cruisinon2

Try another USB port, and if you're using a hub, ditch it... they cause problems sometimes.

How do you tell if a drummer is knocking on your front door? ... the knocking speeds up. ;) They should all play to a click...I spent years practicing with a metronome. Still do, actually. It ain't that hard... Many moons ago I auditioned for an all-original band...90's rock radio kinda stuff. Learned 6 or 8 tunes for the audition. The drummer sped up noticeably on every chorus of all the tunes. After the 3rd or 4th song, I mentioned it (tactfully)... his response: "Are you sure it's not you guys?" God as my witness, that's a true story. Haven't laughed that hard since...

I'd call your Sweetwater sales rep... they are nothing if not responsive. As long as it's still under warranty, they will respond quickly. I've dealt with them before, and they're very good that way... not that L6 isn't, I've gone directly to them for service too, and was treated very well...but I'll bet money that you'll get a quicker answer from Sweetwater. They're obsessed with customer service... weird in today's world. Good, but weird, lol

New record! Resurrection of a thread that has fermented for 4 years, 2 months, and 15 days...

Well that's not really the case... boomy low end and fizzy highs are common complaints when switching to an FRFR rig. Low and high cut filters are pretty much a necessity with any FRFR speaker(s). But as for your current problem... you could do it either way. I used to run my 500X into a tube power amp and Marshall cabinet. I was never able to get a decent tone using just the preamp models, with no cab/mic modeling. I used full models + mics and cabs... but the choice of mics and cabs matters. If its muffled and boomy, try a different mic/cab combo... Or just use a preamp model, forget the cabs and mics, and deal with the high end fizz with a high cut.

It helps to not suck when using loopers...;) Often I think the tendency is to stop playing when you're hitting the footswitch to end the loop... try not to do that. Keep playing for another beat or two, as if you were gonna go back to the beginning for another pass yourself. It's easier said than done sometimes. Also, a lot of players (except the "human metronome" types ;) ) tend to play either just in front of, or just behind the beat... that can complicate things too, if your tapping out just off the beat. Mostly it's just trial and error until you get used to using them.

Well that's different then... somebody else indicated that you couldn't bypass the modeling, and I've never played one. But like I said, the OP can slave a head if he likes, but he'll still be limited by the "character" of whatever cabinet he's using. It's all relative. Can it be done? Sure. Will he like it "better"? He's the only one who'll know... there's exactly one way to find out, and soliciting random opinions won't help much in the end. Just gotta run 'em both up the flagpole and see which one makes you want to salute....

This. Daisy-chaining two modelers together is useless. It's like shoving a golf cart inside the cab of a monster truck, and then wondering why it's difficult to drive. Now if you want to run Helix with a dedicated tube power amp, or a slaved head into a cabinet, that's fine... some guys swear by it. Bear in mind though, that this also kinda limits what Helix is capable of. Just as an example... let's say you like the sound of a Fender Twin for your clean tones. Running that amp model through a tube amp and into a Marshall cabinet loaded with greenbacks(or whatever you've chosen as a cabinet) won't sound terribly "Fender-ish". It's gonna sound like a Marshall with greenbacks. Doesn't mean you won't like the end result.... but the unit is designed to mimic a few dozen specific amps. It can't really do that without a "clean slate" to monitor through, which means FRFR in one form or another. At the end of the day, you're the only one who can determine if pumping Helix through a tube rig will "enhance" anything or not. Different strokes....there's no "right" answer.

Yeah... built-in variability that randomly engages to make things $hittier, is not my idea of a "useable feature"...It's the kind of thing that you'd do as a practical joke to drive an already nutty, tone obsessed guitar player even crazier than their normal baseline. ;) "It was fine five minutes ago! Why does it sound like baked a$$ now?!?!??!?!"

You could also set the wah to auto- engage when you move the pedal, with heel down position typically set to "off". If you're not also using it as a volume pedal, it won't effect anything else.

Or just try another set of cans and see if the same thing happens... if not, you've got your answer.

Try a different port, with the POD connected directly. If you're using a USB hub, sometimes those can cause problems.

1. "B-stock" doesn't necessarily mean "used"... unit might have been a store demo, in which case it shouldn't be an issue, as you'd be the first owner. I'd check with the store on that one. 2. I use them separately, and Native rather sparingly thus far....and when I have, I just used templates that I set up during my free trial period, before I bought the hardware. But I'm pretty sure you can just drag and drop patches between Native and HX Edit...somebody will chime in though. 3. No. Helix has no power section... you'll need either A) a power amp, B) a head you can "slave", or C) separate powered speaker(s). There are plenty of options out there now . Search "FRFR" threads... you'll read for days. 4. It's 2018... at this point, the next tech revolution is always right around the corner, and that's not gonna change. That's why NAMM happens every 6 months. If you allow that to affect your decisions, you'll never buy anything. But don't think of this kind of gear as an "investment", because it just isn't. As good as Helix is, it will eventually be dethroned by something better...and probably a whole lot sooner than you'd find a genuine "need" to upgrade. If you don't want to buy anything else for the next 10-20 years, stick with an amp you like, and a bunch of pedals. Those will still work "after the blast", and you don't have to worry about firmware updates keeping up with newer operating systems, etc etc.  5. There are zero guarantees.... and L6 isn't gonna tell you what their plans are...they never do. There hasn't been an update for the HD series in quite a while, but they're still selling them. Similarly, I would expect Helix to still be on the shelves for some time after it's replacement arrives and updates have ceased...whenever that may be. But I wouldn't worry about for a while yet...we just got new firmware a few days ago. But exactly how long till the gravy train runs dry is anybody's guess. 

And still no emoji's.... makes being a smart-a$$ unnecessarily difficult. ;)

That guy hasn't logged on in over a year...this will be a lot simpler: https://m.ebay.com/itm/Line-6-Helix-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Floor-Processor/202361536016?epid=1045799556&hash=item2f1daffe10:g:F~oAAOSwuVZbPqPo

"Tube feel", or the lack thereof, has nothing whatsoever to do with latency. Latency either happens, or it doesn't...and when it happens, it is entirely due to how one's various components are connected. If you're running Helix (or some other modeler) into a DAW, and are trying to monitor through the computer, then yes... you may experience some latency, but it's the result of the signal's round trip into the computer and back out again. However, it's easily avoided by disabling "direct monitoring" in the DAW, using Helix as the interface, and monitoring directly from the unit. Or, running straight into an amp or powered speaker. In either scenario, you will hear no latency whatsoever. If there were, they'd never have sold a single unit. It is a non-issue. All that being said, whether or not you'll decide that Helix's modeling technology is up to snuff, and adequately reproduces the "feel" of a tube amp, is a separate issue entirely. It's also 100% subjective, depending largely on what you play and how you play it, among other factors. As such, it's not a question that anybody else can answer for you. There is but one way to find out...

Amen. And just when you get it dialed in...again...it'll change on you. Again. Might work well as a torture device ;), but I've got gigs, and I don't need gear that's specifically designed to provide me with Spinal Tap moments...there are already plenty of other sources for that, lol. I'll pass. ;)

If you're smacking the cable hard enough to interrupt the physical connection, shrink-wrap isn't gonna save you.

Well there's no way to quantify it, so it's impossible to prove one way or the other...but as far as I'm concerned, most subtle differences in tone that one perceives from one day to the next (no matter what kind of gear you're using) are exactly that...perception. Hearing is imperfect, and how we interpret sound can be influenced by any one of a thousand things, from the mood you're in, to how much sleep you got last night. I used analog gear for a million years...the way it behaves on Wednesday is pretty much the same as it behaved on Tuesday. If it sounds different, it's in your head. Regardless, you couldn't pay me to use such a "feature" if they added it to Helix. I don't want "wandering tone". Half the point of having gear like this is consistency. I want my patches to sound the same when I call them up....that's why I hit "save".

Go through his pockets and look for loose 1's and 0's...;)

He's got an A440 tuning fork strapped to his head. Don't tell the ASPCA...;)

You are asking questions that are entirely subjective, and have no real answer. Some guys like the stock cabs, some prefer IR's. Ask 10 guys, and you'll get 10 different reasons why... and nobody's "right". And if I may, all of your recent posts suggest that you are head - first down the tweaking rabbit hole. It's easy to do, and we've all done it. But sooner or later you reach a point of diminishing returns. Tone can't get "better" forever... perception is fickle, and changes from day to day. The tiny nuances you're obsessing over disappear in a mix... yes, you'll probably be able to hear subtle differences when playing unaccompanied, but so what? Once you add even one other instrument, those subtleties vanish like a fart in the wind....just play the thing.

Stand by to be told that you cannot run them both at the same time... however, I've done it numerous times without an issue. I'm guessing it depends on how much horsepower the computer has...I'm running everything on MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM, and it works for me. As far as "danger" is concerned... I can't see any. They'll either both work, or they won't, but I can't imagine anything is gonna burst into flames. Never bothered trying to use HX Edit to trigger anything in Workbench... I'm either using one or the other. But I've had them both open and functioning plenty of times.

Rumor has it that the 2.7 firmware will include a squirrel upgrade...get your acorns now before the price spikes.

All except for the little hamster wheel that cranks up when you turn it on...