Over the past year, I've caught myself delving into excessively intricate amp and cab combinations, endlessly adjusting settings for the amp, cab, effects, and more, all in pursuit of a "better sound" on my Helix Floor. It dawned on me a few weeks ago that simplicity was the key, particularly when performing live, for the reason you described. I reverted to a trusty amp combo I had used live for three decades (Fender Twin), a setup I was intimately familiar with, knowing both its operation and the sound it could deliver. Not surprisingly, I quickly achieved a clean platform that complemented pedals seamlessly. I'm content with my tone now, realizing that, after all these years, the unmistakable sound of a Fender is ingrained in my musical DNA. Simple is better for me. YMMV
I bought the Helix because of your videos and after buying your gumroad folder I can happily say that I love them all! Been having a blast with them! Hope all is well with you John! 🔥🔥🎸🎸🤜🤛
Lots of good food for thought here. I particularly agree on your “non-negotiable” statement. Simple becomes more complicated as you learn your Helix….my Helix floor presets frighten the hell out of my friends as they look so complicated. Every foot switch used as well as every snapshot. However, they have come about from lots of live use. They are simple to use for me and I can get everything I need from a few snapshots. It is the “non-negotiables” usually stored as favourites that make it simple: 1. Volume pedal post amp 2. Parametic set up to low shelve and fizz cut 3. Always the same IR 4. Clean/Dirty always assigned to the same footswitch in every preset 5. Have the amp controls as the default screen setting There are others but those 5 matter most
Ya , when you start talking about how you make your presets my eyes glaze over . Im just dipping may foot into Modlling . Ive had the the Pod Go for a few months and I just don’t want to spend a lot of time tweeking the patches. And for me in my situation Ive spent a lot of time matching the right guitar with the pod go . But thanks for the tip on making the patches darker so they don’t sound brittle in a live situation. For me Ive found my American Tele with a hot pickup in the bridge has worked the best for the Pod Go. My HB guitars tend to sound a Little muddy with the Distortion patches. Why you are one of my Favorite RUclipsrs is that you also play in a band. I play live about 3 to 4 times a week normally. Thanks for what you do!
yeah, I have a habit of complicating or changing things and with modern modelers there are so many options I just make things worse and less reliable.... then I start a new with a new preset, add an amp and cab and think "wow, this sounds better".
When I first got my HX Stomp, I felt compelled to using as many blocks as possible to see what it could handle. I ran out of DSP in a few instances, particularly when using a Looper or Pitch Shifting Block. After a while, I started cutting back on the Blocks because I really didn't need them all, and more was not better, just unnecessarily complex. I agree it's generally easier to get better results with just essential Blocks, and knowing them really well.
I will unashamedly say that I am about the sound creation first, music creation second and guitar playing third, but after I've worked on a piece of music for a while, the problems in mixing most often turn out to be the fault of convoluted presets and signal chains. Creating convoluted signal chains get my creative juices flowing though, so I don't know if there's a solution 🤷♂️
Depends on what the preset is for I guess? For home doodling it's great to use up all the blocks in the Helix and have stereo everything twirling around BUT live the Stomp is a wonderful mind concentrator....in a band setting one doesn't want too many FX anyway as if you're not careful your whole sound can get lost behind the rest of the band. Even when playing solo I find it's best to keep it simple as you say, just for when things don't seem to be going as they should be it's much easier to get in and sort it out.
These superb and "simple" settings work very well with single coils and a good Mesaboogie / Electrovoice whose sound is taken and adjusted on a DAW. Try it with somewhat powerful double coils on a FRFR output, it's total distress.
What I get a kick out of is all the Cloudburst/traily kind of stuff. When using that stuff it is neat at home, but would think most of that would be lost in a Mix. It might be ok on a RECORD like VENUS ISLE. Like John doing an instrumental venus would be cool. But LIVE it would be gone in a Mix.
MY BROTHER I RESOLVE ALL SINCE I GOT MY FXIII..... NOT TIME CONSUMING ANY MORE FOR SPECIFIC TONE , SO EASY TO WORK WITH....TIME FOR HILEX TO GO AND WELCOM ANOTER FXIII.
Hi John. As usual excellent intro and thanks for the information. I have been following you for a long time and you know me from my comments. Although I fully agree with most of his ideas, there have been some points in the past where we have disagreed. I ask myself this; If I was going to keep things simple, then why would I buy an advanced guitar processor? I could have solved it with a head amp and a pedal or two the other way around (completely analog). I am detail-oriented and tend to improve the details as I spend time on them. I really put a lot of effort and time into it for a ton. However, the fact that they become garbage in different scenarios (!) destroys my faith in most things, apart from the negative effect, and all this has almost destroyed my desire to play the guitar. Of course, this is not the only reason.
If you streamlined your presets and separated them from single coils and buckers (I use buckers) I would definitely be interested in purchasing some. Your folder just has way too much I won’t use you know. I mainly use my Helix floor for worship but I honestly still love my board build much better.
I'd inquire with L6 about the Bias and Bias X settings. If 50% Bias equals class B push/pull on all the amps, it would have the most crossover distortion and the least even harmonics. 50% Bias X (drift) also seems like a lot of bias drift. I doubt most amps have that much transient squish.
Now that the Stomp is 585 euros, the Stomp XL is 650 euros, device to get might be the Helix LT on the current market? I'm a stomp user and i love it but keep seeing Helix LT second hand for 600-700euros. - Mmmmmmm... BTW, i'm a garageband user and just tasted a bit the Helix Native world. How do you integrate it with reaper? My biggest gripe to the stomp is to not be able to match levels between presets and i'm afraid i need to do this only through HX Edit or Helix Native
To be honest with you.... You are the only person who can answer tha question... So why ask it of us? Very reminicent of typical RUclips click bait BS... You are really great player and I thought you were above that crap?
I think that's probably the case if you only see the odd video, but there's actually quite a bit of variety if you look into it from like the Aaron Marshall Intervals tones, Pat Metheny style jazz tones and so on...It's more that I tend to use the same preset most of the time
I really would prefer you to teach a little bit more lessons, about your playing style, routine practice. I mean, gear videos are fun, but daily videos on presets, modelers, etc can be a little tiring. Cheers!
Over the past year, I've caught myself delving into excessively intricate amp and cab combinations, endlessly adjusting settings for the amp, cab, effects, and more, all in pursuit of a "better sound" on my Helix Floor. It dawned on me a few weeks ago that simplicity was the key, particularly when performing live, for the reason you described. I reverted to a trusty amp combo I had used live for three decades (Fender Twin), a setup I was intimately familiar with, knowing both its operation and the sound it could deliver. Not surprisingly, I quickly achieved a clean platform that complemented pedals seamlessly. I'm content with my tone now, realizing that, after all these years, the unmistakable sound of a Fender is ingrained in my musical DNA. Simple is better for me. YMMV
I bought the Helix because of your videos and after buying your gumroad folder I can happily say that I love them all! Been having a blast with them! Hope all is well with you John! 🔥🔥🎸🎸🤜🤛
Lots of good food for thought here. I particularly agree on your “non-negotiable” statement.
Simple becomes more complicated as you learn your Helix….my Helix floor presets frighten the hell out of my friends as they look so complicated. Every foot switch used as well as every snapshot.
However, they have come about from lots of live use. They are simple to use for me and I can get everything I need from a few snapshots.
It is the “non-negotiables” usually stored as favourites that make it simple:
1. Volume pedal post amp
2. Parametic set up to low shelve and fizz cut
3. Always the same IR
4. Clean/Dirty always assigned to the same footswitch in every preset
5. Have the amp controls as the default screen setting
There are others but those 5 matter most
I learned/copied everything I know and love about Helix from you Cordy! Thanks for the tips and musical trips. God bless.
The depths of your existential struggle with your gear amazes me almost as much as your playing
Ya , when you start talking about how you make your presets my eyes glaze over . Im just dipping may foot into Modlling . Ive had the the Pod Go for a few months and I just don’t want to spend a lot of time tweeking the patches. And for me in my situation Ive spent a lot of time matching the right guitar with the pod go . But thanks for the tip on making the patches darker so they don’t sound brittle in a live situation. For me Ive found my American Tele with a hot pickup in the bridge has worked the best for the Pod Go. My HB guitars tend to sound a Little muddy with the Distortion patches.
Why you are one of my Favorite RUclipsrs is that you also play in a band. I play live about 3 to 4 times a week normally. Thanks for what you do!
Yes that's what I live by. You can do a whole gig with one or two presets. I don't use 12 effects on one preset.
yeah, I have a habit of complicating or changing things and with modern modelers there are so many options I just make things worse and less reliable.... then I start a new with a new preset, add an amp and cab and think "wow, this sounds better".
When I first got my HX Stomp, I felt compelled to using as many blocks as possible to see what it could handle. I ran out of DSP in a few instances, particularly when using a Looper or Pitch Shifting Block. After a while, I started cutting back on the Blocks because I really didn't need them all, and more was not better, just unnecessarily complex. I agree it's generally easier to get better results with just essential Blocks, and knowing them really well.
I will unashamedly say that I am about the sound creation first, music creation second and guitar playing third, but after I've worked on a piece of music for a while, the problems in mixing most often turn out to be the fault of convoluted presets and signal chains.
Creating convoluted signal chains get my creative juices flowing though, so I don't know if there's a solution 🤷♂️
Depends on what the preset is for I guess?
For home doodling it's great to use up all the blocks in the Helix and have stereo everything twirling around BUT live the Stomp is a wonderful mind concentrator....in a band setting one doesn't want too many FX anyway as if you're not careful your whole sound can get lost behind the rest of the band.
Even when playing solo I find it's best to keep it simple as you say, just for when things don't seem to be going as they should be it's much easier to get in and sort it out.
the advantage when your sound gets lost behind the band simply nobody knows when you playing wrong tones 🙂
😄@@chrisschopenhauer6261 ruclips.net/user/sgaming/emoji/7ff574f2/emoji_u1f604.png
These superb and "simple" settings work very well with single coils and a good Mesaboogie / Electrovoice whose sound is taken and adjusted on a DAW.
Try it with somewhat powerful double coils on a FRFR output, it's total distress.
What I get a kick out of is all the Cloudburst/traily kind of stuff. When using that stuff it is neat at home, but would think most of that would be lost in a Mix. It might be ok on a RECORD like VENUS ISLE. Like John doing an instrumental venus would be cool. But LIVE it would be gone in a Mix.
MY BROTHER I RESOLVE ALL SINCE I GOT MY FXIII..... NOT TIME CONSUMING ANY MORE FOR SPECIFIC TONE , SO EASY TO WORK WITH....TIME FOR HILEX TO GO AND WELCOM ANOTER FXIII.
Lovely tone. Wish I could get a good clean tone on my modeller. For me, I find it difficult to create a clean tone that doesn't sound digital.
Hi John. As usual excellent intro and thanks for the information. I have been following you for a long time and you know me from my comments. Although I fully agree with most of his ideas, there have been some points in the past where we have disagreed. I ask myself this; If I was going to keep things simple, then why would I buy an advanced guitar processor? I could have solved it with a head amp and a pedal or two the other way around (completely analog). I am detail-oriented and tend to improve the details as I spend time on them. I really put a lot of effort and time into it for a ton. However, the fact that they become garbage in different scenarios (!) destroys my faith in most things, apart from the negative effect, and all this has almost destroyed my desire to play the guitar. Of course, this is not the only reason.
If you streamlined your presets and separated them from single coils and buckers (I use buckers) I would definitely be interested in purchasing some. Your folder just has way too much I won’t use you know. I mainly use my Helix floor for worship but I honestly still love my board build much better.
I'd inquire with L6 about the Bias and Bias X settings. If 50% Bias equals class B push/pull on all the amps, it would have the most crossover distortion and the least even harmonics. 50% Bias X (drift) also seems like a lot of bias drift. I doubt most amps have that much transient squish.
Now that the Stomp is 585 euros, the Stomp XL is 650 euros, device to get might be the Helix LT on the current market?
I'm a stomp user and i love it but keep seeing Helix LT second hand for 600-700euros. - Mmmmmmm...
BTW, i'm a garageband user and just tasted a bit the Helix Native world. How do you integrate it with reaper? My biggest gripe to the stomp is to not be able to match levels between presets and i'm afraid i need to do this only through HX Edit or Helix Native
Please where I can buy this preset that you show in this video? Thanks. congratulations for everything
Anybody else like his Saggy/Scary sounds that he gets like, when he plays. 16:56-17:08 ??
People should be really happy with the presets. They are very good although the library is like an ADHD brain
I have Cordy Preset Option Paralysis. CPOP.
Morning Sir!
To be honest with you.... You are the only person who can answer tha question... So why ask it of us? Very reminicent of typical RUclips click bait BS... You are really great player and I thought you were above that crap?
I dont know about too complicated, but all your presets sound very similar. This is not a diss its just your style i guess
I think that's probably the case if you only see the odd video, but there's actually quite a bit of variety if you look into it from like the Aaron Marshall Intervals tones, Pat Metheny style jazz tones and so on...It's more that I tend to use the same preset most of the time
I really would prefer you to teach a little bit more lessons, about your playing style, routine practice. I mean, gear videos are fun, but daily videos on presets, modelers, etc can be a little tiring. Cheers!
No matter how good the Helix still is, I think the FM3 or QC are the better choice.