jpdennis

The XLR noise issue was going on last night at the first show I've used the Helix. What we found was the far electrical duplex was no bueno. So, since we are now predominately an all modeling equipment group of musicians, we ran a single electrical line to the stage and viola ... muy bueno! My church has a special panel for musical equipment. This Easter I will find out if it does the same thing as running all the equipment from one plug, so to speak.

What I really really like about this is that ideas are posted and available in an amazing way. I am actually reading as much as possible and then I have started and idea note on my computer. I will try this and it is in the idea notes. Respects, Dennis

I used this happy accident for a show a few hours ago! NICE!! OK, I;ll stop shouting. B)

Home from work and took nap! So ... there I was about to rely on my pedal board when I figured I see how fast I could create 6 more patches and copy one then tweak it to my needs. In about and hour and some change I had all the patches I needed for tonight. I used the copy capability and it worked great. DI's idea about gain using an amp control learned then applied to a foot-switch was brilliant. I was able to only use my headphones at home but when I got to the gig I didn't need to make any corrections. I actually must have gotten lucky because the 8 patches were all very similar in volume across the board. Can't wait for the studio test. Amazing. The only thing that did get me was one of the patches did not completely go to zero with the volume pedal. Not like it is a big problem, but it was a little strange. And mixing amps with cabs and mics came in real handy: plus the fine tuning the cabs and amps was quite the nifty trick as I only used distortion pedals on three of the eight patches. Very happy! Dennis

+1 to klangmaler. I downloaded just the latest App (1.04) and followed the information in this link as well as using the "Hold down foot-switches 9 & 10 then turn on power and release when you see the reset message". The 1.04 app installed all the other software (drivers, updater, etc.) then provides a way to download straight from the Line6 site. Very similar to Line6 Monkey so not a big learning curve for those who have used Line 6 Monkey. For those of you just now purchasing the Helix as your first Line 6 product, not much of a learning curve at all. Dennis

I had just told my wife we'd go to the movies when the doorbell rings. Big box on steps. We open it together and it was a good thing I promised to take her out before the doorbell rang. After returning from the movies ... {background music from twilight zone} you enter a room of site and sound, there is an object connected to your laptop, you've just stepped into the Helix Zone! WOW!!!!! Read the docs, looked at the cheat sheet, updated the F/W, backed up the bundle before and after, started creating my first patch after playing many of the pre-sets, and ... well gotta say this is everything and more then I have expected. And I did expect to be up till the wee hours before napping then having to get up and leave for work this morning. Double WOW! I have a show tonight and thought I'd use my old pedal board with a DI box, but ... I think I'll be ready to use the Helix! This thing is crazy easy to use. Thank you Line 6. The amp response using my guitar volume controls is very real world like. I did buy the Beyerdynamics DT999 which is very useful for me and I am making sure my input and output reflects exactly what I am using as the signal path in/out. For the DSP overload info, I put quite a lot into the first patch to see where my limits lay. If I would have read Digital_Igloo's statement about assigning an amp gain to a foot switch I'd be at maximum usage with no pedal left behind. :ph34r: Now to backup that preset and use as my base then modify for specific songs tonight! WOW and double WOW again. B) Next week I will be making various amp/cab/mic patches to hear what I can hear. I have a week off so ... hehehehehehehe :blink: Dennis

OK, I'm naming it DI's my mentor. Darn it, I wish I would have read this before I stayed up all night tweaking my very first Helix patch ... Yep, it came to my door yesterday! Dennis

But then, as IG has said, this may have some validity as an option either at some point or for some internal need. So, not to discredit the author of the thread. And we do like to have fun !!!

Phil, I can't help myself ... Hmmm, how about a proximity sensor so when your finger or any other appendage gets close to the save button a sounding "Danger Will Robinson" (or fill in username) just to let you know your about to set the Helix on fire ... :wacko:

I made the plunge on 2/24 and after being told I would have it in my hands by the 3rd of March it may be another 6 weeks or so before my purchase is on the radar. Good news for now is my pedal board still has my spare M13 along with a few analog relics and appears to be very usable going direct using an old Horizon active direct box. I know ... patience. Not sure why someone would return one. With the Helix I am thinking it is good I play guitar, keys, banjo, and mandolin. I am thinking multiple instrument in to multiple instrument out

I am making a walnut pedal board. I have dusted off my hand dovetail tools. But first mine has to be delivered so I can finalize the size of the board. :blink:

I'll see your second week in April and raise you one last week in March. B)

Congratulations! Regardless of your current location at least it is at your home. I purchased on from a store and traded in my POD as well as returned the HD500X due to it being defective. I walked in the day the store online site said it was ready to purchase and deliver. The salesman and the sales manager both got involved and I was told 10 days to deliver. That was on the 24th of Feb. Fast forward and my order on the site says back ordered and I have shows this Sat, this Sunday, next Saturday, etc. So, I may have to be creative, but I will wait. I am hoping it is a great as I have read and reviews. However, maybe the Helix Editor will be ready by the time I receive the Helix. :rolleyes: Have fun. Dennis

As a father and now a grandfather who is also a musician, it all comes down to economics, discipline, patience, and sometime a little begging for understanding. OK, maybe not so much the latter; refer to the next second sentence. I have been very fortunate to have little if any regrets in my life. That is not to say I've always made great choices; I have made some really poor choices. But in learning from those poor choices I have been making a larger amount of better choices over time. So I have come to the decision that if there is something I want that places my families needs behind my want or even last then that is a very bad choice. If I can place my families needs first, keep the prudent reserve in place, and setup a "wish list" fund for musical purchases then I take the time to watch that fund grow and live with what I use for my talent and/or hobbies. When the fund reaches a 90% of purchase amount I sit down with my spouse, go over the family funds and bills, see if the "wish list" fund needs to fuel the prudent reserve, and only then do my spouse and I come to a decision about the value of a decision to purchase what I have been saving for. Sometimes I wait longer and sometimes I make the purchase. It may seem like forever but since I don't smoke it seems $5.00 every week or two can add up quickly along with maybe a reduction in eating out at work or other unnecessary spending. And sometimes I have been able to get a second summer job before I started making decent money playing the clubs. If you have something that works now then try the "wish list" fund and let your spouse know about this so there are no surprises later. Wait and see what happens. I have been saving for an HD500 for some time since I purchase my M13 back in 2010. By the time I was close the HD500X came out. After moving money from my "wish list" fund to our family fund in times of emergencies and needs for the family's benefit I was able to have more then I needed to purchase an HD500X 13 days ago. However, due to a problem with the unit and poor advise from a sales person concerning the headphones I took them both back 4 days ago. I did express my concern both to the company I purchased them from and to Line 6. In a blink of an eye an offer was made that my wife and I can both live with to purchase the Helix. I lived with the M13 for 6 years which worked well for me even though I was lugging around about 250lb of over all equipment to gigs with my multiple guitars and sometimes two amps I use not to mention the various pedal with my M13 on my pedaltrain board; no lie. In that time something was improved upon (the HD500 to HD500X) and then at the moment of making the purchase the rare occurrence of purchasing something that was flawed offered me the opportunity to purchase the latest model in Line 6's multi-effects/modeler devices. So, my story is that by keeping to my plan I have been very blessed with a current release item. Had I purchased the HD500 then at what cost would my family had to sacrifice in an already tight economic world? Maybe you can afford the HD500X or even the Helix now and it will have no impact upon your family. But if you cannot then maybe waiting will provide you with the next gen or even the next two gen Line 6 item. Only you can decide what your best choice truly is. Hope this helps and doesn't confuse or frustrate the situation. Respectfully, Dennis

Well, what a strange trip it's been. After 10 days of ownership I was offered a deal I couldn't refuse. Deal is to send back the HD500X and receive the Helix. I have learned so much from this forum and want to thank you all for everything shared and how information is so freely given. I am moving to the Helix forum but may be back form time to time to see ideas for settings since signal chain path is always a challenge. Respectfully, Dennis

Real amp response in vol and tone variance on the guitar was noticeable in the HD Well. I do have a pedal Rich sold me when I was at Mesa a couple years ago, but if the Helix drives are better then; CHECK LIST: 1) Drive to GC ... check 2) Get full credit for purchases 10 days ago ... check 3) Get store credit back ... check 4) Negotiate great deal with a few perks for online order ... check 5) I done did it ... double & triple check Well now I wait for delivery Dennis

Peter, That is exactly what I need to know. So I will need a little prayer to make sure my wife doesn't put me in the dog house. Thanks Dennis

Phil, Great to see you since the days of the M13 information you had always been so swift and accurate to share. Yep, I am inching even closer now. As to the editor versus the direct setup on the unit, I have been doing both with the HD500X since I got it 9 or 10 days ago as well as going through the videos I find on sites and on youtube. During this brief time I have setup 37 different songs and had a wild ride using the unit interface and the PC editor. I am using my work bench to edit on the unit itself and so far it is a 50/50 bag for me. So, is the Helix really that much better sonic-wise for modeling and the overdrive/distortion pedals? That is one area I did like using the M13 with my Mesa "real life" tube amps. I am at the point of getting a tube based overdrive to add to the HD500X unless you feel the Helix can now make the difference in whiny versus wet. What say you, my friend? Great to see you here again. Dennis

Just to add my few cents, I am close to taking my 9 day old HD500X back and get a Helix. After some conversation yesterday with the support lady at Line 6 she led me to believe the Helix Editor may be out end of April. Of course she then said they really don't tell her. Though why would she say that at all? Gotta just wait. I guess it will be here when it is here. Still, the clock is ticking on my GAS for a Helix. Do I or don't I? That is the question (forgive me Shakespeare) Dennis

Now the question is, "How do I justify taking the HD500X back and just pulling the trigger on the Helix?" Man, what a dilemma. :rolleyes:

Found this in the Gain Staging thread +1 to line6bbd

UPDATE: Well, after all my troubleshooting I was reading another blog in this Forum about the resistance setting. Hmm, so I set it to various levels and discovered that for the majority of my guitars 22K is a good setting for the High Gain amp models. Amazing how relative all these threads are. Kudos to the people use us Line 6 and share their experiences. Thanks again Dennis PS: If I can locate that thread I'll quote and recognize the contributor. I was at work and just barely glanced at the info when I got called away and had to make the $$$ to pay for my GAS.

+1 DunedinDragon. I am rethinking my patches as well by dumping the use of the distortion models for now only using the Treadplate if I get the sound I have mentioned in my recent thread to go bye-bye. Otherwise for now the JCM800 seems to be real close to what I am wanting. The seemingly natural breakup from these two amp models is pretty cool. I just need to get to it and then play out for a feel of how it works through the PA. Dennis

I purchased the Beyerdynamic this afternoon. So by Friday I'll know if it is the headphones. I did use four guitars to be safe, a 1970 LPGT, 2010 Baker, 1980 GZ300, and an early Hamer Echotone (think 335 copy but with half way decent wood and assembly). No change with the sound I heard. More coming soon. Dennis

If I don't use a noise gate the sound is like a trail off of hum you'd find with a highly over-driven tube amp at extremely high volume. The noise gate reduces that to the milliseconds of fizz when I hit a power chord. However, it is consistent and I can duplicate it ad infinitum. I will call Guitar Center today as well to remove that from the mix. I was thinking the headphones could be a problem as well. I found a 250 ohm Beyerdynamic DT-990 I will purchase. I am currently using an AKG K240 which is about 55 ohms and that will go back to Guitar Center for a full refund (they said I had two weeks). I am going to test a few other items I didn't mention to see if my Firmware bounce dance may have fixed two issues i had as well. Will report back in two days. In the meantime any other feedback will be well appreciated. Thanks Dennis