Mturner

Go slowly. I changed mine out a few years ago. Remove the battery before you do anything. Take a few measurements of pickup heights so you can put them back in similar positions on the new guard. Keep track of which screws go where. The knobs just pull off. I think I used a plastic automotive trim tool to assist. Be careful of the ring around the model selector. It has some indexing bumps that fit into holes on the pick guard. You will need to gently pry it up as it is stuck to the pickguard with double-sided tape. Look at the new pickguard to locate the holes. When you remove the pickguard, I believe there is a grounding wire that will limit how far you can rotate the pickguard to remove everything. I was changing pickups at the same time so it's possible this may not be in your way. Beyond that, watch for the normal stuff (i.e. pickup springs falling off and dropping into place where you don't want them to be.

You are supposed to use HXEdit to update but that process has failed for numerous people (including me). You can still update using Line 6 Updater. In fact, that's what I had to do to get to 2.90. bp69589, you should have been able to create a backup with HXEdit before it started the firmware update. At least that's what happened with me. I started the update with HXEdit, made my backup andlet teh firmwaer update begin. The update hlated partway through and instructed me to reboor the Helix. I rebbooted and the Helix wouldn't come up (it showed some random text on the display). I then booted the Helix while holding switches 6 & 12 down (it's a Helix Floor). I then shut down HXEdit, started Line 6 Updater , and updated that way. The first time thru with Updater, it failed again. I tired a second time and all was well. I did the 2.91 update thru HXEdit with no issues. Mark

I had a similar issue and had to do a Global Restore to get it to behave right. On the Floor/LT Holding footswitch 5+6 on boot restores Global parameters

Yes. Like Silverhead says you can do this with snapshots. I do this for several songs and it works great. You just have to remember to go back to standard. The default in the Variax section on the Helix is "don't force" tuning changes. I've started forcing my presets to standard so i can normalize tuning quickly. I use the open tunings occasionally for dobro sounds. Yep, open A is usually E A E A C# E but the beauty of the variax is you can try whatever variation of tuning you like.

Are you sure that's the right encoder to use? The model selector has 12 positions but that BTDS20HPT seems to come in 8 10 16 18 24 32 40 position variations (not 12). Sounds like maybe you got one that is 8 or 10 position? I can't remember for sure but I believe there is a physical stop on the knob that blocks multiple positions so maybe a 16 position is right? It also looks like you can get that encoder with BINARY, BCD, or GRAY encoding. Not sure which the JTV is expecting. Mark

You could use something like this: https://www.alliedelec.com/product/bogen-communications-inc-/wmt1a/70146557/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0IDtBRC6ARIsAIA5gWsD-JONLGZYRdIQmTZMQjk-O_yIK7CRWfeZ8Vh90WL1kw0aFRgeYY8aAjR_EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds or https://www.ccisolutions.com/StoreFront/product/shure-a85f with an adapter. But... a 16 ft run shouldn't be an issue running unbalanced (we do that with guitar cables all the time) And note that using a simple cable wiring style adapter will effectively unbalance the whole run. You have to have a transformer or an active device with differential inputs on the receiving side to keep it balanced and maintain common mode noise rejection.

Gaffers tape. Lay the 4 cables out on stage and tape them down flat next to each other. Apply tape liberally. I hate bundling the cables up because you end up with a thick cable that is easy to trip on and nearly impossible to roll up neatly when you pack up. If you're really OCD then mount on a pedalboard with a junction box to get the 4 connectors side by side, use right angle 1/4" connectors to keep them from getting kicked and then use gaffers tape for the cable.

+1 to what Silverhead said. I play P&W and use a JTV-69S for my main axe. The acoustic tones are convincing. I also find the banjo and resonator models useful from time to time. And the convenience of being able to change models using Helix snapshots is hard to beat.

It sounds like you are looking at the Guitar input (1/4") and not the Variax input (VDI). Like silverhead said, you have to use the VDI cable and the Variax input to control the Variax model.

I have had similar issues. Reported it to Line 6, they said I was doing something wrong but couldn't tell me what. It only happened on a few snapshots in one preset with me. In my case, the Helix still displayed the right model name but by listening you could tell it was clearly recalling the wrong model on the Variax (in my case it was loading an acoustic model instead of a Lester so it was pretty obvious). I rebuilt my preset from scratch and it fixed the issue.

It could be something mechanically different with the two input jacks resulting in a short on one and not the other. I don't know. I have a Floor so I don't have a way to test the HX Effects. You could build a small adapter cable (female TRS, male TS). Or you could open up the pedal and disconnect the lug going to the "R" terminal. Mark

Sounds like your pedal is set up to use a TRS cable and you are using a TS cable. That would effectively short the outside lugs of the pot together which makes the largest resistance value show up in the middle of the travel. Build a TRS to TS cable. Connect T to T and S to S. Leave the R connection open. Plug the TRS side into your pedal. Mark

Sounds like the Dunlop pedal is designed to work with a TRS plug. What you are describing sounds like you've inadvertently tied the end terminals of the internal pot together. That would make the resistance zero at each end of the travel and it's highest value in the middle. If you can solder, you can build a simple cable to fix this. Put a TRS connector on the pedal end and a TS connector on the HX Stomp end. Connect T to T and S to S. Leave the R connection on the pedal side unconnected. Mark

Does it clean up if you turn down the volume control on the guitar?

Not exactly what you are asking but I used an FCB1010 with a POD XT Pro for a long time with no issues. Not sure how the latest FCB1010 software stacks up but I upgraded mine to third party UNO firmware (https://www.fcb1010.uno/ and https://www.fcb1010.eu/) and found that it was much easier for me to get the functionality I needed. If you run into a dead end with the factory firmware, take a look at UNO. Mark

The main setting you want to look at is "Variax Settings" in the section brue58ski is referencing. Make sure it is set to "Per Preset". I believe it defaults to "Global".

I'm not sure if I'm following your volume problem but it sounds like perhaps your mic levels are too low compared to other sources in the Helix? If so, check the the Mic In Gain setting in the Global Settings->Ins/Outs. You might need to add a little gain there to match the guitar/bass level.

I don't know of any way to do this from within HX Edit. However, if you're reasonably technical and careful, this thread might help: You could use a text editor to copy and paste your favorite settings on the associated block. Or you could write a script that automatically did that to multiple hlx files. Of course, you could also render the hlx files completely unusable if you're not careful...

I think you may have missed my point. That link was meant to illustrate you can mix models and mags without doing it in the guitar. That was in response to the comment from cruisinon2 that said "There is no blending of mags with the models." I misunderstood that what he meant was there was no unintentional blending of mags with models when using Multi as the input source. My concern with using Multi was the unintentional mixing of several sources (like having a guitar plugged into Aux and another plugged into Guitar at the same time). Since the Variax has two outputs via VDI, I was afraid both would mix when using Multi but as crusinon2 says, Multi ignores the Variax Magnetics input.

Agreed. FYI, I edited my last post before I saw your response. I realized that I had misinterpreted what you were saying.

I'm not talking about controlling the Variax output. As I said, there are always two outputs from the Variax via VDI. It may very well be that Multi only uses the mode driven one in which case you are 100% correct. The Helix manual says "Multi Guitar, Aux, and Variax inputs are all active simultaneously. Normally, you should choose Multi." It's the "all active simultaneously" part that was/is my concern. Your way works. My way works too. It is possible to blend magnetics without using custom models just like this guy did.

No and Yes. :) You can't change the input via a snapshot but there are at least two ways to do what you're after. 1) Make two different presets. Each preset will remember which input you selected. Depending on the presets, the output might get muted when you switch. 2) Create two different paths in the same preset, one using Guitar and one using Aux as the input. Then use snapshots to control gain blocks or merge blocks that determine which path goes to the output.

I understand that Multi can use any of the inputs and you are right, it's a good starting point because you'll get sound no matter where you plug in. My concern with using Multi is blending in the Helix, not in the guitar. There are two Variax inputs via the VDI cable on the Helix. One is "Variax" and the other is "Variax Magnetics". Variax guitars feed two separate channels out over the VDI cable simultaneously (it is a 2 channel AES feed); one is based on the mode of the guitar (model or mag) and the other is magnetics only. If the input is set to Multi, then how does the Helix determine which VDI source it will use since both are always active? I tend to specifically select the input because I'll often have a guitar plugged in to Guitar In, another in the Aux In, and a third in the VDI input. My presets choose the appropriate input so I can quickly mute the others and select only the guitar I'm using.

I don't think you want Multi as I think you'll get both the Variax output and the Variax Mags combining. If you select "Variax", you'll get either models or mags depending on what mode the guitar is in. i.e. you can switch on the fly. You also have an input called "Variax Magnetics" which are the magnetics only. You can't switch to models but you could use it to blend mags in on another path or track the mags separately.

If I'm doing the math right, a dotted 1/8 at 377ms corresponds to 119.4 BPM. So set your delay to dotted 1/8 and set your tempo to 119.4 BPM. Make Sure Global Settings->MIDI/Tempo->Tempo Select is set to "Per Preset". You can also directly dial in the tempo on that same settings page. You should then be able to save that tempo with your preset but tap in a new one (on quarter note beats) if you need to change it. Mark