zappazapper

I haven't seen anybody really express the opinion that any of them are BAD. Like preference for particular types of amps aside (ie. high gain vs "class A"), I've never seen anybody say that such and such an amp in one category was good but another in the same category wasn't. Occasionally someone comes on here and says they're all bad. Fair enough. But the point is that they seem to be all more or less equally accurate to their origin amps, so it really comes down to what you wanna use. For the clean you might want to try a blackface Twin model, because that would tend to be the amp you would use for that if you had one. For the overdrive you could try a Deluxe Reverb or an AC30 or any number of mid-gain amp models the Helix offers. And both Hendrix and AC/DC are famous for using non-master volume Marshalls, the models of which are in abundance on the Helix. I know the sheer number of models can be daunting. I'm still daunted. But you'll find something you can use.

I don't have time now but I think tomorrow I'm gonna try it again because just using the Legacy Plate reverb with the decay and predelay at minimum pretty much had the right length but it just didn't have the same tone. But I remember seeing a "spectral matcher" (my own description, I'm sure there's a better one) JS plugin in Reaper that could measure the spectral content of one signal and apply an EQ curve to make a second signal sound like the first. Maybe such a plugin could be used to guide me towards an appropriate EQ setting in the Helix.

I think they just need to cancel the polyphonic shifter project in favor of being able to use a 15 year old reverb algorithm on 100% wet. *ducks*

For me this kinda furthers the argument that they should expand the Legacy Effects to include other stuff than just the stompbox modellers and the M-series. PodFarm stuff comes more from the XT/X3, which has some great stuff that is no lesser in quality to the stuff already in Legacy. I mean, the OP thinks so.

See. I told you I was ignant.

Forgive my relative ignorance on the subject, but couldn't someone just make an IR of the PodFarm? EDIT: I tested it myself and I can't reproduce the sound of the PodFarm Large Plate with anything on the Helix, although I didn't find it to be anything particularly special anyway.

It seems to me that the OP wants more gain in his solo tone, not necessarily more volume.

You can have a single switch change the gain, master volume, channel volume, tone controls, sag, bias, etc., and parameters from other blocks, all simultaneously if you want. The scenario you describe in your original post is exactly how the unit is intended to be used, either with the built in switches or with external switches connected to FS 4/5.

The standard behavior for footswitches is exactly how you describe. Not only can you use a footswitch to turn 3 (or 2, or 1, or more than 3) effects on or off simultaneously, you can also use a single footswitch to turn some effects on and some off simultaneously - like switch is dim, mod is on, reverb and delay are off... switch is lit, mod is off, reverb and delay are on. You can also use the same switch to control effect parameters, send MIDI, a whole bunch of other things, while still controlling the bypass state of your blocks. This is all without using snapshots.

That's what he said.

Falcor77 is the only person I've ever seen with a negative reputation rating. I need to step up my spicy insult game.

What is the Mix parameter on the Pitch block set to? If you only want the shifted note, it should be set to 100%. Some blocks have separate Dry and Wet volumes instead of a Mix parameter. In that case your Dry should be set to the lowest possible setting and your Wet volume to 0 dB or whatever volume is appropriate.

AFAIK, the Send jack itself is stereo unbalanced, regardless of the signal being sent to it. When you select "mono" in the output settings, it likely sums the stereo signal to a mono signal and sends that mono signal to both sides of the stereo jack. There's nothing in the manual that suggests that it flips the polarity of one side to make it a balanced mono signal. That's probably the best proof you're going to get that it's always going to be a stereo unbalanced signal coming from the Send, even if the Helix has summed the two sides to mono. As your balanced mono line in expects one side to be the same signal but with the polarity flipped, it will flip the polarity of that side itself and sum both sides, and since the HX doesn't flip the polarity to make it a balanced mono signal in the first place, what your balanced mono line in is doing is cancelling out the signal. Your best bet, if you're really that worried about picking up interference, is to use a short TS cable to connect to a DI box, then an XLR to the stage box/mixer.

I've not used a pedal in the loop. I use 4 cable method, which puts my amp's preamp in the loop, just like above, except without a pedal in the second loop. The main issue with running anything in the loop is whether it expects line or instrument level signal at its input. A preamp obviously expects instrument level but I suppose some pedals could expect instrument level and some line level, so you might want to play around with the helix send 2 setting. Personally I use a reamp box and the line setting on the Helix instead of the instrument setting, because I'm not sure that the Helix is also raising the impedance on the instrument setting. I just seem to get better results with the reamp box. But this setup is going to give you the most flexibility and control, as you'll be able to engage or disengage either loop using presets, footswitches, snapshots, etc., instead of having to press the switch on the pedal, not to mention that you can adjust the send level of the loops to tailor the amount of distortion you want from the preamp and/or pedal, if it's a drive pedal. If it's a pitch or time based effect you can adjust the mix amount.

Guitar > helix input Helix send 1 (set to "instrument") > pedal input Pedal output > helix return 1 (set to "line") Helix send 2 (set to "instrument") > amp input Amp FX send > helix return 2 (set to "line") Helix output (set to "line") > amp FX return

Why do you have everything set to "instrument"? Your Helix send should be set to "instrument" because your preamp expects an instrument level signal at its input (I'm assuming), but it also likely outputs a line level signal from its FX send, so your Helix return should be set to "line". Your preamp also likely expects a line level signal at its FX return, so set your Helix output to "line" also.

Your internet comparison isn't valid. Internet speeds weren't purposely reduced because the powers that be were worried that users couldn't handle it, it was because the technology didn't exist yet. There's nothing preventing a deeper implementation of control/organization on the Helix from a technological point of view; the limitations are part of the design. I mean, I find it hard to believe that it just didn't occur to L6 to, to use my previous example, provide an OPENED/CLOSED parameter on the EXT AMP function. If it wasn't an intentional design decision then I'm baffled at how the thing works at all. I have to disagree, because of the way that the Favorites feature is being described. As far as I understand, there will be a sub-menu in the block list called "Favorites" where you can have blocks of any type with custom settings. Once the block is dropped into the preset, it's no longer tied to the Favorite in any way. Or at least I've seen no mention of how it is. So let's say you're right and they're just laying the groundwork / introducing the concept to the user base, with the ultimate goal of having changes made to one Favorite cascade to all other presets containing that Favorite. So when that update comes, will the Helix know which blocks were dropped in from the Favorites list before I updated? Because if it doesn't, I'm going to have to go back and edit all my presets one by one anyway so that the new feature works. The paradigm for this already exists in Guitar Rig. Each block has a block preset menu. You load a generic block and select a block preset. You make changes to the block, it immediately deselects the block preset. You save the settings to an existing block preset name, and all blocks with that block preset selected assimilate those changes. At any time you are able to select a different block preset. With the Favorites feature, I would theoretically have to delete the block, go to the Favorites list and drop a new Favorite into my preset. It's unnecessarily simplified to the point where if they're going to develop the feature to its supposed ultimate goal, it's either going to be cumbersome or they're going to have to change it to the point where it won't be recognizable to anyone who has gotten used to how it works as currently described, which defeats the point of making it simple in the first place. I just think it would make more sense to fully implement the feature properly from the get-go, and have some confidence in the user base's ability to figure it out and teach each other how to use it.

I can't think of any option that would cause the issue you're having. It might be a hardware issue. If you're still under warranty, maybe you can bring it in.

Well, yes and no. No, you currently can't, for example, press a button on the FS-2 to switch to your clean channel and have it turn ON a block, assuming your amp switches to the clean channel when the switch connection is open. But you can use the Command Center to send a CC message to the FS-2 to switch your amp to the clean channel when you press a Helix footswitch to turn a block on. And you can use Instant Commands in the Control Panel in combination with Snapshots to turn blocks on and/or off and switch your amp channels how you want. Basically anything you can do with a unit like Voodoo Labs Control Switcher you can do, with the added benefit of having dedicated switches for your amp channels and reverb, EQ, etc. The only thing you can't do is use the FS-2 to switch your dirty channel ON and a block OFF, or vice versa. Maybe someone at L6 will see my idea and think it makes enough sense to do it regardless of the lack of interest from the online community when 3.0 comes out, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Barring some kind of miracle, I'm using it any way I can, which generally means Snapshots.

Over on TGP there's a pretty robust discussion of the Favorites feature coming to 3.0 and it's the same thing - it's not going to work in a way that will allow you to change parameters on a block across all presets that contain that Favorite, because they're worried that people won't understand how that works and will unwittingly make changes to presets they didn't intend to. But the fact is that if you offer a device that allows you to save, what, about a thousand presets, they really should offer us some tools to deal with those presets in an efficient manner. Instead, they've chosen to, in my opinion, underestimate their user base and hobble their device when there's already things going on in the Helix that are as complex or more that we all had to figure out in order to use the thing properly.

at the expense of versatility on arguably the most advanced effect device in history? An OPENED/CLOSED parameter is really going to make the unit so complex that 99% of users won't be able to use it?

what are your input and output blocks set to?

That being said, I love the Helix. The sounds are ferocious. I jammed with my little 90s rock cover band last night and my tone was blistering. No complaints about sound at all. Only control.

My only gripe about the Helix is the same gripe I have about L6 in general, which is that I think some of their design decisions, particularly when it comes to control, lean too heavily in favor of simplicity over versatility. I get that they want the unit to appeal to people who aren't "geeks", but as someone who isn't intimidated by technology I often come across things that I want to do but can't because of the way the unit is designed to work, and it seems like the reason given is often that they don't want to make the unit too complex for the average user. I'm often baffled as to why certain things are implemented the way they are. For example, the EXT AMP function in the Command Center. You can select Tip or Ring, and you can select Latching or Momentary, which is fine when you assign it to a footswitch, because footswitch is OFF, you get clean channel, and footswitch is ON, you get dirty. But if your plan is to use Snapshots to control your amp (and other things) and leave the footswitches to control blocks separately from Snapshots (by turning off Snapshot Bypass), then you theoretically don't need to have the EXT AMP assigned to a footswitch. You would theoretically want to assign EXT AMP to an Instant Command, and have another parameter to open and close the circuit per Snapshot. But that open/close parameter is not provided, so you have to assign the EXT AMP function to a footswitch that you're not going to use. So little things like that frustrate me because it's not going to make a difference to 99% of people, which means it's not likely to be improved because there isn't enough appetite in the user community to change it. But I can't for the life of me understand the logic of not providing that parameter in the first place. I don't understand who it benefits, or what it saves in terms of programming and/or DSP resources. I don't understand who is supposedly going to be paralyzed in the complexity of an OPENED/CLOSED parameter on the EXT AMP function. I just don't. XD

Ya you seem to have everything connected correctly, and I suspected that maybe you had the mix set wrong or something, which is why I loaded the patch into my LT, but that seems fine. You may want to try and do a factory reset or reflash the firmware.