Link to all EXPANSE Packs HERE: ►►www.heyworshipleader.com/helix-page Link to all ESSENTIALS Packs HERE: ►►www.heyworshipleader.com/essentials-pack-presets
I found the discussion on digital harshness to be very helpful. The exercise of applying an extreme high cut and then rolling it off to a more reasonable level was a great demonstration!
Woaah this are the answer of my frustation all this years! I keep mistaken the digital clipping with digital harshness, wrong understanding and to be expected wrong treatment You’re really good at explaining things and giving examples, thank you I say again, Thank You!
I know it was used as an example but pointing a Dynamic 57 right on the dustcap of the speaker will make anything sound harsh, even with real amps. most of the time, changing the mic or IR will give much better results than a wide cut like this. With that out of the way, there is some aliasing that occurs in the high end of some Helix models more than the others. In my case, mostly with high gain amp models (after founding a balanced mic spot) putting the high cut around 10kHz is enough. Sometimes I use an additional EQ to cut some DBs around the 8kHz area too (PV Panama needs this, for example). Great video, thanks!
Thanks man...yeah, I def had some extreme settings to prove the point. The goal was to give a solution when you don't know what else to do. Like I said in the video, use the high cut to taste, because different amps and even guitar pick ups will respond different. However I do see/hear many people make their presets not only too loud, but also too bright. Hopefully the video gave people permission to go darker and will help them in the long run
Hi, I'm writing to you from Italy, I wanted to thank you because in the digital sounds of my pod go I was always looking for something that I couldn't find and seeing this video on igli hicut was enlightening, it was exactly what I was looking for to make the sound more real. Without this video I wouldn't have gone this far into the hicuts. Now the guitar in the mixes is where it belongs
Awesome video! I was having both problems after adding an external pedal to my Helix. I maxed the headroom on my delays, lowered the high cut frequency on my IR, and dropped the mater on my amp block, no more clipping or harshness, THANK YOU!!!
As far as high cut/low cut is concerned, I think most people should immediately cut 80hz and lower, as well as cutting 8khz and higher. Those low and high frequencies are unusable and only hurt your tone. But people get used to playing that way, specifically the 8k, which they perceive as nice and bright, but as soon as they turn it up to gig volume, it’s ear piercing and horrible. This guys right, we get used to hearing frequencies a certain way, so as soon as you can cut these frequencies, the better. Great video!
I always wondered why IRs seemed more usable and less harsh, but was still trying to get my own dual cab setup to be more usable. I just like the idea of being able recreate and modify my patches without having to buy IRs. After watching the discussion on digital harshness, it all clicked. I played around with both cab and block high cuts and found the same behavior (both my own hearing and the way they roll off). In a matter of a few minutes, I was in love with my tone again and it translated directly to a better tone through powercabs too. Thanks!
I've been searching how to fix what I now know as digital clipping for quite a while. Thank you. For my home setup, I have an SSL 2 interface I plug the Helix into. By engaging the 4K button for each channel, I can get that perceived brightness that comes across better in large rooms, so if I can get it sounding good with the extra 4K boost, it should sound decent in a live situation without it.
In a past life, I was a luxury car audio specialist. Thanks for the video. The tip to start your Hi-cut down in the bass, and bring it up until the music sounds natural, is a great tip. However, I wouldn't stop at 3k2. The sweet-spot will be higher than 3k2. I would continue up past 4k, and anywhere up to 7kHz for guitar. For most listeners, 3k2 is muffled.
I needed this! I keep forgetting to treat my HX stomp like a modeler and not a amp, I never wanna cut too much and I feel like it’s not the “right” thing to do. But again it’s not a amp! Awesome video!
This! I recently began using the Global EQ myself, but it's something you don't wanna get heavy-handed with because not every amp has the same EQing deficiencies, so you wanna just trim the excess that's truly important. My hi/low cuts are at 16k and 40Hz respectively and I did a deep, thin Q notch at 6.7k to get rid of that sharp, digital upper-mid that I'd hear in the higher gain amps....matter of fact, you don't even need the hi-cut with the deep notch at 6.7kHz, because it kills off the main offender. With this, it ended up making the stock amps and cabs significantly easier to get the sound you want out of them without having to compensate on the block,AND you can pretty much take off the hi and low-cuts on the cab, so you get the full fidelity out of the way each of them respond. I think I've nailed it
15:19 Thanks for this video. I always had tons of compliments on my tone when I played through a real amp. I always had lots of low end, just a full tone. Since I bought the Helix and started watching videos, they always say make the patches brighter so they cut through, but I miss my old tone. Going back to what works for me, thank you!!!
Wow. To my ears I don’t describe it as “fizzy”, but I know exactly the sound you’re describing. I can hear it through my iPhone speakers and have dealt with it on both helix models I have owned. Also, the digital clipping has also been quite elusive to me. Thank you for the great tutorial video.
Great vid. Unity gain is something that makes a huge difference in sound. I thought I knew how to do it proper but not to long ago, I did more research and did this to our PA . The sound quality was like day and night afterwards. For anyone who doesn't know about Unity gain, I highly suggest taking the time to research it. It definitely opened my eyes or should I say ears lol
J’adore!!!! 😀👍 Very useful and interesting video based on daily facts and applicable to other devices!! Great job and thanks for all these advices!!! 👍👍 Cheers from France! 🍷🍾
Great advice ! Finally. Video covering these harsh extremes ! You explained it very well! Sometimes its like you try a super strat and les paul and get this with same preset and sometimes altering your tone knobs on guitar can help but really is better to go to source like you have mentioned opposed to altering instrument.
Wow! This is great. Can’t wait to go home and tweak my hx before playing Sunday. Love and agree about how we like things to be bright when playing at home but it can be a little much in the mix of real instruments in the band setting. I find it hard to let loose when the guitar sounds like a wild beast that needs to be tamed. Lol
great video, digital clipping and harshness well explained! I would add another video for live musicians (and maybe you've already done so) that there's always a difference between building your presets at home, listening to headphones, FRFR boxes or even professional studio monitors, and then going on stage to a big PA. Then also there's room acoustics, empty room during soundcheck vs full room during show, etc. Just a bit of expectation management and understanding the process and compromises to be done. Anyway, as said, great video, thanks for your work!
Thank you SO much for this. I was really struggling with my HX stomp. I had resorted to putting my Sanamp GT2 for amps in front , but you inspired me with your, well researched advice. I A/B'd the 2 and got it just so.
The solution for the clipping is awesome and thanks for Bringing this awareness that there is a solution. As for reducing high cut on fizziness, well it works too. But the tone at about 12 to 13mins, it just sound so digital, whether fizzy or not doesn't really matter anymore😂. Digital pedal issue and i probably have to live with it.
I was about to start blaming my old Charvel guitar's active pickups, and I already knew about digital clipping concepts and overdriving outputs, but this video really cemented it in for me that I shouldn't be afraid to cut some highs in the right spots to tame the clipping AND the fizz. A lot of times I find I already know the solution but something is holding me up from committing to addressing it forthrightly. I know it sounds a bit odd, but your video was more like...permission...of sorts...to really address this. I'm an old-school 80's guy that swore by Marshall tube amplifiers and Boss Tubescreamers for years up until the last couple years when I finally relented to how remarkably no-brainer it is to go digital at this point, now that amp modelling has matured. Most of my musician buddies have come to the same conclusions and decided to save their failing backs by keeping the expensive tube gear at home.
If you struggle with high end from the pickups, start at the input block and try adjusting the impedance, 1meg the highest resistance will allow most high end, adjust downwards to taste. FWIW
I usually get the clipping when I'm using my Samson SR850 headphones, none of which happens when I'm using the Spark Cab FRFR. I'm gonna try this later 🤙
Modellers need a new feature. A high cut that can create a very long slope between two frequencies with two variable amplitudes/levels. One fixed all the way up at 20k and one variable frequency. The sharp roll off of a regular high cut kills all the air/high harmonics of a sound. Maybe even give the option of a logarithmic curve rather than a straight slope, closer to how a real speaker works.
Thanks for this great info. It's really well explained. I've struggled with digital harshness/fizziness since I got my Helix an am gradually getting better with my presets by experimenting with high cut levels but still have a way to go (not entirely happy yet). I've found the type of mic and the distance of the mic from the cab can have a fair impact too. Keep up the good work!
Great video! For me I find myself always trying to get more overall level from my signal chain. Some HX amp models seem to naturally have less output even when raising the master and channel volume. By trying to compensate for that, This can have a tendency to drive things into that digital clipping territory.
I feel that on some amps more than others. One thing I do to get more "Pure Volume" is to go to the level of some of my last FX...like I normally have a Room reverb, and you can crank that "Level" as well without effecting tone
To set the overall level of my presets, I like to dial in the sound I like, then pull up my DAW and check the level. I shoot for between -5 and -10db on my clean to lead sounds.
Modelers allow you to do things you wouldn't do with analog pedals, such as placing pedals after the amp. I have some mixed results with this. Also, There are controls on the input and output that can impact fuzziness / grittiness. I used the noise gate on the input all the time. I also try to limit output gain between pedals and use the level setting on the output controls to determine final output level.
When applying high cuts to speakers in Helix, I typically look up the specs on the real-world counterpart - typically it is in the 5 to 6K range. So basically if you are running anything above that you are getting something that does not represent the real world.
Hey there- good stuff. Did I miss what you mentioned you were laying through? Floor vs stomp? What was your output volume knob at? I can clip things if my big knob is wide open on floor. Also, depending on your output at xlr vs 1/4, line level etc.... Good channel- glad to see your sub count climbing. Cheers.
Thanks man, I'm Not a big friend of Just cutting the harshness Off with a hi Cut, but still very, very good Points in the vid. I am so Happy you stated that there are more digital Models than Others, because that's what I've been thinking all the time, being pretty frustrated mostly with Amps at the edge of breakup. Hast anyone ever tried to use a small Tweed, or even worse the colordrive Pedal at the edge of breakup? For a Long Time, i was convinced there was something wrong with my device. In that Case, Not even the lowest HiCut will Work 😉
just to give some context on "digital harshness" - the reason why some amp models have an issue with this and some don't is very simple: it's not about the digital part. we're simply never putting our ear right up to the speaker cone and blasting those nasty frequencies straight into our brains. once you start recording anything with a mic, or use IRs and stuff, you're gonna have to deal with these nasty frequencies. a very VERY common mixing thing is giving guitars a high cut, anywhere from 15khz to even 9khz.
So I don't own an HX Anything, but it seems pretty clear to me that that "digital harshness" is the result of running those headroom parameter enabled effects after the Cab IR. If that same delay was placed before the cab and the Headroom was at 0, the effect would work as intended, thus creating a slightly distorted/saturated/overdriven delay, which is the intention of bringing down headroom in the first place. From what I see in the chain of effects, you're running them in a "studio" order, where time based effects are applied after all "dry" effects and gain-staging have been taken care of, like a producer applying plugins to an isolated recording. This works well, provided no "dry" effects-distortion, fuzz, etc- are applied in any way to the time based effects in the form of lower headroom. Which comes to this: That "digital" distortion that you're hearing is not the sound of your system clipping- though that is what digital clipping would sound like if gain-staging was improperly set- rather what you are hearing is what happens when you use any distortion/overdrive phenomenon without a speaker/cab IR. Thats just the way distortion sounds without an amp to tame it.
I agree about that 'studio' set up. I tend to do that so I can retain a stereo image without having to have dual amps or cabs. (not applicable to everyone, and make much less of an issue now that we can have a stereo cab and Ir block), however, I tried it again this morning after seeing your comment, and it still happens. The 'clipping' sound is much warmer because it's going through the cab block, but is still there. The delays do sound better all-around tho! But the 'clipping' sound is in addition to the nice warm repeats of the delays...it happens as you sustain a chord. It sounds just as bad as it did in the beginning of the video, just warmer (like when I applied a high cut to it). That sound goes away as I bring up the Headroom.
@@HeyWorshipLeader Thanks for the thoughtful response! Yes, I'd expect the clipping to be retained if headroom is still minimal, no matter where the pedal is in the chain. That's the concept behind distortion in general: Reducing headroom so that the circuit "clips" or literally cuts off the peaks and valleys of a signal. Bringing down the headroom in the HX software mimics the process of starving a pedal of power, thus reducing it's headroom. This would result in clipping occurring in a circuit- in this case, a circuit that was not intended to process such an effect. I've heard stories especially of blues players starving pedals of power by placing bad batteries in them, to decrease headroom in order to get more dirt and bias out of them, etc. Getting into the weeds here: The reason to place it before the IR- if you are using low headroom to such an effect- is because Cabs act like a really severe low pass filter that severely cuts high end content, depending upon the fidelity and quality of the speaker. This cuts the high frequency response of the distortion, as you demonstrated with the low pass/high cut filter in the video. I really appreciate your videos, especially on the Nux Amp Academy! It was your video review concerning IR and FX Return placement that really sold me on it. I'm a music minister in FL, and your resources have proven incredibly useful. Keep up the good work!
thank you for a wonderful video here. i do have 1 question concerning the digital harshness in a live situation. as far as the high cut options, obviously theres one on the cab/ir block, and many eq block options. is it common to use multiple cut options? I have been cutting the cab/ir block around 5-6.5k and then using a parametric eq block at 10-13k. Is utilizing 1 really all thats needed? thanks
I noticed this once playing live where the audio engineer told me he had to mute my sound due to a kind of over drive he listened to. After re-moduling my amps my sound went much better live but I noticed the sound was still there, I did what you did in this video but without the knowledge of what I was doing, now with the knowledge the sound dissappeared almost 100% (thanks mate); the bass cut also affected it a but, now I have a doubt. When I plugged in my guitar to the headphones output of my HX stomp the sound was full clean but when I went thru the output I noticed this kind of clipping at the end, my output is set to instrument due to the fact that it is less compressed and volume than the line output, what could you reccomend me or why does this happens?
Just to add, this same problem can happen in the FX loop block. I run out to the Revelation Reverb and I had to back off a lot of volume to clean it up.
You probably shouldn't think of a High Cut as a tool to reduce "digital fizz": - "Digital fizz" in modelers is the way they simulate crossover distortion of a real amp. Crossover distortion is the "fizzy"/"squirrel" distortion you can hear in the tail of the notes if the power amp is turned high up and you turn down the pre-amp drive, either with amp's drive or guitar's volume knob. You can hear this "fizz" in the intro of Van Halen's "Drop Dead Legs", in which he has guitar's volume knob turned down. - Normally crossover is more drowned in the saturated distortion tone. Also if you play a real amp, it's present there too, but you don't put your ear next to the speaker's cone and some of the harsh frequencies drown in the room you play in. Nobody stands in front of a dimed 100W Marshall's 4x12 to hear this and live through it... :D On a modeler, you get to crank the 100W power amp up and you get everything beautiful and ugly coming out of a FRFR monitors/headphones to dissect with your ears at digestible volume that won't kill you. - Fractal's crossover distortion simulation is a bit more "rounded", natural sounding and less sharp than the one of Line 6. Difference is small though. - Crossover distortion "fizz" lives in the guitar's... fizz frequency range. Which is around 2,5-3,5k. Even if Helix cab's High Cut is a mild slope, you probably shouldn't go as low as 3k with it, because in some cases you might get a tone that loses too much highs. - Better tool to "cut" the piercing crossover fizz is to use a narrow Parametric EQ to "scalpel" out the harshness at around 3k if it's that irritating you in a given amp model. At the same time, "fizz" frequency range is very important for guitar, so overdoing it will also ruin the tone. - Another good method of reducing the crossover distortion for edge of breakup tones might be turning down the power amp, depends how it works on a given amp sim/modeler. - Another good method is changing mic position, changing cab/mic combo, cor using different IR. - Accepting crossover distortion as a natural part of guitar tone can help too ;) - High Cut is a tool that's better for taming the highs above the fizz range. For example if the Treble/Presence knobs of the amp sim affect the gain amount/character like in Marshalls, so you want to keep them high to get that tone, but then you can tame highs a bit with a High Cut.
Me: "how do I get a less tinny sounding distortion?" Also me: "someday I'll learn how to use cuts properly" 😂 Solved! You earned a SUB. Thank you so much
Good video. The "digital" fizziness thing seems to be very subjective, and to me is a bit of a misnomer. It's not a digital thing. The real versions of the modeled amps do the same thing, but you don't notice in the real world due to the natural roll off of a typical guitar speaker cone, which usually is pretty steep between 6 and 8K. Send a tube amp output signal to a console without a speaker load for dampening and it will sound like absolute garbage.
Link to all EXPANSE Packs HERE:
►►www.heyworshipleader.com/helix-page
Link to all ESSENTIALS Packs HERE:
►►www.heyworshipleader.com/essentials-pack-presets
Finally I found my way to someone explaining to me how to set my gear properly! Thank you! God bless you😀
I found the discussion on digital harshness to be very helpful. The exercise of applying an extreme high cut and then rolling it off to a more reasonable level was a great demonstration!
Thanks for sharing!
This problem (clipping) has been driving me nuts for so long! GREAT video! Incredibly helpful! Like you said, everyone kept calling it 'fizziness.' !
Glad to help!!
wow! this is what I was searching for many time!
Woaah this are the answer of my frustation all this years!
I keep mistaken the digital clipping with digital harshness, wrong understanding and to be expected wrong treatment
You’re really good at explaining things and giving examples, thank you
I say again, Thank You!
I know it was used as an example but pointing a Dynamic 57 right on the dustcap of the speaker will make anything sound harsh, even with real amps. most of the time, changing the mic or IR will give much better results than a wide cut like this. With that out of the way, there is some aliasing that occurs in the high end of some Helix models more than the others. In my case, mostly with high gain amp models (after founding a balanced mic spot) putting the high cut around 10kHz is enough. Sometimes I use an additional EQ to cut some DBs around the 8kHz area too (PV Panama needs this, for example). Great video, thanks!
Thanks man...yeah, I def had some extreme settings to prove the point. The goal was to give a solution when you don't know what else to do. Like I said in the video, use the high cut to taste, because different amps and even guitar pick ups will respond different.
However I do see/hear many people make their presets not only too loud, but also too bright. Hopefully the video gave people permission to go darker and will help them in the long run
Hi, I'm writing to you from Italy, I wanted to thank you because in the digital sounds of my pod go I was always looking for something that I couldn't find and seeing this video on igli hicut was enlightening, it was exactly what I was looking for to make the sound more real. Without this video I wouldn't have gone this far into the hicuts. Now the guitar in the mixes is where it belongs
Glad to help!
Great video, thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Such an eye opening video on the high cut method!
Glad you liked it!
Awesome video! I was having both problems after adding an external pedal to my Helix. I maxed the headroom on my delays, lowered the high cut frequency on my IR, and dropped the mater on my amp block, no more clipping or harshness, THANK YOU!!!
This is by far the best/most useful video i have seen on this topic - thank you so much!
Wow, thanks for the kind words
Bro, KUDOS!!!
The way you explained it felt so dumbed down. It made me realize how inexperienced i am.
Thanks for this one man!
As far as high cut/low cut is concerned, I think most people should immediately cut 80hz and lower, as well as cutting 8khz and higher. Those low and high frequencies are unusable and only hurt your tone. But people get used to playing that way, specifically the 8k, which they perceive as nice and bright, but as soon as they turn it up to gig volume, it’s ear piercing and horrible. This guys right, we get used to hearing frequencies a certain way, so as soon as you can cut these frequencies, the better. Great video!
I always wondered why IRs seemed more usable and less harsh, but was still trying to get my own dual cab setup to be more usable. I just like the idea of being able recreate and modify my patches without having to buy IRs. After watching the discussion on digital harshness, it all clicked. I played around with both cab and block high cuts and found the same behavior (both my own hearing and the way they roll off). In a matter of a few minutes, I was in love with my tone again and it translated directly to a better tone through powercabs too. Thanks!
That’s awesome man! 👊🏻
I've been searching how to fix what I now know as digital clipping for quite a while. Thank you.
For my home setup, I have an SSL 2 interface I plug the Helix into. By engaging the 4K button for each channel, I can get that perceived brightness that comes across better in large rooms, so if I can get it sounding good with the extra 4K boost, it should sound decent in a live situation without it.
Awesome! thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for this lesson and for these great insights! It helped me big time! 🙏🙏🙏
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome! That's a game-changing tutorial. Helped a lot getting rid of klipping when using my HX Stomp. Thx Dude!
Glad it helped!
Found this very helpful. Can't wait to doctor some of my presets.
That’s great
In a past life, I was a luxury car audio specialist.
Thanks for the video. The tip to start your Hi-cut down in the bass, and bring it up until the music sounds natural, is a great tip. However, I wouldn't stop at 3k2. The sweet-spot will be higher than 3k2. I would continue up past 4k, and anywhere up to 7kHz for guitar. For most listeners, 3k2 is muffled.
The way you explained the Digital Harshness was perfect. Thank you for making this video!
Thank you for this explanation, I never understood what was causing the digital clipping until now! Great work!
I needed this! I keep forgetting to treat my HX stomp like a modeler and not a amp, I never wanna cut too much and I feel like it’s not the “right” thing to do. But again it’s not a amp! Awesome video!
Glad to help. And I know what you mean about it not feeling like the right thing to do.
Great way of showing examples of each problem 👍
Thanks 🙂
To be honest, this is what I expected and was thinking about so recently i'm just astonished you uploaded this at the right timing
Thanks Jimmy. Very helpful.
glad to help!
Good information. Yes turning your headroom up helps a lot.
I find using Global EQ to cut low or high end does the same job, and saves using up a block.
This! I recently began using the Global EQ myself, but it's something you don't wanna get heavy-handed with because not every amp has the same EQing deficiencies, so you wanna just trim the excess that's truly important. My hi/low cuts are at 16k and 40Hz respectively and I did a deep, thin Q notch at 6.7k to get rid of that sharp, digital upper-mid that I'd hear in the higher gain amps....matter of fact, you don't even need the hi-cut with the deep notch at 6.7kHz, because it kills off the main offender. With this, it ended up making the stock amps and cabs significantly easier to get the sound you want out of them without having to compensate on the block,AND you can pretty much take off the hi and low-cuts on the cab, so you get the full fidelity out of the way each of them respond. I think I've nailed it
Super useful thanks Jimmy. I had this issue using drive pedals in front of the stomp. They would cause the digital clipping but got it sorted now!
Right on!
15:19 Thanks for this video. I always had tons of compliments on my tone when I played through a real amp. I always had lots of low end, just a full tone. Since I bought the Helix and started watching videos, they always say make the patches brighter so they cut through, but I miss my old tone. Going back to what works for me, thank you!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent explanation! I just got a HX Effects and have been experiencing this very thing. Going to give your suggestions a try. Thank you so much!
thanks so much for this vid. been having this issue a lot since getting my hx stomp!
Glad it helped!
Wow. To my ears I don’t describe it as “fizzy”, but I know exactly the sound you’re describing. I can hear it through my iPhone speakers and have dealt with it on both helix models I have owned. Also, the digital clipping has also been quite elusive to me. Thank you for the great tutorial video.
Glad to help!
Great explanation, thanks, works great on the Pod Go too!
Yes! I should’ve mentioned that in the video!
Thanks brother I was frustrated about clip and digital noise you save my line 6 before. Trough
Thank you so much my friend! You have help me out so much
Glad to help
It happens to me! Thank you man! I appreciate your work!
Thanks man!
THIS IS THE VIDEO IVE BEEN WAITING FOR !!!! THANKS DUDE !!!!
Great vid. Unity gain is something that makes a huge difference in sound. I thought I knew how to do it proper but not to long ago, I did more research and did this to our PA . The sound quality was like day and night afterwards. For anyone who doesn't know about Unity gain, I highly suggest taking the time to research it. It definitely opened my eyes or should I say ears lol
haha!
Glad it helped!
I've been chasing this one for a long time! Great explanation! Can't wait to put it into practice.
Thank you! Going to try this tonight at the gig.
that was very helpful. thanks for work.
Great example dude! I've always had some digital clipping coming out of my Helix LT and I could never fully identify why!
Very clear concise and helpful! We’ll done, thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Lots of great advice here. Thank you so much! God bless.
You are so welcome!
Thanks for this video. I really needed this information!!!
J’adore!!!! 😀👍 Very useful and interesting video based on daily facts and applicable to other devices!! Great job and thanks for all these advices!!! 👍👍
Cheers from France! 🍷🍾
Wow, this one helped me a LOT! Thank you!
fantastic explaination! Thanks a lot! About the headroom I learnt something new to adjust on my presets
Incredible, thank you for the tips!
This is the video I needed. First time using both single pick up and modeler, I was blaming the guitar.
That's great man...glad to help
@@HeyWorshipLeader hope I can apply this on this Sunday! Thanks!!
I hear it. Well done.
Thanks man
Great video I just got my Helix floor and I was having this problem.
Love this video especially the part about harshness. Question: do you balance the high cuts with the low cuts?
Thanks! I dial them in only as needed. They don't have baring on one another if that makes sense
very helpfull, thanks. Btw, i'm far from religious, but tell me, do you play these sounds in your church?
Not all these tones from this video, but some nice ambient overdriven stuff, yeah!
Great advice ! Finally. Video covering these harsh extremes ! You explained it very well! Sometimes its like you try a super strat and les paul and get this with same preset and sometimes altering your tone knobs on guitar can help but really is better to go to source like you have mentioned opposed to altering instrument.
thanks! exactly!
Thank you
You're welcome
Wow! This is great. Can’t wait to go home and tweak my hx before playing Sunday.
Love and agree about how we like things to be bright when playing at home but it can be a little much in the mix of real instruments in the band setting. I find it hard to let loose when the guitar sounds like a wild beast that needs to be tamed. Lol
I just applied your advice to my HX and love what I'm hearing. Can't wait to see how it fits in the mix tomorrow at church. Thanks!
great video, digital clipping and harshness well explained! I would add another video for live musicians (and maybe you've already done so) that there's always a difference between building your presets at home, listening to headphones, FRFR boxes or even professional studio monitors, and then going on stage to a big PA. Then also there's room acoustics, empty room during soundcheck vs full room during show, etc. Just a bit of expectation management and understanding the process and compromises to be done. Anyway, as said, great video, thanks for your work!
Thank you so much!
I experienced this using the fx loop on the HX stomp. Super annoying and frustrating! Great vid
Glad it helped!
In the start of the video I was like: FUCK YES IT ALWAYS SOUNDS LIKE THAT
This is an awesome vid! Thanks dude, really helpful and perfectly explained!
Thanks for the kind words
Just watched this and will be checking it out later. Will let you know how it goes.
How'd it go?
Sorry, I forgot to reply. Yes worked just great. Thanks for the info.
Thank you!!!
glad to help
Thank you SO much for this. I was really struggling with my HX stomp. I had resorted to putting my Sanamp GT2 for amps in front , but you inspired me with your, well researched advice. I A/B'd the 2 and got it just so.
The solution for the clipping is awesome and thanks for Bringing this awareness that there is a solution.
As for reducing high cut on fizziness, well it works too. But the tone at about 12 to 13mins, it just sound so digital, whether fizzy or not doesn't really matter anymore😂. Digital pedal issue and i probably have to live with it.
I was about to start blaming my old Charvel guitar's active pickups, and I already knew about digital clipping concepts and overdriving outputs, but this video really cemented it in for me that I shouldn't be afraid to cut some highs in the right spots to tame the clipping AND the fizz.
A lot of times I find I already know the solution but something is holding me up from committing to addressing it forthrightly. I know it sounds a bit odd, but your video was more like...permission...of sorts...to really address this.
I'm an old-school 80's guy that swore by Marshall tube amplifiers and Boss Tubescreamers for years up until the last couple years when I finally relented to how remarkably no-brainer it is to go digital at this point, now that amp modelling has matured. Most of my musician buddies have come to the same conclusions and decided to save their failing backs by keeping the expensive tube gear at home.
Glad it helped man. I know how hard it is to transition to these modelers at first but saving backs is a good thing like you said
If you struggle with high end from the pickups, start at the input block and try adjusting the impedance, 1meg the highest resistance will allow most high end, adjust downwards to taste. FWIW
I usually get the clipping when I'm using my Samson SR850 headphones, none of which happens when I'm using the Spark Cab FRFR.
I'm gonna try this later 🤙
Yeah, let me know how it goes
Modellers need a new feature. A high cut that can create a very long slope between two frequencies with two variable amplitudes/levels. One fixed all the way up at 20k and one variable frequency. The sharp roll off of a regular high cut kills all the air/high harmonics of a sound. Maybe even give the option of a logarithmic curve rather than a straight slope, closer to how a real speaker works.
That would be awesome
Excellent Info, thanks!
Thanks for this great info. It's really well explained. I've struggled with digital harshness/fizziness since I got my Helix an am gradually getting better with my presets by experimenting with high cut levels but still have a way to go (not entirely happy yet). I've found the type of mic and the distance of the mic from the cab can have a fair impact too. Keep up the good work!
This is so helpful!!! Thank you so much 🙏
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! For me I find myself always trying to get more overall level from my signal chain. Some HX amp models seem to naturally have less output even when raising the master and channel volume. By trying to compensate for that, This can have a tendency to drive things into that digital clipping territory.
I feel that on some amps more than others. One thing I do to get more "Pure Volume" is to go to the level of some of my last FX...like I normally have a Room reverb, and you can crank that "Level" as well without effecting tone
Thanks. I thought my pod go was broken!
Glad to help!!
To set the overall level of my presets, I like to dial in the sound I like, then pull up my DAW and check the level. I shoot for between -5 and -10db on my clean to lead sounds.
I like this idea. How do you know where to increase or decrease volume? Amp? Pedal? I'm interested in this method.
good stuff, here...
Thanks!
Idk if i’d consider it digital harshness, if i have my amp pointed at my head, it’s also harsh.
Haha that’s also true!
Modelers allow you to do things you wouldn't do with analog pedals, such as placing pedals after the amp. I have some mixed results with this. Also, There are controls on the input and output that can impact fuzziness / grittiness. I used the noise gate on the input all the time. I also try to limit output gain between pedals and use the level setting on the output controls to determine final output level.
Yes...these are good practices as well...thanks for sharing
Many real amps have a effects loop after preamp
When applying high cuts to speakers in Helix, I typically look up the specs on the real-world counterpart - typically it is in the 5 to 6K range. So basically if you are running anything above that you are getting something that does not represent the real world.
Great video!!
Thanks man!
Happy to help!
Very helpful. Thank you
Hey there- good stuff. Did I miss what you mentioned you were laying through? Floor vs stomp? What was your output volume knob at? I can clip things if my big knob is wide open on floor. Also, depending on your output at xlr vs 1/4, line level etc.... Good channel- glad to see your sub count climbing. Cheers.
Thanks man,
I'm Not a big friend of Just cutting the harshness Off with a hi Cut, but still very, very good Points in the vid. I am so Happy you stated that there are more digital Models than Others, because that's what I've been thinking all the time, being pretty frustrated mostly with Amps at the edge of breakup.
Hast anyone ever tried to use a small Tweed, or even worse the colordrive Pedal at the edge of breakup? For a Long Time, i was convinced there was something wrong with my device. In that Case, Not even the lowest HiCut will Work 😉
very helpful. thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
just to give some context on "digital harshness" - the reason why some amp models have an issue with this and some don't is very simple: it's not about the digital part. we're simply never putting our ear right up to the speaker cone and blasting those nasty frequencies straight into our brains. once you start recording anything with a mic, or use IRs and stuff, you're gonna have to deal with these nasty frequencies. a very VERY common mixing thing is giving guitars a high cut, anywhere from 15khz to even 9khz.
So I don't own an HX Anything, but it seems pretty clear to me that that "digital harshness" is the result of running those headroom parameter enabled effects after the Cab IR. If that same delay was placed before the cab and the Headroom was at 0, the effect would work as intended, thus creating a slightly distorted/saturated/overdriven delay, which is the intention of bringing down headroom in the first place.
From what I see in the chain of effects, you're running them in a "studio" order, where time based effects are applied after all "dry" effects and gain-staging have been taken care of, like a producer applying plugins to an isolated recording. This works well, provided no "dry" effects-distortion, fuzz, etc- are applied in any way to the time based effects in the form of lower headroom.
Which comes to this: That "digital" distortion that you're hearing is not the sound of your system clipping- though that is what digital clipping would sound like if gain-staging was improperly set- rather what you are hearing is what happens when you use any distortion/overdrive phenomenon without a speaker/cab IR. Thats just the way distortion sounds without an amp to tame it.
I agree about that 'studio' set up. I tend to do that so I can retain a stereo image without having to have dual amps or cabs. (not applicable to everyone, and make much less of an issue now that we can have a stereo cab and Ir block), however, I tried it again this morning after seeing your comment, and it still happens. The 'clipping' sound is much warmer because it's going through the cab block, but is still there. The delays do sound better all-around tho! But the 'clipping' sound is in addition to the nice warm repeats of the delays...it happens as you sustain a chord. It sounds just as bad as it did in the beginning of the video, just warmer (like when I applied a high cut to it). That sound goes away as I bring up the Headroom.
@@HeyWorshipLeader Thanks for the thoughtful response! Yes, I'd expect the clipping to be retained if headroom is still minimal, no matter where the pedal is in the chain. That's the concept behind distortion in general: Reducing headroom so that the circuit "clips" or literally cuts off the peaks and valleys of a signal. Bringing down the headroom in the HX software mimics the process of starving a pedal of power, thus reducing it's headroom. This would result in clipping occurring in a circuit- in this case, a circuit that was not intended to process such an effect. I've heard stories especially of blues players starving pedals of power by placing bad batteries in them, to decrease headroom in order to get more dirt and bias out of them, etc.
Getting into the weeds here: The reason to place it before the IR- if you are using low headroom to such an effect- is because Cabs act like a really severe low pass filter that severely cuts high end content, depending upon the fidelity and quality of the speaker. This cuts the high frequency response of the distortion, as you demonstrated with the low pass/high cut filter in the video.
I really appreciate your videos, especially on the Nux Amp Academy! It was your video review concerning IR and FX Return placement that really sold me on it. I'm a music minister in FL, and your resources have proven incredibly useful. Keep up the good work!
Very helpful, thank you. Any idea why the mic position option doesnt work on my hx stomp(version 3.5)
Thanks. great info. When you are going into FOH via XLR or 1/4 , do you keep the Volume at 100?
sound guys always tell me 50%
thank you for a wonderful video here. i do have 1 question concerning the digital harshness in a live situation. as far as the high cut options, obviously theres one on the cab/ir block, and many eq block options. is it common to use multiple cut options? I have been cutting the cab/ir block around 5-6.5k and then using a parametric eq block at 10-13k. Is utilizing 1 really all thats needed? thanks
I noticed this once playing live where the audio engineer told me he had to mute my sound due to a kind of over drive he listened to. After re-moduling my amps my sound went much better live but I noticed the sound was still there, I did what you did in this video but without the knowledge of what I was doing, now with the knowledge the sound dissappeared almost 100% (thanks mate); the bass cut also affected it a but, now I have a doubt.
When I plugged in my guitar to the headphones output of my HX stomp the sound was full clean but when I went thru the output I noticed this kind of clipping at the end, my output is set to instrument due to the fact that it is less compressed and volume than the line output, what could you reccomend me or why does this happens?
Just to add, this same problem can happen in the FX loop block. I run out to the Revelation Reverb and I had to back off a lot of volume to clean it up.
You probably shouldn't think of a High Cut as a tool to reduce "digital fizz":
- "Digital fizz" in modelers is the way they simulate crossover distortion of a real amp. Crossover distortion is the "fizzy"/"squirrel" distortion you can hear in the tail of the notes if the power amp is turned high up and you turn down the pre-amp drive, either with amp's drive or guitar's volume knob. You can hear this "fizz" in the intro of Van Halen's "Drop Dead Legs", in which he has guitar's volume knob turned down.
- Normally crossover is more drowned in the saturated distortion tone. Also if you play a real amp, it's present there too, but you don't put your ear next to the speaker's cone and some of the harsh frequencies drown in the room you play in. Nobody stands in front of a dimed 100W Marshall's 4x12 to hear this and live through it... :D On a modeler, you get to crank the 100W power amp up and you get everything beautiful and ugly coming out of a FRFR monitors/headphones to dissect with your ears at digestible volume that won't kill you.
- Fractal's crossover distortion simulation is a bit more "rounded", natural sounding and less sharp than the one of Line 6. Difference is small though.
- Crossover distortion "fizz" lives in the guitar's... fizz frequency range. Which is around 2,5-3,5k. Even if Helix cab's High Cut is a mild slope, you probably shouldn't go as low as 3k with it, because in some cases you might get a tone that loses too much highs.
- Better tool to "cut" the piercing crossover fizz is to use a narrow Parametric EQ to "scalpel" out the harshness at around 3k if it's that irritating you in a given amp model. At the same time, "fizz" frequency range is very important for guitar, so overdoing it will also ruin the tone.
- Another good method of reducing the crossover distortion for edge of breakup tones might be turning down the power amp, depends how it works on a given amp sim/modeler.
- Another good method is changing mic position, changing cab/mic combo, cor using different IR.
- Accepting crossover distortion as a natural part of guitar tone can help too ;)
- High Cut is a tool that's better for taming the highs above the fizz range. For example if the Treble/Presence knobs of the amp sim affect the gain amount/character like in Marshalls, so you want to keep them high to get that tone, but then you can tame highs a bit with a High Cut.
Me: "how do I get a less tinny sounding distortion?" Also me: "someday I'll learn how to use cuts properly" 😂 Solved! You earned a SUB. Thank you so much
i gwt this when using the drives mainly
Luckily, I don’t play loud and I don’t use modulations. Good video.
I have same problem bro it’s sounding very bad from last month …I cant found the problem bro
Good video. The "digital" fizziness thing seems to be very subjective, and to me is a bit of a misnomer. It's not a digital thing. The real versions of the modeled amps do the same thing, but you don't notice in the real world due to the natural roll off of a typical guitar speaker cone, which usually is pretty steep between 6 and 8K. Send a tube amp output signal to a console without a speaker load for dampening and it will sound like absolute garbage.
I wish there were meters for your headroom on the hx. It's not always apparent.
Anyone have suggested global low/high cut settings?