rd2rk

Details?

Did I hear a rumor that Yamaha is hiring programmers from the Microsoft Update team? (Insert emoticons for TERRIFIED! and tongue-in-cheek)

Unfortunately, rolling back to 2.53 UN-FIXES the S/PDIF dropout problem. OK if you don't use S/PDIF, not so much if you do (I do!). Hope they fix it soon. Or, they could eliminate the NEED for external tuners by fixing the D@#$%d Helix tuner.....

Me too!!! I have the floor model. They fixed the S/PDIF problem and broke the tuner! AARGH!!!

You've now heard from many of the most active members of this forum, who mostly agree that: 1) We don't KNOW/don't much CARE, because 2) We think that the defaults are what L6 considers the norm, and 3) No one from L6 is likely to answer your question on this forum Here's an idea - maybe you're asking in the wrong place? Why don't you open a support ticket and ASSERT YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW! I, for one, would LOVE to see how THAT turns out.....

The ways of the Dark Lords are mysterious, to be sure. But it is said: , Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. The choice is yours: to go (tweak) or wait!

I think that what we're all trying to say is that it IS straight-forward. If it sounds good, it IS good. If it doesn't, HELIX gives you the OPTION of tweaking things that you don't even have access to with a REAL amp. If you're looking for a definitive answer from Line6 about the defaults, forget it, ain't gonna happen. As to tweaking for hours to get a good sound on Monday that sounds awful on Tuesday, I blame barometric pressure differences and the alignment of the planets....

If you're using a Helix preamp only amp version into your Blackstar's fx return, try using a full amp, with and without cab. Logically, a preamp into your amp's return should be ideal, but I always thought that sounded thin and buzzy/fizzy.

Anytime you use a PC for sound applications, you need to optimize the PC for that purpose. That includes (but not limited to) setting the POWER PLAN for HIGH PERFORMANCE, turning OFF wireless (hardwire seems to be ok), and making sure in device manager that none of the USB hubs are allowed to turn off to save power. If you google PC AUDIO OPTIMIZATION you should come up with several articles on the subject. I know there's one on the Steinberg site, and most of the DAW sites will have at least one.

This goes to the question of why people buy a Helix. When I plug into a real amp, I tweak the front panel tone stack to taste, done. There are no DEEP parameters to mess with. Over time, I might try rolling tubes or swapping speakers/cabs, but the amp is what it is. Helix, of course, is reproducing a sound that reflects a mic'd amp, so regardless of the real world amp-in-the-room considerations, a user ALWAYS has to deal with that. Add that no two "identical" tube amps are going to sound exactly alike, and even if they did the sound would vary with the room acoustics, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, ear wax build-up...... Bottom line, Helix is NOT a real amp. There's no way that the engineers could possibly design it to sound like a real amp-in-the-room. If you're using it as a real amp-in-the-room (or even as a recording tool), they've provided the deep parameters so that a user can tweak it to sound as close to what the user THINKS that real amp in the room the user is in at the time SHOULD sound like. I watched an interesting Anderton's video last night in which a blind-folded Rob Chapman was asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, six $1000+ amps, all played thru the same Marshall cab. Being Chappers, he felt compelled to try to also identify the amps. He managed to correctly guess ONE, the Victory amp (surprise surprise, he liked it best), and he couldn't tell the difference between the REAL Victory and the Kemper profile! Could be the answer for anyone who wants the real amp-in-the-room experience is the Kemper (and a separate cab for each favorite profile), not the Helix? Me, I ain't got that kind of bread, so a tweaking I will go! If it sounds good, it is good!

There must be at least 3 postings on Ideascale asking for some form of metering or clip indicator. VOTE!

https://line6.com/allure/ Don't worry if you're already signed up, just put in your email and it'll download.

Globals/Preferences/PresetModeSwitches=Stomp/Snap Use CommandCenter to assign MIDI to switches 2-5. You'll need to set commands in each preset in which you want this functionality.

It isn't going to sound good with chords because it's not polyphonic, it's monophonic - tracks one note at a time.

Check this article: http://www.harmonycentral.com/articles/keyboardaftertouch Cubase may have a similar aftertouch filter. It sounds like the problem is in how Cubase deals with the incoming messages. When you select a preset manually on Helix, by default Helix sends CC#61. I've asked in a couple of places about this (including support), but no one has yet been able explain it's purpose. It's possible that Cubase interprets it as aftertouch? In this list of midi commands: http://www.nortonmusic.com/midi_cc.html the author says: "46-63 may be in use as the LSB for controllers 14-31 in some devices, but I have not seen one yet"

If you're looking for a good metal tone from the factory presets, you may be disappointed. However, Helix contains pretty much all of the amps from which the metal genre was created. Load up any of the high gain models, throw a Scream 808 in front of it and there ya go. Add one of the EQs for fine tuning. Just like the real world. Metal heads argue endlessly over which real-world amp is best for djent or doom or Swedish black doom death metal or whatever. It's all very subjective. Don't believe what anybody says, try it yourself. If you feel that you absolutely need presets, there's Customtone for free. If you've still got a few bucks left, Fremen has great sounding (to me) heavy presets. Worst comes to worst, as surfsup said, you can always return it.

Put this on Ideascale, I'll vote for it!

Considering that they acknowledged the problem 2 yrs ago, you're likely right about it being a hardware issue. One bad chip spoils the board! :rolleyes: What happens, though, if they admit it? Odds are it's not something that your local tech can just, you know, take out the bad chip and solder in a new one.

For the past 2 years......DOH! BAD ME! BE POSITIVE!

Opened a support ticket, with link and excerpts from this thread. Here's hoping......

I don't have an RC505, but MIDI is MIDI. I had a quick look at the manual, and it seems to have been written by someone who never actually USED MIDI. Not unusual. Here's how it MIGHT relate to how the Helix handles MIDI. Terminology: By "Channel" I assume you mean 'Track" By "Note" I assume you mean CC Value (vs CC#) By "Switch" you could mean either a switch that loads a preset, or a "Stomp" switch that sends a CC# and Value from within a preset When you load a preset, Helix will send CC messages assigned to Instant Commands (the lightning bolt), and any TOGGLING CCs assigned to Stomp switches. To send non-toggling CCs at preset load, assign them to Instant Commands. If you want to send non-toggling CCs from WITHIN a preset, assign them to stomps. The RC manual seems to indicate that the RC doesn't care about CC Values except when setting Levels. Which means that ANY value received on an assigned CC will reverse the state from it's previous state. But the author could be assuming that the Value will be either 000 or 127 without bothering to specify (author assumes that OF COURSE! Any fool knows that!). I've seen that before. Hope that helps. If not, tell me what SPECIFIC messages you used on the other devices and I'll try and see if I can figure it out.

The biggest problem with 4cm is lack of understanding of how and when to use it. If you like the sound of your tube amp and just want to use Helix effects with your current amp and 4cm, save yourself some bucks and get the new HX FX unit. If you want your current tube amp to sound like some other kind of amp, then see above for cruisinon2's comments (frfr is the way to go!).

Thanks Doug! I think this has been shuffled by L6 because so few people really use it. Maybe, if we keep up the pressure from all angles, they'll fix it. Think I'll head over to the Gear Page and post a link to this topic. I know that various L6 folks monitor the Helix thread there, maybe they'll have some info on the subject.

Yep, still happening in 2.50. This might be a good time for DI or one of the other L6 gurus to look into this for us.....

Google "MIDI Basics". Here's one result: http://tweakheadz.com/how-to-get-started-with-midi-and-the-difference-between-midi-and-audio-is-explained-along-with-many-other-core-concepts-for-building-a-home-recording-studio/ Could be TMI there. Here's the basic basics: Channels There are 16 MIDI channels. Channels allow you to send messages to specific devices in a MIDI setup. For instance, you could have your KPA "listening" on channel 1, a synth on channel 2 and another synth on channel 3. By using "Instant Commands" in the Helix Command Center, you could select a different preset (voice) on each by assigning different PC (Program Change) or CC (Continuous Controller) messages as needed. Channel 1=PC#032;Channel 2 = PC#079; Channel 3 = PC#002; etc. Program Change Used to select a specific preset or voice on the device listening on that channel. There are 128 PC#s available. Some devices respond to PC#s 001-128, some respond to PC#s 000-127. Helix/KPA uses 000-127. Continuous Controller Generally used to turn something on or off in a device preset, and/or to assign a value. CC#s and values range from 000-127. For instance, a specific CC# could turn a reverb on/off (usually, a CC VALUE of >064=ON and <64=OFF). A MIDI expression pedal might be assigned to a volume control with a certain CC#, and send values of minimum 000 to maximum 127. The KPA can use either PC#s OR CC#s to select presets, depending on whether you're in browse mode or performance mode. The Helix, by default, sends a PC# on the "Base" channel when you select a preset. 01A sends PC# 000; 02C sends PC#006. You can turn this behavior off in GLOBALS/MIDI, MIDI PC SEND, in which case only the PC/CC#s assigned to Instant Commands will be sent (and CC#61, don't ask why, nobody knows). Helix will also, when selecting a preset automatically send any toggling CC assigned to a button (not normal CC or NOTEs). At this time, there's no way to turn that behavior off, though that capability has been requested on Ideascale. There ya go, that's the basic basics as applies to the Helix/KPA. There's lots more, especially when you get into Synths (the TMI I spoke of), but this should get you started. HAVE FUN!