Helix Floor/LT/HX/Stomp/PodGo owners' Club - Tips, Ideas & Patches

[dave_bass5]

15 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I need to try and get out of the separate stompbox 'what you see is what you get, one footswitch per effect' attitude because I still like separate footswitches for each effect and being able to look down and instantly see where settings for each of them, and the sort of good accidents you get when mucking about stomping a big chain of fx on and hands-on tweaking - but I know the Helix Stomp can make the same sounds for less money and less boardspace....plus it opens up a lot of new opportunities with routing options etc.

 

Say I want Octave>Fuzz>Chorus, with separate pedals that's immediate by just clicking on those three stompboxes and instantly tweak the controls, with the Stomp that's easily done (and can do much more) but you do need to have saved it as a preset and remember where that preset is or spend a minute or so selecting the blocks/FS assignment and clicking on them individually to change parameters....it's just that very slight inconvenience in workflow that I'm not so keen on but I think I need to spend more time building up presets and getting over the stompbox attitude. 

I think this is where we all start out. While we might have been happy with a couple of effects that just go on and off, we start to build more and more presets, because as you say, its all there in front of us, and then get bogged down trying to remember where they are….and then never use them anyway lol.

What i did is set my core effects to 3 or 4 presets, with just the last foot switch being different. I named the presets using that effects name. This way I always had what i used the most, and used the patch change to bring in any unique effects to a particular song. I wasn’t a heavy effects user so this work for me. I was going to go the one patch per song route, but we don’t have set lists, and i could never really set in stone what i wanted to use most of the time. 

 

[javi_bassist]

42 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I need to try and get out of the separate stompbox 'what you see is what you get, one footswitch per effect' attitude because I still like separate footswitches for each effect and being able to look down and instantly see where settings for each of them, and the sort of good accidents you get when mucking about stomping a big chain of fx on and hands-on tweaking - but I know the Helix Stomp can make the same sounds for less money and less boardspace....plus it opens up a lot of new opportunities with routing options etc.

 

Say I want Octave>Fuzz>Chorus, with separate pedals that's immediate by just clicking on those three stompboxes and instantly tweak the controls, with the Stomp that's easily done (and can do much more) but you do need to have saved it as a preset and remember where that preset is or spend a minute or so selecting the blocks/FS assignment and clicking on them individually to change parameters....it's just that very slight inconvenience in workflow that I'm not so keen on but I think I need to spend more time building up presets and getting over the stompbox attitude. 

 

When I had my big board, I only have 4 different effects: Octave>Overdrive>Fuzz>Chorus. However, there were times when I wanted to switch two or three at the same time. The HX does that very easily (like a loop switcher). It allows you to experiment even more by mixing different effects.

[SumOne]

5 minutes ago, javi_bassist said:

 

When I had my big board, I only have 4 different effects: Octave>Overdrive>Fuzz>Chorus. However, there were times when I wanted to switch two or three at the same time. The HX does that very easily (like a loop switcher). It allows you to experiment even more by mixing different effects.

Yeah, that's all true. I've never fully committed to downsizing my pedalboard so I've ended up using the Stomp to replace a few pedals rather than getting used to using it to it's full potential. I have 90% used it to replace EQ, Amp/Cab sim/DI, Chorus, Phaser, Tuner, and think it's a worthwhile investment just for that even before I use it's full potential.

 

....but am starting to get pedal curious again! The Stomp would sell for about £300 which could be spent on:  Behringer EQ £15, NUX Melvin Lee Preamp/OD/DI/IR loader £120,  Zoom MS60B £70 (for Tuner and occasional fx I don't really use like delay and reverb and additional OD), second-hand Chorus £50 & Phaser £50.  = £305.  That would lose a lot of the extra fx and routing options of the Stomp (but I do already have an EHX Switchblade Pro which partly covers the loop switcher stuff and mixing and order switching) and would take up a lot more board space, but it gains the footswitches and hands-on controls and modular style of replacing pedals as and when (which if I'm honest- is something I'm quite in to!). 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

Yeah, that's all true. I've never fully committed to downsizing my pedalboard so I've ended up using the Stomp to replace a few pedals rather than getting used to using it to it's full potential. I have 90% used it to replace EQ, Amp/Cab sim/DI, Chorus, Phaser, Tuner, and think it's a worthwhile investment just for that even before I use it's full potential.

 

....but am starting to get pedal curious again! The Stomp would sell for about £300 which could be spent on:  Behringer EQ £15, NUX Melvin Lee Preamp/OD/DI/IR loader £120,  Zoom MS60B £70 (for Tuner and occasional fx I don't really use like delay and reverb and additional OD), second-hand Chorus £50 & Phaser £50.  = £305.  That would lose a lot of the extra fx and routing options of the Stomp (but I do already have an EHX Switchblade Pro which partly covers the loop switcher stuff and mixing and order switching) and would take up a lot more board space, but it gains the footswitches and hands-on controls and modular style of replacing pedals as and when (which if I'm honest- is something I'm quite in to!). 

 

Or just a get Zoom B1-4 to do all of the above a little less well than the Stomp (other than the Z-Synth on the B1-4 which outdoes anything that HX is currently offers!) for £45 plus P&P used, and then spend the £250 saved on a DOD Meatbox (or a decent second hand bike, or a lot of ice cream...) ...😄

[LukeFRC]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Or just a get Zoom B1-4 to do all of the above a little less well than the Stomp (other than the Z-Synth on the B1-4 which outdoes anything that HX is currently offers!) for £45 plus P&P used, and then spend the £250 saved on a DOD Meatbox (or a decent second hand bike, or a lot of ice cream...) ...😄

Would you trade your Yamaha BBNE2 for ice cream? (asking for a friend)  

[Al Krow]

Just now, LukeFRC said:

Would you trade your Yamaha BBNE2 for ice cream? (asking for a friend)  

A ten year unlimited supply of Ben & Jerry's? Yeah, almost certainly 😁

Sadly it may well be in the hands of new owner come Friday...

[SumOne]

9 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Or just a get Zoom B1-4 to do all of the above a little less well than the Stomp (other than the Z-Synth on the B1-4 which outdoes anything that HX is currently offers!) for £45 plus P&P used, and then spend the £250 saved on a DOD Meatbox (or a decent second hand bike, or a lot of ice cream...) ...😄

That all sounds good other than me needing to find something new to do with my time other than obsessing over pedals!.... I guess that time could be spent eating ice cream and riding a bike though. 

[Al Krow]

Just now, SumOne said:

.... I guess that time could be spent eating ice cream and riding a bike though. 

 

Now you come to mention it, there are definitely worse things in life you could be spending your time doing 🙂

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

That all sounds good other than me needing to find something new to do with my time other than obsessing over pedals!.... I guess that time could be spent eating ice cream and riding a bike though. 

 

I would say that is probably best not to eat ice cream while riding a bike, both of those things should consume your full attention.

[SumOne]

Helix Stomp and Dual Switch up for sale on here, not for any particularly good reason other than I'm fickle and must want something to do with my time! I think I just like trying out new pedals too much. (And I need to fund my new Bike & Ice Cream hobby).  

[Witch Hazel]

hello!  i can't join your club since i don't actually own a Helix yet, but i'm thinking about buying the Stomp and i hope i can get a bit of advice...

 

so i had a play around with the Helix Native VST a while ago, and i didn't like some of the effects on bass (like the fuzz and envelope filter), but i did like the amp/cab modelling and the less bass-specific things like reverb, chorus, delay.  so what i'd like to do is add the Stomp to my existing pedalboard to do the things it does well, but keep my other pedals as well. 

 

what i'd also like to do is use it for guitar effects, so i could use the same pedalboard for bass and guitar, maybe with some sort of FRFR cab and putting the Stomp into the effects return on my bass amp to bypass the preamp.

 

so i'm assuming that this is a pretty common way to do things and it should all work fine, but before i go out and buy one - does this sound reasonable?  have i missed anything obvious?

 

[dave_bass5]

17 minutes ago, Witch Hazel said:

hello!  i can't join your club since i don't actually own a Helix yet, but i'm thinking about buying the Stomp and i hope i can get a bit of advice...

 

so i had a play around with the Helix Native VST a while ago, and i didn't like some of the effects on bass (like the fuzz and envelope filter), but i did like the amp/cab modelling and the less bass-specific things like reverb, chorus, delay.  so what i'd like to do is add the Stomp to my existing pedalboard to do the things it does well, but keep my other pedals as well. 

 

what i'd also like to do is use it for guitar effects, so i could use the same pedalboard for bass and guitar, maybe with some sort of FRFR cab and putting the Stomp into the effects return on my bass amp to bypass the preamp.

 

so i'm assuming that this is a pretty common way to do things and it should all work fine, but before i go out and buy one - does this sound reasonable?  have i missed anything obvious?

 

I’d read as much of this thread as possible, you will get a lot of knowledge and a very good idea of what it can, and cant do. 

Short answer, yes to all the above. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by dave_bass5

[Elfrasho]

For those hunting down a case for the Stomp, I've picked this up off amazon for £11.99 and it's perfect.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07T8FCL91/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

It's obviously quite lightweight but more than adequate to ensure the unit doesn't get knocked about when popped into the front pocket of my bass case along with loose cables and all the other random bits and bobs.  Enough space for the stomp, power supply, and a few other bits and bobs.  

 

 

[skelf]

So I have a Stomp and the floor unit. Having used both for a while I find that the Stomp covers everything I need. So the floor unit will be in the sale section just shortly if anyone is interested. 

[Higgie]

I took the Sadowsky P5 with TI Flats to my gig last night, only to find out the band I was playing with play with their guitars tuned to Eb! I didn't fancy loosening my strings anymore due to their exceptionally low tension and the low action that is currently set on the bass, so I used the Simple Pitch effect set 100% wet, and the interval to -1 Semitone. Voila, entire bass tuned down a half-step. No latency that I could detect, the tone wasn't noticeably different (especially not in the mix), and it meant I could leave my bass tuned to E and therefore keep my action and tension as normal. Fantastic! I'd been skeptical of this in the past, but wow. Seriously impressed with the results. HX Stomp 1 - Higgie 0.

[dave_bass5]

I’ve done that a couple of times when the singer has said she can’t sing in the key we have rehearsed it in for the past month lol. 
im fact we did All I want for Christmas is you at our last Christmas gig with me using the Stomp to transpose the bass 5 semi tones up 😮
It sounded very poor on its own, but with some EQ and a band playing along it sounded fine, even on the recording I did. Not something I’d want to do regularly, but for one off songs like that It made sense. 

[javi_bassist]

1 hour ago, Higgie said:

I took the Sadowsky P5 with TI Flats to my gig last night, only to find out the band I was playing with play with their guitars tuned to Eb! I didn't fancy loosening my strings anymore due to their exceptionally low tension and the low action that is currently set on the bass, so I used the Simple Pitch effect set 100% wet, and the interval to -1 Semitone. Voila, entire bass tuned down a half-step. No latency that I could detect, the tone wasn't noticeably different (especially not in the mix), and it meant I could leave my bass tuned to E and therefore keep my action and tension as normal. Fantastic! I'd been skeptical of this in the past, but wow. Seriously impressed with the results. HX Stomp 1 - Higgie 0.

 

I did that with a step down on a song. I was very skeptical, but the simple pitch is pretty awesome. 

[Greg Edwards69]

The simple pitch works great for bass IMO. I have a handful of patches saved for special tunings A BEAD tuning being the most useful and a couple of song specific tunings. 
 

Latency is barely noticeable. Tone wise it’s not perfection, but it sounds great in the mix. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Greg Edwards69

[cocco]

My HX stomp XL turned up today. 

 

So far, I've had great fun playing with the parallel processing (sub 340hz to a compressor and modulation, everything else to a rat and obsidian), A/Bing the SansAmp against my OG and trying to recreate Orion bass sound. 

 

I've got to say I'm more than impressed. I can't wait to play with it more and put it in a mix. 

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, cocco said:

My HX stomp XL turned up today. 

 

So far, I've had great fun playing with the parallel processing (sub 340hz to a compressor and modulation, everything else to a rat and obsidian), A/Bing the SansAmp against my OG and trying to recreate Orion bass sound. 

 

I've got to say I'm more than impressed. I can't wait to play with it more and put it in a mix. 

That  looks really cool. If I was to get another Helix that’s the one I’d get. 

[Jack]

Having an issue with my HX Stomp, mainly that there's no sound!

 

Setup/wiring definitely works, not only have I been through everything but I get perfect sound with the unit turned off and when bypassed.

Internal tone generators etc will light the output light but not actually create any sound.

I have disable and reenabled all of the volumes.

I have tried a factory reset.

 

Really stuck here and I have a gig tomorrow, does anyone have any ideas?

[dave_bass5]

9 minutes ago, Jack said:

Having an issue with my HX Stomp, mainly that there's no sound!

 

Setup/wiring definitely works, not only have I been through everything but I get perfect sound with the unit turned off and when bypassed.

Internal tone generators etc will light the output light but not actually create any sound.

I have disable and reenabled all of the volumes.

I have tried a factory reset.

 

Really stuck here and I have a gig tomorrow, does anyone have any ideas?

My first thought was maybe the main outs have been redirected, but a factory reset would have cleared that. 

Have you tried the headphone out? I don’t expect that would be any different but worth a try. 

[bassfan]

13 minutes ago, Jack said:

Having an issue with my HX Stomp, mainly that there's no sound!

 

Setup/wiring definitely works, not only have I been through everything but I get perfect sound with the unit turned off and when bypassed.

Internal tone generators etc will light the output light but not actually create any sound.

I have disable and reenabled all of the volumes.

I have tried a factory reset.

 

Really stuck here and I have a gig tomorrow, does anyone have any ideas?

Stupid question, but the volume knob isn’t turned down is it? 

[Osiris]

16 minutes ago, Jack said:

Having an issue with my HX Stomp, mainly that there's no sound!

 

Setup/wiring definitely works, not only have I been through everything but I get perfect sound with the unit turned off and when bypassed.

Internal tone generators etc will light the output light but not actually create any sound.

I have disable and reenabled all of the volumes.

I have tried a factory reset.

 

Really stuck here and I have a gig tomorrow, does anyone have any ideas?

 

If a factory reset hasn't solved it, have you got a backup file saved (full system settings plus all your patches) that you can use to restore the unit to how it was at the time you created the backup? If you have inadvertently changed any of the global settings reloading the backup should hopefully resolve the issue. 

[Jack]

Just now, dave_bass5 said:

My first thought was maybe the main outs have been redirected, but a factory reset would have cleared that. 

Have you tried the headphone out? I don’t expect that would be any different but worth a try. 

Sadly nothing on the headphones, nor on the stereo right output.

Just now, bassfan said:

Stupid question, but the volume knob isn’t turned down is it? 

Never used it before, but I did check and nope, nothing. It was set to just control phones volume anyway.

Just now, Osiris said:

 

If a factory reset hasn't solved it, have you got a backup file saved (full system settings plus all your patches) that you can use to restore the unit to how it was at the time you created the backup? If you have inadvertently changed any of the global settings reloading the backup should hopefully resolve the issue. 

Been back to June with 3 different backups and nothing now.

 

Thank you for the help all, but I'm actually beginning to wonder if it's hardware failiure...