Help! Can't get a good sound with Music Man Majesty and Line 6 Firehawk

[Rob Venable]

HI,
I have a Line 6 Firehawk which I used with my previous guitar and it had some pretty good sounds but I just bought a Music Man Majesty (Polar Noir) and it sounds awesome plugged in directly to my amp (Marshall ValveState 8100) but I can't get a good sound with the Firehawk.

Does anyone in here that owns a Majesty use a pedal board for additional sounds or do you just plug directly in the amp? Trying to decide if this pedal board is worth it. Does anyone have any suggestions or personal experiences with additional pedals, pedal boards that work great with the Majesty?
Thanks

 

[Norrin Radd]

Can you use the Firehawk without selecting an amp model - just using effects? I mean, if you already have an awesome guitar into amp sound, I wouldn't want to disrupt that with an amp model in between.

 

[Zesta]

I use a Line 6 Helix in 4-cable mode. I use it primarily for effects and as a MIDI interface to switch the settings in my Mesa Boogie JP2C amp. I have had some issues with tone loss and such, but after l got some good quality cables, everything has been great. The Helix is the top of the line for modeling, but the amp models still don't get quite there especially for high gain stuff. I use some of the lower gain models in the Helix, but it is hard to beat a real amp for massive tone. I would try to set your Firehawk up this way, using it for pre-amp effects and in the effects loop of the amp as well for reverb, delay, etc.

 

[Magic Jason]

I've read that you are using a Marshall Valvestate...

I think that your "sound chain " isn't coherent IMHO. Your guitar is so much "better" than your amp.

Imagine playing with a $10.000 guitar and a $10.000 amp. If you use a ****ty jack, you'll still hear cracks and pops in your sound.

As in a real chain, whose strength is the strenth of the weakest link, the best sound you can get is the best sound of the worst part of your "sound chain".

In this case you can only sound as good (bad) as your valvestate.


All this is irrelevant, of course, if you love the sound of the Valvestate!

 

[bhull]

One thing to check is your pickup selector. Make sure you haven't accidentally activated the piezo, which will make your high gain sound poorly.

It's happened to me on several occasions where I'm sitting there going, "why does this sound crappy?", just to discover it's because I'm trying to drive a gain channel with the piezo.

 

[Guitarshreda]

My current rig is my Artisan Majesty through my Line 6 Helix, going directly through the PA. Over the past 2 years my rig has evolved quite a bit.

1) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 PodHD500 --> Fender Pro "Senior" (Pro Jr with a 12" speaker mod)
2) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 PodHD500 --> Line 6 DT25 combo
3) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 PodHD500 --> Mesa/Boogie V:25 (4CM)
4) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 Helix --> Mesa/Boogie V:25 (4CM)
5) EBMM Artisan Majesty --> Line 6 Helix --> Mesa/Boogie V:25
6) EBMM Artisan Majesty --> Line 6 Helix --> PA

With each version of my rig, I never had a problem getting the sound I wanted. With the Firehawk you need to spend time developing your sound (just as you would with any piece of gear). The thing with modeling tech is that you need to spend time working the hardware. The Firehawk is great because it's got the XT models PLUS the HD models -- however it's not very friendly tweaking wise. The HD500X is better but you have DSP issues. Helix is probably the most flexible piece of equipment but it's at the price range of the AX8/other high end modeling units/etc...

I've been a Line 6 user since the XT days, and with each new unit I purchased from them I had to create my own sound (IE -- the presets in the unit didn't do it for me). Sometimes I found a good preset that I could work off of, other times I had to build from the ground up. The HD500 taught me a lot about tweaking sounds and using the EQs in the unit to help create my tones, mainly because the amp I wanted to use wasn't in the HD series. This helped me out a bunch with Helix.

 

[ksandvik]

I would just use a Mesa Boogie, that plus a Music Man guitar is a killer combination.

 

[JamieCrain]

Hi there,
I have a Majesty and a Firehawk and the combination is generally awesome. Your issue is the Marshall 8100 which I've also owned. You need to run the Firehawk direct into FRFR speakers, I.e. not a guitar amp. The 8100 is amping a signal that has already been amped which muddies the sound, so you will get much better tone from the Firehawk running direct into 2 x FRFRs, in stereo. If you must keep the Marshall, run it as clean as possible I.e lowest gain, flat EQ etc.

Search my username on Line6 ToneCloud, I've put a few heavy Firehawk tones up there which IMO sound pretty cool. Try "Pure Tread" for a Mesa Dual Recto, or "Triple Recto" for Mesa Triple.

 

[Dead-Eye]

If you must keep the Marshall, run it as clean as possible I.e lowest gain, flat EQ etc.

Rather than doing that, I'd just plug it into the effects return and bypass the Marshall's preamp completely.

 

[JamieCrain]

Yes, that too. Bear in mind though that going through an amp and cabinet in any fashion will always colour the sound a little.

 

[Rob Venable]

Can you use the Firehawk without selecting an amp model - just using effects? I mean, if you already have an awesome guitar into amp sound, I wouldn't want to disrupt that with an amp model in between.

Yeah, I can create my own presets without an amp model...it just means I can't use any presets from the board or on the tone cloud.

 

[Dead-Eye]

Yes, that too. Bear in mind though that going through an amp and cabinet in any fashion will always colour the sound a little.

Also turn off any cab simulation on the Line 6 (I know my Pod X3 can do that, so it should be possible to do it on the Firehawk as well)

 

[Rob Venable]

I've read that you are using a Marshall Valvestate...

I think that your "sound chain " isn't coherent IMHO. Your guitar is so much "better" than your amp.

Imagine playing with a $10.000 guitar and a $10.000 amp. If you use a ****ty jack, you'll still hear cracks and pops in your sound.

As in a real chain, whose strength is the strenth of the weakest link, the best sound you can get is the best sound of the worst part of your "sound chain".

In this case you can only sound as good (bad) as your valvestate.


All this is irrelevant, of course, if you love the sound of the Valvestate!

Yeah...when I bought the Valvestate about 20 years ago, I thought it sounded pretty cool (being a novice), and now with the new guitar...I can tell it doesn't compliment it.

 

[Rob Venable]

One thing to check is your pickup selector. Make sure you haven't accidentally activated the piezo, which will make your high gain sound poorly.

It's happened to me on several occasions where I'm sitting there going, "why does this sound crappy?", just to discover it's because I'm trying to drive a gain channel with the piezo.

Yeah, that's not the case here but I also hit it from time to time.

 

[Rob Venable]

My current rig is my Artisan Majesty through my Line 6 Helix, going directly through the PA. Over the past 2 years my rig has evolved quite a bit.

1) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 PodHD500 --> Fender Pro "Senior" (Pro Jr with a 12" speaker mod)
2) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 PodHD500 --> Line 6 DT25 combo
3) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 PodHD500 --> Mesa/Boogie V:25 (4CM)
4) SBMM JP50 --> Line 6 Helix --> Mesa/Boogie V:25 (4CM)
5) EBMM Artisan Majesty --> Line 6 Helix --> Mesa/Boogie V:25
6) EBMM Artisan Majesty --> Line 6 Helix --> PA

With each version of my rig, I never had a problem getting the sound I wanted. With the Firehawk you need to spend time developing your sound (just as you would with any piece of gear). The thing with modeling tech is that you need to spend time working the hardware. The Firehawk is great because it's got the XT models PLUS the HD models -- however it's not very friendly tweaking wise. The HD500X is better but you have DSP issues. Helix is probably the most flexible piece of equipment but it's at the price range of the AX8/other high end modeling units/etc...

I've been a Line 6 user since the XT days, and with each new unit I purchased from them I had to create my own sound (IE -- the presets in the unit didn't do it for me). Sometimes I found a good preset that I could work off of, other times I had to build from the ground up. The HD500 taught me a lot about tweaking sounds and using the EQs in the unit to help create my tones, mainly because the amp I wanted to use wasn't in the HD series. This helped me out a bunch with Helix.

Yeah, I created one of my own tones and it sounds alright but it takes a lot of tweaking to try to make the Valvestate sound good.

 

[Rob Venable]

I would just use a Mesa Boogie, that plus a Music Man guitar is a killer combination.

I would love to have a Mesa Boogie. I was thinking of getting the JP2C but it's out of my price range.

 

[Rob Venable]

Hi there,
I have a Majesty and a Firehawk and the combination is generally awesome. Your issue is the Marshall 8100 which I've also owned. You need to run the Firehawk direct into FRFR speakers, I.e. not a guitar amp. The 8100 is amping a signal that has already been amped which muddies the sound, so you will get much better tone from the Firehawk running direct into 2 x FRFRs, in stereo. If you must keep the Marshall, run it as clean as possible I.e lowest gain, flat EQ etc.

Search my username on Line6 ToneCloud, I've put a few heavy Firehawk tones up there which IMO sound pretty cool. Try "Pure Tread" for a Mesa Dual Recto, or "Triple Recto" for Mesa Triple.

I tried plugging it directly into my speaker cabinet and it sounded better. Funny, first thing I did when I went to the tone cloud was to do a search on John Petrucci and I downloaded "Pure Tread" to my Firehawk.

 

[Rob Venable]

Rather than doing that, I'd just plug it into the effects return and bypass the Marshall's preamp completely.

I tried doing that in the effects loop but it still seems to be going through the amp model and the Marshall. Can't get a good sound out of it.

 

[Rob Venable]

Yes, that too. Bear in mind though that going through an amp and cabinet in any fashion will always colour the sound a little.

Yeah, I can't seem to bypass the amp. You can tell that it's going through both amp models and it sounds muffled.

 

[Guitarshreda]

Yeah, I created one of my own tones and it sounds alright but it takes a lot of tweaking to try to make the Valvestate sound good.

If you are going through your Valvestate, the first thing to do is to make sure you are going through the FX return. This bypasses the the preamp completely. Second, when you are creating your own sound -- use either "preamp" versions of the amp or full models. Understand that the full model versions will have a modeled power amp section as well as a modeled preamp section. The HD models included in the Firehawk have preamp equivalents. Finally, turn off your cab simulators and mics -- this is probably where a majority of your issues are coming from. I wouldn't use a pre-made tone either from online or the presets from the unit, but rather create my own tones to use with your equipment.