I got to say that a few of the more common Helix experts/voices here on RUclips can tend to go on and on but you crank through a ton of content in 15 minutes...great job!
yeah I try to just get to the content. Also not a fan of complex routing that you wouldn't normally do to guitars in the analog world, like crossover splits and stuff like that.
I've been playing live on Helix for over a year, I've bought hundreds of IRs and patches. I came here cause ive never really utilized the lone star patch, and this has to be the most informative Helix not just lone star video I've seen. Thank you so much
I love how its not too much tweaking PER block. He has certain "worklow items" that build to massive amazing tone. I loved watching this just to see how small changes here and there affect the BIG picture tone.
I know this is kind of late, but I noticed your comment about "ripple". Ripple is an artifact of power supplies making DC voltages out of AC using bridge rectifiers and filters. Filters (post full wave bridge rectifier) will smooth out/clean up the AC components riding on the DC voltage. Any AC component left over that rides on the DC voltage is called ripple. The better the filtering, the less ripple. Ripple has an effect in that the DC voltages vary by the amount of the ripple voltage. The effect is subtle, but it does change the gain of amplifier slightly at 50-60hz, depending on you primary power source. It's also one of the source of hum in an amp. Just a comment from us old tube guys :-)
@@AlexStrabala Strictly speaking, yes. Clean voltage is always better for signal replication. Ripple causes variations in DC voltages at 60hz which essentially cause distortion in the amplified signal at all the various stages inside the amp, so that it's not a true replica of the input. However, if your using it as a effect, e.g. Helix, to better replicate a old amp, then use to taste or if building an amp, design your power supply to effectively "leak" the desired amount of ripple to get that vintage sound. :-). Ripple is caused by the high and low pass filter sections not having a good enough roll off (expressed in db/octave), and over the years the coils and caps used create the filters could change value due to age and drying out of the chemicals used in manufacturing, causing a (sometimes desired) signal distortion. Techie stuff! :-)
Alex, Awesome 15 min tutorial on how its done! Will be fun to emulate some of those settings. Swell tones at 14:00+/- ...very cool! Thanks for sharing and Happy New Years!
Thank you Alex! I've tried a number of stereo path options and yours is my favourite. Question - a 6:25 your Room verb has the stereo icon. I'm still seeing the "house" icon. Is this just a firmware version thing? I'm on 2.92.
The dual cab block is stereo, i.e. each cab/mic is hard panned. When I was messing with two amps in parallel I was using the dual cab block and all stereo blocks after it, so that each amp was routed to its own cab and stayed that way thru the end of the chain. But once I switched back to the single amp, I wanted to have the sound of both mics mixed together in the centered dry signal, rather than one mic on the left and another on the right. Mixing two mics is a very common studio technique, see this video playlist for more info: ruclips.net/p/PLLAjfFIXReigBGScT2CXXvqkqZeULe3NY
This amp model sounds great, I’m definitely guilty of overlooking. It scratches an itch in the fender style tone the fender amps struggle to reach without heaps of tweaking My fav amp atm is the interstate, what are your thoughts on that one
I tried this exactly as you have it down and my Helix is so freaking noisy it's unusable. I have a Tele w Fralin Blues Specials in it. When I tried adding the brit plexi it was screaming. Alex....any idea why?
Would love to see more videos like this. I just found your suggested global settings for the helix, and I’m hoping they resolve the problems I’m experiencing. I’m able to create sounds that I LOVE through the headphone out, but as soon as I use the xlr or 1/4 inch outs I can’t seem to make it work.
yep, how you monitor matters almost as much as what you're monitoring. Most consumer headphones and even most good IEMs are not flat response and therefore not suitable for dialing in tones. I use sennheiser HD600 headphones at night which translate well to FOH, but it's still not perfect because headphones will always just be a different vibe than a PA speaker in a room. Decent studio monitors are your best bet for dialing in tones at home IMO.
I’m using Audio Technica ATH-M50’s for headphones. I saw under your gear page that you use Yamaha HS7’s for studio monitors. Do you think the HS5’s would work well? They’re more in my price range.
Alex I was curious if you had a good setup for practicing with the Helix floor in a hotel room setting. I am new to the helix and it sounds like there is not a real straight forward way to practice along with songs through the helix and using headphones. Thanks in advance
Connect Helix to your computer with USB and set your computer's output device to Helix. Plug your headphones into Helix. That's it. The audio from your computer is automatically routed to Helix's outputs. An even more compact setup would be a small interface with your computer and Helix Native.
I didn't really even think about selling it because people can just follow along with the video! haha the video is supposed to be helpful for people wanting to learn how to build their own stuff! Maybe I'll put together a full preset with this amp, a few gain stages, and some effects.
@@AlexStrabala I can tell you, I tried to follow the video and had to keep playing parts over and over cause you just scream through settings and it is NOT easy as you make it look.... make the patch available!!! They will come!!! I dont have mine right yet after a couple hours of fudging around and there are some things that just fall off the screen in the Edit program on the vid that I had to keep rewinding to get what you said and where it was supposed to be tweaked... it sounded great on my Helix until somewhere you kept going back to the 2amp and tweaking it... it screwed mine up ... it defianatly does not sound right HELP!!! >)
What headphones do you use for monitoring and do you plug them into your helix or your computer? I’ve always had a hard time getting a good sound using headphones.
Samuel Waters no, helix is an USB audio interface so just plug it in with USB and set your computer’s output device to Helix. T automatically routes the audio directly to the outputs.
Ha!!! 15 minutes to get a great tone i struggled with for a year... well.. i see now what i didnt do :D the trick is dual cabs, cab cuts OFF and cuts in the EQ block, no need to dial out treble from the amps...
Yeah, really crappy of him to show several amp combinations, several cabs, various effects and such to probably go through what could be packaged as at least 3 different presets all in 15 minutes.
haha! These units really are amazing. I honestly don't understand how people can't get good tones out of them in a matter of minutes. I mean I went through 4 amps and a bunch of effects just in this video!
I got to say that a few of the more common Helix experts/voices here on RUclips can tend to go on and on but you crank through a ton of content in 15 minutes...great job!
yeah I try to just get to the content. Also not a fan of complex routing that you wouldn't normally do to guitars in the analog world, like crossover splits and stuff like that.
I've been playing live on Helix for over a year, I've bought hundreds of IRs and patches. I came here cause ive never really utilized the lone star patch, and this has to be the most informative Helix not just lone star video I've seen. Thank you so much
Alex fifteen minutes into a preset build: Done!
Me fifteen minutes into a preset build: Still EQing the first and only amp I've added...
I was thinking the same thing...15 minutes with me = scratching head and trying to decide if drive should be 5.1 or 5.2.
ODark Thirty a trick I have started using is using whole numbers or .5 So instead of deciding between 5.1 and 5.2, I try to decide between 5 and 5.5
@@robgroden i do the same thing, i'm kinda neurotic about wanting every number to be a nice and tidy .0 or .5
@@robgroden good words there...thanks for the suggestion.
You're a wizard. So many cool tricks you use that I'd never think of. That 15ms delay before the amp!
thanks! Yep my Bethel v2 and Stereo Boutique Amps presets both have that trick for a massive stereo image between the amps.
yeah sneaky good trick
yep...super good one there with that 15ms before the B amp.
Dude you like the Yoda of Helix P&W Tones 🙌🏻
I love how its not too much tweaking PER block. He has certain "worklow items" that build to massive amazing tone. I loved watching this just to see how small changes here and there affect the BIG picture tone.
Awesome video showing your thought process! Love the instant big sound with the stereo delay and glitz verb @ 5:00.
Damn man so good to see you talk through all that!
I know this is kind of late, but I noticed your comment about "ripple". Ripple is an artifact of power supplies making DC voltages out of AC using bridge rectifiers and filters. Filters (post full wave bridge rectifier) will smooth out/clean up the AC components riding on the DC voltage. Any AC component left over that rides on the DC voltage is called ripple. The better the filtering, the less ripple. Ripple has an effect in that the DC voltages vary by the amount of the ripple voltage. The effect is subtle, but it does change the gain of amplifier slightly at 50-60hz, depending on you primary power source. It's also one of the source of hum in an amp. Just a comment from us old tube guys :-)
Thanks! Is it "better" to have less ripple in a real tube amp?
@@AlexStrabala Strictly speaking, yes. Clean voltage is always better for signal replication. Ripple causes variations in DC voltages at 60hz which essentially cause distortion in the amplified signal at all the various stages inside the amp, so that it's not a true replica of the input. However, if your using it as a effect, e.g. Helix, to better replicate a old amp, then use to taste or if building an amp, design your power supply to effectively "leak" the desired amount of ripple to get that vintage sound. :-). Ripple is caused by the high and low pass filter sections not having a good enough roll off (expressed in db/octave), and over the years the coils and caps used create the filters could change value due to age and drying out of the chemicals used in manufacturing, causing a (sometimes desired) signal distortion. Techie stuff! :-)
Watching you work is insanely inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
Watching you put this patch together was inspiring. Great video, thanks Alex!
Started using this am a little bit ago. It's a super cool amp. really enjoying this. I feel rather justified with you making this video :)
What an amazing video. I havnt started creating my own patches, just been buying them, your included. but this is cool. thanks a heaps.
Finally put this up on my website: alex.guitars/helix-presets/mesa-lonestar
Alex, Awesome 15 min tutorial on how its done! Will be fun to emulate some of those settings. Swell tones at 14:00+/- ...very cool! Thanks for sharing and Happy New Years!
Great sounds you got with the Helix . And not only this one ! Great , man ! I think I'll buy some presets with IRS from you ....
Thank you Alex! I've tried a number of stereo path options and yours is my favourite. Question - a 6:25 your Room verb has the stereo icon. I'm still seeing the "house" icon. Is this just a firmware version thing? I'm on 2.92.
yeah awhile back they added the house icon for all the legacy effects.
Line 6 should have put this preset in as one of their factory presets cause damn :D
Thank you!
This is great. Really nice work! I'm not sure what purpose the last minute sum to mono serves, though. Could you explain that?
The dual cab block is stereo, i.e. each cab/mic is hard panned. When I was messing with two amps in parallel I was using the dual cab block and all stereo blocks after it, so that each amp was routed to its own cab and stayed that way thru the end of the chain. But once I switched back to the single amp, I wanted to have the sound of both mics mixed together in the centered dry signal, rather than one mic on the left and another on the right. Mixing two mics is a very common studio technique, see this video playlist for more info: ruclips.net/p/PLLAjfFIXReigBGScT2CXXvqkqZeULe3NY
Great stuff!
This amp model sounds great, I’m definitely guilty of overlooking. It scratches an itch in the fender style tone the fender amps struggle to reach without heaps of tweaking
My fav amp atm is the interstate, what are your thoughts on that one
I tried this exactly as you have it down and my Helix is so freaking noisy it's unusable. I have a Tele w Fralin Blues Specials in it. When I tried adding the brit plexi it was screaming. Alex....any idea why?
Would love to see more videos like this. I just found your suggested global settings for the helix, and I’m hoping they resolve the problems I’m experiencing. I’m able to create sounds that I LOVE through the headphone out, but as soon as I use the xlr or 1/4 inch outs I can’t seem to make it work.
yep, how you monitor matters almost as much as what you're monitoring. Most consumer headphones and even most good IEMs are not flat response and therefore not suitable for dialing in tones. I use sennheiser HD600 headphones at night which translate well to FOH, but it's still not perfect because headphones will always just be a different vibe than a PA speaker in a room. Decent studio monitors are your best bet for dialing in tones at home IMO.
I’m using Audio Technica ATH-M50’s for headphones. I saw under your gear page that you use Yamaha HS7’s for studio monitors. Do you think the HS5’s would work well? They’re more in my price range.
Joshua Skoyen in that price range I’d probably go with the Kali LP-6
Alex I was curious if you had a good setup for practicing with the Helix floor in a hotel room setting. I am new to the helix and it sounds like there is not a real straight forward way to practice along with songs through the helix and using headphones. Thanks in advance
Connect Helix to your computer with USB and set your computer's output device to Helix. Plug your headphones into Helix. That's it. The audio from your computer is automatically routed to Helix's outputs. An even more compact setup would be a small interface with your computer and Helix Native.
Do you ever put these on customtone? You know your way around the signal paths of the helix
Jake all my stuff is on my website Alex.guitars. Might put them on the marketplace eventually.
Finally put this up on my website: alex.guitars/helix-presets/mesa-lonestar
hiper Nice sound I so Very Happy I need Right Now
That swells snapshot
When will we be able to purchase this great patch?
I didn't really even think about selling it because people can just follow along with the video! haha the video is supposed to be helpful for people wanting to learn how to build their own stuff! Maybe I'll put together a full preset with this amp, a few gain stages, and some effects.
@@AlexStrabala thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge on the Helix platform. I know it is challenging for many to learn. We appreciate you!
@@AlexStrabala I'm going to give it a try. Thanks for 'teaching us how to fish'.
Sell a man a preset, he's content for a day. Teach a man to make presets, and he'll still probably want to buy presets.
@@AlexStrabala I can tell you, I tried to follow the video and had to keep playing parts over and over cause you just scream through settings and it is NOT easy as you make it look.... make the patch available!!! They will come!!! I dont have mine right yet after a couple hours of fudging around and there are some things that just fall off the screen in the Edit program on the vid that I had to keep rewinding to get what you said and where it was supposed to be tweaked... it sounded great on my Helix until somewhere you kept going back to the 2amp and tweaking it... it screwed mine up ... it defianatly does not sound right HELP!!! >)
hey Alex what headphones do you use to monitor out of when you're dialing in patches?
Sennheiser HD600 headphones and Yamaha HS7 monitors. Lots of info about my rig here: alex.guitars/gear
What headphones do you use for monitoring and do you plug them into your helix or your computer? I’ve always had a hard time getting a good sound using headphones.
Sennheiser HD600. They're plugged directly into the Helix with a TRS extension cable.
Alex S - Nice. Do you route music thru a block in the helix to practice with?
Samuel Waters no, helix is an USB audio interface so just plug it in with USB and set your computer’s output device to Helix. T automatically routes the audio directly to the outputs.
Cool man
What you do at 12:43 with the reverb is wizardry.... and also is why the Helix is the GOAT.
Does FOH HaVe to pan the channels as well for stereo?
David Chacon they don’t have to be hard panned but they shouldn’t both be centered
what do you use to monitor your tone ?
alex.guitars/gear
Ha!!! 15 minutes to get a great tone i struggled with for a year... well.. i see now what i didnt do :D the trick is dual cabs, cab cuts OFF and cuts in the EQ block, no need to dial out treble from the amps...
*15 minutes of tweaking*
"See, it's great right out of the box!"
I kid, I kid.
Yeah, really crappy of him to show several amp combinations, several cabs, various effects and such to probably go through what could be packaged as at least 3 different presets all in 15 minutes.
haha! These units really are amazing. I honestly don't understand how people can't get good tones out of them in a matter of minutes. I mean I went through 4 amps and a bunch of effects just in this video!
@@karenmcspadden7240 I think he was joking! Thanks for the support though!