gsking1

Hello, I updated to 3.10 and am getting some black boxes obscuring the text showing the preset name. This box blocks viewing of the screen info in that area and is not preset specific. some presets will have and others won't. It does not appear to affect the sound, but I'm mostly playing from the couch into an iPad so who really knows. I did do the factory rest and backup as the instructions suggested. I'll see if it persists and may try another reset if it persists. Image shows missing part of screen in my "B:Fake Bass preset".

I just posted about this yesterday in another linux thread. Helix Stomp works fine for me with Ubuntu 19.10 and Ardour, both audio and midi over USB. As long as you carefully pick your hardware, I imagine where you'll run into limitations is with third party plugins for DAW. There are some good companies with software for linux, but not alot (Reaper, Bitwig, U-he, others??), but most will just say they don't support it so you may have some work to-do. If you want synths, definitely give u-he a try, everything they make is to shelf. I like Ardour a lot for straight multi-track audio. But with all that said, I'm a Mac guy now and don't expect to change anytime soon.

I’d go with the Stomp. It’s very capable, and for home use I don’t think it’s too limiting. It’s super small and fits on a desk nicely. You’ve probably already got some effects pedals you can use with it so it’s not too limited. It’s also less expensive so if you don’t like it easier to move on. It would work well with amps as an efx only unit too. My biggest gripe is that it is almost too small and can be a little hard to edit on the unit as your fingers always bump something. My 2 cents. Also use good headphones and or good FRFR. I have a KSC Q10 which i’m happy with. Do some research and spend a little more on something good.

Hello. I just tried Helix Stomp with Ubuntu 19.10 and it worked great. In Ardour 5.12, I set sample rate to 48k and the interface to the stomp. Did a quick multi-track audio recording of guitar through headphones, all in sync. After a few more minutes of messing around I was also able to get midi clock to sync tempo from ardour to stomp. So for me it works and I’m happy with this and it’s good to know this is an option if my 2015 Macbook ever kicks it.

Thanks. I’m probably going this route when my 2010 MacBook dies or gets too slow.

With mainstage you set up a new patch for each sound you want. So for example set up patch 1 to be "Clean" and assign Your HXN plugin to that mainstage patch, set the tempo, add other effects, etc.. Set up as many mainstage patches as you like, each with different group of effects. Mainstage can change patches via midi or keyboard commands. To go to the next patch try Command-Down Arrow Select the next patch See here: https://documentation.apple.com/en/mainstage/usermanual/index.html#chapter=10%26section=2%26tasks=true I'm not at my music computer so can't try this at the moment. Good Luck.

I appreciate your trying this and may like some help/guide on this in the future. I've used Linux off and on for many years, but my current music setup is a 2011 iMac, which I'm getting an itch to replace (the imac actually works wonderfully, but it does feel like I'm always spending more time than I'd like managing CPU). u-He ( makes spectacular synth plugins) offer plugins for linux and I would love to see Line6 support Linux here also.

Just watched Band of Horses on Austin City Limits and the bass player was using a Helix. Good Show.

When I started playing guitar I had 1 good amp (fender vibrolux something), 1 overdrive pedal, and a boss SE-50 multi effects for the occasional flanger/chorus/reverb. Many years later I've found is that I still gravitate towards a similar sound re-created with modeling so even though I have many digital amps at my disposal, I use very few. I'll bet I'm 95% of the time on something similar to this, then remainder spent among another 5 amps that I practice with. So think about how will you will really use it and don't base you decision on the number of amps.

I should have mentioned that first. Mac. I mostly just use the editor for backup now. I'll add that it is few and far between. Could be my El Captain version - who knows. Never happened live or disconnected from USB.

I've seen this once or twice. Mine have only been when connected to the editor via USB, never standalone. And i believe its been mentioned by others as well.

I'm sure some of us here would like to help you, but your description really doesn't give much useful information. How are they they connected (USB, Midi cables, Mac, PC, other, etc..). What did you do to troubleshoot? For example, did you try MIDI Monitor if you are using a Mac (do this first) ? What CCs are you using? MIDI can be difficult, do you have experience with other MIDI devices?

I would skip the loop and just put it at the 1/4" outputs. Why over-complicate it?

I agree it is probably that you need to tweak your tone for the output system you are using (either headphones or PA, etc.). You should tweak as close to where you normally play. So if you only play at a church on the weekends you could ideally tweak there at full volume some evening, but if you are playing at random bars, that is a little more difficult. -tweak at full performance volume or as close to it as possible (loud). -tweak using a system as close to what you would normally output through. If you always play through something big and nice, get a good full range speaker (i have a K12 to tweak through which gets me pretty close). -be aware of the room you are in. For example, don't try to over obsess about tweaking in a small basement with low ceilings. It won't sound as good as a big room with high ceilings and some space for natural reverb. I once had an amp I used only in the basement and hated it, but one day i took it to a friends house, who has a huge living room and it sounded wonderful. -hopefully you have a sound man, he/she is your friend and can help you out a lot with EQ, so don't over-obsess about your tweaking and tone, and let them help. -the rule of thumb for impedance is low feeds high (7-10x). so if you have low impedance headphones that could be part of the problem. If helix has an output impedance of 12 (think I read that above) then 12 x 7 = 84. So aim for a headphone impedance of greater than 84 (or get a different mixer as noted above). I still feel its more likely it just volume and speaker effects. So just accept that it will be different or set up separate patches. -make sure your wah is off if you don't want to use it. Good Luck.

I don't think so.

If you stay within one preset you should be able to use up to 10 MIDI many functions from stomps 1-5 and 7-11 while in stomp box mode. Then if you want to switch to snapshot mode you could use up to 8 snapshots for different FX. E.g. Snap 1 might be your clean compressor only and snap 2 might turn off the compressor and turn on the delay, snap 3 might be the same as 2, but with more mix on the delay, etc. etc. Then press the mode button to go back to your MIDI stomps. There are multiple ways to set up preset/snap/stomp in global options. This thing is deep and it might take you a while to figure out which is best for you. Bottom line is this seems totally doable as long as you stick to 8 or 10 midi functions in one preset. Once you start jumping to different presets just so you can change some midi function in Live, then I think it will become cumbersome and a dedicated midi controller may be better, but that's just me.

>I'd love to have another bank of 8 to control the looper and maybe another bank of 8 to use plugin FX, but for the time being, let's assume I just need those 8 messages. If I understand what you are asking correctly, Another thing to consider is that there is an audio dropout (very small but it's there) between presets so you might not want to switch to another preset (your term bank) just the have differrent MIDI functions while letting a chord ring out. No audio drop outs if staying within the same preset.

>It looks pretty trivial to program the Helix to send midi notes which allow me to control Live. Yes super easy, can can customize names and colors too. Nice. The second part of your question, I'm not sure if I fully understand. Yes you can use preamps and effects, but you would not be able to manually switch them on and off with feet,since those stomps are already used for Live control midi notes. BUT you could set up snapshots or presets of your pre/effects and switch between snapshots with feet. If you wanted different preamps and effects you could use snapshots or presets. The MIDI control center stuff is per preset, so once you've got that you can copy that preset as a template. A more basic example I have is in my photo where I have Live controlled with MIDI notes with the left five stomps and effects assigned to those on the right. Hope that helps.

Thank you for this. Very Helpful. I learned a lot!

I agree this would be a great feature to have. Would simplify some things.

I'd most like to see. HX reverbs. MIDI clock in and out, saving of "blocks" of effect settings, improved IR management, and stability when hooked up via usb. The Helix is pretty awesome, but these would make it even more awsome-er.

A few thoughts on this thread and random upgrade issues reported. My upgrades have gone great, Helix is at 2.0 and I'm using Mac El Capitan. To build on the thoughts above, here's some more thoughts about upgrades and computers in general that may improve your chance of a good upgrade. I’m not suggesting you've done anything wrong, or that I've done something that helps, but I do seem to have good luck with upgrades. -When the upgrade is running. Tip Toe away from the computer. Don't touch or do anything. Don't multi-task. Be patient. -Read the instructions carefully and follow them. Turn off the iTunes and anything using audio as requested. -Use a good USB 2.0 cord, not some piece of junk that you may have laying around from some other old hardware. Avoid hubs if you can. -Reboot your computer (both mac and windows) before the upgrade. Reboot after doing installs or uninstalls if in doubt. Turn off extra stuff like virus scanners if you can. -Your computer should be current and supported OS such as Windows 10 or a Mac with recent version. Unless you are working for a big company with extended support for Windows 7, you should consider upgrading or get a new computer. -Disconnect/turn off unneeded external devices such as soundcards or midi keyboards. It can't hurt. While you are at it, make sure drivers for those devices are up to date as well. I also offer the following thoughts to Line6: -I like the updates, bug fixes and new features - thanks! -I think I noticed conflicting information about which footswitch to press after upgrade [i think the installer said to press 7&8], but the website and forum indicates footswitch 9&10. I did 9&10. -A more automated installer that automatically backs up and restores presets and doesn't require us to press footswitches would be welcomed. -Separate out the upgrade instructions on the forum for Floor vs Rack and make them more concise. Hope that helps someone.

I have one QSC K12 and really like it. I have not heard the other you are considering. I've never used it for a gig, but had a party in my backyard with an iPod and it rocked, use it for practice and music at lower volumes all the time, plus I've used it to set up presets for HD500 and Helix with good luck and it translates well to our church PA. I like that it can be used vertically or as a wedge. With the Helix and QSC up loud it sounds great. Good luck with your decision.

Just reporting that I had a lockup of the helix GUI while tweaking. Not connected to the computer, just a relatively simpl patch of just effects with 4 snapshots going into a real amp. The sound kept coming coming,but the interface stopped working as I was on the save screen. Lost 10 minutes of work. Turned it Off and back on and okay rest of day.

I think the Helix sound pretty good doing 1/2 step down with distortion. I bought Glenn DeLaune's patches and some of those have a 1/2 step down and I like it. Don't know what the settings are off hand. However, if you want another piece of gear to do this, you could try a Whammy DT or Drop. I recently picked up a Whammy DT for practice and like it much more than I expected. It can drop several half steps easily. The whammy DT also has other great detune and octave settings. I think these work best with some distortion and as the first pedal.