johnplanetz

I've had my Helix for the last year and a half, and have never had any significant issue with all the system updates. However, since I installed the 2.60 update, I'm seeing the helix intermittently freeze when changing presets. When it freezes, everything becomes unresponsive. The tap light is still flashing, but nothing else works, and there's no sound. I have to power-cycle to get going again. However, I can reproduce this just by powering on, and randomly turning the preset knob in my user bank for a minute or so. Here's a video: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NSuj-RvoGJ_jwUuF9i9gHn7EA3L4L9wX. It's inconsistent and isn't specifically associated with any particular presets that I can tell. None of my presets use any of the new amps or reverb models, and none of them are really "pushed to the limit". USB is not connected- just a regular non-variax guitar and 1/4" audio. Is anyone else seeing this? I entered a support ticket last week, but no progress on that front. I have an upcoming gig and am considering downgrading to the previous version. I've never had to do that before so I'm a little uncertain about the process. Thanks, John

Another datapoint- I forwarded the Helix LT announcement to the bass player in my band who has been thinking about getting a Helix. The LT release did not sway him at all- he still likes the look and feel of the Helix better. I think the market is plenty large enough to accommodate both models. And I'm excited that the expanding user base for Helix / LT / Native ensures lots of exciting new updates for all of us. -John

At first, I kinda panicked – I just bought my Helix floor a few weeks ago, and they’ve already released a new model with the same processing power and audio quality, but at a significantly lower price?! However, after looking at the specs and reading about the differences, I’m no longer doubting my my purchase! I love my Helix! Wrote up my thinking on this at my blog: http://www.planetz.com/new-helix-lt-announced -John

Update to 2.20 went perfectly smoothly for me- on macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Thanks Line 6!

We're currently running wired IEM's instead of wireless. One day we'll switch to wireless, but it's a big investment. 6 aux outs from the DL32R for 6 independent IEM mixes into the 6-channel headphone amp, then extension cords out to each player position. I just run a spiral wrapped wire up my guitar cable to my waist, where I plug in my SE215's. This was an inexpensive way to get into IEM's (< $1000 for the entire IEM rig for 6 guys) and we've been running it for a couple years now. It's sooooooo much better than floor wedges. You're right about feeling a bit disconnected, but you get used to it. We tried running an audience mic for awhile, but we decided we didn't need it. -John

I would love to be able to Undo a model change in the helix front panel edit. Seems I often bump the model joystick when making other edits. Then I have to decide whether I should revert my entire preset editing session, or just try to remember what settings I had on the previously selected model.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm happy to report that the Helix sounded fantastic in my IEM's at the rehearsal. I didn't do any radical EQ'ing in the mixer- I just rolled off some lows and highs. Everyone in the band was impressed with the sound. It honestly sounds better than my previous rig. And I was thrilled with the flexibility, visibility, ease of use, and minimal setup! Furthermore, I set up the PA in my garage and tested my sound through the mains and it sounded fine. Not exactly representative of how it'll sound at the venue, so maybe it'll require a bit of tweaking. But I'm now quite confident to use the Helix at our gig on Friday. The only things I'm struggling with a bit are getting consistent volumes across presets, and getting the same character of high-gain musical feedback with the EON 610 compared with what I was able to get before with my 2x12 tube amp. Oh, and having enough hours in the day to play! :) -John

That does seem to be the case. Move too fast in Helix, and it'll crash the editor. Since I'm a newbie when it comes to Helix editing, maybe there's more streamlined ways to make edits. For example, when changing a block model-- I press the joystick to see the list, then rotate it to scroll through the selections. If I change the model selection a few times, it'll crash the editor. Do you see that too? In short, it sounds like you're saying "don't use the editor unless you'll make your edits in the editor". I can just run the editor when i want to type in the the names and then quit it. That's reasonable I guess (though I hope Line 6 can improve this!)

Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried both side usb-ports, and removed all other usb devices.

Same story here! Tonight is the first time i'm going to rehearsal without lugging my pedal board and 60w tube 2x12 combo. Love that amp, but it weighs 70 pounds and using 4cm is a pain. Tonight will be just Helix and a monitor! Wish me luck :)

I just got my Helix a couple days ago, and have been working on making a ton of presets. Loving it! I have a 2015 MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra 10.12.3. First thing I did when receiving the Helix was installed the latest Editor 2.11 and updater, installed the latest Helix Firmware 2.12. I followed the instructions to the letter- updated the global/presets/etc... When making presets, I'm loving working from the Helix itself, but I don't love entering snapshot/preset names, so I like to have the Editor attached to use the Mac keyboard. However, the Editor crashes really frequently. Most often, when I'm using the Helix joystick to change block models. I can reproduce this in under 30 seconds. I attached an example crash report. Usually I can just reopen the Editor. However, sometimes it hangs the Helix until I physically unplug the usb cable. Nothing I've tried changes the behavior. I've tried the USB cable provided with the Helix, and a different cable. I've restarted my Mac and quit other apps. What am I missing? Is this a known issue? Thanks, John Helix Crash Log.txt

Great community here! I've been a long time lurker, now finally in possession of a Helix!! My Helix and EON 610 arrived last night and I'm busily making presets in prep for tomorrow night's rehearsal (and gig next Friday). I'm making the sounds while listening through the EON 610 over XLR line level, and everything is starting to sound pretty awesome. On the other hand, when I plug in headphones (nice Sony MDR-7509HD) to the back of the Helix though, it just sounds awful. The EON 610 will be on stage with me, but just to feel some air, and interact for feedback. I'll be wearing Shure SE215 in-ears (along the rest of the band), so we need it to sound good in the ears. The Helix will be connected via XLR to Mackie DL32R mixer, to an ART HeadAmp6 Pro headphone amp, and back to the in-ears. And the DL32R also feeds the house- QSC GX7 power amp into Yamaha Studio S115V. So the question is-- will my in-ears sound as bad as the Helix headphone jack? If so, what's the best way to resolve this? Helix global EQ? Or EQ in the mixer? Treble/bass controls on the headphone amp? Something else? And I assume the Helix will need EQ'ing for the FOH as well, but will that need to be different or the same EQ settings needed to sound good in-ears? Bonus questions :) - is there any way to use the headphone jack on the Helix (like when playing at home at night) that doesn't suck? - am I insane for risking a whole new rig for a gig in a week??? I guess I'll take my HD500x and Blackstar Stage 60 as a backup. Thanks, -John

Great to hear! My story is nearly identical, coming from an HD500x to a Helix, late-40s, cover band :) Except that I got my Helix and EON 610 last night, and the first rehearsal using it with the band is tomorrow night! Last night was "try all the presets" and finding my way around. Early this morning before work was trying to reproduce the 3 channels of my Blackstar Stage 60 so I can go completely ampless for the first time! This was surprisingly easy, and I'm psyched I won't have to lug my 70 pound Blackstar around anymore. Next, I need to make a bunch of special song-specific presets (for songs by Beatles, U2, Billy Idol, Black Keys, etc). I'm still not sure what the best approach will be for making these presets, but I'm excited to do the work and find out. I'm loving the snapshots, the scribble strips, and how much dsp power is available! Are you finding that you are missing anything from your HD500x? One thing I noticed is that there's no talk box sound. Even tho a bit gimmicky, I used that in Beverly Hills. I guess I can just use a wah wah for now... -John

True that! Let us know what you come up with and how it goes. As for Happy Birthday, it turns out that the Beatles' Birthday is super-fun to play, and nicely fulfills the 'please sing happy birthday for my friend' requests.

Stonehenge!!! My band is decidedly not Irish, but we've had a St Patricks Day gig for the last 5 years running. This year we finally added a U2 song, ("Still Havent Found"), to our setlist. Prior to that, we just had Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl, haha! And not once in all these years has it made any difference that we didn't have any other Irish tunes... My advice is to just wear a green t-shirt, and call it done! Just got my Helix yesterday, and excited to set up my sounds! No advice for a flute sound unfortunately -John

Question for you guys (@ncockerill, @jbuhajla) playing live direct to FOH and using IEM without a stage monitor: I'm about to take the leap to helix. My current setup is hd500x into the righteously kickass but totally overkill blackstar stage 60. I've got the amp master volume on like 2 (not super loud - it's mic'd up into the mixer and I'm wearing IEM's). But I love the ability to get musical feedback during high gain solos, etc. Are you guys able to achieve that kind of feedback without any stage monitoring of your guitar sound? I was assuming i would need a stage monitor like an eon610 or ts210 just for this reason. But it would be simpler to go without! John

Thanks for mentioning Scott's Helix channel videos- some great stuff there! Here's his video demo'ing the feedback. He's using a JBL Eon 612:

Hey manysounds--- thanks for the confirmation. That's great news. I guess Helix provides MIDI power after all! I'll mark this issue as solved. I've never used that Guitar Wing. Can you share what kinds of things you were doing to helix with it?

Thanks Sounddog. I'll get a CCK and give it a try. Meanwhile, I think it would be to go back to the original question, and get that answered definitively, before marking this thread as solved. Hopefully Digital_Igloo can respond on whether these bluetooth midi adapters are expected to work properly with Helix, powered over the midi jacks.

Hey Sounddog- Will the iPad charge over the usb cable, or do you need to have both cables attached?

Thanks for the suggestion Sounddog. Wireless is appealing, but I guess wired may be more bulletproof, and keeping the ipad charged is a nice benefit. So when plugging the adapter into the Helix, does the Helix just appear as a standard usb audio/midi device, so it shows up as a port in Set List Maker with no special set up? I have my ipad mini mounted sideways/landscape to my mic stand. I'm a bit concerned about having that adapter hang off the side. Have you tried running a lightning extension cable (so there's a simple wire plugged into the iPad, and the adapter itself is down on the floor a with a short usb cable connecting the adapter to the helix?

I used Set List Maker on the iPad and would like to have it change Helix presets over MIDI when changing songs. There are two products I know of that might be able to add bluetooth MIDI to Helix: Yamaha MD-BT01 and Quicco Sound mi.1 I'd like some confirmation that these will work with Helix. I've seen conflicting reports: The Yamaha was suggested in this thread and confirmed working with Helix in one of the sweetwater reviews here. However, in post #5669 on the epic gearpage thread, Digital_Igloo said that these would NOT work due to lack of MIDI power. Has that changed? I like the look of the Quicco because of its small size and I could leave it permanently plugged in, whereas the Yamaha sticks out so far that I'd have to remove and reinsert every time I put the Helix in a case for rehearsals/gigs. Thanks, John

Did anyone ever try the Nushield? Curious to hear how well it works! Thanks, John