Making Song Presets on The Helix

, 6

After preparing my basic Pedal Board preset, I’ve spent the last week learning my way around the Helix, preparing presets for our setlist.

I’m loving this thing! I’ve been waking up early to craft song presets before work, and staying up super-late every night.

Yes, I’m obsessing, but there’s a lot to prepare if I’m going to pull this off at Friday’s gig with the Drop Daddies. 

It’s so liberating using the amp / cabinet models in the Helix, rather than only using my Blackstar.  I can use a Marshall amp for Weezer, an AC30 for Stone Temple Pilots and U2, a Fender Bassman for Stray Cats, etc.

Set List PresetsAnd I’ve been preparing named Snapshots for each song like “Intro”, “Verse”, “Chorus”, “Solo”, which makes it so much easier to use in performance.  It was always a bit of a challenge with the HD500X, trying to remember which buttons I had assigned to which sounds.

And the Helix has so much more processing power available, so I can really get detailed in each song. I find myself going back to study these songs again, and really dialing in the sounds.

Now my presets for Jessie’s Girl, Interstate Love Song, Under The Bridge, Need You Tonight, etc sound so much more like the originals, and that’s really satisfying.

I’ll post more details about my process and my settings after the gig.