The #1 Helix Compressor Mistake! Be Careful!

[@guitarjonn7103]

Totally respect your ability to find useful Helix topics to share with us after all this time. Helix users are the better for it.

[@stuartangel8212]

You do all of us new helix users a great service. Thanks for all of your hard work.

[@artytoney2057]

Mr Jason I've been following you and learning this Helix for a country min and finally im starting to dial in my own tones especially in a band practice situation and its finally starting to sound bright and open sounding and hitting all the tones im looking for , so glad I found your channel and kept following your advice , im sure there's alot of great info out there but for me your way of doing it is the most balanced and complete system going to create a solid proven method to sound great

[@chadt5584]

I use the volume knob on my guitars, and even though this vid doesn’t directly address this, it explains why I don’t get along with compression early in the chain. With every volume knob adjustment, the threshold and compression changes. Especially, if you try to get the compressor at unity with the volume knob cranked. Crazy things happen when you roll the volume knob down. Ha ha. I’ve tried using a volume pedal after the compressor and worked with it until I’m blue in the face. But most often, I just don’t like compression early in the chain.

[@NedJeffery]

This is also a problem if you use a gate.

[@rudolfbagusat9267]

i didn't know that , thank you very much. Great video

[@AntonioCavicchioni]

Hi Jason... I was listening to Brief Eclipse again... wonderful album!

[@pauljsmith2113]

That's a really nice piece of music at the end, Jason. Well done.

[@davidneal9224]

I always have great success with compressor settings in Helix, mainly because I’ve copied your approach pretty much from the beginning - thank you Jason!!!

[@JasonSadites]

My pleasure and glad the videos were helpful :-)

[@ghost79ish]

I love all your videos. However, these in particular, that dive into very specific effects interest me the most. A series on all of the different effects would be great.

[@adrianjems7443]

Thank you man it helps me alot. This the reason why ? When i use compressor it feels like it cuts my sustain and gain . I also have a higher output pickup on the bridge

[@jimmyd12001]

That hadn't crossed my mind before. 🤘

[@DavidUK64]

Thanks Jason - great video!!

[@NedJeffery]

I always use a 10-band graphic block in front of the first comp. This allows me to adjust the tone and level in order to make the guitar suit the patch. EQ on the guitar can really be the magic sauce that makes the tone hit that sweat spot.

[@picksalot1]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I don't use Compression very much because it does things I sometimes don't think of, like you demonstrated. Are there Parameters on other Effect Blocks that act like ghosts, fooling around with other Blocks in ways we might have not imagined or considered? Might make for a good Halloween video about ghosts in the machine. 🎃

[@williyG70]

Hi Jason , I ve learned helix with you! But honestly don’t understand when to use compresor at the beginning or end of chain. Could you help me? Thanks

[@matthewneedham2125]

Would u recommend using the deluxe comp in the beginning, and then the LA comp at the end, but keeping all the wet effects after it so the main tone is controlled but wet effects can breath with out being smashed at all?

[@JasonSadites]

I have used the Deluxe comp at the beginning while using the LA Studio Comp at the end. It can work for some situations and depending on settings. I don't use the compressor at the end in a heavy handed way so it never "smashes" the time based effects. If you set the Compressor incorrectly it could happen.

[@GuiitarBilly]

Increasing the signal’s level into a compressor increases the amount of compression = compression basics #101. Simple, logical stuff that newbies may not realize is happening. Compliments for explaining it clearly and including the two places in a Helix signal chain it’s most likely to occur and how to identify & work around it. Watching this video, I found myself falling into a familiar trap: preferring the possibly over-compressed sound of the higher output guitar. I tend to like powerful, fat guitar tones..whether they’re the result of using a properly adjusted compressor or (virtual) power tube compression. Because of this I’ve been guilty of overusing compression. I’ve found through trial and error that squeezing every guitar track can actually rob them of their power. Unless a gimmicky sound is the objective (it rarely is), best to use compression sparingly. For me at least. If there were a ‘compression abusers anonymous’ organization i would certainly sign up. Same for reverb/delay and eq abuse lol. But realizing you tend to overdo certain things can be a big part of the solution. Thanks for the helpful video as always.

[@hisdudeness6523]

Thank you. Useful.

[@GertBoers]

Great info!

[@andrewbettis4247]

Very cool thanks

[@kostasjazz]

Thank you

[@KeithShelley1]

Strange question: do you use your Helix as an interface when using Native? I've found my Stomp presets sound completely different on Native if I plug into another interface.

[@JasonSadites]

Hey Keith, not a strange question at all. When using a different audio interface you need to make sure that the Instrument input level is set to the same as the Helix for things to sound the same. Helix has 11.5 db of headroom above 0dbu, so you would need to set your audio interface to match that to get the same results. Can I ask what audio interface you are using?

[@KeithShelley1]

@@JasonSadites I'm using a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2. It's pretty old. I usually have the input switch set to Instrument. I also have the input pad turned off on my Stomp when I build presets. Thanks, Jason!

[@JasonSadites]

Can I ask which generation of Scarlet 2i2 you have? And you should most certainly have the input set to Instrument.

[@KeithShelley1]

@@JasonSadites as far as I can find, it's a first generation.