codamedia

Try this.... Make sure the EXP is plugged into EXP 1 Remove the WAH block from the patch and save Play the guitar while moving the pedal.... make sure that pedal is NOT adjusting anything else in the patch. Add the wah block back in... it should auto assign itself to EXP1 (IIRC all HX devices auto assign wah to EXP1... but I don't own an HX effects to test this) What happens now? If that fails, try inserting a wah on an empty patch to see what happens.

It sounds like an input gain problem to me. The drive pedals are not being pushed hard enough. That fact that you don't notice this with other effects such as delay, reverb or modulations would be normal. Overdrives and compression would be two effects you would notice this on. I no longer own an HX Effects (went to a Helix) but when I did I never had this problem. I tend to play Tele and Strat single coil setups so my pickups are never hot. Naturally a Tele or Strat will not produce the gain of a Les Paul or other Humbucking guitars but you should still get enough to work with. Have you tried a different cable between the guitar and HX? (don't just assume it's fine because it worked with pedals, there could still be impedance issues) Do you have any effect in the signal flow "before" the overdrives? Something potentially lowering the gain or changing the interaction (eg: compressor or ???) What happens if you put a GAIN BLOCK as the first in he chain (signal flow chain, not necessarily footswitch chain) and set it to +6db? Do you get usable (or even too much) gain on the drives?

FYI: Earlier in the thread you said you use Logitech speakers.... please don't confuse those as studio monitors. So far we have... Headphones with no mention of make or model Logitech "Studio Monitors" Behringer "FRFR" IMO the reason for a lack of focus in the tone is obvious.

Just a couple of things to check... In the HX MASTER settings.... make sure the INPUT is set to "Instrument Level"... not line level. Make sure your guitar is turned up full. Turning the volume down will "clean up" the signal. That's fine for when you want it, but for initially setting up an overdrive, keep it full. If an overdrive effect has a "blend" or "mix" control, make sure it is set to 100% or the clean signal will be blending. Make sure you didn't inadvertandly setup a "path B" around the overdrives... which effectly sends a parrallel dry signal around the overdrives just like the scenario in #3 above.

Next question... how do you setup your tones? Also - what brand of FRFR do you have? Best practice is to setup your tones on the device you will use live... at the volume you will use it live. EG: If you setup your tones on the headphones or logitechs, they are not going to translate to an FRFR.... therefore the FRFR will get the blame. You don't setup a high gain amp on a set of headphones or computer speakers.... don't do it with a modeler. Generally speaking, this is exactly what happens when a tone is developed at lower volumes than it should be.... it's the Fletcher-Munson curve. At lower volumes we tend to push lows and highs to make it "appear" louder (same thing a loudness switch does on a stereo) but when we put it through something at louder volumes the tone will get thin/harsh and possibly even boomy. It will be too loud but you won't hear it... as you say, it will lack focus. Can you share one of your patches... it might make it easier for us to make some specific suggestions.

I saw the title and was coming in to say just this.... you beat me to it :)

How do you monitor your Helix? If you monitor it in different ways for different situations (eg: home, rehearsal, live) we need to know that as well.

Line 6 has agreements with their distributors they must follow. I live in Canada and must go through my distributor for any problems as well. They do not hide this fact on their website. However, they do want to know when a distributor is unreasonable.. and sometimes they will intervene (by communication only) when needed. I don't know about Manila, but around here those power cables (IEC / Kettle Cords) are about $2 - $5 and are very easy to find. I have a box of them because they outlive every device they come with. Don't get me wrong.... I'm sorry your distributor is giving you the run around, and they should send you a new one... but I sure wouldn't be losing any sleep over an IEC Cable, I'd just plug in different one and move on.... maybe that's just me.

How are you contacting Line 6.... Email? Or Ticket System? For the record... use their Ticket System. I have always had a response within 1 business day when I submit something through the Ticket System. I may not always like the answer, but they have always responded. Also - if you do use the ticket system, do not rely on Email for a response, or notification. Check your accounts tickets for a response.

I setup my tones at about 90db using two sets of studio monitors. When it get it sounding good on both, the tone translates really well to FOH and Monitor systems. 90db is really loud in a small music room, but on a stage it is pretty normal... maybe even a little quiet. IME, the Fletcher-Munson curve is a non-issue by the time you reach 85db. I should also mention that I set my DB meter to "Slow" and "C Weighted" and take a measurement from where I stand... usually about 4-6 feet from the speakers which is similar to how far a monitor would be when I'm standing in front of it... or an amp would be if it were beside/behind me.

I just tested this persons problem and I believe it is directly related to the hum of the amp like yours was. I inserted a DOUBLE VERB NRM amp. I set the partical verb to 100% dwell, 100% mix and "stable" position and trails on I set the amp HUM to 0 Faded in a chord Turned off the reverb RESULT: The verb hung forever with a nice clean spacious chord. I could play over top without any additional low end I set the amp HUM to default of 5 Even before I faded in the chord I could hear a low end hum Faded in a chord (low end still increasing) Turned off the reverb RESULT: The low end did not get worse once the reverb was turned off, but it was over powering and would fluctuate in volume... appearing at times to get worse.

Note that If the previous owner already purchased a copy of Helix Native at the discount rate, you will not have access to that offer. He can "gift" you his copy through his account, but Line 6 is not obligated to sell you a 2nd copy tied to that units purchase.

As I understand it, Helix Native puts copies the limits of the hardware at this time so you can exchange patches without issues. The 2.8 update will give the option of overriding this if you want, but right now it mimics the DSP limits. I loaded up YOUR patch this morning in Helix Native.... then tried to recreate it on my LT The DSP issue you face is because you loaded the MINOTAUR as a stereo effect rather than mono. If you change that to mono the TS808 can easily be loaded. With the placement you have, I don't see any benefit to loading it as a stereo effect. The OP's patch on the top row was all MONO effects. The strange sound you hear is actually the "Partical Verb" at the end of your chain. It is creating/modulating the sounds that it is being fed. The DOUBLE VERB NRM amp is feeding it the LOW HUM to get it moving. If you turn the HUM down in the DOUBLE VERB NRM the amp no longer creates a problem... but the partical verb is still loaded and waiting for something :) What you uncovered is reverb regeneration... the problem was locating the source of the input... in this case, hum. The OPs problem is different. The regeneration is not audible... it just builds up slowly & silently until it crashes the audio engine

That's bizarre.... did you keep the reverbs on the 2nd path... separate from the amps to spread out the DSP usage? EDIT TO ADD: I finally got a moment to open Helix Native and my LT and was able to re-create that patch from scratch without any DSP issues on both. That is a strange sound... I actually found some inconsistency with the "twin amp" in the patch, but I couldn't reproduce it test to test so I didn't dig deeper. The Double Tank Reverb would act up as described with every test so I concentrated on that.

I don't know about the HD300 or HD400... but on the 500 and 500x you can set the pedals in 8 stomp mode.... plus you have the toe switch under the expression pedal. When you need to change presets simply step on the bank up or bank down button to reveal the presets.... once you choose a preset it returns to 8 stomp mode. Seemingly logical, but I'd still like to play devils advocate on this one :) You never know when you might want to try the modeling... especially when it is available. The HD 500(x) is a very flexible, great sounding pedal board, complete with an expression pedal... it's hard to get more for the money. The "pre-amp models" (w/cab turned off) make great "amp in the box" effects opening the tone palette much further.

Yes - this is easy... providing the stomp does not run out of horsepower with two amps loaded along side the other effects you want/need. Insert the two amp/cab block in series (one after the other) Turn one amp block on... turn the other one off Now assign both to the same footswitch. Now when you push the footswitch it will switch one amp block off while switching the other one on with every push of the button... voila, amp switching :)

I think there is more at play... we were given a dead patch to work with, but did he actually deliver that same patch to Line 6 or just tell them he was having a problem with a vague description. I didn't have a problem with the patch until I left it alone for 20 minutes... came back and saw the meters in the red. On the next test for the first 5 - 7 minutes it looked normal, then started to show slowly. Under normal circumstances this problem would likely never show itself. I don't know anyone that turns the "DECAY TIME TO 10" on a Reverb then leaves it there for 5 - 10 minutes until the problem reveals itself. Unless Line 6 is given explicit instructions of how to reproduce the problem, I don't think they would find it! Stock settings (ie: simply inserting a double tank) would NOT have revealed this problem. The simple ticket system has always worked fine for me... I find Line 6 to be very receptive to potential bug reports.

That cable will work fine.... now just try a simple setup as suggested and it should work.

Real means different things to different people. You must keep in mind... and understand.... An HX direct to full range speakers (or PA) is not the sound of an amp sitting beside you which is what you are used to hearing. It is the sound of an amp with a mic on it, as listened to through full range speakers or a PA... which is what the audience usually hears. They are two different sounds.... both are very much real! If you have a stomp I think this would consume too many blocks or resources. Personally... even if you choose an IR over a stock cab, one IR will suffice. To create your "stereo sound" you want, insert a stereo effect or two AFTER the Amp and IR. That's just my opinion and how I would do it... that doesn't mean you have to :)

Do you have the right cables to make this work? You need two mono 1/4" jacks from the HELIX OUT combined to a TRS at the amps Stereo FX Return. This type of cable is commonly referred to as an "insert cable". Manual > Page 4 > Right Side only of Image 4 (don't bother with the left side of that image yet... if at all) If you have one of those cables, start simple. Guitar > Helix Input > Helix Output (stereo) > Amp FX Stereo Return I strongly recommend that you don't try setting up any 4cm, 5cm or 7cm setups until you get that basic setup working.

Based on what I am reading here, there is no way I am loading this into my Helix.... but I did load it into Helix Native where I can monitor the CPU/RAM usage closely. On the PC it took 10 minutes to reach death... just sitting idle, with the patch loaded, nothing changed, and nothing played through it. Everything the OP asked to be on was on, and the "mod/chorus echo" is also on when the patch is loaded so I left it on. Ram usage did not increase CPU usage did not increase The volume increased slowly, but exponentially. The louder the volume got, the faster it increased until it reaches a state of hard clipping and the audio completely cuts out. This is the cause of the problem! Repeating the TEST This time, as the volume was reaching a clipping state I tried the following.... Turning effects off made no difference... *** Removing the Double Tank Reverb stopped the problem immediately Repeating the test with a new instance of the Double Tank (with same settings) has the exact same results First conclusion.... the problem likely lays within the Double Tank Reverb < at this point I did a long list of tests and experiments > This is what I have found.... Focusing on the reverb.... the decay setting of 10 on the Double Tank Reverb Block appears to be the problem. Once I get the levels on the meters to the point of exploding if I lower the decay setting a little (even to 9) it relieves the pressure. It seems that when it is fed enough signal (even just noise from the effects and amps before it) the reverb is building up internally. It gets to a point where even eliminating any input can't help it any longer. (note: the more input you feed it, the faster the problem occurs. That is why it takes longer when there is no input, than it might when you are playing through it) Here is where it gets really odd. Every meter in my DAW is showing the build up (including the master output in my DAW) and once it goes past it's limit all audio is shut down. BUT - the meters on my console (external) don't show the volume increasing at all, and I don't hear it increasing. This problem is completely in the digital realm, but does not appear as audio externally. There is the problem.... you cannot hear it building up, It just reaches it's breaking point and ends with a sizzle/crash/bang leaving you wondering what just happened. On the Helix where there are no meters, you would never know this is coming. This problem doesn't seem to exist with the other two reverbs in this patch... only with the Double Tank. Although I believe this is a bug that should be fixed, the simple solution is to turn down the decay setting on the double tank... even just a little.

Not sure if this is the problem or not, but I was once told by Line 6 support that CAT6 & CAT7 (common in today's marketplace) is not recommended with Line 6 products... always use CAT5 or CAT5e when buying a 3rd party cable, or making one of your own.

I think you misunderstood his post. He was talking about the VARIAX when he said the models were not perfect and there hasn't been much development. BUT - despite that, he still considers a VARIAX and HELIX a powerful combination that Fractal (or any other) doesn't have a comparable combination to offer.

To be honest, I haven't bought a single piece of analog gear since I got my Helix.... but I've sold some.

I created two patches.... As the OP described, using the Marshall JMP Jump Model as the amp/cab. I left the amp settings at default other than the channel volume which I set to zero. I duplicated the patch, turned off the gain blocks and turned up the channel volume to compensate for the loss of gain. I notice ZERO difference in tone or feel once the volumes are matched. I have my thoughts on this... both are related to volume matching I use a console in my home studio to match levels. Without that it is very easy to "think" you have them at the same levels when they are not. When that happens you may perceive a tonal difference when it is actually a volume difference. As I said... once I level matched the two patches, that perceptional difference is gone. As you turn up the channel volume you will automatically pick lighter... which obviously creates a difference in tone (generally cleaner) as you turn up. That is why it is essential to get the volumes matched... then DIG IN the same on both patches during any tests.