codamedia

You are wanting to buy a QSC K series and are judging which size to buy based on hearing a JBL Eon and Alto TS312? IMO.... the size of the speaker in those boxes is trivial compared to all the other differences. Just because the JBL had "just enough low end" doesn't mean the 10" QSC will be the same. If you want a QSC, you have to try a QSC... not a JBL and an ALTO.

Just so I understand... you don't own a Variax, you are just wondering what voltage/amperage they use so you "might" be able to wire up an adapter to power your wireless. You just purchased a Helix..... are you aware that any such usage will null your warranty. I'll give you some very general specs, but that's it. Can't help any further! My Variax 300 came with an XPS mini. That XPS requires a 9volt AC power supply rated at 2 amps. The output of the XPS to the Variax measures around 8 volt DC. Finding the exact voltage from the VDI port would be easy... but I wouldn't try to guess at it's amperage capability.

^^^ this ^^^ I've been playing since the late 70's... and I can say without a doubt that the Helix is one of the most satisfying purchases I have ever made.

Pressing the bank button will open the PRESETS page so you can choose a preset. Then... if setup accordingly.... it will either stay on the preset page, or return to the snapshot page. Those options are somewhere in the global settings. You can also re-assign the BANK UP/DOWN to be PATCH UP/DOWN if you prefer... the patch change becomes instant, but incremental.

As stated above... up goes "numerically up" down goes "numerically down"... on a screen the presets start a 1 and increase below so it may appear backward. This has been talked about in the past, and there is some good news on the horizon. The 2.8 update (scheduled for a Spring release) feature list includes an option to reverse that operation.

It will use up a BLOCK which is a precious commodity on the Stomp, but this is what I would do to accomplish your needs. Insert a MONO SEND block before the Delay and reverb and set the SEND to Instrument level Make sure the SEND is set to pass through the signal to the remainder of the chain, as well as to the send itself. Leave your Delay on PATH A Put your REVERB on PATH B The DRY AMP gets the signal from the SEND The WET AMP gets the signal from the output which should sum to mono.. (you could go stereo with two WET amps) Now your Dry signal is truly dry, your delay and reverb are "separately controlled" and blend back together at the outputs, and you should have three more effect blocks to work with. I'll try to map it out... Guitar into Stomp > Dynamics, OD, etc... > SEND (send to dry amp) > Path A: DELAY Path B: REVERB > Output to WET AMP

Really? Are you saying the Helix LT sounds better than Helix Native? Are you sure, because it shouldn't. There are a few things that may need consideration. Are you playing both through the same speaker, or set of speakers? Do you have any EQ or filter compensation on your interface or in your DAW that you forgot to disengage? Are you sure your input level is set appropriately in Native so your guitar it hitting it with the same amount of gain? It's plug and play with the LT but it needs adjusting in Native depending on your setup. Could it have to do with feel? IMO, a little latency can play tricks with the mind. That said... I love my LT and don't use my copy of Native nearly as much... but it's not because of any difference in tone, it's out of convenience.

I regret to inform you, that particular deal was last October. I got really lucky with that one. They usually have some interesting deals each season... You may want to wait and see what they offer this spring which is just a couple weeks around the corner.

I stand corrected about the snapshots, yes - I believe it works with the LT as well. I've edited my post above to avoid confusion...

I know this is an older thread, but my favorite method is buried in an earlier post so I thought I would share it. I like having quick access to 8 presets, 8 snapshots and 8 stomps. The common choice of 4 and 4 feels too limiting to me. (key words... "to me") I setup my home screen for 8 snapshots. Now the mode toggles between 8 snapshots and 8 stomps. Pressing either bank button (up or down) reveals access to 8 presets at a time Once I select a preset I am back to whichever mode I was previously in (snapshot or stomp) I am never more than 2 clicks away from everything I need... most often just 1 click away.

^^^ this ^^^ The 2.8 update has this listed as one of it's features...

It's half way there.... In Performance View > Stomp Mode (or any mode that contains stomps) it is in color... it is tied to the footswitch assignment. FWIW... Scribble strips on the Helix Floor are not color... not even with stomp mode. LT Performance View in Stomp Mode

Did you take my post out of context? Better is subjective, and I have never said something is better. I wasn't trying to disagree with you, I was just trying to expand on that topic. The OP has a great amp, but like many great amps it doesn't have an effects loop... so I am lending support that it will still work fine.

I don't see the Helix on sale here in Canada, but sometimes Long and McQuade runs specials with value adds. When I got my LT I got the Helix Gig Bag for free, a $50 L&M gift card and the financing was interest free. There is often a lot of talk about the full Helix having the scribble strips and the LT doesn't. That makes some people think with an LT they have to rely on their memory and colored switches to remember what effects or snapshots they put where. NOT TRUE! The LT has something the full version doesn't... it's called Performance View. The entire screen takes on the duties of the scribble strips and it is very nice! Some prefer the scribble strips, but I also know people that prefer Performance View (including moi) so it does come down to preference in that regard.

A tube pre will not hurt and often can help. IMO... I would place it in a loop then include it on any patch you want, in any position your want, regardless of the input used. Simply adding things before or after the Helix will limit the opportunities. Not that it won't sound fine in those positions, I would just prefer the flexibility. The same applies to the compressor, although I would keep it on a different loop so I could place it independently. The only thing to keep in mind is that if these are MONO units and you place them in the effects loop(s), the loops have to be inserted prior to any stereo effects.

You are aware that the next Helix update will include DT integration... to the delight of many DT owners?

It sounds great as a pedal board in front of an amp just stay away from any AMP/CAB models in the POD. "Amp in the box" pedals are fairly popular these days... and you can experiment with the PRE-AMP models from that POD to achieve those, but you still need to make sure the cab/mic modeling is turned off. IMO, I would place the overdrive pedal in the effects loop of the HD... leave it on all the time and control it's on/off status in the chain by turning the FX Loop on/off. That way it can be programmed into patches as you want it. This always seems to become the way of thinking once we move to modeling... but very few gave it any thought prior. The vast majority of guitar players still plug a pedal board into the front end of an amp, and I'd say the majority of those boards have delays while a lower percentage will also have reverbs on them. Not many players with pedal boards take the time to setup a 4 cable method to make sure their delays and reverbs go in the loops yet with modelers 4 cable method is a hot topic. In a look back through history most of our guitar hero's used to run an echo plex, space echo, memory man, etc... into the front end of their amps. Even those old classic Fender Reverb Units (stand alone) used to get plugged into the front end of amps. The biggest impact on delays and reverbs is whether it is pre/post overdrive. If the amp is used as a clean platform it won't have a big impact providing those effects are after the overdrives on the board. If you run overdrive on the amps then the delays and reverbs take on a very different flavor and will need to be adjusted accordingly... like they had to in the good old days :)

Why take the word of a you tube video or try to decipher it? There is a sticky at the top of these forums. 2.8 will be released in the spring of 2019, and everything listed in the thread will be included. https://line6.com/support/topic/18284-helix-firmware-280-available-spring-2019/

I like the stock cabs, and I like some IR's... For my live tone(s) I found an IR that reminds me a lot of my old Fender Deluxe I used live for many years. Since I am comfortable with my tone I have little desire to change. Techs like my tone, crowd likes the music, musicians like my tone... why mess with it? For my studio tones (home studio and full studios) I prefer to experiment with the cab blocks more than IR trial and error. The cab blocks get what I am after every time.

You may have EXP set to 2 with a volume, but EXP 1 is still present at full value. I don't know for certain, but I suspect the "Pitch Wham" will automatically connect with EXP1 (like a wah does). Make sure that connection is completely removed so you don't get any unexpected changes with snapshots. Either that, or roll through every snapshot in that patch to make sure they are all set appropriately.

IMO... the Helix works great in front of old school amps.... and there is no reason why it wouldn't work great in front of the OP's JTM 45. A Helix will work into the front end of a JTM 45 just as well as a pedal board full of effects would... IMO, better than a pedal board full of effects would with a lot more flexibility. Here's the trick. Just use Helix as "effects only"... stay away from full amps and cabinet modelling. You can experiment with pre-amp models as "amp in the box" style effects if you want, that could add some flavors to your JTM 45. EG: A "who watt" preamp may be similar to placing a Catalinbread RAH in front of your amp while an Essex 30 preamp may be similar to a Wampler ACE30. The vast majority of guitar players still run a pedal board into an amp. They do not worry about effects loops and 4 cable methods... they just have a board loaded with x number of pedals, their guitar plugged into one end and the amp into the other. Modulations can sound great in front of amps, so can delays, so can reverbs. Just because you have every option of flexibility open to you with a Helix that doesn't mean you are forced to use them all when you take it out of the box :) The HX Effects is a great product... but why limit yourself if you want the full processing power of the Helix... which also has a built in expression pedal. Here are some benefits to buying what you really want from the start instead of compromising. As I already mention... it WILL work great as a pedal board in front of an old school amp... an extremely flexible pedal board at that. You can still use the amp modelling at home, either with headphones, studio monitors, hooked up to a computer, etc... etc... If you want to do any home recording or studio work... you will find many uses for all the features of the Helix. If you ever add an amp with an effects loop, you can take a shot at 4 cable method if you want If you ever decide to get an FRFR cabinet, you are ready! Just my 2 cents on the subject!

There are many ways to do it, but in the scenario I would place a "GAIN" block at the very end of the chain and set it to +3. Set your tone up with the block on (which is the loudest setting).... when you turn the block off it will decrease by 3db... use that for your regular parts, and turn the block ON for solo's. If you are feeding a PA system, make sure the input level at the PA is set with the block ON (the loudest setting). Any difference you hear in effects will be "perceived", not real with a 3db cut. With a volume pedal I can see it interrupting the tones through the sweep, but not a basic 3db drop.

Wouldn't that be two button pushes - LOL! Thanks for the reminder on that one.... I don't use it myself because although that clears the blocks it doesn't reset the entire patch. Any changes to the I/O blocks or Command Center are not cleared with that method. That's fine if you have never set those differently to begin with, but it's still something to be aware of. Since I don't use that method, I'm not entirely sure how it deals with snapshots either. My fear of just removing the blocks would be unpredictable results when adding blocks back in. Maybe that fear is unwarranted... but in the meantime I'll just overwrite patches with a clean template.

I leave it off... but I have a gain block at the front of every path and adjust the input with that. I find the gain block gives me more control (up or down) than a fixed pad level. EDIT TO ADD: Later in the thread... posted April 26th 2019.... I have changed my approach to this.

I would have thought I had all the firmware updates, but NO, I just have the Monkey and Workbench Updates. The only download they offer now for the 300 is version 3.1. Since that was released in 2006 I likely never had an option for an older version. Can I ask why you are looking to downgrade to an earlier version that won't have the bug fixes? I'm almost afraid to ask, in case I want to do it myself and can't :)