Helix 3.5 cabs: how do they compare now to Kemper Stage's?

[pablo retamal]

the problem that helix has as a "serious competitor" is the version of jcm800... simply does not compete

 

[Orvillain]

el problema que tiene helix como "competidor serio" es si la version de jcm800...simplemente no compite

 

[molul]

el problema que tiene helix como "competidor serio" es si la version de jcm800...simplemente no compite

Mira que soy español, pero no te he entendido

 

[pablo retamal]

Mi celular anda mal...quise decir "el problema es la version jcm800"

 

[Whizzinby]

the problem that helix has as a "serious competitor" is the version of jcm800... simply does not compete

No podría estar más de acuerdo

 

[shanesiegle]

If it saves a block, especially on Stomp.

It allows me to run dual cabs and fit two amps, delay, reverb and a boost into one preset. Plus they sound awesome! If I had a full Helix I probably wouldn’t care but this makes my practice rig awesome.

 

[Stone]

Nothing against IR's i have found some really good ones but at great folder diving and option paralysis
after testing and playing around with the new cabs single and dual i find it so much easier
so for now it will be new Helix cabs from now on in the foreseeable future
and again as always its all individual preference

 

[Mooselake]

The stock cab block (and even the old one) has one big advantage to those who are proficient with it: being able to manipulate mic type, distance, offset, and angle within the same spot is VERY convenient to reach a sound in your head. It’s a lot faster than flipping through IRs.

I realize everyone is different, but to me the cab block or an IR is just a means to an end—a way to get a specific frequency balance & character that sounds reasonably realistic.

It matters less to me if it sounds exactly like some dude’s specific Greenback and vintage mic, because I wouldn’t know the difference anyway. But being able to quickly sculpt the right tonality/frequency balance is everything in a mix.

I say this as someone who has hundreds of dollars in IRs from York, OwnHammer, and others. The utility of them has really diminished over the years for me. It might be a different story if they had a slick way to manage them just like the new stock cabs do.

This is pretty much where I'm at except I've only spent about $100 on IRs, none of which I use. The only IRs I've been using over the last 2-3 years are a couple of free "reflection free" IRs folks made available over on TGP. They're fine but I haven't carried them forward as I've created new presets.

Maybe I caught lightning in a bottle but in about 10 minutes after updating to 3.50 I'd updated my most recent everyday patch to use the new cab engine and came up with what to me is the best sounding Helix preset I've come up with. Granted, that's probably a low bar but but I'm not in this to impress audio engineers and cab aficionados the world over. I just want to enjoy myself when I plug in to play for fun and exploit the "if it sounds good it is good" principle.

And I agree it's largely an interface thing. I'd be happy to use anyone's captures in the Helix if I interacted with them inside Helix through an interface like the new cab engine.