RitchieM

I don’t mean the casing / pedal or the switches, just the plastic elements really. But honestly, can’t complain too much, mine has had a hard life and is still going strong!

I have my helix in a travel bag with all the other stuff I need for a gig, and sadly the strip above the expression pedal cracked and the liquid Crystal means can’t see anything. Plus the master volume is kind of loose (the knob attaching it to the mechanics beneath). It’s been through some punishment, but there are a few elements of the helix that should have been done a bit more robustly I would say. Still love it though. Oh, and the forum needs to do something about pictures. The image above rendered square unless it’s clicked on when view on iPhone, and it makes the helix look weird!!!

My understanding for Kirk was it was a modded Crybaby Rack Wah and units were just linked controllers. Either way, still never managed to find the tone. I do have a KH Crybaby, and even with my ESP KH2 I can’t nail it, so it’s definitely also in the amp.

Honestly, I have wanted to recreate that Kirk Black Album live tour sound for years, and got better than the stock ones on a Vox Chrome with a boost when engaged and an EQ linked, but still never that proper thick and throaty sound he got. Following with anticipation!!

So, tried it, and the Stomp assignments work, but on mine AND the new presets, EXP1 / 2 are not assigned. Toe switches modes fine, but that’s it. Manually assigning to Volume or Wah and it’s all gravy, so going to rebuild / reset / reinstall. If I open an empty preset though and insert a volume or wah block, assignment to the pedal is correct. also, the presets keep rebuilding, like all Factory 1, 2 and mine!

Hi, thanks for the reply. I restarted about 5 times and each time it was doing the rebuild, that’s why I was unsure if it was normal operation or not. I didn’t upgrade because I was a little worried about losing my tones, even though I backed them up, and then things kind of got away from me a little! Hahaha. As I say, I use Native, I just only use Floor for plying live, and my tones were always fixed for that. i didn’t think of checking existing presets, will do that tonight, but my initial thing was why it didn’t just work. The pedals are engaging and seeming to “work”, it’s like they have been disconnected from the assignments. I will check again. As I said, wasn’t sure if it was a bug, and a search of EXP bugs only seemed to bring up the 2.8 era issue. In terms of “backup”, the version of the software I was using, I couldn’t find that option weirdly enough (it was an EARLY v1), but did export tones and Setlists. Will have to investigate further.

So, after all this time I have FINALLY updated my Helix from v1.06.5, brought my Setlist back in, but the Expression pedal doesn’t change volume or wah on my presets?? Clicking the toe switches between EXP 1 / EXP 2, the % changes, the wah engages, but it doesn’t sweep. Have I missed a simple trick from 4 years ago??? also, when I turn it on, it keeps saying “Rebuilding Presets”, is this normal?? I have searched, found v2.8 bugs, but can’t seem to find anything. btw, have been using Native, so it’s not all a shock as to the new stuff!! Hahaha. But this little bit has baffled me. thank you! Ritchie

I have been searching for this answer as I have had the same issue too, a PRS into an ID14 and it was just sounding horrid, but live with my floor I am happy as a pig in some sort of muck. I opened the ID 14 control panel and had the input gain as low as possible and it was just too hot, so lowered the input and boom, things just start to sing as they should!

I have to say, for me, the presets of the Helix are its biggest let down, especially compared to the plug-in versions by others. They just do not do the unit justice at all and I don’t know why. I love my Helix, love Native, but if you fire up a preset from say AmpliTube, it just sounds better out the gate, a great starting point. That said, replace the cab with an IR and they come to life. Maybe it’s just how I’m using it, who knows.

Thank you so much for the help. After nearly 3 years of using it week in week out, I was just a little nervous of losing things. Really do appreciate you taking the time to assist.

Hi, thank you for getting back to me. After I made the post, I kind of engaged my brain a bit and remembered I could connect to the iPad, so tried and it worked, then remembered the instruction manual on the USB drive! I downloaded the Helix Application and installed, connected fine and I backed up the presets. I still wasn't 100% on the next step, so if I am reading right, I use the Line 6 Updater to update to the latest firmware, then install HX Edit and we are good to go???

Hi guys, been a Helix user from the beginning, but still on 1.06 and want to update it all after backing up my current patches and the like, but this comp (Win10) had a full reinstall so lost the original software that connected it to the system, but running into the problems with the "connection interrupted" thing. I have realised I had download HX edit, and it says v2.70 or higher, so I am at a loss because I dont know if its the dodgy usb cable (tried another and it didnt work, but that may be dodgy too!), I need older software to do the backup (I keep seeing about the backign up with the older HX Edit thing!) or what. Thank you in advance Ritchie

Mine I daren't show. I carry it in a Samsonite hold-all with all my usual gig rubbish. The Relay comment, god yeah, best thing ever. We do Try A Little Tenderness and I do this call / response thing with the vocal, and we started doing it pretty much the week I got that (ex Mrs bought it as a treat!!! Still best mate, partially for that reason!) and ever since I always go out into the audience and sit next to a woman and sort of seranade her in a really cheesy funny way. It's the best piece of kit ever just for that and being able to stand on tables and play.

2 wahs! Never thought of that! The low and high cuts I have had a play with, but didn't get quite what I was looking for, but definitely worth experimenting with. Been obsessed with Hammetts wah tone since I started playing! I love the model I am using as for me it's the best out of the bunch, but still lacks punch at both ends.

For naming the Expression pedal, I call mine Dave, and if you believe it enough, it will BE Dave. (Shouldn't post on forums after a drink, sorry!!!). The tap thing got me for a bit. I think the Helix is epic, but as with any piece of software, you have to get used to the general operating concepts and philosophy. I spent ages going through presets wondering why I could get the Tap Tempo working until I looked on here!! What is strange though is when I was doing that in time mode, I noticed it did some weird pitch shift thing on the trails of the delay. Was actually quite a cool effect, almost like aftertouch on a keyboard. Oooh, Ideascale!!

Set a bypass foot-switch? Do you have a lot of patches that you would record and play with? If not, save the patch in another Preset bank and remove the cabs seems logical. Am new to both here and Helix myself so just don't take my word for it. I'm sure there is a more elegant solution.

Hi all, new on here, but long time XTLive owner and now proud Helix man! Anyway, I have always loved the Kirk Hammett and Slash style wah, used a Vox Chrome for years and then the model of it on the XT. Generally happy with that, but given the flexibility of the Helix I now want more. I know there are the custom versions out there, but does anyone have any tips for thickening a wah sound, maybe with a graphic eq before then turning that block on as the wah is engaged??? Thanks in advance Ritchie