patdixon

Just a fly in the ointment- the noise issue isn't limited to Helix (HX) or even Line 6- did it on my digitech RP300 also- I put a post up a few days ago asking the same question (before I bought anything) because my old X3L did it so badly that I had to put a vol pedal before the amp. I have a non-modified Blackstar Club 40 that I love and sounds great with FX processors but at idle it has a lot of noise. It's not the input, the guitar or how it's wired (does it even in tuner mode). Really after a while I got used to it; it's no big deal- just place a vol pedal before the amp. Just don't forget to toe down before the next song starts. I put a mini switch at the heel of the digitech that shunted the output to grd but I don't advocate doing that on your Helix. Didn't work on the X3L because of a pop every time the switch engaged. All of these wonderful things like having 1,024 presets come with a price- maybe your ticket will fix the issue for all of us. To be fair I haven't tried the LT with the Blackstar yet; just now got it but the HX had it before I returned it for unrelated reasons. One thing I haven't tried is putting a gate dead last in the signal path but if it still does it in tuner mode not sure that would work either. Thanks for posting this!

Thank you everyone for the responses, I really appreciate the help. Tech support couldn't get me up & running (finally got 2.54 on it but then it crashed) so he said to take it back and exchange it. I'm now an LT owner so you'll be seeing me over there (here).

Thank you, I'll try that. At work now but when I get home if that doesn't work I'll try calling, maybe they can walk me through it. Not sure if the X3L cable will work but I can try it.

So you tried powering up while holding the right arrow button down and no luck? That should force the unit to go into update mode. Yes, and I get the screen shot above. The other thing you can try is powering up while holding the two footswitches in the lower right hand corner down (Tap and the one directly to the left of it). That will do a factory reset. I can try that, but I haven't tried saving or changing anything yet. Beyond that, I'd try using a different USB cable and try some different USB ports on your computer. Usually these sorts of communication issues come down to something simple like that. I'm using the USB cable that came with the unit & two different ports.

Thank you very much, I'll do that.

So I downloaded all available drivers, updates, etc. and every time I get to the Updater app it says "update failed, try power off/on, right arrow/power on, etc". Nothing works. HX Edit won't work because it says no device found, updater stops at the point mentioned above. The good news- it works as a stand alone box. The bad- No update - right top scribble strip says "2.40" at startup. I really want to make this work and I'm not stupid but this is quite frustrating. Please someone help me before I return the unit to GC and either try a FH or just abort & go back to analog boxes. OS- Win7 New HX purchased 4/10/18.

One of the nasty problems I had with the X3L was idle processor noise when used with a high gain (Blackstar) amp- it was so bad that I had to outboard a vol pedal after it. My hopeful assumption is that Helix (HX) has no idle noise, because it doesn't have any amp/cab modeling. Can anyone confirm this? YT vids sound really good but I'm only referring to noise present with no sound, i.e.; between songs, etc. Thanks,

Wow, that one slipped under my radar- I'll check it out. Thanks

Thanks Silverhead. A friend has a Helix, he gets nice tones out of it but the learning curve is pretty steep for him, as is the price. It's absolutely worth the $$, just maybe out of my reach.

I guess here is as good a place as anywhere to post this: for over ten years I've used an X3L, love it and have gotten used to it. Had the normal issues, ie; replaced all the mini switches & PS, light getting into the vol pedal etc. Have to "fake out" gearbox when I need it by turning amps on, then turn them all off afterward. I use the XLR outs direct to the board at church, but only use it as a stomp (no amp/cab/mic sims) in the cover band I play in. It works well that way but is getting old. I'm thinking because I only use it as a stomp live maybe the FHFX is what I need to replace it. Heard great things about the HD stuff but if I'm not using any of it what's the point? I could still use the X3L for church and setup the FH for live stuff but the iOS interface is a little daunting for me. What do ya'll think- get an HD500X and keep using it as a dual purpose tool or get an FH and split the two? The FH appeals to me because I like to keep it simple. Any responses much appreciated.

Sounds like 2 different things. For the 1st part, what happens if you use one TS cable from a live output to the input jack on the amp? #2 sounds like mechanical noise; contact cleaner will only make that worse. Try some graphite (pencil lead works) at the pivot nut if you can get it in there.

Question answered, thanks for the "responses"

No. You get the noise even with no guitar plugged in (vol pedal and master vol have no effect on this noise). The fix for me was a vol pedal just before the amp. I feel very let down by Line 6- I said in the outset that I'm aware that the X3L is no longer supported, but I was willing to buy a FHFX/helix/HD500 whatever if the noise wasn't there. No one but the posts above answered. I appreciate very much the help- all I wanted was for someone to let me know if this is normal- if it isn't I'd have replaced either the amp or the X3L. My guess is that it is perfectly normal & I just have to live with it. My long term goal is to acquire some discreet pedals and start building a pedal board. Frankly I've had it with mult FX units. Fine for church; not so much for a live band situation. Thank you very much for responding!

Well, thanks for the responses guys. The only fix I have other than throwing the X3L away is to use a vol pedal before the amp as a "noise gate" between songs. The external noise gate won't work because the noise level is too high ( the threshold is so high that it won't work with the guitar), and the momentary toe-up switch I installed pops when engaged. I can't believe there weren't more responses- you guys seem to dig high gain stuff and I can't be the only one with this problem. For now I'll use the vol pedal until I can either build a pedal board or get another amp, neither of which I really want to do. Peace,

I've got the switches, PM me if you need some.

Could someone with an X3L please do me a favor? I need the inside dimension of one of the 11 holes in the vol/exp pedal. Metric or std, either is fine. Thanks!

No, only when hooked up. But even with no guitar plugged in (X3L vol toe up) you still hear it. An update: I put a separate vol pedal before the amp & the hiss goes away. Since I know I could do that (but may forget to pedal down before song starts) I've ordered a noise gate that I'll try direct then putting the X3L in the FX loop. If it doesn't work I'll have no choice but to use the vol pedal. Thank you for responding- I rarely get any answers here, and I'm pretty sure this is a common problem with multi fx units and high gain tube amps.

Can you setup one FH preset to loop continuously, then another to solo over? If so you could assign FX loop on one preset & combo front (or whatever it's called) on the other, going straight into the BS. I believe you're correct in your assumption that the amp fx loop bypasses the preamp section, where all of your amp channel switching occurs. BTW, I have a post over in the X3L forum that no one has answered concerning background hiss/noise @ idle with my X3L & Blackstar H20. When you get a chance could please turn up the vol on your amp (no gtr required/volume pedal on the FH down) and let me know how much noise you hear? I may have to buy a Firehawk if it's quieter, but I don't think it is. Good luck with your dilemma; hope you get an answer or figure it out.

...so I know that digital modeling fx thingies don't necessarily go well with tube amps, but I love my X3L and my Blackstar. It actually sounds great to me; but noisey when not playing. Nothing wrong with either as far as I know (both work very well alone). Think of a flanger set with high gain- that's the sound I get all the time in an idle state. I can't be the only person with this problem*. One workaround is obviously to go direct into the PA (right now I'm hanging a '57 on the amp which picks up the noise). I have had a few ground hum issues that the lift wouldn't take care of though. *I know the X3L isn't supported any longer, but my guess is that any modeling processor, Helix, firehawk etc does the same thing. If someone knows otherwise please tell me, I don't mind buying a newer version if this fixes it. Any ideas/thoughts welcome, thanks.

Possible fix- first things first- NinetySix4 figured it out long ago, I just had trouble finding the answer. Turn on all cab sims before going into gearbox. This worked very well for me. You can turn them back off after editing, etc. For me this is a good workaround- the gearbox GUI is very handy for moving/assigning tones & it would be a shame to throw the unit away for just this. Thank you to NinetySix4 & anyone who would've answered if they knew. I think this (or a suitable answer) should be pinned - I've seen many with the same question.

I'm getting the dreaded dialog box on some channels in gearbox. Has anyone figured out a simple workaround? My stuff: X3L Windows 8 OS All the latest drivers, etc downloaded (Monkey dashboard says all items up to date). The standalone unit still works fine but hard to use in gearbox now. Any and all help much appreciated.

To be fair this also happens on my Boss Me-50, but worse on my X3L. Using a high gain setting while playing a third interval (ie, the D diad on the first two strings @ the 14 fret) it sounds like crap. I'm getting a third note, almost sounds like the open D string only bad-cyborg-over sampled garbage. Please help, about to throw this away & go back to analog. P.