Digital_Igloo

I love this thread so much. :wub: Glad to hear you got it working, rumnarv! This doesn't have much to do with your particular situation, but here's a bit more insight on Instant commands: They're sent in order, so if all 6 Instant commands are PC messages on the same channel, Instant 6 will win out (provided the receiving device can deal with 6 near-simultaneous PC messages; sometimes MIDI is finicky) Currently, identical values are ignored when jumping from snapshot to snapshot. For example, if Snapshot 1 has a PC message of 52, and Snapshots 2 and 3 have PC messages of 67, switching between Snapshots 2 and 3 will never send the PC—it'll only send when switching between Snapshots 1 and 2 (or 1 and 3). We're planning on adding an additional Global Setting that forces Helix to send duplicate identical commands [EDIT: Released with 2.30]

That's some impressive mental gymnastics there. There's a huge difference between Mackie having fun (and my recognizing that) and purposely disrespecting customers. IIRC, none of the Digital 8•Bus customers thought it was anything less than brilliant, and it made us feel even more like part of a family.

Gut instinct, mostly. If a release ends up with notably more features or models than we expect, or if it includes features that require extensive documentation, we'll adjust the release number accordingly. For example, Snapshots came with 2.00, and we needed to update the manual to reflect that. My favorite story involving release numbers was with the Mackie Digital 8•Bus mixer. Everyone was clamoring for 4.0, and one day Mackie made a public announcement that 4.0 would never come. The forums blew up with complaints and the next day they released 5.0. Totally skipped 4.0, just because it was funny.

Every time I attempt to groom IdeaScale (merge ideas, tag ideas as implemented, etc.), submitters get upset: "Wait! My submission was ever-so-slightly different!" "Yes, but that's not exactly how I wanted that feature to behave!" It also doesn't help that one particular competitor pays very close attention to what we say and do online; the last thing we need to give them is a checklist. Some companies treat IdeaScale like a two-way communication platform; instead, we just use it to validate/prioritize our backlogs and roadmaps. Not on the PMHQ, but it's something I really should jump into. Have heard great things; thanks for the push! :)

There are many reasons why we chose to go with a flat design and sliders instead of skeuomorphic panels with knobs: Sliders allow for much easier parameter control on touchscreen-based PCs (and eventually, touchscreen-based Macs) Sliders have much higher granularity (both visual and control-wise) than knobs Slider length can easily scale when resizing windows; knobs could conceivably shuffle their order when resizing, but then it's harder to find the right one Sliders allow for better and cleaner application of sub-indicators, such as min and max values, snapshot values, or meters There are instances where parameters may disappear or be renamed, depending on the settings of other parameters; sliders make this behavior much more transparent Helix models often have different parameters (and number of parameters) between the mono and stereo versions; sliders make this disparity much more transparent The studio-to-stage-and-back promise of Helix hardware and Helix Native plug-in is immensely important to the platform; there's an intrinsic advantage in maintaining visual consistency between the two Perceived preset switching delay in Helix hardware is partly due to redrawing components on the screen; redrawing huge custom panels would exacerbate this The knob position of some amps are much harder to ascertain quickly compared to a slider—especially Fender knobs Accurate panels that reflect the real amp and pedals often require radically disparate panel dimensions, meaning the plug-in size would blow up Accurate panels require the user effectively re-learn the UI and layout of every amp and cab, along with their quirks (UA plugins drive me completely bat$#!% insane because of this—Yes, I know that's how some API EQs are laid out, but why do the plug-in's knobs have to be upside down?!) Some people mistakenly equate quality of panel graphics with quality of modeling ("Oooh, did you see the fingerprints on the metal there? It's gotta sound the best!"); chasing that dragon is a lesson in futility and we'd rather spend our resources on system architecture and sound design Accurate panels imply to the user a specific rev of a particular piece of hardware, even if the plug-in supports switching between multiple revs or may represent an idealized amalgam Accurate panels require dozens of knob positions (and if you do it right, multiple versions at different viewing angles) which take a lot of time and redraw resources. Not an issue if you have five amps; definitely an issue when you're adding more all the time Accurate panel aesthetics often subconsciously sway users toward (or away from) specific models instead of trusting their ears ("Oh, I won't use this model because it looks like a metal amp") Accurate panel aesthetics require legal involvement to determine if any trade dress might be violated Individual panels often take up the majority of a plug-in's overall download/install size Accurate panels with knobs often require dedicated graphic designers or outsourcing to design firms, if only because our designers have a lot of other stuff to do (fun fact: one particular GUI design firm in Germany creates the panels for dozens of MI companies, which is why so many look alike) We'll often tweak and re-tweak models right up until release; it's also not uncommon to swap in a different model or add/delete/replace/rename parameters at the last second. Since accurate panel iteration takes a lot of time to get right, it could literally delay firmware updates (or hardware releases!) by weeks Everyone else does hyper-accurate panels—even super cheap iOS amp sims—and skeuomorphism doesn't hold nearly as much weight as it once did Several other reasons we can't talk about because they deal with future features Conversely, there are only two reasons to go with skeuomorphic design with knobs: Subconsciously, people think the plug-in might sound better because it looks like a real amp or pedal; for example, a few mistakenly believe Logic's compressor sounds better now, simply because of new skins "Ooooh... pretty." I won't claim any of our decisions are objectively correct—this is design, after all—but this might provide some context as to why we landed where we did.

Right now, I can't even comprehend Line 6 removing the promotion. I can't guarantee we'll never ever remove it—only because promising something in writing is never a good idea—but as of now, there have been literally zero mentions of it not being permanent.

2.30 is next. Not sure if we'll have time for a 2.40; we might jump straight to 2.50, depending on schedule. 3.00 is a looong way away.

We reserve the right to discontinue promotions at any time, but right now there's no plan to discontinue the Helix Native discounts.

All good. We're discussing ways to make it more obvious to all users.

I don't think we have plans to discontinue the discount tiers anytime soon, if ever. If you have suggestions on how to make these things more obvious in the future, I'm all ears. Unfortunately, we can't rely on guitar store employees, because... y'know. This is coming from an ex-guitar store employee. :)

"Punch in the gut" makes it sound like you were surprised, or someone purposely misled you in some way. Regardless, applying MAP/discount ratios here misses the point. The deeper discount is a value-added feature of Helix Native and Helix Rack. It's like the scribble strips, the two extra effects loops, the aluminum chassis, the dedicated headphone knob, and the 10 simultaneous stomp mode switches... When debating whether to snag Helix or Helix LT, one examines all the differences (including the deeper discount) and simply decides whether the $500 US cost difference is worth it. I'm not sure how we can make pricing tiers more obvious in the future. Someone on Facebook might write "Oh, LT is the same as Helix with no screens above the switches and a few less ins and outs." It's literally impossible to expound on every single conversation, but anecdotally, I've not seen a single instance where someone claimed Helix Native would be $99 for LT users. We've attempted to make this very clear from the beginning.

We announced Helix Native in January. The $300 discount for Helix and Helix Rack owners was announced at the same time. Three months later, we announced Helix LT. One of its big "What's the difference between this and Helix Floor?" bullet points was the shallower discount on Helix Native; that is, there's a measurable advantage in buying Helix Floor or Helix Rack if you plan on buying Helix Native. Or put another way, with Helix or Helix Rack/Control, you get: scribble strips more ins and outs an extruded aluminum chassis and cast aluminum side panels and treadle a dedicated headphone volume knob a $300 discount on Helix Native when it's out None of this was obfuscated in the slightest. Also note that plug-in pricing tiers are built into the Helix family business model. Applying the same $300 discount to Helix LT would increase its per-unit cost as a function of blended margin, and therefore, likely mean you would've spent more than $999 on it. So technically, all the other people willing to buy Helix Native got you a discount on your LT, months before it could even be downloaded. Yay for fuzzy math!

I'll pop in on occasion and explain why something may or may not be feasible, but you're right—an unfeasible idea may trigger something cool. :)

Yes.

This is really important to us. There are a lot of features we just won't do—or at least won't do in the way people expect—because it'd mess with existing workflows and force people to program around it. For example, even though Snapshots are an incredibly deep and powerful feature, aside from a new camera icon on the screen and a couple of global parameters, you'd never know they were there. Almost everything is hidden behind shortcuts.

EXP 2 globally responds to MIDI CC#2; maybe Logic is spitting that out? Also try turning Global Settings > MIDI/Tempo > Knob 2 (MIDI Thru) to "Off," just in case there's a MIDI loop somewhere.

Wednesday, 16. August, 2017 5:00am PDT EDIT: Sheesh, guys, this is CLEARLY the release date and time for Helix Native. If I thought there'd be any question whatsoever I would've written: "Here we all are in the Helix Native thread, so logically, here's a post about Helix Native. I'm going to post a date and a time and that date and time will correspond with when Helix Native will be available to download from our servers. This date and time (again, when Helix Native will be available to download from our servers) is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 16th, 2017, at 5 o'clock in the morning, Pacific Daylight Time. So if you want to download Helix Native from our servers, the earliest you'll be able to do so is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 16th, 2017, at 5 o'clock in the morning, Pacific Daylight Time. Here's a link to a time zone converter."

There are a few DJs using Helix Rack, but at least two of them are using MIDI knob boxes to control everything in real time. Fortunately, Helix makes it easy to map parameters to MIDI knobs: Press and hold the parameter knob you want to control. This jumps Helix to the Controller Assign page for that parameter. Press Knob 6 (Learn Controller) and then move the desired knob on your MIDI controller. OPTIONAL: Turn Knobs 4 (Min Value) and 5 (Max Value) to set the range controlled by the knob; set them opposite of one another for reverse control. Press HOME when finished. Up to 64 parameters can be controlled this way.

As of yesterday, we have the non-lettered (customer-facing release) 1.00 build. We're letting it soak for a few more days just in case. If all goes well, and I had to guess, you'll see it sometime next week.

Might be doable; the only trick is that each switch can have up to 8 items assigned. Presumably only the item in focus would appear in the inspector when pressed?

There's a template for this: 8 TEMPLATES > 02B 7-Cable Method. Pressing FS2 and/or FS3 can swap one or both of your real preamps with Helix preamps.

We're very close. As of yesterday afternoon, all Helix Native 1.0 bugs have been squashed. The QA team is currently performing hardcore regression testing and if they don't find anything egregious, we may have a release candidate very soon.

I don't think the H9 can use any external MIDI footswitch to behave the same way as its built-in switch. Unfortunately, there's not really a MIDI message for "this switch is still being held down" to access hold functions.

There's a template: 8 TEMPLATES > 02A 4-Cable Method (or 02B 7-Cable Method for two amps). Pressing FS2 (or FS3 and FS3 on 02B) will instantly swap your real preamp for one of Helix's preamp models.

Line 6 has been known to hire additional temp testers the few months before a big launch and this is no exception. Unfortunately, testing something as deep as Helix Native—which has over 200 models, so it's not like testing a single UA or Waves plugin—within a bunch of DAWs across a bunch of versions of Mac OS and Windows (running different driver schemes) is a herculean effort. Testing a piece of hardware like Helix is a cake walk in comparison. Anyone with development experience knows that adding and training more engineers—especially at the eleventh hour—would just slow things down to a crawl.