rd2rk

I can't seem to find it. The full amp comes after the fawn in that list, but fawn is the last pre that appears on my unit. Is there a Black Panel Pete Pre?

OOPS! Don't know how that post got into this thread but I've reposted it to the proper place.

If you set up a blank preset, you can use the pod as a midi controller for amplitude or any other sim that is midi enabled. I have a whole set list set up for just this purpose. You're limited to the 64 pc#s that are sent by default from the pod, but you can control 8 fx and use the pod's exp pedal and toe switch to control wah and other continuous controller fx like using a real effect (on/off with toe switch) which is otherwise difficult to do in sims. There's also a way to mimic two-way communication with the sim, causing the on/off status of the sims fx to be reflected by the pod's LEDs both on load and during operation. I'm on the road till Thursday and typing on my iPhone is annoying, but if you're interested in the how-to let me know and I'll give you the details then.

If you set up a blank preset, you can use the pod as a midi controller for amplitude or any other sim that is midi enabled. I have a whole set list set up for just this purpose. You're limited to the 64 pc#s that are sent by default from the pod, but you can control 8 fx and use the pod's exp pedal and toe switch to control wah and other continuous controller fx like using a real effect (on/off with toe switch) which is otherwise difficult to do in sims. There's also a way to mimic two-way communication with the sim, causing the on/off status of the sims fx to be reflected by the pod's LEDs both on load and during operation. I'm on the road till Thursday and typing on my iPhone is annoying, but if you're interested in the how-to let me know and I'll give you the details then.

With the Firewire interface and a total of 3 inputs (with spdif) he'll probably want to stick with the Safire.

Just plug the spdif from the POD to the Safire and you're good to go!

A MIDI signal consists of specific data. Whenever I troubleshoot a MIDI transmission problem I want to know what that data is. Obviously, the signal is getting messed up somewhere along the line, where and how? If the problem is in the POD, you'll need to contact Support, and they'll probably want to know this stuff.

Get a MIDI Monitor so that you can see exactly what's being sent - MIDI-OX is great and FREE (unless you've got a MAC, then you'll have to search for a compatible MIDI Monitor). Without being able to see exactly what's being sent, we'd just be guessing - unless there's someone here who's had that exact problem?

MIDI SEND and MIDI RECEIVE are separate functions. What the HD SENDS via MIDI is not related to what it does when it is CONTROLLED by MIDI. Two separate worlds. The SEND MIDI function will remember what it last sent REGARDLESS of what you tell that FS to do via external controller. Also, whether the FS SENDS 0 or 127 has no bearing on the LED status. If you SAVE the preset with that FS ON, it makes no matter what you've set the FS to SEND. I use this behavior to create a faux 2 way communication between the HD and software amp sims. I save the preset in the sim with desired fx on or off, then I put dummy fx (noise gates) in the HD's fx blocks, set ON (LED LIT) or OFF (LED OFF) to correspond to the sw fx states when the sw preset loads. I then set the MIDI values on the HD's pedals (ON/OFF) that I want to send when I use the HD to select the sw preset (via HD default Program Change). SW FX saved ON, HD sends ON with Program Change, next press of the corresponding pedal sends OFF. SW fx SAVED OFF, HD sends OFF with Program Change, next press of the corresponding pedal sends ON, The LEDs on the HD reflect the status of the sw fx not because there's any true interaction, it's just the way they're saved with the HD Preset. So, to answer your question directly, no, there's no way (I know of) to do what you're trying to do.

Oops - he's talking about the controller - Never Mind!

Zap - I'm sure you meant standard 3 prong AC cable?

I sold an ME-80 to get my POD. No contest.

If you're flat out broke, you make do with whatever you got (got a stereo?). If you've got toy money (you paid $500 for a POD, for chrissake!), you look a little higher. If you've aspirations for future recording, you'll definitely want decent playback monitors. How bad are the Behringers? They'd have to be pretty bad to sound worse than typical computer speakers!

I have an HT-5C and Rokit6 monitors. I much prefer the sound of the HT-5C (the 12" version) The power amp tube is a 12BH7, long used in HiFi amps. When used for the power amp only (HD 1/4" out to HT fx return) it adds that tube something,real guitar amp feel to the HD's sound. If you get a chance to try before you buy, be sure to try all modes. I prefer Studio Direct. If you run 4CM through the clean channel it sounds decent, but the OD channel sounds awful (my opinion), and the ISF is NBD. The Rokit speakers sound good, and get way loud, but I really have no way to compare them to what you've got.

I certainly hope so! Without broccoli in their signal chains, American children will no longer be able to create healthy Rock'n'Roll!

Will there be a Helix on the Helix? Who owns the rights to the name.....

That is correct. Trick is to set the CC values for what you want your device to do when it loads. If you want something to be ON, set that CC with the ON value.

Save the preset ON THE HD. Then switch presets, switch back, and then check the settings ON THE HD. Some people find HD Edit indispensable, I find it annoyingly quirky. Also, if you're going to send output from MidiOx, please go to OPTIONS/DATA DISPLAY and un-check MONITOR OUTPUT:HEX so that we can have human readable data to look at!

Duncann - Yes, I too thought the ordering of the messages sent was rather odd. From Program Change on it simply mirrors the physical layout of the board, and since it'll only send the one type of message (toggling CC), the order seems designed so that you can view the entire array of buttons as a 10 space pedalboard. Including the Looper and TAP buttons in that view is problematic, as the Looper button continues to activate the Looper function, and they can't be set up in the same way as the FS buttons in the previously mentioned faux bi-directionality scenario, so best to look at it as an 8 space pedalboard (FS1-8) with a toe activated expression pedal (or 2). However, for the life of me I can't figure the utility of sending ANY messages BEFORE the Program Change. Anyone from Line6 got any clues on the engineering logic behind that?

Maybe we're not talking about the same thing. First, the MIDI signals I'm talking about are sent from the HD preset you're changing TO, not the one you're changing FROM. Second, The HD preset you're changing TO has to have a MIDI command saved to at least one FS in the preset for it to work. There's nothing automatic about it, except for the hard wired PC# for that setlist position, which there's no way to PREVENT from being sent. Third, the only type of MIDI command the HD will send when switching TO the preset (other than the hard wired PC#) is a TOGGLING CC. Fourth, if I'm correctly reading the transcription of the messages you're getting from ReaControl, it's not even showing the hard wired PC#, which is ABSOLUTELY sent when you press the button. Maybe there's some configuration setting in ReaControl that you're missing? I'm not just testing a theory with a monitoring tool. I specifically set this up to use with my many amp sims, to duplicate the way the FCB1010 with UNO works in Stompbox Mode. That is, when loading a preset (in an amp sim such as Amplitube or Guitar Rig), you can turn the preset's effects ON/OFF in any configuration you like AS THE PRESET LOADS, then control the effects live, all the while having the ON/OFF status reflected by the LEDs on the board (additional setup steps required) AS THOUGH you've got bi-directional communication going on. This works. I know it does, because I USE IT everyday! Might I suggest that you try actually setting up a preset on the HD as I've described, and testing the results with MidiOx? It's FREE..... Better yet. I just uploaded the "Tone" to Customtone. It's called "Test MIDI" and it's in the POD HD500X area. You may still need MidiOx to properly test it, but you're halfway there! If you decide to try MidiOx, when the program opens you need to do two things before you try the preset: 1) When the Monitor screen opens it will display "Opened Midi Input". On the menu go to OPTIONS/MIDI DEVICE. Highlight your MIDI interface and click OK. The Monitor screen will say "Closed Midi Input" then "Opened Midi Input" 2) On the Menu go to OPTIONS/DATA DISPLAY and uncheck MONITOR OUTPUT: HEX. That will cause MidiOx to display in human readable numbers instead of Hex.

If the Helix MIDI implementation functions like the HD, the user programmable MIDI settings (saved per preset, not global) only affect external devices. Internally the unit always sends whatever it is that it needs for it's own function.

Using MidiOx (or the MIDI Monitor in Bidule or the VST MIDI Monitor that I plug into Sonar, Live9 or Cantabile), in ABCD mode, Preset 7D, with all pedals, footswitches, looper buttons etc MIDI set BLANK (on the HD,MIDI Channel [knob 1 in MIDI setup mode] set to NONE blanks all FS settings) except for FS1 which is set to Toggle CC#001 with a Value of 0, pressing FS D in Bank 7 to select Preset 7D sends the default value of PC#27 AND CC#001 with a Value of 0. If you get a different result using that setup, then we're operating in different dimensions. Now, maybe you're using Line6 Demo presets or something, and they've pre set the MIDI values to what you're getting. But if you configure it as I described - all but one FS BLANK, and the one FS set to toggle a CC#, selecting the preset WILL return the default PC# and the ONE CC# that you configured with the saved value (0 or 127). If you set ALL the FS values BLANK, you'll get ONLY the default PC#. I never use HD Edit, as I find it annoyingly quirky to the point of uselessness.Have you actually looked, on the HD itself, at what's in the MIDI settings for the preset you're testing? Reading over, I apologize if I sound testy. It's been a LONG day.

When you press a preset button, it sends the PC# hard coded to that button. It also sends whatever CC#s you have assigned to the other buttons in that preset. So, if your amp can be switched using a CC#, then you should be able to assign the CC# needed to switch the amp to, say, button 1. Set it to Toggle with the value needed to make the change {just assign the one button, unless you need the amp to do other CC controllable stuff at the time of loading the preset.). Since you're not actually using the assigned button, the POD will always send the assigned value and, since the MIDI configuration is saved with the preset, you can move it around with no problems. If, however, your amp requires a PC# to switch then you're S.O.L., since it won't send a second, user defined PC#.

G.A.S. aside, I've already decided. 6 months from now this forum will be filled with opinions, the initial bugs will mostly be worked out, and there'll be sufficient stock in the supply chain. I'll get a Helix from Sweetwater and, if it sounds as good as BIAS and S-Gear, I'll keep it and sell the HD. Simplicity and true zero latency rules in the outside world. If not, it goes back! Meantime I'm using (at home) a hybrid setup with the HD, BIAS, S-Gear and an i5 laptop. The sims are loaded into Cantabile and controlled by the POD and a Korg nanoKontrol (S-Gear). I've figured out how to simulate the FCB1010/UNO Stompbox mode setup, where the HD's LEDs mimic bi-directionality, reflecting the status of the FX in either Amplitube or TH2, before or after BIAS and S-Gear, as required. Works good, sounds good. Pop in an instance of EZDrummer, I'm a virtual one man band (might EZKeys be in my future? Another G.A.S. attack! When will the blighters let us be?)!

Why is the MIDI PC# relevant? Are you trying to control an external amp sim? Or trying to control the POD from an external controller? Or....?