Line 6 Helix | CREATE A GREAT TONE | 2020 Revised

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After releasing the original Create A Great Tone video back in 2017, I figured it was time to revisit this video and update it with some of the new tools we have in the Helix and go very in depth how I go about creating my presets. I really hope you enjoy this updated video and that it helps some folks to be able to better create great tones!
CustomTone Preset: line6.com/customtone/tone/5111555/
As always, thanks so much for watching...
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[@mhb450]

Your earlier video was a revelation. When I got my Helix, I was content but...there was no way it would replace my analog rig. Then a friend told me to check your videos out. The dual cab and mastering section concepts changed everything. It turned the ok into the "I think this is a contender to replace my rig". I cannot thank you enough. These concepts really shaped my last 3 years of live playing. Never has my rig been so consistent, easy to load in/load out. This one continues on that tradition. I will see if any of your newer ideas push the rock further up the mountain for me.

[@mhb450]

@@justinTime077 send me an email and I will run it down for you.

[@StephenSpelman]

Thanks, Jason! You absolutely made my Helix work for me, starting with your original 2017 video and all that followed. Also, the presets I’ve bought from you are awesome! Thanks and keep up the great work!

[@besprenpuds]

This is a really great video. Good for those new to the helix, Good also to those who've seen the previous one. always great to go back and have a review on how to do things!

[@goochmusic668]

This will probably get lost amongst all the other well-deserved compliments you've received, but man, you really are just the best. I am so grateful for the work you put into these videos. They don't just help so many of us understand our Helixes better, they also help us understand how to create great tones for all of our own music. Cheers!

[@scottt2383]

I’ve learned so much from Jason’s videos it is insane. I hold him 100% responsible for 2 Powercabs and a Variax now! Line 6 should be paying you, Jason! You are the best marketing they have! :)

[@monovibrationmedia]

Just got a copy of Helix Native and your video has given me a great start in exploring the setting up of patches. Thanks Jason!!

[@kennrayy]

Excellent- did your original series and have learned much more this time around! Well done

[@spongbobization]

Really glad someone forwarded me this video with Jason, I'm playing just under 3 years and have just bought a helix lt and I have to admit its overwhelming, but after watching Jason's video I feel more confident, I cant wait to watch his other videos and buy some of his tones

[@musicmanlfp890]

Just got a Helix LT last week! I've watched yours and many others videos on the Helix stuff for years though, felt like I already knew it inside-out when it arrived. Thanks for all the tips! I was following along with this vid, and when it was almost time to select the amp I was like, I'm gonna try the Matchstick ch2 today, then so did you in the video, so that was even cooler to be dialing in the same amp.

[@randomkoslowofficiel4285]

Thank you so much ! I couldn't figure out why my sounds didn't come out as full and creamy as expected. Now I've got answers ;)

[@robgroden]

Another great video Jason, you are the reason i still have my Helix and i thank you! I had bought and returned the Helix. After I watched you initial video i purchased it again. I still tell all of my friend that buy the Helix to start with your videos.Line 6 should include your template in the next update :-)

[@hotalacer]

You are the best HELIX teacher ever! Thank you very much man!!! You make it feel simple!!! How about creating a big clean tone?! And then creating a great acoustic tone? Keep on rocking our minds please!!! Thanx again!!!

[@Splintercast]

GREAT video. Thank you for all the teaching you do.

[@masonthomassax]

Your videos are gold man! Thank you!

[@MorGuitarz]

I would not have figured out the information & instruction in 3 lifetimes... I LOVE my Helix, but not quite as much as my amps. When I see endless menus, it makes me want to hurl the Helix into a lake. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING! THANK YOU, sincerely!

[@jenaviveh6973]

Great information! I’ll have to watch a few times but I think this will advance my knowledge quite a bit.

[@toddmiller796]

Thinking of getting a Helix LT, blown way by the sound and ease of creating presets. I'm usually a stock preset guy, but this box, and your video, makes it seem pretty easy to create my own sounds.

[@chappahx]

Simply excellent! Really helpful information.

[@satul1961]

Thank you ! I finally got a tone out of my stomp and power cab that was halfway decent. Maybe there is hope!

[@Tdonn25]

Nice update! I have been using your template roughly for awhile now... except I have the added benefit of the powercab 212 so I free up alot of processing power by not using cab models and can usually get through entire gigs on one preset!

[@rocktopuss9279]

Holy fuck! I'm glad I watched this video. It was worth it just for the Low/HIgh shelf section. What an amazing difference in tone. It cleaned up a lot of mud. Thanks dude!

[@RasCricketSmallAxe]

Thanks, Jason :) Much appreciated. I'm a mastering engineer as well and at first I was skeptical about your compressor at the end of the chain, naturally. But -2db GR is rarely a terrible thing and we have so much power and options now with Helix that old paradigms could be reconsidered a bit. Hell, we can even throw a compressor early in the chain if we want to, too. Cheers

[@WickBeavers]

Just discovered this- I had maybe a year out Helix and loved it. But the way I used it left it lacking to the point I’d use my Fuchs modded Fender amp when I cared the most. Of course I have the virtual software based Helix and was surprised when I dialed up “Mayerish” preset and it sooo rivaled my Fuchs/Dumble like amp. Of course, I never had access- or spent the time digging in- to such a great explanation on how to dial my Helix in… Now I’m gonna go back and chase the tone with renewed inspiration, thanks!

[@ermiyasb1453]

LONG VIDEO but its worth watching the whole thing! Its so helpful

[@jimgrill]

I just created a patch using a similar signal chain after watching this video and the older one like 10 times. Much better! I feel like I'm going at it with purpose now instead of luck. I also found a few issues with mono devices in my otherwise signal stereo chain! Doh! Great tip! :-) Thank you! Oh! Also, thank you for validating the stock cabs. I was feeling unsatisfied and overwhelmed with IRs. I was somehow convinced that I had to use IRs in order to be serious. The patch I just created using this technique with stock cabs is way better than a similar patch I created before with IRs.

[@toddmiller796]

I subscribed JUST for the shirt! And then got GREAT content!

[@andrewbettis4247]

Great video... the problem is, you've put out so many great sounding presets that I don't really have a need to try to build my own anymore lol... yours sound great

[@andreajem7v]

Amazing tricks! Thank you!!!

[@nicobluee]

muchas gracias amigo!!! acabo de comprar una helix rack y es el primer video que veo después de leer el manual. utilizaré este presets como master he iré cambiando según mis necesidades. me suscribo y seguiré viendo tus aportaciones. enhorabuena,!!! ademas se te ve un buen tipo. mil gracias de verdad!!

[@TIZFUNK]

such good info here. thank you so much

[@JessicaLynnCountry]

Great job Jason!

[@trumpetsinger123]

Great video, Man! Two years on, and I'm still trying to make my helix usable as more than just a pedalboard into an external amp. This series has definitely helped me understand how to make my tones more listenable, and out of "thin and tinny" territory. A video I would love to see and an area I still struggle with is a "How to variax", i.e. incorporating variax changes into snapshots, etc. Just can't seem to get it all to work together! Thanks again!

[@AxlAxeMan]

This was a pretty cool update, I wonder if its gonna change much with 3.0

[@kfr5018]

Jason - great tutorial as always. Appreciate the knowledge. Any advice on how to create an “underwater” tone that is still articulate. Kinda like the solo in sublime - bad fish? Thanks.

[@me-yg6yk]

thank you , just what I wanted.

[@jimlarue471]

As always - great stuff Jason! Could you comment on placement options for the Hi/Lo Shelf and Parametric Eq's? I have seen you place them in different locations in patches, although in this video you have placed them post-amp... As you are using the Parametric as a Hi/Lo Cut, would you suggest placing it at start of signal chain, so that the frequencies get filtered out prior to any signal processing?

[@davehubner5300]

I've learned alot from you and have used my Helix LT at church with lots of positive feedback. I would love to see a video setting up a Stomp to be used in an effects loop and what you would do. I run a pedalboard into the front of a cleanish tube amp and put my compressor and drives into the front and my Stomp w delays and reverbs in the effects loop. Would u use a shelf eq or Cali compressor in the loop? Thanks Dave H

[@bungalowbluesman]

Hi Jason, thank you for this update - super useful. I newish to the Helix floor & wonder if you could advise me? I mostly play at home in my studio and like clean sounds. I mostly use the helix as an interface listen on studio monitors. Here's my problem - if I want a crunchy/OD sound I find this hard to obtain without maxing out the guitar volume. I'd appreciate tips on how to get a nice warm OD sound at sensible home studio volumes.

[@DeanLamb]

Thank you fellow bald Canadian man

[@noohmz]

Great work. I particularly like the output block info for level setting. Can’t tell you how many Customtone patches have poor gain structure to make them largely unusable. They really need to make the level graphics way better for checking levels, with a block that persists, showing the peaks.

[@johanblume2621]

Great Helix tutorial !! I’m trying to decide on a Helix or AxeFx III.

[@blumpkin69ish]

Check out the ax8 or the fractal fm

[@robpolera6105]

I'm not sure how you do it? I've been following as many videos of yours as I can and still struggling to get that tight well defined with body tone that you get. I would describe mine as more papery and harsh. Using a les paul with alnico 2 pick ups. Even when I just see your guitar plugged into an amp with nothing other than the amp block and corresponding cab, you still have that tone I have mentioned. Whether I run through a pa and speaker or headphones, I am coming up short. Subscribed and liked your videos. Working my way through your catalogue. The quality of your gain is pleasing and notes tend to have more clarity for you. Any help? Good to see another Canadian btw.

[@lillone0]

thanks a lot

[@fylzero]

Kinda wish the Helix would make the mics a separate block you could put after the cab block. With a dual mic option. I find auditioning cabs and mics is tricky when they are bound together. idk, just a silly thought I had as I was watching this. Great content as always brother!

[@musicwiz40]

Import a second cab on another line and blend the two. Same cab different mic

[@fylzero]

@@musicwiz40 Obviously you can do this but it makes switching mics without switching cabs/settings and vice versa a monotonous task instead of just being able to audition them separately.

[@musicwiz40]

@@fylzero thats actually an incredible point! Although you can do it, it is a pain. Somebody should make the suggestion to use multiple mics per cab. Im prerty sure line 6 has a place where they take input from users seriously. Its called ideascale.

[@adamdagosto570]

My research suggested to set the Global EQ to bring down the highs to around 8k and the lows to cut at about 100. I think this helped. So if that is the case, why would I need a high and low shelf block unless those were cutting additional frequencies out?

[@kane6529]

@ Jason Sadites are you familiar with all distortions sounds bad with HX Stomp? Im using an Headrush FRFR and the cleans sound great but even the Line 6 Factory DIR on distortion just sound really bad to me? Have a single coil strat and Agile with EMG 85/81 and both guitars when driven just doesn't sound good. The drive pedals are in front of the amp and doesn't seem to be IR because even when using AMP/CAB just sounds similar to what ive heard when people but distortion after the Amp

[@ThePenfold]

Hi Jason, what would you sacrifice in the Hx stomp apart for amp and cab together?

[@jasonmlakar16]

For all your presets and when building a custom tone, if I have a 4 chan method, will I be able to use all your marketplace presets by just adding the send and return blocks to your presets? Conversely, if I abandon the 4 chan method down the road, could I then just delete the send and return blocks?

[@mtaskapablo]

Nice sounding guitar! What's the model??

[@AntonioRockGP]

Great video! In fact, your videos are a must to anyone who wants to explore the full tone potential of the Helix. One question though, in my work flow I like to have a clean and a distorted sound in the same preset. That's because I hate the tiny cut in sound that happens when changing presets, so I do everything with snapshots. That happens because I tend to stomp in the groove of the song, so it cuts the note I'm playing at the moment... My question, I usually do that with 2 amps in the preset but I run out of processing power very fast, what are the models that can do both good clean and dist just by changing the gain setting with the snapshoot?

[@USAforgotGoldenRule]

Hey Antonio, I'm not answering your question but I suggest working the guitar volume more for getting seamless gain or add an expression pedal to control gain plus other parameters (i.e., volume, mids, ect.). Cheers.

[@steveandrushko75]

As I have mentioned to you in past comments , I just recently got my Helix Floor I have a Marshall Lead 100 Monfet amp and two speaker cabs the amp was damaged when I moved to California guitar directly to the Marshall head not working (font input jack) it dose work with 1/4" out of the helix to the front giuitar in put here's my question ... If, I connect the helix using the 4 cable method can I use a Helix amp models in my preset chain? The tones I get from my presets sound great with head phones but sound like shit through my amp ( hard to epxplain this) I hope this makes sense to you , your advice would be very appreciated because as right now I am not very happy with my Helix and / or the presets

[@wozfromoz8795]

Is the low and hi shelf EQ block better than doing the global EQ in the Helix settings menu itself?

[@Herman138]

Hi,I was follow this set Up but my sound i diffrent from what u have,I use studio monitors speakers but I do not have any IRS on my stomp do u think this will be Main reason?

[@robertlove7607]

Jason, Why don't you use the looper and play a riff and let it repeat while dialing in the effects?

[@Zappabain]

Thanks, but maybe most changes would’ve been better noticed with some chords (G begins at 100Hz aprox) instead of only soloing, to appreciate the whole spectrum.

[@pauljosse]

I have found the more I watch people make tones with the headrush, the more I wish I had followed my gut and gotten a headrush, to my ear it just sounds way way way way better. I like my helix but i think i signed up with the wrong team....

[@RasCricketSmallAxe]

That super close mic is very Gibbons/ZZ Top

[@diggidydamndave]

I was just about to leave a comment asking if he was a ZZ Top fan; Jason's tone & style of playing constantly makes me want to listen to them. Might have to do a ZZ Top weekend.

[@GiantSFaithfuL]

Jason, when I am building my setup, I have a powercab 112 plus, at about 20:00 is when you are doing the cab, how do I add the powercab into the signal path or do I?

[@JasonSadites]

I just plug straight into the PowerCab at the end of the chain and use in FRFR mode. If you want to use the PowerCab speaker modeling, just disable the cab block in the Helix preset. Hope that helps!

[@GiantSFaithfuL]

@@JasonSadites Thank you! Will utilize that tip.

[@NehirF]

What about HX Stomp?

[@mark7166]

What is the album cover in the top center? It looks so familiar but I can't quite recall...

[@diegombittencourt]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street survivors

[@mark7166]

@@diegombittencourt Yer the man. Thanks bro.

[@cameronroot]

I’m having an issue of the volume or sustain being cut down on distorted snaps. I can’t seem to find out how to fix it... should be able to hit a single note and having ring for a while if I wanted but it rolls down. Thanks for any help!

[@JasonSadites]

Maybe check your noise gate settings on the input block.

[@cameronroot]

@@JasonSadites I’m looking at input block and it show input gate, threshold, decay, guitar in-z Input gate is on/ threshold -48db/decay 500ms/guiatarinz auto

[@JasonSadites]

@@cameronroot first thing I would try is turn the noise gate off all together and see if that fixes your problem.

[@USAforgotGoldenRule]

Good Lord, love the show but your rent go up with all these commercials?

[@paulrusinko666]

Respect u, but this is just insane. I'll stick with my me90

[@tlsarchive]

18:41

[@AlexisGitarre]

Man your tutorials are really good but wouldn't you consider building some absorbers for your studio? the room reverb on your voice is so distracting when listening on headphones.

[@wesd3370]

Did anyone else notice that his Low and High shelf frequencies were both set to 650HZ? Wouldn't that do nothing?

[@JasonSadites]

Just out of curiosity, why do you feel that those settings would "do nothing"?

[@wesd3370]

@@JasonSadites The way am thinking of it is that you are selecting the frequency of the low shelf, and the high shelf. I guess in my head it feels like if the low shelf frequency is 650hz and the high shelf frequency is set at 650hz then -2db on the low and +2db on the high would cancel each other out. Having tried it and noticed a difference it is obvious that I have a misunderstanding of how this works. I guess i'm thinking of this in a similar way to if you ran 2 EQs in series and boosted and lowered the same frequency.

[@wesd3370]

@@JasonSadites And now i've watched your video from back in april when they added the ability to do this and you do an A/B comparison. Thanks for the incredible info you are putting out.

[@JasonSadites]

Hey Wes, yeah you have a misunderstanding of how the shelf eqs worl. The high shelf will boost/cut all the frequencies above it's frequency point and the low shelf will boost/cut all the frequencies below it's frequency. So if both are set at 650hz with a boost of 2db on the high shelf and a cut of 2db on the low shelf, those two settings are handling completely different sets of frequencies. Hope that made sense. Really glad you are enjoying the videos :-)

[@miketaylor6053]

I feel like you built that backwards. Why wouldn't you start at the amp and follow the path? Seems counter intuitive. Great video though.

[@MrCgar18]

Making Helix Great again!!!!! oh sorry I guess that is nt a woke saying.You made my helix a freaking great piece of equipment ever.!!!

[@alexensing1541]

I would buy a "Make Helix Great Again" t-shirt haha

[@SuilujChannel]

Dude how many ads in this video. Chill :D every few minutes

[@JasonSadites]

Do you really think I place the ads in the video? Seriously? You should "chill" with your criticism.

[@SuilujChannel]

@@JasonSadites well sorry I thought there is some kind of frequency selector. This is the first time I noticed something like this. Over ten yellow ad points and a every few blocks even several ads at a time. Really hard to follow your explanations if you get thrown off a lot (I mean really a lot! I few ads are no problem but this video was some other kind of advertisement.)

[@JasonSadites]

You should complain to KZbin or subscribe to their paid service, it is ad free.

[@jrr832]

There really is a lot of ads in this video