Digital_Igloo

Yes. Yes. Yes, but don't expect to run tons of processing blocks for every band member.

The six instant commands can be CC, Bank/Prog (MSB, LSB, PC), MMC, External Amp 1/2/1&2, or CV. MIDI commands can follow the Base Channel or be set to their own channel. No creation of big custom SysEx strings, but if it's something you'd like to see, IdeaScale that sucka!

Helix works great with Variax Acoustic or regular acoustics (either via piezo or mic'ed up—the mic pre sounds great). We have a new crazy 3-oscillator synth that's totally bugnuts. You have to kinda know synthesis to get the most out of it tho'; the thing has 24 parameters.

It's important to note that Helix does not behave like HD500X when it comes to L6 LINK communication. It acts much more like HD500X and StageSource; that is, one DT will receive a mono signal and two will split the signal hard left and right. There's no tapping off from various points in the signal, although Helix's flexible routing makes this very easy to accomplish this manually. Unfortunately, at launch, there will also be no automatic topology recall, although if you're willing to hook up a MIDI cable as well, some of this can be accomplished via the Command Center page's Instant commands. Helix's engine is completely different from HD500X's, and much of the functionality of the current DT Dream Rig simply can't apply to the new routing architecture. We're still not sure how deep down the L6 LINK rabbit hole we want to go, so anything's possible.

Yes, Mission's Line 6 pedals will work. It's only one message per switch (or two values, for CC Toggle and CV/Expression Toggle messages), but you also get up to six buffered commands that are instantly spit out when recalling the preset, even if they're not assigned to a switch. Yes, Helix sends and receives MIDI over USB. We have a setlist of template presets that include DAW remote capability. If you don't use external expression pedals, EXP 1 and EXP 2 switch in a similar manner, but you can do crazy routing things in the signal flow that can preclude this. 90% of your day-to-day editing is accomplished from the Home screen. The notion of multiple edit pages was actively avoided. Helix won't have preset spillover at launch. We have some cool ideas on how this might be implemented in the future, but we can't promise anything. The good news is that Helix's routing is incredibly flexible, so you can do all sorts of inter-preset switching that can emulate spillover.

The new Helix subforum is up, and I've posted an FAQ.

What kind of modeling engine is Helix running? Helix utilizes an all new advanced dual-DSP processor architecture we call the HX Modeling Engine. Although a few popular HD effects models have been meticulously converted (and enhanced with more control and nuance), the vast majority have been modeled in Helix from the ground up. Aside from our high-gain favorites Elektrik, Doom, and Epic, which have been rebuilt using the new architecture, all amps and cabs have been created from scratch in HX. Can I load third-party or my own custom IRs (Impulse Responses)? Yes. IRs are loaded into Helix via the Helix Mac/PC software. They will then be available from special IR blocks that can be placed anywhere on your signal paths. Helix can store up to 128 1024 or 2048-point IRs, and a preset can run up to four IRs simultaneously (DSP permitting). Fourteen LCDs... Really? Yes, really. All that feedback makes a huge difference in the heat of the gig, especially when you custom label and/or custom color your switches. It also means we have more feature design flexibility in the future, because functionality isn't restricted by chassis silkscreen. Where are the tonestack knobs? Under the big LCD. Since Helix can run up to four amps simultaneously (DSP permitting), pressing the AMP button quickly cycles through the tonestacks of any Amp+Cab, Amp, and Preamp blocks in a tone. Where's the Looper switch? The Looper block is treated like any other effect—It can be placed anywhere on any of the four paths, or even routed to its own output. You can assign it to a footswitch or ignore it completely. Where are the FX Loops? Helix has four sends and returns that can be used separately, used together as an FX loop, or stereo linked. They can also act as additional inputs and outputs for processing keyboards, drum machines, or even other modelers—simultaneously. Can I reamp? Yes. You can reamp two instruments simultaneously. You can even choose which two physical inputs will be sent dry to your DAW. This all sounds pretty deep. Is Helix easy to use? STUPIDLY so. Nearly all day-to-day tonesculpting—from Variax string tuning to deep amp parameters to output routing and everything in between—is accomplished from one unified home screen. Just touch the desired footswitch (they're capacitve touch) and turn the knobs. There—that's 90% of your tweaking. Read the included Helix Cheat Sheet and you'll be a power user before you open the box. More advanced features such as footswitch and controller assignment have shortcuts to get you the results you want at nearly the speed of thought. For example, you can assign your Variax's tone knob to control delay feedback in roughly three seconds. Want Expression Pedal 3 to control looper playback level? Three seconds. The mod wheel on your MIDI keyboard to control rotary speaker speed? Three seconds. In most ways, it's actually faster to tweak from the hardware than it is the editor. Helix also has this cool Pedal Edit mode, which lets you adjust all of your amp and effects parameters without taking your hands off the guitar. How's the build quality? Helix's top panel is extruded from a solid block of aluminum and its side panels and treadle are solid aluminum as well. There's no metal protection bar because our lead tester kicked the crap out of the metal knobs and they worked flawlessly. (I'm trying to convince Line 6 to upload the video.) What's the difference between Helix and Helix Rack? Along with the Helix Control remote, Helix Rack's workflow and feature set is virtually identical to that of Helix. Plus you get duplicate expression pedal jacks, a 1/4" analog bypass (buffered) output, AES/EBU in, and Wordclock in with terminator switch. Presets can be freely shared across both units with no file conversion required. Why is Helix Rack 3 spaces? Couldn't you have crammed it into 2 spaces? No, but we tried. The color screen is far too large and there are too many ins and outs to fit into 2RU. What are the secret bootup shortcuts? Hold FS5 and FS12 while powering Helix: Clears EVERYTHING Hold FS5 and FS6 while powering Helix: Restores backdoor and user-selectable Global parameters to factory Hold FS7 and FS8 while powering Helix: Restores presets and setlists to factory Hold FS8 and FS9 while powering Helix: Restores presets, setlists, and IRs to factory Hold FS9 and FS10 while powering Helix: Restores presets, setlists, IRs, and both backdoor and user-selectable Global parameters to factory Hold FS10 and FS11 while powering Helix: Upgrades existing presets to latest format Hold FS11 and FS12 while powering Helix: In the unlikely situation where Helix may freeze, clears only the current preset without affecting other setlists and presets Hold FS6 and FS12 while powering Helix: In the unlikely situation where Helix may not boot, enters "Safe Mode," allowing for installing the newest firmware Dimensions? Weight? Helix—22.05 x 11.85 x 3.6 inches; 14.6 lbs. Helix Rack—19 x 5.25 x 9.5 inches; 9.3 lbs. Helix Control—17.2 x 9.4 x 2.5 inches; 7.2 lbs. So how much is it? Helix is $1499. Helix Rack is $1399. Helix Control is $399. When is Helix available? Now.

POD doesn't support tuner displays over MIDI. I should probably know this, but are the companies you mentioned using the same CC or SysEx messages? If there's a standard, we could maybe add support; if there's no standard, we probably wouldn't want to chase down multiple protocols for a wide variety of floor controllers.

IIRC, you can press [^] or [v] while in Live Edit mode to dial in fine values. The expression pedal is for coarse values. Features were culled directly from IdeaScale. Although sometimes it's difficult to realize a certain feature request with an existing product (or impossible, if it requires a hardware change), IdeaScale is directly informing future products; sometimes, to a ridiculous degree.

In the deep cab parameters, drop reso and thump to zero. It should sound a lot closer to what you're used to.

Just checked the app: HP (Low Cut) goes from 5 Hz to 500 Hz; LP (High Cut) goes from 500 Hz to 20.0 kHz. They allow you to filter out high and/or low frequencies of looper playback.

Yep, on the back of Firehawk FX, make sure the Output switch is set to Line Out Mode. If it's set to Amp Out Mode, the guitar is only heard from the 1/4" outputs—not the headphones or XLRs. From the manual: Output Modes The OUTPUT MODE switch found on the Firehawk FX rear panel cleverly configures the audio signals sent out the XLR and 1/4-inch outputs to optimize them for your setup: Line Out Mode optimizes the guitar sound for direct recording and full-range monitoring. The signal is at line level and simulates the sound of a mic’d amp out of both the XLR and 1/4†outputs. Amp Out Mode is very different in that the guitar sound is optimized for connecting into the front of a guitar amp. The signal is at instrument level and is not appropriate to monitor through headphones or a full range system, therefore, the guitar signal is only present at the 1/4†outputs in this mode. Because Bluetooth® streamed audio does not typically sound best playing through a guitar amp, the 1/4†outs carry only the guitar signal when in Amp Out Mode – Bluetooth® audio is only present at the XLR and Headphone outs in this mode.

Sort of the opposite. It lets you edit presets from Firehawk FX's top panel without a mobile device.

Live Edit's the other big news—You can now edit amp, cab, and effects parameters without a mobile device. You can even edit them while playing.

Firehawk FX 1.1 update's coming this afternoon; the new app's already in iTunes. In the meantime, here's the updated manual. tl;dr: New Live Edit mode—adjust nearly all amp, cab, and effects parameters without a mobile device (or even taking your hands off the guitar) New one-button looper (20 seconds) New channel volume from stepped encoder Improved Bluetooth performance Removed artifacts when switching patches; we're still working on making it faster Volume pedal now behaves properly when switching patches

I actually like deadmau5 quite a bit. He's been extremely transparent about the whole "spacebar DJ" thing, and his productions tend to eschew the myriad tropes found in modern EDM. If you have a few hours, you can even watch him work on a new track in real time. The nine-minute version of "Strobe" is one of my favorite dance records, but yeah, 90% of the rest of that genre bores me to tears.

There are two parts to the "lag issue." One deals with certain anomalies that can be audible when switching patches. This has been fixed for 1.1. The other deals with the time between pressing the switch and loading the preset. This has been improved somewhat in 1.1, we're continuing to investigate further optimizations, and are optimistic. Many people were thrilled with Firehawk FX's performance at launch, but for those who aren't, know the team is working overtime. As with every other digital product on the planet, development's done in parallel; that is, deferring new features doesn't automatically make other things happen sooner, and can in fact slow things down. As for "released by a certain date," because our parent company is publicly traded, we're getting into trade legislation. It's literally illegal for us to promise anything ahead of time, especially timelines. Smaller, independent companies can promise the moon (and often do until the pitchforks come out), and companies with billions in cash like Apple can choose to defer revenue in favor of building months of hype. If it were up to me, we'd give you guys a day-by-day update on what's happening behind the scenes. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to do that. It's all thanks to Enron, believe it or not. Also note that since Firehawk FX is largely dependent on a mobile app, we're at the mercy of Apple and Google's approval process, so even if we could discuss timelines, the best answer would be "about a day or two after whenever we get approval." I've been running around music gear forums since the early days of Harmony Central in the mid 90s, and am currently active in a good half dozen. The Line 6 forums are less about armchair discussions on music technology (which I prefer) than peer-to-peer tech support, but if you guys ask the questions, someone will likely answer them to the best of their ability. Many people in our industry are uncomfortable visiting their own forums and instead choose to lurk; maybe I have a death wish. :ph34r:

There's no official representation from Line 6 on any forum, including this one. I'm just some dude who happens to work for Line 6 and frequents five or six forums. I post because I want to, not because it's my job.

It was basically this: We either make everyone wait [X] amount of time for a 1.1 that includes everything or drop 1.1 now with a 1.2 (or whatever) after. Either way, people will complain, but to be honest, we'd rather get some stuff out there sooner than later.

It's already starting to swing back. At last year's EDM conventions, it was almost all spacebar DJs. This year's EDM conventions have a lot more live musicians—guitarists, percussionists, and live drummers. Not saying things are where they should be, but it's looking up.

FWIW, I don't think Line 6 is all too concerned. We just want people to enjoy their PODs this long weekend. :)

Haha! I grew up in South Dakota. Mosquitoes are the state bird there.

;) We wanted people to play guitar this three-day weekend instead of getting stung by mosquitoes.

Currently, Firehawk FX's Tap Tempo is per preset only. We're aware that people would also like to apply Tap Tempo globally, and we're looking into it. I don't believe there's any technical limitation. Best way to get visibility is to submit and vote it up on IdeaScale.

Don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure there's a technical limitation. IIRC, our crypto chip isn't set up to support enough authorizations to accommodate individual model sales. Not sure how many we can do, but it's fewer than the number of models in the Fully Loaded Bundle.