HonestOpinion

I think the way it is implemented is that there is a settable time delay to when the pedal reverts back from wah to volume. When the expression pedal is not moved for that amount of time it switches the wah back off. That way you can set it up for a longer revert time if you want to make sure it does not turn off the wah before desired. This kind of feature would be used with some form of auto-engage. The benefit of having it automatically revert is you don't have to move the expression pedal to a specific position to for example return to your volume pedal from the wah.

Stating the obvious here but If you do you use a cloud based solution like Dropbox, iCloud, Microsoft, etc., you should manage your share permissions on a separate Helix folder so you don't accidentally share your presets or purchased presets and IRs (if you have them) with an unintended audience. The benefit of using email instead of, or ideally in addition to the cloud, is that if you ever let your cloud storage account lapse you still have your emailed files (assuming you have a permanent email account, most people do these days). You also may have more space available in your email account if you don't want to use up any of the precious storage space in something like an unpaid basic level cloud account. Space will not be an issue for most though, it takes a whole lot of Helix backup files and IRs to use up enough space to require anything more than an insignificant amount of storage capacity.

No big revelation here, just wanted to share a suggestion with my fellow Helix users. Periodically either email yourself your latest Helix bundle backup and/or put it up in the cloud if you have an account. You can do this with setlists and zipped downloaded presets and IRs as well. They are small files, easily emailed, and doing this makes sure that if your computer ever fails or gets stolen you still retain your years' worth of preset design. Particularly useful if your computer dies during a firmware update, or you need to get to a backup while you are on the road.

In the quick experiment I ran it seemed that turning up the 'Emphasis' did let more of the highs through uncompressed. That would be the same behavior as the LA-2A the model is based on but my mind may have been playing tricks on me as that is the way I "think" it should work (like the original). I would be interested in what your frequency analysis and others' ears are telling them.

Starting to think a correctly sized rubber block placed under the expression pedal to prevent it from fully depressing and activating the toe switch is your best solution right now. You could even make it easily removable so you can use the toe switch normally when you need to switch to the Wah or whatever.

I did a write-up of that function in my post about compressors. Just search for the word "Emphasis" or go down to the section in the post about the LA Comp. http://line6.com/support/topic/23488-compressors-explained/?p=178763 Here is a link to the original manual for the Model LA-2A https://media.uaudio.com/assetlibrary/l/a/la-2a_manual.pdf My question to Line6 remains how did they actually implement it. The Emphasis control on the original unit this was based on was designed for compression in broadcasting and it essentially provided side-chained compression for making the compressor more sensitive to higher frequencies This was originally intended to counter a 17db boost at 15k in the broadcasting signal. This does not seem like a very useful area of sensitivity for a guitar so the question is "did Line6 move the center frequency for Emphasis down in the frequency range to where it is more applicable to guitar or did the Emphasis control on the original LA-2A compressor already start at lower frequencies"? Worth noting is that on the original effect the Emphasis knob worked the opposite of what you might expect. Quote from the LA-2A manual: "turning it counter clockwise will result in compression which is increasingly more sensitive to the higher frequencies". This means that if the Helix modeled the LA 2A faithfully, the higher you turn the Emphasis up the less it should compress the higher frequencies.

Good luck! I think that video has proven to be fairly universal as if I remember correctly the method employed does not rely on you having to know the CC messages specific to your amplifier.

Cool! Looks like Zoom was on the track. I think an actual number within the firmware as opposed to a cheat-sheet would be more ideal. Line6 introduces not only new blocks with firmware releases but also optimizations and fixes that reduce the amount of DSP used by pre-existing blocks. I can see a cheat-sheet being difficult to keep up to date. A process that read the actual per block usage or a meter that showed you how much more DSP each block added makes more sense to me and has a much better chance of remaining current and accurate.

In a strange way the renewed focus on fixing the tuner is a back-handed compliment to Line6. There was a time when other issues were a higher priority for most users. Not saying that isn't still the case for many but it is a tribute in a bizarre way to how much has been added to the Helix that this issue is receiving this level of scrutiny. With that said a good tuner has always been IMHO a necessity and we are not there yet. Let's fix it so we can move on to complaining about issues that are a lot more fun to grouse about.

Best way to make this issue a higher priority is by opening a support ticket at http://line6.com/support/tickets/

An indicator or even DSP usage percent number on a block would be incredibly useful as you could identify exactly which blocks used up substantial amounts of DSP and swap them out of your signal path when necessary. Some amps and effects use significantly more DSP than others.

This is exactly, and I do mean precisely the same behavior I am seeing. I don't know which blocks, routing, or whatever from previous firmware presets is causing it but some combination causes simple basic operations like moving a block in the new 2.21 Editor (and maybe the new firmware, have not tested this directly on the Helix yet) to corrupt presets which can then subsequently cause lockups. Or, in willjrock's example it does not cause a lockup but causes strange behavior and tone changes where there should not be any. I want to stress that I am meticulous about my backup/restores, firmware/Editor version matching, firmware updates, and global resets and have been since my first update. This is definitely not due to user error. There is a bug here!

I agree you need decent visual cues but there is more than one way to achieve that. I still think the camera icons on snapshots need to have an option. The icon uses up six scribble strip characters. That is a loss of 40% of the available name space. Easy enough to reverse the background, change the font, indicate a snapshot with less characters, or whatever alternate method Line6 comes up with. Idea to not replace but offer option to camera icon that restores the six lost scribble strip characters: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Use-less-or-no-scribble-strip-spaces-to-indicate-a-snapshot/831165-23508

I absolutely know what you mean about optimal block placement and how DSP limitations can impact it, even on a Super Serial route. As you have observed, even though the Helix has the option to unassign the toe switch, the expression pedal behavior is not quite flexible enough to accomplish your goal . Good luck getting this worked out and I would probably rig up a dummy jack as this sounds like just the ticket. I am always wary about hardware solutions that involve shorting things out but this one is probably harmless (issues standard liability disclaimer ;) ).

Don't want to sound dramatic but definitely a little concerned about what you are seeing with your preset. Yesterday I was editing a couple of my presets from a former firmware version and all I did was drag a volume block to a new position on the other side of a split/merge and save the preset. Similar in some ways to what you were doing with the IR. The Helix locked up on me still making sound but no switching possible. I could not switch snapshots or any effects. I rebooted and it locked up on me again on the same preset. I tried the same move of the block on another preset that had been based on the one that locked and the Helix locked up again. No amount of restarts helped, the Helix would lock up every time I hit a footswitch in those presets. I had to restore the presets from backups and then they worked properly again. This has never happened to me before and I have been through almost every firmware upgrade since the Helix was released. Two lessons refreshed here. I was really glad I had backups and if you are having lockup issues one the first things to eliminate as a possible cause is the specific preset(s) it is occurring on. My confidence in this firmware update or the latest Editor is a bit shaken. I mention the Editor because I did the block move with the Editor and it appeared to have corrupted the presets. I think there may be some kind of issue with the new Editor that is impacting stability. I will have to test whether doing the move directly on the Helix corrupts the presets. I have been using those presets through every firmware version without an issue until now. I will be keeping an eye on the forum for Helix lockup posts (have seen a few related to this firmware release) to see if this is a more frequent issue since the release of the 2.21 or 2.20 firmware/Editor. My case may be anecdotal and perhaps other users will not experience this but I would highly recommend to anyone on the latest firmware that you back up your setlists and presets just in case. That is of course something you should do as a best practice all the time anyway.

LOL, you did indeed, ideas exhausted for the moment. You are really on top of things for a self professed new Helix user. I seem to have walked down exactly the path you already tread in my efforts to offer up a solution. Sorry they were ineffectual given your DSP limitations if well-intended. It looks like trying the shorted dummy cable solution might be your best bet for now. :huh: Btw, are you using both routes for your preset to leverage the DSP from both processors, or are you trying to accomplish this on one route? Seems like there should be some presets you can use the dual volume block pedal method on as the extra volume block should not require that much DSP. You may already be well aware of this but if you don't require your second route dedicated to a different signal path make sure you check out Template 01D - "Super Serial x2" for maximum available DSP by combining the two routes.

Hmm, yup, I see the problem with that. Here is one solution, a little klugey but it seems to work. Set up a second instance of the Volume Pedal block (not a Gain block). Use the Controller Assign screen to set one of them up with the 'Controller' parameter set to "EXP Pedal 1", set the 'Controller' parameter for the other Volume Pedal block to "EXP Pedal 2". Use the Bypass Assign screen to set both of them to "EXP Toe" under the 'Switch' parameter. That way when you hit the switch by accident it simply switches to the other Volume Pedal block. That seems to work well and fairly transparently although it may not be ideal. I don't hear a discernible difference as I switch from one to the other as you are in the max(100%) volume position on both when you switch. This gives you an internal Helix option to achieve your goal, it looks like the external hardware fix with a shorted dummy cord might be the other possibility per talwilkin's suggestion. Make sure you have your Global Settings --> 'EXP Pedal 1 Position' and 'EXP Pedal 2 Position' set to "Global". Note: When you add a Wah block Helix automatically defaults it to 'EXP Pedal 1' and the 'EXP Toe' switch. Make sure if you have a wah block that you unassign it from EXP 1 in the Controller Assign screens and unassign it from 'EXP Toe' in the Bypass Assign screen or it will kick in when you switch. You will want to use an external Wah pedal with the above configuration of the dual Volume Pedal assigned to the Helix expression pedal, but you were probably already aware of that as you were looking to disable the switch to 'EXP 1'.

Did you see my last post above this one? Definitely seeing the same results you are with your downloaded preset but not on presets built from scratch. Are you still getting this behavior when you build the preset from scratch?

Worked for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, don't forget to bring a sock. :D

Yes, you can disable the toe switch. Highlight the Volume Pedal block and go to Bypass Assign. Change the "Switch" parameter to 'None'. This will unassign the toe switch from the volume block. Make sure you save your snapshots or preset with the Volume block active as you will no longer have the expression pedal toe switch to activate it. Btw, I highly recommend the 'Logarithmic' setting for the "Curve" parameter on the volume pedal block, it makes for much more musical swells in my opinion. I also position the volume block right before any time based effects like delay, reverb, chorus, etc. so that cranking up on the expression pedal (volume 0%) does not kill the delayed sound unnaturally. I also place it after blocks like distortion and amp/cab so it does not change the input level to these blocks and change my tone. I use the volume knob on my guitar for that.

Words to live by ;) Don't forget to do a global reset per the firmware release notes after your firmware upgrade.

I would start by backing everything up (bundle, setlists, presets, IRs) taking note of my global settings and IR positions and doing a global reset FS 9&10 on the floor version. If that does not help I would go through the entire firmware upgrade and then global reset process.

You probably already did this but I don't see any specific mention of the FS 5&6 global reset being run. A lot of these symptoms sound like what you might see if the global reset was not completed properly (backups need to be done first). I would also try alternate USB ports for the Editor related freezes. And as others have stated, if all else fails contact L6 support. Edit: Just noticed fido083 recommended the global reset as well.

This post is a bit off topic regarding leveling and more snapshot-centric but perhaps slightly relevant. Zooey is correct about copy and paste in regards to snapshots. Ideally it would be nice to have the option to copy over for example an amp block with all its snapshot states to a new preset. So if you had a snapshot with a Clean (SNAPSHOT 1), Crunch (SNAPSHOT 2), and Lead (SNAPSHOT 3) snapshot, the amp states for all three snapshots would copy over to the new preset with their respective settings for those three snapshots. However this cannot currently be done. You can copy the block over to a new preset or within the preset and it will reflect the state and parameter settings from only the single snapshot it is copied from. The current behavior I have observed with copy and paste with snapshots is the following: You can copy and paste an entire snapshot only within a preset. You cannot copy an entire snapshot to another preset. An already populated preset cannot have an entire snapshot copied to it for obvious reasons, it would overwrite the preset with a different set of blocks. You also cannot copy a snapshot to a new preset although this is not really an issue as you can copy the entire preset over instead. You can copy blocks between or within presets. Whatever snapshot you copy the block from will determine the state and parameter settings of the copied block. If you go back and copy the same block from a different snapshot with different parameter settings in your source preset, it will overwrite the settings of the block in your target preset for all snapshots. So again, ideally you would be have the option to copy over a block with all its snapshot settings to a new preset. I suppose in lieu of that it would be great if you could copy the block from each snapshot in the source preset to its respective snapshot in the target preset and retain the parameter settings from the source snapshot. A more ponderous process but the flexibility to do this would be helpful. At least that way you would be able to copy over your Clean, Crunch, and Lead settings one by one. Ultimately though it makes more sense and would be more efficient to be able to copy over the block with all its respective snapshots at once because otherwise the Editor would have to determine whether you are copying in an entirely new amp block or the same one (example in 1st paragraph) with different snapshot settings. I can easily see why some of the rules regarding snapshot copy & paste exist and should remain but implementing the option to copy a block(s) with all its snapshot states might be doable and very helpful.

Glad it helped, thanks to the maker of that video. :)