer wedge with a 12” and horn that has worked perfect. I set the wedge and the helix at the same output levels at all times. This little thing was a game changer for me. I also make sure to put the same affect first in every signal chain. And use the input resistance as a little buffer, EQ. Tried to power cab, air, basically smoke and mirrors. It is not easy for everyone to adjust to direct guitar. Once again, there are lots of rabbit holes to go down when using the helix. In my experience I think it is important to find a couple amps and affect you really love really get to know them, then experiment with all the available tools there are. Great video. Subscribed.
#effect
Thanks Steve! I will check out that behringer. Good call having the same first effect too
My biggest mistake was buying numerous pedals, different budget multi fx, modellers and mini amps then selling them all to buy a Helix LT instead of just buying the Helix originally.
Many have had this same journey! Lol
Your last mistake I'm very familiar with hah. I spent a long time coming up with patches in a home setup and was loving them. As soon as I brought it live it was so shrill at performance volume. What has saved me the most for that situation is the tilt eq block
Glad you got it sorted! I just use the global hi cut so it hits all my presets at once
Some excellent tips here.
Thanks bill! Means a lot
Great video!
Thanks!
Thank You soo much Steve! Loove your videos....i'm getting awesome tones with My pod go hooked with My tube amp or My cheap studio monitors But horrible harsh tones hooked to PAs. Will definetely try lowering The volume on My presets and leveling them with The unnaffected signal. Best regards from Chile,south america
Usually, a PA brings out the extreme highs as well. I use drastic hi cuts often when going direct. Thanks for watching and supporting!
Great list, Steve. I'm definitely one of those people if I hear 100 folks all saying that you have to have IRs, that actually makes me less likely to seek them out. I feel like they haven't tried enough with the options they're given in the unit.
My biggest mistake was not dialing the low pass on the EQ low enough. I'd leave it at 10k or not on at all, and then in a rehearsal, it seemed ice-picky.
I bring mine way down to 5k even 3.5 sometimes! Always gotta do what sounds good on the gig
The last point.🤦🏻♂️ wow. This is really helpful. Thank you so much!
Great video. My biggest mistake as a beginner was not realizing I could assign individual parameters to snapshots (duh). I was putting in multiples of the same block with different parameters dialed in and turning them on and off by snapshot! As far as the difference between home and rehearsal, the fist time I did a rehearsal, it sounded like I had a hall full of tweeters! Craziness. I'm using Alto 12" FRFRs; I would love to get a pair of Powercab+ but I have budget constrainch. 🎸🎸🎸
You're absolutely right about the IR rabbit hole, better to learn what you already have in detail first. I have barely touched IRs (I had the experience you described--TOO many choices with just one IR). But you made a great point that I hadn't considered--there's no adjusting them like you can with the cabs. You have to comb through a hundred of them to find what you want (if it's even there). From what I've seen with other users, it seems the super high gain players find the IRs useful. I'm happy with the cabs, especially the different mics you can use make a huge difference in tone.
I think I need to go back and turn stuff down. My presets are way higher than unity.
Thanks Nicky! Let me know how the experiments go
The ability to adjust parameters of effects (beyond just bypassing them) in snapshots was why I returned my Headrush board and got the Helix.
Sterlacci is the man 🤘🏼
You're the man!
The basics of Steve's message:
1. Proper monitoring -buy good monitors or good monitoring headphones
2. Jumping to IR's right away -get to know your stock cabs
3. Preset volume too loud-Helix does not like high volume
4. Too much low end--"squishy, mushy, farty" sound
5. Too much gain-bring down the bass and use the channel volume, not master volume. Try using the output block instead.
6. Making gigging presets at home and thinking they're going to sound good on stage. Go to the "Leveling Presets" video that Steve has put together. Use high volume on your studio headphones to test out but don't blow your eardrums out.
Hey now! What's the point of watching now?! 🤣😅
@@SteveSterlacci Making it easier for the rest of us to rectify these common mistakes. I’m guilty of most of them.
@@starbuck-mz4ts totally should just throw the time stamps in there 🤣😅
Great tips, thanks Steve. I'm hoping I didn't waste my money on a Fender Twin Rev Tone Master which I bought 2 months prior to the Helix. I send the Helix to it's clean input with bass/mid/treb set on 5 of 10. At night I use my Beyers or ATHs. Can't say I notice the Tone Master messing things up, but I'm a recreational user and will avoid the stage at all costs.
Good stuff! Interesting choice of background music 😝
Surprised its even audible 🤣😅 trying to cover the sound of my AC
I used my 2 JBL 15” mains and dialed them at a loud volume. I know everyone doesn’t have a single-family home or rehearsal space but it works well.
Nice! That'll work
Excellent set of things to avoid, agree with them all, and think these are the ones that are critical. For my biggest mistake, I think it's too much of a good thing. Less is more for gain, modulation, reverb, delay, etc. What sounds good by yourself will sound like indistinct mud with the band or in the mix. Second mistake I think people make is not sticking with a tone - trying to use a preset for every song and snapshot for every section of a song. This results in tone that's all over the place and leaves you with no identifiable tone that's yours. So I use Helix in "stomp" mode, relying more on footswitches that change a few parameters that can be combined any way you need. Snapshots are for big changes (variax open tunings, a quick acoustic tone, etc.). Mostly I use one patch all night.
Great way to see it ! I use 1 preset for my cover gigs. My touring gig i use about 4 just circumstantially since i run the 2 guitar rigs
I agree, One set of tones, adjustable effects as needed Clean, dirty, gain, EFX. Simple presets can hone your tone as yours and still have playability, simple setups are easy and less stressful when playing live, concentrate on playing not your sound as much. A simple set of presets can do a lot live!
I no longer gig and have spent more money on my Home Studio since then, but for FRFR, I guess I’m not picky, as I purchased the Headrush FRFR 112’s and they sound terrific for “at home.” I also have a nice pair of Focal and KRK monitors to work with and I also get great results for all my modelers and my music with all of ‘em.
Folks, if you cant afford the top of the line monitors, use what you can afford and make the most of them.
Not everything good has to cost a fortune and you can always move up later...
A good set of cans (headphones) can also be your best friend!
Most of all HAVE FUN!!!
Best!✌🏼
Good stuff man 🙂
Thanks for watching!
Great advice Steve ,I agree my helix doesn't like to be pushed loud either . It starts to clip and theres a harshness to the sound . I find with helix less is more alot of the time. It just seems to work better
Thanks Jay! I do think its more on whatever you are plugging into when stuff like that happens. Everything seems happier with the right levels!
Great tips, thank you. I think the one about building your own patches, listening to how each addition colours the sound. It's like trying to learn from borrowed tab: you might think you're getting short-cuts, but you end up never developing yur own ears.
I totally agree!
I’ve had a Helix for two years now. Played in studios and live. The best way to dial in tone and dynamics for me has been to use a Powercab. I have JBL LSR4328p monitors and nice headphones as well. I realized that the 25 years I’d spent dialing in tones on amps and pedals turned out to be the most accurate way to do this for modelers as well. I found myself making almost zero adjustments when going direct to PA with a band, or in a studio with this setup. Bonus: you get to scratch that itch of moving some air in the room. It’s made my Helix experience far more enjoyable. I wasn’t able to get that out of headphones or studio monitors.
Nice! I enjoy the PC as well. I was lucky enough to be on the beta team for the 212 before it came out. Was great on stage!
Never felt the need to try IRs, and I pre-ordered my Helix before it was even available. The stock cabs are fantastic especially since 3.5.
I was listening to The Guitar Hour Podcast and they said they changed the guitar-in impedance to 1M Ohm instead of Auto and it helped with the "feel" on the helix. It definitely changed the tone a lot, but I'm not completely sure about the "feel" aspect. Those guys are insane players and I'm absolutely an intermediate bedroom player.
People love to talk about feel! Lol I don't exactly care. My inspiration comes from tone. As long as there's no latency, i am happy with my hx results
Totally guilty of 1. Too much volume, 2. adding high end instead of rolling off bass, 3. Too much gain.Gonna go back and check a few things. Another great , yet simple tutorial, gracias again, man!
Thanks as always for checking it out Don!
Thanks for Info! only I invested in IR package (good one) and the results are amazing , at least on my studio monitors;)
If you find the right one then you're in business
Great video Steve.. Sometimes just switching back from line to 1/4 works with my in ears...
Thank you brother!
Great!
Thanks!
Thanks for watching ! Hope to have earned your sub
The "preset compare to bypass" signal is such good advice. I bet it applies to so many other areas, like DAW, live mixing, etc. Thanks for the reminder.
You got it! Thanks. Its easy to think of it like a real amp and want to jack the signal for sure
@@SteveSterlacci When you adjust the volume while everything is bypassed, do you crank the ouput block? when my signal is bypassed and my guitar volume is turned all the way up, it's extremely quit. I had to turn the output block up to +13. I'm using a Headrush FRFR 108 with the volume around 3. Should I turn up the speaker instead of the output block? Great advice. Thanks!
@Jack That's just to get a baseline for the overall preset volume. For going into an FRFR, I would set outputs to Line level and make any other volume needs at the output block if you really needed it. Thats just a guideline for making presets universally usable, as well as make sure you can make clean presets equal volume without having to turn up the gain
@Jack id try both turning up the speaker and try turning up the output block and see which sounds better to you
@@SteveSterlacci Thanks for the quick reply! Super quick follow up, I run my hx stomp into a reverb pedal, then a loop pedal, then into my FRFRs. I have the output set to instrument level because it's going into a pedal. Should I still set to Line Level? I can't really say which sounds better to be honest.
great video. had a lot of the same issues.
Thank you! Hope you browse around and watch some others that may help out as well
Good stuff.
Don’t expect any preset or even a patch you’ve downloaded/purchased to sound any good for you, let alone anything like a video that showcases it. I’ve known this for a long time, way before the Helix, and still I get disappointed. Part of the problem is the designer used a different guitar, and along with different pickups, tone control, speakers, and even your room or headphones, it’ll often sound odd at best.
I think the best advice is to build your own patches by starting simple: maybe just an amp/cab plus a room reverb. Make that sound good to you with a clean tone as well as an a edgy tone.
Or conversely, throw in a bunch of FX that tickle your fancy, and experiment - a lot of patience and experimentation required here . Either way, I agree with your tip that you shouldn’t go rushing towards IRs - at least not until you’ve exhausted the other built-in options.
I have been meaning to make a video about this exact topic. How to tweak OTHERS presets !
I only ever bought 2, (at the same time) and I’ll never do it again.
Invaluable Tips *√
Great info
Thanks James!
This is not only for Helix users but also who are using other amp simulated fx out there. Learned a lot.
Much appreciated ! Thank you
I would add...Too much REVERB and DELAY to the list. People always put way too much of these in their presets...imo.
Its a tough one to balance. Especially in a mix vs on your own
Guilty as charged....3,4,5... I also think i need to learn the global settings better. All my patches are high or low. I especially struggle with clean sounds/volumes. Thanks for all the videos keep up the good work brother!!
Get into the channel volume! Ive got a video on leveling presets as well if you want to check that out
Thanks Steve. My biggest mistakes include dialing in tones at low volume and then playing that tone live ... did not work, extremely harsh.... I also agree on the IR “mistake” although ironically I use mostly IRs nowadays ....
Nothing wrong with them at all! I just feel better suited with stock cabs. We all make these at some point I am sure!
Another great video, Steve. A mistake I made early on was thinking that every preset needed to have an amp and a cab.
Of course Line 6 has designed the amps and cabs to mimic the ones we’d have to use in real life, but each Helix block in a preset is really only an electronic modification of the input signal. So - I’ve got one amazing preset for my Les Paul that has no speaker in it at all.
The Helix actually lets you be like the Beatles as they started getting into recording production - “Hey! I wonder what this knob does!”
Thanks again for a great video
People forget some of the greatest tones of all time were just direct to a board! No right or wrong was as long as there is good results
I made this "mistake" recently when bypassing my amp block to run into the front of my amp, only to realize the cab/IR block was still engaged lol It sounded great.
Steve Sterlacci - I believe the lead fuzz guitar on the Beatles’ Revolution was straight into the board
@@StephenSpelman yup! Almost always with those gnarly fuzz tones
I must confess that I don't use Cabs at all. I think that the 12" speaker is just a historic thing and a gigantic (useless) low pas filter that ads....mud. I dont like mud :-)
Yes I just bought a Helix LT and it really does sound like crap....but now by watching this video I understand a lot better on what to do....thank you for sharing your info....🤟😎🤟....and always remember....Nunca pare la Musica...
Glad I could help!
Great list. The big issue I have is making tones that sound good at home, but once I crank it up at rehearsal, it sounds like ass. Seems like it has to do mostly with the cab and mic (as others here have mentioned), and eq block. My newest patch sounds good in headphones so hopefully it’ll sound good at next practice 🤞
Thats definitely a growing pain when getting used to this stuff. I always dial in dark just to be safe. My ears have now adjusted to what will translate
What we need here is...
More JESSICA JESSICA JESSICA!!! 😍
I siad the same thing on Jessica's page about More STEVE!!! Haha!!
I think I gotta smile out of her! lol
Thanks Steve, you've helped open up the Helix to me and I've gotten far more use out it from your videos and tutorials.
Thanks buddy!
Best always! ✌🏼
I needed a speaker solution for my Helix, so I bought an inexpensive Column Line Array from Amazon. The result? it sounds AMAZING!!!! Total cost $250!
Very cool! Maybe i will check that out
Thank you Steve for the video, great tips! Please allow me to give some advise here....It's taken me 4 years to get the pro tone I'm looking for on this Helix Stomp box and checkout the Blue Sky 100watt powered monitor/mains absolutely amazing studio tones with them. I'm purchasing me 2 more of them they're expensive but you get what you pay for of course. Guys try the 2 X12 Double C12N cab on the HX Stomp or Helix its kickass cab and no IR needed! For metal or rock lead tones only go up to 3.0 on your presence, for metal rhythm go to 7.0 on your presence, the presence takes part of your guitar signal and it re-routes it back through your pre-amp thus it boosts all your high gain distortion/saturation, if you (set your presence on 3.0 for lead tones) you'll realize you can have the gain up higher with better tone and clarity. Also don't for get when you set your low cut and high cut in your cab settings thus then the other effects pedals you add have to be matched if they have low cut and high cut. For example I set low cut on 80hz and high cut on 6.9kHz so I set exact same setting with my Room reverb low and high cut to match.
Great vid, good advice. Thank you : )
re. stock Helix cabs; I think it could also be useful to read up on how the different available microphones work, their pros and cons, mic placement etc
Seem to remember Warren Huart did a couple of good vids on this topic.
Great advice! Mic knowledge definitely helps. Experimentation as well
Great tips. If I had done a video on this concept before you, my tips would have been very similar. And like you, I too made almost ALL these mistakes when I started gigging 25 years ago with my first modeler (POD Pro rack). And it took a pro DRUMMER friend of mine in another band, who would come see us play live, to slap me in the face during our first set break and tell me I had WAY too much low end and WAY too much gain dialed in, and it sounded like a "hairdryer" to the audience. I, of course, fought him on this (because what would a stupid drummer know about guitar tones, right?), but I reluctantly agreed to let him re-EQ and re-gain my rig before the next set (pulling the low end and gain WAY back). And no shock at all, our 2nd set sounded remarkably better, and HEAVIER. Counter-intuitive to me at the time, but I saved that preset with his tweaks literally onstage, and have never looked back conceptually. Great vid!
Great story! Thank you for sharing. Glad we are not alone 😉🙃
many things in audio are so counter-intuitive. i love that bc i lack intuitivity and that makes me sub average in tasks where that helps but genius in tasks that afford to think against intuition.
Some drummers have great ears. I played with two drummers with remarkable ears. They both were also outstanding drummers...so I guess kind of consider everyone's advice?
Well said!
Thanks for watching!
My biggest mistake was to use FRFR to dial in my sound. I was compensating for the Headrush's bassy sound, and as a result my sound was very brittle and high-pitched when I plugged it into the line at a gig.
Definitely been there!!!
My mistake...trying to use the Helix and Pod Go with a power amp and real cabinet. It sounds ok I guess when using the peramps, but then I recently ran these units through a couple of JBL 305mk2 Studio Monitors and it opened up a whole new world. I just ordered a Line 6 112 Poweramp for that bigger sound. But I highly recommend the JBL 305mk2 speakers for anyone on a budged, they sound great with the Helix or Pod Go.
Awesome! Great tip