FlyingsCool

You should check the line 6 site for a complete list. The answer to your question is yes and yes

I just ordered a Helix Backpack, I'll answer my own questions when I get it :)

Does anyone know or can somebody measure what the dimensions of the Helix bag are, Height, width and depth of the two pockets? As I mentioned previously, I've got two BOSS FVH-500H Volume/Expression pedals, plus a bunch of wires and a couple outlet strips I'd like to put in the case. I can fit it all in my current case, a "World of Golf" Double Layer Trunk Locker that fits the Helix on top perfectly and I can put everything I need in the equivalent section below (price at Savers.. $8).... But it's just too bulky/heavy to carry effectively on the shoulder strap I put on it, I'd rather have back pack straps. It actually has room to spare even with two foldable guitar stands (that won't fit in the Helix bag). But the Line 6 bag will protect the Helix better and will be easier to carry.

Would I be able to fit a BOSS FV-500H in either of those side pockets? It's 11.5" Long, 4.5" wide and 3" tall (actually slightly smaller than those dimensions I actually have two, so I'd like to carry them in the side pockets and put wires in junk in the main pockets.

Yes, this.... I, too have had trouble dialing in the Mk IV to something I really like across a range of guitar volume levels. But I'm sure it's me, and I just need more time. I also haven't added the eq on the back end, which would probably be useful. It may be that the Mk IV is also not as "dynamic" in changing tones, and is meant more for developing a single tone? I don't know. I need to spend more time with it. The Mk IV manual clearly states and describes how dependent different knobs are on each other. Have you gone to Mesa and downloaded the manual. It's very detailed and helpful in helping a user approach it. As another point.... Not only do I agree it's a good idea to spend more than an hour with each amp without any effects, but also: 4. Amp sound is extremely dependent on the cabinet, mic, and mic placement, too 5. Don't ignore Sag and Bias and Hum... these can have very noticeable effects, especially on mid-gain sounds (and hi-gain as well) and 6. Once you've got the amp under your belt, you'll find that many amps are extremely dependent as well on the supplied signal, IOW, the character of many amps change a lot based on overdrives and other pedals you put in front of it..... so there's that.... If you like system analysis and learning what affects what.... Helix is AWESOME :) @benadrian has produced some nice discussions on the affect of Sag and Bias and hum on the TGP thread.

Perhaps Ableton doesn't support VST3? By default, Native only loads VST3 (supported by most DAWs these days) and AU (ProTools plugin format) and skips loading VST2 version (supported by just about all DAW's). Perhaps 1. Upgrade Ableton to a version that supports VST3 (Do newer versions support VST3?) or 2. Go back to the installer and load the VST2 version (I'm imagining some functionality of performance will be lost, but at least it perhaps works?). I'm using Mixcraft and it at least finds and starts the (VST3) plugin. I haven't had a chance to test it yet. It's not a "supported" DAW, but I'm not expecting any problems. Mixcraft ver 8 now supports VST3 (and side chaining, etc.). Edit: Hmm, just read through your post again and perhaps Ableton doesn't support VST3 at all. Does it support VST2?

Perhaps it automatically switches to instrument/mic level when you use XLR, whereas it will take a full line level signal from 1/4" cables. I've seen references that some amps will do this, force an XLR connection to instrument level. But that would equate to a huge difference in volume in most cases. Guess I'm going to check that out when I get home....

That's the whole point of using a (balanced) XLR over a normal (unbalanced) instrument cable, It has two grounding paths out of phase with each other so that any noise entering the cable is automatically cancelled out when it outputs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio

Thanks! That's some great info. I wouldn't have thought of using mp3tag to change it. I was wondering what was going on with my GD IR's.

Wait... what are you waiting for? Meanie.

I'm assuming you mean, how do you switch between Wah and Volume without moving the volume pedal? Have you tried changing the Wah bypass switch to one of the footboard switches? Might also make it turn the volume pedal block off when you turn the wah pedal block on, and vice versa. I don't know if the footboard switches are capable of changing the mode of the expression pedal. Personally, I added another expression pedal so they are no longer linked. Nice thing about that is that it adds another footboard switch to the Helix since I can turn the wah on and off from the expression pedal

As I'm sure you've read, MANY people put hi/lo 6-8K/90-160 cuts after the amps to get rid of the "buzz".

In that case, perhaps trying using an EQ with gain set as needed to add taste? As was noted above Why aren't the exact pedals you want in the first release?... Well, there's only so much time in a day. They put in as much as they could get done, they have their own list of what they'd like to add in the future, and it's our job to use ideascale to vote for what we want them to work on going forward. And in this case for these pedals, they knew we could get at least close to what we need with EQ and gain blocks. Oh, and definitely check out the recent thread on the Industrial Fuzz/Zvex Fuzz Factory block. I had tried this pedal before and was wondering what everyone was "raving" about liking it, but it didn't do much for me, too dirty. But, turns out I didn't know what I was doing. I can't wait to sit down and go through all the settings that Chrisjw5 put out there. Prior to this, I haven't had a problem using combinations of gain/EQ/Klon/Timmy/etc. to get the boosts I need. I admit up to now there are some fuzz tones I've been looking for that I haven't found yet, but hopefully with this new info I can get them :)

Great work guys, @s4n1ty in particular :) Has your "sanity" returned? ;)

Nevermind, I found the original post and link to translated settings for Helix, care of chrisjw5 (thanks Chris!) https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/line6-helix.1586637/page-1352#post-22357441 (I imagine the above link may or may not work depending on your board settings) https://www.dropbox.com/s/4b55d3er6meyf0k/The%20Fuzz%20Factory%20Setting%20List.pdf?dl=0 And in case these links ever go away in the second set, Volume is assumed to be 10 then Gate, Comp, Drive and Stab values are listed. From the conversion link, to translate ZVex values to Helix (basically translating clock positions to numeric values from left to right clockwise) Fuzz Helix 7:00 1 8:00 2 ... 5:00 10

@arislaf, in your list above, there seem to be two sets of parameters. In the first set, the parameter types are labeled, and there are 5 parameters, matching the Fuzz Factory Knobs. In the second set, there are 4 parameters, and they aren't labled. How do they relate to the Fuzz factory knobs, and what should the last be set too? Thanks, Tom

I do this all the time. I basically just have to remember to turn down the volume of the guitar as I switch to the other. Though, I have actually had some interesting feedback addition when I forget that actually adds to the song, a kind of underlying tone :-/

You're better off using the amp models' "Volume" control instead of the Master. The Master is meant to act like an amp Master volume control, and therefore its setting affects the tone of the amp, just like pushing the power amp side of an amplifier can do. Line 6 always adds a Master volume to amps, even if the real ones don't have one, to add the flexibility a Master volume adds to an amp, and because it doesn't cost them anything. For those amps that don't have a Master volume control IRL, it is designed to be set at 10 for the amp to act like the real one does. The Volume control is meant to control the volume/gain of the signal coming out of the block, and does not color the tone.

So what exactly is the problem with the hardware? Is there a chipset we should look for and avoid (similar to the old firewire issues that plagued so many)?

Yes, that's correct. There are a few Ideascale requests to add level monitoring / clipping indicator features to the blocks and In/Outs. I'm pretty sure they are in the top ten requests for the Helix if you want to add your vote.

And conversely some effects tend to sound as if they reduce volume, like tremelo and sometimes phase shift or flange or chorus

In looking at the video, 4 points struck me in setting up the sound... 1. Sound is very dependent on the guitar volume (and I bet tone) knobs 2. He talks a lot about which pickup he's using and the amp eq knob setup 3. Single 12" speaker mic'd at the very edge (why can't we have that L6????) 4. End comments are very important.... "I've never played through a single 12", is it ported? Yes... Ahhh, that bottom end is killer" loosely quoted IOW, some EQ on the back end to give it some bottom end while retaining the tightness.... Maybe look around for some IR's if you can't quite get there with the L6 cabs? (I prefer to use L6 cabs 'cause I don't need more complications, but I can see the need sometimes for an IR) I'm imagining you noticed all that, too, but I figured I'd put it out there...

Would it be useful to consider MIDI control to call up specific presets? Or are you more interested in free form control? (for me, that's what I have the most trouble with using Helix. I've never been a specific "preset" player. When I had a pedal board, I tended more to create sounds on the fly. But I want to get to a more consistent sound and learn to be creative up front, rather than a sort of random creativity, but that's more of a me learning curve than having anything to do with hardware) With respect to my original question though, I don't own any Strymon pedals, so I would like to hear the difference from somebody who likes the Strymon better. And above that, I'd like to understand technically how that difference is created, as that will help in building presets. IOW, yes, I can tell the difference between Helix and my TC HOF, but it's my understanding that Strymon is even a step above that. It seems to me as far as the HOF is concerned, TC does some manipulation of EQ and cuts, plus perhaps other stuff. I'd like to know what that stuff is. How come I can just twist a knob on the HOF and get that nice big Hall reverb sound, where the Helix Hall I have to do much more work and even then is much less than that, for instance without using some EQ. and maybe putting it in parallel or adding another reverb on top, etc.

Any chance you can create some comparison clips? Anyone out there have an understanding on technically why the Strymon sounds more "spacious?" for instance, maybe they are adding another delay to the signal, or there's an internal parallel processing going on or something? I use the Voxengo reverb a lot as a plugin when mixing vocals and stuff, and, yeah, turning that "spacial" knob has an effect, though I'm not sure what's going on, maybe it's separating the stereo further or something? Obviously, I don't have a huge understanding about the details of reverb and delay, hence I'm asking....

I wouldn't NOT bother doing it, just go into using other people's and the factory presets with the understanding they were created with different guitars and monitoring systems. Testing out other people's presets can be useful for geting ideas on how to adjust presets, and, if you maybe have some information on what guitars were used and what monitor was used (amp/FRFR, etc), eventually you can learn a lot about how to take blocks and presets and adjust them to fit your own equipment. For instance, it has been said the Factory presets are adjusted prior to each release in a Line 6 studio room with L2t's.