Looking for Solution. Need quiet or silent rig. (new baby)

[horseblanket]

Or fuzz pedals.
stacked....

[GAS KING]

It is not very doomy. Doesn't need to be doomy.

Taking the piss, but I’m interested in hearing how you think it’ll do with heaps of gain.

So far the high gain Marshall tones are best. Need to work with the mesa, bogner, etc models yet.

I need to try through my amp loop with 4cm too. Is suspect that with be epic.

Mostly trying to learn how to use the thing right now

[GAS KING]

Or fuzz pedals.
stacked....

I'll try that. People said the fuzz sucked but so far they sound good to me.

[blackjaw]

I have a a Blackstar Fly 3 that I got when my kids were really little and I really enjoyed it.

Also got an OBNE headphone amp for hotel travel and with a comp in front and some low gain it didn’t sound too bad. Perfectly fine for cleans but needed heavy eq for anything above low gain in order to sound good.

[mtngpeopleiseasy]

I'm in an apartment and am unable to crank anything up the way I'd like. The initial solution was my Vibrolux '68 Custom > Fryette Power Station 2 > Torpedo CAB > Audio interface. Could crank my amp, it sounded good, I was happy. But then I realized that I've got a ridiculous amount of gear sitting here, I'm wearing out tubes (simply because I'm cranking the hell out of the Vibrolux all the time), and while the sounds I got made me happy, I kept hearing demos of people getting really nice sounds from much simpler setups.

So I sold the amp (which is kind of a bummer but an amp like that deserves to be played out, which was never happening) and picked up an Ampli-firebox. Was iffy on it until I read that turning off the programmed compression and EQ on the presets opened everything up...now I completely love it. I feel like I'm getting way better sounds than I ever have. I put it on the Twin setting and am running OD, fuzz, loopers, delay into it, then it goes to the audio interface, then garageband, and then I can listen through monitors or plug in my headphones.

Hope you find a nice solution that works for you.

[GAS KING]

That's how all of the modelers/profilers seem. You need to find the key tweaks to get it to sound really good.

I looked at the atomic amplifire 6/12 and they seem like a really good option.
Good lively amp tones.

I ultimately went with the Helix because the interface seemed easy to use, affordable and they plan on continued updates/support for 3-5 years (I think).
I was set on a Fractal AX8 until I saw the interface and price....and did my researching.

The Headrush board looked good too. Touch screen is the future.
I find myself instinctively touching the screen even though the helix has no touch screen capability.

There are a lot of videos for the Helix too.
I watched 2-3 tutorial videos and it opened my eyes on how to program it better.

[GAS KING]

Had Helix LT for around 2.5 weeks now. Been using it every single day for at least 30 mins.

It gets better and better.
The more I work with it and learn about how to use it...... the better it sounds.
You have to dial it in like you're in the studio. (this guy has very detailed and thorough vids about it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvhdK4 ... Y_RIbxZctg )
I would have never thought to do any of the things he suggests....but they made all the difference.
input pad, making a single signal path, split cabs, dialing in and blending mics, comp at the end, using exp pedal to A/B and test/balance tones, looper to test tones, high/low cut, etc........so good.

This page also references all of the models and their real life counterparts.
https://helixhelp.com/models/

The presets are terrible. I wiped all of the factory stuff and started from scratch.
Set up a generic patch and duplicated that to every spot. I just bypass amp, cab, FX, other and reactivate/tweak when desired.
That way all the fiddly stuff is done and I can just change amps, cabs and FX to get what I need.

This past weekend I got to plug it into the FX loop of my Mesa Heartbreaker and 4x12. (wife and kid gone for a couple hours)
That was pretty satisfying and it sounded really great.
I used the helix as preamp and tried pedals "out front" with 4CM.
I was able to get a convincing stoner/doom tone. It would take a little more tweaking to perfect it though. (I can also get that type of tone via headphones.)

I've always had loud tube amps. Matamp GT1, OR120, Hiwatt 150w clone, Laney AOR, Randall RGT100ES, Egnater TOL100.....plus many more.
I can say without a doubt that the Helix can hang with those amps tonally.
I was never unhappy. I doubt you could tell a difference live.

I also tried direct into my studio monitors. That sounded really good and could scale the volume down enough.
I don't have any room treatment or anything fancy. Just a desk in a basement.
Still was nice to hear sound outside of headphones.

Next time I have a chance I'd like to plug it into my PA and see how that sounds. (my basement is decked out from it being the rehearsal space back in the day)

For headphone practicing on a regular basis....... its a powerful piece of gear.
It also scratches that GAS itch....since I can dial in whatever amp, cab or pedal I want.
Or if I'm jamming along to a song I can mimic it fairly closely......and that's satisfying as well.
I did however order a nicer set of headphones and am waiting for them to arrive.
I only have some old shitty ones from 18 years ago.

Overall I think it was a good choice and I can definitely see using it for a long time. Well worth the cost imo.

[odontophobia]

Thanks for the write up. Sounds awesome and definitely intriguing. Not a cheap piece of kit. Sweet sounding though.

[GAS KING]

Thanks for the write up. Sounds awesome and definitely intriguing. Not a cheap piece of kit. Sweet sounding though.

Agreed.
I got mine LT for $750.
Which seems steep but when you think about what you get for it.....its not that bad. Depends on your needs.
(there's also the HX Stomp - $599 new (same amp/FX libraries but less DSP block capability) and HX Effects - $450 used (pedals only) for much less if you don't need all of the extra stuff or extreme processing)

The library of amps and pedals alone is impressive. Nearly all of the most common ones. The ability to mix and match.

If I add up what's on my pedalboard; currently I'm near $750 and the Helix could replace it all. plus get more that I don't have. Now add in amps and cabs.

Helix is also an audio interface for recording/re-amping. Plug directly into PC with USB. No interface required.

The Floor model has an additional FX loop, scribble strips and vocal mic processing (maybe something else, I forget). Lowest I've seen those go for is $950.

I think the real problem is that if you were to sit down with one at a guitar shop and test it...........you'd probably hate it. presets and defaults are all bad.
It's taken me weeks of watching videos and experimenting to get it to sound better. There's so much that isn't at face value.
I'm going to keep on learning. Need to research which frequencies do what in guitar tones. I think a 10 band EQ in the path is going to make it as realistic as a real amp.

I truly expected to hate this thing. Based on my past experience with Boss, Line 6 and Digitech mFX units.

To each their own though.
A roaring tube amp does have its own merits.

That's the funny part.
Its not that I don't dislike tube amps now.......they just seem like a lot more work. load in/out, tube maintenance, volume, stuck with couple toanz, and need pedals.

I am selling it pretty hard right now. We'll see how it is after the honeymoon period has passed.

[horseblanket]

I gotta admit your process has me inspired to try, but I am staying tuned-in until the honeymoon phase is over.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

[odontophobia]

I gotta admit your process has me inspired to try, but I am staying tuned-in until the honeymoon phase is over.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

This for sure. I definitely have capable solution currently but I’m interested.

[oldangelmidnight]

Whenever I try playing through headphones, I get annoyed by the wires. Can anyone recommend any wireless setups?