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Line 6 HX Effects

#2,603
I have a Helix and I have a couple of questions.

Sorry, this thread is huge.....forgive me if this is already answered in the bowels of the verbiage.

1) Is there general agreement the power supply on this things sucks?

2) Is there any straightforward way to "normalize" volume across patches - so I don't vary in volume between patches?

3) Where is there a good site to get simple patches tuned for bass.....chorus, overdrive, reverb, compression, envelope?
 
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#2,604
CaptainWally said:
I have a Helix and I have a couple of questions.

Sorry, this thread is huge.....forgive me if this is already answered in the bowels of the verbiage.

1) Is there general agreement the power supply on this things sucks?

2) Is there any straightforward way to "normalize" volume across patches - so I don't vary in volume between patches?

3) Where is there a good site to get simple patches tuned for bass.....chorus, overdrive, reverb, compression, envelope?
Click to expand...

Haha sorry to laugh but I think we’ve all been here. It’s all good. I’ll try to help. Maybe ;)

1) not really. If the HX is the only thing you’re running, it is possible to power it from a Truetone CS7 or 12 or just a 1spot. Any one of those would need the 2 adapters though. But if you’re running more than another pedal or two off the same power supply, it’s probably not going to be very reliable. I just learned to live with it and modified my board to suite the power supply.

2) not on the HX really. Only way to really do it is normalize all your blocks. Or stick a volume block at the end of your chain. You could also control that volume block with an exp. so there’s that. But I just set unity gain/output across all the blocks im using in any given patch. It’s really not that bad or take that long once you learn to navigate quickly. Which shouldn’t take that long.

3) line 6 custom tone is cool.

Invalid Link Removed

But really, the helix is pretty darn good about being full range. If you’re missing some low end on any effect, split the path and choose how you want to blend your clean in with it whether it be the ABY, AB or Xover options. But most suite bass just fine if not wonderfully.

Hope this helped!
 
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#2,605
Digital Igloo said:
Holy hell, this thread blew up...
We specifically omitted things like USB audio, a headphone out, Global EQ, amp/cab blocks, and any other "modeler" things. HX Effects is designed 100% for your pedalboard; add too much modeler stuff to it and the masses of amp and pedalboard musicians will avoid it like the plague. We know because we asked.XLR outs would blow the footprint up considerably. Plus, as above, XLRs aren't really an amp-and-pedalboard thing.We talked about the editor from the beginning, as it was always in the plan. I still maintain that aside from renaming/reordering presets, it's way easier to edit Helix from the front panel than it is from HX Edit.Gah! Sorry 'bout that. Next time I see that I'll ask Chad to smack 'em around. It's generally a friendly group.

FWIW, much of Team Helix plays bass, including me. It's Dom's main instrument.Any models based on pedals not around 1M Ohm—like many fuzzes—won't load your pickups correctly, but that's why you should always put your fuzzes before HX Effects. The vast majority of HX's drives sound virtually indistinguishable from the specific pedals we modeled.It's a legal thing. We have to tell people we only officially support the DC-3G but fully expect our customers to share their experiences with third-party supplies.Invalid Link Removed should get people 80% of the way there.
Click to expand...

I was actually kinda put out when I realized my new unit doesn't have headphone jack. Upon reading this, I kinda like it now. Right....it's a stomp box replacement, not a Swiss army knife gizmo like so many other units. And that's exactly what I was after.
 
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#2,606
gregmon79 said:
Haha sorry to laugh but I think we’ve all been here. It’s all good. I’ll try to help. Maybe ;)

1) not really. If the HX is the only thing you’re running, it is possible to power it from a Truetone CS7 or 12 or just a 1spot. Any one of those would need the 2 adapters though. But if you’re running more than another pedal or two off the same power supply, it’s probably not going to be very reliable. I just learned to live with it and modified my board to suite the power supply.

2) not on the HX really. Only way to really do it is normalize all your blocks. Or stick a volume block at the end of your chain. You could also control that volume block with an exp. so there’s that. But I just set unity gain/output across all the blocks im using in any given patch. It’s really not that bad or take that long once you learn to navigate quickly. Which shouldn’t take that long.

3) line 6 custom tone is cool.

Invalid Link Removed

But really, the helix is pretty darn good about being full range. If you’re missing some low end on any effect, split the path and choose how you want to blend your clean in with it whether it be the ABY, AB or Xover options. But most suite bass just fine if not wonderfully.

Hope this helped!
Click to expand...

Thanks!!! Very helpful.
 
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#2,607
gregmon79 said:
But really, the helix is pretty darn good about being full range.
Click to expand...
I'm curious to know what sort of rigs or sound reinforcement people use with their HX FX, particularly in gigging situations. Do you find that you're missing anything if you're not using full-range speaker cabs? Have you made changes to your rig after owning the HX?
 
#2,608
red_rhino said:
I'm curious to know what sort of rigs or sound reinforcement people use with their HX FX, particularly in gigging situations. Do you find that you're missing anything if you're not using full-range speaker cabs? Have you made changes to your rig after owning the HX?
Click to expand...
Blues gig: Full range cab, this time filtered by HxFx, and with the Shuttle eq.
IMG_20190508_223546267.jpg
 
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#2,609
red_rhino said:
I'm curious to know what sort of rigs or sound reinforcement people use with their HX FX, particularly in gigging situations. Do you find that you're missing anything if you're not using full-range speaker cabs? Have you made changes to your rig after owning the HX?
Click to expand...

Not at all. It’s a wonderful addition to my existing setup. In fact, I trimmed my board considerable after I got the HX. It’s been great! Nice GAS killer too.
 
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#2,611
I've been thinking about a thing... Don't you think it would be easier to enter in Signal Flow mode when press and hold the Mode button? Press and hold each effect to modify parameters.
When you have the same effect in two blocks, you cannot know wich one you want to modify.
What do you think?
 
#2,612
Where are most people putting their compressors in signal flow?
I know a lot of players would put a comp pedal at the end of their chain, but on HXe is there benefits to that too?

I'm running an always-on deluxe comp before the Obsidian, which I have the grunt, drive and attack toggles footswitchable. If i put my comp after will that in theory unify their output to a degree?
Advice/thoughts greatly appreciated.
 
#2,613
Tandark said:
Where are most people putting their compressors in signal flow?
I know a lot of players would put a comp pedal at the end of their chain, but on HXe is there benefits to that too?

I'm running an always-on deluxe comp before the Obsidian, which I have the grunt, drive and attack toggles footswitchable. If i put my comp after will that in theory unify their output to a degree?
Advice/thoughts greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

If I use one I am putting it early. I use both loops in my HX, one for octave and one for dirt, so I run the 2 loops first then the comp normally.
 
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#2,614
Tandark said:
Where are most people putting their compressors in signal flow?
I know a lot of players would put a comp pedal at the end of their chain, but on HXe is there benefits to that too?

I'm running an always-on deluxe comp before the Obsidian, which I have the grunt, drive and attack toggles footswitchable. If i put my comp after will that in theory unify their output to a degree?
Advice/thoughts greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I also have an always-on compressor and noise gate at the front of the signal chain. I'm not sure that putting the compressor after the Obsidian would get you what you want in terms of equalizing the output. If you already have footswitches dedicated to the grunt, drive, and attack toggles, maybe you could adjust the output on each of those blocks to even them out?
 
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#2,615
mikezimmerman said:
I also have an always-on compressor and noise gate at the front of the signal chain. I'm not sure that putting the compressor after the Obsidian would get you what you want in terms of equalizing the output. If you already have footswitches dedicated to the grunt, drive, and attack toggles, maybe you could adjust the output on each of those blocks to even them out?
Click to expand...

Or convert those footswitches to snapshots, where you have the snapshot flip the toggle and compensate the volume up/down
 

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