Leaderboard

Sharing this because I went crazy trying to figure it out, and maybe it’ll save someone else some time. A few days ago, I tried logging into Line 6 Helix Stadium, but the QR code never appeared. The manual login didn’t work either. To make things worse, the HX Stadium App kept crashing, and I couldn’t update it from my computer or through Line 6 Central. Ironically, those were the two options the manufacturer recommended when I contacted support. Since I work in tech, something didn’t add up. Everything pointed to the app not connecting to the server, which explained why the QR wouldn’t generate. Then I thought: “What if it’s the time zone?” I tried something simple: Disabled automatic time synchronization Set the time manually And… BOOM! The QR popped up instantly, and I was able to log in without any issues. Hope this helps someone out there.

I will be taking a two week hiatus from music starting this week. Hope you all have a great Christmas and a fun filled entrance into 2026. This will be the first year I did not applied for any music jobs during the end of year and first of year since 1967. My present to my family and myself is to be present this whole period. If I do not appear active for the next few weeks I am not being rude. Maybe you all and the Line 6 staff you may read this have a wonderful time this season! jpd

If you are on Windows, please look in Device Manager and let us know if you see 'Helix Stadium Bulk Transfer' listed under 'Other Devices.' You may see a blue question mark inside a white circle associated with it. That means the Line 6's Windows USB driver didn't load which will explain the Stadium app crashing every time you attempt to connect to the Stadium XL. I have a support ticket submitted for this. For me personally, it is a moot issue at this point since I decided to order a MacBook Air to work around the issue.

Just received the THON (Thomann) case for my Stadium. I love their cases - have been using one for many years. Built like a tank AND cheaper than the backpack :). It can be operated from inside the lid. It has room in front (where the vents are) and the unit sits suspended by foam sides about 2 cm in the air, so there is plenty of room for heat dissipation underneath. There is also room behind the unit, for the power cable.

please check to see if you have it set (global settings) to automatically assign the block to a footswitch. If this is set to manual, then adding a wah or volume will not work correctly until you make their assignments manually. easiest fix is to delete them, turn on the automatic add and add them again. Hope that helps.

Yes. In your Stomp XL preset use separate amp and cab models (not an integrated amp+cab) and place a SEND block between the amp and cab blocks in the signal chain. Connect the SEND output to the amp’s cab input. Connect the main outputs to FOH. Make sure the output and input levels match. You can position any FX blocks before or after the SEND block depending on whether you want them to be heard in your onstage cab or not.

Yes. That’s what I did: backup factory reset restore backup delete songs reimport kind of a pain but it’s still working for me!

Great discussion. Being able to recall songs via midi (with an associated Preset) will be critical for me (and I suspect others). I may delay purchasing the Stadium until I know this feature has been added. In my small acoustic duo, I use OnSong on an iPad to send PC changes to my devices (BeatBuddy, HX Stomp, and Rc500 looper (backing tracks)) for each/every song. I then use a Morningstar MC8 to control these devices while performing the song. My intent is/was for the Stadium to replace the HX Stomp, RC500, and Morningstar (smaller footprint and less complexity). I go into every gig with a pre-built setlist (in OnSong), but invariably every show is different and we make changes on-the-fly depending on the vibe in the room, audience requests, etc. In those situations, all I need to do is select the song in OnSong, and it loads the beats and/or backing tracks and presets across all my devices - no menu diving, no tap dancing. I get that I could build Setlists (presets) or Playlists (songs) in Stadium, but those don't seem to easily allow for flexibility when ad-hoc set list changes are taking place. The internal Set Lists/Play Lists probably will work fine for larger shows with pre-defined lists that won't likely change. For smaller acts, we're going to need flexibility to call up songs (with associated presets) in a much more flexible manner. Showcase has such promise to help smaller acts add new elements to their shows and I hope Line6 can incorporate features that meet the needs of both large and small acts/performers.

I spent a lot of time going through the settings the Tone War guy suggested for all the metal amps and got those where they sounded great. I came across this by accident looking for different blocks to try...At the very end of your final chain get a stereo model of the Bass DI (located in the Dist section) put the Bass and Treb at 4-5 and the level to suit, this will give your preset a full rich low end def and sparkle presence no EQ or Comp can do. Try it you will be adding it to your presets asap. I have no idea what it was intended for but man it fixes the punch and feel of the real amp that is missing.

This biggest point here is this: Line 6 asked the community if they would be willing to wait or get it earlier - most said they could ride it out and get the updates as the bugs were worked out . . . it sounded like most wanted the unit sooner rather than later (I know I did). Since I'm not using it to gig with at this time, I'll push thru the problems for now. Syphus

Check the forum for similar topics. Build your presets so that every preset is the same loudness as a blank "New Preset" (nothing in the chain). Your presets are too loud if you are saying factory presets are too low in volume. Set the output volume to mic level, fixed volume for the XLRs. Volume knob should not be able to adjust this signal, it needs to stay the same throughout the show. This is your FOH signal. Set the volume knob to only operate the 1/4" out. This is your monitor mix for an onstage amp, Headrush FRFR, etc, set that to line level. It doesn't really matter what that is set to, since it's just for monitoring your sound, but you also don't want to overdrive the monitor/amp too much. Use mixing monitors to dial in your sound. FRFR is not good for that, it's bass heavy. Put FRFR on a stand, never leave it on the floor if you want to have more of an unbiased sound, still mixing monitors are better. Do not use Global EQ to achieve your "signature sound". Instead use an EQ in the preset itself, change the tone settings of the amp, etc. Never apply Global EQ to what you send to what goes to FOH -- sound guys can eq your sound themselves. Only have Global EQ apply to the stage monitor and only when it's needed. Your presets need to be dialed in so they are all uniform, and equalized the same and without any issues. Use the same virtual amp in all your presets to avoid having the sound guy having to constantly correct the mix because you decided to use different amps for every song. Use Global EQ when the stage gets too boomy, etc to compensate, as a last resort. Sometimes this can happen. Or if you are playing at a small club the onstage sound may ruin the mix, so the sound guy may ask you to make an adjustment. To check for clipping, the green meter on the output block indicates a healthy signal level, showing you're within normal operating range without clipping. So put the cursor on that output block and see if you are sending the signal too hot. But again, if you follow the first step, you should not have that problem. A lot of people dime their presets and they become extremely brittle and harsh sounding. I've seen that in almost every free preset I've downloaded that Line 6 users shared.

1) Besides the input impedance there is an input gate in the input block. Disable it when you compare the effect of rolling back the guitar's volume pot. 2) If you want unity gain in your 4CM patch (which means the amp's input receives the same level that it would get without HX in the chain) set Input Level, Send/Return and Output Level to INST in Global Settings > Ins/Outs. Use default FX loop block settings in your 4CM patch and crank the VOLUME knob. 3) Here is how you A/B test the actual impact of the HX Stomp to the sound of your amp: HX Stomp has an analog bypass (aka true bypass) that you can use to compare the impact that the HX has when switched in. To do this right you need to do the following steps: create an empty patch double check that the input block and output block settings are default settings set Input Level and Output Level to INST in Global Settings > Ins/Outs set Global Settings > Preferences > Bypass Type to Analog set Global Settings > Preferences > Tap Function to AllBypass crank the (physical) VOLUME knob use a short cable between HX Out and the amp's input Now you can compare the actual impact of the HX Stomp to the sound of your amp toggeling between Analog Bypass and the empty patch using the Tap footswitch in Stomp Mode. 4) HAVE FUN!

All amps don't "clean up" the same. That phenomenon is a result of the interaction between the guitar's pickups and the amp's input circuitry. While the Helix amps are very well modeled, in the end they are not really tubes. All that said, my guitars, single coils to JBs to high output ceramics, all "clean up" just fine with the Helix amps I use. The INPUT circuitry of most REAL WORLD amps is 1MegOhm impedance. Certain FX placed between the guitar and an amp's input (see below) are lower than that and in order to get "authentic" sound from the modeled FX Helix uses analog circuitry to mimic that interaction with the pickups. First thing to do is to check GLOBAL SETTINGS>PREFERENCES>AUTO IN-Z. When set to ENABLED Helix uses that analog circuitry to mimic the interaction between your pickups and that type of effect, using the first ACTIVE effect in the signal chain as a reference. When set to FIRST it uses the FIRST effect, active OR bypassed. Since MOST of the FX in Helix are 1M input impedance, the ENABLED/AUTO settings will normally be fine. If you ALWAYS want your pickups to act like you're plugged straight into an amp (you don't use those FX), then on the INPUT BLOCK of each preset set the IN-Z to "1M Ohm". This overrides the GLOBAL IN-Z setting and is as close as Helix gets to that (plugged straight into an amp) behavior. There's a spreadsheet online somewhere that has all of the Helix FX impedance info, but I can't find it just now. Here's a partial list distilled from that SS. Thanks to @John Mark Painter on TGP. The post is from 2020, so you might want to do a search for the actual spreadsheet which was updated to v3.80: All Dynamics are 1M All Reverbs are 1M All Pitch are 1M All Filters are 1M Wah with Impedance Changes Weeper 90k Teardrop 90k UK 136k Delays with Impedance changes Analog Echo 230k Elephant Man 90k Analog w/Mod 90k MultiHead 22k Cosmos 10k Modulations with Impedance changes 70's Chorus 22k Analog Chorus 22k Courtesan 136 Vibe Rotary 90k Dual Phaser 230k U-Vibe 90k Distortion with Impedance Changes BIGHORN (Tested manually...check for yourself and confirm) 70k? Deranged Master 22-32k Colordrive 136k Triangle Fuzz 22k Fuzz Pi 22k Arbitrator 10k Facial Fuzz 22k Buzz Saw 230k Tychoctavia 230k Octave Fuzz 230k Jumbo Fuzz 90k Industrial Fuzz 10k Hedgehog 230k Scream 808 230k Scream 230k

I spent most of my career in technical training and education in the private sector (i.e. a business, not a publicly funded institution). Prepare for a potential short term expression of ‘need’ (desire, actually), followed by a deafening silence once the actual cost per student for business viability is known. But please, everyone, surprise me! Indicate in your expression of need how much you would be willing to pay per hour of learning.

he is in Stomp A mode... he used Control Center to assign the snapshots to the five FS's on the bottom row.

Not with the looper flags, those should not involve midi. The use of the midi flags is my workaround for the issue. They work better than the dedicated looper flags.

Harrumph! I love a good forum storm-off...;)

In Stomp Mode you can program each footswitch. Use Command Center to set up the footswitches to recall the snapshots you need.

Here’s the only difference I did which has worked for me. Hope it works for you too. Delete songs (maintenance menu) backup (maintenance menu) factory reset (maintenance menu) restore backup (maintenance menu) reimport (Stadium App)

I have rebooted the stadium after this happened. I can recreate the issue with my presets as well just by booting it up and then switching between specific presets I have. No sound coming from the unit and matrix mixer shows sound graph (the green leds that would usually show a signal) but they are all at the same half way level with no sound coming out and not input from the guitar. If I reboot, everything comes back and I get normal sound again and normal input readings. I then play for a little bit, and then swtich presets and it happens again over and over again. I am opening a support ticket as well but was wondering if anyone else has had issues with this one? It's a pretty bad bug and makes me nervous about playing this live right now.

I have logged this issue and am currently working with Line 6 support. So far, they have confirmed that there are some known issues when exporting presets to Stadium. I have found that creating a preset exclusively on the Stadium and not using the Stadium App has not produced the issues that I have seen on the Stadium App, including this one. I have successfully created two inline cabinets (both using File files), and have been able to use Snapshots to change the IR files with no problem on the Stadium (I don't believe that this can be done reliably in the Stadium App until they resolve the Cabinet/Snapshot issues we are seeing.

Agreed with you all. I am still trying to figure out how the preset management is better now in the Stadium over the Helix. I assume that it would have something to do with Showcase and saving songs. But for now, it is just confusing to me. But what I DO understand is that I have half of the preset storage capacity on the Stadium as opposed to the Helix. I know that I might be able to use multiple SD cards. And 512 presets is still more than enough for any particular show. Still, I found myself swapping out Set lists on the Helix pretty regularly for Preset Development, Play-Along Set Lists, Sunday Set Setlists, Christmas, Top 100 songs, Bass Guitar Set lists, recording, etc. But this only allowed me to at least always have a backup of a set list that I needed to offload in order to create a new one or bring another one in. Remember, we could have 8 Setlists of 128 songs! So far, I have had to reset my Stadium back to Factory several times due to buggy issues and that has only made preset management MORE problematic trying NOT to lose presets that I had created so far (which is not very many yet, either. Remember to ALWAYS SAVE (like the early days of Windows!)

I think we’re going to see improvements in how setlists are implemented in a future firmware update (but I have no basis for that expectation; purely speculation). The idea of using aliases with a single copy of a USER preset is a good one, imho, but the current implementation is a bit confusing to me. Like you, I also see no point in having a setlist file on my computer that has nothing but aliases. I also don’t understand the frequent appearance of a numbered suffix. e.g. (1) behind a USER preset’s name when importing setlists.

I submitted all this to the product feedback. My set lists are per band as well. So I see what you're saying but I don't see it being a problem at least for my personal scenario. Especially as I won't be using showcase at all. the SD card thing just seems like a lot of hoops to jump through. I'm currently still of the opinion that the old Helix way of doing things was actually better, but I'm trying to adapt to the new way to make sure it's not just a case of "familiarity" vs. "new." It used to be so simple and easy to just swap in/out setlists which also included the presets.

@rwanderingThanks for the info… I am guessing that you are right that the D10 will receive power from the Stadium XL. Also, I found the D10 dimensions on the Thomann website - Expand D10 dimensions: 40.6 x 138 x 99.7 mm

I built this satellite board for use with my Stadium XL with a space for the future Expand D-10 I guessed the size of the D10 box by scaling to the size of the known ethercon connector in one of the pix. If anyone at Line 6 knows, here are some questions… 1. what are the actual dimensions of the D-10? (found this on Thomann Dimensions: 40.6 x 138 x 99.7 mm) 2. is the D-10 phantom powered by the Stadium Nexus port or by the USB-C port? 3. what is the current draw of the D-10? thanks! Joe

Just compared the file contents of the original (problematic) file with the second one I recreated from scratch and noticed that the snapshot settings for all of the blocks is populated with null after the first three Snapshots (which work correctly), instead of true or false as opposed to the Preset that is working properly. I did create the preset with the Stadium App (as that is still my preferred method) so I can not report whether it was the App or Stadium XL that created the problem. But once the preset is created with these null values then I think that it can not be corrected unless you edit the file (perilous and error-prone at best) or just re-create the Preset from scratch as @bverdon suggested. Either way, it is definitely a bug. For further clarification: Original (problematic) Preset: the "snapshots" element is each block records "false, false, false, null, null, null, null, null" The re-created Preset: the "snapshots" element is each block records "false, false, false, true, false, false, false, false" I typically expect true/false to be binary unless there is another purpose being used for the value. This would lead me to believe that those blocks are not being set properly and may either be turned on or off depending on the last snapshot loaded (or another internal array).

Yes, there is an editor that runs on Mac. The program/app is called Stadium.

If you know of any easy ways to view all of the Block assignments at a glance, then put them here. You could easily view all of the block "BYPASS/CONTROLLER ASSIGN"ments in the HX Edit App as there was a panel devoted to it. I could easily see all 23 (just kidding, 2 or 3) blocks that might be assigned to a footswitch. I hope that they include that in the Stadium eventually.

In the Stadium Global Settings -> Ins/Outs set the XLR Out Level to Line. The default setting is Mic which explains why that’s what you’re getting.

The issue was confirmed and reproduced by line 6 support. fingers crossed!

That's a known bug. Will be fixed in a future firmware release. You should open a support ticket to report it anyway.

Nevermind, I figured it our. After selecting a set list via the touchscreen, you also need to actually load a preset from that setlist. Once you do that all the scribble strips update to reflect the setlist. I thought I just needed to select the setlist name and the scribble strips would update.

This has bee posted before. In summary: 1. when building presets, make sure your overall volume for a blank preset is around the same as the actual preset you are creating to avoid clipping. 2. set up XLR volume to be Mic level and disable the volume knob, so it's fixed. This will go to the FOH and will never change the level, because you don't want to confuse the sound guy by having different volume levels. 3. use the volume knob to only control 1/4" out which is your monitor mix, or in my case which is going to a power amp (Mooer Baby Bomb) into a 12" speaker cab.

Hey, I just dropped a pack of 5 free Line 6 Helix presets, and wanted to share it here. They’re a mixed bag: a couple of dirtier, aggressive tones, a few atmospheric patches built around delay and reverb, and some in-between textures that ended up sounding way better than they had any right to. And hey… free is a fair price. If you want to check them out, you can find audio previews in the link. Let me know what you think! https://www.noiseharmony.com/post/line-6-helix-free-presets

Hello, To start my setup involves looping via Daw (im using Loopy Pro but, this pertains to all Daws). Stadium is not bad when it comes to sending Midi Commands via Stomp Pedals but it has some gotchas. I wanted to bring them up here for the community and developers in hopes of them being addressed. My first, and the biggest in my eyes is the lack of the Helix Stadiums Stomps responding to LED Feedback. I am seeing you basically cannot get any sort of LED response on HS from DAW states without using a "dummy" block in the effects chain. For Example, If a Stomp is sending Midi CC 2 to a Daw and controlling the play state of a loop, Most Daws will send Midi CC 2 value 127 (loop on or playing ) and Midi CC 2 value 0 ( loop off or stopped to Helix) back to the controller. Helix's LEDs do not respond to this. Where as on most other footpedal controllers, the LED would respond and let the performer know the state of the loop. (this is true for anything being controlled in a DAW, effects, transport Play/Stop ect. Just using loop states as an example) I think we need an LED Feedback Setting per stomp in the command center. Just a simple LED Feedback On/Off toggle that lets the user decide whether to use the feedback from the daw to control the LED. I want to be clear here I don't expect the Helix Stadium to be a deep Programmable Midi Controller like a Mastermind or something but, LED Feedback is a basic feature that almost all footpedals on the the market have. All that said Helix Stadium does respond to incoming MIDI and so my current workaround Is to use a "dummy" Gain Block set at unity gain and, "Learn" the bypass toggle to the LED Feedback coming in. This works but is an incredible waist of resources (imagine if you had 4-6 loops to control we are using up 4-6 blocks to simply make sure the LED is showing the performer whats going on Loop-wise) !! Be careful here if you do this. Pay close attention to whether you are using the mono or stereo gain as this can mangle your signal if you pick the incorrect one !! My first thought when looking for a work around was to use a multi parameter delay and turn the mix down to zero percent and have all of the parameters tied to separate stomps. This would only use 1 block and all stomps would give me the feedback I need. This leads me to the first gotcha I found. The only parameter of any effect, (when controller externally) that will turn on or off the led on Helix is the Bypass parameter. Any other parameter like say "feedback" or low cut" will not change the state of the LEDS if controlled externally by a CC. Only if you press the footswitch on the helix itself will the LED go on or off. Booooo So this is where I stand. A bunch of Gain Blocks hogging up precious recourses just so I can get the little light to go on and off properly on my stomps.. again Booooooo One thing I want to make note of here is that the Stadium DOES respond correctly to CC values which is good! in other words If CC2 is tied to the bypass of a gain, value 127 WILL turn the LED on and even if you send the same value 127 again, it will stay on. Yayyyyyy. It will turn off only when it sees value 0. Yayyyyyyy. This keeps the Daw perfectly in sync with Helix so, points on that for implementing this right! I can't tell you how many multi FX out there just respond stupidly to any value toggling states and throwing everything out of wack. Sooo Yayyyyyyyyy on this. The other gotcha I found I will just mention briefly and I find to be a little less important but it is a thing and for others this could be very important. When you have a Hold function sending a Midi Message from a stomp and a press option on that same stomp, Triggering the hold will also send the press. Boooooo. So lets say CC1 is sent from Stomp 1 and it turns of and off your external Delay. And a Hold sends CC2 on that same stomp turns of your Boost. Well you better want your Delay and Boost turning on at the same time if you trigger the HOLD because thats whats happening. Most of the time on controllers with Hold functions the HOLD Bypasses the press so that you have control over both devices separately but with one stomp switch. Thanks for listening here ya'll. I know its long but, I will say I did fall in love with the Helix Stadium and only have a few very fixable quirks that I very much hope will be addressed. Despite the fact that there are probably way less people using the Stadium as a hybrid controller, than there are as just an effect processor I really think technology as it pertained to both in and out of the box is getting more complex... I mean now-a-days its rare to find a guitar pedal without midi control. So it would be great if you all could comment and chime in here so that we can get this in view of the developers... even if you don't need this functionality now you probably will down the road and your comment or upvote might have been the catalyst for getting this post in front of the developers.. Don't live in regret for the rest of your life because you didn't chime in here... that would be a Boooooo.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply — I think you summarized the situation very accurately. I agree that what I’m describing does resemble a kind of “Helix / Line 6 University,” and I also understand that historically this has not been Line 6’s primary approach. The forum-as-community model, where musicians share tips and knowledge with each other, has clearly worked well for many years and remains extremely valuable. Where I think the tension appears is exactly what you mentioned: Helix Stadium (and even the original Helix) has evolved into something that goes far beyond a traditional pedalboard. Routing, MIDI, multipath, preset leveling, recording workflows, Showcase, integration with other systems — at a certain point this becomes closer to a sound design and production platform than a simple guitar or bass product. Yes, the information exists, but it is fragmented, uneven, and often discovered through trial and error. For many users — especially working musicians with limited time — this creates an unnecessarily steep learning curve. Using a metaphor: at times it feels like being handed a spaceship capable of traveling through time, space, and parallel realities, but then being left alone to learn how to operate it blindly, gathering scattered clues from forums, videos, and isolated comments. You can get there, but the path is far more difficult than it needs to be. Regarding how many users would benefit from this kind of approach, I personally don’t think it’s only about a small group of advanced users. I believe this is necessary for most users, and especially for newer generations who are discovering these tools now. Today, many users are forced to guess how fundamental things work, jumping between forums, YouTube videos, and partial documentation instead of having a clear and structured learning path from the beginning. As for whether this is viable as a business, I honestly don’t see it only through that lens. More than a commercial product, I see structured education and deep documentation as something that has become necessary and complementary to platforms like this — whether free, paid, or a hybrid model. It should evolve alongside products that have long surpassed the concept of a simple “pedalboard” and are now genuine sound design tools. To add some personal context: I am relatively new to this world. I purchased a Helix Stadium XL about a month and a half ago, and since then I’ve been encountering many of the issues discussed in this thread. While some aspects are intuitive, much of the system’s real potential goes beyond my initial understanding. As mentioned earlier, the learning process often becomes spending many hours researching forums, watching YouTube videos, and consulting various sources with information that is scattered, fragmented, and often unstructured. In my case, I’m even considering relying on third-party books such as Craig Anderton’s, despite knowing that it likely does not fully cover Helix Stadium’s specific features. This learning approach — based on trial and error and non-centralized resources — feels unusual for a product at this level, and it’s surprising how normalized this has become. At times it can even lead to discouragement or a temporary loss of motivation to use the device, not due to lack of interest, but due to the difficulty of finding a clear path forward. That said, I genuinely enjoy the platform and have no intention of giving up on it. After a month and a half of use, I feel that I’ve made limited progress relative to the system’s true potential. I understand that some users may have more experience or learn faster, but that shouldn’t be an implicit requirement to properly benefit from a tool of this complexity. The absence of truly in-depth manuals, structured courses, or clear learning paths should not be part of the “entry cost.” Even from a practical or business perspective, I believe that investing in deep documentation and structured education pays for itself: it strengthens user commitment, reduces frustration, prevents early abandonment and second-hand resale of the product, and ultimately makes the platform more accessible and attractive to new users. I genuinely believe this need already exists, and that the fact we are having this discussion is itself a strong indicator of that. Thanks again for taking the time to engage — this type of exchange is exactly why I started this thread. Kind regards,

For me the solution was to do the factory reset and the reimport preset backups. When i restored the backup the problem appears again. So i just backuped the presets to the computer, do the factory reset, and reimport the presets,

All of the Legacy FX blocks that were Legacy on the OG Helix are ONLY Stereo. There is no MONO version of any of them. So far, Line 6 has brought over ALL of the OG Helix FX blocks, including the Legacy. Due to the new Agoura Amp modelling, Amps and Cabinets are another story. But it appears that Line 6 has given Helix Stadium users access to everything except the pre OG Helix 3.0 Legacy cabinets. That and the combining of the Low and High Shelf and the Parametric EQ, which already have the Low and High Cut.

Hi, again, Update to previous post regarding using a footswitch to turn the Input Gate ON/OFF. SOLVED! I just fired up HX Edit and selected the Path Input (Set to Guitar) and in the EDIT Section you can set a foot switch to turn the Gate On or Off. The down side of this is that you lose the functionality of one of your limited amount of available footswitches. Also, if you go really crazy, you can map an expression pedal to control the Threshold and/or Decay of the Gate, although I can't see the point of that, other than it is possible. Have fun! Hope this helps/makes sense.

Not sure how to articulate this but a feature I find generally useful on other products is along the lines of "Update ALL Instances" functionality. Say that you have a block saved as a favorite then, edit the block on an individual preset in a way that you want to save for all instances where the favorite block occurs (even in other presets). Or...you update a preset that is saved across multiple setlists but has the exact same preset name - you would be given the option to update all instances of the preset with the same name.

Yes, this is a known bug that will be fixed in an upcoming firmware release.

Yes, you can't do line level into the XLR inputs.

I have an Apollo X4. I use the Stadium's S/PDIF into a MOTU 828es (acting as both additional I/O and a mixer), then ADAT in/out of the X4.

Then I hope this is something that gets addressed in a future update. As a performer, I cannot be bending down and scrolling through Songs to load them...or clicking the arrow buttons 20 times to get to the 21st song in my list. Being able to recall both Presets and Songs via midi is a must. Or, maybe an option would be to use and Instant Command to load the Song when you recall a Preset? I did see that you create Set list of Songs. Are Song and Present Setlist different? Or, can a Setlist contain both Songs and Presets?

I didn't think to ask ... Mac users will have to chime in for that OS, however, I know that Windoze (not a misspelling this time) likes to "control" power settings for many devices, USB, network etc. For my wired and wireless device properties I always make sure I DO NOT allow the computer to turn off the device to save power. Here is an example for my wi-fi device but the same is true for the wired network device. Just in case this helps for those not aware of this setting. For those aware of this setting please forgive me. jpd

Ok there are a bunch of posts on this topic but I didn't find any with pictures, or any that were specifically for a helix LT model, so following the instructions from those posts without being able to see what I was getting into was a bit scary. If you're a smooth-brained half-wit like me and you need pictures (and you have an LT model). Here you go. Here's the summary of what you're going to do. Take the back off. Loosen the expression pedal bolt. Apply some lube to the spacers that the pedal pivots with. Put the back back on and re-tighten the pedal bolt. 1. Take the back off. To do this, you need to remove almost (see exception below) every single screw you see on the back and sides. You'll need a small phillips screwdriver and a small hex/allen wrench (sorry I don't know what size the one I used is). EXCEPTIONS DO NOT REMOVE the 10 screws around the XLR left / right outputs, Variax / Digital Out ports, and power cord port. You don't need to remove the two screws directly underneath the pedal. I zoomed in on them in one of the attached pics. It's ok if you do remove them, but know that they hold a plastic support piece in place for the pedal to rest on inside. When you remove those screws that plastic piece will come loose and you'll hear it rattle around the inside and then think you've ruined your wonderful line 6 helix. You haven't. It will just scare the crap out of you and then you'll figure out later (like I did) that it reattaches really easily. 2. Loosen (don't remove) the tension bolt that the expression pedal rocks on. You'll need a 10mm hex/allen wrench for this. I made about 3 complete turns to loosen it to the point where the pedal rocks forwards and backwards pretty loosely. Three may be too many turns for yours - keep an eye on the nut at the end of the bolt and don't let the bolt come out of the nut. You're basically loosening it just enough so some lube can work it's way in between the white spacers/bushings and the metal where the pedal attaches. Ok so at this point, you've got the back off. The tension bolt is loose and you can see the two white spacers/bushings at each end of the expression pedal tension bolt. 3. Apply a very small amount of lube to the top of the spacers right up against where they touch the metal bracket/braces. By "a very small amount" I mean try to use as little as possible. If you use something that drips, clean up the drips. But try not to apply any amount close to an amount that would drip or spread to another area of the board. Apply some lube and rock the pedal back and forth. Do this until you feel like the lube has probably worked its way in some. Re-tighten the tension bolt. Rock the pedal. Still hear the squeak? Loosen it again and apply more lube. Follow this process until you are squeak free. Worked for me on the first go. What kind of lube should you use? I have no idea. Would be nice if someone from Line 6 could answer that in the comments. Other posts on this topic reference many lube suggestions including chapstick (of any flavor), white lithium grease, bike chain oil, silicon lube, this teflon dry lube, and others. I used a really thin bike chain lube called "Dumonde Tech Original". Don't use WD40 - it can be corrosive. Don't spray anything. Whatever you use, apply it to a small q-tip or a thin piece of plastic as an applicator. 4. Put it all back together. If you did end up removing those two screws under the pedal that I referenced above, reattach that plastic piece to the back first. Then put the back back on and screw all the screws back in. Be careful not to tighten too much and strip the screw holes. Just snug, hand tight. That's it. You did it. You're officially a hero now. No one will care that you fixed your squeak, let alone on your own, but don't let that stop you. Rock on with your invisible hero cape. You earned it.

One of the more common problems I see for many users is the overuse of gain and overdrive. Once you step into the world of full range speakers where there's a lot more clarity and less mushiness, too much gain and overdrive can have some annoying artifacts. So a little restraint can get you what you want without the trashiness. If you're dealing with high gain sounds the amp BIAS can also be a great friend for either increasing articulation by turning it up, or increasing warmth and blending by turning it down. That applies as well to clean and mid-gain tones as well. When you say clear, tight sounds I immediately associate that with compressors, and mostly with the LA Studio Comp when placed at the end of a signal chain. This is a very common technique used in studio recording, but applies just as well to live performances with Helix using a full range powered speaker. It takes a little bit to understand how to best use the parameters. The default parameters are reasonably close other than gain which I normally need to bring down to between 4.5 to 6. The idea being to have roughly the same overall volume as you have when it's off. But when it's turned on everything is much more full. Peak Reduction is the key parameter for how much compression you want. The default value is pretty good although I will often go higher or lower depending on the sound I'm after. The Mix parameter is particularly useful in determining how much compression you want mixed with the uncompressed signal and that's one that I vary quite a bit depending on the type of sound I want in the patch. Bear in mind that higher gain tones are already pretty compressed so it won't be as useful on those types of sounds. Everyone is a bit different in how they approach building their patches, but for me I'm much more effective if I get most of my overall tone dialed in with the amp, cabinet, mic choice(s) and mic placement(s). This is where starting with the best amp for the sound you want is crucial. You can spend a ton of time tinkering to get the tone you want when a simple change in the amp, or cab, or mic choice and placement would fix it. If you get those things correct, everything else tends to fall into place after that. If you haven't yet viewed Jason Sadites video on building great tone, you really need to familiarize yourself with his techniques. They're very simple, straightforward and very effective at getting the tones you're after. This one is particularly good.

Mids 6 on solo setting, treble slash tone, line 6 iv 75, metal red, drive 7.5 bass 5, mid 2, treble 9, channel vol 9.5 , reverb 7.5 , I adjust off of sweet child omine setting, to get that jcm 800 sound, and a gain pedal for leads, drive pedal for more crunch, n a boss wah wah, adjust the pedal a lil bit will get that slash tone, n yes the zebra Duncan pickups will give you a much brighter sound, try adjusting you pickups and pickup magnets for more hi end

Almost everything is obsolete in a year's time, now. It's not even about necessity anymore, it's the tech-obsessed, instant gratification culture we've created. I've made my peace with it. It's either that, or go broke buying every new piece of gear that's released. You could bounce from one rig to another every 6 months if you wanted to...but I have neither the time, the energy, nor the funds to do that.