jackwagner

I did a Backup, Factory Reset, and Restore. No recurrence of the problem - so far. I will keep my eye on it. Thanks so much for the help! --jack

I will try that. Thanks for the suggestion. --jack

One more thing...I looked through all of the Global Settings to see if there was anything there that I thought could contribute to my issue, but didn't see anything. Oops, 1 more...I guess that I can try the Return jacks and Aux In to see if there's any difference. --jack

I'm having an issue with my Helix Rack that just started this week. I was using firmware version 2.82, but I upgraded to 2.92 last night and the problem is still there. I have my passive bass connected to Guitar In via a known good instrument cable. I have tried several cables just to be sure it's not a cable issue. I have the L/Mono 1/4" output connected to a practice amp (Ampeg BA-112 v2) and I have the XLR Left/Mono connected to a stereo power amp that is not powered on. Again, I have tried several cables just to be sure it's not a cable issue. The Helix Control is not connected. This configuration normally works with no issue. When I power on the Helix, it comes up with an empty patch, User 1, Patch 15, New Patch. The input block is set to Multi and the Gate is OFF; the output block is set to Multi; there are no other blocks. The Volume knob is set to 12:00. The problem is that when I play the bass, there's no output from the Helix unless I play very softly or until the note played decays until it's at low volume. It's as if there's a hard compressor or limiter in the Helix. When I play normally (fairly hard right hand technique) I hear a click when I play a note. When I hold the note, I will eventually get some output after the note decays past some threshold. The output meters with version 2.92 show this also. It's as if there is an active compressor or limiter. But the preset has nothing - other than the Input and Output blocks. This happens on my other presets also, I just switched to an empty preset for troubleshooting. After a while (5, 10, 20 minutes?), this issue goes away and all is normal. I don't do anything to make the issue go away, I just continue to play and scratch my head, lol. While the Helix is having the issue, cycling power doesn't help. It does the same thing when it restarts. It's not until the Helix resolves itself that I can cycle power and it works normally. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! --jack

I have a Helix Rack and use Reaper on my Windows 8 PC and I don't have the issue that you describe. I'm curious to know what your Helix preset looks like. Especially the input and output blocks. Also curious to know, in Reaper, which input source you're recording (hopefully not USB 7/8) and whether it's mono or stereo. Also in Reaper, what are the output port(s) on the Master track? Should be USB 1/2. Maybe you're recording the dry guitar output (USB 7/8) instead of the preset output. [EDIT]: Reading your previous reply, looks like you're recording USB 1/2 mono or stereo. Still would like to see your preset. Here's something that you can try that might help: On the PC, use Windows Media Player to play an mp3 or wav file that you're familiar with. With the Helix connected via USB, the audio should be routed to the Helix and the monitor speakers attached to it. Is that the case? Does it sound good? Meaning quality as you expect? If audio from Windows Media Player is going to your Helix and quality is good, open a new project in Reaper. Create a track and insert the same mp3/wav file into that track. Hi the play button in Reaper and compare the audio with the audio from Windows Media Player. It should sound the same. Another thing you can try is to arm the track for recording in Reaper and select Monitor Input by right-clicking on the arm button. Play your guitar and see how it sounds. If your preset's output block is Multi, you will want to change that to USB 1/2 in order for this to work. --jack

Thanks for the vid Nick. Interesting to see how others are getting results. --jack

I didn't think so. For the Actition to work, you'd probably have to get them to make a custom version for you. --jack

Too bad the CC message sent by the Actition controllers aren't editable. The 8-button version would be really good for this application. Maybe they will customize the CC messages for you?? I have the 4-button USB version (not used with the Helix) and it works very well. https://www.actition.co.uk/ Can the CC messages needed by the Helix to select snapshots be edited? --jack

I don't have any experience controlling the Helix via MIDI. I want to do the opposite - use Helix to control Ableton. I want to be able to select a specific Ableton Live set when I switch from Preset A to Preset B. Good luck, I hope to learn something by following this thread. --jack

I was playing around with the Helix as an audio/MIDI interface recently and decided to record an audio track to test it out. I found a version of Iron Maiden's 2 Minutes To Midnight without bass, so I loaded that into Reaper and played along. Here's a link to the result: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yDKHdWnU4JiXqZ7DLa5ahxXIdPUNwXb2/view?usp=sharing The tone is ok in the recording. I would probably tweak it a bit if I was going to really record with it. IMO, it sounds better live thru my amp/cab. I uploaded my preset to Line 6 CustomTone a while back. Here's the link: https://line6.com/customtone/tone/3182431/ Enjoy. --jack

At this point I would revise my comment to "the Helix is junk - as far as being a MIDI interface." I have opened a support ticket. We'll see what happens. --jack

I know I said earlier that I hadn't done that, but I have. In fact, that's where I started. That didn't work, so I decided to get the simpler configuration working and go from there. It simply doesn't work. And, if I have to turn MIDI Thru on to get MIDI IN data to go over USB to my PC/Laptop, then that's a deal breaker anyway. Perhaps so. Well, maybe. The configuration I'm testing isn't complicated. Yet, it simply does not work. I'm no MIDI guru, but I've been using it for many years to interface the equipment that I have. I saw an opportunity to improve on the technique that I use between songs to ensure that each piece of gear is properly configured for the next song on the set list. The Helix simply does not work in the capacity that I had hoped. Or even as a replacement for the AudioBox that I currently use. I'm not going to spend any more time on it. --jack

I tried your suggestions - which I appreciate very much. Still does not work. I have no issue with MIDI-OX on my Windows 8 PC or laptop. When I substitute the AudioBox for the Helix, MIDI-OX works. I use Ableton Live. I have been using it for years with my AudioBox, PK-5A and Juno-G. I started this experiment with the Helix in an attempt to simplify the actions that I have to take to change things for each song. This is a very basic test: can I get MIDI data from my PK-5A into my PC. The answer so far is no. BTW, I'm not even trying to send any MID data from my PC back through the Helix (USB) and then on to the Juno-G (MIDI Out) yet. That's cool. I have tried the configuration you suggest and I do see data at MIDI-OX. BUT, not consistently. And for my configuration, I cannot have the Helix's MIDI Thru ON. Because that will send the MIDI IN data directly to MIDI OUT, right? That's not going to work for me. And even in that configuration, I miss some MIDI data. I can press a pedal on the PK-5A and get nothing at the Juno-G and MIDI-OX. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. That's not good. I haven't tried the Helix with Ableton. I figured that I would start with a VERY basic test and go from there. The Helix as an audio/MIDI interface simply does not work for me. The AudioBox does. I plug it in and it works. Just like it should, no muss no fuss. Thanks for all your help and suggestions, I really do appreciate it. I might still try, but a basic test like this should really just work. --jack

Update: I updated the firmware on my Helix Rack and Controller to v2.70.00. It changed things a little. In Global Settings -> MIDI/Tempo, I set MIDI Base Channel = 1; MIDI over USB = ON; MIDI THRU = OFF. My external MIDI controller (Roland PK-5A) is setup to transmit on MIDI Channel 1. I am running the MIDI-OX application on my Windows 8 PC and I have configured the Input device as "Line 6 Helix" and the Output Device as "LoopBe Internal MIDI." I chose "LoopBe" as the output because this is how I sometimes connect to my DAW and I just wanted to test whether I could receive MIDI data on my PC. In this configuration, when I press a key on the PK-5A, I get nothing in MIDI-OX. I also experimented with setting the MIDI Base Channel to 2 (and other values) and changing the MIDI channel my controller. No change in behavior. If I change MIDI THRU to ON, I start to see Note On and Note Off data in MIDI-OX. However, it is very sporadic. At times I see the Note On and Note OFF data in MIDI-OX. Other times I will see only the Note On. Other times I see nothing at all. When I set the Output Device to "Line 6 Helix" on MIDI-OX, I see a ton of MIDI Note On, Note Off data scrolling in MIDI-OX. I suspect there is a MIDI loop creating this result, but I don't understand why - MIDI THRU set to ON should not create this type of loop. When I substitute the Presonus AudioBox in for the Helix, I get the results I expect: For every Note On/Off sent from my controller, I get 1 Note On/Off in MIDI-OX and then I receive the note at the device connected to the MIDI Out of the AudioBox. The behavior is as expected when setting the MIDI-OX Output Device to "LoopBe" or "Line 6 Helix" with no weird MIDI loop. Based on this, my conclusion is that the Helix is junk - as far as being an audio/MIDI interface. This makes me sad. --jack

MIDI Over USB is ON, but MIDI Thru is OFF. I don't want MIDI thru for this configuration. Any insight into your setting would be great. Ok, I will try that. Thanks, --jack

My PK-5A is transmitting on MIDI channel 1. I checked the Helix Base Channel and it is also 1. I changed the Base Channel to Omni and other setting with no change. Thanks, --jack

Hi, Thanks for the help. I'm sure that MIDI-OX is setup correctly with no filters, etc. I have been using it for years with my other audio interface (AudioBox). When I swap out the Helix for my AudioBox, I simply change the MIDI input/output ports on MIDI-OX and I can see the MIDI data from my controller. I read something here in the forums about Active Sensing that may be an issue. I'm certain that the Roland PK-5A is sending Active Sensing messages. I can see it with MIDI-OX when the AudioBox interface is used instead of the Helix. I will search for more info on that, but otherwise I'm stuck. --jack

I'm trying to use my Helix Rack as an audio/MIDI interface. I have an external MIDI controller (a Roland PK-5A) that I connected to the Helix Rack via a MIDI cable and the Helix is connected to my laptop via USB. My laptop is running Windows 8 and I am running an application called MIDI-OX to monitor MIDI data. So far, I am unable to get any MIDI data from my controller to the laptop. I am running Helix firmware 2.60 and the USB driver is v 1.91. When I substitute my other audio interface (Presonus AudioBox), I am able to see the MIDI data that I expect on MIDI-OX (I have been using the AudioBox for years.) The "MIDI Over USB" global setting is ON. I am certain that I have the MIDI cables connected properly. When I turn "MIDI over USB" OFF and "MIDI Thru" ON, I get MIDI data out of the Helix - not to my laptop over USB, but rather out the Helix MIDI OUT port. I have tried booting the Helix and then connecting the USB cable to the laptop, and also booting the Helix with the USB cable already connected (I read this is a thread here). The results were the same - no MIDI data over USB. What am I doing wrong? Thanks, --jack

I haven't used my Helix as an Audio/MIDI interface yet, but plan to try it soon. I plan on using the USB interface to connect it to my PC. I'm a bit leery of this though since the USB connection seems to drop out when I use the HX editor. Regarding controlling Ableton with the Helix...How are you planning to do this? I'm going to explore selecting an Ableton Live Set via the Helix and I'm not sure how to accomplish that yet. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks, --jack

I'm a little late to this party, but here's my $.02: I've had a Helix Rack for a year or so. I use it as a preamp and send the output to a Carvin DCM3000L power amp and then to an Ampeg 810e speaker cab. I use it for live sound only, no recording. I setup my presets to have a separate output path that can be sent to FOH. Sometimes the sound guy just gets the same feed I send to my power amp and he's ok with that; other times they want a separate feed so I can tweak the eq that I send to them. I play in loud metal/rock bands, mostly tributes to Rush, Iron Maiden, and Godsmack. I have experimented with setting up presets for a DAW, but that's not how I use the Helix. I normally find that the Woody Blue (Acoustic 360) is the best starting point for the tone I want. I've tried others, but this one seems to work best for me. I also use a free IR that I downloaded from the web site "Studio Nord Bremen" called "Ampeg V4-B_TE_sm7.wav". That combination works well for me. And, yes, I use an IR even though I run into a real speaker cab. To me, the sound is way too boxy and wimpy without the IR. See my response above for what I use. I have found that setting up a preset for live sound is much more difficult than for headphones and/or DAW. And I haven't been successful with getting a good bass tone with the built-in amp and cab blocks. Without an IR, my results have been very poor, boxy and wimpy sounding. Possibly the Quilter Bass Block 800?? --jack

I use a small rolling suitcase as a gig bag for cables and such. The controller fits nicely in there. --jack

For that tone, I would start with the Woody Blue (Acoustic 360) bass amp. Add the Obsidion 7000 (Darkglass B7K) before it but don't add too much gain. You will also probably want to use an IR instead of one of the built in cabs. YMMV, --jack

Here's a pic of the preset I used to test the Pitch Wham. I started with an empty preset and added just the Pitch Wham. --jack

I will do that next time I'm working on it. Pry in a few days. Ghost note. Hmm. I first noticed it and band rehearsal, where I could hear the original note in the PA. All of my troubleshooting was done at bedroom volume tho. I will try again keeping that in mind. Thanks for all the feedback, --jack

I have a preset that uses the Pitch Wham. It doesn't behave the way that I expect or the way that I've seen it used in some videos. The issue is that I can hear the original pitch, even when I set the Mix to 100%. In trouble shooting, I started with an empty preset and added only the Pitch Wham block. I connect my bass to the Guitar In and connect a cable from the 1/4" Out L/Mono connector to a combo amp. I have a Helix Rack and Control, but for this test, I disconnected the Control. On the Pitch Wham block, I set Position to 100, Heel Pitch to 1, Toe Pitch to 1, Mix to 100. When I play a note, I can hear the original pitch and the shifted pitch. Firmware version 2.30. Any ideas? --jack