Best Helix Solution for Home

Heartfeltdawn

GT40 would work but I'd be concerned about using the Aux input as it's a 1/8" input and so suitable adapter plugs would be needed if using the 1/4" outs from the LT. The new GTX amps could be a possibility but stereo would be much more expensive than the JC-22. 

For some time I used a JC-120 as a powered cabinet. Pedals and a preamp out front on the board and then an ABY splitter going direct into the power amps. Absolutely loved that setup, sold it when I moved house, but then did the same with two Peavey Bandits. There's no way I could have either of those rigs in this place so the JC-22 on size alone would fit. 

Going by the manual signal path, simply take stereo outs from the LT, go direct into the amp's effect loop, bypass the preamp and the EQ, and you still get the amp's reverb and chorus. For a jangly Smiths boy like me, on paper it sounds perfect. 

@guitargeek62 Really not sure how it'd do the heavier tones but the same would be true of some of the suggestions for monitors like the iLouds and suchlike. I've got very nice monitors but having a bigger speaker does make a big difference. I've considered new monitors but they'd be more fiddly to set up in the front room as I need something easy to set up and pack away. Having the JC-22 would mean I could keep the LT under the sofa when not used, run the cables out, and have the JC-22 in the corner when I wanted it. 

The JC40 runs 2x 10" speakers. Might be a possibility. 

guitargeek62

That’s fair! Sounds like it would be a cool rig

I’m not sure I really need a stereo rig tbh, although the idea’s nice. I’m leaning towards a good 1x12 cab & power amp still, will sleep on it for another couple of days and go from there - might even order a Zilla!

Heartfeltdawn

guitargeek62 said:

That’s fair! Sounds like it would be a cool rig

I’m not sure I really need a stereo rig tbh, although the idea’s nice. I’m leaning towards a good 1x12 cab & power amp still, will sleep on it for another couple of days and go from there - might even order a Zilla!

....and now I'm down the SS stereo power amp and 2x? cabinet route...

Beexter

Heartfeltdawn said:

guitargeek62 said:

That’s fair! Sounds like it would be a cool rig

I’m not sure I really need a stereo rig tbh, although the idea’s nice. I’m leaning towards a good 1x12 cab & power amp still, will sleep on it for another couple of days and go from there - might even order a Zilla!

....and now I'm down the SS stereo power amp and 2x? cabinet route...

I ended up with 2 x Bluguitar Nanocabs.
Sound alright to me and super convenient, light and easy to move around. Stack them on top of each other or place side by side. You can connect them in parallel, serial or go dual mono/ stereo. Gives me loads of options. I've used them as a 2x12 with an SD170 acting as a poweramp from an HX stomp which worked well. 

guitargeek62

Heartfeltdawn said:

guitargeek62 said:

That’s fair! Sounds like it would be a cool rig

I’m not sure I really need a stereo rig tbh, although the idea’s nice. I’m leaning towards a good 1x12 cab & power amp still, will sleep on it for another couple of days and go from there - might even order a Zilla!

....and now I'm down the SS stereo power amp and 2x? cabinet route...

I ordered one of these earlier and put my enquiry/order in for a Zilla too 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tamp_pm40c_endstufenmodul.htm

It’s not massively powerful (40w @8-ohm) but it should be more than enough for my needs at home, and it can be installed easily inside the cab itself with no trouble at all - there's probably a stereo equivalent out there somewhere!

Heartfeltdawn

What's most annoying me right now is that there's a whole load of PA speakers in the theatre storeroom at work. In a normal scenario, I could go in, borrow a couple of different brands, and see how they work for me at home. Meh. 

The road we're embarking on now: 

-have some free time tonight with the children away for three hours to get the monitors and amplifier out and hooked up to the LT. 

-Have a lead on a Fender Princeton Chorus DSP fairly local to me. Courier delivery. Hoping to get this cheap (sub-£100). It has a stereo effects loop and 2x10" speakers so just about OK for this place. 

-ordering a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro 250 ohm headphones. These plus the amp should be under £250 so £100 saved on buying a JC-22. 

guitargeek62

The Princeton’s likely a good shout - that series were pretty good sounding amps already! Would you be using cab-modelling and IRs still, or bypassing those and just using the amp?

Heartfeltdawn

guitargeek62 said:

The Princeton’s likely a good shout - that series were pretty good sounding amps already! Would you be using cab-modelling and IRs still, or bypassing those and just using the amp?

I'll go straight into the effects loop and bypass the amps' preamps and EQ just as I used to do with my old JC-120s. As the manual says: 

"EFFECTS LOOP STEREO RETURN - This stereo jack inputs signal directly to the left and right power-amps. It automatically disconnects the pre-amp and DSP Effects circuits when used. This is useful when using the Stereo Effects Loop option, or when using the Princeton Chorus DSP as a slave amplifier for a stereo signal source."

Don't think the speakers will be great but it'll be more than good enough for me to tinker about on. The seller is upfront about the reverb being intermittent and needing repair so hopefully I can get this one a bit cheap. The PC DSP apparently gets some hate compared to the all solidstate PC but it should be fine for what I want to do with it. 

I suspect that next year will see a proper pedalboard in action for the first time in ages. Native's got me playing more than I have done for ages and I'm cheering myself up immensely with it. A little board with a Diamond compressor on it, a few drives, HX Stomp or the LT... yeah

FreddieVanHalen

@Heartfeltdawn how do you find the JCs for background hiss? I had a JC40 and whilst I really liked the sounds, at home volumes background hiss really got on my tits.

Just wondering if I had a bad one, or if it's a feature not a bug....

Otherwise I think your idea using some kind of stereo combo like this is a good one.

guitargeek62

Sounds like a good option then

I'm still not 100% decided if I'll keep the HX Floor, or revert to a Stomp + pedals route. Now that I've got the Zilla and power amp on the way though I'll be in a position to try them out properly together and go from there. I'm really liking what I'm hearing already though. I've also got a set of Superlux headphones en route too to give me some basic silent monitoring options to try out as well, separate to the cab option.

Heartfeltdawn

FreddieVanHalen said:

@Heartfeltdawn how do you find the JCs for background hiss? I had a JC40 and whilst I really liked the sounds, at home volumes background hiss really got on my tits.

Just wondering if I had a bad one, or if it's a feature not a bug....

Otherwise I think your idea using some kind of stereo combo like this is a good one.

@FreddieVanHalen I got immune to it. I've had four JC-120s and a JC-60 over the years and I honestly stopped noticing it.

The very first JC-120 I got was on Ebay for £150. Hit BIN and took a chance on it. It turned up wrapped in brown paper and I assumed it was fucked. Turned it on, the hiss was there, and I started worrying. Then I stuck the chorus on, changed the EQ, and jammed along to the Queen is Dead by the Smiths and ended up with a big smile all over my face. 

That JC-120 was a third series so had the Main In inputs that go straight to the power amps. It means you can't use the chorus but it meant I used the amp as a giant stereo power amp platform. Later on I did the same with a couple of Peavey Bandits and used a variety of amps in the middle between the Bandits, everything from Cornells to Laney Lionhearts to Matamps. Two Bandits is a damn sight easier to carry than one JC-120!

Chuffola

I had a JC-22 for a while - purchased from our own Gassage, if I recall - and I don't remember any / much hiss. This drives me mad normally, so I'm sure I would have noticed. 

It would be great basis for a Helix platform and even if you couldn't be arsed getting the Helix out, it sounded fantastic on its own anyway. And if you're a Smiths fan... well, what more do you need really?

John_A

guitargeek62 said:

Heartfeltdawn said:

guitargeek62 said:

That’s fair! Sounds like it would be a cool rig

I’m not sure I really need a stereo rig tbh, although the idea’s nice. I’m leaning towards a good 1x12 cab & power amp still, will sleep on it for another couple of days and go from there - might even order a Zilla!

....and now I'm down the SS stereo power amp and 2x? cabinet route...

I ordered one of these earlier and put my enquiry/order in for a Zilla too 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tamp_pm40c_endstufenmodul.htm

It’s not massively powerful (40w @8-ohm) but it should be more than enough for my needs at home, and it can be installed easily inside the cab itself with no trouble at all - there's probably a stereo equivalent out there somewhere!

Bought one of these ages ago, it was awful.  My little AMT or Magnum 44 sounded much better. And didn’t cost much more

guitargeek62

@John_A that’s a shame! Guess it’lo be going back if so then. What didn’t you like about it?

Heartfeltdawn

Chuffola said:

I had a JC-22 for a while - purchased from our own Gassage, if I recall - and I don't remember any / much hiss. This drives me mad normally, so I'm sure I would have noticed. 

It would be great basis for a Helix platform and even if you couldn't be arsed getting the Helix out, it sounded fantastic on its own anyway. And if you're a Smiths fan... well, what more do you need really?

Oh, I know. I've been all over the place thinking of what to do and how to go about this all. I was very very close to pulling the trigger on the JC-22 and then held back. I'm glad I did as well...

Because of the living situation and the other adult working four days a week in our room during lockdown, I am relegated to half of the lounge table most of the week. It's a pretty horrific situation to have four people stuck in an apartment containing two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a lounge-kitchen but as the old golf saying goes, we play the ball as it lies. Finally I got three child-free hours tonight whilst the small things are away with their feckless father. Out with the gear I come. LT on the floor, guitar out, get the nearfields and a small Denon stereo amp hooked up and away we jangle... 

Oh. The LT isn't even halfway on the volume and the Denon is 30 out of 50 on the power dial and it's filling up the room with sound. This is both lovely and an instant wake-up call: there is no way I'm getting even a JC-22 in here, let alone a 2x10" Princeton Chorus DSP. 

https://i.imgur.com/01Igfvp.png

So it looks like I will have to go down the active monitor route as the passive ones in the picture will be going back into the bedroom. In the meantime, Native and headphones will have to do. 

Heartfeltdawn

Incidentally that view from the balcony is fucking amazing. From the far right you can see the radio transmitter over Croydon, the Shard at London Bridge, the Wembley arch, and then the airport lights of Heathrow when you look left. It's truly nuts and you realise how ruddy flat London is compared to the countryside where I grew up.

Chuffola

I was going to ask where that was!

John_A

guitargeek62 said:

@John_A that’s a shame! Guess it’lo be going back if so then. What didn’t you like about it?

Noisy, not very loud (maybe not an issue) but mostly it just didn’t sound like a guitar power amp, seemed to boost all the wrong frequencies and even through a real cab, came out sounding very thin.  Give it a try though, may work for you.

edit. Selling my tube cake £60 posted with PSU, keeps it if you like it, send it back if you didn’t 

guitargeek62

Fair enough, I’ll see what it’s like when it arrives today. The new cab won’t be here for a bit, but I could wire it into the internal speaker on my Katana temporarily. 

I’d love to get one of The powerstage 170s, but they’re a (little) bit over what I’d planned to spend on this rig. Might be worth the extra though, seemingly!

John_A

guitargeek62 said:

Fair enough, I’ll see what it’s like when it arrives today. The new cab won’t be here for a bit, but I could wire it into the internal speaker on my Katana temporarily. 

I’d love to get one of The powerstage 170s, but they’re a (little) bit over what I’d planned to spend on this rig. Might be worth the extra though, seemingly!

IMO it’s good, but you just be paying for 160W you’d never use, the reason higher pier amps are more expensive is simply it’s more expensive to make one.  As I said, feel free to try them side by side and keep whichever you like best