Digital_Igloo

Hi All, Sorry for the crosspost from the JTV subforum—looking to get as many eyes on this as possible... Who here would be interested in wireless VDI for $999? Not "oh, that'd be cool—you should make that!" but "I'd pay $999 for wireless VDI were it available today." $999 is just an educated guess at this point and is based on three required G70-level channels: Models, Magnetics, and a back data channel for remote capability. Assume traditional guitars could work with the system as well. Thanks!

We already embed transmitter data wirelessly (battery life, etc.), but the issue is back channel data, which is meant to send data from the receiver (and presumably any Helix or POD connected to the receiver) back to the guitar. This would require a third channel because it's going in the opposite direction. Bluetooth and Wifi aren't fast enough alternatives.

Shhhhh! [hold FS2 while booting]

We're not fighting back; I'm simply tired of explaining the technical hows/whys/history/tips/tricks at length in one thread, and then having to write the exact same thing 20 minutes later in a new thread on the same forum. Maybe I should write a blog and just start posting links to it. Can we make preset switching faster? Probably—we'd already done months of optimizations before 1.00 firmware. Maybe everyone should sit tight. :ph34r: In the meantime, try starting with 8 TEMPLATES > 02C Two Tones A-B (switch between two tones from a footswitch [labeled "TONE A—TONE B"] with zero gap and spillover delay/reverb) or 8 TEMPLATES > 02D TwoTones Blend (seamlessly mix between two tones from the expression pedal [labeled "PATH A—B BLEND"] with zero gap and full spillover)? Amplifire has faster preset switching because its signal flow and DSP allocation is static and fixed. It's MUCH easier to swap out DSP components when every single preset has the exact same number of each type of block. From what I gather, AX8's preset switching is on par with Helix (and Cliff presumably has the same headaches I do because of this), yet its signal flow is semi-fixed (one amp, one cab, no more than two of each effect type, etc). The fact that Helix's dynamic DSP allocation lets you add anything you want, anywhere, from any input to any output, with up to 64 controller assignments and customizable everything, until you run out of DSP is immensely powerful and flexible, but yeah, it's not gonna switch like the original POD. Plus, the bigger/more granular the models (read: AX8 and Helix), the longer it takes to unload/load those models. It's not unlike how it takes forever to load huge string libraries in your DAW. If the goal was super-fast preset switching, we would've stuck with one amp, one cab, one reverb, etc. on a serial path. We would've made a speedboat instead of a battle-ready aircraft carrier.

JTVs are alive and kicking. We have no plans to EOL them anytime soon. In fact, the next big Helix update will add some new Variax integration features not yet seen in any Line 6 products... or any manufacturer's products, honestly.

Hi All, Who here would be interested in wireless VDI for $999? Not "oh, that'd be cool—you should make that!" but "I'd pay $999 for wireless VDI were it available today." $999 is just an educated guess at this point and is based on three required G70-level channels: Models, Magnetics, and a back data channel for remote capability. Assume traditional guitars could work with the system as well. Thanks!

I've collectively written a doctoral thesis on the hows and whys of preset spillover in this forum alone; it's probably time to merge threads. At the end of the day, the only power one has is to visit IdeaScale and vote.

Oh, believe me, no one hates harping on about it more than I do. :D [deep breath] DigiTech slapped a second DSP in their box for preset spillover and ONLY preset spillover. I've mentioned it a billion times before, but if full preset spillover is that important, the GSP-1101 is likely to be your only solution. What baffles me is... why didn't people complain that DigiTech didn't use all that extra DSP to accommodate next-gen amps and effects? It's like adding a second engine to a sportscar, but it doesn't go any faster or perform any better... but it adds some other car-related feature that no other cars on the planet have or are likely to ever have.

Unfortunately, that's just how Helix's file system works. You can, however, drag and drop an IR from the Impulses list portion of the Librarian over to the IR Select parameter.

The two-SHARC UAD-2 Duo uses less powerful DSPs than Helix, but like UA, everything is highly contingent on which models you use. For example, a Massive Passive plug takes up half a DSP, but so does their Ibanez Tube Screamer. Yet quite a few amp models take considerably less. It's sort of all over the place, which is fine, as UA supports lots of third-party-developed models as well. I'm a user (and big fan) of UAD-2, by the way. I will say that Helix absolutely, positively wasn't designed to be a "four amps running at once with a ton of whatever effects you want box," and by extension, that means it's also not meant to be a "two amps running on a single path/DSP with a ton of whatever effects you want box," which we discuss in the Dynamic DSP section of the Helix Owner's Manual (emphasis mine): Tips to Optimize DSP Some block types use much more DSP than others, such as amps, cabs, IRs, and pitch shifters. Not surprisingly, the Amp+Cab block uses the most. EQ, Dynamics, Volume/Pan, and Send/Return blocks use relatively little Some models may use more DSP than others in the same category. This is especially true with amp models If you run out of DSP on Path 1, route it to Path 2 for more horsepower. If you plan on creating tones with two or more amps and more than a handful of effects, use both paths Instead of a parallel path with two Amp+Cab blocks or two separate Amps and Cabs, try adding a single Amp block followed by a single Cab > Dual block (mixing two different Cabs can provide some substantial variations) The stereo version of an effects block will use roughly twice as much DSP as a mono version of the same block. Likewise, the dual version of a cab block will use roughly twice as much DSP as the single version Some model categories have “Simple†blocks, which utilize less DSP than others If Helix could run tons and tons and tons of models, one might rightfully question the quality and granularity of the models! The only way we're able to get as many as we currently do is because of our 20-year history of extremely efficient DSP code optimization. Also note you can split Path/DSP 2 into two completely separate paths—2A and 2B, and then use 2A to extend Path 1 (75% of available horsepower) and 2B for your bass (25% of available horsepower).

Keep in mind that Path 1 and Path 2 each get their own DSPs. If you're only using Path 1, you're utilizing half of Helix's horsepower. Check out the preset 8 TEMPLATES > 01B Parallel Spans, which splits Two Amp+Cab blocks across both paths.

Make sure you click the "Beta" box on the right, otherwise the new Helix app won't show up in the list.

Before a set, at stage volume, I do this: Select preset, press AMP if necessary, turn Knob 6 (Ch Vol), SAVE, SAVE. Repeat step 1 for all presets in the set. It might be a bit more transparent to control preset volume from the Output blocks' Knob 2 (Level), but I don't freak out about driving any post-amp effects harder/softer. I can see how many might, however.

Still on track to release the Public Beta this week sometime. Anything could happen, but it looks good.

Press MENU and then Knob 6 (Global Settings). Use the joystick to select the Footswitches submenu. Turn Knob 2 (Preset Mode Footswitches) to select "Lower Row."

If weight is of the utmost importance, Matrix FRFRs are incredibly lightweight. Almost comically so (in a good way).

Also, don't run any other Line 6 software (especially don't have the Helix librarian open) and don't stream audio at the same time.

We'd still love to (and AFAIK, still plan to) make Helix <—> DT integration more elegant, but to be honest, it's all about prioritizing what existing Helix users want. Right now, they're screaming loudest for the editor, which will hopefully drop sometime next week. Believe me, if we could hire an army of 400 DSP and embedded engineers right now and get to everything in our EXHAUSTIVE list, we would. To be fair, I've waxed poetic about the differences with Helix's DT implementation since it was first announced last June. We also include a DT-specific template preset: 8 TEMPLATES > 04D DT25-DT50 Remote. In some respects, you can dig deeper with Helix and DT than you could with POD HD500X, but it admittedly takes a bit more programming to get there. The Command Center is key, and don't forget that you can copy/paste individual DT remote commands—or all commands—from preset to preset.

To assign block on/off to a footswitch in three seconds: Use the joystick to select the desired block. Touch (but don't press) the desired footswitch for two seconds and press Knob 6 (OK). To assign a model parameter to a footswitch in three seconds: Press and hold the parameter's knob. Helix jumps to the Controller Assign page for that parameter. Press Knob 6 (Learn Controller) and then press the desired footswitch. OPTIONAL: Move Knob 4 (Min Value) and Knob 5 (Max Value) to restrict the parameter range and press HOME to exit. To assign a Command Center command (MIDI, Amp Control, CV, CV Toggle) to a footswitch: Press MENU (three lines icon) and then Knob 3 (Command Center). Use the joystick to select the desired footswitch. Turn Knob 1 (Command) to select the type of command Knobs 2-5 to set the command's values. Up to 8 of the above items (any combination) can be assigned to a single footswitch. If you want two blocks to toggle back and forth, select one and press BYPASS. Repeatedly touching a footswitch will cycle through all assignments. This is the reason we limited footswitch assignments to 8 items—cycling through any more than 8 would be annoying. In this case, we artificially restricted functionality for UX's sake. The 64 controller assignments per preset is a technical limitation, however.

It doesn't have to be assigned to a command, but it does have to be assigned to something. Helix won't let you name footswitches that contain nothing. If a block on/off or parameter is assigned to a footswitch, you should be able to name it from the Command Center screen without assigning a command.

From the manual: NOTE: The switch's LED ring and scribble strip label reflect the color and bypass state of its most recently selected block or item, even if other blocks assigned to the same switch are enabled.

This is from Helix's electrical engineer: The XLR outputs, when set to line level, are 20Vpp max, which is approximately +19.2dBu. So if you want to talk about nominal levels, you can say that’s +4dBu nominal with approximately 15dB of headroom. The ¼†outputs are exactly the same levels when set to line level, except unbalanced. XLR outputs are balanced. Another thing to consider is Helix's Guitar Input, which has > 123dB of dynamic range (due to patented circuitry), which is industry-leading.

Ha! Any lack of peace will be from our collective users. I've met a couple guys who work for Fractal, and they're incredibly kind and gracious. It's more like two dads on the playground, furrowing their collective brows at their kids screaming "my dad can beat up your dad!" Yeah, well shut up, kids—the dads would rather grab a beer. I've said it before, but we're big fans of what Cliff and co. have accomplished (and will continue to accomplish); a few Line 6ers own AxeFX themselves. Personally, I see this whole thing as Fractal, Line 6, Kemper, and Atomic together against the ill-informed masses who claim modeling sucks.

It's not Tim Cook's job to answer questions about Logic Pro X's automation curves. It's not Bob Iger's job to answer questions about Star Wars and Avengers movie subplots. It's not Marcus' job to answer questions about Helix's MIDI implementation. Actually, it's not my job either, but I do it anyway—on my own time—unless the question is ridiculous or the person asking is rude.

After doing the math, I've averaged about 15-20 posts per day across dozens of forums and social media outlets since Helix was first announced. And it's not even in my job description. So yeah, when I'm posting late at night from home and constantly checking forums while on vacation, if someone says Line 6 isn't being communicative, they're either oblivious or they're trolling. I'm Product Manager and Product Designer for all Helix products, which basically means it's my baby.