Line 6 Helix Blues Setup: A Blues Guitarists Guide

As a guitarist who primarily plays blues and other roots-based music, the world of amp modelling scares me. My heart has always yearned for the warm glow of real valves and the feeling of a cranked 1 x 12 combo. On stage, I can’t imagine anything else. At home, the cranked valve amp does not quite fit the needs of the modern player or the neighbors need for a peaceful life.

For many years I’ve been reluctant to turn to the digital world, that is until I started using the Line 6 Helix. I'm a proud owner of the Helix rackmount which sits in my studio. I absolutely love it.

Typically, amp modelling is seen as highly modernized tool. It’s no surprise that today's bands are using digital models to achieve tighter, heavier and more sterilized sounds. But, what about low gain players? Historically, those in search of the perfect valve break-up have been left unfulfilled by digital gear.

In this guide I'll discuss some of the more blues-orientated features of the Helix and will include some links to patches and audio clips of the settings that replicate some of my favorite tones. The Helix contains a wealth of amp and pedal models but here are few gems to take note of:

Amps:

• Fender Bassman
• Fender Champ
• Fender Twin Reverb
• Marshall JTM45
• Marshall Superlead 100
• Line 6 Litigator (their own design but legend has it, this is based on a Dumble)

Pedals:

• Klon Centaur
• Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer
• Paul Cochrane Timmy
• Xotic EP Booster

The Helix also has a huge range of great reverbs available. However, I've used the ’63 Spring model, unless otherwise stated, for all the patches in this article. To my ears, this is the most pleasing one and gives me what I want from a reverb, especially when dealing with lower gain tones.

Texas Tone

The name of this patch says it all. For the amps I'm utilizing two Fender Deluxe Reverbs, one running into a 1 x 12 speaker and the other into a 4 x 10. The 1 x 12 is mic’d with a Neumann U47 and the 4 x 10 with a Beyerdynamic M160 Ribbon mic. These are running at the same time. The front end is driven by the SRV favored TS808 pedal. I also have a Klon Centaur on the front end. While Stevie did not use a Klon, I find having this at the start of the signal chain providess a nice top end push.

• Download the Patch
• Guitar Used: Tokai Goldstar Sound Strat

Keef's Sugar

We all love a little sugar from time to time and Keef is no exception. This patch is a twin amp rig utilizing two tweed-style amps pushed to their breaking point. The overdrive is purely from the amp, though the bottom half of the signal chain contains a Fuzz pedal. The tone is quite hollow-sounding with a low point of breakup. If you attack the guitar strings hard, you'll get a lot of natural overdrive from the amps. One Tweed is mic’d with a Neumann U87 and the other with a Shure SM57.

• Download the Patch 
• Guitar Used: Tokai Breezysound Telecaster

Paged & Confused

Anyone who loves to get the Led out from time to time will appreciate this bright and pokey tone. Often credited with creating heavy metal (though this is debatable) the first Led Zeppelin album contained a plethora of hard-hitting tones, mostly produced by Jimmy Page’s trusty dragon Telecaster and a Supro amp. This patch is a simple one with an EP Booster pushing the front end of a Supro amp model. The Supro is set with the master on 10 yet with only a hint of breakup. The EP Booster at the front end is adding the extra drive to the patch while the amp is mic’d with a Beyerdynamic M160 Ribbon mic.

• Download the Patch
• Guitar Used: Tokai Breezysound Telecaster

Whole Lotta Led

This patch is drawn from around the time of Led Zeppelin II where Page was using Marshall stacks and Gibson Les Pauls. Thus, our second Led Zeppelin-inspired patch is based on a dual Marshall stack setup with one side - a JTM45 - running into a pair of 4 x 12 cabs loaded with Celestion 20 watt Greenbacks and the other side - a Marshall Plexi - running into a pair of 4 x 12s loaded with Celestion 25 watt Greenbacks. The rig also has an EP Booster in the chain to push one of the stacks slightly harder if you want a louder, edgier Page solo tone.

The 20 watt Greenback 4 x 12’s are mic’d with a Shure SM57 and a Royer R-121 Ribbon while the 25 watt Greenback 4 x 12s are mic’d with a Shure SM57 and a Neumann U87.

• Download the Patch
• Guitar Used: Epiphone Les Paul Standard

Steppin' In

This patch was inspired by the famous Bluesbreakers tone that Eric Clapton recorded in 1965 with a cranked Marshall 1962, which was later renamed the “Bluesbreaker Combo”. Legend has it that Eric Clapton removed the microphone the engineer placed in front of the speakers and that the tone we hear on the record was in fact captured by the vocal mics. This patch is roomy-sounding to capture that feel. It has a Dallas Rangemaster model running into the front of a cranked Bluesbreaker amp. The Coles 4038 Ribbon Mic has been set at the maximum 12 inches from the speaker. This patch does not use the ’63 Spring Reverb, since I've opted for a room reverb to add extra space to make up for the shorter distance the mic is away from the speaker cone compared to the stories about Clapton's actual setup.

If you select your neck pickup and roll your tone down to zero, you can capture the essence of Clapton's famous "Woman Tone".

• Download the Patch
• Guitar Used: Epiphone Les Paul Standard

Still Got The Tone

If you take a 1959 Gibson Les Paul and plug it into a cranked Soldano SLO-100 (not the most conventional blues amp, I know) you get this screaming, creamy lead tone. It's based on the tone of Gary Moore’s Still Got the Blues album. This patch also has a TS808 hitting the front end of the amp for a little extra gain. There is also a studio preamp which adds a little more low-end to the spectrum and simulates the studio desk also shaping the tone. Experiment switching this on and off, as the difference is subtle but noticeable. The SLO-100 head runs into a 4 x 12 loaded with 25 watt Greenback speakers, mic’d with a Sennheiser MD 421-U dynamic microphone.

• Download the Patch 
• Guitar Used: Epiphone Les Paul

ConeTONEiuum

For many years John Mayer was seen as a blues fan's guilty pleasure. He cut his teeth in the pop scene, but underneath the celebrity gossip was a disciple of SRV and Hendrix. Mayer is a long time Dumble user, so this patch uses Line 6's own model known as the Litigator. There is no definitive confirmation that this is a Dumble style amp, yet, it delivers the same high headroom, clean and snappy response and full-bodied low end that Dumble amps are known for. This signal chain is made up of a Boss CS1 Compressor with the bright switch off and a Klon Centaur. These two pedals remain on as part of the standard tone. This will give you a fantastically snappy but chiming clean tone.

The amp is mic’d with a Royer R-121 Ribbon and the Ganymede reverb. Mayer opts for a rack mount reverb to accompany his amps and this model provides that very spacious reverb that you hear every Mayer note swimming in.

• Download the Patch
• Guitar Used: Tokai Goldstar Sound Strat

Summary

The Helix is a fantastic unit. If you are a home-based musician who is looking for a multitude of tones with the smallest footprint, someone who is looking for a one stop shop studio rig, or a touring musician looking to scale back their rig for portability, I could not recommend this unit enough. It doesn’t have the exact sound or feel of a real, cranked tube amp, but Line 6 has certainly gotten close. The unit responds well to dynamics and even reacts well to volume knob roll offs.

Given the choice, I would pick the real amp just for the feel of the air movement and the interaction between the instrument and the speaker.

Yet, if I were in a situation where I had to use the Helix, or I was put in a blind test, would I mind? 

Not one bit.

Your Questions and Comments

If you have questions about the Line 6 Helix or the blues tones I've included here, feel free to reach out via the comments section below, and I'll do my best to help out. 

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