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rd2rk

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Status Replies posted by rd2rk

  1. I appreciate your patience responding to a never ending flow of ideas on how the guitar amp modeler and effects world should rotate. The requirement of gain staging in the analog world has no or little necessity driven counterpart in a digital modeler like Helix. After one makes sure the signal level between modeling elements does not cause unwanted digital artifacts (excessive magnitude difference induced rounding errors), all what’s left to consider is whether a chosen input signal level to a model (selected by a preceding model’s output level) combined with the model’s parameter setting creates a desired effect. There is unprecedented freedom to exploit a model’s capability that did not exist in the analog world, simply because careful gain staging was a requirement to keep a lid in unwanted noise and distortion originating from excessive low and high signal levels. Happy to read your helpful posts when I would have given up to say anything. I sometimes wonder though if someone would have actually read the manual or just listened to his ears if nobody responded ...

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      Thanks for your kind words. I try to be helpful, but I think on this one the kudos go to DunedinDragon.

      I try to stick to topics that have objective solutions - physical routing, MIDI and such.

      On subjects like this - "How do I make it sound good?" my best advice is RTM and "twiddle the dials until it sounds good" as my best sounds have come about quite accidentally through doing just that. The parallels between modelers and the analog world really are remarkable, and most users would do well not to overthink it.

       

      It's a toy. Have fun! And, as the great man said, "Shut up and play yer guitar!"

  2. You had previously helped me work on the problem of my PowerCab+ not acting on the presets that I had set on my Helix LT.  So it would not switch to the speaker that I had chosen for the particular preset.  

     

    You suggested that I set the PowerCab to New Preset and that the PowerCab would switch to whatever speaker I had chosen on the Helix.  

    I tried this and, initially, I thought it worked but after I went to a rehearsal I discovered it the PowerCab+ did not make the speaker changes to reflect what I had programmed on my Helix LT.

    At the rehearsal I didn't seem to have the right sound for my Taylor acoustic.  I went and manually changed the PowerCab to Flat and it was clear that what I had thought was Flat wasn't.  By leaving the PowerCab set on New Preset it actually defaulted to the Vintage Speaker.

     

    There has to be something that I'm doing wrong.  Would appreciate any help

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      There's two things in play here. How the PC+ responds to your Helix Presets, and how it handles the HF Driver/HF Trim setting.

       

      When you set the PC+ preset to NEW PRESET it turns OFF the HF Driver, and that, for some reason that the programmers need to work out, allows the PC+ to respond properly to Helix presets by turning ON/OFF the HF Driver as appropriate. When the PC+ is on an FRFR preset, it doesn't work correctly in response to Helix presets.

       

      The other thing is what the Helix preset sends to the PC+. If you're using L6 Link, if you configure the Helix preset to be in Speaker mode, the PC+ will be in Speaker mode, UNLESS you also have a MIDI cable connected and have not turned OFF (in Global Settings>MIDI) the PC SEND setting. This would cause the Helix to send the default PC (Program Change) message to the PC+, overriding whatever the Helix preset sent.

       

      If this is not your case, take a screenshot of the Helix Powercab configuration settings. I'd have you attach the actual preset, but I'm away from my Helix and won't be back for a week or two.

    2. (See 1 other reply to this status update)

  3. Hey man, you seem to be the reference when it comes to Helix/HX Stomp and Midi operation. I have a major problem and it's making me crazy right now. I've tried to narrow it down to finally be able to tell why it's misbehaving, but with no luck... Is there a chance you could give me your opinion? I'll try to lay out my problem and make it as clear as possible....

     

    So I have my HX Stomp setup with about 60 presets (1 song = 1 preset). That one is set to be on Channel 6 (Base channel).

     

    Then I have a midi foot controller, that has 4 switches. It's the Source Audio Soleman. I use it with panel mode, and I put it on Channel 4. It's got only 64 possible panels. So I made several song-specific panels, but also several generic panels to be able to save on the real-estate for future use. 


    So my HX stomp is connected to the Soleman with midi. So... HX Stomp MIDI OUT to Soleman MIDI IN. 

     

    So the goal of this setup is to select a preset on HX Stomp and then the Soleman would automatically go on the right panel for the chosen song. 

     

    So, for all of my presets on the HX Stomp, I went in the Command Center, and programmed all of the PC messages to make this work. It's VERY simple stuff. I understand and know MIDI fairly well. And when programming these, I always did it on Snapshot #1 and SAVED my presets on Snapshot #1, so I'm always certain that the PC message is going to get sent every time that I go change songs on HX Stomp.

     

    Now the problem is this:  it works for like.... 53-54 songs out of 60. Go on Preset #0 on the Stomp, and then it calls the right one on the Soleman, then go to #1, #2, etc. It all works fine,  but THEN.... When I get to specific presets on the Stomp, it sends the PC message like it's supposed to, but then the Soleman stops answering to midi messages. I try to go to other presets on the Stomp to try others, but the Soleman doesn't do anything. It's not frozen, because I can go and do things on it, but it's just NOT receiving midi anymore. Even with the HX Stomp presets that were working just before hitting that "faulty" preset.... The only way to get going again is to unplug the Soleman and make it work again.

     

    I hope this is clear enough... It's hard to get someone to understand what kind of problem I'm dealing with. I haven't played my guitar in a 10 days trying to figure this lollipop out. I'm getting very sick of it. 

     

    Just before you ask, I tried doing a factory reset on my HX Stomp, and it was wondering flawlessly with the factory presets (with the PC commands added). So that's why it's making me think that the problem lies with the Stomp and not the Soleman. 

     

    Anyway, any help is welcome. Thanks buddy! 

     

     

     

     

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      If the HXS sends the Soleman a PC message that causes the Soleman to send a PC message to the HXS which causes the HXS to send a PC message to the Soleman.......OR if the Soleman sends a Snapshot Change message, that would re-trigger the Instant Commands re-sending the Program Change message.......

       

      I'd check the way those panels are set up, then check the way the HXS presets are set up and, using a MIDI Monitor, verify what each is sending when. MIDIOX (FREE) is a great MIDI Monitor. Just be sure to set it to Decimal instead of Hex. Even if you read Hex, I don't, so it won't help me to help you.

       

      If everything is sending the way it's supposed to, there's no MIDI loops being created, and it's always the same Soleman Panels/presets causing the problem, it may be that the Soleman is either mis-configured or flat out defective.

       

      You might want to check if there's a FW update for the Soleman, it may be a known issue that FW could resolve.

    2. (See 4 other replies to this status update)

  4. Hey man, you seem to be the reference when it comes to Helix/HX Stomp and Midi operation. I have a major problem and it's making me crazy right now. I've tried to narrow it down to finally be able to tell why it's misbehaving, but with no luck... Is there a chance you could give me your opinion? I'll try to lay out my problem and make it as clear as possible....

     

    So I have my HX Stomp setup with about 60 presets (1 song = 1 preset). That one is set to be on Channel 6 (Base channel).

     

    Then I have a midi foot controller, that has 4 switches. It's the Source Audio Soleman. I use it with panel mode, and I put it on Channel 4. It's got only 64 possible panels. So I made several song-specific panels, but also several generic panels to be able to save on the real-estate for future use. 


    So my HX stomp is connected to the Soleman with midi. So... HX Stomp MIDI OUT to Soleman MIDI IN. 

     

    So the goal of this setup is to select a preset on HX Stomp and then the Soleman would automatically go on the right panel for the chosen song. 

     

    So, for all of my presets on the HX Stomp, I went in the Command Center, and programmed all of the PC messages to make this work. It's VERY simple stuff. I understand and know MIDI fairly well. And when programming these, I always did it on Snapshot #1 and SAVED my presets on Snapshot #1, so I'm always certain that the PC message is going to get sent every time that I go change songs on HX Stomp.

     

    Now the problem is this:  it works for like.... 53-54 songs out of 60. Go on Preset #0 on the Stomp, and then it calls the right one on the Soleman, then go to #1, #2, etc. It all works fine,  but THEN.... When I get to specific presets on the Stomp, it sends the PC message like it's supposed to, but then the Soleman stops answering to midi messages. I try to go to other presets on the Stomp to try others, but the Soleman doesn't do anything. It's not frozen, because I can go and do things on it, but it's just NOT receiving midi anymore. Even with the HX Stomp presets that were working just before hitting that "faulty" preset.... The only way to get going again is to unplug the Soleman and make it work again.

     

    I hope this is clear enough... It's hard to get someone to understand what kind of problem I'm dealing with. I haven't played my guitar in a 10 days trying to figure this lollipop out. I'm getting very sick of it. 

     

    Just before you ask, I tried doing a factory reset on my HX Stomp, and it was wondering flawlessly with the factory presets (with the PC commands added). So that's why it's making me think that the problem lies with the Stomp and not the Soleman. 

     

    Anyway, any help is welcome. Thanks buddy! 

     

     

     

     

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      So, the HXS BASE Channel is 6. It transmits and receives on MIDI Channel 6 UNLESS, in Command Center, you specifically tell it to transmit a message on a DIFFERENT channel.

       

      The Soleman is set up to RECEIVE on CH6 (or OMNI (ALL)), else it wouldn't hear the HXS at all, so I have to assume that it's SENDING on CH4.

      .

      The purpose of the Soleman (I just had a quick look at the manual) is to SEND a bunch of MIDI messages when triggered by a Program Change message. Where are you sending those messages?

       

      I ask because I'm wondering, why do you need the Soleman at all? From what I see in the manual, it doesn't do anything that the HXS can't do from Command Center.

       

      I'll have a further look at the manual later when I have some more time, and maybe the answer to the above question will help me track down the problem.

       

       

    2. (See 4 other replies to this status update)

  5. HEYO! You ok?  Hadn't seen you on in awhile.  Couldn't figure out how to DM someone.

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      Thanks for your concern!

      Away from home taking care of family stuff. Other than being in Michigan (AARRGH!) I'm OK.

      Hope to be home soon!

    2. (See 1 other reply to this status update)

  6. I bought a PODHD500 second hand a while back and have been trying lately to use it for recording purposes. It tells me I need to update the drivers. it always says Update Successful, but when my Mac restarts the driver didn't update. I don't have issues like this ever with anything else. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      This would best be posted on the POD HD thread.

      I sold my HD500 long ago and replaced it with Helix.

      I don't have a MAC (PC guy), but based on other posts I've seen, I'd guess it's an OS/Driver compatibility issue.

      Again, try the POD HD thread, and provide HW/OS details.

      Good Luck!

  7. I had been using an Alto TS210, which sounded OK. I just got the Headrush 112, sounds MUCH better. If the money becomes available, I intend to try the new L6 speaker for comparison.

     

    Can you clarify that? I could be wrong but I thought they were almost the same thing just a repackaged version for Headrush.  I'm looking at both of these 2 models. 

    1. rd2rk

      rd2rk

      If you look at the specs for the Alto TS212 vs the Headrush 112 they're quite different in power and SPL. Only the plastic shell is the same. The voicing is different due to having a different speaker and horn.

       

      I can't speak to how the TS212 sounds vs the HR 112, since I have the TS210, but my perception is that the HR 112 sounds much better than the TS210, with much less of the "nasty", "fizzy" sound that takes so much EQing to smooth out. That is to say, for instance, most of the Fremen presets that I use sound better "out of the box", and it just seems easier to create a new preset that sounds good.

       

      As always, YMMV, but I'm quite happy with the Headrush.

    2. (See 1 other reply to this status update)

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