Kurt Ballou’s Line 6 Helix Settings for Converge

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Here the Converge riffmeister dives deep into his floor-based modeler that handles everything during the band's spring tour.
Kurt Ballou takes tone very seriously. He’s been on the leading edge of aggressive guitar sounds since 1990 and Converge’s fourth album, 2001’s Jane Doe, is still seen as a game-changing release with its ferocious performance and masterful production. His sonic temple God City Studio is the destination for artists looking to make their rawest, heaviest, brutalist work. Ballou has even developed a gear brand (God City Instruments) that includes guitars, pedals, and pickups all in the pursuit of turning ideas into art.
During our conversation before Converge’s sold-out performance at Nashville’s Basement East on May 22nd, Ballou dove into his Line 6 Helix spice rack and shared how 30 plus years as a guitarist and in-demand producer have informed his guitar-design philosophy. Plus, he detailed why his goal is to get to a place where “gear doesn’t matter.” And then longtime bassist Nate Newton joined the fun by showing off his “Riffblaster” setup and how a special P bass helps him honor a dear friend.
Shop the Rig:
Quilter Labs Overdrive 202 200-watt Head: sweetwater.sjv.io/MmNzBN
Line 6 Helix Guitar Multi-effects Floor Processor: sweetwater.sjv.io/Qy6Lnz
Fender American Professional II Precision Bass V: sweetwater.sjv.io/5g7EZD
Orange AD200B MK 3 200-watt Bass Head: sweetwater.sjv.io/vNZk0L
DOD Rubberneck Analog Delay Pedal with Tap Tempo: sweetwater.sjv.io/Y9yPjr
Dunlop CBM105Q Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah Pedal: sweetwater.sjv.io/m52qrO
TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Polyphonic LED Guitar Tuner Pedal with Buffer: sweetwater.sjv.io/k0oEQV
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[@premierguitar]

Full Rig Details: bit.ly/ConvergeRR Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGKZbin Win Guitar Gear: bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL Merch & Magazines: shop.premierguitar.com

[@scottlynn]

Kurt's settings- I was keen to see what he was doing as i just got a Helix Floor... some details missing but hopefully someone finds it useful. These are transcribed from the times when the Helix screen was visible. Path A 1. Input- Guitar 1. Input Gate On 2. Threshold -81.9 dB 3. Decay 10.0ms 4. Guitar In-Z Auto 5. Guitar Pad Global 2. Distortion- Tycoctavia Fuzz (not used on this tour) 1. Fuzz 0.4 2. Level 5.1 3. Dynamics - Hard Gate 1. Open -64.0 dB 2. Close -64.0 dB 3. Hold time 15.0 ms 4. Decay 12.0 ms 5. Level 0.0 dB 4. Distortion- Minotaur 1. Settings not shown 2. Presumably using this to push the amps as the gain on the Das Benzin amp at least is set pretty low. 5. Dynamics - Hard Gate 1. Open -43.0 dB 2. Close -43.0 dB 3. Hold time 10.0 ms 4. Decay 10.0 ms 5. Level 0.0 dB 6. Pitch/Synth - Dual Pitch 1. Interval 1 +12 2. Cents 1 0.00 3. Delay1 40 ms 4. V1 Level 5.0 5. Interval 2 -12 6. Cents 2 0.00 7. Delay - Ping Pong (set to switch at same time as Searchlights reverb) 1. Time 1/4 2. Feedback 41% 3. Scale 45% 4. Spread 5.0 5. Mix 27% 6. Level 0.0 dB 8. Reverb- Searchlights 1. Decay 5.8 2. Predelay 10.0 ms 3. Low cut Off 4. High cut 8.5 kHz 5. Mix 36% 6. Level -4.5 dB Path A feeds two amp paths (B1, B2 below) B1 (panned left) 1. Input from path A 2. Amp- Das Benzin Mega 1. Drive 2.7 2. Bass 7.5 3. Mid 4.8 4. Treble 6.5 5. Presence 7.0 6. Ch Vol 9.1 3. Send/Return 1/4 inch send block to stage amp left 1. Send 0.0 dB 2. Dry Thru 0.0 dB 4. IR 1. “invader beard cm2” (probably wrong but the name is hard to see) 1. IR Select 48 2. Low cut Off 3. High cut Off 4. Mix 100% 5. Level -17 dB 5. Output via XLR to FOH B2 (panned right) 1. Input from Path A 2. Looper (single button) 1. Settings not shown 3. Mute switch 1. Volume patch set to 0? 2. Settings not shown 4. Amp- Archetype 1. Settings not shown. 2. Presumable set similar to other amp and pushed with the Minotaur 5. Send/Return 1/4 inch send block to stage amp right 1. Settings not shown 2. Same as other path I assume 6. Pitch synth- Simple Pitch (always on, provides stereo widening effect on right side) 1. Interval 0 2. Cents -8.0 3. Delay 14 ms 4. Shift Level 10.0 5. Mix 100% 6. Level 0.0 dB 7. Output via XLR to FOH

[@dtrmnts]

youre a gentleman and a scholar

[@andrewleo9202]

Thanks so much for this breakdown

[@JiTiAr35]

Helix already 8 years old but still going strong 💪

[@mixodorians12]

Multiple brilliant updates keeps it relevant.

[@Annunaki_0517]

Yes, exactly. My amazing wife scoured every guitar shop that had an online store in the US back in late 2016 until she found what she says was probably the last available Helix and there it was under the tree on Xmas morning. Since then, every firmware update (always free!) has been like Xmas all over again. I used to be obsessed with pedals and effects, but I haven’t touched my pedalboard since getting a Helix. I own a Fender Super Reverb, a Plexi, and an AC 30. Sure, vintage amps are cool, but they are a bit delicate, require a lot of expensive maintenance, and weigh a TON. I’ve never taken all of them to a show or a practice. With the Helix, I have those three, and about 30 others with me at all times. Line 6 has literally built a better mousetrap.

[@kendutchess]

Love mine, It is an essential part of my sound.

[@eflizotte]

For what it’s worth, you can route the master volume knob to control the digital or the headphone out. It then makes it not a factor in the XLR or quarter inch out. May remove the need to tape the volume knob

[@LaminarSound]

Really great example here of what Helix can do. It's simply awesome man.

[@GiantSFaithfuL]

This is why I own a Helix. Well done on that custom rig! From thinking about the mix in a venue to all the intricate stuff this is one of the best Helix rigs I've seen period!

[@denverrandy7143]

I Love everything Kurt Ballou makes/touches...just always awesome!!!👍

[@professorpious]

That stereo delay and reverb sound 🤯

[@VELKRO20]

Thank you for this!!❤

[@premierguitar]

No problem 😊

[@poesybeat]

The Quilters are awesome. I love mine so much. Loads of guitarists (other than the blues guys), would be perfectly happy with these instead of their tube amps - and would save a ton of money and maintenance.

[@JfBourbonnais]

from the line 6 support : The Tuner screen has a new "Trails" parameter. When set to "On," delay repeats and reverbs' decay continue to ring out and even the LOOPER KEEPS RUNNING when the tuner is engaged. No more awkward "everyone's staring at me because my B string went wonky."

[@GaryDGuitar]

2:29 is my favorite part.

[@TheLordcasio]

My hat is off to you for throwing out the expression "Space Rock"...everyone seems to abuse "Shoegaze"....not how we would've called it back in the day.

[@xnadaconadiex]

maestro

[@DiegosaurusThesaurus]

Give us that patch there luv 😘 go on' we needs the preset's precious 💞

[@scottlynn]

I posted most of it above :) few bits missing but most of it can be seen in the parts where they show the Helix screen

[@deanopie4390]

Someone tell him you don’t need to tape the volume knob… you can set what it does in the settings hHa

[@StratsRUs]

It would have been beneficial to show the Helix screen itself.

[@ryanorion547]

It's baffling that they dont understand this.

[@mattl4925]

7:40

[@scottlynn]

I posted the settings above from the parts of the video where they did show the screens, there are only a few parts of the chain missing

[@codyyates1045]

Butt crack at 1:40.

[@Exploboy]

not my proudest fap

[@user-ey1gp9jh5t]

I’m very confused on how he’s using his helix. Especially the FX loop

[@abraxas1]

Maybe it's not a loop, just outputted to the quilter, but that's a guess.

[@Poepopdestoep]

He's using the effects loop send to send the amp sounds (minus the cab ir's) to his poweramps for onstage cab sound. Then also with cab IR's to the XLR out (FOH) It's a pretty common output setup nowadays

[@BarronVonSchnoot]

The dude’s mouth is clicking big time. Kurt needs a glass of water.

[@daveh4925]

Why are guitars always loud and the audio relatively quiet, I can't watch any guitar videos as they blast the guitars for no logical reason😅

[@justaguy2365]

He taped the big volume knob? Lol. It's not hard to keep in the same spot

[@franciscoquinones9338]

The volume knob can be completely bypassed, instead of using that awful tape.

[@danielktdoranie]

Only Baloo I respect is a bear and he only uses analog a effects… like a REAL BEAR

[@ericajohnson7535]

Could have attached the preset. Not that I’d want that garbage sound.