Helix Talk

[ragingplatypi]

I take Helix with some good DT770s over any tube amp and any cab on any day….. I realize I am uncool as fuck.

%1000 agreed .

 

[Sascha Franck]

I take Helix with some good DT770s over any tube amp and any cab on any day.

Same here. Even if I had an amp sitting next to me (and I have a modified Laney LC50 locked somewhere in the basement, working pretty well at lower volumes), I'd never even consiser switching it on anymore, others than for a good laugh maybe.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

getting curious about headphones here. Is it better than having monitors? I like my JBL 305s a lot.

 

[laxu]

With the edge of dust cap, do you mean the edge of the center with that? Or the edge?

Something like this for example. Using a "7 Dynamic" aka Shure SM7B here, but you can swap that for a SM57 for a different character.

 

[Sascha Franck]

getting curious about headphones here. Is it better than having monitors? I like my JBL 305s a lot.

I vastly prefer playing through monitors in case I can turn them up a bit. But I'm using headphones:
- When I can't turn the monitors up.
- To create or at least finalize my patches (they seem to translate better to FR monitors that way).
- To mix some things. I don't have great listening conditions, let alone a tweaked room, so headphones are the only way for me to halfway tell whether things are ok.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

View attachment 33227

Something like this for example. Using a "7 Dynamic" aka Shure SM7B here, but you can swap that for a SM57 for a different character.

Ahhh yes so you mean closer to "center" as it's called in Helix Edit. Not so much closer to "edge" as its called in the Helix Edit. I often pick the 57 + 121

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I vastly prefer playing through monitors in case I can turn them up a bit. But I'm using headphones:
- When I can't turn the monitors up.
- To create or at least finalize my patches (they seem to translate better to FR monitors that way).
- To mix some things. I don't have great listening conditions, let alone a tweaked room, so headphones are the only way for me to halfway tell whether things are ok.

It was this forum where I read for the first time you still need to turn up the monitors to get the best experience :) I thought the Stomp + monitors where a good bedroom alternative.

 

[Sascha Franck]

It was this forum where I read for the first time you still need to turn up the monitors to get the best experience

You don't necessarily have to. Certain small nearfield monitors are just made for a more intimidate listening experience at lower volumes. But when you also want to use the things you create (your modeler patches or your mixes) in louder environments, there's no way to find out how things will work others than at volume (google Fletcher Munson if you feel like...).

 

[laxu]

It was this forum where I read for the first time you still need to turn up the monitors to get the best experience :) I thought the Stomp + monitors where a good bedroom alternative.

I find that with monitors I can have up to 10 dB less volume for what I consider a great sound/feel compared to playing through a guitar cab in the same room. So that's quite a bit less volume because of the nearfield monitoring. Obviously the two sound different.

I like studio monitors better than headphones, but headphones are still useful when you want to play later in the evening, plus everything Sascha said.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I find that with monitors I can have up to 10 dB less volume for what I consider a great sound/feel compared to playing through a guitar cab in the same room. So that's quite a bit less volume because of the nearfield monitoring. Obviously the two sound different.

I like studio monitors better than headphones, but headphones are still useful when you want to play later in the evening, plus everything Sascha said.

Are the headphones better at capturing sounds at lower volumes? is that what you mean?

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

AC30+ dual cab with a 1x12 Open Cream / 2x12 Match H30.

Does that make any sense? :)

 

[Sascha Franck]

Are the headphones better at capturing sounds at lower volumes? is that what you mean?

Headphones filter some outside noise (of course depending on whether they're open, close or anything inbetween). Also, with headphones you usually deliver more volume to your ears. At least you can do that, whereas studio monitor volume is limited by neighbours, the police and also your shitty sounding untreated room.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Headphones filter some outside noise (of course depending on whether they're open, close or anything inbetween). Also, with headphones you usually deliver more volume to your ears. At least you can do that, whereas studio monitor volume is limited by neighbours, the police and also your shitty sounding untreated room.

Headphones filter some outside noise (of course depending on whether they're open, close or anything inbetween). Also, with headphones you usually deliver more volume to your ears. At least you can do that, whereas studio monitor volume is limited by your wife, neighbours, the police and also your shitty sounding untreated room.

 

[laxu]

Are the headphones better at capturing sounds at lower volumes? is that what you mean?

I think a lot of that depends on the quality of your studio monitors and headphones. Headphones especially are all over the place, whereas studio monitors will always be affected by the room as well as the quality of the monitors themselves.

To me, an amp (for sake of simplicity, let's cram modeler + poweramp under this) through a guitar cab needs to be at around 85-90 dB @ 1m volume to sound good to me. By comparison I could get by with nearfield listening at 75-80 dB @ 1m through studio monitors, which is already a way more reasonable volume for home use.

If you have to play at really low volumes, I'd rather use headphones than studio monitors at a whisper. You can turn those headphones up more without bothering family, neighbors or whatever reason you might have to play very quiet. Anything will sound better louder.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I think a lot of that depends on the quality of your studio monitors and headphones. Headphones especially are all over the place, whereas studio monitors will always be affected by the room as well as the quality of the monitors themselves.

To me, an amp (for sake of simplicity, let's cram modeler + poweramp under this) through a guitar cab needs to be at around 85-90 dB @ 1m volume to sound good to me. By comparison I could get by with nearfield listening at 75-80 dB @ 1m through studio monitors, which is already a way more reasonable volume for home use.

If you have to play at really low volumes, I'd rather use headphones than studio monitors at a whisper. You can turn those headphones up more without bothering family, neighbors or whatever reason you might have to play very quiet. Anything will sound better louder.

Yeah I think I am closer to 75-80 at home. I often have the volume knob of the Stome at noon but that doesn't say much about the monitors of course.

 

[pipelineaudio]

Micing a cab really isn’t as straight forward as there being one magical sweet spot or blend that is better than the others. It’s all context dependent with a ton of moving parts, and most of all personal preference.

I wish live guitar players could figure this out. They so often believe hanging any mic, in 15 seconds, anywhere with drums and bass and crap leaking into it, getting tripped over and moved through the show, and bouncing up and down with every kick drum, is somehow magically going to be better to the audience than an IR

 

[Sascha Franck]

I wish live guitar players could figure this out. They so often believe hanging any mic, in 15 seconds, anywhere with drums and bass and crap leaking into it, getting tripped over and moved through the show, and bouncing up and down with every kick drum, is somehow magically going to be better to the audience than an IR

Which is why I always used a mic clamp. Same position every time, no shaking, can be moved with the cab, etc.

 

[BahamaDada]

Which is why I always used a mic clamp. Same position every time, no shaking, can be moved with the cab, etc.

Or you use a Sennheiser E906/609 style mic and just hang it from the amp handle

 

[dronerstone]

Or you use a Sennheiser E906/609 style mic and just hang it from the amp handle

This is easy AF, still a clamp is definitely tighter.

 

[pipelineaudio]

Which is why I always used a mic clamp. Same position every time, no shaking, can be moved with the cab, etc.

Its still not going to come anywhere close to a multi mic'd amp in a pristine environment and ideal listening conditioning