codamedia

I haven't updated my LT yet... but I have updated Helix Native and gave things a quick spin. The new amps sound great. The POT and KOT will certainly get use in my setup.... as well as the Zen I am really looking forward to utilizing the snapshot bypass on some effects. .... but the biggest impact for me is one of the "less fanfare" items in the update.... the TILT EQ. Exactly as I had expected.... place it after an amp (or cab if you separate them) and it finally gives you something akin to moving the mic position from "center" to "edge" as you lower the setting. I am shocked at how great it sounds in that usage.... far better than I had even hoped. For my preliminary tests all I did was raise the frequency to 3K... then lowered the EQ's parameter to taste, usually about -40 to -80.

This just means that the volume pedal is assigned to be controlled by EXP1... same as the wah. Open the Volume Pedals controller settings and change it to EXP2. Simply plugging in an external expression won't solve this. Another possibility... If this is a 3rd party preset the creator may have assigned the AMP volume to EXP1 as well. Therefore it seems like it works like a volume pedal, but it is really controlling the amp volume. In that case you need to remove the controller setting from the amp volume.

Proof that nothing good ever happens beyond page two of a thread... I stepped out for 16 pages and return to find a divided community with an unhealthy dose of passive aggression. Sadly, it's difficult not to look at a crash scene!

The "old school" method of re-amping broke every rule in the book. In it's earlier days they didn't track a dry guitar so they could try different amps later, they simply tracked a guitar part & whether it was through a Vox, Marshall, Fender, etc... was irrelevant. When the producer later figured out the tone didn't work they would run the signal into different amps to change the color of the tone. With that premise... amp stacking makes perfect sense. Myself... I often use cabinets/mics/ir's as a form of EQ prior to an amp. EG: Running a greenback cabinet with an RE-20 mic prior to an overdriven amp really warms up the tone substantially.... allowing you to push the eq's on the amp very differently than you normally would. Guitarists have never followed the rules in the past, so why follow them now. Go ahead... run cabinets into amps, amps into amps, amps into overdrives, etc... etc... the consequences have been eliminated with a modeler... you won't blow it up! If I throw one caveat at this... I find it very beneficial to know the rules before breaking them... YMMV.

To clarify, you are looking to setup a mono chain for one loop in the PCB, and then a Stereo chain for a second loop? That wouldn't be difficult, but it will require one of the following in the Stomp A mono send block & a stereo return block (consuming two of six blocks) or A stereo loop block (this is what I would use to converse blocks) In option two you chain could be as follows.... PCB Send > Stomp Input > insert mono effects > Stomp Loop 1 Send > PCB Return PCB Stereo Send > Stomp Loop 1/2 Return > insert stereo effects blocks > Stomp L/R Output > PCB Stereo Return If I have misunderstood what you are looking to do, please disregard :)

Is your global EQ accidentally engaged... with a low end push. If not... can you share your patch so we can take a better look at it?

During the install of Helix Native it states.... "NOTE: The VST2 plug-in installation location, if installed, will be determined by the user during the installation process." From there you are given the option to install a VST2 version, a VST3 version and an AAX... then choose a location for the VST2 DLL.

If you are actually wanting to dump the amp and just run the HX Effects into the FOH, it's not that easy since the HX Effects doesn't have amp simulation. You need a Helix or HX Stomp for that. If you are still running your amp on stage for yourself, then for simplicity sake I would run it like this.... Guitar > HX Effects (load effects just like a pedal board here) > Load a LOOP block on the HX > HX Send 1 to Amp Input > Amp Send to HX Return 1 > Load IR in the HX > HX Output to Direct Box / FOH This gives you a pedal board of effects prior to the amp (like a standard pedal board would be), the amp will still create sound for you and send it's preamp tone to the HX return, the IR will provide the speaker sim for the FOH. No more simulation needed.... it's your effects with your amp. The only difference is YOU hear the speaker on the amp, the FOH gets the IR. You can get more complicated with a 4 cable method (one more return to the amp) but then you need a 2nd SEND block on the HX or a split of the left right output and the IR on a separate path to keep the IR away from the amp. It's all up to your comfort zone with routing.

This is all very interesting. Has anyone tried Helix Native in a VST2 environment to see if it responds to program changes there. By default I would think most modern DAW's would load the VST3 versions... but I'm pretty sure you have a choice to install "either or both" during the Helix Native install routine. If program changes work with a VST2 install then at least it would be a work around when needed.

Are you plugging the HX Effects into the clean channel of the HRD? If so... I'd suggest the Tee-mah (Timmy). It will add a touch of thickness/edge to the tone and you can vary the amount of overdrive. If you are using another amp, we likely need to know the setup before making a suggestion.

I don't know why lowering the mix works... but it does. In theory, a real wah does not have a MIX control so by default it is 100% when engaged. But on the Helix (and the HD500 before it) lowering the mix is crucial to getting great wah tones. A common trick on real wah pedals is to move the pot so the "top high range" is lowered. This is accomplished much easier on the Helix by lowering/adjusting the FC high parameter. Fine tune that so your toe down sits in a sweet spot and doesn't get too shrill or biting.

That has to be a bug.... I can't imagine it was designed with that intention. If I were you I would prepare a recipe to re-create this problem with a simple patch and submit it to Line 6. If they can reproduce it... it's the first step to correcting it.

Everything is automated when you add a WAH block. The Helix will auto assign it to EXP1 and set it so the TOE switch engages/disengages it. If you have attempted other methods, I'd suggest you start from scratch and let the Helix do it automatically... it can't be any easier and no steps are left out. Just to make sure.... you do know that it takes the weight of a human to engage that switch? It is nearly impossible by hand without leverage... especially on a new(er) unit. Stand on the toe of the switch.... and lean into it. You should see the EXP1 and EXP2 lights change when it engages. If the light is not changing then the toe switch is not working, or you are not applying enough pressure to engage it.

In the global settings, make sure the expression pedal is set to "global". If you have it pulled back to 80% in one patch, the next will load with it still set at 80%. If your presets are still jumping in volume then you need to balance your presets so they are all equal. There is no shortage of ways to do this on the Helix but the two most common are the "Channel Volume" on the amp model, and the output level in the output block.

A few things to try.... Make sure the global I/O settings match the I/O on the looper. If the looper is instrument level, set the ins/outs on the HX the same.... if the looper is LINE level, set the HX as such. If you know you have the right, and the volume drop persists, make sure your looper doesn't have "output/input" levels that are out of wack. Still not working? Make sure your patches are unity volume. Each effect on/off should be the same (or very close) volumes... if one of those is weak (or strong), you need to compensate for it with the effect level - just like you would on a pedal.

The point of Morning Glory is transparency... IMO, the most transparent overdrive currently in the Helix is the Tee-mah (Timmy) so I would lean that direction. The morning glory is based on a Bluesbreaker pedal, and there is "currently" nothing of the sort in the Helix. I hate to even bring this up, but the 2.8 update every is anxiously awaiting will have a KOT (King of Tone) included which is another variant of the Bluesbreaker. That may provide the answer to the problem.

Global Settings > Preferences > Snapshot Edits By default that should be set to "recall"... try changing it to "discard" and see if it makes a difference.

I guess if you run the HD500 in 8 FS mode... I always ran man in 4/4 mode (4 patch/4 effects). In that case I would never assign an "always on" block to a switch.

The wording "footswitch slots" is misleading.... I think you mean "effects blocks". Yes, the FX loops require the use of an effects block, but with the Helix you get 32 of them compared to 8 (+amps) on the HD500 so it's not nearly as limiting. If you actually mean "footswitch".... neither unit forces you to tie the FX Loop to a footswitch - that's up to you.

Yes... but with a couple of caveats. The 1st generation Variax guitars (including the 600) do not separate the tunings from the tones, you have to save a tuning with a tone. EG: If you want all five position of a strat available in a specific tuning, you have to save each pickup position with the alternative tuning - ultimately consuming 5 more slots. IMO.... I usually only need a couple different tunings on a specific tone (eg: tele bridge with an open G ala Keith Richards, or a Drop D on a Tele Bridge and on an Acoustic). Therefore, I only use a few extra slots for special tunings. Another caveat is that you need to use Workbench to alter (create) any tunings, you cannot do it from the guitar itself. Therefore you need a Variax interface (or older compatible POD), a VDI Cable, and a computer. The software itself is a free download. Once the sound is stored in it's location, you can recall it from the guitar.

I just want to point out to the OP that although these two comments look like they contradict each other, they really don't. My initial comment about getting above 80db to minimize Fletcher Munson goes hand in hand with mid scoop comment from amsdenj. When you get acquainted with how the tones scale when you turn up/down you get better and preparing your tones at lower levels. I really should have said "I test my tones at 85db - 90db"... because I prepare them at much lower levels... I just put the final touches on them at stage levels.

I setup my live tones in my home studio using 2 sets of monitors. One set are 2 way studio reference monitor(s) with 6.5" woofer, the other is a set of 3 way consumer grade speakers (from the 80's) with a 10" woofer. When I get my sound working on both of those... it translates very well to FRFR, PA, stage monitors, headphones, etc... etc... It's the same approach I take to mixing music on those same speakers. When it works well on both, it works well pretty much everywhere. All of my live tones are set up at 85db - 90db... which is really loud in a small room, but pretty average (almost quiet) on a stage. The trick is getting the tones above 80db so the Fletcher-Munson effect is minimized. If you don't set up your tones at live volumes you may add too much lows/highs and the guitar could sound thin/weak in a live setting. Please note.... how I setup my studio tones is very different, I am only talking about how I setup my live tones with the above statement.

This is the phenomenon when one is louder than the other. I suspect the amp is simply louder than the method you are monitoring the helix. If you are comparing the Helix to an Amp then It's a flawed experiment until you know what the amp is doing. Try the same thing, but replace the Helix with an AMP and MIC for track 2. Then do it again... ignoring the dry input and just recording the AMP/Mic in Track 1, and the Helix in Track 2. In all of the experiments don't just "look" at the distance between the tracks.... measure them. The distance will be skewed by zoom levels, a proper measurement will tell you precisely how many "ms" you are experiencing regardless of zoom levels. Don't be fooled by your eyes!

The should be able to get the levels under control within the HX Effects... But the noise? Is it a hiss/white noise you are hearing? If so, you may have received an earlier HX that had a known issue. Take a look at this thread... the "artifacts" they are referring to is excessive hiss. https://line6.com/support/topic/32964-hx-effects-audio-artifacts/ Those units should be eradicated in the wild, but it is always possible a few still exist on the shelves or in the used market. My original HX Effects had this problem... and Line 6, along with my distributor (I'm in Canada) worked with me to solve the problem. If it is hiss you are hearing, I would suggest you open a support ticket with Line 6. They will help you get it sorted out.

When I used amps I learned young that the tone I heard on stage was not the same as the sound the crowd hear. For the most part (when possible) I always kept my amp volume lower and monitored through my monitor mix. This taught me how to dial in my guitar tones for the audience, not just for me. Making the transition to modeling was very easy for me... and something I've sort of been doing since the 90's with an original Sans Amp at the end of my pedal board. Before the Helix I was still balancing between modeling and amps.... depending on the gigs, and depending on the musicians I had to work with. Since I got the Helix I have NEVER brought an amp to the gig. If the monitor system is adequate, that's all I use.... if it isn't good enough (or non existent) I have a full range setup I roll in. Nobody notices or cares that I don't use an amp anymore... and the calls keep coming for gigs.