codamedia

Depending on your screen size, HX Edit does not require the entire screen to be functional. You could split the screen half and half with each editor and make note of which side is which. If you happen to run a dual monitor setup, each instance of editor could live on it's own monitor. I need to do this sort of juggling with other software all the time but only have one Helix so it's never been an issue for me in that regard.

As stated above... just use the LEFT output and the presets will sum to MONO. This is also possible. Export your SETLIST Import that it into a NEW SETLIST location.... maybe name the new setlist MONO Now simply use the LEFT out and let the unit sum to mono Adjust each preset to taste while monitoring in mono....

I fully agree.... I was joking with the "E-Book..... oh well.... " comment... sorry if it didn't come across as such.

The only way this could possibly happen is if the LOOP block became disengaged on the Helix. Double check your presets and make sure there isn't a snapshot or stomp button that is disengaging the LOOP block, or changing the value of the BLEND/MIX at the loop block. You do say that changing presets did not solve it while a reboot does. I don't have an answer or suggestion for that. I'm assuming that the presets you are changing in/out of all have LOOP blocks on them, and that those blocks are engaged.

That certainly makes sense as a progression through the years... @bloomk ... I'm attaching some IR's that may come in handy when searching for these tones. 9 IR's from the Palmer PDI-03, and 4 from an old Rockman. I didn't have these with the thought of producing Def Leppard tones.... but if this is the direction they took over different periods they may (or may not) help :) NOTE: I created the rockman IR's myself, I'm not sure where I got the Palmer IR's, but they are not a commercial release... someone made them from a Palmer they had. palmer_rockman_ir.zip

E-Book..... oh well.... I would have put a hard/soft cover right beside my "Home Recording For Musicians" from the 80's... Or my "35 DIY projects for guitar players".... .... both written by some guy with your name - LOL! Nice to see you posting here Craig!

These guys had direct rigs long before direct was ever a consideration..... No amps on stage & in - ears suggests that is still what they do. Why not - they've built an entire brand on those sounds. In 2014 Phil Collen was running into Marshall JMP-1 preamps and used Fractal AXE FXII's for effects and IR's. If I needed that tone.... I'd call up a Marshall JCM800 Pre-amp... load some old Rockman IR's (for cabinets)... then adjust some effects to taste.

+1 to everything said above by @rd2rk.... To answer the question directly, no there isn't an input level. Under normal circumstances you do not need anything more than what is already provided.... Line/Instrument & Pad. That' s more than most pedal boards will give you. If you absolutely need an input level, there is nothing stopping you from placing a simple GAIN block at the beginning of each preset. Yep.... halfway or a touch higher is where it likes to live. If you push it too hot you run the risk of running out of headroom. There is no "tone benefit" to running the Helix near the red. If you are not getting enough signal to your Audio Interface.... set the outputs on the Helix to LINE. If you start hitting the Interface too hot, turn down the input level on the interface, or turn down the big volume on the Helix. FYI: The output KNOB on the Helix is attenuation only. If you disconnect the volume from a set of outputs (in the global settings).... it effectively sets those outputs to FULL volume. Having it FULL is not boosting the volume in any way but you can safely turn it down as required without sacrificing tone.

Yeah... I think we all get that. It's been explained in depth on this thread by many .... most saying the same thing in many different ways. The importance of what has been explained in this thread should not be dismissed! Good luck with your journey.... it's time for me to tag out on this thread.

First of all... your entire post was great... thanks for taking the time. What you mention in the paragraph I quote is something I learned back in the mid 80's. For many years I spent 48 weeks a year living on the road in hotel rooms and to keep my sanity (and avoid drugs/alcohol) I travelled with a Tascam Postastudio, a Roland Drum machine, a Rockman, and a good microphone. My initial recordings only sounded good on the ghetto blaster I had to mix on and headphones. Headphones ALWAYS sounded best, but that doesn't mean it was good! The flaws were exposed as I played the songs back on other systems. It took a lot of time, and a set of speakers (not headphones) I could trust before I could create mixes that translated well on most playbacks. (for those not aware, this is a never ending learning curve) As you say... this is now applicable to guitar players with the advancements in modeling. Some of us gracefully transitioned thanks to past experience, while others are starting where I did back in 1984... and where most have started at some point. The faster a person can move past this hurdle, the better. As much as the OP insists his tone's don't need to translate, he doesn't seem to realize that is exactly what he needs... and it starts on speakers, not headphones. No sense in me typing it again... I'll just quote it...

Here are three things to consider.... maybe one will apply to you. The pedal on the Helix is suppose to be self-calibrating at start up. On every start up.... I take the time to do "toe down > heel down > toe down" on my internal & external expression pedal. I can't say that it helps or not, but I can say I am not experiencing the problem you (and others) have reported.... so maybe it does. Do you set your expression as "global, preset, or snapshot"? FWIW I set mine as global so there is a constant communication flow between the expression and the Helix.... no interruption of presets and/or snapshot settings to "possibly" corrupt the values. I doubt that would matter, but I've convinced myself it might :) The internal expression is photo (light) sensitive. I have problems outdoors because light gets in and wreaks havoc on my position/setting. Check the lighting position around the placement of the helix.

Prior to the Helix, Line 6 used to provide a "model gallery" that was often insightful and humorous at the same time. HelixHelp.com (already mentioned above is a great resource.....) Also - I found this old thread from 2016 quite interesting when I first got my Helix. This covers the early amps, then the release notes for each update covers the new ones incrementally. https://line6.com/support/topic/19961-helix-amp-model-gallery-real-controls-vs-invented/ The Helix controls are quite good at simulating the "real thing"... so when you want to know how a product works, you can always look up a video of the real product. EG: If you don't know how the RAT pedals work, go watch a video about the RAT - then apply it to the Helix. If you don't know how the Dr Z Route 66 Amp works, go watch a video on using a real Route 66. Don't worry about not knowing it all too quickly. Get what you NEED in place, then take your time on this wonderful journey.

You can overwrite any preset in any location.... he obviously re-wrote his acoustic models with special tunings. You need to download the original presets for the 1st Gen Variax and load those into the guitar through Workbench. Or there is one simple options..... open the "de-tuned" acoustic in Workbench, remove the special tunings, and save it back in it's original location. Repeat for any model that seems to have been adjusted. IIRC the only proper way to re-flash the guitar is through Monkey.... and I honestly don't remember if it loads factory presets or not. I seem to recall you could update the firmware without overwriting your guitar..... which would suggest NO, it does not reload factory presets. It's been a long, long time since I've done that.

No, not exactly as you hope and/or describe. The best you can do is assign the EXP to both the WAH and the DELAY MIX, then have a switch toggle between the two effects. Of course.... you would lose any/all delay when you toggle the WAH on unless you have a 2nd "fixed delay" block you could utilize at that time. Examples: EXP 1 on my LT is a volume control and a wah. The Toe Switch determines which block (volume or wah) is active. Also on my LT, I assign EXP 2 to multiple things.... but all things that would NEVER be run at the same time. Vibe speed / depth Chorus depth Tremolo depth specialty delay level.... a special delay I setup for dotted 8th, or longer tap "lead" style delays. etc... etc.... Although the EXP controls all of these settings at all times.... snapshots and stomp mode determines what effect is actually ON at any given time. It's extremely flexible, but takes some planning.

Log into your Line 6 Account (not the forums) and open a support ticket. Line 6 support is very good ...

Although I use headphones out on my studio mixer to feed a particular power amp... I am keenly aware that I need to keep the headphone output very low so it is more on par with a LINE LEVEL output. Bottom line.... It's a risky thing to try, and I shouldn't have suggested it on this forum. I am going to remove it from my post so others are not tempted to try it. Sorry about that....

I can't imagine anyone would be using the Helix if this was actually fact. I know I'd sell mine off rather quickly :) Is your Helix healthy? Have you tried the XLR out's to see how they sound?

This is a misconception that you need to rid yourself of.... it's leading you down the wrong path of correction. If the demo clip sounds good on your speakers, that is how that preset sounds. You are listening to it on YOUR speakers. The differences by the time a person installs a purchased preset is obvious ... A different guitar Different hands Possibly different global settings in the Helix Different playback ONLY if you are listening on a different set of speakers than the ones you listened to the DEMO on. You need to LEARN how to create tones that translate from playback to playback. It's not a button, it's not a setting, it's not easy! Everyone that succeeds with a <insert modeler choice here> has solved this equation to some degree. Start with a GOOD SET of speakers..... Create tones on those speakers at a high enough volume to avoid the Fletcher Munson curve. If you don't get the volume up, the tones you create will be thin/boomy/shrill (no depth) by the time you get them up to stage volume, yet they will always sound good on headphones (read the next bullet) Don't create tones on headphones.... they don't give true representation of what is going on regardless of how good they might sound. Expect this to be a learning curve that NEVER ENDS.... you just get better at it over time.

Those "epic tones" you hear on You Tube will sound that way through their studio monitors and/or FRFR as well. If they didn't, nobody would ever use this thing live, yet many do. How are you listening to them? The key factor is making tones that translate well from speaker system to speaker system. No two playback systems sound the same so that creates this big challenge. If you think about it, this is the exact same with music production. Take you favorite song and play it on 5 different systems... it will sound GOOD on all systems, but it will not sound the SAME on all systems? Recording producers/engineers take years honing this mixing craft.... you need to hone it for guitar tones. There is no "one size fits all" remedy, it's something you need to learn. There is a lot of low end hype in these speakers. Keep the contour off, lift it off the ground, and don't place it in a corner.... then you might have a fighting chance. The Yamaha's will be great, honest sounding speakers, but the 5's are too little IMO. The 7's is about the smallest I would go, the 8's would be my preference. The Helix tone has not changed, the playback has. Don't blame the wrong product.

For general compression, I put a Rochester comp or an LA Studio Comp near the end of the chain. That gives the guitar a "polished" tone that smooths out some rough edges. When I need something heavily compressed - as I stated I would just reach for the Red Comp (dyna comp) or maybe the Kinky Comp... and place it before the gain stages. My "heavily compressed" tone example would be 80's POP and some 90's chicken pickin. For everything else I'd stick to general compression.

I wasn't familiar with it so I just gave it a listen.... both the studio cut and a live cut. IMO.... I'd just hit it with the stock settings of Dyna Comp (red comp) before the gain stages. Most of the sustain in that particular break is driven by the whammy bar movements and a very loud amp - there's studio compression on the track, but that's not what's causing that sustain. That's a part that could really benefit from a "feedback" effect... sadly, one does not exist in the Helix... yet!

I am going to provide how I would do it on my Helix LT... I'm sure it is very similar on a stomp, and if I am wrong hopefully someone will correct me. I'm going to do this through HX Edit, as it is likely more "uniform" than trying to explain it through a different device. This is my preferred method..... the Merge Block Connect to the preset through HX Edit.... Click on the MERGE BLOCK (the node where path B returns to path A) Right Click on "B Level" and assign it to a footswitch of your choice Now go to "bypass / controller assign" Highlight the "mixer > b level" assignment Set the MIN Level to -60 (the lowest it will go) Set the MAX Level to 0 Now the footswitch you assigned will act like it is turning Path B on & off by turning the Return Level of Path B up and down. NOTE: You could also assign the EQ and Ptich to that same footswitch, but I think that would be redundant. To do this using the SPLIT Block.... you can try this. Connect to the preset through HX Edit.... Click on the SPLIT BLOCK (the node where path A splits off to Path B) Set the Split to "Split A/B" Right Click on "Route to" and assign it to a footswitch or your choice Now to to "bypass / controller assign" Highlight the "Split A/B > Route To" assignment Set the MIN Level to "A 100" (only A path) Set the MAX Level to "Even Split" (this sends equal amounts to both Path A and Path B) Now the footswitch you assigned will act like it is turning Path B on & off by turning the SEND Level of Path B up and down. Hopefully that works with the Stomp & Stomp XL like it does on my LT.

If the Pitch on Path B is allowing a dry signal through, then you will hear it effect the guitar in ways you do not want. Also, turning off the Pitch will not stop the dry signal from heading down that path and merging at the end. The EQ is always in play with the signal on that path and it will trick you mind into thinking it effects everything. To use this preset effectively.... the Pitch cannot allow any dry signal, and to turn the pitch on/off you need to do so at the SPLIT or MERGE block by having a switch control the SEND level (at the split) or RETURN level (at the merge) of that path. Please note: I do not own a Stomp to try this preset, but I do know that parallel paths wreak havoc on the mind with unexpected consequences. They take time to figure out.

My statement is not incorrect. A CAB or IR has a natural attenuation in high end... that attenuation will effect any effect that is before it - providing that effect is creating more high end than it's been fed. Some do, some don't. That's all I'm stating. I never said reverb, I said "effects that add artificial high end". I am not limiting it to just reverb. Easy test: Princess Amp > 112 US Deluxe Cab Put a mono "pitch echo" before the cab, then move it after the cab. It's very different. The high end sizzles on that delay when it's after the cab, not so much when it's before the cab. If you really want to accentuate the difference, increase the high cut on the cabinet (ie: make the high cut more noticeable by lowering the frequency) and continue the test. For the record... if there is ANY residual sound after a null test, then the files are not identical. There is a difference whether your ears notice or not.

Why am I not surprised by this ... LOL!