Ts808 Plugin

[Hildegard Lobach]

JazzRock, Metal, no matter what genre you play, the NA 808 Overdrive Pro little magic box plugin will prove to be essential to your collection, It is very responsive, versatile and... FREE.

Im trying to set up old gear in the helix that I have (original ts808/1982 that was a birthday present...yep Im old)...I have mucked around with the hxedit/scream808 and its just missing something...I thought it was just dig realm at first...so I opened up old guitar rig 5 and did a side by side...and its a hell of a lot closer and feels right when you are playing it

So to get the helix more in line with the original...are there any tricks and tips you might be aware of or should I just give up and patch the pedal (but its an extra complexity I dont want and it defeats the point?)

I would recommend starting by pairing it up with an amp/cab/mic combination you like. The TS808 often sounds best when the amp is set just to the edge of breakup. Try a compressor in front of it. Set an EQ before or after it to bring out its best. It can be a great sounding block.

Before even starting the journey, it needs to be within scope of an AB comparison...it sounds nowhere near it atm. Just kind of lifeless and flat...and the harmonics sound kind of fizzy in comparison to the original and even guitar rig. Ive just downloaded a couple of others. What I mean is plugging it into a chain of variables is not an ideal way to get each stage right...like I said, this was a 17th birthday present...Im pretty familiar with how it should sound and it just doesnt... :-(

EDIT: Despite spending a lot of time trying to dial the L6 TS808, it really does sound muffled and flat with a boost in the low mids that is not there on the hardware nor guitar rig...prob halfway between GR and the brainworx imvho

If it's still not there for you, that's why EQ blocks exist, other distortion options, or you can try the legacy tube screamer in the Helix to see if it's more to your liking. I actually fell into this camp. While I feel the Helix model is more accurate, one day I tried the legacy Tubescreamer in the Helix and found I preferred it. I don't know why, I just do. I think it's great.

You can also hire a professional to do a blind A/B test with you to determine if your success rate calling out the real vs fake is significantly above 50%. If it's not at least then you'd know it's all in your head and can move on. If you do pass, and assuming they're actually good at the setup, then you could take comfort knowing you have superhuman ability. That always helped me feel better.

Unfortunately, that is not how working with an advanced modeler like a Helix tends to work. I know what you are trying to get at but if you set up a precondition such as you have with A/B comparisons needing to be "within scope" right off the bat you are setting yourself up for failure. Before you get everything configured properly for ANY block it can sound like they are worlds away from the device they were modeled on. Especially when it comes to a favorite pedal that has nostalgic value. It takes some time to get things dialed in the way you like them and get predictable results. You have your entire signal path to consider - beginning with how the guitar is hitting your Helix, through the design of your preset and critically important EQ, and ultimately the output from whatever you have chosen as a monitor. If it were me, I would use it in the loop if I simply couldn't get past the perceived difference between the original and the model. and would continue trying to get the Scream 808 block to a point where I was satisfied enough to roll without the original.

Btw, is your Helix a relatively new purchase? I don't want to make any assumptions, but your post sounds like it has an element of frustration that usually is accompanied by a touch of buyer's remorse. Not that uncommon when dealing with a steep learning curve on a new(er) device. If this is the case, I hope you hang in there long enough to get it dialed in well, reassured somewhat by all of the users who have achieved stellar results with the Helix and the 'Scream 808'. If not, there are plenty of alternatives out there, including resigning yourself to the fact that there may be a couple of devices you want to keep permanently in your FX loop.

I guess its not even about the helix version...I have 2 other pieces of software that I can blind test every time as much more vibrant than the helix. To level the playing field; I using identical pre in with 500k impedance and roughly calibrated using -12db on 440 with a consistent pluck.

TBH this all really started because the phantom power died on the helix (for acoustic mic) so I whipped out an old rig which had guitar on it and it sounded better but more than that, it felt so much more responsive to play especially with dynamics as my monitor was pretty loud at the gig. So I thought Id try and get something close...but thats not happening

Not trying to be evasive but I rarely to never upload my presets because they depend so much on my specific rig. That and frankly I think there are people who are way more sophisticated in their preset design and provide better choices for "universal" presets. On those extremely rare occasions where I upload a preset (I think there have been two), it is more in the spirit of a template, designed for a specific piece of functionality rather than a tone.

From your subsequent posts on the issue, including mentioning that your other device "felt so much more responsive", my first inclination would be to say that something in your signal chain, other than the 'Scream 808' is not quite dialed in to your liking or perhaps just not playing well with that block. Ears can be deceptive too, sometimes just switching to something else can sound good for a day or a week and then your ear goes back to preferring the former device. Or, as I mentioned, you just need to use your original pedal with the Helix. The Helix has so much more to offer than that one block. I can't see that being a deal breaker. Good luck with your tone quest!

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