Just bought Helix...

[Hank-]

Re: Just bought Helix...

I think some of the free ones from dedicated brands like ownhammer & stuff are really good to start. I forgot if Celestion was giving away a free sample earlier this year but there was talk about it being very good. Fractal had IR packs available separately or something for sale I think, or they replaced the stock ones with those in firmware updates.

Its another rabbit hole of tweaking though, worth it with the paid ones out there I guess but with the user submitted ones it can take hours wasted auditioning each. They probably sound different with different amp models too, thus more time spent.

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Just bought Helix...

The whole IR thing is something I know nothing about. Sometimes I grow weary of the need to learn new things but the pursuit of tone always rules.

I have to say that when you switch to the Altos satisfaction with your purchase will skyrocket. The tone quality achieved by bi-passing a guitar amp's pre-amp stage only hints at how great your modeler can sound.

The only thing I haven't been able to do to my satisfaction with the AX8 is achieve a great clean tone at low volume, and maybe that's just because the speakers need to be pushed a bit more to get in the zone. IDK ... also, I have done no deep tweaking.

By the way, congratulations on your purchase!

Thanks man!

Our other guitarist bought the Altos just about a week ago. They sound ridiculously good in our rehearsal space. I already love them even if I don't have them myself.

I've noticed too that clean patches have to have a bit of volume behind to get the grip of the dynamics. They always tend to sound really sterile with a very low volume.

You might already know this about the IRs but I'll give it a brief go if someone else is interested Someone can correct me if I'm wrong:

All the cabinet modelling blocks in Axe and Helix (and whatever modeler you take nowadays) are basically a certain kind of IR. However, what for example Ownhammer, Celestion & Redwirez do is that they the concept a bit further by making several IRs of one cabinet. In a package you get around a couple of hundred IRs per cabinet including already blended combinations of several IRs named as Mixes or Quick Start. In the IRs they define the distance from the speaker and the type of the microphone used. So if you buy a package from Ownhammer that has a Bogner cabinet for example one of the impulses could look like this: 412 BOG-ST 421-07. So in this sample they have made an IR where the mic is Sennheiser 421 recorded 7 inches from the speaker and the cabinet used is Bogner Standard 4x12.

The biggest problem with the IRs in my opinion is to try to find the best ones for your use. And that requires a looooot of testing and tweaking But nothing really special about them, they are just cabinet models basically

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Just bought Helix...

The whole IR thing is something I know nothing about. Sometimes I grow weary of the need to learn new things but the pursuit of tone always rules.

I have to say that when you switch to the Altos satisfaction with your purchase will skyrocket. The tone quality achieved by bi-passing a guitar amp's pre-amp stage only hints at how great your modeler can sound.

The only thing I haven't been able to do to my satisfaction with the AX8 is achieve a great clean tone at low volume, and maybe that's just because the speakers need to be pushed a bit more to get in the zone. IDK ... also, I have done no deep tweaking.

By the way, congratulations on your purchase!

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Just bought Helix...

The Helix is amazing.

There is a great Facebook page for getting ideas and getting questions answered. Some of the Line6 guys are members as well.

The group is amazing! I was there even before I got the Helix myself So much good advice and tips.

[LesStrat]

Re: Just bought Helix...

The Helix is amazing.

There is a great Facebook page for getting ideas and getting questions answered. Some of the Line6 guys are members as well.

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Just bought Helix...

After discovering these better IRs the modelling hasn't been the same for me. In a really really good way.

[Mincer]

Re: Just bought Helix...

IRs can radically change the sound of the amp model. There are literally thousands of free ones out there, too...troll the modeling forums.

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Yeah, and that is not the absolute truth even (testing out in the store) because third party impulses such as Ownhammer make the Helix soooooo much better. Fractal products too, ofc.

[Mincer]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Yeah I am looking at the Line6 wireless units for mine...either the G30 or G10 (I dig that it is rechargeable). But most people who buy things like a Helix, buy it on faith (I bought my Fractal that way). There are so many options on them, that it is hard to just try out in a store.

[risingforce]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Going to buy the G10 relay too for wireless operation.

I forgot to state that I'm using G50 Relay

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Good decision. After many years I'm fed up to manage tons of cables and pedals. I have both Helix and AX8 ( as a backup ).

Exactly this. Problem solving, managing your rig and exploring sounds has never been easier. Going to buy the G10 relay too for wireless operation.

[risingforce]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Good decision. After many years I'm fed up to manage tons of cables and pedals. I have both Helix and AX8 ( as a backup ). I started to sell my pedals to have Kemper also

By the way... TECH 21 Brit is also good...

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Yeah, I could've tried it before I bought it in my local dealer (also the distributor in Finland) but I had already heard it in action by our other guitarist.

Thanks Dante! Yeah, mine is the LT, didn't find use for the extras in the regular version. Right now I play it through DV Mark 250GH (fx return) and DV Mark Neoclassic 212. Switching to the Altos soon, though

[CodeDante]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Congrats on the purchase. Is it the lt or the full helix? Also what do you play it through?

[mantis]

Re: Just bought Helix...

Do you just buy these on faith or does your local dealer have them where you can try before you buy?
I would love to check out a Helix or AXE FX but no one ever has one in stock to try out. I hate that.

But on the flip side I gotta agree with you guys on the timing to play, I have a Boss ES-5 and want to get a ES-8 and Man I love that thing. I had a Boss GT100 prior and I liked it but never thought it was top notch in sound quality so I went back to pedals