NickD

I've often sat for half an hour mesmerised by this one (when it gets going)... The way it develops as the song goes on blows me away. And I've loved this one from the moment I heard it....

I saw Big Country a few years ago, with Derek Forbes playing bass... They played Waterfront (well they would), and gesturing to Forbes, the singer introduced it as 'the greatest note he ever wrote'.

I booked a pickup and drop-off for today via Interparcel last night, and all seems fine.

Since it arrived just over 3 years ago, unless I have any specific requirement for a high C, this is the one I always reach for whether for a rehearsal, gig, or just messing about. There's just something about it that makes me play, or lets me play, the way I want to.

My Helix isn't a fan of my laptops power supply. Helix into my interface into the computer and there a background combination of whining/hum and rhythmic static. Playing around, I found that if I unplugged the laptop everything went quiet again. I've been using the same setup for years with an 8 pedal board running off a T-Rex Fuel Tank Classic with not a whisper. There's a lot of cabling in my music room and it took me a while to figure it out, but it seems to be just that one item... Obviously I'm a bit buggered if there's just one item that it doesn't like in a venue's setup.😌

With some fortunate timing I picked up a Helix just before all this crap kicked off, and these strange circumstances at least give me plenty of time to figure out whether it gets sold on after this has calmed down, or the pedalboard is dismantled and moved on instead. Our studio date this weekend has been pulled, which is frustrating, as we're down to vocals, reamping and finishing touches, but on the bright side my partner is my drummer, so the next album might get written and demo'd before we're allowed out again. 😂

My current projects are fingers only, but in previous bands I'd settled on Tortex .88s (regular shape). I still have them around for recording guitar parts. On either instrument I find any thinner too floppy, and any thicker too stiff.

For anyone interested, over on the Helix for Bassists group on FB, Dr Bonkers Tone Labs has linked an 'All in this together' pack of IRs for free. At this stage I have no idea what that means or how to get them, but it sounds like a good thing.🤣

Thanks, I will. I do intend to give it a good try, as it will also be useful for guitars when I'm writing, but I don't want to have to run additional pedals. My needs aren't that complex, but i had hoped it could be an all in one solution. Sims for recording at home, and just effects into an amp for live. We didn't get off to the best start, playing through the interface into my DAW when it decided it didn't like my laptop's power supply, with constant rhythmic static until I unplugged the laptop.... I now have trust issues of experiencing problems with venue power rings and interference from lighting rigs.😕

Many thanks! I don't know if I have a gate on the input, but I'll look... Should I or shouldn't I? I'll take a look at the link. I want that too clean, too flat base, at the moment everything sounds too effected, if that makes any sense? Sadly I can't get into it tonight as I need to prepare guitar parts for the studio tomorrow, and I'm away over the weekend, but I really want to get stuck into it and see if I can achieve the sounds I need. With so much flexibility there must be a way to at least get close to most of my pedals.

Just had notification of cancellation for Nick Cave in May.

It makes sense. Also most SLF fans are in the danger age group! 🤣

To be fair, tonight's session was better... Last night I was really frustrated. I did find that dialing almost everything back was the way to go with almost any effect, particularly the reverbs. I think the big struggle at the minute is the slightly dirty core tone. The Sansamp model is annoying me compared to the tone I usually have. I can't get it anywhere near as transparent as I would like and on sustained higher notes the effect kind of rolls off before the note ends.

I'm a manual type too... I don't think it had prepared me for the complexity. Oddly the B3 for example was blinding obvious to me.

Damn, I was hoping it was just how it worked! 🤣

I'm not seeing SLF and Neville Staples a week on Saturday. I expect it won't be awesome. After that I'm probably not seeing Nick Cave in May. I expect that to be not awesome either.

Is it normal to hate your Helix when you first get it?🤔

Bought a Helix LT from Paul. A really easy, friendly deal, great communication throughout. A gent to deal with.

Both of mine hiss a bit. I'd always just assumed it was just the price you paid for the squishing.

The Keeley is beautiful. I've been doing a lot of recording recently so have ramped up pedals for sounds I'm after. I've been using it for both guitar and bass, and the way the choral reverb works on bass is gorgeous. It's really easy to dial in too, both from the delay and reverb side. I have a Helix incoming this week and I really hope I can replicate the sounds on that, or it will have to stay.

As above, if you intend to play fully acoustic with other instruments (except maybe a Kazoo), forget it. Amplified though... My acoustic wears D'Addario black nylon tapewounds, and I love both the sound and feel. They seem to improve with age too.

Screw the plague... Got recording to do! ... Probably no vocals today though. 🤣

I upgraded from AI to Elements and all my older projects loaded exactly the same into the updated version.

And on mine!