intime-nick

thanks for that - I'm using a mix of helix cab and straight amp (essentially a DI i suppose) which works pretty well.  Will have a look into the OTB eq - have seen it mentioned a few times but not got round to trying it out yet

Has anyone tried any aftermarket IRs  - specifically the Ownhammer Ampeg collection and the 3Sigma offerings ?  I might give them a whirl but was curious to know if anyone had any good (or bad) experience with them beforehand.

i've done similar things in the past and it works OK.  I prefer to keep my cables as non-unique as possible so any XLR cable will work in case of damage etc.  I quite like the 5V-9V adaptor idea - it has a centre +ve output that works for the Smoothound with no polarity changer needed.  Our 6U rack with the XR-18 and all the other gear means I've run out of rackmount power sockets there as well and i like to keep things as neat as possible with the minimum of plugging in during setup / teardown etc

2 minutes ago, LewisK1975 said:

Nice fit for the LT on that pedalboard, do you happen to know the make / model of it?

It's an old Swan Flightcase i bought years ago when i went through a phase of buying/using a lot of pedals !.  Don't know the model number but I've removed the support under the main board and screwed it into the base to drop the height of the unit and replaced the awful fluffy carpet they supply as standard with proper 3M velcro.  

Outside dimensions are 610mm x 400mm x 160mm

bit more progress - got the polycarbonate fitted but need some stronger magnets to hold the assembly in place.  Should have them in the next day or so and then I'll make another prototype to check fit etc.  Also printed some feet to screw the LT to the board (same thickness as the rubber feet so they use the same screws)

also got my new Smoothound wireless fitted (just !) and am experimenting with it being battery powered (via a 5V - 9V converter) and a 5000mAh mobile phone power bank.  Seems to work OK - will need to check run times etc but it means no extra power sockets on the board (not that i have room for them anyway!).  Just got the XLR jump lead to solder up to save wear/tear on the Helix socket and to act as a basic line of defence if someone trips over the cable and then try it at band rehearsal into two Yamaha DBR15's we use for the drummers Drum-Tec E-Kit

I'm using return 1 as my main input as the guitar input can't handle my Vigier Passion IV or G&L L2000 (even with the input pad on) - seems OK though

I’ve got the prototype polycarbonate screens now, and they fit in the frame and work as expected.  There will be a few design tweaks to bring it up to a standard that I’m happy with and then I’ll be sending a few out for testing. After that, if there is enough interest, I may make a few to sell. 

Quick print of first prototype minus the polycarbonate screen (I've still got the original film on the screen hence the bubbles).  I'll be making a few tweaks to the design (mainly so the lettering prints better) but it fits well and doesn't look too out of place.

Ha, yeah  I count myself as very lucky but like all jobs, it has its ups and downs. 

I’m going to prototype one of the screen protectors over the next few days and when I’m happy with it, I’ll post some pics.  After that, I’ll probably make a few to send out for testing / feedback so I’ll let you know. 

6 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

That looks great. Would you consider doing one for the full sized helix too? I suspect you’ll sell a few on here, not to mention folks on the various Facebook groups.

No problem - I may take off the 'LT' part to make in more universal.  I assume the full fat Helix has the same size screen as the LT ?  It'll also need to be fixed with double-sided tape as i believe that model has an aluminium body not steel like the LT (but i could be wrong).  I'm just printing some fixing feet to attach it to my flightcase pedalboard and then i'll make a prototype of the screen

I finally got round to getting a Helix LT yesterday and although i've just started playing around with it, it does seem rather marvelous.  My day job of designing musical instruments meant it would only be a matter of time before i started making bits for it and the first one is a screen protector.  I'm aware of the one you can get from the USA but I thought i'd do my own version (early design pics attached).  It's a 3D printed frame with a 2mm thick polycarbonate or acrylic window.  It attaches to the LT with either magnetic tape (inset into the frame) or double sided tape.

I'm going to print one in the next few days so will post some pics of it installed if anyone might be interested

29 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

You can run 2 instruments - use the main input for one and the Aux in (full fat) or a Loop return (LT) for the other.

 

Then Just set Path A for 1 instrument, and Path B for the other and keep them completely separate. Just remember to also set the outputs separately as well so they go to different board channels. 

If neither path is stereo then just split left and right on the XLRs. If, for example the bass is mono but the guitar is stereo then use the 1/4 outputs for 1, and the XLRs for the other

thanks for the info - much appreciated

3 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

As a valve-amp-obsessed guitarist (as well as Class-D-using bassist), I would be happy for you to demonstrate the LT, before returning to my 12W valve combo (or 15W for bigger gigs). Never underestimate the conservatism (small c) of guitarists compared to bass players!

believe me, i don't underestimate it one bit (although I do question a lot of the rationale behind it) - it's an ongoing discussion we have regarding why we need a 100W 4x12 on one side and a very loud AC30 head into a 2x12 on the other....if they played 12/15W combos there would be no discussion and i wouldn't have to play the volume game with my BF Super Twin

As a treat to myself, I'm thinking of getting a Helix LT and using that as an excuse to sell the mountain of gear i've accumulated over the years.  The only thing that's slightly nagging me is that I've had a Kemper rack before & sold it because i found it a bit of a chore to program and i ended up using only a couple of sounds (i'm no technophobe - in fact pretty much the opposite).  I'm trying to migrate the rest of our band towards a quieter backline and/or IEMs and let our PA do most of the work - the drummer is already on a Jobecky e-kit and one of the guitarists is swaying towards a Helix style arrangement.  I already run an IEM setup and would quite happily ditch my backline if i can prove a point.

Might be a daft question but could i run my bass and one of the guitars through the LT at the same time to demonstrate how a quieter backline may work (and to show the other valve amp obsessed guitarist that he doesn't need to run his Vox AC30 at full chat to get 'his' tone !!)

Also, any more issues with the LT expression pedal breaking ? - i read a bit about a duff batch of LT's having broken pedals but i assume that's all fixed now ?

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1508323900' post='3391329']
Could be worse. You could be me, converting this drum kit for some mythical tame drummer I'm yet to recruit...
[/quote]

i spend all day designing them (amongst other MI related stuff)....i know how you feel !!

Hello and welcome - I'm pretty local to you in Lutterworth

I've forgotten most of the amps and cabs I've had over the years (many of which were lightweight class D) but the ones I can remember from a Fender BXR400 / Marshall 2x15 setup that you couldn't hear unless you were 30ft away from it but weighed the same as a washing machine to a Kemper / no cab / IEM on stage setup, I'm now running a BF super twin and old s/h GK Backline 600 and couldn't be happier. It may be 'only' 300W but it absolutely rocks and totally blows the MB series away from a manufacturing quality point of view (I've had a few and they were all shoddily made - the USA ones being the worse by a mile). Lightweight cab and medium weight amp works for me. The only logical step forward is an RB700-II :-)

Gigging the previous night and assuming I can drag my broken body out of bed, I'll be there again. Have ditched the Kemper and Berg setup for a BF Super Twin and GK Backline 600 if anyone wants to hear it. Could bring a Kubicki Factor bass, my Vigier or maybe a Shuker Jazz if anyone would like a widdle. Also just picked up up a 70's peavey 120 bass amp that is rather glorious in an old skool transistor amp sorta way - can bring it if you want to reminisce how things were better in the 'pre class-D old days' ;-)

Had a powered rack version. It was bought for a silent backline type of setup but I occasionally ran it with an Eden 4ohm cab with no issues even with the the power amp boost on.

It's a great bit of kit but........my personal thought is that it's overkill for a live bass setup when I realised that, apart from me, nobody gives a sh*t whether you're playing a mesa, GK, markbass or whatever profile on it or it made a blind bit of difference to the way the band sounded as a whole. Doubling up on guitar would be much more of a justification for getting one as I can see it working well with that arrangement especially if you record a lot (I don't)

It was an interesting experiment and I'm now DI'ing directly into our XR18 mixer with no effects and sending an aux out to a power amp / barefaced supertwin setup which works for me.

It does have lots of lights on it though which is never a bad thing !

Just to add to the discussion, I've gone from an LD MEI100 wireless setup with Shure SE215's to a Sennheiser EW300G3 with UE900s in ears (both run in stereo which makes a huge difference). The change in sound quality from the LD to Sennheiser wasn't that much of a step but the hardware is much, much sturdier and overall it's just 'better'. The change from the SE215 to the UE900s was much more noticeable - generally better bass extension and overall clarity (I'm rubbish at describing sounds !!). Didn't like the UE cables at all - too easily knotted up (they are very carefully wound up each time) and feel pretty cheap to me. Much preferred the Shure cable which I now use on the UE's. loads of tips supplied with the UEs but my preference is triple flanged which are about the only type not supplied !

I got mine for under £200 - I would question their value buying them at the full RRP to be honest. I'd happily swap the large number of supplied tips for a better quality cable and storage case that is larger than that supplied but that's just me.

Bought some new UE900s IEMs from Danny - top quality communications, really fast shipping and all-round easy transaction. No hesitation recommending him as a good seller on BC.

Pm'd

I can leave my cab at home and anyone who's interested can use headphones straight from the Kemper head. Meant to add, I'll bring my Sandberg and Vigier basses and maybe one other

I can possibly make it depending on last minute gig arrangements. I can bring my Kemper and pedal and an Eden 2x10 although it may be better (read quieter !) if people wanted to play though it using headphones. Can also hook up my laptop / phone if people want to jam along to some songs.

Just sold a Korg DTR-2000 tuner to Chris - easy transaction, quick payment and good communication - top notch Basschatter !

thanks for all the replies - much appreciated. For those with 2x BB2's - do you stack them vertically or horizontally ?