HonestOpinion

Since the 2.10 version of the Helix firmware you have been able to change the LED ring colors for snapshots but only from the Helix device, not the Editor. The instructions were under the release notes for the 2.10 'Flash Memory' (not Helix app) download. From the 2.10 Flash Memory release notes: Snapshot footswitch LED color—You can now choose a color for each snapshot footswitch. Press the PRESETS knob and then Knob 6 (Rename Snapshot). Turn knob 5 (LED Color) to select the desired color. “Auto Color†is the default red. NOTE: There is currently no way to set snapshot footswitch color from the Helix application.

Just to get a gauge of how people feel about being able to run plugins on the Helix or its successor: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Enable-plugins-to-run-on-the-current-Helix-or-a-future-version/869179-23508

Not to mention 'cherchez la femme'! :D

Some great features coming in this update. Thanks! Squeaky wheel request: please stabilize the tuner. ;)

Let's assume you are testing by simply listening to headphones plugged into the Helix and are unable to dial out the part of your tone that is bothering you no matter what amp or effect you choose, and no matter what EQ you apply. As others have suggested it sounds like something in your basic signal chain is problematic, perhaps not with other equipment but when used with the Helix. I assume you have tried multiple guitars and multiple different types of guitar cables. You appear to be an experienced user of modeling equipment but sometimes it does not hurt to cover the bases. Given that Line6 repair did not miss something we are assuming there is nothing wrong with your Helix. Make sure you are plugged into the "Guitar" input if you are using passive pickups. Experiment with the pad and impedance settings to see if this improves things. Use the sweep method on a parametric EQ at the end of your signal chain and see if you can nail down a part of the frequency spectrum that is really bugging you. Try different mics in your cabs. You may not like whatever mic model has been selected and the mic selection makes a huge difference in the sound. Play with the balance between your 'Gain', 'Master', and 'Ch Vol' on your amp models as well as the main volume knob. If you are using your monitors instead of headphones try changing the 'Instrument'/'Line' setting on you outputs in the global settings. It sounds like you just need to get the gain staging and the EQ to your liking but there are so many variables you just need to start chopping away with them. I would also hunt up some demos of the Helix on the web. Granted they may not be the best way to get a sense of what the Helix sounds like in person but if you are not hearing the same annoying stuff on a good Helix video that should at least reassure you that a good high-gain tone is achievable. If you are consistently hearing the same thing on good demos of the Helix then perhaps it is not for you.

'Bridge Of Sighs' and 'For Earth Below' are both phenomenal Trower albums. I still enjoy hearing cuts off either.

Great method under the right circumstances for the right user but many people are unpleasantly surprised when they first hear their headphone designed presets on a stage. I would think there are probably some headphones that work better for this than others. I can certainly see this being a huge timesaver if you designed your presets already on headphones as all your routing, blocks, and parameters are mostly set. The problem I have found is that presets I have designed on headphones require many changes until they sound right to me for stage monitor and FOH. Not only do I end up having to reset the obvious like the EQ and the tonestack in the amp, but sometimes other parameters require adjustment such as reverb/delay mix, etc., because even though they sounded perfect in the headphones they just don't sound quite right to me in a stage mix. Still and all, if you can use this method I can see it saving a lot of time rather than rebuilding all your presets. I just cut out the middle man from the start and design my presets with an FRFR speaker cab. However, if one designs their presets late at night, is an apartment or townhome dweller, or has grumpy neighbors/family they may not have that option. :) One further note, I like being able to use the Global EQ for tuning to the room. In your scenario, you are using the Global EQ to adjust for moving from monitoring with headphones to an FRFR as well as presumably adjusting to the room. I can see this making the Global EQ adjustment a bit trickier but perhaps no more than it would be when you have to adjust for different PAs and stage monitors. The main problem for me would be that there are other parameters than EQ, as I mentioned above, that require adjustment IMHO when you move from headphones to FRFR that cannot be adjusted with the Global EQ. I think in your scenario I might opt for a snapshot approach for each preset with one set of snapshots for each preset being geared towards headphones and another for FRFR.

You can always assign the output block volume to a footswitch/snapshot and that way you won't require a gain block. However, usually gain blocks use up so little DSP that for most presets adding a gain block should not be a problem.

Do not download the latest firmware, instead download and install the latest 'Helix' 2.11 application. It will say simply 'Helix' in the second grey title bar and below and to the right you will see text that says "Helix Editor v2.11 Release Notes", scroll down and you will see the download button for this file. The 'Helix' application by default will install the Updater, Editor, and Driver (if you are using Windows). Now run the Updater and upgrade to the latest firmware version 2.12. The latest 'Helix' application as well as the Editor are version 2.11 right now but the latest firmware is version 2.12. After the firmware upgrade to 2.12 completes be sure to run the global reset before you start to design presets. As always, follow the instructions in the firmware notes.

LOL, the tightrope walk between being helpful and serving as an 'enabler'. Just another reminder that it is unsafe to surf the net at any speed without a tinfoil hat. But seriously Guitarmaniac64, forward those URLs on and let's see if anyone else gets those messages.

Took me a little while to get around to it but I incorporated your comment into the 'Attack' section in the compression document. http://line6.com/support/topic/23488-compressors-explained/?p=178763 Good point and thanks!

Could you please post the URL for the topic/post you are unable to get to? That way we can see if anyone else is getting the same message. Also, are you sure that message came from Line6? You probably already did this but I would check the URL when you get that message to make sure your browser, privacy settings, or an antivirus or anti-phishing program did not do a redirect. If all else fails you could open a ticket with Line6 support and provide them with the problem URLs and your login. If there is a Line6 login database that is randomly removing your view permissions on certain pages or posts (seems very unlikely but stranger things have happened) they might be able to help track down the issue. I have seen a topic locked (viewable but can no longer be modified) when it gets too contentious or even posts removed on very rare occasions but when I have observed that happen no one could view them, not just a single user. Additionally I think if you were being targeted intentionally the forum's moderator probably would have contacted you.

Quite excellent and yet another reminder of what a thin line there is sometimes between the industry anointed act that achieves some degree of lasting fame and some of the more talented folks who post their own self-produced material on this forum and elsewhere.

Sure does! :)

You are right, it does sound like a contradiction in terms because an FRFR is supposed to be flat response but nope, no mistake, there are several 'flat' headphones available out there but they don't sound like an FRFR guitar cab or PA. Good studio headphones in essence already are FRFR speakers, just not the kind that are very conducive to designing presets for performance. I was just speculating about headphones that get closer to what FOH sounds like. Let's put it that way. Probably difficult or impossible but man would they be handy for designing presets intended to be played on a stage. :)

What we need is a pair of specially designed headphones that don't strive to sound studio worthy 'flat', have great low end, or "sound great" but instead emulate the sound of your average FRFR speaker system. There is a lot of variation in PA speakers and custom designed guitar FRFR cabs but create a pair of headphones that would approximate that sound. Perhaps it's physics and you simply can't get that sound in a pair of headphones, but if you can wouldn't headphones like that be helpful for designing presets to be used in performance? They might at least get you most of the way there with some fine tuning required once you are actually going through your FRFR speakers. :)

I can't help but notice that some of the points being made about plugins sound like some of the arguments that could have been made against including IRs in standalone MFX/modelers. I know it is not a precise or perhaps even a fair analogy as IRs are .wav files and have proven to be stable and they are not essentially highly customized applications like plugins which are more prone to problems. Granted this is probably too much of an apples to oranges analogy. However, IRs are third party products and I would not be surprised if some of the same kinds of concerns we are currently hearing about enabling plugins were voiced regarding IRs prior to their implementation. Totally switching gears here for a moment but you know you really have to hand it to Line6. I am an unabashed admirer of what they have achieved here already. I know people including me sometimes expect a lot for the price of a Helix but honestly look what you get for your money. At the risk of grossly oversimplifying you get a powerful computer with high quality components built like a tank with an included "monitor", advanced specialized hardware (think scribble strips, LED rings, cap-sensitive switches, impedance management, high quality A/D conversion, switching and MIDI for external devices, etc.) and extensive I/O including both digital and analog options customized for music production and performance. In addition you get a custom OS and application for that device that is constantly being enhanced with firmware upgrades as well as an additional application that communicates (Editor) with the Helix via Windows or Mac. You get the forum, an excellent support site for Helix users hosted by Line6 as well as a preset repository they host, not to speak of their well staffed and responsive support team. As if all that were not enough you get a compact, light, dependable and extremely flexible and powerful solution to live performance that saves your back and simultaneously provides top notch tone. Think about how much you have to spend on a decent desktop computer (before you even put any software on it) that sits in a dull grey box with average to poor audio hardware perhaps with little to no support after purchase. The Helix and Line 6 support infrastructure is really quite an amazing accomplishment at the price, given what it provides. Hat's off to Line 6!

LOL, I couldn't agree more. I am half cringing while writing these posts as I feel like I am completely fumbling around in the dark. You are so right, we really don't know what they are using. I am partially hopeful that my probably at least 50% wildly inaccurate suppositions will inspire DI to set the record straight as he did recently. Again though, I can't help but feel like plugins are coming to standalone equipment at some point as I watch the new devices that have been coming to market. Perhaps those that assert that it is simply not worth the effort and headaches to allow plugins to run on standalone equipment are correct and that using a cable between a standalone and a computer is the way to go, or perhaps having a proprietary SDK that allows custom plugins, but it just seems like someone is going to break that paradigm somewhere in the foreseeable future. :)

No doubt, but I believe at some point we get something that is standalone and inherently as powerful and full featured as the Helix and also allows third party plugins to run. As perhaps a stepping stone I also like Zooey's idea of an SDK (and firmware and perhaps hardware changes) that allows third party developers to write plugins specifically designed for the Helix or a Helix II. Let's hope I live that long. I suspect that it won't be that far in the future though. :)

I stand corrected, you mention "Mach" which is correct but you omitted that OS X, although not based on Linux, is based on BSD UNIX (I got my UNIX flavors wrong). I actually misspoke and meant to say OS X rather than iOS although iOS is based on OS X (feeble attempt to save face). So much for whipping off a quick post given the level of expertise and exactitude required on this forum. ;) My point is that despite the flavor of UNIX - BSD, Linux, or whatever, if the OS of the Helix is a Unix variant/descendant, then some level of Windows emulation may be possible. A Windows compatibility layer like "Wine" which runs on several Unix variants including BSD, OS X, or Linux could perhaps allow it or at least a future Helix version to run Windows applications like a DAW. The lack of technical accuracy on my last post notwhithstanding, I think the main point is that devices like the Fractal or the Helix which likely runs some variation of a Linux kernel/OS (DI feel free to chime in although this may be proprietary info), if not this generation then certainly in the next couple should be more than able to run at least a small subset of Windows applications like a limited DAW that could run plugins. Even if the Helix OS does not use a Linux type kernel/OS (which would surprise me) that does not mean a Windows compatibility layer could not be written for it, at least in a future version.

Just wanted to point out that I would not be surprised if the Helix was running on some kind of Linux kernel. Liniux can run emulated Windows environments, heck the iOS is essentially a Linux OS now. It is not out of the question that the current or a future version of the Helix could run an emulated Windows or Mac environment that could theoretically host a proprietary or third party DAW to run VST or AU plugins. Might not be possible with the current hardware but it certainly could be done if the Helix was designed from the ground up with the goal of being able to run these plugins. I guess the proof is in the pudding and the future will tell the tale.

Here is an idea to enhance the expression switch scribble strip labeling. Please vote it up! https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Enhance-labeling-for-scribble-strip-above-Expression-pedal/790022-23508

Probably not the issue but the first thing to do is to check the threshold setting on the gate for the Aux input block and make sure it is not set too aggressively. The Aux input does not have an impedance setting like the guitar input so you can't change the impedance setting. You could set up a snapshot that uses a gain block, the output block, or somewhere else in the signal chain to boost your output and simply switch to that snapshot when you are using your Aux input.

There are so many send/return loops (4) on the Helix that I imagine this isn't an issue for most users as they can just use one of the sends or a split to a 1/4 output block to provide the no-cab signal. But for players like yourself with a fully loaded signal path who would like to use all the loops for external pedals I suppose it would be grand to have a global setting for the 1/4 output that either included the cab or bypassed it. That option would make configuring and routing a preset a bit simpler for many Helix users who need both a with cab and without cab signal, even those users who do not need all the available send/return loops. No one can accuse you of not taking full advantage of the Helix's technology here and that is what it is intended for. The beauty of it is that the I/O provisioning on the Helix is so far ahead of the competition that this is truly a "First World" problem. Ultimately though adding that global 'no-cab' option for the 1/4 output would probably be welcomed by a number of users .

What version of the firmware is showing when you boot up the Helix. Also, what version of the Editor is showing when you go to the "About" section in the Editor menu? It sounds like your firmware and Editor may not have matching versions. If you are running the latest firmware 2.12 your Editor should be 2.l1. For most previous versions of the firmware the Editor had the same matching number. Also, did you do a global reset after your last firmware update. If you did not make sure you back everything up first and then do a global reset.