ColonelForbin

And....Turns out, my Sweetwater sales rep did quit! Whaddya know... I got a call from my new Sweetwater sales rep following up to inquire how I like my new Helix.... :) Well, props to Sweetwater for coming back around, I was wondering but this definitely makes way more sense now!

True, and that is certainly a good place to start! In essence, as I gather with Helix you could literally build one patch that allows you to toggle between variations of two different complete HD500 patches. You can as far as I can tell build two entire HD500 patches into one Helix patch. And your footswitch control is vastly expanded, so the notion of what any one footswitch can do is exponential. Though, if you were to at least bring in the core elements of any given HD500 patch to Helix, then you could expand on the routing and the number of FX, give yourself some additional options for what you do going between preset mode and stompbox mode. That feature is a huge bonus for me. HD500 basically has this, but it cannot be toggled in a performance, and is not stored per preset, it's global. A-B-C-D vs FS1-8. In Helix you get both. And you can determine when in 'preset' mode whether the bank of presets is the top row or bottom row, which is also way cool. If you are in 'full' preset mode, you get 8 switches of 8 presets, vs 4 presets and 4 effects. Then, depending on how you program your patch, when you toggle between preset and stompbox mode, you get all these extra footswitches available. To me, that is some real magic there!

Yup. You can do too much more with Helix; it's a true paradigm shift. Here's how I think about the extra FX slots; they are for redundancy in terms of being able to have multiple groups of drive+delay+whatever assigned to a single switch. Instead of trying to make one delay work and multiple other effects on one switch, with one amp and one drive, you can make three drives with three delays and multiple other fx on on three footswitches play with a pair of amps that you toggle with another FS. And, being able to toggle between patch mode vs stompbox mode is another thing that is set up very well in Glenn's patches. And that feature is not a reality in the HD500 world.

There should be a decent / small sized Mono case that would work well, and the quality on their gear is top shelf. I have the M80 tour sized case for my Helix. http://monocreators.com/products/

Yeah, Sweetwater are usually really on point with this stuff, so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. And yes, quite pleased with Line6, at least in terms of getting it taken care of. Stuff happens, it's as much how things are taken care of when they go wrong, as it is getting it right in the first place. I mean, the thing sounds incredible! When I had a defective M20d, Sweetwater had a replacement sent out before I had sent them back the original. However, that sales rep doesn't work there anymore, he moved to North Carolina, so.. A lot of it depends on the salesperson

Yeah, I use Sweetwater, and bought my Helix with them, but they have me wondering. They sold me a defective Helix. I have already dealt with it via Line6, who were extremely prompt in replying. To date, in over a week and three emails, I have heard nothing from Sweetwater. Not even a reply, no response, no phone call, nothing. I appreciate the effort Line6 exerted to repair my Helix, it got to them for repairs yesterday. So, I will at some point need to call Sweetwater and find out what is going on. Wondering if my sales rep quit or went on vacation! :) Major props to L6 though :)

Sort of looking at it by carry weight, per bag + board: 1.) Helix + Trailer Trash + Mono: Trailer Trash flat trash board- 24x12 OD = 22 ¾†x 11 3/8†ID Weight (5.4lbs?) Helix- 22.05 x 11.85 x 3.6 inches; Weight 14.6 lbs. Mono M80 Tour- 24-1/2" x 14.5" Weight 6.5lbs Helix Mono bag = approx 26.5lbs 2.) Gator + G70 + Furman + Missions: Gator GPT Pedal Tote - 16.5"x12" 7 lbs. Mission EP1-L6 expression pedals- 3.25" x 8.7" (3.5lbs each x 2 = ) 7 lbs. Furman SS6B- 9.5" x 4.5"? 3 lbs.? L6 G70 wireless receiver 4" x 5.5" 3 lbs.? Gator case approx 20lbs Anyway, for me, no immediate rush to spend all that $ just to have it all pedalboarded up!.. And don't immediately need the extra EXP pedal yet would like to get a second G70 transmitter, don't need the full receiver just yet, but would like to have two transmitters for two guitars, and be able to quickly toggle between them. But, for the weight distribution, this is the best I've come up with thus far.. Cheers!

Yeah, I don't have anymore, but used to have an M13 and Voice Live3 side by side on a Diago. Uber heavy! Well built, I was looking at one of those for a possible Helix case.

Yeah, I definitely can get with that idea! Pint prevention is crucial :) I would like to do something similar, but my back can't really deal with it all on one PT Pro sized board. I have a sweet pedalboard going on a PT Pro, and I think it's heavier than my DT25! Voodoo Lab PX8 switcher, M9 in the middle for fx loop reverb, chorus, delay type stuff, a G70 wireless, Decimator noise gate,and a combination of Fulltone, Keeley and a Keeley nodded TS9 for the drives, phaser, autowah, wah, volume pedal, compressor, clean boost, ocd, etc. Weighs too much!! Helix weighs much less, but on a PT pro, with a wireless, two Mission exp pedals, and a Furman power strip, it's right back up there in lower back pain. So, for my compromise, I was thinking a light lift out flat pedalboard for just Helix, that will fit in my Mono case. Trailer Trash has a $65 24x12 flat lift out board which seems like it will fit the Helix, and fit in the Mono case: http://trailertrashpedalboards.com/24-inch-flattrash-board-only OD = Outside Dimension ID = Inside Dimension 24x12 OD = 22 ¾†x 11 3/8†ID Then, I want a get a Gator GPT pedal tote, Still need to add another Mission exp (have one already), and for power on a budget, a Furman SS 6B. Velcro the Furman, G70 receiver, and both Mission EXP pedals to the Gator. Setup would be slightly more than the all in one approach: 1. Helix board and Gator board next to each other, or in a semi angle, depending. 2. Connect exp cables to Helix, Helix power to Furman, and G70 wireless send to Helix.

Yeah, I used to think all in one boards were awesome until I finished my Pedaltrain pro stompbox board, and tried to pick it up... Dang thing now weighs more than my DT25! So with Helix, it's already pretty heavy. Back in the day I did bi-monthly gigs on beer splashy stages in an Irish pub, so that for me is where the board on board idea comes in. Just get it off the floor by a little bit so it's just the case lid of bottom of flatboard that gets the beer treatment (and stench), rather than the underside of your gear.. Especially, the underside of a Helix! Now, these days, I don't gig and I don't drink alcohol (last drink was nearly a year ago), so I feel less concerned about protecting Helix when using it. Carpet and some cat hair it can handle! Just for transporting it to jam with buddies, or for storage when not in use (cats find the strangest things comfortable to lie down on!) I still have this Tarcase for my HD500x. It's pretty sturdy, guy used to do a lot of custom cases for L6 gear, not sure if he still does. Burly and heavy, but fitted so you don't have to Velcro the unit into the case lid. If the Tarcase guy did a custom Helix case, I'd consider it!

Yeah, I was thinking same with the Mission exp, might fit alongside the Helix in the Mono. I found a couple of small pedalboards as potential Helix "sidecar" boards. Was aiming for a pair of the Mission pedals, the G70 and a Furman power thing. Didn't really see anything perfect for the Helix, though I think it would fit well on a Trailer Trash board though. Not sure Helix really needs that underside protection and still not sure these things like being velcroed down anyway!

Sweet! Nice slip cover, I might copy your idea there. :) Yeah, I was briefly entertaining the notion of getting some kind of lift out board to mount the Helix on, but I don't really want to make it any heavier than needed! I eventually want to pair my Helix with a G70 wireless, but I don't need to have them mounted on a giant pedalboard. I was considering a smaller board for a pair of Mission exp pedals and the G70 to sit next to Helix.

You would upload a photo to some sort of photo website, like Photo bucket or make a public Facebook image. Then using a full browser to access this forum, there is an image link icon. You copy the image URL from the photo and paste it into the box that pops up when you click that image icon in the L6 forum. Sorry, pretty convoluted explanation! If you are using a mobile phone or similar, there is a tab at the bottom that says "full version", this will get you to the extra formatting options with the image link and hyperlink tabs

Yup; some of the same profiteering going on Ebay for the new Fractal AX8. Saw an AX8 that just sold for over $2,500..

Yeah, I mean if you can take a piezo signal on a Variax and make it sound like a banjo, or a 12 string acoustic guitar, or a sitar; then it seems feasible to use a similar process to take a dry guitar signal and make it sound pianoish. Not like full on MIDI sample trigger, but akin to the Variax stuff. I don't have enough practical knowledge or experience using IR's so I have no clue how realistic that idea is; just seemed like a cool experiment that could be done!

Yeah, very true! I will stick with the "think positive" approach, I am guessing it really is just a small % of the total that have these issues. Just seems like a bigger deal all of a sudden that it's happened to me! Food for thought, the universe telling me to chill out. Cheers!

Yeah, I like the way the Mono case is put together! One question for ya; it's a bit larger than needed for the Helix, which I don't mind, though it's not a snug fit. Did you add anything around it to keep it packed in there or just let it be?

While it's not ideal, I will try to see the glass as 'half full' rather than 'half empty'; and tell myself my "brand new yet soon to be repaired in California by Line6 Helix" is likely a better bet than a "brand new but I hope it doesn't break Helix"... Classic rationalization, of course!. Though since I don't intend to return it to Sweetwater for a refund, the delay isn't causing me undue distress. For someone trying to decide if they will keep it within a 30-45 day return window time frame, however, it would be a deal breaker. They wouldn't have time to ship it off (UPS ground) to Line6 and hope they get it back in time to sort out if they want to keep it. They would have to just send it back and wait for a new unit to become available. Such is life. Supply, let me introduce you to Demand, have you two met? I had the footswitch failure happen on my X3Live back in the day, sent it off to Line6 and they ended up repairing and replacing all the footswitch assemblies, or light pipes or whatever those plastic things between the switch and the board that went bad were called. It worked fine after that, and actually made for a decent selling point when the HD500 came along. These guys do stand behind their products when things go wrong. I do expect this scribble strip thing is going to be a bigger failure rate % issue than anyone wants to admit, along the lines of the L2t fan redesign, and the X3L switch lightpipe failures, and the HD500 switch failures, and the M13/M9 switch failures, and all the other little parts issues. They don't all fail at once, some will never fail, and the rate of failure seems random, but it's there none the less. Hence companies charging decent $$(between $90 to $145) to do aftermarket footswitch repairs for the M9 and M13 series.. http://www.jhv3.com/m-series-mods/ These are not as much mods, as repairing flawed design footswitches that *will* eventually break, sooner or later, newer or useder. How much are you going to be willing to pay to JHV3 to repair and replace your defective Helix scribble strips, Hmmmmm...? At some point, ideally, they just will be making Helix with upgraded scribble strip design, and hopefully issue a free recall for everyone to get their scribble strips replaced or repaired for no charge for the life of the product, etc. I certainly hope I am wrong! But pattern is as pattern does. That being said, this Helix thing sounds amazing, and I can't wait to have it back!! :)

SO, on that piano doubling - here is an idea.. Can you route a copy of the clean / dry guitar signal through a 'piano' IR?

Out of curiosity, I did some searching on Google, for any notes on this. Actually found a thread from 2004, with the following insight: "The low E's are being doubled by a piano." https://forum.guitar.com/effects-22/need-help-figuring-out-sound-metallica-sanitarium-170644

One quick note for anyone else dealing with sending things back to Line6 for repair: Update your shipping address info with them before you do the ticket. I forgot to give them my work address for shipping, and without asking me, or verifying, they set up the pickup for my home address, and I wasn't going to be at home. I also discovered I can't just drop this type of pick up service off at any UPS store, it has to be a specific hub and then they had to wait till the driver returned with the call tags. So I drove an extra hour to get it dealt with and dropped it off myself. Signing off...

Yup, same here. I drove mine to a UPS hub yesterday, it's on the way, tracking says it will get to L6 on the 11th. Sadly, I have emailed my Sweetwater rep twice aboit it and gotten zero reply. Not sure why, they are usually way more on point. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Yes, keep in mind that the global EQ functions on the XLR outputs, but not on the Line6 link.

I would suggest not running Helix into the front, instead run it into the DeVille's fx loop return. I think its labeled "power amp in" on Fender amps