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I'm thinking of packing my POD HD500 in my suitcase and flying. The suitcase would not be a travel-on, it would be turned over to the airline for the trip. Do you think this is a good idea? Would security allow this bulky electronic device to be in my suitcase or would all kinds of red-flags go off? thanks!

I think I know a way to do this... I have a mac in my studio but it's a pain to stand up and do lots of work on it for long periods of time so what you can do is use a mac (or you can use a pc) and run the helix edit as you normally do. while running helix edit, you can run either Teamviewer (or a competing product to team viewer) which allows other computers or an ipad or iphone to control your computer remotely. It's a remote control program and it works great. a smart phone screen may be too small but in theory should work.

Please do a review when you get it! Some concerns I have: 1) the battery looks larger and Boss says it will work longer before a recharge, but the transmitter is larger due to the larger battery. 2) the charging device looks clumsy, charging from the top like the g10 seems easier to do Another concern I have about he g10 and I've never seen it mentioned here. I gig out playing small venues and often the stage is on the floor. if the bar is packed it's possible someone (usually someone dancing) can step right on my peddle board and we all know what would happen to the g10 if it was stepped on. So I never use my g10 unless I know the stage is off the ground and well protected. The boss device too, looks like it's base is made of plastic so I would have the same concerns when playing guitar on the floor where patrons can walk and dance.

Finally, a device that will work on a 9v plug and will hold up much better. Hope this is a game changer and line 6 finally is forced to redesign their g10 system, using a better and more durable solution!

updated to the newest mac os (High Sierra). helix install worked flawlessly!

I'm crashing every time I run the updater and/or editor (ver. 2.50 and 2.51) too and I'm using a desktop mac with os maverick. I am thinking of upgrading the os to see if that helps.

checked the os, I am running ox x 10.9.4 which is old but not out of the range line 6 said would work on their update screens. I will update to a new os if others are having issues with the older operating systems. Can someone please verify that my older os may be the issue?

thanks for your help. I installed the new stuff using updater first, then installed the editor so that's one strike against me. But it does seem that it's my os bid on my mac. I tend to stick with older os systems if they run well and both macs I have are running old operating systems. Yes, I did uninstall the helix software each time I attempted to reinstall. If anyone can let me and others know what mac os and/or hardware is not working, that would be a huge help. thanks for your assistance with this

I think I screwed up my mac computer with this update. I downloaded the latest updater and started the update, not realizing that there is a later version of HX Edit available (ver 2.51) for download as a stand alone and not part of the updater download. Before I knew it, I had updated my helix unit to 2.5 and the update software on the mac said everything was done. I went into hx edit, saw the unit had a 2.50 firmware version and made some changes to my tones and saved them to the helix. Then I noticed that the new amps were not there and I could not find the new effects. That's when I realized I needed to install the new HX edit which I did. Then when I updated HX Edit to either 2.5 or 2.51 to find the new amps, both the HX edit program and updater both crashed. Each time they crashed, I would get a text screen explaining the problem, but none of the computer code and messages made much sense. I download again and again, and eventually, had to restore 2.3 to the helix and the old HX edit (2.3) thinking it was a currupted helix device, due to my botched update, I hooked up another helix running 2.3 to the mac and it crashed too. I kept deleting all traces of my line 6 mac installs but each time, the updater and 2.5 hx edit would crash with the same message log. Sometimes even 2.3 HX Edit and the old updater would crash too (i kept wiping all traces of helix software from the mac and reinstalling). so I finally got the helix 2.3 working again and the 2.3 HX Edit. my got feeling is the problem is with my mac, since an uncorrupted helix also caused the line 6 software to crash. Sometimes the software would not crash if none of the helix until were connected. Please don't think it's a bad usb port, these ports have worked flawlessly for a year or two. my choices are: try again with another mac (would hate to do this) or wait a week or two until perhaps updater is updated to include the latest 2.51 HX edit. anyone else go through this? I realize I should probably photograph the screen errors and post, and if this is a unique instance, I will do that. Any tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Me and the bass player are fine and he is on board with me using the Helix. I would leave the band and keep the helix if I had to choose. I think his biggest concern was what happens when we play out the pa speakers face the audience and not us. I will use an amp unless we know we will have working monitors. It's all good. I encourage communication with everyone, especially bandmates so the last thing I want to do is discourage questions and exchange of ideas. thank you all for some great suggestions and advise. from here on out, I believe I'm good and the bass player and the rest of the band is fine too!

that's like using your thumb to plug a hole in a water dam! So now it will fail in 4 weeks instead of 2 weeks? The break-away magnetic charging unit is ingenious! I'm so glad I modded the units I own. they now work great and have held up perfectly!

thanks for the sound advise! I will make sure I am heard, I have a feeling I was, but it does not hurt to ask. My tones were not all over the place, like you, I have a few main ones (3 or so). I record the sessions and the volumes were ok, but like you said, I'll make sure everyone hears me. We are far from a gigging band so we use the pa systems at rehearsal studios and look for situations where a pa system would be provided by the bar. thanks again!

wow, thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions. First off, I think I get along fine with the bass player and am very close with the singer and feel a good vibe with the drummer too. I don't think the bass player dislikes me, I think he just wants what is best for the band and he is concerned if and when we play out that I can be heard so his point is well taken. we did not spend time at rehearsal at all discussing modeling, only when he complained towards the end of the evening and that was a short time. The other band members I believe are impressed with the tones I can achieve with the stomping of a couple of switches. when we play out, if I plug into the pa, usually the sound person will have monitors and I do bring a hd50 head and cabinet so I will be heard one way or another. I notice my helix at times sounds incredible when I plug into a pa system at other places and pa systems sounds good to very good. The pa system yesterday sounded just fair, and we did not take the time to mix the sound well (too much bass coming from the mixer as I recall). So again, yes my tones are very good, the pa system, or perhaps the speakers, needed adjustmentsor the pa system sucked. we will try a new room next time. And, thanks for confirming I'm not crazy, and that professional acts use the helix. I couldn't imagine playing all the songs and tones without a top of the line modeling piece of hardware.

I received an email from my bass player today and I responded to him but probably was not able to articulate myself well enough due to being new to studios and pa systems. I'd like some input on his concerns... (his email is below) First some helpful background.... I am the only guitar player in a new band and things are off to a good start. we play popular classic Rock. We're all over the place musically, so I need the helix (I would use it anyway as I am a big fan of it) to play a wide range of tones, from Hendrix, to soft non distortion tones, to early 60's, 80's, and things like Plush from the Stone Temple Pilots. My tones are top notch - I've downloaded and tweaked the best Helix tones on this site, plus I purchased the Fremen pack and use them quite a bit. We played in a new rehearsal studio last evening and the helix did not sound great through the pa system (the culprit was probably the pa system or the speakers). Any thoughts of what the Bass player thinks I should do at future rehearsals? His email: ================================================= I'm familiar with the current multi-effects processors out there, the LIne 6 Helix LT, for example, provides some 67 amp models, 37 cabinet models, etc. I get the feeling that you're under the wrong impression as to what these amp models are for: they're for recording, playing straight into the console. These effects units, when deployed for live performance, do not need modeling. Amp modeling might work in a rehearsal studio because the PA is not really a PA, it's an over-glorified monitor system, and the speakers are pointing at us. In a live situation, the PA is facing the audience, and we won't be able to hear you. You won't be able to hear you. In a live performance, you should still use an amp, and since these rehearsal studios have an abundance of Marshalls, Blackstars, etc, there's no reason not to use them. In fact, we need to rehearse in real-world conditions as much as possible. You may be under the belief that these multi effects MUST be plugged into a mixer, but that is simply not the case. It might be helpful to take a closer look at the variety configurations that can be used that do not use amp modeling. Amp modeling is only to be used when using a real amp is not practical, rare as those occasions may be.Your multi-effects has a lot more than amp modeling, and these effects can be used without modeling, which is preferable. Think about it, why simulate a Marshall when you actually have a Marshall? Simulated amps and cabs are never as good as the real thing, no matter what the manufacturer claims. Looking ahead, when we play out we will probably not have the luxury of a super monitor system. Musicians need an amplifier on stage mostly so they and the other performers can hear themselves play. You also need speaker presence for sustain. We generally don't re-organize the entire sound reinforcement system simply to accommodate amp modeling, that would be the tail wagging the dog. I know you paid a lot for the system, and you want to get the most out of it, but amp modeling is mostly a sales gimmick and doesn't serve much purpose in the real world. You do have lots of other great effects there, I'm only suggesting you look at ways to use them without modeling. Talk to the guitar guy at Sam Ash, or ask some questions on the guitar forums, you may be surprised what you hear. No one uses amp modeling for live performance. I saw Eddie Van Halen at Jones Beach and I could see the mic in front of one of his amps. I'm not trying to rant, I just don't want to take up time in the studio discussing it. Please think about it, and read about it. ==========================================

Keep in mind that it's still a 25 watt amp, with 1 12" speaker and when a band gets going, it's not a 50 watt head with a 2x12 or 4x12 cabinet. It can and should keep up with a band, but if playing a large place or with a loud band, it may not keep up.

You are all very lucky to have a users group in your area! wish we had a helix group here on Long Island..... any one on Long Island getting any ideas?????

I agree, I'm just going to trust that Line 6 tested everything and knew what I needed. Regarding the DT25 not keeping up, turns out I really am clueless. In the old days I would run the dt25 or dt50 through a pod hd 500x and everything worked fine because line 6 designed the amp and processor to work so well together. Now that I have a helix, I use the line 6 link cable from the helix to the back of the amp but I was never able to get the midi commands to work just right, so the helix does not control the amp the way the pod hd500x does. The amp and helix still sounds terrific together, but I believe I had it set to voicing I on the topology. Now I see that using II also sounds great but is much louder. So I get the feeling that using voicing II, the dt25 should keep up with a band just fine. It's not been tested since I usually use a pa system but should work as it is much louder than voicing I. Voicing iv is even louder but distorts the clean tones too much. So for now on it will be voice II when I don't have a pa system. thanks for your advice!

I just got back my DT50 amp, thanks line 6! There was zero documentation inside the package so I contacted line 6 to find out what was done. They informed me they changed the fuse and the tubes on the amp. The transformer was fine and not replaced. seems odd to me, since many claimed including line 6, that the issues with these amps were the transformers and fuse, yet they had me ship the amp back to them at their expense to only change tubes and a fuse. Should they have just sent me a fuse and tubes and had me make the changes? Has anyone else heard that it was not the transformers, but just the fuses? thanks

Thanks so much the replies! I was going to take my chances if the chances of blowing the transformer went from something like 1% to 2 or 3%, but when you state that when it blows it will cause needing more work and more parts and labor that seals the deal! I'll get it repaired. Thanks!

Recently I played a gig with a dt25 amp. It was a small venue and really had to jack the volume tremendously to keep up with my bandmates using the dt 25 1x12 combo amp. I don't play out often and my preferred method is the helix into the pa directly but when not possible I would use the helix into the dt25. Now knowing a larger gig without a pa would tax my amp, and possibly not be loud enough, I bought a 2nd hand dt50 2x12 and also a used DT 50head. I opened up line 6 tickets to find out and it turns out the dt25 is not on the list of questionable transformers but the dt50 2x12 amp is, and I am waiting to hear on the dt 50 head. Line 6 was nice enough to cover the dt50 2x12 under warranty but if I use their authorized service center I have to drive quite far to Manhattan for warranty work or use someone local and pay them and hope line 6 will send them the parts for free. Line 6 on their website showed a local non-authorized repair service center and I know they have an excellent reputation. So my first question is if my amp was part of the recall, what are the realistic chances that the transformer will fail? Has anyone used their dt50 in original condition while their unit was identified on the recall list and not blown the transformer? Please keep in mind, I will be playing loud I suppose. If I don't do the warranty work, I'd bring a second and different manufacturer's head to plug into the existing cabinet should a failure occur at a gig,so I'm wondering the chances I could get away with leaving the dt50 amp alone or if my amp will almost certainly blow the transformer. The last person who owned the amp, was not in a band and practiced in a small room so I don't think the amp was ever played loudly. I have heard horror stories about shipping these almost-100 pound amps cross country using ups and if I have to pay for freight at least one way, shipping the amp does not sound ideal. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

I stand by my comments. The g10 is an engineering nightmare with many people breaking these units. Even Victor, the North East rep for the company broke a g10 while demoing it. If you don't believe me ask him. You can't possible think the g10 was designed ideally. Next the Amplify is a nightmare too. go to the forum as tally up positive vs. negative comments, and then look at Line 6's marketing of their amps. How much resources are being used to market the amplify these days. Next go to my local sam ash or GC and look for any amplify units on the sales floor. When the Amplify first came out and for about 6 months GC dedicated a special spot for them on the sales floor - both the larger unit and the smaller unit. No more. So yes, both units are bombs.

A few things. as confirmed, the often-broken usb connection when working is used for data too and for updates. Correct me if I am wrong but since the unit was introduced, there has not been a single firmware update for the g10 base unit (the installer is still showing ver 1.0 as the most current firmware update for the base). However, the transmitter is up to firmware version 1.04. I purchased another line 6 g10 unit (more of that and it's problem in a moment). Turns out if you make the mod we have discussed and therefore can not use the usb connection for updates, if you have an original unaltered working g10 base or have a friend or bandmate with an original working g10 base, you can plug your transmitter into that unit and perform the firmware update to the transmitter. That's exactly what I did that to all my transmitters this weekend and they all upgraded just fine to the latest 1.04 firmware version. Now my latest problem: I just purchased a refurbished g10 unit on ebay from line 6 for a lot less money than what a new one costs. I guess they are screwing their loyal reseller clients but that's another story. Turns out they are not including in the packaging of these refirb's (even though they are being sold as new but refurbished), the new additional jack to help deal with a few compatibility issues that occur on some guitars that do not work properly with the original g10 transmitters. Way to go line 6. They have great products like the Helix but yet have lots of bombs like the g10, the Amplifi amps that just about everyone hates, and other products too that were not ready for prime time. I looked around for something like a g10 made by someone else who perhaps has a better solution for powering the unit with a rechargeable but more reliable design but there are no competing products that does exactly what the g10 does.

Wow, that worked! Thanks so much! I had thought all the electronics were in the base and did not realize the transmitter should be inserted into the base during the firmware upgrade. Thanks again!

You said it better than I did, and it seems firmware 1.04 solves the transmitter not sleeping and running down the battery problem. Hope we can figure out a way to upgrade the hardware with the latest firmware.

Gee, I hope it was a one-off failure but I am not 100% positive. I notice when a line 6 product has a specific problem, you will see many face the exact same problem. I searched but did not find g10 owners posting in this forum section about their units not working after a while. I purchased a line 6 refurbished g10 off of ebay directly from line 6 and apparently it has an old firmware version and no new jack switch as the brand new g10's now ship with. I continue to be disappointed with the quality and service of line 6 products. The old firmware version seems to be problematic to upgrade as the latest installer insists my version 1.0 is the latest while I see others have upgraded to 1.04 I just want to play guitar, not dabble endlessly in line6 updates and quality issues and problems