Petes63Strat

rsvette: Many thanks for this info and for all of the links. I saw these units recently but it seemed as though they would be too dedicated to Guitar Rig only but now you have given me hope! Do you use it as an audio interface too as Guitar Rig does, or is that asking too much? I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 but often wonder if this is the culprit where my excessively tinny tone is coming from, especially when using headphones. I am having a lot of trouble getting realistic tones thus far. I'll download a patch from Glenn, use and IDENTICAL guitar and playing style but the tones are not even close. I know I'm not alone in this but with so many variables it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

soundog: I have been enjoying my Helix Native but like many others I still find it nearly impossible to get the kinds of result I hear on Youtube & Vimeo dispute decades of playing experience and an arsenal of truly great guitars... but hope springs eternal! I know this is way off topic but I have searched high and low with little or no meaningful results. My question relates to a hardware controller of some sort and here's why: I decided to temporarily take myself out of the equation and buy some tried and true patches from Glenn Delaune so that I could rule out any mistakes I might be making in my efforts to create realistic tones. In doing so I realize that Glenn's earlier tones are created in such a way that they require hardware buttons to properly navigate which of course I cannot do on my Helix Native. I contacted Glenn and he did assure me that he is going to modify these earlier tones to work with the Snapshots feature and then I should be okay. BUT, this got me think about how I might control Snapshot choice and other aspects of Helix Native with a foot or tabletop controller of some sort. Can anyone point to me to a some info on this or share their experience relating to this? I see units from Behringer and others that look like they might work but have no way of knowing if Helix Native is setup to accommodate such a thing. I use a Mac Pro with Logic Pro DAW so perhaps something could be integrated through that but I have little experience in this aspect of Logic. Any tips or info would be greatly appreciated.

Will do. Thanks.

Thanks. I am on a Mac Pro so the driver is provided atomatically. I don't think I have an choice.

I am on my Mac Pro with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface, Logic Pro 10.3.2 and I'm using brand new Audio-Technica ATH M50X headphones, some very fine guitars and my new Helix Native Plugin. My test: I add a simple YouTube backing track to Logic Pro to jam along with. The jam track and my guitar sounds great when monitored through my simple 100 watt Alesis power amp and NS-10 monitors as I play along. However, when I play through only my headphones (via the audio interface's headphone jack) it sounds thin, tinny, scratchy, empty. Totally unacceptable. The odd thing is that the backing track still sounds good but the guitar track sounds terrible. I have tested this with different headsets, two different audio interfaces and even bypassed the headphone jack on the Focusrite and tried my old Samson Q5 headphone amp. The guitar still sounds like crap. So my question is this: What would make the Helix Native guitar track sound so crappy though headphones when it otherwise sounds perfectly acceptable though my NS-10 monitors. I used to do virtually everything with headphones on but now if I were to do a mix with this setup and actually try to correct the tinny guitar track to sound good through the headphones it would then sound completely different through any other setup, and quite certainly with too much bottom, bass, etc. I am lost here and have spent hours going through the process of elimination. I am new to this world of amp and effect sims and direct-in guitar recording so maybe one of you guys can tell me what might be happening here as this is a huge disappointment. Thanks for listening.

Great info. I will look into it as it sounds likes a great solution and just what I was looking for. Thanks!

Thanks for clarifying this! I could see the Snapshot Drop-downs at the top of the Plugin window but for this particular 'tone' nothing changed when I clicked around cycling through them. Then I realized that it did work on some of the other tones. So, I guess some guys set them up to do something while others just have them there for no particular reason (?). This Helix Native sure is fun and smartly laid out! I wonder if there is such a thing as a USB volume/wah/expression pedal that I could connect to my MAC to make this closer to the Helix floor version for functionality. This is the only thing I feel that I would be missing at the moment. Thanks for helping out the new guy!

I am having a great time getting to know Helix Native! I saw one of your earlier posts discussing that Snapshots were coming soon. Did they ever add this feature to a Helix Native update? I have a friend who sent some of his patches to me (he has the floor unit) and he has Snapshots in many of his patches but I cannot find a way to switch through these via my Helix Native.

I received a helpful reply from Line 6 Tech Support which I have pasted below. I hope this help others out as well: (Helix Native Plugin Beachball Beach Ball of Death Spinner Crashes Crash Reaper Logic Pro Cubase Mac Apple) Hi, I'm sorry about the trouble with your Helix Native. Below are files paths for a number a files that need to be deleted in order to get your Native up and running again. Please remove them all, and then perform a reinstall of the latest version of Native. Plug-in Binaries, please remove these files. /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/Line 6/Helix Native.aaxplugin /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Helix Native.component /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/Line 6/Helix Native.vst /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Line 6/Helix Native.vst3 Resources. You'll see a data and res folder; just delete the Helix Native folder for a clean slate. /Library/Application Support/Line 6/Helix Native/ User Data This folder contains the user data for Helix Native. This includes the Preset and Impulse Response libraries, local license file (Purchases.dat), user preferences (Helix Native.prefs), and various logs. WARNING as of this writing, it isnâÂÂt necessary to delete the PRESET_LIBRARY and IR_LIBRARY folders when uninstalling. Before deleting these folders, be sure to make a backup! Remove the .dat and .pref files. ~/Library/Application Support/Line 6/Helix Native/ Once all these files are removed, re install Native from a new download of the latest version. https://line6.com/software/ Please let me know your results. Thanks, Line 6 Support

That sounds like a good idea and I hadn't thought of it since it seemed like the connections was getting through, but after trying that just now it did not help. I also just read that if I changed my password on the Line 6 site it would force Helix to ask me to confirm the new login info when I tried to run it. So, I changed the password but when I attempted to run it the plugin in Logic Pro it just did as always and froze. UPDATE: I was able to get it working with Reaper so far. Here is what I did: I deleted anything related to Helix Native from my computer. I then created a different account on Line 6 with a different email and everything else. I download the demo and it finally worked. This is actually my first real shot at evaluating this plugin and I must say that I like it so far. It is so nicely laid out and as such is very easy to navigate for quick, subtle changes at a glance.

Thanks but I tried that too. Last message: "I have moved the component files out, refreshed the plugins within Logic and then replaced the components but the same thing keeps happening." I probably just didn't explain it as well as you did. I am presently trying to figure out "Reaper" as a 60 day demo alternative to see if I can get it to work there for the time being. At least this way I can see if its a Logic problem or a Helix problem and so that I will be able to evaluate Helix. I will keep you posted on my success (or failure) with Line 6. Update: Just got Reaper up and running and the Helix Native Plugin freezes it too, just like Logic with the beach ball of death. Very Disappointing. I think it might be related to its "Calling Home" to Line 6 for confirmation. The first time I ran Reaper and tried to add the Helix plugin to a track I got a Little Snitch window asking if I wanted to allow it to connect to Line 6. Of course I agreed and then the beach ball started and will allow me only to Force Quit.

Thanks for all of your good information. Unfortunately there is no way for me to get to a Helix window to make any choices or check settings. etc. because the plugin crashes Logic the moment I try to install it to the track. Therefore Helix never opens to provide a window. I open Logic, create a fresh project, create a guitar (instrument) track, insert Helix Native as a plugin and then I get the beach-ball. I have tried removing and reinstalling all of the associated files. I have moved the component files out, refreshed the plugins within Logic and then replaced the components but the same thing keeps happening. As I mentioned; all of my other plugins work with out issue. I have also tried deactivating my Mac from Line 6 and then reactivating. I have explained of this to Line 6 via new ticket created just this morning. I am hopeful that I will learn something but I am not terrible optimistic that this will get worked out as it is a demo and not a paid application... and it will never be if I can't get it up and running. Thanks again for help. It is truly appreciated.

Thanks for this. I got excited when you mentioned Little Snitch but was able to determine that my connections to Line 6 are in fact getting through. I had also disabled the firewall. When I insert the Helix Native plugin to the channel I can see that Little Snitch allows it through on their activity screen. Perhaps LIne 6 is not providing the right info over the connection to satisfy the plugin's demand for verification. Who knows. I do appreciate your help. If I figure it out I will be sure to post my process. I see if I can get through to Line 6.

I am on a Mac Pro with El Capitan (10.11.6) and my DAW is Logic Pro. I installed the Helix Native demo and it worked fine for 2 days. Now when attempt to add the effect to my channel I get the 'beach ball of death' and must FORCE QUIT Logic Pro as my only way to start over. I have just 3 other (modern) plugins for amps, effects, etc. that continue to run with no issue. I was actually ready to pay $400 for this paid version of Helix but Line 6 can't get it to run as a demo why would I lock myself into a $400 expense? My Mac is super clean and reliable. I have never had an issue like this before. This thread is actually the only info I can find from others having the same issue. I have deleted all of the associated files from my folders, tried reinstalling Helix Native, deleted and re-establish my computer connection with Line 6 but still I get only the beach ball. Very disappointing. Has anyone figured out a solution to this? Line 6 are you listening???

I feel your pain! I also have a Focusrite 2i2 Scarlett and Audio-Technicas, but mine are the ATH-M50X, not 40X. Here is what I learned after dealing with the same disappointments that you are dealing with. First off; you're right. All of this stuff sounds terrible compared to the promo videos that we all see on Youtube. But, I have my very trusty Yamaha NS-10 studio monitors and a power amp connected to my Mac Pro. When I run my audio through that setup it is 100 times better than anything I can get through headphones. In fact I have spent hours trying to figure out how to get it to sound the same way through my headphones as it does through the speakers. The headphones sound great with virtually any music and any Youtube feed, etc. but when monitoring my guitar with any of these digital plugins (Like Native or the rest) they all sound terrible. If I EQ the guitar signal in Logic Pro (pull down the highs a little) I can get it to sound better but this headphone output on the Scarlett really sucks for this stuff. I have some very good guitars too, so they are not to blame. I have several vintage Strats but also some of the very best Paul Reed Smith Custom 24s and the like. I even have a couple of really fat at Gibson Jazz boxes with very warm picks (like my Herb Ellis ES-165 & an ES-165). It has been a huge disappointment but I do believe that a big part of it is the fact that we are trying to make it sound good through the 2i2 and headphones. I read through this thread and you have received some good info so I hope it is working out for you at this point. I would love to hear how you feel about it these days. Maybe you can give me a leg up because I too am struggling. There are a lot of guys (like Glenn DeLaune) who say that the included tones are not good with the Helix and that is why he is offing all of these beautiful patches as you can see on Youtube. You might want to try one of his smaller packages for a few bucks to see how dramatic a change there may be. Feel free to reply and let us all know how you're doing with this.