Line 6 Helix - How To Create A Great Tone - Pt. 14 - Dialing In Tones For Live Playing

[@LeonTodd]

This is essential viewing for anyone who owns a guitar!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you Leon and so glad you enjoyed it :-)

[@cortviva69]

Jason, I watched a couple of your vid's, especially the comp, eq, verb, delay and liveplaying. I heeded your advice and implemented the little mastering section in my patches and...... BOOM! My Sound is right now so even and perfectly in the mix - well, at least back home - now I am burning to see how it will be with the band after the shutdown!!!! Thx a lot!!!!

[@Christer_Englund]

Jason, it’s a excellent idea to deal with this challenge, on how to cut through live. I’ve been struggling lately with this at rehearsals and I find the advices you provide sooooo useful. Excellent stuff, thank you so much!

[@JasonSadites]

Oh that is really great to hear :-) I am so glad it has helped out! My pleasure :-)

[@jayogden773]

Your videos are AWESOME Jason! Thanks for taking the time to do them! They're very informative and helpful! Really appreciate your work and insights!!

[@JoshuaTaylorMusic]

Man. Great stuff, Jason. I just had a couple of gigs which illustrated my need to solve exactly these problems. A year into my Helix rig and this channel has become my textbook. I err on the unusual end of the spectrum for guitar players: softer tone + low stage volume, but to a fault. This helped me find my cut again while keeping my bandmate-friendly "team player tone."

[@JasonSadites]

That is great to hear Joshua :-) SO happy to have been of some help!

[@edouarddidier7858]

What a great video ! Thank you to take the time Jason. Now, I know what to do when I must to work to my tones.

[@VelezBiH]

This is the best video i come across on this topic. I been learning so much from you. Thank you for all the effort you put into these videos.

[@JasonSadites]

Totally my pleasure and really glad you are enjoying the videos :-)

[@stevefoster707]

Jason I know these some of your videos are quite old but having fairly recently discovered the HX Stomp I find these and many of your other videos invaluable. Very educational and informative and presented in a accessible format. Thank you and keep up the great work.

[@musicbynaush]

You are such an awesome teacher!! Endless gratitude!

[@Landynlyerla]

I get so excited to get home and try these techniques out. Then I get home and forget everything and, out of habit and frustration, go full on Jimmy Noodles in Am. Great video, Jason!

[@ibrajimenez2098]

Thank you for your lessons. I just got this one for a gig in a week. And trying to catch-up as fast asi can. I found your videos to be the most helpful!

[@hrvojemal77]

Once again, great work, great advice and such an awesome attitude. This translates to my playing: I don't have to be blasting my volume, so true..but it takes a certain amount of self awareness, I would even dare to say emotional intelligence!!! Thank you for like 213th time!

[@hrvojemal77]

and i am first to comment on this video :) hhehhehe

[@JasonSadites]

Oh thank you and so glad you enjoyed the video :-)

[@tmuka]

thanks again for sharing. your Helix tips are such a wealth of wisdom!

[@JasonSadites]

Oh thank you so much and so glad you enjoy the videos :-)

[@MikeMiranda777]

Thank you for all of this information!

[@indianrockstrat]

I think you are absolutely correct about too many wet effects for live, plus quite often too much gain. There's a huge number of Helix users playing in churches, which adds in the influence of ( often ) hundreds of singing people to the FOH mix. Of course even in a rock concert the crowd can be noisy :-) Add in that you often have volunteer sound techs with a wide variety of skills. :-) Recording would often be done direct into the board or attached laptop -- not useful information for determining how you sound in "band mix plus singing audience." I think having another guitarist give me feedback by sitting out in the seats on his/her off weeks is about the best I can hope for. Our sound techs go for a blend of everything, with vocals on top, and really don't even delve into board EQ or compression. I did set up high pass ( low cut) on everything at the mixer. Then try to determine how much to boost your Helix signal for key/solo passages when you have little or no idea how FOH sounds.

[@jamesrushton2333]

When some people speak...you should listen...great stuff Jason. Thank you

[@JasonSadites]

Ahh thank you so much James and my pleasure :-)

[@jasonmaltz7040]

Very helpful Jason! Thank you, I’m going to try this on my GT100 at a gig this weekend.

[@JasonSadites]

My pleasure Jason :-) Hope it helps!

[@jasonmaltz7040]

Jason Sadites Hey Jason, just wanted to let you know that your EQ trick worked for me. Had a gig last night and my tone was spot on! Even got several compliments from guys in the band as well as the audience. Thanks so very much!

[@JasonSadites]

Hey Jason, that is awesome news :-) So happy that it helped out and my pleasure!

[@scb1620]

One thing that I would add to this discussion is about phase. If you're using hard panned stereo amps and effects, it can sound great out front, but when the stereo signal is played back to you through a mono monitor you can have phase cancellation problems. I had a couple of patches that sounded great, but when I tried to use them live, the volume would dip drastically in the monitor (even though I had volume matched my patches) and I couldn't hear what I was playing. I finally figured out that it was a phase problem and simply flipping the phase on one side of the patch would bring my volume back. I later bought a phase analyzer plugin so that I fine tune the phase of each side of my stereo signal and things have been great - I can create wide stereo sound without any problems.

[@JasonSadites]

This is a very good point Steve! Thanks so much for mentioning it :-)

[@Nicky-T]

Thank you for explaining Predelay. I could never figure out what that was. Sounded like it would delay before you play! Impossible...

[@ShatzThe]

Great stuff, and very helpful! If only more guitar players in two-guitar bands were as considerate as you, volume-wise!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you so much Kelly :-) Really glad you enjoyed!

[@alanlewis9288]

Another awesome video, great work!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you so much Alan :-)

[@Tdonn25]

Hey man! Thanks so much for these videos! I am playing the helix live in multiple bands for guitar and bass and use your template for a starting point on all my tones (guitar anyway). Best source of Helix know-how IMO and a great source for guitarists even without helix!

[@sjsphotog]

great detailed informative video as always Jason. EQ and Reverb = treat it like Salt & Pepper...... "A little goes a LONG way"...... Great keep it up

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks so much Stephen :-)

[@antonbloemhoff9631]

Fantastic. Thank you Maestro!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you and my pleasure Anton :-)

[@jonathanbrazee3846]

Great point on volume Jason. If only players would take that advice.

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you :-) I thought it was worth mentioning as I think that could be a big step in some cases to solving a lot of folks problems concerning their tones at higher volumes.

[@MadeOfTone]

Very helpful. Thanx for sharing.

[@JasonSadites]

My pleasure and thank you for watching :-)

[@liam421]

Excellent once again, thanks dude

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you and my pleasure :-)

[@danmarshall3089]

hi jason a tip i use is to dial in live tones on my thinnest harshest sounding strat bridge pickup that then makes everything sound better at loud volumes maybe use tip to show the eq changes vs using your other pickups to dial in the tones for louder volumes.

[@JasonSadites]

Yes that could work for some. Thanks.

[@CharlesMottLMSW]

I'm watching the section on eQ , compression , and delays...absolutely essentials, but as a guy who has studied recording , a bit basic and been hitting the home studio hard for the last 6 years, just to add a little perspective. One of the reasons for adding the EQ that might benefit your mixes live, is that when you cut out your really low end from the guitar that doesn't need to be there, i.e. anything below 100 hertz , it allows the low end of your kick drium or bass to be more "there" and drive the bands sound a bit more. You also cut away the 8k and above to make room for the cymbals....this and anything on a en electric guitar above that is going to contribute to your sound sounding harsh anyway, in my ionion , I susoect that this is where a lot of your digital fizziness lives. Engaging low and high pass filters in the studio is a trick as old as the ages. So besides benefiting your sound, it also makes the band mix that much stronger.

[@JasonSadites]

What you say here is very true, but was beyond the topic I was focusing on for this video. Excellent points though and thanks for posting them :-)

[@CharlesMottLMSW]

Actually your videos ar what i have been watching to learn my way around the Helix, about the most thorugh I've seen out there. Thanks for posting.

[@SuperJockscot]

Awesome video Jason thank you! Have you done a video with regards to getting a good solo volume boost for live work? I have not had a chance to watch all your collection yet so sorry if you have already covered this :o)

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks so much :-) I don't think I have covered that but something I could most likely incorporate into a video...Thanks again!

[@WatchesnguitarsDK]

Thank you again! You're awesome!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you and my pleasure Christian :-)

[@r2orobles338]

Could you make a video on where the volume knob is on the drummer?!

[@JasonSadites]

Haha, if only I knew where it was I would do that video :-)

[@jorgea3507]

Great video!

[@eschatts1]

Jason great stuff. I downloaded a bunch of your presets. The Live, Friedman and Lone Star don’t import into my helix. I wonder if your have aftermarket IR’s in the patches that I don’t have....

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks so much for the kind words :-) That is strange that they don't import...there are no IRs used in any of my patches just stock cabs. Really not sure why they aren't importing.

[@chrismort5886]

Hi. I had this issue and it turned out to be me not having the latest Helix firmware. If any part of the patch uses anything from newer firmware, the patch won't import. Maybe not the case for you, though.

[@kristop2288]

Great video man!! Thanks!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you and my pleasure Kristo :-)

[@rickywhite2208]

Could you do a video about some things you might could do to get a better tone playing mono. I can get great tones when I play in stereo, but my tones in mono are greatly different. I don't have an option to play in stereo at my venue. Maybe give us some tips that would lessen the difference between mono and stereo if that is even possible. Thanks.for your videos. They are very helpful.

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks for the kind words and I will see what I can do :-)

[@fisch723]

Awesome as always. Yes, I was wondering a similar thing - for a live gig do you have a preference of stereo over mono? I know everything sounds bigger and wider in stereo but there's something to be said for the ability of the soundman to be able to pan you at the location in the stereo space as he sees fit. Opinion?

[@SuperCardera]

Ricky White Could you expand on how you flip the phasing within your patch please? Thanks.

[@Doty6String]

In general I find the helix to be extremely bright, but when you tone it down it can still cut. When I dial in a patch I always aim for “rich” tone so when you crank it, it’s FAT. For sure the helix has no problem being bright!

[@marstudios7879]

One question Master Jasón. It is ok to use delay and reverb at the same time. Some of my friend tells me yes other says no. What is the best possibility. Thank you.

[@JasonSadites]

It sure is as long as it is giving you the sound you are looking for. I use delay and reverb together all the time :-)

[@marstudios7879]

Jason Sadites Thank you 🙏🏽

[@wa8260]

这系列太赞了…国内啥时候能有这么良心系统的教学啊

[@juranliu6606]

GREAT EQ SET!!!!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you so much Juran :-)

[@ioregan]

Thanks so much for your videos - really helpful!! I have always struggled with getting a sound I like at home, and then when a band wraps around it at volume, it's nowhere close to what I thought it would be. Your workflows and processes are a brilliant starting point to train myself to get closer to getting it right. Quick unrelated question if I may... Are you routing your mic through the Helix into your DAW for these videos? And if so, how are you setting that up, given that there are no (apparent) mic paths in the patches?

[@JasonSadites]

My pleasure and thanks for watching :-) Great question, Yes I am routing it through the Helix but using the USB 8 output which sends the direct mic pre sound straight through to the DAW without any processing therefore not eating up one of your paths. It is a very nice feature that Line 6 included in the Helix.

[@wilsonhowx]

This some really good stuff! Thanks man, want your opinion regarding FRFR, should I get an FRFR that sounds good to my ear in my own home with my drummer or one that represents the PA system well of my church which is where I play most times ? Looking at the Alto ts312

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you so much Wilson :-) It is funny you ask that as I have a video that is going to be dedicated to discussin the topic of FRFR style speakers and traditional guitar cabs. It is almost down and will be out this weekend very likely!

[@MikeyGee001]

Always awesome. Is it available on CustomTone ? Not being lazy, just curious ? I Love getting your patches and then dissecting them to see how you did it.

[@JasonSadites]

Sure is Mike :-) Here you go: line6.com/customtone/tone/3681687/

[@MikeyGee001]

You Rock brother. Already having it loaded allows me to follow your process better . Mucho Appreciated.

[@JasonSadites]

No problem at all Mike...enjoy :-)

[@joelkothapally]

Can you also post something with a Gretsch guitars & helix. :)

[@JasonSadites]

I would love to but I don't have any Gretsch guitars. I did do a Billy Duffy style video a while back where I used my Variax on a Gretsch setting.

[@PhilipJoyceMusician]

Hi Jason, really enjoying your videos, found the crossover trick very useful. Thanks for that. You always put a parametric at the end of your chain and low and high cut as standard. My question is why don't you set the low and high cuts in the global settings so you do don't need to bother with that ? Also do you mess with the low and high cut in the cab or IR block ? Thanks again and keep up the good work

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks so much Philip and so glad you like the videos :-) Very good question about the use of global eq. For these videos I use the Helix into my computer via USB and the Global Eq's don't output to USB. I also like to have the parametric to control each patch individually in case I would like make different tweaks depending on the needs for each tone and what I am working on at the time. Thanks for the great question and tuning on!

[@PhilipJoyceMusician]

Jason Sadites you did address it towards the end about the usb issue, so apologies for being too impatient to get to the end before asking my question. Thanks for the replay. \m/

[@JasonSadites]

Oh no worries at all :-)

[@pmacfto]

Do you ever use the Fletcher Munson curve EQ block? I saw it when I had a Kemper - there is an EQ block you can set up which allows you to create sounds at home at lower voluime (with the block on) with the idea that when you get to gig volume you switch it off and your sound should be fairly close. Interested in your opinion.

[@JasonSadites]

Paul, I have heard of some folks doing that. I have never felt the need to. I have a pretty good feel for what things will sound like at gig volume as I am dialing them in. If it helps some though, not a bad idea.

[@timthompson847]

What studio monitors, and or headphones, do you create patches on?

[@nitemunky76]

Somewhat off-topic, you don't have any sound absorption in your studio? Good video.

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks so much! No it is a pretty live sounding room but works for my purposes.

[@ckhanpe]

this is gold!

[@JasonSadites]

Thank you :-)

[@Bob-tp3nx]

Thanks!

[@JasonSadites]

My pleasure Bob :-)

[@jesterraj]

i hope this applies to other boards as well//

[@trasakas]

thank you so much!

[@MaxBerson]

This is a really interesting topic, but all the discussion of how a tone "sits in the mix" is difficult for a beginner to absorb if you don't play the guitar in a mix. Great sound and playing, but I found the core idea hard to understand without context.

[@tochiromifune419]

The problem with the Ganymede reverb and all the new reverbs is that when you crank the Mix (as you do in your video) you lose much volume. That is not the normal behaviour of a reverb I think.

[@newcomer87]

Tochiro Mifune I think what people have mentioned is that the reverbs aren't wet enough up to 50 % and then they start taking over the dry signal. Also some of the reverbs in mono don't sound quite right, but the good things is that the designers at L6 are aware of it and they will be fixed (and wetter) in the next update :) Jason, as usual, love what you do in all your series. Looking forward to the album, that excerpt from it sounded fantastic! :)

[@JasonSadites]

Yes but that still doesn't change the general principle of what I was discussing in this video.

[@JasonSadites]

Thanks so much +Newcomer :-) Glad you liked the new clip! I just got the final drum tracks back for that tune and it is sounding really great!

[@newcomer87]

Jason Sadites that sounds great, Jason! Looking forward to getting the entire album! :)

[@JasonSadites]

Will keep you posted :-) Thanks!!

[@sentientfootwear]

4:25 - Sacrilege!!! lol

[@JasonSadites]

Haha! I know, how dare I suggest such a thing :-) lol