PeterHamm

I have a bank of patches for each guitar, basically.

That is dead easy, though. simply have the EXP control the output level of the amp or add a volume pedal to the chain of each. Then, one of the volume pedal blocks goes 0 - 100 and the other goes 100 - 0. Done.

Yeah, it will sound weak and shrill.

Guitar input. Turn the pad on if you need it, but only if you need it. Not everybody is reporting that it needs it.

I don't know that I'd trust it to a really cheap speaker, myself. I do know that a K10 or K12 can keep up with a drummer okay. If the Alto can get that loud and clean, probably. I would put it right in front of me just in case.

great minds think alike. I control a TON of different things with that EXP!

Yes, and to REALLY do it right, you want less presence in the dirty than the clean, maybe less treble, definitely less bass, and probably more mids. I even adjust SAG sometimes.

I do it on every single patch. EXP 1 goes clean to dirty, EXP 2 is volume, and EXP 3 is acoustic volume (I do two-voice, you can ignore that). I normally add a gain pedal or two so you can go from really sparkly clean to down and dirty in a moment. It's all here. Including links to patches. https://pietrosquared.wordpress.com/helix-2-voice-guitar/

And then I think... I compare what I'm able to get out of Helix right now with what I was doing a few months ago with HD 500. 3 times the price? Yup. 3 times the capability? Maybe more.

Easiest way... go to the block that has controllers you want to disengage... select the next effect up and then go back down. controller control is GONE... BUT you have to re-set to the settings you want... so maybe write them down first.

It will be easier to learn to program Helix than most other (all other?) similar devices. In a few days you won't need the manual at all, and the best way to get your sound is to roll your own. I find that the amps in Helix are VERY different from the amps in HD 500, so porting settings is not useful to me anyway.

What are you trying to use pitch bend data to do? Because you can't "bend the pitch" unless you put a whammy in there somewhere, and then you simply use the controller assigned to it.

1. You can have 8 FX going and not use every single one at the same time, but have a way to go to two totally different modulations or delays or some such. 2. At some point it stops sounding like a guitar? Yup. Sometimes that's the point. Especially for dual chain setups. Imagine a reverb that sounded like a synth pad. Very useful sometimes.

If you want a rugged cable with solid connectors, the Line 6 VDI cable works well for this. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VDI?adpos=1t1&creative=105744828601&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=CNXYlMSNhcwCFRIoaQodAKIFjw

I'd rather they did it right than did it fast. A few things to remember. Yamaha is not "helping" in the way you think they are. They own L6, but they are very hands-off. That is their M.O. with companies they own going back decades. If you are buying a piece of technology for what it might do someday, take your money and put it back in your pocket. (Of course, expecting new cool stuff from Helix is reasonable imho, too... but they've been working hard on that editor you all wanted so bad...) And... Line 6... speaking for the people who use this stuff for work... give us new models, amps, updates, etc. when they are really solid and ready, not before... do it right, it's what you do well. (And yes, I KNOW they are doing this, being a beta tester and all...

It shouldn't be doing that. One of the earlier beta builds did this for me, and when I reloaded it, it went away forever. Yes, it rebuilds them all the first time, but that's it. re-load the latest firmware.

Look, they won't/can't tell you what they are developing for the future. Always buy a piece of musical gear for what it can do for you as is, today. Not for what it might do in the future. And you can wait if you want to for "the next big thing"... that's fine, some of us need to make music today. Need the best tool for the job today. I wasn't upset when the HD 500 X came out, because I used my HD 500 for real work (for which I get paid) making music. I was delighted that when they did future upgrades, my HD 500 was still included. None of this is an investment. It's an expense. Even if you are a pro. An investment, by definition, grows in value. Gear doesn't unless it's vintage guitars, and that's even iffy.

Fixed it for ya. This is not an investment. It is an expense. I promise you that if the chip is discontinued in 3 years and they find another one that will work better, that L6 will work to bring out a unit that will do the same thing with more power for the same money if they can. But future plans? No, they aren't going to tell you that.

Some of what you want IS in there. It's just not called what you think it would be. I'm really happy with the delays in Helix myself.

...which is plenty, let's face it...

If the center of your system is a Helix, then maybe I would try to find a floor controller that integrates perfectly with it, even having scribble strips and lit-up LEDs that don't have to be programmed in some time consuming process, and-- wait just a minute... I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET ONE LIKE THAT! Sorry, not to be snarky, but after using Helix Rack with Control, I wouldn't use it any other way. If you can't afford control, then buy the floor unit instead of the rack, imho. And if you are really going to spend that much money on a controller JUST for Helix and maybe a few pedals in the loops, then you live in a different planet from me.

I am a delay addict and find nothing in the Helix to be lacking in this department actually.

I don't think it does the firmware update. Only the librarian/editor... or am I wrong...?

You don't want to do this. If you are using a floor controller, only Helix Control will do.

If you took two patches and loaded the same models of everything in, several of them need to be set so much differntly in Helix to sound like HD that it would not be worth it if you COULD easily just translate the data. A few notable examples? The Orange amp. It's great for some things, but I can't use it for my tone on Helix like I could on HD 500. It doesn't work for me at all. The Dr. Z and /13 work WAY better in Helix in terms of "cleaning up" than they did in HD 500 and are way way more useful to me now. And some delays and verbs work very differently. Some FX are so much better (U-Vibe) but have to be set totally differently to work for me. The short and long answers are both "no". Don't even try. Make new patches from scratch. It's easy and fun.