HonestOpinion

You can also find the Helix LT manual here: http://line6.com/support/manuals/helixlt Check back periodically for updates (often issued after significant firmware updates). There was a topic where people were assigning the actual songs to the related preset but I can't seem to find it. Perhaps someone else can post it up.

I used to have that pedal and loved it. Don't know why I ever sold it.

I find the answer to this question interesting - "You can just turn it off". Turning a computer off is definitely not the same as doing a shutdown operation first. Things that have been cached often have to be flushed from memory to the hard drive, applications and services shut down gracefully to avoid corruption, etc.. I suppose in the case of the Helix there is a very robust boot up process and OS, little or no risk to the firmware/software from a hard shutdown, and no need to flush memory as there is no hard drive. It certainly appears that just hitting a power strip to turn off the Helix has no adverse effects. I do it all the time and Line6 appears to have confirmed it is ok.

If you have found a used Helix at a reasonable price I would jump on it, but with my eyes open. It is a great device! You may eventually require a repair or you many not. Even though I baby this thing I am on my second Helix because of a failing footswitch on the first and now I have a scribble strip with a line through it on this one. Not as lucky as some of the other posters here. I would have to report mixed results regarding reliability. On the plus side I have used it for many gigs and had no operational failures during a performance.

It may not be exactly what you had in mind but you can export all of the IRs at once by highlighting them all and hitting the 'Export' link in the Editor under the IR tab.

I have a suggestion for anyone who wants to use the auto-swell block. Do yourself a favor and create a loop by playing groups of individual notes (solo lines) at different tempos. Then start fiddling with the controls while your loop is playing. I cannot emphasize enough how much easier this will make it for you to find usable settings for this effect. I found this method mandatory with the auto-swell. Playing a line, reaching down to make adjustments, and playing again, was taking way too long. I did kind of chuckle at the graphic for this effect which shows a simple two knob auto-swell. This is anything but, it is a fairly complex implementation and the Helix could probably use a version that is more like a two knob pedal.

Yes, you can assign a parameter to a footswitch without using snapshots. See page 42 in the manual. Just follow this "Quick" instruction for getting to the right screen and the rest is self-explanatory. From the Home screen, press and hold the knob for the parameter you wish to control. You can also do this type of assign by navigating to the Controller Assign screen. After you select a footswitch from the 'Controller' parameter the Min and Max parameters will appear and you can set the them to the values you want to switch between (e.g. 4.4 and 8.0 in the example you gave above).

Thx!

Chuckle.. :) I am no MIDI expert either and although I suppose MIDI clock could play into this depending on what the user is triggering or having triggered via MIDI, I don't think MIDI clock is his focus. As discussed, it appears he is hoping for a firmware revision that provides an option to trigger a MIDI, CV, or External amp command at the Preset, Snapshot, or both, level via 'instant' commands

Agreed, we could really use some sort of visual feedback so we can see when the compression is kicking in to set the threshold properly.

Ah, I get it! Workarounds that work right now are a beautiful thing.

I know the feeling of wanting to progress in an orderly manner through the features on a new device but I would highly encourage you to jump into snapshot usage sooner rather than later. Like many users you may find snapshots indispensable. Starting off with snapshots may save you a lot of time redesigning presets down the line. It may also save you a lot of time and aggravation figuring out routing and parameter changing; operations that are executed more easily with snapshots. You also get the instant benefit of adding "trails" capability to your preset. A very rough analogy might be "why try to find just the right drill, bolt, lock washer, nut and socket wrench" when the parts in your project can just be snapped and locked together. Snapshots would be that "snap and lock" technology. A related response on another topic. http://line6.com/support/topic/26852-simple-switching-between-path-1-path-2/?p=208041

A simpler solution might be giving the user the options/modes on an instant command to set "Preset", "Snapshot", or "Both/All". This way you could specifically indicate when the instant command should be sent.

I apologize for skipping over your question regarding implementation suggestions for switching between your two paths, someone else will doubtlessly answer it quite well. I just wanted to make the following suggestion that instead of switching paths you might consider using snapshots to do this instead. Using snapshots gives you a major advantage in that you can load up your preset with effects and other blocks using a "Super Serial (X2)" routing which you can find in the Templates setlist. All of your blocks in the preset are now available to both amps instead of just one. You won't have to repeat block usage by for instance including a compressor and distortion block for each amp on each path. When you want to switch amps just change snapshots. The snapshot change can not only include switching one amp/cab on and the other(s) off but can also change any number of amp/cab, EQ, and effect parameters at the same time. That means when you switch amps you can simultaneously change the EQ, the reverb/delay parameters, the distortion settings, etc.., . This way you have all the blocks in the preset available for both amps but customized via snapshots for when you select a specific amp. Snapshots also makes it easy to switch not only between for example "clean" and "lead" sounds between amps, but also allows you to easily switch in a clean or dirty sound on the same amp. You can also add additional snapshots to emulate multi-channel amps e.g. (Clean, Crunch, Lead, etc.) as well as add customized snapshots for specific song parts. I use snapshots all the time for switching between amps within a single preset and one important benefit is that snapshots allow you to switch between up to three blocks from completely different amps or to switch between three different amp channel blocks(models) from the same amp.

Added the following to the description for this Idea in response to a question in the comments from DI: "...a very flexible solution would be adding the ability to designate any of the Helix's eight setlists as either a "Setlist" or an "IR list"."

I use a sort of hybrid approach. Some songs have very specific requirements for their sound or specific snapshots that cover all the parts in the arrangement and they get a preset of their own. For others, much as you described, I set up various generic presets that can accommodate a wide range of material. Those are my go-to presets and get a quite a bit of use during a performance.

One for all, and all for one! Voted! https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-additional-slots-for-IRs/892101-23508

I appreciate the other posters' point here regarding whether or not this can be construed or defined as a "backward compatibility" issue. I just think it would be a shame to see the OP's point get obscured by whether or not that particular phrase applies in this case. Just speaking in general terms, when cool new features like snapshots get added, it is IMHO ideal when a valued feature that existed prior to the new feature is still available, and where applicable, can still be used with the new feature. The "where applicable" is the big caveat. Sometimes an evolutionary feature like "snapshots" is going to change the playing field and an old feature may be replaced with something better, or not coexist or make sense with the new paradigm. That does not appear to be the case here though. It would seem that instant commands could be allowed to be sent either on preset change, snapshot change, or both, such that a user can take advantage of the new snapshot functionality and still have the ability to send a command only on preset change. So, whether or not this is a "backward compatibility" issue or not I think the main point is that this user would prefer not to have to forego using a new feature as phenomenal as snapshots just to be able to retain a feature from a previous firmware version (preset only instant switches). In this case, it seems that snapshots and preset-only instant changes could coexist if the firmware was modified/enhanced. They don't appear to be mutually exclusive features, at least on the face of things. Anyway, good luck to the OP getting this feature although I admit there are lots of other things I would prefer to see get worked on first. This seems like a reasonable request and more importantly points to a policy we probably all support which is that whenever feasible, users be able to use a feature from both an old and newer version of the firmware simultaneously when they are not incompatible with each other. In fairness to the developers, particularly when the new firmware provides substantial benefits, I can see in some cases where too much additional coding is required and there is not a large enough benefit to enough users to justify the maintenance or enhancement of certain features from prior firmware versions. Maintenance or enhancement that would allow them to be used concurrently with newer features. Hopefully situations requiring those kinds of compromises are rare.

I think the OP has a point here although I would not characterize the addition of snapshots as a "step back" without emphasizing the fact that snapshots was also about 50 steps forward. Although the amount of new functionality and the ability to switch without lag added by snapshots was an astounding boon to the Helix, it did lose the ability to do "instant" switches solely at the preset level. That ability should probably be restored. I voted for his idea and think it is a good one.

Thx!

Yes please, this!! First off, great word ("skeuomorphism")!! Ironic that it is not in the spellchecker as it is used in conjunction with UI and Web design. Perhaps sliders are better than knobs for some operations but not when you have to select from dozen(s) of options and the slider only shows one choice at a time. The Helix app badly needs some of its sliders to be replaced with pull-down menus.

I personally like using the Snap/Stomp mode so that I have both snapshots and stomps available. Hitting either Bank switch pulls up the presets for easy selection, I select a preset, and Helix automatically drops back to the snapshots and stomps for the newly selected preset.

I think this would be a grand time to finally roll out some HX reverbs in both stereo and mono versions.

I agree and put up an Idea for the Brian May amp a while ago Vote it up here: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-Brian-May-Deacy-Amp/841534-23508

Add additional slots for IRs Vote it up here: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-additional-slots-for-IRs/892101-23508