Using modelling has made me weird

ICBM

Cabicular said:

It may just not suit the way I play.
With a traditional setup I get the volume of the amp to the top end of where it needs to be. Maybe even a bit louder than it should be and then back my playing off so that when I do dig in it is loud enough but I can quite it down when the singing starts
Sounds like you do a similar thing

Yes, exactly. Sounds like I would definitely need to try the THR at band volume before committing to one then...

Beexter

peteri said:

I think to echo what others have said, that this was one of the biggest disappointments for me in the previous generation of modellers (HD etc) - when I tried the Helix there were two things I focussed on:

1. How the pedals interact - ok it sounds like a Tubescreamer, but does it impact the next pedal/amp in a way I'd expect a TS9 to? And the answer was always no

2. How are the dynamics of the amp? Can I change drive with my technique and my guitars volume. Again the answer was always, a bit.

I don't have a Helix, but my take on the current generation is that's the problem they've solved. I owned every previous iteration of Line 6 products and sold each one - for the two points above and also that to a greater or lessor degree they masked the character of my guitar.

Sounds like you've got the same, the modeller has masked gain structuring - as I remember they did. So you had an amp set with a load of headroom and then you stuck an overdrive in front of it with a volume boost - so it got louder.

I think you (me) often forget about gain structuring in modellers.

A valve amp doesn't need to react as you describe, but it will if it's not compressing. All amplifiers do the same thing.

  I haven't tried the Helix but do own an AX8 and what I have found is that the dynamics are very, very good but what I am really impressed by is the way that the different amp models react - some are much more dynamic than others, just as they would be in the real world. This to me is really indicative of the quality and accuracy of the latest modellers.

In real amp world, I have an Orange Rocker 30 and a Mesa Express 5.25+ and the playing experience and dynamics are quite different. If you set both amps up to just beyond edge of breakup, rolling back the guitar volume results in a much bigger volume drop on the Orange compared to the Mesa. 
They both clean up but the Mesa seems to keep the volume a little more constant. The Orange feels a lot more direct, whereas the Mesa feels a bit softer. 

I've had POD's, Digitech RP500, Zoom modellers and the AX8 has been the first time where I have noticed a tangible difference in feel and dynamics between amp models.