DunedinDragon

If it sounded good through a powered speaker then in all likelihood the channel on the mixer wasn't gain staged correctly and was likely being clipped by the mixer's pre amp. That has to be adjusted during sound checks using the gain or trim knob to ensure the signal itself isn't coming into the board too hot. Normally you would do this by turning on the PFL (pre fader listen) button and then watch the signal for that channel on the meter to ensure the signal doesn't exceed the input limits. This is a separate adjustment from the actual volume fader on the channel.

This isn't really meant to work that way. It's a standalone recording interface. You do control each channels output with the faders even if you're recording all channels, but they don't go to the speaker outputs (those are only used for playback). You can fool it by using the headphone output however if you plug a mono 1/4" line in up to the first indent (halfway in). That line could then be sent to a single channel on a PA and all tracks that have the faders turned up would be the ones that are heard.

What are you clicking on? The Helix Icon on your desktop???

Yeah, they actually told me they aren't too picky about going beyond a year if it's within reason. But I'm hoping with all of the problems they've had with the joystick and with the microphone input burning out (which mine has also) they've come up with a procedure or better components to make these common problems a bit more dependable. At least now, I won't be quite so frantic if one breaks...I got a backup!!!! (y)

I mentioned the other day that the z-axis on my unit went out. As it turns out in looking up my purchase date I got it on 5/17/16...so just under a year!! Whew!!! So I got the ticket opened and will be sending it back and celebrated by ordering a second unit that I can use while it's in for repair at L6. Once it returns one of them will be permanently attached to my recording system and be a backup. I could have sworn I had it longer than that, but I sure am glad I didn't!!!! Sometimes things just work out.......

People differ on this. First, if your amp has an effects loop in you can plug the 1/4 out into that input and use just the second stage of the your amp so that you're depending on drive, eq, etc. from the Helix and only on clean amplification from the amp. However, your sound will be colored by the amp's cabinet and further colored by the microphone and it's placement on the cabinet when it goes to the PA. Or you could do that and go to the PA via the XLR output, but the sound you hear on stage will not be the same as what's coming out of the PA. That's why many if not most of us opt to use FRFR speakers which stands for Full Range Flat Response. Those are nothing more than typical speakers that might be used on PA systems, but mostly smaller sizes that can just be used as stage monitors. That way we run our stage signal into them and our XLR signal to the board and the sounds will match and we can use all the facilities in the Helix without worrying about further coloration of the sound. However you need to be aware that this type of rig is entirely different than a typical guitar amp and is far more like working in a recording studio environment with studio monitors. You'll have much more response in the upper and lower frequency range than what you're used to and will have to adjust that either via hi/low cuts or parametric EQs. Sometimes you can adjust it pretty well just through the use and placement of the mic on Helix cabinets or IRs, but it requires a bit of knowledge about mics and how their placement on the speakers affects the overall sound. In short, there's a lot to learn. But the value to those of us that use this approach is we can achieve a production studio quality sound in a live environment pretty easily. If this sounds like a lot, well...it is. The Helix isn't just a simple effect board you plug in. It's a comprehensive professional environment that will produce the best results for you when you invest some time in learning how to use it's facilities. In short, it's a traveling recording studio with all sorts of amps, cabs, mics, mic adjustments, eq, and effects. So it's best if you take the time, read the manual thoroughly and keep up with forums like this to help you get your bearings.

Actually, they are publicly traded...as Yamaha.

Aside from this imaginary vibroscope, it seems like this is an awful lot of work for the 1 or 2% of the people that simply HAVE to have an amp in the room sound. Not to mention that much of what you're talking about can already be accomplished by combining IRs using mic'd and ambient room IRs. The only difference being that, unlike the amp in the room, the sound will be the same even if you're off-axis by standing up, sitting down, or standing to one side. If your ability to play guitar effectively is that dependent on the amp in the room sound then (as Peter Hamm often points out), get an amp and get a room.

Did you tweak Bias, BiasX, Sag, etc? Did you try parallel IRs with an adjustable split? Did you try using a parallel room IR with an adjustable split? Maybe it's not that Helix can't provide it, but your lack of experience can't provide it yet...

Have you talked to Apple about what products they're working on? Or how about Microsoft? Or how about Intel? or Yamaha? ....and the list goes on and on and on. I would hope you would have noticed this is common behavior and for good reasons. Saying you'll deliver and then NOT delivering for whatever reason can only result in bad things happening, not good things. Not saying what they'll deliver and delivering it will most normally result in good things happening. What's so hard to understand about this?

I'm still running 2.10 FW. I doubt it's the firmware but the Line 6 support folks wanted me to at least try that, so I will. As far the the joystick, yes...it's just the Z-axis function that doesn't work. Everything else is fine. That's really the reason I suspect it's some sort of electrical connection given the mechanical operation of the Z-axis still feels the same...just no response to it.

Although I would agree your ears are the ultimate test, I would contend that having a way to objectively measure output will keep you honest, and also reduce the workload when gain staging live with the band. I use my meters as a way to give me a rough indication of where each patch is at. Ultimately I can't totally depend on the meter, but the meter does give me a quantitative measure of signal strength which is the same measure that will be used by the sound crew at gain staging time. I have to adjust that by ear as a final step because there are issues with perceived volume versus actual volume as well as the band mix which ultimately plays into it. Not to mention, on the other side of the equation, how the ears begin to adapt via ear fatigue to louder sounds making them less accurate in resolving volume differences. There is no doubt in my experience that I have significantly less adjusting to do at rehearsal, and even less at the live performance due in large part to having used a baseline measurement to work from. For me it's nothing more than a time-saver when I get my patches to rehearsal or to the stage.

I opened a ticket, but I first need to try a global reset to ensure it's a hardware problem. Haven't had time to backup everything yet before I try that.

Oh yeah, after more than 50 years of doing this I've certainly heard plenty of amps and even Kemper amp models. But I wasn't talking about the Helix used in the studio. I was talking about studio quality sound in live performances. That's been the holy grail for almost a decade now, and it's finally becoming achievable for everyone. For some reason people seem to be fixated with amp sounds, but rarely does anyone in the audience ever actually experience an amp sound. 99% of the time they experience a polished studio production of that sound when they stream music, listen to a CD, or listen to the radio, which is very different from a live amp sound. That's what they want to hear, and the push to achieve that sound in live performances, particularly with the large name acts, has been going on for more well than a decade. They have no choice because their competitor acts are spending the money and time to accomplish it, so they have to. In spite of what you visually see on stage in terms of amps, that is not what the audience is hearing. That sound is being processed in any number of ways in order to fashion it into a reasonable facsimile of what is heard on the recording. Little of it has to do with the sound coming out of the amp and more to do with how it's being handled by the guitar techs, drum techs, and sound engineers behind the scene to produce that live version of a studio quality sound. Fortunately on the smaller scale we have access to the Helix which is basically all of those facilities rolled into one box that can be brought to bear in the types of venues most, if not all of us, play. You can spend a lot of time seeking the ultimate amp sound, but that's still going to get processed through a cabinet, and various mic's with certain types of placements, and of course effects, EQ, and ultimately speakers. THAT is what your audience is hearing. And if you do it well you will sound like a studio recording in a live environment. Unfortunately, at our level of music, we're not blessed with an army of guitar techs and sound engineers. But we now have all the tools and if we incorporate their craftsmanship into our skillset, we can accomplish the same thing as the big boys. But as you can see, that has little to actually do with the final 1% of the amp sound, and more to do with your skills in crafting a signal chain.

I'm not sure what any of these cost, but it sure might be hard to beat the price and availability of something like this. Just plug into one of the channels, set the gain and volume at noon and you get all the info you need. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/402VLZ4

I honestly can't imagine what you feel is missing. We play pretty much every genre you can think of...country, rockabilly, british invasion, punk, jazz, R&B, classic rock, metal, funk.... and I've yet to be impaired by a lack of facilities on the Helix. Unless maybe you're playing Ugandan tribal folk songs or something.... How long have you had your Helix and how far have you gotten in exploring the capabilities??? If by boundaries in modeling you mean that everything always sounds great and professional studio quality and what you're after is some really trashy garage band sound....I could live with that boundary.

Well it's cool in a way since they're the only one's doing it and it's fairly intuitive. But that's a double-edged sword. That means your engineering of it and quality control need to be top notch because it's going to take probably just as much abuse as the stomps in terms of repetitive use. I'd be very interested in finding out what the failure rate is on these pieces. As I understand it, it's not the mechanical portions that are failing as much as it is the electrical connections. And that should be a no-brainer in terms of getting those connections solid. Unfortunately for me we have some big festival events coming up in the next couple of weeks so I really have no clue when I'll be able to get it in for repair. I may end up buying a replacement unit and use it as a backup and at home to replace my HD500X as my audio interface on my main computer. I considered doing that with the Helix LT, but without the mic input it wouldn't be a good replacement for the HD500X. And I'm surely not going to use a Helix LT as my gigging machine while my full Helix is sitting at home. This is going to be an expensive lesson in having a good backup plan for my rig.....

Well I just discovered something that I think is worth considering in Ideascale. Unfortunately the way I discovered it wasn't optimal. This morning my joystick suddenly stopped responding to pushes. I could use all of the other functions, just no select capability. Not a big deal, right? Well, not if you don't use the editor, or if you're on tour, or in the middle of a gig. Man!! I didn't realize how much I depended on that functionality. And the problem is, short of hooking it up to a computer and running the editor, there is no way to implement that functionality. Apparently this is a pretty common failure, so it seems to me it might be a good idea to have an alternative way to have an alternative method, and that's under the Menu function. Currently there's nothing defined for the 4th knob under the Menu functions, so a FW update could provide a Joystick Bypass set of functions by pressing that 4th knob. You could then use the other knobs to navigate and select until you're able to get your joystick functionality back. If you think this is a worthwhile idea, vote it up on IdeaScale via the link below. If you don't think it's a good idea...well...you will at some point when your joystick fails. https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Joystick-Select-Alternative/895610-23508?submitted=1

You could probably get something like that to work if you wanted to. Personally I prefer to spend my time playing rather than shopping. And Helix works great for that.

Reminds me of an old saying back when I was a software designer/programmer. You can't idiot-proof anything. There are way too many idiots in the world and they can be quite creative.... And a resounding ABSOLUTELY NOT in response to the password idea. The last thing I want to do is try to remember and input a password when I'm trying to practice or setting up for a gig. I already have enough aggravations in my life....

Each track is a separate .WAV file and you import them one by one into your DAW on different channels. You can either break them up as separate recordings by pressing record and stop and incrementing the session number for the next cut, or just put time marker flags in. I prefer separate recordings because they're easier to import into the DAW

Check my post again. I edited and posted an example of a recording I did with mine.

By the time you went through all of that hassle you could have just as easily gotten something like what I have which is a Zoom R16. Then you just setup everyone the same way as they would be setup in a performance (direct in or mic'd to the R16 like it was a PA) and capture it as individual .WAV channels on an SD memory card you can import into your DAW. You end up with a MUCH cleaner capture. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/R16?adpos=1o3&creative=54989510161&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&product_id=R16&gclid=Cj0KEQjwrsDIBRDX3JCunOrr_YYBEiQAifH1FuHK2BLmvUnaodlZCu7GtG1fMP8fM9LP40d6aovNzzAaAh3C8P8HAQ Here's an example of a capture I made at a practice on one of these after I mixed it on my home DAW. https://soundcloud.com/dunedindragon/gods-children-1

I'm not sure what good it would do you unless you knew how much DSP whatever you were thinking of adding would take up...and you already know that by what's greyed out.

^^^^^^^The most important advise you will ever hear regarding high gain tones. In fact I'd go so far as to say too much gain tends to be one of the primary problems people tend to have when dialing in patches. The more gain, the less articulation. And articulation in the tone is what differentiates a spectacular patch from and okay patch.