You can read a great deal about the theory. benefits, etc. of using the four-cable method. However, if you know that you want to do so, this video tutorial is clear and to the point.
Dear Moxxie - your guitar sound is hellfire and sounds great. I also use the 4CM and the Hx Effects - would there be the possibility to share some presets that you have programmed in your Hx Effects ?
Hi! Thanks so much! I'm running a different setup these days, but here's what my chain looked like in the HX (if my memory serves me correctly hah) Wah Phaser Teemah (or some type of neutral OD/Boost) Tubescreamer type pedal for leads Amp Chorus Delay (I REALLY like the Vintage Digital on the unit) Reverb It's hard to go wrong with something like that for a good hard rock tone! Set the delay for 3-4 repeats and around 420 ms and you should be ready to shred. 🤘
i have a roland jc 22, it got fx loops and can work in parallel. my goal is to get two signals at the same time, one with compressor, distortions, etc (everything before the fx loops block in my hx) and my delays and modulations i want them clean, 100% wet... but when i set them 100% wet no matter what i do the delay is repeating with distortion... when i run it in series it works but it sucks tone it sound very different. in parallel without using distortion before the fx loop, the sound is perfect, i want the clean delay parallel to the distorted guitar. any clues on what i'm missing here? i mean it has to be possible to do what i intend or is it really necessary to use two amps to get this 100% wet + 100% dry setup that i'm trying to get?
Hey Moxxie, nice video, i just got the same unit, firmware 2.7.1, and have got a handle on the 4cm, thanks to your video :) ive noticed you have cables coming out of your send return 2 sockets, below the loop your using for the 4cm, are you using these in's and outs for outboard stompboxes? as i have a few stompboxes that i still want to run in my set up, they are all, front of amp pedals, overdrive, auto wah fuzz etc, before the helix i had an M9 which i ran through my loop i only used it for delays and reverbs, and all my other stompboxes just went straight into the front of the amp, gave me the sound i wanted but the helix is a little more complicated,or maybe thats just me haha! can i use this second loop for my separate stompboxes? or (i saw this in another post) take the lead that comes from the guitar, put it into my stompbox chain of the stompbox andn out of the last stompbox into the back of the helix where the Guitar lead goes, and hook up 4cm as normal. Or do i put them in this second send/return loop, , ive read that both will work but it would be awesome if you give me some advice on this , i have two loops on the rear of my Marshall, parallel and series, any advice on hooking my rig up would be a real help, I've only had the helix for a week so im a total newbie, after 40 years playing its always been separates for me, but i do love the potential of the helix, hope all this makes sense, its 6;30 here in sunny Scotland, im just waking, coffee coffee coffe! haha ,theres a LOT of info/videos out there but I would love to here your thoughts on this, especially after seeing the cables coming out of you send/return 2 sockets, and your video on the 4cm was the best out there, so i thought I'd ask you Any help and advice is much appreciated :) cheers Billy
Hi Billy! First of all, massive apologies for this INSANELY delayed response...somehow I missed this. I'm guessing you figured it out by this point (surely the coffee helped haha), but if not, here's what I would do: You are correct in that I have an OD in the to other send/return sockets. You can use either one or both of the loops for stompboxes. If I'm understanding everything correctly, it sounds like you have a few pedals that you want to run in front of your amp, but you mainly want to use the HX for wet effects such as reverb/delay? If that's the case, I'd probably just run all the front of amp pedals directly INTO the amp, and then place the HX in the loop of the amp. In terms of serial vs parallel, I'd try the HX in the serial loop ( that's what i do) and see how you like it. If you're running multiple effects on the HX in the loop, serial is probably easiest since you can tweak the "mix" of each effect accordingly. Hope this helps!! MM 🤘
I'm using a mesa boogie dual rectifier so I labeled the 4cm preset Unmolested DR. now I need to figure out a way to incorporate my overdrive and MXR 10 band EQ with the HX effects so that my boogie can go from unmolested to extremely molested. I don't think I can have two external pedals hooked up to HX with one being the EQ set up to go in the loop and the overdrive to go in front of the amp. I might just use the HX'S internal overdrive and use the MXR 10 band. no way in hell I'm using the HX'S 10 band.
Hi! Sorry for the delayed reply. Sounds like you've got the right idea. The OD's on the HX are REALLY good. So good that I don't even use the MXR anymore, and I just use the onboard Teemah and TubeScreamer models. I even use the OD's when I record, as I prefer them to other plug-ins I have. I'd also rather use a "physical" pedal for the 10 band, just for ease of tweaking vs digital. Did you end up figuring it out?
Question: if I hook up 4CM with my amp, do I have to add the FX Loop block to EVERY preset, even if I am not going to use any effects in the loop? In other words, all the effects are going into the front of the amp.
Hi, thanks for watching! If I'm understanding your question correctly, you do need to add the FX loop block to every preset, EVEN if you won't be using any effects in the loop (delays, reverb). This is because the FX loop must be turned "ON" in the HX effects, so you need to have it added to any all presets you plan on using with your amp in 4cm. Hope this helps!
Hi! You need to set the order in the signal flow for sure. There are factory presets on the HX, but if you want your own sounds, you'll need to build them from the ground up. Hope this helps!
I have the same amp but i dont like to much the distortion and i can't make sound like yours , can you explain me the configuration of your amp? And what kind of speakers you used for the video? Thanks
Hi Robert! So sorry for the delayed response. My amp is stock for the most part. I have Tung Sol's in the power section, and I had the C19 wire clipped to make the red channel a little warmer. The cab is an Ear Candy Buzzbomb 2x12 with "Green Machine" speakers. They're basically super loud and clean! Not everyone likes speakers that neutral with a Marshall, but I happen to dig the transparency. They kind remind me of EVM12L's. Hope this helps!
Hi Alessandro! You can hook 1 or 2 external pedal chains (1 pedal or more) into the FX loop blocks. Just be aware that if you use 2 FX loops for pedals, you'll lose the 4cm capability. When I'm not using the HX in 4cm with my Marshalls, I like to run a distortion box in the loop. Hope this helps!
Your content is so touching
You can read a great deal about the theory. benefits, etc. of using the four-cable method. However, if you know that you want to do so, this video tutorial is clear and to the point.
Sweet Tutorial!
Dear Moxxie - your guitar sound is hellfire and sounds great. I also use the 4CM and the Hx Effects - would there be the possibility to share some presets that you have programmed in your Hx Effects ?
Hi!
Thanks so much! I'm running a different setup these days, but here's what my chain looked like in the HX (if my memory serves me correctly hah)
Wah
Phaser
Teemah (or some type of neutral OD/Boost)
Tubescreamer type pedal for leads
Amp
Chorus
Delay (I REALLY like the Vintage Digital on the unit)
Reverb
It's hard to go wrong with something like that for a good hard rock tone! Set the delay for 3-4 repeats and around 420 ms and you should be ready to shred. 🤘
i have a roland jc 22, it got fx loops and can work in parallel. my goal is to get two signals at the same time, one with compressor, distortions, etc (everything before the fx loops block in my hx) and my delays and modulations i want them clean, 100% wet... but when i set them 100% wet no matter what i do the delay is repeating with distortion... when i run it in series it works but it sucks tone it sound very different. in parallel without using distortion before the fx loop, the sound is perfect, i want the clean delay parallel to the distorted guitar. any clues on what i'm missing here? i mean it has to be possible to do what i intend or is it really necessary to use two amps to get this 100% wet + 100% dry setup that i'm trying to get?
how did you do it can you share with me , thank you
Hey Moxxie, nice video, i just got the same unit, firmware 2.7.1,
and have got a handle on the 4cm, thanks to your video :)
ive noticed you have cables coming out of your send return 2 sockets, below the loop your using for the 4cm,
are you using these in's and outs for outboard stompboxes? as i have a few stompboxes that i still want to run in my set up, they are all, front of amp pedals, overdrive, auto wah fuzz etc,
before the helix i had an M9 which i ran through my loop i only used it for delays and reverbs, and all my other stompboxes just went straight into the front of the amp, gave me the sound i wanted but the helix is a little more complicated,or maybe thats just me haha!
can i use this second loop for my separate stompboxes?
or (i saw this in another post) take the lead that comes from the guitar, put it into my stompbox chain of the stompbox andn out of the last stompbox into the back of the helix where the Guitar lead goes, and hook up 4cm as normal.
Or do i put them in this second send/return loop, , ive read that both will work but it would be awesome if you give me some advice on this , i have two loops on the rear of my Marshall, parallel and series, any advice on hooking my rig up would be a real help, I've only had the helix for a week so im a total newbie, after 40 years playing its always been separates for me, but i do love the potential of the helix,
hope all this makes sense, its 6;30 here in sunny Scotland, im just waking, coffee coffee coffe! haha
,theres a LOT of info/videos out there but I would love to here your thoughts on this, especially after seeing the cables coming out of you send/return 2 sockets, and your video on the 4cm was the best out there, so i thought I'd ask you
Any help and advice is much appreciated :)
cheers
Billy
Hi Billy!
First of all, massive apologies for this INSANELY delayed response...somehow I missed this. I'm guessing you figured it out by this point (surely the coffee helped haha), but if not, here's what I would do:
You are correct in that I have an OD in the to other send/return sockets. You can use either one or both of the loops for stompboxes. If I'm understanding everything correctly, it sounds like you have a few pedals that you want to run in front of your amp, but you mainly want to use the HX for wet effects such as reverb/delay? If that's the case, I'd probably just run all the front of amp pedals directly INTO the amp, and then place the HX in the loop of the amp.
In terms of serial vs parallel, I'd try the HX in the serial loop ( that's what i do) and see how you like it. If you're running multiple effects on the HX in the loop, serial is probably easiest since you can tweak the "mix" of each effect accordingly.
Hope this helps!!
MM 🤘
I'm using a mesa boogie dual rectifier so I labeled the 4cm preset Unmolested DR. now I need to figure out a way to incorporate my overdrive and MXR 10 band EQ with the HX effects so that my boogie can go from unmolested to extremely molested. I don't think I can have two external pedals hooked up to HX with one being the EQ set up to go in the loop and the overdrive to go in front of the amp. I might just use the HX'S internal overdrive and use the MXR 10 band. no way in hell I'm using the HX'S 10 band.
Hi! Sorry for the delayed reply. Sounds like you've got the right idea. The OD's on the HX are REALLY good. So good that I don't even use the MXR anymore, and I just use the onboard Teemah and TubeScreamer models. I even use the OD's when I record, as I prefer them to other plug-ins I have. I'd also rather use a "physical" pedal for the 10 band, just for ease of tweaking vs digital.
Did you end up figuring it out?
I tried to follow you and do all the connections properly but it doesn’t work. Totally silent
My bad: I connected one speaker cable instead an instrument one. Sorry!! Your explanation is great and clear 👌
Question: if I hook up 4CM with my amp, do I have to add the FX Loop block to EVERY preset, even if I am not going to use any effects in the loop?
In other words, all the effects are going into the front of the amp.
Hi, thanks for watching! If I'm understanding your question correctly, you do need to add the FX loop block to every preset, EVEN if you won't be using any effects in the loop (delays, reverb). This is because the FX loop must be turned "ON" in the HX effects, so you need to have it added to any all presets you plan on using with your amp in 4cm. Hope this helps!
Hey so does the HX effects automatically know to run the reverb and delays you choose in the presets? Or do you need to set them in the signal flow?
Hi!
You need to set the order in the signal flow for sure. There are factory presets on the HX, but if you want your own sounds, you'll need to build them from the ground up.
Hope this helps!
I have the same amp but i dont like to much the distortion and i can't make sound like yours , can you explain me the configuration of your amp? And what kind of speakers you used for the video? Thanks
Hi Robert! So sorry for the delayed response. My amp is stock for the most part. I have Tung Sol's in the power section, and I had the C19 wire clipped to make the red channel a little warmer. The cab is an Ear Candy Buzzbomb 2x12 with "Green Machine" speakers. They're basically super loud and clean! Not everyone likes speakers that neutral with a Marshall, but I happen to dig the transparency. They kind remind me of EVM12L's. Hope this helps!
Hello, can you tell how can i use the helix hx effects with external pedals? Thanks
Hi Alessandro! You can hook 1 or 2 external pedal chains (1 pedal or more) into the FX loop blocks. Just be aware that if you use 2 FX loops for pedals, you'll lose the 4cm capability. When I'm not using the HX in 4cm with my Marshalls, I like to run a distortion box in the loop. Hope this helps!