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Apple mainstage mandolin5/3/2023 ![]() The Helix has support for Impulse Response (IR) blocks. I recently upgraded from a POD HD500X to the new Helix and it really improved the usability and tone of my setup. I’ve been using Line6 amp modelers for years to provide a single device that supports patches for all three instruments direct into the PA. That’s a complicated set of instruments with very different amplification requirements. I use a Collings mandolin with a K&K pickup, the Martin 00C-15AE, and a Stratocaster Deluxe with Tom Anderson pickups for electric guitar. I play three different instruments in most of our live gigs: mandolin, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar. And that little Martin guitar has a magic feel that’s hard to describe. But through the Aura, the 00C-15AE sounded a lot better than the Variax. In summary, the Variax 700 Acoustic sounded better than the 00C-15AE with just the Fishman under the saddle pickup. I could now use my small, light Martin 00C-15AE guitar and a nice Taylor 314cd – Neumann U87 body image to finally get the tone I was looking for. Then I saw that James Taylor used an Aura to get his fantastic live acoustic guitar sound. But I could never get a sound that made me go wow, and found I was reluctant to play some songs that featured the guitar because the tone just wasn’t that satisfying. I tried to EQ that away, and that helped. But it always seemed to have a somewhat “digital” tone that was a bit harsh. It sounded better than most under the saddle piezo pickups, had lots of useful instrument models, played nice, and was very convenient, predictable and consistent for live gigs. But it required an external preamp to power the mic and mix it with the piezo, and teneded to feedback a lot.Īfter seeing James Taylor use a Line6 Variax 700 Acoustic, I got one and used it for years. ![]() The piezo wasn’t as bright or quacky as typical under the saddle piezo pickup setups, and the mic sounded good. I started with K&K pickups that combined a piezo under the body pickup with a pencil condenser mic. I’ve been trying for years to get a good live acoustic guitar tone. If you don’t have a Helix, you can still use the IRs by using a computer and programs like Apple MainStage and SpaceDesigner that support loading any IR in track plugins. There are some f ree IRs on the Web that you can try with your guitar to see if this is something that might work for you. This post describes how to extract an Impulse Response (IR) from a Fishman Aura Spectrum (Aura) acoustic guitar body image that can be loaded into an IR block in the new Line6 Helix amp modeler.
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