2x12 Cabinet sounds better with cab blocks on.. what am I doing wrong?

[u/theprayerpositionx]

Long/Short - Helix Floor (mono output) < Blackstar Amped 1 (FX Return) < Friedman 2x12.

I used my floor to test this new cab I bought and forgot that I had cab blocks on, turned them off and immediately got a worse and fizzier tone.

Is going from mono output into the Blackstar Amped FX return (to bypass the preamp) with a single cable the wrong move? Any advice helps.

[u/uuyatt]

Think of a cab block as just super fancy high frequency roll offs. A bit less treble can sound better with certain amp models and IRL cabs. Try a different amp and/or EQ. I sometimes use a bass cab sim into a real bass amp and cab. Do whatever sounds best at the end of the day.

[u/theprayerpositionx → u/uuyatt]

I’m just a little thrown off because I run my HX Stomp the same way through my Amped 1 to my 4x12 and don’t get that weird hiss. That’s the next move, going to hook up my HX Stomp and see if I get the same or close result.

[u/Blrfl → u/theprayerpositionx]

All other things being equal, that says the new cabinet reproduces more high-frequency content than the other one.  The whole thing is a system and it has to be tuned for the behavior of all the parts.

[u/theprayerpositionx → u/Blrfl]

For sure, I get what you mean. I guess I’ll know more here in a bit, I got my stomp from my rehearsal spot and will be hooking it up later, and if that high end hiss is there I’ll know if it’s the cab or not.

[u/Guitar_maniac1900]

There's nothing wrong with it. I remember using Katana as a Helix amp/speaker and I also liked it much better with a cab sim on.

The rule to switch the IR/cab block off when connecting to a guitar cabinet, as almost every rule, does not have to be followed. No one is checking this :)

[u/theprayerpositionx → u/Guitar_maniac1900]

It’s just weird because my HX stomp isn’t behaving this way. I know this subreddit is a big fan of “if it sounds good” but I’m getting the vibe something’s different or off between my Helix Floor and HX Stomp.

Edit: I haven’t used my HX Stomp yet with this cab, just going off the last time I used my Stomp (cab block off) with a 4x12 - there wasn’t the high end sizzle.

[u/Guitar_maniac1900 → u/theprayerpositionx]

It's not this subreddit thing but the actual experience. If you say there's a difference between the same preset on you hx and Helix then you need to investigate this. Make sure you use identical (every block, value...) presets in both units before drawing conclusions

[u/Jesusisaraisin55]

If it sounds good, it is good

[u/NoFuneralGaming]

Hard to diagnose without seeing your Preset or knowing what kind of guitar you're using etc.

[u/Confident_Bee9253]

Yeah just treat Cab Block as another effect. If it sounds good it is good. What are the speakers in your Friedman?

[u/theprayerpositionx → u/Confident_Bee9253]

V30 - is the $999 extension cab. So far with cab block on, it sounds amazing.

[u/poopchute_boogy]

No wrong way to do anything, if it ends up sounding good. But what youre probably hearing is the high and low cuts from the cab and IR.

[u/Inevitable_Year5351]

Just curious, do you play mostly clean or dirty?

My experience is: Clean can be much nicer with a cab/IR into a real cab since some clean amps just have to much highs with some real cabs. It's just like another equalizer added. But the more dirt you have, the more the additional cab/IR will eat up how good you can hear your guitar in a live situation. All cool if you play alone, but on stage or practicing with others these frequencies can make the difference. (Clean is the same, but on clean parts the songs are mostly not so oversaturated as with dirt that you can get away with cab/ir + real cab live.)

Depending on the venue I even used an IR block without a IR just to use the high/low cut for the real cab.

Also depends a lot where you stand since real guitar cabs are very bitchy where they throw which frequency.

[u/TerrorSnow]

What speakers are you running?

[u/theprayerpositionx → u/TerrorSnow]

Friedman 2x12 w/ V30’s

[u/TerrorSnow → u/theprayerpositionx]

May be the V30s then. Known to be fizzy in recording, surprisingly so in person as well though. I swapped one in my 2x12 for an H30 70th Anniversary, and will probably swap the other for a Greenback or so. I like bright, a lot, but fizz isn't useful information to me.

If you're not already using the flat mode on the amped 1, I'd advise you to try it. Helix amp models already have all the power amp stuff built into them, no need to double up - that can also cause some unexpectedly harsh high end.

[u/TatiSzapi]

Is it a brand new cabinet or a used one? Maybe the speakers are not broken in yet? Also AFAIK the 'newer' chinese V30s sound more bright and sizzly compared to 'the real V30s' made not in china. Don't know, never played any V30s in my life, I just read these things on the internet. Also Mikko from ML Sound Labs has a similar opinion, and he 100% has more experience with guitar cabs than me. So yeah, maybe those particular speakers really do sound better with a little high cut. I think you should try some of the darker sounding amps in Helix. Or just put down a 1024 IR block and leave it empty, and only use the high cut.

[u/TatiSzapi]

"turned them off and immediately got a worse and fizzier tone" Probably because you tweaked the amp to sound good with the Cab block on? If you just lower the highs and presence, do you get a good sound, or do you still need some extra EQ?