HonestOpinion

Huge applause for getting a video up! Overall I have to say first off that that was a pretty good job of tuning quickly with the Helix, although from what I could see it was hard to confirm if the low E & A strings were ever completely in tune. I probably would not be posting about a problem with the tuner if my Helix tuner operated like the one in this video (it doesn't). It seemed like you primarily relied on the lower bar and the brackets much like the old tuner but even the upper tuner bar was much more stable and far less jumpy on your Hamer/Helix than any of my several guitars. Just to be comprehensive it might be good to see the strings being tuned from a little further off the note and from both flat and sharp. I do always either stretch the string back in tune if it is sharp and close to the note, or downtune it first and then come back up to the note, so I am not overly concerned with the fact that the strings were only tuned from flat. As many players probably know it is never good practice to tune down to a note without stretching it afterwards and confirming the tuning. I am assuming your bridge was fixed. It might be worth noting that the guitar you used is a semi-hollow body. I wonder if this had anything to do with adding a bit more stability to the display due to longer sustain or different resonance characteristics than a solid body. It would be interesting to see the strings tuned on a solid body guitar with a floating bridge. Anyway, thanks again for going to the trouble to post a video. More of these with a wider variety of guitars, bridge types(floating, fixed), and other tuning techniques would be most informative. By way of comparison my Helix tuner is nowhere near as stable as this video on either floating or fixed bridges on any of the solid body guitars I have tested and use (PRS, Les Paul, JTV Variax 69, Strat). I am very curious if my results will differ on a semi or full hollow body guitar (not that I have any intention of selecting my guitar by the criterion of which one works best with the Helix tuner). ;)

If it were me I would uninstall all the Helix software and reinstall but if it is working for you I can understand wanting to leave well enough alone. I have never seen that message but I am on Windows 10. Perhaps that is a Windows 7 thing.

This topic is starting to feel like the twilight zone. I cannot believe the perception of the tuner is so different among those who require it to tune quickly. For me the evidence is incontrovertible. No matter what guitar I use, new or used strings, the tuner jumps all over the place. There is no using the top or bottom line because neither of them ever settle down. It is difficult for me to believe that there are different versions of the Helix hardware such that the tuner works correctly on some but not on others but who knows? I still think it is more likely that certain guitars agree with the tuner better than others but I have yet to see one video from someone claiming they can tune quickly demonstrating the fact. To be fair no one seems to be posting jumpy tuner videos either but I have more than enough first-hand experience with that myself to know it to be true. Can a few people claiming they can tune reliably and quickly with this tuner please post a video showing reliable and fast tuning with no special tone knob or pickup settings. It is starting to feel like stories about unicorns people have seen. I would like to actually see some visual proof at this point of stable tuning on other people's Helices. It would be particularly telling to see a fast tune with the Helix tuner with a floating bridge which is always trickier than a fixed. I think there is something demonstrably wrong with the tuning algorithm and I am mystified at the recent posts from people saying they can tune quickly with it using the lower bar or quite frankly at all. I believe that they are reporting their experience honestly I just don't understand the disconnect here. Too many performers are reporting this tuner as unusable on stage. Please post a video if it is working for you and hopefully include a description of the guitar you are using.

Have to agree with Hideout, I tend to use a strobe tuner mostly for setting intonation. All I want for stage is fast and reasonably accurate tuning. Does not have to be a perfect "A 440" as long as all the string tunings are "not perfect" in the same direction and therefor relatively in tune with each other. As others have pointed out, unless everyone on stage is using the same tuner you are not going to be in exact tune with all your band mates anyway, there is always some variance between tuners. You just don't want to be 6 cents flat on one of your own strings, 10 cents sharp on another, and then flat again on the next, etc..

Another show last night with the Helix and yet another "F-" failing grade for the tuner. I try to be measured about my criticisms regarding the Helix because overall it is just phenomenal but the tuner is dismally disappointing. It is way too unstable for live use, at least for me and apparently many others. I don't know why I stubbornly persist in trying to make it work. It is just not happening. You cannot tune quickly enough with it for stage.

In reference to your question about the XLR ouput not working the first thing I would check is to make sure your output block is set to Multi or XLR and of course make sure the input channel on the board has sufficient level set on the input trim. Make sure there are no blocks in your signal path or split/merges that are impacting the level to the XLR output and try moving the expression pedal in case the preset was saved at zero volume. Are you seeing anything on the board's meters? Regarding the muting of output while editing, I realize you mentioned that this is happening both directly on the Helix and on the Editor as well but the first thing I would check is to make sure you have the correct 2.21 Editor version by checking Help --> 'About Helix' in the Editor's menu. If you don't have the latest 2.21 Editor download and install the 2.21 version of the "Helix" app. Which version of the Helix do you have LT, Rack, Floor? For example, the correct global reset FS combination on the Helix Floor and LT is FS 9&10 (not "7&8" as you mentioned). The Helix Rack uses FS 5&6. You may want to ensure you ran the proper global reset combination. Make sure you backup presets and IRs first.

Grin, no problem for me, I have all the slots filled. No pesky empty slots, just wish I had more of them available. :)

Excellent! Great tones and astounding that this is your first recording with the Helix.

I can't even make it a day without my hearing/perception changing, mine changes from hour to hour. ;)

Glad it worked out for you. I think L6 is working on streamlining the upgrade process but until then these are the steps many users execute: Read the release notes for the latest firmware version and "Helix" app and follow the directions closely. Back up your bundle, setlists, presets, and IRs with the version of the Editor that matches your firmware (usually the same revision number). Take a screenshot of your IR placement if you do not use the prefix numbering system. Take note of your global settings. Download and install the latest Helix app (Editor, Updater, and driver). Use the latest Updater version you just installed to upgrade your firmware IMPORTANT: Do the global reset combination for your version of the Helix (Helix, Rack, LT, etc.). This will overwrite all of your setlists with blank presets and overwrite the "Factory" setlists and Templates setlist with the latest and greatest from the current firmware. It is a necessary and reccommended procedure by Line6. Restore your setlists/presets and restore your IRs to the same locations they occupied in the previous firmware version. Restart your Helix again at least once to allow the final rebuild of your presets. Check under Help --> 'About Helix' in the Editor menu to make sure you have the correct version of the Editor that matches your new firmware version (displayed on the Helix). Sometimes you need to uninstall the old version of the Editor before you run the "Helix" application or the new Editor version does not install properly. Back everything up again with your new firmware version and Editor. Don't overwrite your backups from the previous firmware version. They don't take up much room and you will need them if you have to rollback for any reason or want to do something like retrieve an old factory preset.

Cool idea! Don't know what i would use this for as I can usually set things up with the proper stomp or snapshot assignment but I could see this coming in handy sooner or later.

Thanks for the links, no need to post a new idea there are three of them already. Voted!

Grin, yet another example of how unpleasant things can be when the conversation gets "Snark"y. I am with you guys on the clip-on for now but I hope they fix the tuner. Right now the tuner is a beautiful objet d'art most suitable to not being touched but instead admired from a safe distance for its aesthetic appeal and atomic clock level granularity. :P

LOL. Maybe this could be one of the global reset footswitch combinations, e.g. FS 8,9,&10. All blocks and their corresponding controls appear without block names, parameter names, or values - also, their functions and value order shift at random time intervals. Now that is how a real man programs a Helix. :D

Thanks, I will post this up on Ideascale as soon as I get a chance. I agree that putting some kind of an indicator on the Helix itself in addition to the Editor is important. Not just for users who don't use the Editor but because, as already mentioned, changing guitars or guitar volume levels can require adjustment to the threshold or other parameters and you may be nowhere near an Editor but still require the visual assist.

LOL

Another reason a visual indicator is so helpful on a compressor is that even if you dial in the threshold setting perfectly by ear when you are at home designing your preset, you may be playing through a different guitar with different output levels on the pickups or just have the guitar's volume set lower/higher when you go to use that preset on stage. This may translate to the compressor, which although set perfectly initially, is now not engaging at all, rarely, or too often. Having the compressor not engage frequently enough because you are always below the threshold may be ok if you were strictly counting on the compressor to control volume peaks but not so great if you were using it for added sustain or some other purpose. If your guitar's input level is higher now than it was when you set up the compressor, it may now be constantly engaged which can also sound less than optimal or not be the tone you had originally designed. The fact that effects like compressors are so reactive to input level and require a properly set threshold to actually even engage at all - too high a threshold setting=no compression, makes them materially and substantially different from most other effects. Other effects tend to be either active or bypassed and when they are prone to tone changes upon varying input levels, such that the tone becomes for example more 'distorted' or 'clean', the nature of the tone change can often be easily discerned by ear. Combine a compressor's input level and threshold sensitivity with the fact that a compressor can be set for a very subtle and complex sound change, harder to hear than for instance a noise gate kicking in, and you have an ideal candidate for an effect that provides a bit more visibilty into how it is responding. A visual assist on these types of effects makes them easier to use properly

No argument ever from me about using your ears to be the final arbiter for your sound, where the compressor kicks in and releases is not the only thing to be listening for in a compressor anyway. The logical extension of this argument though is why even have visible parameter settings for any of the effect or cab blocks, heck, why even name them. Just turn mystery buttons until the sound is right without the visual "bias" of knowing which parameter you are changing and how much. ;) A visual/"graphic" indicator is only an "illusion" if it has not been programmed properly. Not only can it be a definitive indicator of when the compressor kicks in and when it releases but it is a great training tool for developing your ear and a finer ability to hear when it cuts in and when it releases. It can make setting the threshold faster and easier even if your ear is quite good. The value of a visual indicator for the threshold in compressors is well established and that is why few self-respecting compressor plugins in a DAW would be without one.

I think all the compressors on the Helix would benefit greatly from some sort of meter or at least indicator as to when the signal has exceeded the threshold and compression has engaged. Right now it takes a good pair of ears and a bit of guesswork to determine when and for how long the compressor kicks in and when it releases. This makes it difficult to set the threshold properly. We need a visual indication as to when the compressor is engaged/released.

These graphs you included remind me yet again of why I would love to see L6 modify the parametric EQ so it is visually graphed the same way the Global EQ is currently displayed in the Editor. This would make it much simpler to adjust EQ curves to mimic the frequency response characteristics of various speaker models and just make the parametric easier to use in general, especially for visualizing the width of the Q.

I agree that it is not irreparable and this is probably what is happening.

Wow, judging by both your experiences maybe replacing a joystick takes enough time or a part that is taking long enough to get that they are just doing swap outs instead. I would bet the affected Helix's are getting fixed ultimately. If not, please lead me to the Helix dumpster. It occurs to me that they could have a deal where they return them in bulk to whoever manufactured the joystick for repair rather than as one-offs repairs to a third party with a long turnaround time. I have seen that happen in other industries although it is rare.

Which service station deemed it " not repairable"? Was this a Guitar Center or third party repair shop. This sounds more like some internal machinations regarding how the warranty will be handled rather than an insurmountable hardware repair challenge. It is hard for me to imagine that a Line6 shop can't repair a joystick.

Spraying things that lead to further problems is always a truly unpleasant consequence but there is the chance the new LED ring problem is unrelated to the spray cleaning (although it sounds mighty coincidental) or it may be easily remedied. Line6 support is excellent and I would contact them and get your Helix repaired as soon as you have a window of time available. They may be more understanding or the fix may be easier than you anticipate.

It sounds like your firmware and Editor versions may be mismatched, with your Editor version being older than your firmware version. Go to the menu in the Editor and select Help --> 'About Helix' to check your Editor version. The Editor should read 2.20 or 2.21. I believe the Plastichorus was introduced in the 2.20 firmware so you should at least have that version of firmware on your Helix rack if you can see that effect in the menu. Depending on whether you have the 2.20 firmware or 2.21 make sure you download and install the matching version of the "Helix" app. This will install the version of the Editor, Updater, and driver that match your firmware. This should allow you to see the Plastichorus in the Editor. It will also ensure you are backing things up with the correct version; this is very important for your next firmware upgrade if you want to have your backups restore properly to the next firmware version.