codamedia

By default, most midi devices will "send" and "receive" on all midi channels (aka: omni mode) so things just work when they are opened. However, it is always best to setup discreet midi channels for each device.... and set GLOBAL to a discreet channel as well (I always set all of my devices GLOBAL in/out to channel 16... then use channels 1 - 15 for everything else ). Once you have done that cross talk between devices and unexpected behavior becomes a thing of the past. I don't have the pedal you have, so I can't give a step by step on setting it up... but I will try to point you in the right direction. To start... I would set the Whammy to communicate on one particular channel. Then whenever you want the HX Effects to talk to the Whammy... you will set the HX controller to communicate on that channel. Your HX Effects solutions should be in the "Command Center". You should be able to setup an "Instant" message that occurs when you change a patch or snapshot... or you should be able to setup a "stomp foot switch" to do what you need. If you are new to using MIDI it takes a bit to wrap your head around it... but it's really powerful once you figure it out.

Earlier you mentioned Long and McQuade.... THEY HAVE TO BE EXPERTS with the Helix! They are the Canadian Distributor, Canada's largest music store, and the only place(s) in Canada to buy the product. Sure - there will be employees that know it better than others... but it it is their job! It is one thing to carry the product, it is completely different when you are the distributor and the only game in the country! I can assure you that in my city.... there is staff in each L&M store that could help you solve your problem. I'm not saying every staff member can help you, but there is staff in each store that can. I'm sure Long and McQuade head office along with Line 6 would be thrilled by this!

OK - your in Canada? Can I ask where you are located... and which L&M isn't trained on this product enough to help you.

I agree that "cablab" is a great tool... but I doubt it solves the problem here. The OP wants to plug the Helix in, turn it on and get great tones. Cablab adds more complexity and deep editing into the hands of the user. Wonderful for the power users, way over the head of the casual user or new user.

The hours spent learning the Helix must be offset with your knowledge of the amps and pedals within the Helix. 60 hours is not a bad amount of time to learn how to work the device, but navigating the Helix is just the beginning! If you don't know how the amps, pedals, mics and speakers that are emulated work you really have just scratched the surface of time required. The Helix is dozens of amps and more than 100 effects. If you rented that much diverse gear from a music store do you think 60 hours would be sufficient time to really figure it out?

This is very common. Sound tech's (live and studio) rarely mic the center of a cone, it's far to bright and unnatural sounding. The mic is almost always somewhere between 1/2 cone and cone edge. If you are using stock cabinets you need to work with the cabinet "hi cut" and mic placement/distance to get the most out of them.

Count me in on not fully understanding the question. I think this touches on it... but I'm just assuming. https://line6.com/support/topic/21966-sound-on-sound/

Thank you for this little piece of information. I made the ill conceived "assumption" that CAT6 would be fine... (I have edited my post)

If the guitar itself works, and if the interface suggests a good connection.... the guitar is not likely the problem. This may sound silly, but are you sure it isn't connecting? When you open workbench does it throw an error or does it show the "interface". If it shows the interface... click on it. Does it throw an error, or does the guitar load on the computer. I ask this because I recall struggling when I first got my 300. The initial error was that I wasn't finished setting up... I needed to choose a connection. Workbench showed my 300 and my HD 500. I naturally clicked on the 300 and it failed to load! I though for sure it was broken, until I clicked on the HD500... then the Variax loaded without a problem. That was very counter intuitive until you really read the screen. It is not asking what you want to connect to, it is asking what the guitar is connecting through. Once you connect once Workbench always uses that connection without asking. The other possible problem is simply a dirty VDI port. Did the interface come with a nice cable to use... or are you using a standard ethernet cable. The latter requires a CAT5 or CAT5e cable, and an ethernet end does not "lock in" to the guitar securely and often loses it's connection. If it is a proper cable with the interface you may need to clean the VDI output on the guitar. Get some good cleaner (deoxit or siilar... NEVER WD40) and spray the cable end. Insert it several times into the guitar... repeat as necessary. A basic (non comprehensive) test of the VDI port is to see if it powers the guitar. Take all batteries out of the guitar, plug in the VDI port with the interface and make sure the interface is powered up. Now - plug in a "standard guitar cable" to an amp (not a TRS) and see if you get sound? If you do, the VDI is supplying power so it is "likely" good. (NOTE: The guitar may have a high pitch squeal with this test... that is normal) Good luck!

If you want to find more about this... the Google search phrase is "Variax Transplant"... there is plenty of information and images. You need a lot more than just the saddles... you will need the entire Variax electronics. Since the electronics are not sold separately you would have to sacrifice an actual Variax guitar. Then you need to do a major routing job on the telecaster to support the electronics - essentially sacrificing (in value) another guitar. IMO: Most Variax retrofits were done when the Variax didn't have magnetic pickups. Now that the JTV and Standards are available there is little need to transplant.

As phil_m suggests... try using a PRE model. Before adding any additional effects just dial in a tone with the amp model.... get a good feel for it just as you would a normal amp. I don't know if this relates to you or not... but if you have a problem with "harsh models" are you sure it's the Helix... and not inherent of the amp style itself? With Line 6, if you know how the original amp/effect operates, it makes it much easier to understand. Line 6 has done a remarkable job over the years keeping the amp settings "realistic" to the original amps - but many users don't know that. With the original POD (1999) Line 6 explained this in great detail, but I haven't seen it mentioned in later documentation which is a real shame. One example of this is the Hiwatt: If you choose a Hiwatt model and set the controls at noon you will send dogs screaming in pain and likely cause your eardrums to close tight - LOL. People that have owned Hiwatts already know this... but many Line 6 buyers likely just think the Hiwatt model is terrible while in reality it's very good... if you know how to dial it in! The same applies to many of the overdrive effects as well.

This is a really old thread.... but I'll help out with your question. Go to this URL: https://line6.com/software/index.html In the search, choose "POD HD500" for the product, "FLASH MEMORY" for the software and "ALL OS" for the operating system. Repeat for "POD HD500x" if you want... That will give you a comprehensive changelog...

Your procedure looks right... not sure why it isn't sticking. Have you tried changing the volume on the HD itself and saving it? Does it stick when you do it that way?

If that is what you took away from my post, then you are completely missing my point. The verbiage LINE 6 uses to edit a Firehawk from the device is "LIVE EDIT MODE"... it doesn't mean editing in front of an audience.

My comment is based on access & editing on the device itself ... sorry I didn't make that clear :) IMO, the HD500(x) is much easier and faster to use if you forced to edit from the device alone which is inevitable at some point. This is important to me, it may not be important to others. For the record, I rarely (almost never) use the computer to edit the HD... I only use it for patch management, backup & restore. Nothing that I couldn't live without if the software support stopped tomorrow. (EDIT: I took the word LIVE out of the first sentence (live access and editing)... wrong word choice)

This is something to really consider. The Firehawk is very dependent on an "APP" and "Bluetooth" to get the most out of it. It is only a matter of time when an APP is no longer updated/supported to work on the latest devices and although Bluetooth has survived the test of time, "what comes next" is always a question in the tech world. There will come a day with the unit will need to be able to work "on it's own"... something the HD is much better equipped for. Just my 2 cents on the subject...

As much as I love the full range aspect of the HD series for flexibility... I full agree on this. The brittle/harsh high end can be difficult to dial out of the amps... which really is the primary use of the unit. The "extended low end" is easily handled in the cabinet parameters with the low cut (HPF). But the high end is not... simply because they didn't include an LPF in the cab parameters. I have found that I need to insert the Vintage Pre or Mid Focus after the amp and dial back the highs to attain the desired results.

I am always skeptical of "free" myself... the general rule is "when you don't pay for the product, you are the product"... They do seem to have an aggressive "donation" campaign on their website. I would like to think that the people that use this software regularly won't take advantage of it and will make a reasonable contribution. I'm not likely to switch from StudioOne... but if I did I would certainly donate the equivalent funds to help keep the project moving.

Just a word of note... this may not work for everyone. Java isn't usually installed on a machine by default... it likely came with a different software installation along the way.

That's a nice little resource... thanks!

When you get a JAVA error... just go to java.com and install the latest version. If JAVA complains that it isn't compatible with your browser just ignore it - that won't matter.

The internal pedal becomes fixed to "exp1" and the external pedal becomes fixed to "exp2" - it doesn't add a third expression. You still only get two pedals, but they can both be active at the same time. There is no limit to what you assign the EXP1, EXP2 and TOE to... but in a traditional VOLUME/WAH setup it could work like this. The external pedal (exp2) can be assigned to the volume block The TOE switch can activate the WAH The internal pedal (exp1) can be assigned to control the WAH

Good catch... thanks for the reminder!

Glad it's working for you... I really don't want to setup an account on the forum you linked to.... any chance you can share that excel spreadsheet here?

The settings will mirror what is stored in the guitar at that moment. If somebody changed the patch, you will only see their changes. Any changes you make in Workbench are auditioned in real time, but need to be sent to the Variax to be retained. Take a search on these forums for a "Factory Default" patch. I know I found one for my 300 when I got it used... I just loaded the patch in Workbench and uploaded it all to the guitar. It's a nice clean slate. If the 500 uses the same patches, I could share my "default" patch... but I would hate to give you something that is incompatible. Maybe someone else will know for certain if I can share my 300 patches with a 500. Workbench warns you... many times. When the guitar is updating (eg: when you are sending patches, or updating the firmware) DO NOT change anything on the guitar! When I am updating I don't move! My biggest concern is that the VDI loses it's connection during mid update... that has the potential of being disastrous. That said - I have NEVER had a problem with any updates... and I've been using/tweaking the 300 regularly (several times per year) since I got it in 2012.