malhavok

It's likely a giant game of telephone. I have seen that stated multiple times by many people over on the FB group. It has been circulating as common advice since before I even got Helix. I'll be sure to correct the conversation any time I see it come up again.

This is incorrect. Path 2 has more DSP than path 1 due to DSP 1 having the responsibility to also run the Helix OS. Not all amp models use the same amount of DSP (nor do each speaker, mic, or fx block). The actual DSP cycles available are quite high, but the practical number of blocks you can use is often quite limited (especially when using multiple amps). I have successfully made three and four amp patches so I know it is possible to squeeze lots out of the unit. You have to get very creative in your routing and fx choices.

Try it both ways. I have not found a single case where it matters. Set up an identical tone on paths 1 and 2, but on path 2 put effects between amp and cab where path 1 has them after the cab. It sounds identical to me in every case I've tried this.

It's Adriatic Delay for me. VDD is my second.

This thread just saved my bacon.

You're both right. And not all DAWs are created equal. - Latency does matter if you are playing a soft-synth - Latency does not matter if you are recording a guitar dub and your DAW is competent enough to include latency compensation

Man, you use whatever gets the sound you want. Don't worry if someone else thinks it's "right" or not. Your own ears are the only judge of right.

The only time I heard a difference was after the update where they fixed the delay level problem.

The Adriatic Delay is my all-time favorite delay. The Archon is now my all-time favorite model. I don't use distortion pedals, but if I did, I guess I should think the KWB would be my favorite.

View the video on youtube. The download link is in the description.

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions. I will explore getting a device to check the ground loop. I found another article where it is suggested TriAxis has some caps that can dry out over time and cause extra hum/fizz like this. Considering this TriAxis is nearly 30 years old, I'm seriously considering the possibility!

They are scrolling on all TriAxis, but at a rate too fast for the human eye. My camera framerate is at almost the same clock speed so it catching them "one cycle off" on each update. They don't look like that in the room. It's the same idea as fluorescent lights turning on/off 60 times a second but you can't see it until they start going bad and slowing down (or you film them at a very close framerate). It's also why all computer screens and televisions in movies have to be digitally replaced because you'd see them scrolling vertically, otherwise.

Good observation. I have done that outside the video. Without Helix in the equation, the noise is still there but at traditional "this is a high gain amp humming" kind of levels. In other words, not nearly as loud in comparison to the actual guitar signal. Thanks for the suggestion anyway!

I tried out my Mesa Boogie TriAxis with 4CM and get an awful noise. We've gone through about twenty different troubleshooting ideas on the facebook group and haven't found a winner yet. Three solutions I was not yet able to try due to lack of availability: Isolated coupler Hum buster cable ISP Decimator Anyway, the TriAxis is a beast and sounds great regardless of the hum. I don't think I'll be taking it to any gigs like this, though.

Glad you are up and running. I'm sure Line 6 are well aware of the shortcomings in the updater process and have it on the roadmap to fix it. Any of you that remember the days before Monkey will recognize where we're at right now with Helix. In the original red bean POD, the upgrade to firmware 2.0 required them actually mailing you a chip, a chip puller tool, and a set of instruction how to take your POD apart to pull and replace the chip. I'm glad we're past that nonsense!

You can't use it as an FRFR because it isn't FRFR to begin with. You'd have to modify the cab to add tweeter or upper mid driver. Going through any kind of guitar cab or extension cab will always color the sound. Some people prefer that. Others don't. An FRFR would be more like studio monitors, stage monitors, PA mains, etc. If I were in the market for such things, I'd be sniffing around Line 6's own L2 and L3, or maybe the Matrix FR12.

Those sound scha-weet!

If you started as old as 1.06.5 it might require starting with an older variant of updater. I imagine Line 6 are all on holiday today, but if you're on Facebook, try the Line 6 Helix User Group where many folk are around and helpful and may know something about this.

My recollection is no more than two amp models per DSP is a hard limit in the software, regardless of available DSP. I have made a few "four amp" presets that always needed split between DSPs. I'm pretty sure it says in the manual somewhere that you are limited to 2x2 amp models as well as 2x2 speaker blocks.

I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of secret sauce!

I spot checked about 20 presets from previous to current firmware (using a differ) and the only "changes" are the additional tracking for expression pedals. There were zero parameter tweaks.

Yes, there's no "work" to be done. Load them like any other preset file.

It is absolutely a Variax cap, no question. My Variax bass and original Variax guitar both came with the exact same rubber cap over the Variax jack. It said in the manual to keep that on there so you don't accidentally jam a 1/4" lead into it which will screw up the VDI contacts.

According to the Archon manual on the PRS website, the depth control is a super-low-bass enhancer of sorts. It is the low end equivalent of the presence control.

http://line6.com/support/topic/24063-thinking-of-upgrding-to-helix-from-hd500x/