Recording - July 2016 - 22

Line 6 Helix

Another way to apply this concept is
implementing one of the FX loops on Helix.
You can set up all of the desired front-end
effects, then insert an FX loop block sending
signal to an external amp/load box. You
can then take the line out from the load box
back into Helix via one of its returns, for a
cabinet IR to finish out the chain (I'll get into
configuring signal chains with FX loops
below). In that scenario, you are using all of
the digital effects from Helix, then integrating
your own amp rather than a digital model
of an amp, and running it through an
impulse response of a cabinet. You can hear
and mic your own amp, and the cabinet IR
gives a full, live sound to the direct signal
sent to your DAW. This really pays off if you
add stereo effects to the chain as well; a lot
of the onboard effects really make use of the
stereo spectrum, so just running signal out to

a Transistor Tape Delay going into the Brit
Plexi amplifier, with a plate reverb and
looper following the amp. However, not all
of these effects are active when you switch
to the preset. Every effect shown on the signal chain has a footswitch associated with
it-as if you had a TS808 and a Transistor
Tape pedal at your feet to toggle on and
off as you need. These are indicated by
the custom labels above each footswitch.
The footswitches have color LED halos
for quick identification in dim light. They
are also touch sensitive, so if you want to
pull up the parameters of a certain effect
without activating it by fully stepping on it,
lightly touching the footswitch will select
that effect and pull up the parameters on
the LCD screen to start tweaking. This feature is common among digital mixers, so
it's very cool to see these touch-sensitive

an amp in a mono setup can sacrifice some
of the stereo depth that Helix has to offer.
Helix is much more than your average
digital effects processor because of its flexible routing. I've already mentioned the
ability to run inline with pedals and amps,
thanks to the four rear-panel effect loops. In
simpler configurations you can simply use
the loops to insert your own pedals. They
can be placed anywhere in the signal
chain by editing the internal signal flow on
the LCD display screen (see below).

footswitches integrated with a digital
effects stompbox. Clever!

Interface
The GUI is fast, responsive, and easy to
use. Considering how much ground Helix
covers, I was surprised at how manageable it was to have an understanding of
the different features and settings after only
a couple of hours of hands-on work.
I started by flipping through some presets,
and tweaking parameters with the six knobs
that live just below the LCD display screen.
These knobs have different assignments
depending on what block of the signal
chain is selected. The signal chain is creatively shown, with different symbols and
color coding to represent EQ, dynamics, distortion, delay, reverb, amp, cab, and so on.
For example, preset 05C is labeled Brit
Plexi Bright. The signal chain on the display shows a volume pedal assignment
first in the chain, then a Scream 808 and
22

RECORDING JULY 2016

BYOT-Build Your Own Tone
Even though there are pages and pages
of factory presets that cover everything
from blistering Hendrix tones to, well,
whacky tones you've probably never even
imagined-there's something satisfying
about building your own from scratch.
Pressing down on the Preset knob opens
up the different setlists. This is where you
can dive into a user setlist and start creating banks of your own tones. Editing itself
is aided enormously by a multifunction
knob that can be turned, pressed, or tilted
as an XY joystick.
For one of the signal chains that I created, I started with a compressor to help push
the front end. I used the LA Compressor into
the Scream 808 Drive pedal. From there I
added a slight touch of '70s chorus before
hitting the amp and cab. I reached for the
Essex A30, which is modeled after a Vox
AC30. I wanted a clean tone with some
bite to it, just on the edge of breakup, so I
lowered the gain and made adjustments to
the EQ bands on the amp. Next, I started
to dial in the cabinet settings. There's a fair
amount of microphone selections to choose
from, and they play a huge role in shaping
the overall tone. Helix gives you control
over the microphone model, the placement,

distance, channel volume, and amount of
early reflections.
I landed with a close-miked Sennheiser
MD421 for the tone I was trying to capture; it pairs well with the mid-range bite of
the characteristic AC30 sound. That being
said, the modeled versions of the Coles
4038 and Royer R-121 ribbon mics also
sound great. Helix captures a surprising
amount of nuance and depth overall in the
microphone selection; I could easily identify
the warm characteristics that those ribbons
bring to the table for guitar cabs.
Adjusting the distance of the mic placement isn't completely believable by itself; the
signal seemed to simply attenuate rather
than spatially adjusting the mic with a room
sound, as I was expecting. That's when I
started to adjust the early reflections parameter. For a room miking scenario with Helix,
the relationship between distance and early
reflections is key to bringing the room to
life-with some tweaking, you can feel the
distance in the room between the cab and
the microphone!
The whole process of creating and editing signal chains is surprisingly intuitive.

When I initially started, I was expecting to
be flipping through the manual halfway
through to understand how to navigate that
portion of the interface, but I didn't need
too. On the LCD display, it's easy to scroll
to different boxes in the signal chain, click
them, and add whatever effect or amp
model you desire. You can also place any
of the send/return loops into a specific
place in the chain, to integrate analog
pedals in line with the digital modeling.
It's also easy to change up the order of
the signal chain without having to start from
scratch. In one example, I built a tone and
wanted to add another effect before the preamp circuit. I worried that I wouldn't be able
to move everything downstream in order to
simply place one more effect earlier in the
chain... and three clicks later, it was done.
The next step is to assign each of the
effects in your chain to a footswitch. For
this, all you have to do is scroll over to the
effect you want to assign, then lightly touch
the footswitch you would like to assign
(remember-these footswitches are touch
sensitive!). Hold the footswitch for three
seconds, and then a dialog will appear
asking to assign that effect to the corresponding footswitch. This is also where
you can change the name of the effect, so
you can customize the identifiers on the
scribble strips in whatever way makes
sense to you. Assigning footswitches gives



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - July 2016

Contents
Recording - July 2016 - Intro
Recording - July 2016 - Cover1
Recording - July 2016 - Cover2
Recording - July 2016 - 1
Recording - July 2016 - 2
Recording - July 2016 - 3
Recording - July 2016 - 4
Recording - July 2016 - 5
Recording - July 2016 - Contents
Recording - July 2016 - 7
Recording - July 2016 - 8
Recording - July 2016 - 9
Recording - July 2016 - 10
Recording - July 2016 - 11
Recording - July 2016 - 12
Recording - July 2016 - 13
Recording - July 2016 - 14
Recording - July 2016 - 15
Recording - July 2016 - 16
Recording - July 2016 - 17
Recording - July 2016 - 18
Recording - July 2016 - 19
Recording - July 2016 - 20
Recording - July 2016 - 21
Recording - July 2016 - 22
Recording - July 2016 - 23
Recording - July 2016 - 24
Recording - July 2016 - 25
Recording - July 2016 - 26
Recording - July 2016 - 27
Recording - July 2016 - 28
Recording - July 2016 - 29
Recording - July 2016 - 30
Recording - July 2016 - 31
Recording - July 2016 - 32
Recording - July 2016 - 33
Recording - July 2016 - 34
Recording - July 2016 - 35
Recording - July 2016 - 36
Recording - July 2016 - 37
Recording - July 2016 - 38
Recording - July 2016 - 39
Recording - July 2016 - 40
Recording - July 2016 - 41
Recording - July 2016 - 42
Recording - July 2016 - 43
Recording - July 2016 - 44
Recording - July 2016 - 45
Recording - July 2016 - 46
Recording - July 2016 - 47
Recording - July 2016 - 48
Recording - July 2016 - 49
Recording - July 2016 - 50
Recording - July 2016 - 51
Recording - July 2016 - 52
Recording - July 2016 - 53
Recording - July 2016 - 54
Recording - July 2016 - 55
Recording - July 2016 - 56
Recording - July 2016 - 57
Recording - July 2016 - 58
Recording - July 2016 - 59
Recording - July 2016 - 60
Recording - July 2016 - 61
Recording - July 2016 - 62
Recording - July 2016 - 63
Recording - July 2016 - 64
Recording - July 2016 - 65
Recording - July 2016 - 66
Recording - July 2016 - 67
Recording - July 2016 - 68
Recording - July 2016 - 69
Recording - July 2016 - 70
Recording - July 2016 - 71
Recording - July 2016 - 72
Recording - July 2016 - Cover3
Recording - July 2016 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202405
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202404
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202403
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202402
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202401
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202312
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording-november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202310
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202309
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202308
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202307
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202306
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202305
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202304
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202303
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202302
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202301
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202212
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202211
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202210
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202209
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202208
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202207
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202206
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202205
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202204
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202203
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202202
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202201
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202111
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202110
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202109
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202108
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202107
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202106
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202105
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202104
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202103
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202102
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202101
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202012
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202011
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202010
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202009
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202008
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202007
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202006
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_20205
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202004
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202003
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202002
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202001
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201912
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201911
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201910
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201909
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201907
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201906
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_200912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_200911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/nxtd
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com