zappazapper

Fair enough. Best of luck.

How do you know the HM2 is 95% of what that tone is? Did you read that somewhere? And if you did, did it mention what the other 5% is? What guitar? What pickups? What amp? What speaker? What cabinet? What mic? What mic preamp? What EQ? What compressor? There's so many other things that will affect a sound, I have a hard time believing that a distortion pedal is 95%, and if it was, you should be 95% of the way there and it doesn't sound like you are. Like I said, nobody's going to be able to give you the exact answer, like what amp and what cab or IR to use. You have to experiment and tweak and find it, especially if you're using an external effect. You might be able to find tones online that don't use your external effect that get you close and then you can sub in your pedal and see if it gets you closer.

Just so you know, I'm pretty sure you can use HX Edit to access the setlists, and if you select a preset in a different setlist that way, it should switch setlists on the unit also, even when not connected via USB.

He's saying the preset button cycles through presets in the HOME VIEW, I think. He'd have to be able to press the preset button to get to the preset LIST, then use the joystick to navigate. Sounds like you have a bad part.

I'm hearing, in addition to the reverb/delay, a subtle modulation effect, chorus or detune, which often softens things. You can assume with some certainty that there's compression on just about everything to some degree on just about every studio recording ever made, but I didn't hear anything that jumped out at me and made me think compression is what is making the guitar sound that way. Beyond that, I think it would be hard for anybody to really help you unless you shared your preset.

Maybe you need to use the confidence you have in knowing that that one preset is always there for you to fall back on, to allow yourself to go crazy and find out what else the Helix has to offer.

https://benvesco.com/store/helix-dsp-allocations/ This?

I'm not suggesting that this works or is important to everybody running 4CM, but whenever anybody starts talking about levels I always like to point out that the difference between "line" level and "instrument" level has as much to do with impedance as it does with voltage. I don't know if the Line/Instrument options in Global Settings on the Helix change the impedance as well as the level. All I know is that back when I had a POD X3L (line level fx loop), I ended up having to use a reamp box, not only on the signal coming from the X3L fx send to the front panel of the amp, but also from the X3L live output to the effects return on the amp (the reamp box I have is 2-channel - https://artproaudio.com/product/dual-rdb/.) It wasn't enough to just turn down the fx loop send level and the output level of my X3L - the low-z signal coming from the X3L fx send made my preamp "screamy" (for lack of a better term) at any gain setting, and the low-z signal coming from the X3L output caused a weird ringing/pinging noise similar to microphonic tubes. Once I put the reamp box in there my preamp sounded just like plugging straight in and the ringing was gone. Yes, the output volume for a given Master Volume setting on my amp is a little lower than without it, but certainly not enough that I can't still rattle the tile off the floor when I need to (my Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber+ is too loud at 2... plenty of headroom). So when I got my Helix I briefly checked out the Line/Instrument options but it didn't take long to realize that just leaving the levels at Line and using my reamp box was still the best option.

I thought about it. My main point of loyalty with L6 is Variax. I don't use my Variax much but I wouldn't use it at all if I couldn't use it with VDI. So it's gonna be L6 every time. Really it was just a joke. Yes, it would be a fantastic tool to have at one's disposal but I know the world in which I live and I manage my expectations accordingly. I've done some time researching using a laptop and a MIDI controller and a VST host like Bloxpander (worth checking out if you've never heard of it) but there was a very steep learning curve with that approach, not to mention all the idiosyncrasies that general-use computers bring with them, plus there was a weird built-in crossfade between snapshots (yes, Bloxpander has snapshots too) that turned me off of the whole idea. At the end of the day, for what I do, Helix checked off enough of the high priority items for me, and the things it doesn't do, like load VSTs, are just things I have to work around. No system is PREFECT, you just have to decide which one is closest to perfect for you.

This is why I love discussion forums. I would have never thought of doing things this way if someone wouldn't have brought it up as an issue and challenged everybody to come up with solutions. And I'm not even sure there's a solution here for the OP but I'm certainly rethinking my own approach.

Feature request: per path presets Like in the OP's example, he could have all his post effects loaded into path 2 and switching to another preset would just load his pre effects and amp/cab/IR. I don't know if snapshots are necessarily ideal for your situation because of the 2 amp per path limit. If that limit didn't exist you could theoretically load all 4 amps into the preset (which theoretically would all be in the same location in the signal flow, so all on the same path) , Snapshot Bypass all the effects, and use snapshots to switch between amps. In your case having individual presets that are the exact same except for the amps might be the only way to do it. Maybe if you can arrange your preset so that 2 of your amps are at the end of path 1 and 2 of your amps are at the beginning of path 2 (assuming you're running path 1 into path 2), you might be able to do it.

but anyway... #2 - Brain Wave Analyzer ...because who needs a tablet even? I just wanna stand on the stage with a beer in my hand and have all the crazy sounds in my head come out of my amp, unrelated to the fact that I can't actually play any of it...

Here in Toronto they're not uncommon, but not for controlling anything, mostly for lyrics or possibly charts. I've even seen them at blues jams, where you can literally HEAR the eyes of the cagey old blues veterans rolling.

oops... sorry, didn't see that... not having a good day for reading today...

Sorry, I should do a better job of reading. "Good" is subjective. It's hard to know what you're hearing and what you want to hear, but... If I had your gear, well, I probably wouldn't even bother with the distortion pedal, since the HX has plenty of them, but if I was going to use it, I'd put it in the loop, because if you use anything like a noise gate, wah, sometimes a compressor, most of the time you want those before the distortion. After that you really just have to tweak it to get what you want. Pay special attention to levels coming out and going into one block to the next and one device to the next. If you crank everything up full nothing will sound good. Try a simple setup with just your pedal in the loop and a 4x12 cab sim. Your pedal is essentially a preamp, you don't really need an amp sim although the combination of the two can sound good. But since you're struggling to get something useable, just start with that and try to dial in the pedal first to get a useable sound and then start swapping in amp models and other cab sims and IRs and EQ blocks to get it closer to what you want. I don't think anybody's going to be able to give you a particular amp model or cab sim to use with your specific pedal that'll make it sound the way YOU want because you're the only one with the sound in your head. Hope that helps.

And are you using an amp sim and/or a cab sim or an IR?

It would be nice if there was an option right on the output blocks to put a cab sim or an IR.

What are you using for monitoring? Headphones? Studio monitors? A guitar amp? A PA speaker? A consumer stereo?

The way you use the Helix only has to be preset based if you want it to be. I generally try to do more with less presets. I've never owned an M-series, but I rented an M9 years ago, so I get the idea. It's like a pedalboard in a single unit, with "scenes" as opposed to "presets". You could definitely set the Helix up similarly. You know how to assign footswitches to Bypass Assign and Control Assign, right?

Years ago, when I got my X3L, I was on the old forum quite regularly. It went like this: Me: "Hey, can I do *whatever*, and how would I do it?" Forum: "Why would you want to do that? I don't do it that way. Stop doing that. Just do it how I do it." I don't understand the motivation to comment when you don't have anything positive or helpful to add. I see lots of stuff on here that drives me nuts, like, "WHY CAN'T YOU FIGURE THIS OUT!! IT'S SO EASY!!", but I would never go at somebody and try to make them feel like they shouldn't be asking their questions or expressing their opinions or thinking out loud. I just don't participate in discussions I don't want to participate in. I don't know why anybody would spend any of their time picking fights on a guitar equipment support forum ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://amtelectronics.com/new/amt-fs-2midi/ I have an LT, running 4CM with my Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber+ For whatever reason, the LT does not fully disable the 5-band EQ on my Boogie when using Ext Amp (sound is still affected when EQ is supposed to be disabled... Rhythm/Lead works fine with LT, EQ works fine with standard footswitch). I've owned a Disaster Area Designs Smart Switch 2 (2 channel footswitch with MIDI) for some time but it doesn't respond to CC messages (despite the manual claiming it does), and it doesn't transmit any CC messages. It responds to PC messages just fine, and you can even set it to ignore certain PC messages, but the reason I bought a Helix was because I want to do more in-preset and I want to simplify the controls so that often I can do everything with a single footswitch (I sing a lot in my band and having to look where my feet are all the time is distracting). I upgraded from an X3L which, for example, wouldn't let you go from a dirty sound to a clean sound with chorus and back with a single footswitch press if you were using 4CM (can't use LOOP block on both TONES). There are also other channel-switching options, like the Voodoo Labs Control Switcher and many similar units, but that unit is like a set-top box with finger buttons. What originally attracted me to the Smart Switch 2 was that it had its own footswitches, giving me direct control over my amp and keeping control of other things on the multi-fx. Unfortunately, that unit had a lot of promise but never lived up to it. I thought I had researched every MIDI channel switching option under the sun, but yesterday I found the AMT FS-2 MIDI - a 2-channel footswitch that will respond to either PC or CC messages (not both at the same time), and will transmit CC messages. Basically with the Helix this will allow me to do things like, to use the example above, engage a chorus effect on the Helix when I switch from Lead to Rhythm mode on my amp, and turn it back off when I go back to Lead mode. It will also, for example, let me disable the EQ on my amp (I have it set for a very scooped metal rhythm sound) when I click on a the expression pedal toe switch for a wah. Bi-directional MIDI. Not to mention it adds two more footswitches to my setup that can be used even when I'm not using the FX Loop block, like switching between a clean amp model and a dirty amp model, or whatever I want. It also frees up the EXP2 jack on my LT so that I can add another expression pedal to my setup. Anyway, it's a Russian-made product and it was WAY far down the list in a Google search and I thought that since this unit is going to be so useful for me that I would share it with everybody on here.

I just can't get my head around having a touch screen on the floor. Like, if it's just about being able to navigate faster through the menus, etc., then I don't think it's worth the extra cost. If it's about enhancing in-performance control, then it needs to be easily within reach of your hands, not on the floor. A purpose-built proprietary wireless external touch screen would be CRAZY expensive. So an app for the many commercially available, ubiquitous tablets would make the most economical sense for users, and so yes, you're limited to whatever wireless protocols are available in a typical tablet. Bluetooth or WIFI. I'm not any kind of IT expert but it seems to me that Bluetooth has far less overhead than WIFI, and like I said, you want the unit's power to be devoted to sound and control, not being a part of a global computer network, especially when you think about it, the unit doesn't need to deal with the internet that much - every few months there's an update, you might download a few presets off the net or from a friend, but other than that, nothing really. It doesn't need to know anything about the internet. The tablet already does all that so it can just be the middle-man for anything the unit needs from the internet.

I really don't know what your problem is. I'm just trying to participate in a discussion about music equipment. It's one thing if you don't think anything I'm saying is interesting or valuable, it's another to go at people like this. And you were doing it before I showed up, with other users. Is it too much to ask that if you disagree with something someone said that you can keep the criticisms on-topic instead of attacking people personally? I came here to learn and bounce ideas off of other people who have similar interests, not to argue or defend myself. Please don't talk to me anymore if you can't do so in a civil manner.

So... first... ya I saw the video... second... ya, sorry, there wasn't much of a reason for me to be on the Helix board before I owned one... and I know you think that means I should go back and read the entirety of this board and the one on Facebook and the one on TGP before I should be allowed to express an opinion but, I dunno, I guess it's not happening... I really enjoy discussing things with people who are knowledgeable about things I'm interested, and I've enjoyed your insights as well when they've been on-topic, but I really didn't come here to do WORK, and I certainly didn't come here to offend people, so... just say the word and I'll be happy to delete my account and just read what everybody has to say and not contribute at all... I'm sure that's what Line6 wants, right? Just a board where the fan-boys have free reign and the rest of us know our place?

I think L6 is too smart to put a touchscreen on a floor unit. If they think touch control is the next generation, they'll add Bluetooth support and make an app and you'll have the option to buy a Helix- (or whatever they call it) branded tablet or use the one you already have. And by linking it that way with a tablet you'll have all the wifi and flash support you need and the unit itself won't have to deal with the overhead. The unit should just do sound and in-performance control, and the tablet can expand in-performance control and do everything else.