Helix 3.7: The Freeman Update

[James Freeman]

Just imagine what could be done by assigning/syncing two of those at the same time...

Two, three... ten.
You can assign multiple parameters to the expression pedal now, but a dynamic guitar envelope is infinitely more 'expressive' than linear movement.

Yes, you can cook new synths by mixing blocks and controlling parameters of stuff like Pitch Wham with various Legacy Synths paralleled into Distortion etc. etc.
More like infinite hours of fun, limited only by your creativity.

BTW the Legacy synths are freaking amazing, it's a shame they are "hidden" in the 'legacy' category.
I think a lot of people assume legacy=crap and never bother to open this category, they are missing a ton of fun.

 

[Foxmeister]

BTW the Legacy synths are freaking amazing, it's a shame they are "hidden" in the 'legacy' category.
I think a lot of people assume legacy=crap and never bother to open this category, they are missing a ton of fun.

I briefly had a discussion with @Digital Igloo about this over at the other place.

I don't disagree with his response, but the oft-held opinion that "Legacy"=inferior still persists.

 

[James Freeman]

the oft-held opinion that "Legacy"=inferior still persists.

Yeah.
What can you do.

edit:
Maybe rename it to "Historic", other brands use this naming scheme with great success.
Also, Quad Cortex copy pasted the 'Legacy' category except they don't have quality effects from previous years, so it's literally the garbage bin.

 

[dronerstone]

I briefly had a discussion with @Digital Igloo about this over at the other place.

View attachment 7119

I don't disagree with his response, but the oft-held opinion that "Legacy"=inferior still persists.

Absolutely agree!

That said, a polite division between HX and Legacy models is still a necessity, imho.

It took me a while to weed through the Legacy stuff, and while some had their spot taken by "better" ones of the HX kind, there are definite gems in there - not just a few, I believe.

Certain Legacy synths are KILLER, even though they're monophonic, same can be said for a handful Legacy drives.

That old "Jumbo Fuzz" has been my favorite L6 fuzz model ever since I discovered a pretty sweet spot a few weeks ago. It sounds absolutely badass and has that "grainy" mkII feeling, yet chords ring with sufficient clarity.

With humbuckers, and into a slightly hairy amp (or overdrive pedal), this is my personal "70's psych rock heaven". To retain low end, run a muddy/bassy overdrive in parallel -> BAM!!! Instant stoner/doom like it's supposed to sound, even better with low tunings...

<3

 

[the-trooper]

Maybe rename it to "Historic"

Nah, name them "Classic" "Vintage". Suddenly they'll be the best thing ever. Guitarist are stupid.

 

[Orvillain]

Legacy just doesn't mean inferior, full stop. TBH.

 

[dronerstone]

"Heritage" models.

 

[dk_ace]

That treble spiky sound is precisely because of the bright cap in the Brit Trem :) That's why so many of them got snipped back in the day!

Nah, the sound I’m referring to isn’t that. I’m a fan of bright caps, I play mostly HB guitars in a band context. Brit trem does a weird thing when you clean it up with your volume knob. I expect their real amp does it too. It’s a shame, I really like that model. The bright cap isn’t making the sound I’m poorly describing. I need to revisit the model soon.

D

 

[dk_ace]

So what feature can deliver many hours of fun and not be an amp, cab or effect model?
All available models fall into these three categories according to the manual.

Capturing is not a model...
Even if it's just a loader on the HX/Helix hardware it will start a real modeling war with a ton of drama and maybe lawsuits, although papa Yamaha can eat everyone alive I don't think Line 6 will want to rattle that cage.

Or do they...

I think he’s saying the helix is soon to be able to play video games…

D

 

[the-trooper]

I think he’s saying the helix is soon to be able to play video games…

D

 

[ragingplatypi]

I think he’s saying the helix is soon to be able to play video games…

D

I can’t find it, but a few years ago someone did a photoshop of Pac-Man on the Helix screen.

 

[ragingplatypi]

Yeah.
What can you do.

Legacy is too many syllables for a guitarist. Despite all your intricate calculations and graphs, we can only understand one syllable words like “hi” “mid” and “low”.

 

[the-trooper]

I can’t find it, but a few years ago someone did a photoshop of Pac-Man on the Helix screen.

Noob.

 

[the swede]

Noob.

If it cant do Doom, its not a good modeler!!!

 

[James Freeman]

I can make my Strat sound like my Les Paul, requires 3 bands of parametric EQ (the Low parametric band is useless) and one high shelf, 3 blocks in total that take almost no DSP.
I use more EQ blocks before the Amp and after the Cab, that's a lot of EQ.

"Folder Block" still looks like a good solution for compacting multiple light blocks in series.
https://thegearforum.com/threads/3-6-when.736/post-49823

Maybe a second split path and limiting the first and second to 4+4 former and later halves?
This will be less detrimental to the perception of limited DSP, because the user can see everything.

Example:

--

Line 6, are you thinking about expanding the routing chain?
For me it runs out of space before the DSP particularly due to the weak sauce Parametric EQ.
There are multiple solution to this, yes this requires creative thinking and rewriting the DSP allocation code, presets code, etc., is it worth the work?

PS.
The Brit 2204 sucks ass.

 

[GTR37]

For 3.7 my wish list would be
JCM800 -Bright
Bogner XTC 101b
Silver Jubilee

Nobles ODR

 

[kartikg3]

PS.
The Brit 2204 sucks ass.

Haha

 

[kartikg3]

"Folder Block" still looks like a good solution for compacting multiple light blocks in series.

Such an awesome idea this, because I sometimes create a drive "sound" from a set of blocks. Even though it's multiple blocks, in my head, it's ONE drive/effect. I am sure it's been requested, but a custom "interface" to these folders would.be awesome.. i.e. ability to create custom parameter controls with a custom name that under the hood drive one or more parameters on the blocks on this folder in various ways.

For example, I can make a "Super Screamer" folder with the controls: drive, tone, bass, level.

But under the hood, the folder just has a ts808 into an EQ block, and the Bass knob maps to the bass param of the EQ block and so on. With something like this, users can "craft" their own creations!

 

[pipelineaudio]

EQ (the Low parametric band is useless) and one high shelf,

Is this because the frequency cant be moved high enough? I wish they were all full bandwidth and two could be switched to shelves Or a five bands with the outer two being shelves

 

[James Freeman]

Is this because the frequency cant be moved high enough?

Yes. The Parametric EQ is weak sauce, more full bandwidth bands are needed.
Slope (dB/Oct) values to the LPF/HPF are also needed.
EQ is cheap (DSP), there is no reason it should be limited in any way.

The routing chain could use another split path or other solution that will allow more low DSP blocks like EQ, Gain, Vol, Pan, FX Send/Return, etc. to occupy less routing space, especially for HX Stomp owners.

Also, separate poweramps are more useful and creative than Line 6 and Joe on Facebook think.
I know the idea of 3 blocks (preamp, poweramp, cab/IR) to create core tone might look wasteful, but that's a limitation of the routing chain not the DSP.

Mortal of the story, the routing chain needs rethinking because it might limit creativity, especially when several low DSP blocks are needed.

edit:
Personally, I would put everything that shapes my core tone like Preamp, Amp, Cab, IR, Pre+Post EQ into one Folder Block, these often don't require individual tweaking, bypassing or footswitch control, so they can be ZIP'd into one block and the whole block can be bypassed if needed.