codamedia

Let me start with the amp.... I've owned two Hiwatts over my career... and the Helix NAILS IT, but not with the default settings. . Crank the master setting in the amp up to 10. Raise the mids to about 9 Raise the DRIVE to about 5-8 for humbuckers, 7 - 10 for singles coils. Adjust to dirt level tastes. Leave the other "amp" settings. Now the cabinet The internal 4x12 Fane Who Watt cab is great... it's the default MIC that is not! Change the mic setting to a ribbon.... I use the 121, but all the ribbons are great. Set the distance to 5" Set the early reflections to about 50% Too me.... that's a Hiwatt Tone I am very used to and is extremely dynamic to touch and guitar volume. A bit of grit, but not too much. Of course.... adjust to your tastes.

It sounds to me like your Footswitch "Type" is set to "latching" on the preset you like, but is set to "momentary" on the other presets that are not "latching".

That is excellent... thanks for posting.

It is mentioned above but yes.... snapshots can be changed by midi. Simple answer... you need a Midi Controller can send CC numbers and values not just PC (Program Change) messages.

There is no magic bullet for the HX Effects.... you will need to get into a Midi Controller. However.... a Midi Controller is almost always setup to do PC (Program Changes) out of the box which would leave the buttons on the HX Effects free to become dedicated for Snapshots and Stomps. As you learn more about the Midi Controller you could then offload more duties. IMO - it is worth the time to learn how to integrate a Midi Controller with your gear. It really isn't that difficult and can open doors you had no idea were closed.

The speaker simulation is the biggest component for going direct. Although there are no cabs in the HX Effects it does have an IR loader. Any nice "amp in a box" style pedal (including your Joyo R-15) combined with a NICE set of IR's in the HX Effects will give you what you need.

Yes - this is powered through a VDI cable which you seemed to miss on your opening post, but is extremely important. Keeping with POD devices and a VDI cable... off the top of my head this is what works... First Generation of Variax (no pickups) POD XT Live POD X3 Live POD X3 Pro (rack) HD500 HD500 PRO (rack) Basic functions (power & patch changes... but no connection to Workbench for editing) HD500x Helix LT Helix Floor Helix Rack The 2nd generation Variax (with pickups) works in reverse... basic functions (power and patch) with the older products, and ALL functions with the newer products. NOTE: I may have missed a product or two... I think some older amps, Firehawk, etc... may work with some Variax guitars to a certain degree of success. FWIW: I use an older Variax 300 with a Helix LT. It took a while to figure out all the caveats to making that work without surprises! Power was never an issue, patch changing was. Everything was seamless with my Variax 300 & X3 and HD500.

Amplifi and a few other Line 6 products have bluetooth.... but the Helix does not. There are reasons for this. When it comes to wireless... what standard should they include? Analog? Digital? 2.4G? 5.8G? etc... etc...? Throw a standard 2.4G in the Helix and it's USELESS to "many" (but not all) pro's. I've been on several tours where the sound company dictates the wireless units. WHY? So they have 100% control of every channel used without surprises. They hand over the IEM's packs (you use your ear pieces), and they hand over guitar & mic units as requested! All top notch, all pro, no surprises! The last thing I want to pay for in something like a Helix is a wireless I can't use in more than half the gigs I do. The POD Go fits that bill.... it will mostly be used in environments where the players actually gets to use anything they want... therefore it's the transmitter for that receiver. That's not how it works in the levels above the norm! As for WIFI, another "please no" from me. My iPhone/iPads are loaded with apps that are suppose to control monitor mixes and settings for a variety of gear. THEY NEVER WORK WHEN YOU NEED THEM! It's far easier to just say... "can you turn up the kick drum in my mix please?".

You don't say what mixer you use.... it is important to make sure you have control of Phantom Power on your mixer. There are a few small models where phantom is "always on" at the XLR's and that won't work with the Helix. They are rare... I'm just suggesting you take a 2nd look :)

What a great deal... looks like a wonderful case... I hope it works our well for everyone on the other side of the pond!

You are probably right. Have you already exhausted the parallel path on that DSP? If not... you could place the MONO return on that path, then merge it in with your stereo path. Do you have the Camera Adapter for iPad/iPhone? This allows you to connect your Helix to your iPad via USB.... and the Helix will become the audio interface for the iPad. If you connect your iPad to the Helix through USB then that is how you could monitor your iPad - which would free up those returns. The only downside here is that either your iPad OR your computer can connect to the Helix via USB.... not both. Another caveat is that controlling the volume of your iPad is removed from the iPad itself.... it must be done within the Helix such as "Global > USB IN 1/2 Trim". There may be other ways to do this... that's just the quick one I found when I tested with my old iPhone and Camera kit (which worked great by the way).

I would use a return before I would use an AUX for this purpose... then apply the EXP to the "mix control" on the return. That avoids the need for any splits/merge.... the EXP is only controlling a single BLEND rather than two VOLUMES. You will likely have to get a feel of the transition... but it should be very smooth. You should set the RETURN to instrument level in the global settings so the inputs are roughly matched. If you still have a volume mismatch... there is also a return level to work with on the return block.

That is very interesting... and the type of "odd solution" I was hoping to see. It's not ideal, but at least something like that should be a bug that is fixable by Line 6 ..... providing they are aware of it. Thanks for sharing your experience.... it's the first time I've seen some sort of resolution.

The OP wants to control one set of parameters with the EXP in snapshot one, then a different set of parameters in snapshot two. I've been wanting this myself but have never found a way to do it. I find that once a parameter is assigned to the EXP, it is controlled by that EXP for the entire preset. Unless I am missing something, your solution sets a starting point for the EXP.... but it doesn't change what parameters the EXP will control. As I mention above, I have not found a way to do this... With the LT I run multiple redundant blocks to work around this.... and use snapshots to engage/disengage blocks that are controlled by the EXP. EXAMPLE: I might have a delay with a fixed mix value and a delay with an EXP controlled mix value - the snapshot dictates which one or those gets turned on. Of course.... this option is not practical with a STOMP or HX Effects due to the limited number of blocks available.

It's a disturbing thread.... I don't get discouraged by failing hardware - because that can happen with anything. I especially don't get discouraged by software glitches because those are easy to remedy with a factory reset... then possibly a little time weeding out a corrupt preset. What disturbs me is that this is not the only time I've read about this problem, and every one of the threads I've read remains unsolved and/or abandoned. Thankfully it doesn't happen often, but I certainly feel for those it happens to!

This is not just a single download/install. It requires both HX Edit on the computer & the Helix firmware to be updated. Where are you "not seeing" the new reverbs? If you don't see it HX Edit, then you haven't updated HX Edit to the latest version and/or the computer is not starting the latest version. The latter is more common on MAC than on Windows. If you don't see it on the Helix itself, then restart the Helix and make note of what version it is loading.

The rebuild process takes place at the end of the update during reboot and should only happen the one time. However.... if you restore anything from a backup the rebuild process will happen again. This doesn't matter if the restore is from the current backup (made during updating) or just importing a single preset. It will also happen if you download or purchase a preset that might have been prepared on an older firmware version. EDIT TO ADD: I see datacommando swooped in while I was typing :)

I actually have no bubble to burst :) ... but I re-read my comment and admit it was completely uncalled for. I try to stay away from making snarky comments rooted in opinion... obviously I failed on that day. Sorry about that.

I was just playing with that model over the weekend... I used to own a couple Hiwatts over the years and when I set the model in the Helix the way I used to run those it was pretty much identical. Tremendously dynamic, and a beautiful grit when pushed hard (which was really hard to do with the real amps).

The clip sounded great.... I'm not a preset guy... I've got my own Nile Rodgers settings - but it sure sounds like you nailed it with your presets. I might have to download that Bernard Edwards (bass) preset though to take a look.

Great question... I'm not sure very many understand the complexity of the "jump" on the real amp, and the variations it can create. IMO.... I don't know for certain, but I think the Line 6 model is setup more like a "split" than a jump - the way Eric Johnson runs his amp. Instead of jumping the the two sides, a split is run to enter both "high level inputs" on the amp. My reason to believe this is that the channels sound the same on the JUMP as they do on the individual "normal" and "bright" models. There doesn't appear to be any low level inputs involved which is actually forced on one of the plexi channels with a jumper.

It is important to note that the Helix tone is NOT changing... but any processing within the DAW will alter the sound of the Helix and levels & latency will have a big impact on your perception. FWIW, I only monitor through my DAW when it's the most practical method (which is rare) for a situation... I must prefer direct monitoring of everything I do.

As stated by @kduck... this is the way the real amp operates. This little behavior/quirk is quite a topic of conversation among 5E3 owners. It really is a magical accident in the original design that provides a uniquely versatile tone palette.

To answer this question.... no, this would not be enough, especially if you were trying to use the stomp as an interface. The stomp would certainly require the high speed USB 2 rate. USB 1 spec is primarily used by keyboards, mouse, etc... FWIW, I run all of my low speed USB devices from a USB hub.... saving all the direct USB connections open for the more important things. I have never encountered a group loop issue, but certainly understand they can exist.

I have no idea if this is related or not... I'm just going to share my experience. When I dove into the HX line, the HX Effects is where I started. The loops (returns in particular) were my nemesis. They were noisy, dull and anemic. I went back and forth with Line 6 support and my local store. I showed the manager (of the store) what I was experiencing and he was dumbfounded - it was obviously wrong. We went through a couple other HX Effects from their stock and they were the same. Finally he grabbed a Helix LT from the floor and I tried that.... BINGO - the returns worked as I had thought they should. Even the store manager agreed there was a night/day difference. Long story short.... I upgraded to the Helix LT and never looked back. My HX Effects experience was from the "first run" of units. There were a lot of complaints at that time about the loops/returns but in time the complaints stopped rolling in. It might not hurt to check with Line 6. Maybe you have an original run of units... when something wasn't quite right with the loops/returns.