Helix Talk

[holoholo]

Been playing around with the Kinetic (updated Cartographer) with greenbacks. Sounds killer boosted with a TS. Was reading up more about it and found Ben's blog. I don't think I've seen it mentioned before here or at TOP. Lots of cool gear nerdiness and more info about what he did to the Cartographer. If you like gear nerdery:

Amplifiers – Ben Adrian Audio

Posts about Amplifiers written by benadrianaudio

benadrianaudio.wordpress.com

Particularly:

Traynor Head… Canadian Weirdness.

Recently I acquired a mid-to-late 70s Traynor YBA-1 Bass Master head. I’d never seen one like this before. This is the schematic that it pasted to the inside of the head. Crazy thing was, the…

benadrianaudio.wordpress.com

 

[0XI0]

What are you basing this on? As in, how are you listening to the gen3 Katana compared to the GT1000 to establish your findings. Side by side A/B comparison in real time? Both playing through same output driver?
I ask because listening to a Katana amp-the-room and comparing it to a GT1000 through something different like ""FRFR"", even side by side is not a fair comparison.
I’m hoping you are right but I’m always hoping Katana is more than it is…

the GT-1000 makes me go 'wtf?!' when I go to dial an amp in (how I'd dial in the real amp). kind of the same way as fractal.

katana gen 3 makes me go no way before even needing to dial the amp in, then no fuckin way when actually dialing the amp in. but GT-1000 and fractal through cheap "FRFR", katana through its tuned enclosure.

monitoring aside, katana gen 3 modeling improvements on clean/pushed/crunch/lead/brown surpass GT-1000, with clipping texture (space within clipping), frequency extension, damping (how resonance amounts affects clipping texture).

idk if katana gen 3 is the same 'multi dimensional processing' as the new GT-1000 update. I doubt it. MDP is a 'sounds cool' tool, especially useful in utility pedals like compression and noise gate, but MDP is not how or why tube amps are musically expressive with electric guitar.

 

[Enchilada Jones]

the GT-1000 makes me go 'wtf?!' when I go to dial an amp in (how I'd dial in the real amp). kind of the same way as fractal.

katana gen 3 makes me go no way before even needing to dial the amp in, then no fuckin way when actually dialing the amp in. but GT-1000 and fractal through cheap ""FRFR"", katana through its tuned enclosure.

monitoring aside, katana gen 3 modeling improvements on clean/pushed/crunch/lead/brown surpass GT-1000, with clipping texture (space within clipping), frequency extension, damping (how resonance amounts affects clipping texture).

idk if katana gen 3 is the same 'multi dimensional processing' as the new GT-1000 update. I doubt it. MDP is a 'sounds cool' tool, especially useful in utility pedals like compression and noise gate, but MDP is not how or why tube amps are musically expressive with electric guitar.

I appreciate the answer, don’t know what it means, in any way, but I sense your passion within the answer!

 

[James Freeman]

Can anyone please confirm that this kind of signal chain is possible with HX Stomp?
Setting helix native for Stomp hardware compatibility removes this routing option.

Not sure if feature or bug, but I can't place blocks one above the other either in Stomp compatibility mode?

 

[laxu]

the GT-1000 makes me go 'wtf?!' when I go to dial an amp in (how I'd dial in the real amp). kind of the same way as fractal.

katana gen 3 makes me go no way before even needing to dial the amp in, then no fuckin way when actually dialing the amp in. but GT-1000 and fractal through cheap ""FRFR"", katana through its tuned enclosure.

monitoring aside, katana gen 3 modeling improvements on clean/pushed/crunch/lead/brown surpass GT-1000, with clipping texture (space within clipping), frequency extension, damping (how resonance amounts affects clipping texture).

With the GT-1000 V4 update having the Katana Gen 3 as an output system option, why not try it through the Katana's poweramp for a better like-for-like comparison?

 

[laxu]

Can anyone please confirm that this kind of signal chain is possible with HX Stomp?
Setting helix native for Stomp hardware compatibility removes this routing option.

View attachment 25355

I think it just behaves visually weird because of the HX Stomp 8 block limitation. This is from Helix Native with HX Stomp compatibility:

 

[James Freeman]

Ah block count limitation, bummer, so it is impossible to use the single DSP to it's full potential.
For example, in Helix Floor compatibility mode, plenty of processing power left on a single DSP.

 

[laxu]

I guess that limitation is in place because of the HX Stomp screen? Would probably get pretty hard to read with 16 blocks. 10 though? Sounds doable.

 

[Vic Winters]

I think it just behaves visually weird because of the HX Stomp 8 block limitation. This is from Helix Native with HX Stomp compatibility:

View attachment 25357

View attachment 25358

Yep, that's how the hardware acts.

 

[James Freeman]

I guess that limitation is in place because of the HX Stomp screen?

What a waste of DSP power, so it's not exactly half the DSP of the Helix as "advertised".
My HX Stomp XL should arrive soon btw, and I'm already feeling limited.

 

[Vic Winters]

What a waste of DSP power, so it's not exactly half the DSP of the Helix as "advertised".
My HX Stomp XL should arrive soon btw, and I'm already feeling limited.

It used to be 6 blocks.

 

[James Freeman]

Maybe the block limitation is due to DSP cooling?

PS.
I have all the guitar gear of my dreams but the XL fills a spot no other can, it's perfect.

 

[0XI0]

With the GT-1000 V4 update having the Katana Gen 3 as an output system option, why not try it through the Katana's poweramp for a better like-for-like comparison?

I sold everything to guitar center for pennies. QC, hx stomp, GT-1000, all my Katana's except artist mk2, mustang.

 

[burningyen]

What a waste of DSP power, so it's not exactly half the DSP of the Helix as "advertised".
My HX Stomp XL should arrive soon btw, and I'm already feeling limited.

That's one way to look at it. But I think you can max out the Stomp's DSP even using less than 8 blocks on a single path if you use the most DSP-hungry blocks.

 

[ragingplatypi]

That's one way to look at it. But I think you can max out the Stomp's DSP even using less than 8 blocks on a single path if you use the most DSP-hungry blocks.

Just add the feedbacker to any newer amp and you’re pretty much there. (Not a complaint, just an observation)

 

[holoholo]

I have all the guitar gear of my dreams but the XL fills a spot no other can, it's perfect.

 

[pablo retamal]

Can anyone please confirm that this kind of signal chain is possible with HX Stomp?
Setting helix native for Stomp hardware compatibility removes this routing option.

View attachment 25355

Not sure if feature or bug, but I can't place blocks one above the other either in Stomp compatibility mode?
View attachment 25356

Thanks for talking about helix, it already seemed like a boss thread!

 

[Sascha Franck]

My HX Stomp XL should arrive soon btw, and I'm already feeling limited.

It actually is pretty limited. Would've never gotten one with the 6 block limitation.
For me personally, the biggest drawback with that limitation happens to be that the loops eat up a block as well. In case they were there in addition to 8 "internal" blocks, I would have *way* less headaches planning my board layout change, could possibly even ditch the loopswitcher. But 2 loops plus 6 blocks is at least one block too little for any setup I could live with.

 

[the swede]

It actually is pretty limited. Would've never gotten one with the 6 block limitation.
For me personally, the biggest drawback with that limitation happens to be that the loops eat up a block as well. In case they were there in addition to 8 "internal" blocks, I would have *way* less headaches planning my board layout change, could possibly even ditch the loopswitcher. But 2 loops plus 6 blocks is at least one block two little for any setup I could live with.

Many, including me, asked for blocks being outside the chain way back when..
fx loop should be a “dot” like they later did with Pod Go. I’d even say that Volume could be freed from the blocks but still placed like a dot. A dot would still be selectable… again, like Pod Go.
Global looper without a “block”…
Small things… would probably become super huge for Line 6 to change though, wich is why they don’t.
Well well. We can’t have everything can we

 

[James Freeman]

Fiddling more with the 8 block limitation of the Stomp I understand that switching Presets per song/tone is essential, so one has to be clever about what blocks to use when and preset switching time, it's doable.
On the full Helix I had 32 blocks and used Snapshots or Stomp Mode all in one preset, DSP or Routing was a non-issue.
Still, I think the Stomp can do 16 blocks like 1/2 a Helix without overheating, particularly the XL, but I also think these kind of limitation are intentional, the LT needs to sell too... if you know what I mean.

My current pedalboard.

16 blocks on one DSP can easily replace my board, and 6 snapshots on the XL is plenty to control everything.