Line 6 Helix

timmysoft

gibsongretschfan said:

timmysoft said:

Stevepage said:

Finally got to use my Helix LT into a PA tonight. Really pleased with what I was hearing, so much so I'm going to sell my pedals and amp.

I have a question for those of you using your Helix into the PA. How do you monitor yourself, use the venues monitors of your own PA speaker/frfr? 

How easy and affordable would it be to use in ear monitoring?

I was blown away the first time i went into a big PA too, it genuinely does sound like all those brilliant well mixed live tones that big bands have at big venues.

I've been using the venue monitoring, if i'm going light and compact then i don't want to be carrying a monitor, because then i might swell be carrying an amp. I do have wired in ears (HearWave custom moulds) which i do sometimes plug into the headphone out, but being in a single guitar band i don't ever really have a problem hearing myself. The helix headphone amp has more than enough power with good IEMs.

When using IEM's straight from Helix do you only have guitar in them?

Yes, although I could always run my guitar through path A and my vocal through path B. I don’t want to hear me singing though, it’s horrible! 

nickp

gibsongretschfan said:

nickp said:

Posted by a mate on facebook - sadly my playing is about 2% of his......but one reason why he plays a helix (and uses a variax).  But bleedin ell


Today was band call panto  and while panto is rarely as intense as a 'proper' musical I've had several of my own skills tested today.

Those required included sight reading of eight brand new notation/chord chart scores (7 flats for two of the pieces key signatures; every time a G or C was seen, it's flattened), sight reading tricky new unison piano or orchestral lines at tempo (watch the Cb notes!), changing electric guitar sounds often a few times in the same bar (4 bars duration to change guitars, three occurrences), loads of tempo changes both live and from the click track driven audio (watch the Musical Director like a hawk for these when I could afford to get my head out of the score), transposing at sight parts up/down an octave, up a second and up a minor third than written, reading/sight reading in bass clef (I'm playing nylon/acoustic/electric/bass via two guitars and a Helix pedal)
 
All this occurred in a room with the director, full cast and tech crew; around 40 people all in.

This is the first and last try out. 

Thursday will see one full dress rehearsal in the afternoon, a few show notes discussed and then that's it; first show that evening.

I say all this not to highlight how unique/demanding some professional situations are (today is quite normal and to be expected when working in musical theatre)....

Changing guitar sounds a few times in the same bar? 

probably using the variax i guess

nickp

Quick questions:

time's been limited with the helix due to work but I've got it set up with a basic pedalboard 4cm into the blackstar head with few problems.  might use it at rehearsal tonight.

whan people say gain block before an amp what do you mean?  is it just something like a TS or similar with no/low gain but volume boost or something else?

Generally the sound seems pretty bright (but it could be my living room!!) - certainly the PRS sounds really bright and a bit harsh - which I think is down to the lack of pedals between it and the amp so i've got more high's in there than previously. I prefer the sound of the lester anyway   So i'm probably going to cut some highs before I use it.

when you put in an EQ at the end of the signal chain to do low and high cuts would you use a graphic eq or just the low/high cut block?

Should I anticipate putting any mid boost in there in terms of a general EQ just because I'm using the helix rather than pedals or am I wrong ?

ta muchly

gibsongretschfan

nickp said:

Quick questions:

time's been limited with the helix due to work but I've got it set up with a basic pedalboard 4cm into the blackstar head with few problems.  might use it at rehearsal tonight.

whan people say gain block before an amp what do you mean?  is it just something like a TS or similar with no/low gain but volume boost or something else?

Generally the sound seems pretty bright (but it could be my living room!!) - certainly the PRS sounds really bright and a bit harsh - which I think is down to the lack of pedals between it and the amp so i've got more high's in there than previously. I prefer the sound of the lester anyway   So i'm probably going to cut some highs before I use it.

when you put in an EQ at the end of the signal chain to do low and high cuts would you use a graphic eq or just the low/high cut block?

Should I anticipate putting any mid boost in there in terms of a general EQ just because I'm using the helix rather than pedals or am I wrong ?

ta muchly

Set up 4cm without any effects loaded up at all (not even turned off, just not there, completely blank) does it still sound brighter than straight into your amp without any pedals?

If so then make sure you have the loops set to instrument level and then possibly think about adjusting the input impedance until you get a match with your amp.

The level of signal hitting your amp will effect how bright it sounds. If there is a slightly hotter signal it won't appear louder, just brighter.

once you're happy your getting the same sound with and without Helix, which you should be, then start adding things

you shouldn't need to use a hi low cut when using an actual guitar speaker. This is only really necessary for going direct using the inbuilt cabs or IR's as the mic used to capture the speaker also captures a lot of frequencies higher than the guitar speaker actually puts out which need removed. Your guitar speaker is a hi low cut in essence 

nickp

thanks @gibsongretschfan .  didn't take it in the end.  I'l take it in January one i've played with it a bit more I think and tried what you suggest.

over xmas I'm going to try also going direct into the poweram section of the blackstar with some amp models

gibsongretschfan

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

Cabicular

gibsongretschfan said:

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

My input board burned out as well
a few people reported similar issues
fixed under warranty but not good

gibsongretschfan

Cabicular said:

gibsongretschfan said:

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

My input board burned out as well
a few people reported similar issues
fixed under warranty but not good

Yeah I remember it being a problem a while back

with my random collection of bits and bobs around the house I can't find anyway of making this acoustic work with any sort of mute function away from the desk for tonight's gig which is a must as I'm playing keys too.

The only phantom power supplies I can pickup in Glasgow are about £60 and it's just not worth it when you can get something more appropriate online for about £15 (obviously I need to wait for delivery which isn't much use tonight)

I recently got a new MacBook as my old trusty 2012 got parted from me but now I can't use my Focusrite audio interface because of  bye bye FireWire hello USB C

gibsongretschfan

I could probably pick up a little mixer for about £40 but can I really be arsed at this point

Cabicular

gibsongretschfan said:

Cabicular said:

gibsongretschfan said:

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

My input board burned out as well
a few people reported similar issues
fixed under warranty but not good

Yeah I remember it being a problem a while back

with my random collection of bits and bobs around the house I can't find anyway of making this acoustic work with any sort of mute function away from the desk for tonight's gig which is a must as I'm playing keys too.

The only phantom power supplies I can pickup in Glasgow are about £60 and it's just not worth it when you can get something more appropriate online for about £15 (obviously I need to wait for delivery which isn't much use tonight)

I recently got a new MacBook as my old trusty 2012 got parted from me but now I can't use my Focusrite audio interface because of  bye bye FireWire hello USB C

Why can’t you go in via the aux input?

John_A

gibsongretschfan said:

Cabicular said:

gibsongretschfan said:

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

My input board burned out as well
a few people reported similar issues
fixed under warranty but not good

Yeah I remember it being a problem a while back

with my random collection of bits and bobs around the house I can't find anyway of making this acoustic work with any sort of mute function away from the desk for tonight's gig which is a must as I'm playing keys too.

The only phantom power supplies I can pickup in Glasgow are about £60 and it's just not worth it when you can get something more appropriate online for about £15 (obviously I need to wait for delivery which isn't much use tonight)

I recently got a new MacBook as my old trusty 2012 got parted from me but now I can't use my Focusrite audio interface because of  bye bye FireWire hello USB C

Fo a mute function any true bypass pedal without a battery?

gibsongretschfan

Cabicular said:

gibsongretschfan said:

Cabicular said:

gibsongretschfan said:

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

My input board burned out as well
a few people reported similar issues
fixed under warranty but not good

Yeah I remember it being a problem a while back

with my random collection of bits and bobs around the house I can't find anyway of making this acoustic work with any sort of mute function away from the desk for tonight's gig which is a must as I'm playing keys too.

The only phantom power supplies I can pickup in Glasgow are about £60 and it's just not worth it when you can get something more appropriate online for about £15 (obviously I need to wait for delivery which isn't much use tonight)

I recently got a new MacBook as my old trusty 2012 got parted from me but now I can't use my Focusrite audio interface because of  bye bye FireWire hello USB C

Why can’t you go in via the aux input?

The pickup in my acoustic runs on phantom power... which seemed like a good idea at the time. It only got installed this week and intended on getting a seperate power supply for it anyway but I was intending to run it through Helix this weekend regardless

gibsongretschfan

John_A said:

gibsongretschfan said:

Cabicular said:

gibsongretschfan said:

My MIC input has either died completely or at least the phantom power. I wonder if it's to do with the previously mentioned headphone out problem.

Not so good considering I needed it for my acoustic for tonight's gig. Now going straight into the desk but have no mute, volume pedal or tuner

My input board burned out as well
a few people reported similar issues
fixed under warranty but not good

Yeah I remember it being a problem a while back

with my random collection of bits and bobs around the house I can't find anyway of making this acoustic work with any sort of mute function away from the desk for tonight's gig which is a must as I'm playing keys too.

The only phantom power supplies I can pickup in Glasgow are about £60 and it's just not worth it when you can get something more appropriate online for about £15 (obviously I need to wait for delivery which isn't much use tonight)

I recently got a new MacBook as my old trusty 2012 got parted from me but now I can't use my Focusrite audio interface because of  bye bye FireWire hello USB C

Fo a mute function any true bypass pedal without a battery?

Yeah sorry forgot to mention the guitar pickup runs on phantom power so anything I stick between it and the mixer will KO that

jeztone2

Well I bit the bullet. Sold off my pedalboard and bought a Helix LT.

Im planning on using it with my amp and just using it for FX. But even running it into my Blackstar Artisan on clean. There are some suprisingly good sounds. 

gibsongretschfan

jeztone2 said:

Well I bit the bullet. Sold off my pedalboard and bought a Helix LT.

Im planning on using it with my amp and just using it for FX. But even running it into my Blackstar Artisan on clean. There are some suprisingly good sounds. 

One of us. One of us. One of us

Wazmeister

gibsongretschfan said:

jeztone2 said:

Well I bit the bullet. Sold off my pedalboard and bought a Helix LT.

Im planning on using it with my amp and just using it for FX. But even running it into my Blackstar Artisan on clean. There are some suprisingly good sounds. 

One of us. One of us. One of us

Worryingly, I am now one too... Helix Floor arrived from the lovely people at Coda Music.

Im starting with the Jason whatshisname settings

gibsongretschfan

Wazmeister said:

gibsongretschfan said:

jeztone2 said:

Well I bit the bullet. Sold off my pedalboard and bought a Helix LT.

Im planning on using it with my amp and just using it for FX. But even running it into my Blackstar Artisan on clean. There are some suprisingly good sounds. 

One of us. One of us. One of us

Worryingly, I am now one too... Helix Floor arrived from the lovely people at Coda Music.

Im starting with the Jason whatshisname settings

Does this mean I need to to buy a Kemper again because I'm skint and the missus would make me sleep with the dog if I did

ps. Keep hearing people talk about that Jason guys "method" so went to check him out and realised that I'd seen him before but thought he was that Fremen guy that makes the patch bundles!

i do like his eq settings before the compressor so was worth a watch

nickp

+1 to jason sadite vids.  really helpful about a lorra lorra stuff

kennedydream1980

For the guys using or planning to use their Helix in a cover band situation, here is a link to my cover band preset. It’s took me around 6 months to get to the point where I am really happy with the tone.

The preset is based off Richie Castellanos Axis Clean and Axis Placater presets but adapted by me to be Stereo and to have various bread and butter effects dialled in to cover a wide range of material.

This is a 4 snapshot Stereo preset which goes from clean, crunch, overdrive and lead. The bottom row of buttons changes snapshots, the top row switch in the HBE channel on the Placater amp, chorus, delay and volume boost. Hitting the mode button also gives you access to Tremolo, Flanger (Andy Summers style) and a slap back delay.

The preset has been dialled in using a specific IR from ownhammer which can be found here:

https://www.ownhammer.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=176&products_id=389&fbclid=IwAR1wYXbBATZ55ymV8GlNk1sKq3-o7Bcun51x3UBWXrBOC18NRfWbRTt19NE

The specific IR used is:

OH 412 RECTO CB-NEO 7B-10

This preset has been dialled in for gig volume situations, so it may sound dark to some at lower volumes. 

Here is a link to the preset on Custom Tone:

https://uk.line6.com/customtone/profile/kennedydream/?fbclid=IwAR0As42FrFbW1qH2jjWVi-lZw-8NzFpdHoEEJozik45ZYDmboQP96ISIYFw

Vaiai

Can someone point to a specific Jason Sadites vid as I am using Michael Britt presets but interested to see what Jason't tricks are as I moved from using it in an amp with real cab to using it in the Laney LFR in the last few weeks but I need to tweak it a bit as it's very different from my 1x12 cab.
The Britt presets are all set up for use direct to PA (which I do at rehearsal) but live I used an amp on stage and went in FX return. Now with the Laney it's just a single cable and it's FRFR so different response and sound

EDIT: Is it this series? Anyone got a synopsis