cruisinon2

This is why I don't rush to download stuff the millisecond it's released. Same with firmware updates. Problems are inevitable. Let everybody else wade through that cesspool for you. Then in a week or two when it works, give it a try...

Simple... you didn't spend as much as those who bought the LT's big brother. This way they've got everybody spending comparable amounts of money. No doubt this will influence some who are still on the fence about Helix vs. LT, if they also intend to purchase Native. Some will opt to pop for the full unit because the total cost is now much closer. LT + Native @ $299 = $1300 Full Helix + Native @ $99 = $1600 Marketing folks generally aren't stupid. $300 is a much lower psychological hurdle than $500. It's a smart move...for them. But I suspect it will aggravate most LT owners. 😕

I seriously doubt it. Mostly, it would give the chronically unsatisfied something else to whine about. "WHY does every idea I suggest have only an 11% feasibility rating?" ;)

ugh...

Well there isn't likely to be a solution that doesn't involve a soldering iron. Repeatedly plugging in/unplugging the unit has likely resulted in a loose solder connection from the jack to whatever board it's connected to inside. If that's not it, then the jack itself may not be making a suitable connection to the adapter plug anymore. This is the problem with the unit having no power switch. Frankly it's a stupid design, and I'm surprised that we don't see this complaint more often. Don't plug/unplug the unit any more than necessary. Get a power strip and just leave it plugged in unless you have to move it, and turn it on and off from the power strip. Or just unplug the giant wall-wart from the outlet instead of removing the other end from the back of the POD all the time.

Anything can be MADE to sound good at any volume... the question is, how much manipulation will be required to get there, and how "transferable" will a given patch be to a different listening method? Every speaker and/or pair of monitors is different. At home, 98% of my playing is through a small pair of JBL monitors (LSR305). Live I go straight to the PA and I have an L2T that I use as a floor monitor. For the most part I have separate sets of patches for home and live use... but there are a handful that can be used in either setting and sound more or less the same, and require only slight adjusting from one setting to the other. Others will sound drastically different, and would have to be entirely re-worked. It seems to have more to do with the amp model in question more than anything else...why, I have no idea. What's the point of all this? Two things: 1) You can probably get the sound you're looking for from the speakers you already have, it will just require some work. 2) It is a virtual certainty that anything else you purchase will require just as much tweaking as what you've already got. The odds of being instantly thrilled with your tone the second you plug them in is essential zero.

From your description it's a little unclear exactly what happened, but when in doubt do a factory reset and/or reinstall the latest firmware. Back up your existing patches if you haven't already so they can be restored after the reset.

Ditto. I wish this weren't the case, but my performance is closely tied to the sound I have...I'm crippled with someone else's gear. I consider it a failing, honestly...but without my rig, I sound horrendous, at least that's the way it seems to me. It's a mental thing mostly I suspect, but it is what it is. Spot-on. It might sound callous, but the audience is never suffering. They're not listening the way we do. They hear a song. The whole song...they're not dissecting individual parts. Frankly, it's beyond the average listener to do so. "Tone" is a lost concept for 99.97% of the audience. They might clap for any impressive solo, but they're not applauding your tone. Most listeners couldn't distinguish a Strat from a Les Paul with a gun to their head. With the exception of the leather jacket-clad guitar player standing in the back with his arms folded, critiquing every note...nobody else knows the difference.

Because retailers are 100% full of $hit. End of story. They don't know when anything will actually arrive. Ever. It gets there when it gets there. It's been that way forever, and it will never change.

If the strings are slipping off the 89, it could be the nut... if it's cut improperly, placing one or both E strings too close to the crowned edge of the fret, slippage can happen. New nut might clear that up...

It's your money, but why dig a hole before you even start? Also, you don't need to spend anywhere near $500 on a neck...perfectly good Warmoth necks can be had in the $200-$300 range, and Mighty Mite sells replacement necks for well under $200. Do whatever you like, but buying a replacement neck and pickups for a guitar you don't own yet, based on nothing but speculation that you won't like the stock ones, is nuts. Play the thing first. Make sure it has no issues. These guitars can be quirky, and lemons are out there. Go read up on "piezo plink" and "clang tone"... if you're a high gain player and/or do lots of palm-muting, you may have some problems. Decide if guitar modeling is for you before you blow even more money on a neck and pickups for a guitar that you could end up returning.

Sure, once it said "Helix". Otherwise, it's like trying to unload a Porsche on the Hyundai forum. ;)

Again, it's ALL subjective. A neck swap is really for comfort and feel more than tone...hell, you're buying the thing for how the fancy electronics will manipulate the tone after the fact anyway. You're putting the cart before the horse...in a big way. All these mental gymnastics are a ridiculous waste of time until you've actually played one. You've never been in the same room with a Variax, yet you've already decided that everything needs replacing. You might like the stock neck. Some do, some don't. And even if you don't, replacing the neck doesn't automatically require replacing the pickups...they're addressing very different concerns. Just try one before you decide it needs to be gutted. There's nothing wrong with the mag pickups...I actually like the single coils, though they are a bit noisy. But, I hardly ever use them anyway. I've got other guitars for that. I have the Variax for its modeling technology. As for tuners...locking tuners are locking tuners. Aside from slight differences in gear ratios, they all do exactly the same thing. In the dark, you can't tell one brand from another... Nothing. Neck, pickups, tuners... what else is there? Bedazzled Gucci strap buttons?

Not anymore, he changed it...what now reads "Helix Rack" originally said "Axe FX II". I'm many things, but illiterate isn't one of them...;)

All effects can be toggled on and off. The output mode (stack/front, combo/front, or studio/direct) significantly affects tone. Finding what works best for your amp is just trial and error. The lack of a power switch had been b!tched about for years... it is what it is.

This is a Line 6 forum...Fractal owners are a significant minority in these parts. You'd have better luck asking for a rebuilt '72 Pinto transmission. ;)

Yup... and sometimes more than 3, as a patch that's dialed in with a Strat won't necessarily work with a humbucker-equipped guitar.

An inept retail establishment that hasn't a clue as to what items already reside under their roof?!?!?!?! Say it ain't so, Flava Flav...;)

Wow... where to start? Virtually every question you've asked is completely subjective. For the guys who love them, a Variax often becomes their primary instrument. Some don't take to them, and go back to their arsenal of traditional guitars. You won't know till you try one. As for the numerous "will I notice this vs. that" and "what does it feel like" questions you've asked...there are no objective answers to any of those questions. You'll either like it, or you won't. You might think the US made JTVs are worth 4x the money, or you'll think it's ridiculous. Either way, I can't guess at what your assessment would be. It's like the never-ending Squire vs. Fender argument... what's better? What does "better" mean? There is no answer, and nobody's "right" or "wrong". If you like an instrument, then it's good. If you don't, it sucks. You're in the same boat as most of us... these guitars are hard to find in stores. Many of us (myself included) bought online. It's a gamble. Buy from a place with a liberal return policy like Sweetwater, so you're not stuck with it if you don't like it.

This I seriously doubt we'll ever see... the oft repeated refrain that there are a grand total of 4 human beings in North America with the required skills to successfully transplant Variax guts into other guitars is always the excuse. Now personally, I find that claim ridiculous...there are plenty of talented luthiers out there who could pull it off, but unfortunately they'd be outnumbered by the legions of half-wits who'll think that all you need to cram the extra electronics into their favorite axe is some Crisco and a running start. Then when they've butchered their vintage Strat, they'll complain to L6...whatever they'd sell the electronics for wouldn't be worth the hassle.

Let's see if we can get this identical thread to appear under every forum on the site...lol

Amen.

Modeling is no longer in it's infancy. At this point and in the right hands, they can all be made to sound good. They can also be made to sound grotesque...these comparisons really don't mean much anymore, and the fanatical devotion to one brand or another that is often seen, is exactly that...fanatical devotion. Doesn't much matter if it's Ford, Chevy, Axe FX, or Buddha. In the end, you either know how to use the gear, or you don't.

Never believe anything a retailer says, not even "hello"...especially if you've placed an order and they already have your money. Even if you don't technically "pay" for an item until it ships, as far as they're concerned, the sale is already complete. Expected arrival dates are a fantasy. They don't know when they're getting anything, and (mostly) they don't care.

The only people who actually know if it's finished won't tell us anyway...but regardless, it's a bit premature to proclaim that it will disappear forever merely because one retailer has decided not to stock it anymore.