Being a 15 year old guitarist who just got his first job, therefore just got a helix, and is just trying to figure out how to sound great for his church band I am so freaking glad I found this channel
That's about when I started, too. 33 years later, I'm still learning. The modelers are so astonishing nowadays that we've truly reached a tone singularity. Even the most trained ears would have trouble picking out the mic'ed cab versus a well-dialed Helix, especially amongst a mix. Good luck on the Path and always be true to yourself!
Phenomenally helpful visual explanation of where things “live”. Having trouble finding videos that give a good starting point for specific frequencies to tailor to get certain sounds - obviously highly subjective - but it would be good to have a frame of reference for where to start to get good cleans, rock, metal, etc. I have never seen a video like this before, very well done!
You make great vids. I don’t own a helix, but I subscribed after seeing your video on loving the stock cabs. It’s great when smart people get a hold of things. This video is great too. It explains all kinds of shenanigans. It’s certainly part of why distortion presets on multi effects pedals rarely sound good when auditioning the sounds in a void. It explains the mid shift button on some amps, which I always just called the “sounds like crap” button. It explains why people share patches that don’t sound great when you audition them and you wonder what they were thinking. Certainly not every bad sound is “it’s too mid heavy to use alone but sounds good in a mix,” but an awful lot of them are. I’m not a gigging guitarist. I goof around in (my own) basement. When I get drafted for live performance (high school musicals), I have to change everything, and usually when I dial in a sound that I hate, it works great with the band lol. It doesn’t help that I used to play tuba professionally, so I’m a big fan of bass frequencies and I like everything, even distortion, to sound smooth and round. In a mix that translates into “I can’t hear the attack. It’s quiet and muddy.”
I know this is old now- but really good info! I play both live and practice a ton at home- I've been using my Boss 100W Katana more often then not because it' gets really good and pleasing tone and it soooo close to my crazy heavy and too loud tube amps (11 vintage ones) - but I've found that the tube amps ALWAYS cut through a band mix so much better then the Katana- and it was because of the mid frequencies on the Katana that sound so good at low volumes at home by being scooped were just not there when I go from .5 watts to 50 or 100 watts live. So I put together a A set of 4 tones and a B set of four tones (since it has a/b banks and four channels on each) and my A tones are for home- my B tones are the same patches with the mids boosted and some treble and presence dialed in differently (I don't like ice pick tone at live gigs- neither does the audience). The live tones sound terrible isolated at home- but the minute I put on a backing track- even at home- to play to- suddenly the live tones are spot on again! Crazy how different the two tones have to be to be pleasing in both situations.
Wow this is great info! I run a Plexitube pedal as my main drive, which has presets specifically for mid scoops. Of course I had it set that way because it sounds so good when I’m by myself dialing in tone. With the group, my sound gets lost. Now I know what I gotta do to fix it. Thanks!!
Great video, now i know why my great tone through the headphones sucks live, learn to love the mids ! It's all about cutting through, keep up the good work
Until now I had 2 ways of boosting: 1. Add another TS9 on top of my chain 2. Add flat 4 DB plus at the end of my chain I understand now why both felt akward in live situations. Thanks a lot for taking the effort to explain this.
I will tell you that a tube screamer, with the treble up and the gain down can help tighten and focus a sound by whacking off the bottom end that gobbles up a lot of power in an amp. In some situations it does sound Gawd awful though. Happy guitaring!
That's a hard one. In many ways, the best clean tone for cutting through is rarely all that clean. The other part is if you want the transient popping through like a dolphin fin popping over the water line or you want the whole note heard. My head is spinning just thinking about it!
It's hard to get my mind around 1) Fletcher Munson EQ block to tweak your patch for higher volumes, 2) whether cutting through the mix requires more highs that you may not like at home, or if it's really more mids and 3) how all of this is affected by Helix global EQ ( low cut 100hz, high cut 10khz ) or venue Mixer low cut at 130 hz
Burnhaven the fletcher Munson eq really is about hearing detail clearly, not volume per se. I mean perceived volume, yeah, but not decibels. The smiley face eq makes a great overall full clear sound. The problem is that the top and bottom end of the guitar are going to get buried anyway by the drums. So a less pleasing mid heavy sound is heard more clearly in most band settings. Mileage may vary if you’re not playing with loud drums and a bass player. I don’t know about the helix low cut, but I assume some sound is coming out lower than 100 hz or you wouldn’t hear low E F or G at all. As far as the high highs, he made it clear that they sometimes have a pleasing interplay with the cymbals. He didn’t really emphasize them as how the guitar gets heard. At least that was my take on it...
Your sample riff sounds kind of like the Beavis and Butthead jingle, but fueled by a couple of shots and a couple of beers. It's like, pretty cool n stuff...
Being a 15 year old guitarist who just got his first job, therefore just got a helix, and is just trying to figure out how to sound great for his church band
I am so freaking glad I found this channel
I am learning just like you! glad to share the experience
That's about when I started, too. 33 years later, I'm still learning. The modelers are so astonishing nowadays that we've truly reached a tone singularity. Even the most trained ears would have trouble picking out the mic'ed cab versus a well-dialed Helix, especially amongst a mix. Good luck on the Path and always be true to yourself!
Finally, I understood that debate based on a realistic ideas!
Thanks man for this valuable information.
"The Shocker" got my like instantly.
If just one person gets it - it's worth it to me
AKA The Stinky Pinky
This is ridiculously great info man! Well done!
Thanks a lot
Phenomenally helpful visual explanation of where things “live”. Having trouble finding videos that give a good starting point for specific frequencies to tailor to get certain sounds - obviously highly subjective - but it would be good to have a frame of reference for where to start to get good cleans, rock, metal, etc. I have never seen a video like this before, very well done!
Fantastic visual presentation!
You make great vids. I don’t own a helix, but I subscribed after seeing your video on loving the stock cabs. It’s great when smart people get a hold of things. This video is great too. It explains all kinds of shenanigans. It’s certainly part of why distortion presets on multi effects pedals rarely sound good when auditioning the sounds in a void. It explains the mid shift button on some amps, which I always just called the “sounds like crap” button. It explains why people share patches that don’t sound great when you audition them and you wonder what they were thinking. Certainly not every bad sound is “it’s too mid heavy to use alone but sounds good in a mix,” but an awful lot of them are. I’m not a gigging guitarist. I goof around in (my own) basement. When I get drafted for live performance (high school musicals), I have to change everything, and usually when I dial in a sound that I hate, it works great with the band lol. It doesn’t help that I used to play tuba professionally, so I’m a big fan of bass frequencies and I like everything, even distortion, to sound smooth and round. In a mix that translates into “I can’t hear the attack. It’s quiet and muddy.”
Gordon Roberts I really appreciate your thoughtful reply. Rock on!
I know this is old now- but really good info! I play both live and practice a ton at home- I've been using my Boss 100W Katana more often then not because it' gets really good and pleasing tone and it soooo close to my crazy heavy and too loud tube amps (11 vintage ones) - but I've found that the tube amps ALWAYS cut through a band mix so much better then the Katana- and it was because of the mid frequencies on the Katana that sound so good at low volumes at home by being scooped were just not there when I go from .5 watts to 50 or 100 watts live. So I put together a A set of 4 tones and a B set of four tones (since it has a/b banks and four channels on each) and my A tones are for home- my B tones are the same patches with the mids boosted and some treble and presence dialed in differently (I don't like ice pick tone at live gigs- neither does the audience). The live tones sound terrible isolated at home- but the minute I put on a backing track- even at home- to play to- suddenly the live tones are spot on again! Crazy how different the two tones have to be to be pleasing in both situations.
You got it, man!
Wow this is great info! I run a Plexitube pedal as my main drive, which has presets specifically for mid scoops. Of course I had it set that way because it sounds so good when I’m by myself dialing in tone. With the group, my sound gets lost. Now I know what I gotta do to fix it. Thanks!!
So informative and helpful,keep it up!
Thanks for sharing this man, very informative
Great video, now i know why my great tone through the headphones sucks live, learn to love the mids ! It's all about cutting through, keep up the good work
Until now I had 2 ways of boosting:
1. Add another TS9 on top of my chain
2. Add flat 4 DB plus at the end of my chain
I understand now why both felt akward in live situations.
Thanks a lot for taking the effort to explain this.
I will tell you that a tube screamer, with the treble up and the gain down can help tighten and focus a sound by whacking off the bottom end that gobbles up a lot of power in an amp. In some situations it does sound Gawd awful though. Happy guitaring!
Great video and amazing subtle humour
awesome video. thanks
Great job showing the waterfall ! It helps a lot
Great video man!
Nice job! Thank you👍🏻
What a great vid, cheers mate!
Wow! Quite unique.
Very cool! Can you make this exact video but with a clean guitar tone?
That's a hard one. In many ways, the best clean tone for cutting through is rarely all that clean. The other part is if you want the transient popping through like a dolphin fin popping over the water line or you want the whole note heard. My head is spinning just thinking about it!
@@misterguitargeek Much appreciated! Don't hurt your head. Keep doing what you're doing.
Amazing vid! WOW!
Great vid!
It's hard to get my mind around 1) Fletcher Munson EQ block to tweak your patch for higher volumes, 2) whether cutting through the mix requires more highs that you may not like at home, or if it's really more mids and 3) how all of this is affected by Helix global EQ ( low cut 100hz, high cut 10khz ) or venue Mixer low cut at 130 hz
Burnhaven the fletcher Munson eq really is about hearing detail clearly, not volume per se. I mean perceived volume, yeah, but not decibels. The smiley face eq makes a great overall full clear sound. The problem is that the top and bottom end of the guitar are going to get buried anyway by the drums. So a less pleasing mid heavy sound is heard more clearly in most band settings. Mileage may vary if you’re not playing with loud drums and a bass player. I don’t know about the helix low cut, but I assume some sound is coming out lower than 100 hz or you wouldn’t hear low E F or G at all. As far as the high highs, he made it clear that they sometimes have a pleasing interplay with the cymbals. He didn’t really emphasize them as how the guitar gets heard. At least that was my take on it...
Your sample riff sounds kind of like the Beavis and Butthead jingle, but fueled by a couple of shots and a couple of beers.
It's like, pretty cool n stuff...
Gold
awesome
good video
line6 haters incoming!
if someone starts singing in the mix you need to take out the mids from the guitar IMO
Damn. That’s why I’m deaf. I stand 6 inches from a cranked 100 watt.
You can't get it back dude and it's never too late to start protecting yourself
The Guitar Geek yes. Protection will always prevent unneeded mistakes😋