Swells – Line 6 Helix Patch

IMPORTANT NOTES

1. UPDATE YOUR FIRMWARE: Please upgrade the firmware on your Helix and the HX Edit software from Line 6 to the latest before installing this patch. Even if your Helix is up to date, the ‘HX Edit’ app needs to be updated as well. If you get an error importing a patch, the problem is most likely outdated firmware on your Helix/HX Edit.

2. IR CABS INCLUDED: This download includes a premium IR from our ‘Blue AC 2×12’ pack. We matched this specific IR to this amp, but feel free to experiment with other IR’s for different tonal options. We’ve also included a stock cab version of the patch, but we urge to try the IR – it really does sound better – and it’s included for free :).

Here are the IR’s included:

• WT Blue AC 2×12 160

With Firmware 2.90, Helix should recall the IR based on its name rather than slot number, so it shouldn’t matter which slot you import the IR into. To purchase additional IR packs, visit Worship Tutorials.

INCLUDED PATCHES

This download includes the following patches:

• SWELLS WT IR: This is the main patch set up for guitars with single coil pickups or low output humbuckers.
• SWELLS WT HB: This is the same as the first patch but set up for traditional or higher output humbuckers.
• SWELLS WT: This is the same as the first patch but using stock cabs (again – try the IR’s).

HOW TO IMPORT THIS PATCH AND IR

1. Connect your Helix to your computer using a USB Cable
2. Download and instal the ‘HX Edit’ app from Line 6
3. In the ‘HX Edit’ app, drag and drop the patch into a slot in the ‘PRESETS’ column
4. To import an IR, switch to the ‘IMPULSES’ column (next to the PRESETS column), and drag & drop the IR into an open slot.
5. PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have the IR loaded into the ‘IMPULSES’ column, the patch will not sound correct, even if you have the IR block on – you must drag and drop the IR into the IMPULSES column.

SIGNAL FLOW AND EFFECTS

1. Input
2. Deluxe Comp – not mapped to a switch, always on
3. Heir Apparent – KOT – mapped to switch labeled ‘KOT RED’ (voiced to sound like Bradford’s King of Tone drive)
4. Volume (log curve) – mapped to EXP 2
5. Amp – AC30 Fawn Nrm
6. Cab/IR
7. Vintage Swell – used in ‘AutoSwell’ snapshot
8. Reverse Delay – mapped to switch labeled ‘Reverse Delay’
9. Adriatic Swell – mapped to switch labeled ‘Dual El Cap’ (voiced to sound like Bradford’s El Cap delay)
10. Cosmos Echo – huge ambient delay – mapped to switch labeled ‘Cosmos Echo’
11. Tremolo – mapped to switch labeled ‘Tremolo’
12. Double Tank – mapped to switch labeled ‘Ghost Verb’ (voiced to sound like Bradford’s favorite Empress Reverb sound)
13. Glitz – mapped to switch labeled ‘Glitz’
14. Searchlights Verb – mapped top switch labeled ‘Searchlights’
15. Octo Verb – mapped to switch labeled ‘Shimmer’
16. Cali Q Graphic
17. Looper – mapped to switch labeled ‘Looper’

SNAPSHOTS

There are eight snapshots included in this patch to get different sounds (all patches feature the same snapshots).

They are:

• Snapshot 1: BasicSwell. Basic (but huge) ambient swells
• Snapshot 2: SHIMMER. Adds the Octo verb
• Snapshot 3: TremSwell: Adds the tremolo
• Snapshot 4: DirtySwell: Adds the drive
• Snapshot 5: Auto Swell – Turns on the auto-swell block
• Snapshot 6: Not used 
• Snapshot 7:Not Used 
• Snapshot 8: Ambi Clean – Ambient clean tone

USAGE

DO NOT STRUM BIG CHORDS WITH THE VOLUME UP 🙂

As its name implies, this patch is meant to be used for volume swells. If you strum a big chord with the volume up, it will sound like a hot mess. Use the volume pedal to swell in.

AUTOSWELL SNAPSHOT:

The AutoSwell snapshot uses the Vintage Swell (autoswell) effect block. This lets you essentially play swells without using the volume pedal. How hard you strike the strings will affect how well the autos well effect works.

We recommend adjusting the ‘Threshold’ parameter to suite the effect to your playing style. The harder you strike the strings, the lower the threshold needs to be.

SHIIMER, DRIVE, and TREMOLO:

We’ve included these effects to give you different textures in your swells. Feel free to experiment with them (along with the tone control and pickup position on your guitar) for different swell sounds.

REVERBS and DELAYS:

We’ve layered multiple different reverbs and delays into this patch to give the swells character and ambiance. For really basic swells, try using just the Cosmos Echo and Searchlights (or any of the other reverbs). We recommend leaving them all on for the most ambiance. 

EQ AT THE END OF THE CHAIN?:

Typically when you record guitar parts in the studio, you’ll put EQ and compression on the final tone. We’ve replicated the EQ in this patch. You can use the Cali Q Graphic block for final tone shaping. See below for recommended settings.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS FOR YOUR SETUP

SETTING THE PATCH UP FOR YOUR GUITAR

All guitars are different, so you may want to make changes to suite your playing style and guitar. We set this up with a variety of guitars, including both single coils and humbuckers (primarily a Telecaster style guitar). If your guitar has humbuckers, please refer to the suggested settings below.

We recommend making a copy of the patch and changing the copy just in case you want to revert back to the original. 

We’ve included both single coil and humbucker voiced patches to serve as starting points for your guitars. To make adjustments, we recommend starting with these parameters:

• Amp Gain: Adjust the min/max values of the amp gain so that your guitar is slightly breaking up with big chords on the bridge position (without any drive pedals on)
• Amp EQ controls: Adjust these to suite your individual guitars/taste
• Cali Q Graphic EQ block: This is a simple way to adjust the overall tonal characteristics of the patch.

VOLUME CHANGES

If you would like to make this patch louder or quieter without affecting tone, the following adjustments can be made:

“Ch Vol” control on the amp module. This will increase or decrease volume without affecting the tone of the amp. This is the primary level adjustment tool I use for changing patch volumes.

Output block level. Changing the level control on the output block (the very last thing in the signal chain) will increase or decrease overall volume. We typically have this set at zero, but feel free to adjust this as you see fit.

CHANGELOG

Initial Release (2.0): 2021-06-11

• Added: Worship Tutorials IR cab
• Changed: Subtle amp/eq changes (better tone)
• Added: ‘HB’ version of the patch

Initial Release (1.0): 2019-11-08