Gillespie1983

Thanks for this thread. Lots of good insights.

Here's a sample of my report (still under development). Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is just for fun, I'm too old to start a business. ;) I'm using a bundle file and a Preset file that I know contains the latest collection of IRs. Unfortunately, bundle files do not give the names of the IRs; I would rather use a Helix full backup file (which has the IR name and the latest IRs) but I have yet to learn how to decompress & decode it. Other ideas for future playing around: Identify exact duplicate Presets and near-duplicate Presets (perhaps with certain exceptions such as different: name, IR, and/or footswitch/snapshot programming Report Snippets from one of my Helix bundle files: Master IR List Warnings ----------------------- Duplicate IR at slot: 25 48b188d8be8f7fca84c097e9be82dd01 Duplicate IR at slot: 35 48b188d8be8f7fca84c097e9be82dd01 Empty IR slot: 51 IR Not Used: 52 Empty IR slot: 87 ********** IR USAGE REPORT ********** SET LIST(SLOT) PRESET ... IR 9: THIRD PARTY(22) BNSN MNRCH A WTh THIRD PARTY(23) BNSN MNRCH A WTs THIRD PARTY(26) MNRCH JMP WTh THIRD PARTY(27) MNRCH JMP WTs MAIN PRESETS(15) BENSON MONARCH A MAIN PRESETS(21) BNSN MNARC A WET MAIN PRESETS(25) MNRCH JMP WTh SUHR(13) BENSON MONARCH A SUHR(15) BEN MONARCH JMP SUHR(28) BEN MNRCH JP WET EXPERIMENTS(3) MNRCH JMP WTh EXPERIMENTS(4) New Preset SONG LIST(1) GOD SO LOVED SONG LIST(3) CONTROL.10thAveN SONG LIST(5) THIS IS AMAZING Gretsch(12) BENSON MONARCH A Gretsch(14) BEN MONARCH JMP WORKING SET(10) BEN MONARCH JMP FAVS OEM CLEANUP(7) BNSN MNRCH A WTh FAVS OEM CLEANUP(9) MNRCH JMP WTh ... IR 51: Empty Slot IR 52: Not Used IR 53: THIRD PARTY(106) TJ BobCat 20R H FAVS OEM CLEANUP(37) TJ BobCat 20R H ... ************* SETLIST ************** Gretsch 000: MATCHLESS + AC30 IRs: ['6', '7'] 001: Marshall JTM-45 IRs: ['10'] 002: VIBROLUX IRs: ['15', '15'] 003: 65A LONDON E IRs: ['17'] 004: New Preset *** WARNING *** Bad Preset name for holding any IRs: ['8', '9'] 005: TONE KING IMPRL IRs: ['18'] 006: Princeton IRs: None ...

I began writing a Python program to analyze the IR usage within a Helix Bundle file. My Helix currently has ~300 presets and 120 IRs and I'm sure several of the presets are duplicated (or very very similar), and that some of the IRs are no longer in use. I'd love to declutter my Helix, so to speak. This program is in development and isn't ready for "release." But I would welcome any ideas to improve or simplify my "plan." Inputs: 1. Helix Bundle file 2. a recently-saved, HLX preset file to use as the baseline Master IR list. (Why needed? Because even though each hlx preset as an IR checksum table, that table represents the Helix IR contents at the time the preset was saved. A misleading report will be generated if the master IR hlx preset was saved and then IRs were added/deleted in the Helix before the HLB was produced.) Output report: 1. List of duplicate IRs 2. List of IRs not used by the hlb 3. List of which IRs are used by which presets in the hlb. Future ideas: 1. Output list of duplicate presets and their locations in the HLB. 2. Reader friendly comparison between two similar presets. (I have several presets that are slight variations of each other and would like to know what those differences are) (I did find an IR usage utility on the web, but it was out of date in the way it determined which IRs were unused) I would prefer to run (if possible) on a HXB backup file, but I don't know how to open/interpret it. An hxb would eliminate the need to manually identify the master IR hlx preset. Any ideas on this ?

I'm a retired software engineer and would like to take a stab at writing some Helix software aps. Are there any public access scripts or documents that would give me a headstart parsing the Helix preset files?

I would greatly benefit from a software utility that compares two Helix presets and tells if they are identical and if not, identifies the differences. Before I program it, does this already exist? Please add link(s) to other helpful Helix utilities. Thanks, Gillespie1983

With all those IRs associated with the new 3.50 cabs (1 IR per cab, per mic, distance from center, distance from cabinet choice, 2 mic angles) the Helix must have some serious data storage capacity. How much spare storage room is left on the Helix for more cabinets?

I have a question from the book's section titled: Setting the Output Level. I followed the steps given to compare levels with a LUFS meter, post Helix. But, all of the presets I've examined are way hotter than the Helix bypass signal. Please elaborate on the benefits of having presets at the same LUFS as Helix bypassed. My gear: Helix 3.51, Native 3.50, Reaper DAW, LUFS meter plugin after Native. Also, please direct me to the proper/best location for asking questions about this book. This book is very helpful to me.

I just purchased a Helix last month and purchased this ebook today. I'm a previous owner of the Pod 2.0, Pod xt, Pod HD500, and Iridium. I still prefer tube amps and pedals for jams and such, but modelers have been my preference for recording and larger quiet-stage gigs. The Helix is a great appliance, but, being a retired software engineer, I'm always eager to learn more about what's under the hood and how I can capitalize on that knowledge. Looking forward to studying this book.

Thanks very much!

I have never been able to secure the whammy bar of my 600 Variax where it doesn't wiggle a little bit in its socket. When I use the whammy, that wiggling gets amplified. I've tried plumbers tape and super tightening the screw, but to no avail. Any other ideas?

I use a buffer pedal (e.g., JHS Little Black Buffer) on my non-Variax pedal board to prevent high-frequency roll-off due to long cable runs. Does the XPS-AB provide this type of buffering?