brue58ski

Are you connected to your computer via USB at the same time? That can cause hum although I think it would happen even when connected alone.

I just bought an MXR Talk Box to use with my Helix LT. I thought I could just run it in front of the helix like a regular pedal, but it doesn't work. I am not that proficient with setting up the Helix (just got it). Looking for directions on how to set it up from start to finish if anyone can help? From plugging it in an where (In front, effects loop, etc..), to inserting a patch if necessary. Thanks Talk boxes get their effected signal from a mic. Traditionally this mic gets it's signal from the amp. The MXR talk box does not work the way traditional talk boxes worked. Normally the traditional talk box took it's input directly from the amp's output. WHAT??? Yup, that's right. The sound you heard (reference Peter Frampton Do You Feel Like I Do (Live)) is the amp's speaker outputs going to a speaker inside the talk box and that internal speaker's sound goes to the tube that goes up to the mic. That tube goes into your mouth and has the speaker's audio coming out of it. That's right. It's just the audio the tube picks up from the talk box's internal speaker. The mic then picks up the altered sound coming out of the tube in your mouth. Your mouth, of course, creating the effect. The mic then goes out to the PA. It does NOT go back to the amp. That's the sound your hear. The mic picking up the tubes sound coming out of your mouth. The talk box then had a 1/4" output that (theoretcally) sent an unaltered signal back out to the speaker cabinet. So the effected signal comes from the mic going to the PA, NOT the cabinet. What all of this means is you need to have both the talk box AND the mic's output gong into your LT. The MXR talk box creates it's own "guitar amp' internally, so you don't have to hassle with that. BUT the effected signal is still only coming from the mic. The 1/4" output is just the uneffected guitar signal which you plug into the amp. The LT has no mic input so the only way to get the "effect" is to run the mic into an effect return block. You would then make the effect return block the input of the second path which is your talk box's effected output. To make this clear, going from your guitar to the talk box, to the Helix only gives you the guitar output gong into the Helix. The talk box's effected signal is from the mic, which gets it's signal from the noise created by the tube going into your mouth and your mouth changing it's shaped to create vowels. What you should wind up with is your amp with no talkbox signal on path 1 and your talk box mic signal on path 2. You can then craft the sound by mixing path 1's and path2's signal. Again, the talk box 1/4" output is just a continuation of the guitar cable. It has NONE of the talk box's effect in it. The whole effect's signal essentially comes directly from your mouth with the tube in it. The tube has the distorted sound coming out of it and going into your mouth. The mic picks that up and THAT is your effected signal. Hope this makes sense.

psarkinssian is the best.

Have you tried pressing down on the model selector knob. That's what you do to switch between the magnetic pickups and the models. If that doesn't work, there are instances of that knob being set up in such a way that in pressing the model selector knob down, it doesn't push the shaft down far enough to engage the switch. What many people have done )including me) is carefully take the knob off and put a piece of paper in the hole where the shaft of the pot goes in. That then lets it press down far enough to engage the switch in the pot. Hope this makes sense. When the models are engaged, the model selector knob will be lit, if it's using the magnetic pickups, it will be unlit. Good Luck

A little warning. When using the tuning function, the strings on the guitar remain in standard tuning. So if your playback speaker isn't loud enough, you will hear them along with the retuned guitar coming out of the speaker and you might think there is something wrong with the guitar. There are several threads where this has happened. And for the retuning to work properly, the guitar has to be tuned to standard tuning.

They do know of the problem. Here's what they say in the Helix firmware 3.15 release notes. I was the one that informed them of this. Or at least it didn't appear in release notes until I pointed it out. In some cases, the current Variax tone knob's position may not be recalled across preset changes What I have found out through my own trouble shooting is this. If the Helix's tone knob is at 0 or 10, it does seem to work, but at 0.1 or9.9, when you switch to another patch it maintains the previous patches Helix tone setting. If you press that patch's button again it will work. They know this. I created a ticket and gave them patches to show this phenomenon. It actually worked worse before so they have worked on it. Just didn't get it fixed. I agree they are letting me down. The reason I want to do it is for the acoustic models. In those, it acts like your moving the microphone up or down the neck so just putting an EQ in doesn't do the trick. Besides, this is the whole rig right? Helix and Variax. Everything you want a the press of a button. Very disappointing if they do not get this fixed. This has happend before. Line 6 has let other products bugs or unfulfilled promises remain until it was out of production. For example, I have a Variax bass that was supposed to have workbench support. It was in the sales literature. Never happened. That one still bugs me. The workbench integration is a big reason I chose to get a Variax bass. The JTV Varaix is advertised to work with the Helix. Not just mostly work. Why am i still with Line 6? Well, it's still really cool and I have also had great experiences with the support department. This next update is pretty big from what I gather so I fear the Variax tone knob issue will be forgotten about. If it's not fixed in Helix firmware 3.20 update, I will contact support again. The Helix has been out how long? I appreciate all the new improvements but it should work the way it's supposed to before that, shouldn't it?

Fire up Workbench HD call up a Les Paul body and replace the pickups with the ones in the video. He's using the neck pickup in the video. I cannot recall what they are but there are pickups that at least look like the ones he's using.

Yes this is a big one. They actually released some of it early (the last update). First I would say there is no normal. So having said that, it seems to take about 1 month usually after it goes into beta testing. In case you didn't know, this is when they use actual regular Helix users to run it through the gauntlet so to speak. It is not in beta testing yet. They are done programming and now Line 6 is testing it. After they are done it goes into beta testing. The 1 month time is a huge estimate. You just don't know since you don't know what will happen. That's why it's a big guess. You never know what bugs may come up. Maybe we'll get lucky and everything will have been done perfectly the first time. Based on my ability to be perfect, I would say that's not likely.

RE Update. I just found out they are not in beta testing yet. I now change my GUESStimate to be end of November to end of December. BIG guess since beta testing hasn't even started. Sigh.

Read this thread. Someone built an internal power supply with parts you can still get on Amazon. I have not personally tried it. It does seem a shame that the Variax was made with such a specialized power source. And even if I were to get my hands on several to last me till I throw loose the mortal coil, I believe they lose their viability anyway just sitting on a shelf so it does me no good to be proactive and get one to replace the I have when it wears out.

A Line 6 person once said something like the Variax is a labor of love. I take that to mean, they are currently commited to the Variax and they are still being made, but not many resources are dedicated to it. I love my Varaix. It may not sound exactly like the guitar it's modelling but I don't look at it that way. My Gibcon SG did not sound like a telecaster but I rewired it so that it could get close. And that was my SG's sound for that setting then. I didn't look at it like, here's an SG that sounds like this tele. It was just an SG with this sound that these pickups produce and I worked with that. I have a guitar that has way more variety of sounds than my SG did and they sound pretty close to a lot of guitars that are out there. My take is it's not a guitar that simulate another guitar, it's a guitar that sounds the way it does and that's all. It just happens to sound close to many guitars. In other words, don't get a Variax because it sounds like a strat or whatever. Get a Varaix because you like the way it sounds when it's on that strat setting. And let's not forget the workbench that can change the sound even more. I like it and use it all the time. Some of the best songs were created with what the musician had at the time, not what they would get if they had unlimited funds.

I found this There is a way to calibrate the wah pedal. Power off Put the pedal to the toe position Hold down BANK UP and switch the power on and wait a few seconds Press the AMP button Put the pedal to the heel position then all the way forward until the WAH light turns on Wait 10 seconds and power off and back on. That should give you the full range.

I think this aspect is one of the biggest ones. I'm guessing most beginning guitar players who go for modelling practice, learn at bedroom levels. There is a different feel let alone all of the other things that's there and you do have to play a little bit differently when playing louder. Just muting strings that aren't being played is different.

This is great info. Thank you!!

This is a stretch but I've seen people have issues with laptops that have an SD card in them. So, is it a laptop? Here's the quote from the thread... "Ok, this appears to be solved. I had an SD card in my laptop. I followed another user's suggestion from a different thread and ejected the SD card, and now HX Edit launches with no problems. Cheers." I know this isn't real helpful. Just trying to come up wth ideas.

Maybe install an older version of Workbench HD and then reinstall the lates version? Just an idea, I've never had to try it.

I take your word for it but the Pilot's Guide does say on page 4 when describing the 1/4" input to "Analog Output - Plug in a standard 1/4 inch guitar cable here.". Can you say why it is best when using the battery to use a TRS to plug into the amp?

It's my understanding that the Line 6 batteries have a microchip in it that is propriety to the JTV Variax. It regulates something. So if you get the wrong battery you could fry your guitar. If you want to be safe, you HAVE to get a Line 6 battery.

Yes to everything. When using the Variax power supply, you use a TRS to go from the Variax to the pedal. The guitar cable then goes from the pedal to the amp. And as I pointed out, there is also an XLR output on the pedal that you can use. And then yes, you use a standard guitar cable for the Variax when you are using batteries. If you have a JTV and the battery is dead, it will still have the magnetic pickups available. The Variax bass has no other options if the batteries die.

Have you posted other things? I've found out the hard way you have a limited amount of files you can post, and when you do it stays there, so you probably have to delete any attachments, photos, etc. that are in your profile if this is all true. Go you Profile and then My Attachments.

Yes. As I recall you had to have a smidge of silence between notes so it would "reset" itself and give you the fade in.

The one thing I'm dreading. I was hoping I could use my JTV Variax until I can't do anything physically anymore (if ya know what I mean). Now, once the JTV Variax batteries aren't in production anymore, I'm stuck with the VDI only or the magnetic pickups. There's a thread somewhere where they have come up with a power supply that will fit internally in the JTV. At least it worked for them. We'll see. what happens

1) I can't find any power supply's. Check this thread out about this issue and an internal power supply someone rigged up. 2) Workbench is for the original Variax. Workbench HD is for the JTV Variax's and all of their iterations. There is no Workbench for the Variax bass. It was promised but never delivered. 3) The Variax has two cable connections. A VDI cable for connection with other Line 6 devices. It can get it's power from those devices with the Variax input on them. The Helix is one. The 1/4" output is for connection to the amp in the normal way. This is also how it gets it's power from the power supply which appears like it is not being made anymore. I would strongly suggest the battery for the JTV Variax. Make SURE it's the Line 6 version and not some generic one. It could ruin it. If you can find a Line 6 XPS-AB Variax Cabled Power Kit pictured here, that has an XLR output that you can switch to a 1/4" output from the pedal there. (you can see the two indicator lights). This will power both the JTV Variax and the Varaix bass, not at the same time. But, again, I'm pretty sure they don't make them anymore. RE: The Variax bass. The bass is from the first version of the Variax. What this means is the same Cabled power kit will work, so you only need one if you're not using both bass and guitar at the same time. BUT the bass uses 6 AA batteries and not the Line 6 propriety battery that the JTV uses. I have a bass and I got 6 rechargeable batteries for the bass. 4) The best place for line 6 parts is on the Full Compass website. I looked and found no bass parts let alone piezo's. Bottom line, if you can't find any, yes it is useless then. The piezos are the only thing capturing the sound.. Hope this helps. If it's a little confusing, ask and I'll try to answer as best I can.

Thank you!!

I try not to say this too loudly but if you buy the things on the marketplace directly from the vendors, you don't have to deal with the "authorization" or license thing.