Line 6 Helix - Dialing In A John Mayer'ish Clean Tone
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- čas přidán 1. 08. 2024
- I was asked in the Facebook Line 6 Helix forum for some help dialing in a clean tone that would be in the ball park of what John Mayer might play. So I figured I would shoot a video of how I would go about dialing something like that in. I hope you all enjoy and please subscribe to my CZcams channel if you are so inclined.
- Hudba
Another incredible video. Your tips for manipulating and cleaning up the tone with EQ, rather than simply rolling off bass/treble etc. (and affecting the whole tone, including those parts you were actually happy with) is awesome and put forth in a very accessible and understandable way. Thanks again, it’s got me absolutely loving my Helix and not finding it very intimidating at all anymore.
I've been looking for the clean tone in my head for years, and this is finally it. I cannot thank you enough for this. Thanks from France anyways!
Man I just tried it with an OCD in front (low peak, v4) and a tele bridge, I just could not put the guitar down.
This patch takes pedals very well.
That is awesome news and makes me very happy Ben :-) My pleasure!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been chasing this tone and never quite got it until now. You are so generous in sharing your knowledge in such detail.
My pleasure :-) SO glad that you enjoy the tone! Have fun!
yes man so cool!! so much knowledge for free!! ❤🔥🎸
Well done sir! I am going to try to dial this in for my strat. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain how you got there!
Best one I've seen you do yet. I like how the time is about 15 minutes - and you build the patch as you go and give sample sounds as it's being built for reference. Playing with a backing track to show it's use was the icing on the cake.
Thank you so much Landon :-) So glad you enjoyed the video! I will have to try and do some more like this!
I think it's a great format - so many times people show completed patches and try to click on the settings and talk about it but I'd rather see it being built and hear it as each step is added just like this. You can't please everyone of course but if I ever make some videos that's what I'd do. The volume was good too - could even be a little higher. Another thing I notice often is people have nice sounding patches but they are low in volume on the video and you can't hear it well. The human ear loves volume - crank it up! Nicely done.
Thanks!
This patch is awesome! Thanks for taking your time on it and sharing with the community! Nice playing as well, I would have liked to hear you cover the song in it’s entirety 😊
Cheers!
Thanks so much David and my pleasure :-) I would have liked to do the whole song too but time was at a premium and just had to throw something together pretty quickly :-) Thanks again!
Great video. I think actually showing how EQ works in this way helps a lot to learn about shaping our tones. Thanks.
Very nice, loved the explanation of the EQ, Q and gain controls. Nice playing and tone too, nailed it!
Thank you so much Ron :-) SO glad you enjoyed the video!
Thank you so much man. Im looking into buying Helix LT,and you are not helping me at all with not hitting that buy button hahaha. Amazing tones,very helpful and great explanations. All the best!
Good video. I just ordered a Helix and as soon as I get I'm going to set up this sound. I'm very impressed with the sounds of the Helix. I had a HD500x for 6 years and resisted buying the Helix because I liked the sounds in the HD500x. I've since sold my HD500x and recently I found a great deal on a Helix so I pulled the trigger.
Thank you so much :-) I think you will really enjoy the Helix!
Thank you for your videos!!! Learning so much about what the helix can do!
Sweet tone and another excellent tutorial. Thanks Jason!
Thank you so much Dan and my pleasure :-)
Jason, I've been so busy I just finally had a minute to watch this video. Thanks for the shoutout. My gear measures -16db/octave on the low cut and -29db/octave on the high cut with a wider Q on the high cut. I think the spec is -12db (low) and -24db/octave (high) but i'll have to check that. Great video BTW 👍
Thanks so much Eric for the kind words and the info :-) Much appreciated!!
Totally fantastic tone, love your work !
Thank you so so much Alan :-)
I don't have a line 6 but I ,must say that you nailed that sound with great precision.
Thank you so much David :-)
This is a wonderfully sweet tone, I will use this! Thanks
absolutely brilliant! I'm heading to your Patron (or however it's spelled) page now to donate for this patch!
Thank you so much Nate :-)
You are the man Jason! Thanks so much! Greetings from Germany
Thank you so much and my pleasure Kevin :-)
WOW this one sounds beautiful for sure. great job. simple yet effective. keep it up.
Thank you very much Stephen :-)
About time!!!!! I love you
Haha, thanks so much and hope you enjoy :-)
Hey man, I just discovered your channel. I'm going to look at my Helix a bit differently now. First - I was dead set on using paid IRs and I thought no nice tones can be achieved with stock cabs. Second - I was only using "realistic" settings - just like you'd set up your stuff in a rehearsal room, so no post EQs (except hi/lo cuts, I use those) and post compression (I MUST try that). Your analytic approach to amp models is also very impressive. Thanks for the quality content :)
My pleasure and really happy you are enjoying the videos and that they have helped out :-)
That's a really magic technique for dialing out that one nasty bass frequency using the Parametric EQ. You could never do that with a 10-band, and you'd kill the richness of the tone if you tried to do it with the amp. Bravo!
I'm finally getting the Helix LT. I've been saving up nickels and dimes for over a year. I've been binging on your videos and adding them to my favorites as Helix Bible.
Oh that is awesome! I think you will love it when you get it...so happy you are enjoying the videos :-)
Are you happy with your purchase?
This EQ tip was the best! :D VEry nice tone od course!
Awesome. Haha I had the exact issue with the Frequence. Aaand of cours I played with the Bass Settings. But then everything was flat like a flounder. Then I watched your Video... Et Voilà I´m Happy! Merci!
Fantastic explanation on using the EQ for that low C. Thank you, Jason.
My pleasure and thank you Alexis :-)
Great tone and explanation, thanks.
Thank you and my pleasure John :-)
Genius! I have had the same problem you describe with the low C a bit out of control (various notes on the low E string), and now I now how to deal with it thanks to the video. Very nice tone btw! Thanks Jason, much appreciated video!
My pleasure and thank you! So glad I could help out with that!
I have the same problem with some other amp models too.
It certainly can happen. Just try and find the offending frequency(s) and deal with it with eq the best you can to see if it helps.
I've noticed a similar effect with some of the stereo delays.
Interesting. I haven't noticed that in my use up to this point.
Fantastic video!
the usual Helix hot SAUCE... great stuff Jason!
Damn your vids make me wanna buy this amazing LINE 6 Helix. What a beast.
Thanks @bobbysbackingtracks, the Helix is a total beast :-)
Great video! I'm very used to your technique of notching out bass resonance from my own vocals, so I'm fully behind that approach! 👌
Thank you so much :-)
Wow! Awesome patch. Thanks!
My pleasure and thank you :-)
These videos have helped soooo much finding the best tones out of the helix, for something a little different would you consider a Cory Wong dialling in video? think people would love it!
Thank you so much :-) I am not really familiar with Cory Wong...
New to my Helix and these are great, thank you! I’ve had Line 6 products from day one, but having to relearn how it’s done. So glad you’re here.. How about doing the tone from Atlantis by the Shadows. Test the delay settings - hoping it can be recreated well. Need to show it off to my dad, lol....
Thank you David :-) So glad you are enjoying the videos! I will put that tone on my list, but have a lot to get to in the near future, but will see what I can do :-)
Very good... the low boom sounds like your room- no bass trapping or absorption.
Sounds great! You should try the three band comp for those neck pickup patches that get woofy. I really like it for controlling the bottom end on my strat (which is loaded with Texas specials). Your "noodling" is inspiring!
Thanks so much Kurt :-) I actually thought of going the 3 band comp on it but really didn't want to muck with the whole low end with compression, but yeah it can be a very cool tool for certain things. Thanks for the kind words!
Love it. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much and my pleasure Brennan :-)
Thanks! Going to check this one out. I’m guessing it sounded so much like the real thing that the demo at the end got muted out by CZcams?
sounds fantastic!
Thank you so much Todd :-)
You are awesome sir...!!!
Thanks so very much :-)
Sounds great!
Thank you so much :-)
i thought that hiQ trick only applicable in the DAW. Thanks man.
grat work man thanks you form argentina you are great
You are sooo sooo good at finding that SWEET spot.... NICE
I wonder... do you think that Mayer (staff) goes this far into finding the sweet spot?
Pretty Nice??? Its perrfect
Nice job
Spart
Fantastic! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much Davy and my pleasure :-)
nice Jason as usual ..i love John Mayer sound and playing.. j d like you show how to make the hank marvin sound with the shadows
Thank you so much Michel :-) I have quite a few others lined up but I will see if I can get to a Hank Marvin style tone in the future!
great tone!
Thank you so much David :-)
I see you're a Logitech Trackball fan. That displays exceptional intelligence on your part! 😜I have several of them myself.
Cool tone, thx
Great video.
Thank you so much Zilla :-)
The only thing the Helix is missing greatly is a RTA. I mean look at they Behringer x air series. They managed to integrate a real nice one. Analyzers are such a great thing to work with. Saves so much time and nerves with unwanted frequencies ;)
As usual your videos are so well done and you are clearly mastering things soundwise speaking.
Maybe just a little comment, we need to be careful with the EQ cuting so hard at this frequency.
This is working great when the chord fundamental is this particular bass note, but you can have some issue with other chords when this particular frequency becomes an harmonic of an other one,
the risk is that it could be completely squashed with such a cut.
In a mixing world, I would have probably used a multiband compressor to compress only this part of the spectrum.
As there is no such device in the Helix, which is completely normal :-), maybe we can use a workaround using a crossover split to move the low end part
to a specific path where we could have a compressor setup to compress the low end signal when it starts going out of control.
What are you thought about this idea ? I have to say I never tested the Helix this way :-)
And thanks again for your amazing work, I will go to your patreon as well !
Unlike many others, you are not just selling your patches and this is very much to your credit !
Sorry for this long comment :-)
Thanks so much for the kind words Yann :-) Yeah I totally agree with what you say about such a dramatic cut. After I made sure that I played around through many other notes and chords after to make sure it wasn't doing more harm than good. In this case it seemed to be fine, but you are right that it may not work in all situations. The Mulitband Comp would be a great use but as you mentioned not possible in the Helix in that manner. The problem with the split crossover is that it is acting like a shelf and would have changed all frequencies below the 140hz point I was honing in on. So for this particular situation it seemed to me that doing the notch style eq worked best. As I mentioned though, I probably could have got away with a less drastic cut also, but that just struck me at the time as working best for this situation. So nice to have all these tools at our disposal :-) No need to apologize for your long post, I appreciate the well thought out comment and your input!
My Strat does the exact same and I’ve been shying away from that riff for that exact reason
Great tone Jason. I use a LP myself, but I've only recently moved to HX Stomp XL and I'm looking for a quality clean tone to play around with. I'll b looking at your Custom tone page if you could possibly post a link?
(Edited. Found the link.)
This is great, many thanks 🙂
Yeah before the eq it hurt listing to it w my studio headphones. Good thinking
Thanks much Jamie :-)
i am a long time helix user. that was a very useful point about about using the high-q parametric rather then rolling off bass on the amp. just curious, what are your thoughts on where in the signal chain to put EQ? i don't normally put EQ after reverb and/or delay like you did. do you do that because it sounds better or have you found no differences in where you put the EQ block? in this case it is a subtle EQ that wouldn't affect reverb much but what do you think in general? thanks.
Superb Jason.!!! Can you recommend a great video that explains using the best global settings for my set up?I am going from the Helix into an A&H Firewire desk then into daw and back through channel strip.Many Thanks.
Thank you so much Paul :-) I am not really sure of any videos that deal with the Global eq to be honest. I never really touch my global eq as I am usually happy with the way the patch was dialed in.
Tone sounds great! Any reason for putting the compressor at the end of the chain instead of the start?
Brilliant.
Thank you so much :-)
That resonance around C# is interesting - I have a Blackstar ID60TVP amp that does exactly the same thing when emulating 6L6s in the power section. Initially I thought it was cab resonance until took the emulated out to my DAW and it was there too. Tamed it with a notch filter, just as you have. I'm sure the Blackstar modelling of power tubes is completely different to how the Helix does it, so it's weird that they both do exactly the same thing on 6L6s. Never having owned a 6L6 equipped amp, I don't know if it's an issue with the real thing, but it does make me wonder.
Interesting and thanks for your comment Fruitbat :-)
Awesome!
Thank you so much :-)
Excellent sound! I am sorry but I can’t find this tone on Customtone (anymore?). Is there another way to get it?
Man, that was awesome! You've become an audio engineer with the Helix. I know I feel like one now. Where can I get this preset? Where is custom tone?
Thank you so much and so glad you like it :-) The preset can be found here: line6.com/customtone/tone/3717362/
Enjoy!
Muy bueno !!!, muchas gracias, lo adapte al HX y funciona excelente. Tato from Argentina
My pleasure Tato :-)
Tato Moize hola tato! Usas el stomp? Yo estoy entre stomp y lt. Pero creo me alcanzaría con 6 módulos como este casi, y usaría un controlador midi para más botones. Que opinas? Abz grande
@@sal1978man Hola, siempre usé amps y pedales, pero HX es una gran opción para cuando uno no quiere o no puede llevar todo. Si con 6 bloques para vos es suficiente y más aún si vas a tener una pedalera midi como controladora vas a andar más que bien con el HX. Es más barato, más liviano y más chico que la LT. Saludos
nice tone
Thank you so much C Wilson :-)
you can use low shelf filter to adjust the c#
There is no low shelf eq on the Helix. If there was you would not only change the C# frequency by using it but all frequencies below the C#, thus my use of a parametric eq with very narrow Q setting.
Do you find using a compressor at the end of the chain more effective for the hx/helix device. Asking because I normally use it in the front and would love to know why you have it at the end thanks!
Check out his dialing in great tone series. I believe it's one of the early videos that he goes over his general template for creating tones.
Jason - where can I download this patch - love it. Thanks so much!
My pleasure :-) You can grab it here: line6.com/customtone/tone/3717362/
Enjoy!
Hi Jason, superb video! Do you have a link for the custom tone on the line 6 website?
Thank you so much Chris :-) Sure thing, here is the link: line6.com/customtone/tone/3717362/
I just bought a Powercab. Which one of the speaker models would you recommend for this kind of sound?
Hmmm, that is a good question? I haven't tried them with this tone, maybe the Jensen model?
Very juicy tone, fantastic! I wonder: do you also play bass and might want to show us some bass amps on the helix? :)
Thank you so much :-) I actually play a little bass but currently do not own a bass, so unfortunately I likely won't be tackling bass tones in the near future.
Ohhh nooo what a bummer :( I don't think its possible to find such high quality videos just like yours for bass amps and settings on the helix :'(( in case you get a bass in the near future, you would have at least one viewer for those videos! ;)
Hi will this work or helix stomp?
Im having issues with the signal routing and uploading patch to helix edit.
This is a great tone and will be using and learning from this. May I request a SRV tone Mary Had A Little Lamb please? There are many who have tried but none seem to get it quite right including me..
So happy to hear you like the tone :-) The SRV tone would be a good one to attempt. I have a few other requests on the go but I will most certainly put that on the list...thanks so much for the suggestion!
Jason Sadites Thanks Jason.
My pleasure :-)
Great!
Do you know how to get the tone to the intro to the song Satisfaction - by the Stones. The Intro, I love that intro Fuzz tone.
keef was using a gibson fuzz pedal. Sounds like it with typical 1960s production values- lots of reverb
What are the settings on that delay? Sounds exactly like what I've been trying to replicate but can't quite do it.
sounds almost like a wolf tone. I usually take a regular multi-band EQ and notch out that one frequency.
hi Jason, I've learned a lot from you, thanks. i'm and old man that gigs once or twice a week, I bought the helix when it first came out, and just can't get into the modeling so I just use the effects running into a deluxe or deville, I play blues classic rock reggae and a little counthy I was wondering if you could make a patch with the effects into a tube amp, i'm curious how you would set your compressor eq overdrives distortion reverbs and delays
Great to hear that you have enjoyed the videos :-) Actually, I would run my fx pretty much exactly the same if I was using them with a tube amp. The setup would be 4CM but as far as setting they would likely be identical. Unfortunately I no longer have any tube amps to do a video demonstrating, otherwise I would have been happy to. Hope that helps :-)
Thanks Jason, by the why you have some badass chops
Ahh thank you so much for the kind words Dave, very much appreciated :-)
Hi Jason, thank you for sharing your great knowledge! How do you reduce the guitar noise? Currently I'm using fender strat and helix native but I hear big noises when I play my guitar. In your video your guitar sound is really clear and almost no noise. Hope you can give me some advice!
My pleasure Satoki :-) Without seeing your whole setup it would be hard to pinpoint what is causing your noise. If you are using single coil pickups they can add a fair bit of noise.
Thank you for your quick response Jason! I am using single coil pick up and for audio interface I'm using apollo twin.(Mac) I am wondering if I should put aluminum foil in the cavity, or just use noisegate in Helix.
I love this patch! Just I have problems with strings 1 and 2, which sounds very thin.
Thanks and glad you like it Roberto :-)
Prob your headphones.
Don't know why my comment disappeared but I was asking why I would not get the same results after copying your settings. I am new to this so any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks Rich
One thing with the Helix is that this patch was created with his guitar. The closest you'll get most likely is if you use a fender for this patch. This is why the presets are pretty worthless, unless you're using them to tweek for what guitar you're using. You can make a great patch with your strat, and use the same patch with a les paul, jackson..etc, and you'll get a completely different sound than what you created with your fender. And vise-versa.
What kind of Delay did you use? Thanks
great video! Is there a reason you go amp first then effects? Isn't it usually opposite?
Thanks so much Timothy :-) There really is no right or wrong when running FX order. I prefer my delays and reverbs after the amp but some FX I like before, just depends on the situation and the sound I am after.
You should do a Mateus Asato’ish tone video!
hello Jason ;; very nice sound ;; but you have a delay in this patch ;;which delay is ti ? and how do you manage it with which "reglages". many thanks again
Thank you so much Michel and so glad you like it :-) The delay is actually turned of in this patch. I use a standard template when I am creating these and just turn the delay off when it is not being used.
So if I want to use this rig in different songs/ different keys... I would need to adjust that eq to fit the key?
Nope. Will work fine in any key just the way it is.
Im blown away by how great this sounds, did you have the link for the customtone site?
Thank so much gurritt :-) Sure here it is: line6.com/customtone/tone/3717362/
thanks so much, you the man!
Good
Can you do a video on using the Helix as a looper? Can’t find a really good one on CZcams.
That is a great idea Tim :-) I will see what I can do!
John coardy has a good one
Great stuff man, thanks. Just out of interest, when you fingerpick do use your fingertip or nail?
Thank you so much Tim :-) When I fingerpick I always use my fingertip, never been much of a nail guy...
Jason Sadites Thanks Jason, just subscribed, keep up the great work! Thanks again.
I have HELIX NATIVE VST can i copy this?
lol did you use reverb on your voice? your stuffs awesome btw keep er tuned!
Thanks so much Jared :-) No reverb, just a pretty live sounding room...
Hi Jason can I download this tone from Custom tone or your website?
Absolutely Mark :-) You can grab it here: line6.com/customtone/tone/3717362/
Enjoy!
Thanks for the great videos. Were does one get the patches you mentioned?
You can grab my presets here: line6.com/customtone/profile/jaysadites/
Enjoy :-)
Thanks a lot.
My pleasure :-)
Reminds me of Life song by Robben Ford that tone, just a bit less bitey, can't hear the noodle though
Nice patch, that guitar sounds great. Which model is that?
Thank you so much Kevin :-) The guitar is a Godin Progression Plus...
What’s with the computer? You can EQ the helix from a computer?
Don't quote me on this but you said don't quote me on this 23 times.
You honestly have more nailed Eric Johnson's clean tone here than johns. Which is not a bad thing. But it's 90% Eric Johnson tone
Quita amazing how good this sounds. New bee here, I know you use the Helix, but you also use the computer - do they go together?
Thank you :-) The Helix is a full blown audio interface that can be used with your computer if you so desire. There is no need to have a computer to use Helix though. It does have editing software called HX Edit which you can use to edit your patches for the Helix on your computer while it is hooked up to it. Hope that helps!
Jason Sadites absolutely helps. Thanks :-)
Awesome :-)