JLondon

I would definitely not rule out "bug". I've had weird things happen with my tap/tuner footswitch where the Helix wouldn't stay in tuner mode unless I kept holding down on the footswitch (like it was set to momentary mode rather than latch). It had all the symptoms of a hardware issue but I held off on doing anything about it. The problem went away with an update. Problem came back again later with another update and then went away again with yet another. Haven't had a problem since and it's been a while now. Still could be a bad switch I guess but it's been my experience that wonky footswitches don't wait for weeks to make changes in their behavior.

I have a thought (and that's all it is) in the form of a question. Just because one setting may sound "different" to some, does said difference necessarily equate to "better"? In other words - are those, that can, actually perceiving a difference in "quality" vs. just hearing a difference in "sound"? If the latter is the case, couldn't the difference be compensated for with the tweaking of a few knobs? I'm of the opinion, for instance, that the hundreds of file options you are bombarded with when you download an IR is overkill to begin with. I do respect all the trouble they go through to make them, but I suspect a lot of the options could be eliminated simply with the tweaking of a few knobs on the Helix itself. By the time we adjust an IR's Hi/Low cuts, mix, etc, (as we all do) we most likely just converted the IR into an IR that already existed as a file option. This is absolutely true of all the effect/amp blocks in the Helix itself. In reality the Helix is not a magic box with a chip (or whatever) in it for every/effect5 amp featured. In most cases one amp or effect can be made to sound exactly like another of its own type if you tweak it just right. So my point in all this, I suppose, is that unless you are being honest with yourself and hearing an actual drop in "quality" rather than a difference in "sound" - then the choice is subjective and I'm going with the "whatever sounds best - do it" camp.

Stagesource 3s and don't look back. Get a L2 if you want something more compact/light and just need to monitor yourself on stage. But when you play in stereo with two L3s using the L6 LINK and cables, you'll wonder why you ever considered anything else. The way the stagesource system communicates with itself is stellar.

I also use the L6 link from the Helix to my Lt3. I use the LT3 as a personal monitor and the audience hears what I'm hearing via a mic cable from the Helix to the FOH (soundboard/PA). You cant (conveniently) mic the LT3 or 2 like you would an amp cabinet because the Stagesource speakers have numerous speakers of different types. Also NOTE - if you use the L6 cable/link, it disables the global EQ for reasons over my head. If you wish to use the "global" EQ, simply connect via 1/4" cable rather than L6 (x2 if playing stereo).

Sorry, I misread the original post. But if/when you ever DO get signed in, heed my previous advice.

Same thing happened to me. I also even changed my password, etc., to no avail. PROBLEM: You're trying to download the wrong file. Yes, the file you are trying to download "appears" to be the correct one - for good reason - but it isn't. The screwed up mess with Helix updates is not with the Helix, or the files. It's their website development dept. I don't know who is in charge there but, unlike the hardware development dept, it's very much lacking. SOLUTION: scroll down past the download file that appears to be the correct file complete with "You Must Follow These Instructions" and download the next, less apparent, file on the list. It should work just fine. It did for me. Why do they have two download files with no explanation or anything to distinguish between them? Don't even ask. Won't do any good. In the past they've seemed to be very defensive of their website or don't acknowledge constructive criticism at all. If only their website user interface was 1/8 as good as that of their hardware.

Simply put your volume pedal before the mods, such as delay/reverb, but after the amp/cabs/and gain pedals. Make sure "trails" is "on" for delay/reverb. This way the volume acts as a master volume but allows the mods to trail off. This is true for all tiypes of pedal boards.

Just for the record, my Helix tuner is just fine. As a luthier, and a professional guitar tech, I wouldn't use it for intonation of a guitar I'm setting up for a customer. I have a special tuner that is accurate to within 1/1000th of a fret for that. Proper intonation is a necessary foundation for any guitar, but nobody on the planet - I repeat - NOBODY, can physically control their finger pressure to play within that kind of tolerance (1/1000th). Some of the tolerances of the other tuners that the Helix is being compared to on the other posts are absurd in the sense of actual live play. Also be aware, you can adjust the Helix tuner to compensate for problem areas or for specialty tunings like the Buzz Feiten system. All said and done, I suspect the Helix tuner subject is a quality control issue - and maybe I just got lucky - I don't know.

Thank you so much "Gear Head". Problem solved! Yey! Spent hours toiling over this and not once did I think to approach it from the volume pedal direction rather than from the wah side. Step 2 of your instructions took care of it. I knew it had to be possible. So simple. I have the urge to go bang my head against the wall, but I'll choose to just be thankful for your assistance instead. THANKS!

Thanks for your reply. I've addressed this issue on the forum before. I just re-worded it, (I thought) in a more direct and understandable way in hopes of bettering my chances of getting a more direct answer. I'm using the toe switch/pedal 1 for a wah. The toe switch does act as though it is, in fact, "assigned as the on/off controller" for pedals 2 & 3. That's precisely my dilemma. I can't find anywhere or anyway to "unassign" it. And I don't want to assign the wah on/off to footswitch 1-10. I want pedal 1 to act like a normal wah without having to move my foot to yet another switch first. I've already been made aware of other options in a previous post. But no one has explained how to make happen what I want - which is not only reasonable - but I would think is a no-brainer for the Helix. There has to be a way to unassign/separate the on/off pedal 1 toe switch from the pedals 2 & 3. Can't figure out why that would be a default in the first place - let alone un-fixable. Is there, or is there not, a way to do this. And if so, where do I begin? I know how to unassign all my other switches and change them around. Just can't figure this one out.

Does anyone know how to, or if you can, make the toe switch of expression pedal 1 stop disabling expression pedals 2 & 3? You can see it happening on the screen. When I activate the toe switch, the light goes out & bypasses the volume pedal I have on expression 2. Does same thing if I put volume on exp 3. I've looked into the global settings to the best of my ability and can't find a fix.

Thanks to all for their efforts to help. I didn't realize this was such an issue and thought it was just me. It just really seems completely crazy that as sophisticated and option-rich the Helix is, having a simple wah with a toe switch (first in the chain) AND a simple volume pedal (toward the end of the chain) is so problematic. I haven't had time to mess with the Helix since I posted this. But when I do, I'm going to investigate the global settings to see if there is a conflict between a global volume pedal assignment and my patch setting. I simply just can't wrap my head around the idea that this could be a problem for the Helix.

It could behave like a wah couldn't it. My traditional wah pedal on my analog board doesn't have any affect on volume. I have my volume set to an external expression pedal 2. The onboard expression pedal 1 has no affect on vol what-so-ever until I hit the toe switch for the wah. I just want exp1 to act like a wah, and my external exp 2 to act like a volume pedal. I'm pretty sure the Helix is capable of this. If not - that would be just crazy stupid.

I don't understand why I would need a second external expression pedal (total of 3 expression pedals) just to have a wah and a volume pedal. What would the purpose of the on-board exp 1 be for in this scenario? And how would I turn the wah on and off without having to tap dance over to yet another foot switch? I simply want expression pedal 1 to be, and act like, a wah pedal - no effect on volume or anything else. And my expression pedal 2 to act like a volume pedal and nothing else. I'm pretty sure the Helix is capable of doing that. I just need to set it so that when I engage the toe switch it won't turn expression pedal 2 off. Surely there must be a conflicting global setting somewhere that is defaulting volume back to exp 1 when I hit the toe switch.

Can someone explain to my dense self how to make the toe switch of expression pedal 1 (set for wah) stop affecting my volume pedal (expression pedal 2)? As it is now, when I have the volume set at a particular level on exp 2 pedal, the Helix goes to full volume and bypasses the exp2 pedal altogether when I engage the wah with the toe switch on exp 1. Please make it stop doing that! (grin) Thanks in advance!

It's been a complete failure for me also. HOWEVER_ I have just recently learned, as previously mentioned in this thread, that I should try NOT using it in conjunction with other cabs in the chain. Makes sense to me and I intend to try before closing the books on the subject.

I know this is getting a little off the original topic but I dood it anyway. I don't have an original EM but I have two highly acclaimed clones (Hartman Flanger and Mooer Eleclady). I'll check out "Machinehead". I go for a Gilmour swirly type sound with the "rate" knob dialed almost out completely and I just haven't been able to dial in what I'm used to with the Courtesan. When I dial back the Courtesan "rate", I lose intensity. If I turn up the "rate" it starts to sound like a see-saw. If you're not familiar with the aforementioned clones, the Hartman is pretty well known and the Eleclady is a cheap chinese mini pedal that literally blows the Hartman away. However I've always wished I could dial back the 'mix' of the Eleclady because with the sound is dead on, it can be pretty overpowering. So with the Helix, problem solved if I want to simply add Eleclady to the loop and mix it back. I was actually hoping to be able to achieve that with the Courtesan and not have an extra pedal. Based upon your comment, I'll give it another go. I've learned quite well that if you're not getting something from the Helix, it's often because you haven't tried long/hard enough. Iknowathingortwo said he was a uni-vibe instead of chorus guy. Well I'm kinda a EM instead of chorus guy. I will say that, for me, the Helix Courtesan Flange beats all the Helix Choruses by a mile. But I'm sure that that's because I just not that much of a "chorus" guy.

Very, VERY nice. But I'm not sure I see the point of the external univibe though. In my personal experience, of all the Helix's fx, its Univibe is the most true to the real thing (or really good clone) and I've got some good ones.. The one Helix 'mod' fx I'm just absolutely not 'feelin it' for, to date, is the Courtesan flange (Electric Mistress). No matter how I tweak I can't get it to behave anything like the real McCoy or good clone. But personally I think the Helix's Uni-vibe is awesome.

In my opinion, Stagesource is the way to go. But if you want to use the FRFR speaker just like an amp forget it and just go 4 cable method from the Helix into your favorite amp and cab because you cant mic the stagesource speakers to the soundboard in a practical sense.. Assuming you 'are' currently miking your amp into the soundboard for live play, my preferred method would be to use the FRFR speaker simply to monitor yourself on stage and xlr out directly from the Helix to the soundboard. In this case you may be able to get by with the L2 speaker depending upon how loud your band is. The L2 is MUCH easier to lug around and takes up less stage space. The L3 is as heavy as my 412 cab. I'm using 2 L3s for home play in stereo which is awesome obviously. I use a single L2 for live stage play as described previously. Lastly, I'll just say that while FRFR system is awesome, there will be much more learning curve making your presets sound the way you want than running the Helix into an amp via 4 cable method. Not harder, just different - which is kinda true of the Helix vs. analog setup in general. Due to previous conceptual expectations many freak out & fear they've made a mistake when they first get started especially due to the fact that the factory installed presets are the first thing tried. I think most people would be better off watching a few YouTube videos and then begin by learning to create their own presets to suit their own setup/equipment before trying to use a generic, one-size-fits-all preset.

This Helix issue/topic literally drives me NUTZ! I've read this same post by others many times over, and posted it myself from the very beginning. Many of the solutions/methods make perfect sense to me when I read them. Then I go to apply them and I'm still back in the same hamster wheel. And even when one of these magic tricks makes sense, I can only see it happening with 2 effects. If you are merging 3/4/5/... effects, these seemingly sensible solutions go right out the window. It's not just me or a few. This is a VERY popular issue and regardless of the possibility that there is a way around this, it's inexcusable to me that Line 6 still has not made this a TOP priority after so many updates. There simply needs to be a menu option to simply turn bypass on/off for a particular effect within a multiple switch configuration. In the meantime, if someone had it in their heart to do a (well thought out and rehearsed) YouTube video walking the rest of us dummies through the process of merging at least 4 effects (with OPPOSING functions) to 1 switch - I would bless that person with a prayer of thanks, put that video file on a chain, and wear it around my neck.

Since updating to the new beta editor/driver/updater, my tuner has quit working. I had this problem before when I updated my new unit the first time. Fortunately, I waited to return the unit or send it in for repairs long enough to do the next update. Voila! problem solved. But now it's back with this last update. I've repeated the update - didn't help. The first time I had the problem the tuner would work depending upon its mood or sometimes you had to keep your foot on the switch. Lift your foot and it's gone. Now it just doesn't work at all. If this were a simple stomp box the symptoms would indicate a bad switch. I really don't think it's the switch because it worked so well for many weeks and updates. This problem, and fix, directly coincides with updates to this point. Anyone else having this experience?

While I agree 100% with others that pick choice makes a big difference in tone, I too am anxious to hear replies focused more on the Helix itself and methods others are choosing to get around its sensitivity to differences in guitars/pups/etc. For me the battle is either too much overall brightness, or too much flub in the bass - especially the latter because I love the effect of adding a 1x15 plug and go or other deeper sounding cab to a Marshall IR cab in order to give that extra 'tube' sound (check out the "dumblesque" presets on the tone board for reference). But along with the quality of sound I get comes the flub. And as I start to adjust the cab bass cut, I start to lose the tubiness. It's almost either/or. Anyway, I'm sure there are ways around anything with the Helix and would advise not being too quick to return. Lastly, I will say that I have always been a "all guitar knobs at 10" player. I have found that with the Helix, those knobs have become more important than ever. Try adjusting your favorite presets with guitar volume and tone knobs backed off a bit. Then adjust your guitar first instead of Helix when changing instrument. The Helix is as sensitive to too much guitar volume as a fuzz pedal in my experience.

You have to set the volume pedal to "logarithmic". Why Helix defaults to the other setting, and what it's for, I don't know. But you will definitely hear the difference.

It's an absolute MUST that you set the "mix" of all wahs at 42 to 53 percent depending upon which one. No if's and's or buts. All wahs at 100% sound like effects from a horror movie. Do it - you'll see the difference immediately. Of course you should still set your sweep to taste as well.

The Helix has both a duck delay and a few with modulation. I don't recall what they are called at the moment but the Memory Man clone has modulation.