HonestOpinion

I get you now, charging for an informative post is definitely not ok and absolutely violates the sense of community that permeates this forum and that Inerzia referred to when he started this topic.

There used to be a great cartoon by Gary Larson of the cows going out and tipping people at night. I understand your distaste for the whole donation and tipping thing but if you are European the reason tipping isn't necessary is that Europe actually pays its working class employees a living wage, e.g. minimum wage for a McDonald's worker in Denmark is $20. Your minimum wage is much higher and, due to higher taxes, your social services are much better including socialized health care. Try telling a waitress with no company provided health insurance and a family to feed making $5 an hour she should expect to be happy with her salary and not expect tips. The European and American systems are quite different. I have seen 'freeware' provided for years with all kinds of applications using the 'Donation' model and it actually works fairly well at times. A piece of particularly good software inspires people to voluntarily fund the programmer who spent their time developing it. The cream tends to rise to the top and donations go towards those who provide a genuinely excellent product rather than people having to convince themselves that the no-return policy commercial software they just shelled out bucks for is worthy. Eventually the donation model can fund an even better product or move on to be a commercial product by popular acclaim. I assume this has been the trajectory for some of the people selling presets here. I would actually prefer to see the donation model than the 'pay up front'' model for presets although I doubt it would be as lucrative for the truly talented preset designers. For the foreseeable future though I will just continue to design my own presets but I understand for some people their time is worth more than the relatively low cost of commercial presets.

I don't believe that it is the case. It is a water displacement formula but it also does seem to have some lubricant qualities, at least according to Wikipedia. Quote: "<25% petroleum base oil. Presumably a mineral oil or light lubricating oil.". My experience has definitely been that it has lubricating qualities although perhaps as you say it has some solvent agent as well. I am definitely not saying it is safe for the Helix. I have no idea if it is or not.

'Megaphone' under the distortion selections?

Might be cool to have some generic 'type' tone shaping options with names that describe the overall tone/EQ you are going for, e.g. 'Classic 70's mid-scoop', 'Clean Sparkle', '5-String Chug', 'Woman Tone', etc..

Thanks for posting back. What a horrible speaker purchase experience. I would be done with it too.

Far be it from me to discourage enterprising souls from making a bit of money for their expertise and hard work but personally I have never been inclined to purchase someone else's presets. I think the point the OP brings up about the sense of community regarding the sharing of free presets is valid. I truly appreciate the efforts of those who have shared their time and effort by offering presets and even IRs in the case of Roscoe5 and jroseberry (probably missed some others) for free, just as I appreciate the efforts of Line6 to provide additional features, effects, and amps without charging a fee. It is an act of laudable generosity and community to take one's own time to develop a good preset, IR, or video to assist your fellow musicians. Is there room for both Line6 and users to design additional assets for the Helix that require purchase, sure there is, as long as I am not expected to jump for joy at the prospect of shelling out hard-earned cash or applaud their money making venture as some form of altruism, much as I may admire their skill and perhaps even use their product. I do think there is a bit of the 'patent' dilemma issue here as well. I don't think people will feel comfortable sharing concepts that were initially advanced in a tweaked preset by Glenn or Fremen, even if that concept or something similar to it would have been stumbled on by others along the way. That issue of how to handle first discovery when that discovery first surfaces in a purchased preset can be a bit difficult to navigate. A tip 'o the hat to all those who have done their best to add value here with everything from posts to presets and IRs without asking for something in return. This is a great forum! Btw, I do appreciate the more tangible product that Glenn Delaune offers in the form of a protective screen for the Helix.

It occurred to me that you said you dragged the IRs into a block in your preset. I have never done that, the standard method after loadng your IRs into the IR section of the editor using drag & drop is to create an IR block in your preset and use the parameter on the block to select the IR you want from the IR block instead (don't drag and drop anything). You may have discovered a buggy method in the Editor for dragging an IR into a preset. My other guess would be that something went wrong in your drag and drop process or that somehow your IRs are incompatible with the Helix. The incompatibility issue is not that frequent as Helix will usually convert or truncate IRs to the proper format. It would not hurt to try loading IRs as close to the expected Helix format as possible. I would try dragging them into your Editor again. Try dragging them in with batches of five instead of thirty at the same time (although I have successfully dragged in many at one time). Something obviously did not take the first time. Here is a blurb from the Helix manual regarding IRs. " Helix can load and store up to 128 IRs at a time. 48kHz, 16-bit, mono, .WAV type IRs of up to 2,048 samples are natively supported. But the Helix app allows you to import IR .WAV files of different samplerate, bitdepth, length and stereo format,and the app will convert these attributes automatically before sending to the Helix hardware. "

Just like an analog pedal board if you deliver a hotter input signal into a distortion block you tend to not only get more volume but more distortion. This was actually one of the aspects of a tube amp that Line6 was going for when they designed the Helix, that it responded like a real amp to volume changes. A volume pedal at the beginning of your signal chain is sort of the same concept as turning up the volume knob on your guitar, this not only changes the overall volume but can cause your amp to overdrive or your distortion pedal to deliver a grittier sound with more overdrive. Placement of the volume block can make a big difference as to how the blocks downstream from it react, even mod blocks and blocks other than amp and distortion can respond differently to higher input signals from upstream.

The sound will tighten up with a 10" or 12" powered speaker versus a 15". Most guitar amps don't come with 15" speakers because most guitarists prefer that tighter sound (plus 15" is more bulky and heavier). The most important principle is the one that cruisinon2 mentioned though. Many widely varying monitors from small studio speakers to large powered PA speakers can be made to sound great but they may all require different preset settings and EQ's. Using the same exact preset to test an 8" studio speaker and a 15" powered PA speaker is very unlikely to provide a good method of comparison. You will have to adjust the settings to match the speaker.

I agree the delays are excellent, it is the reverbs that need to be upgraded to Helix level hardware/software. Along these lines, despite the fact that it is primarily intended as a guitar processor, it would be great to see the Helix include some top quality vocal processing for the Helix that would essentially be along the same lines as the T.C. Helicon Live 3 or a similar device. However, you can indeed get a decent vocal sound now. I have a full band and a duo, excellent vocal processing is a particularly nice feature for singer/songwriters using a minimal PA or even direct to powered speakers for small gigs. Not top of my priority list but this is an area where the Helix could still grow.

Nice writeup, just wanted to add that method #2 gives you a very transparent boost as it is downstream of all blocks and therefor does not impact their processing the same way a volume boost for instance in front of an overdrive pedal or amp might increase the drive/grit as well as the volume. As you point out however if you turn it down completely you also cut off trails. One way to get around this and still have a relatively transparent volume boost is to put your volume block/boost right before the delays and reverbs towards the end of your signal chain.

... and an expression pedal.

Although the guitar could be the culprit it could be any of a number of more likely factors including the speakers he is monitoring with, his output levels, global settings, or what amp and effect blocks he has selected in his signal chain or how he has the parameters set. A high gain cut is a good place to start with taming highs since he seemed to indicate that he has not had success yet with more granular EQ. Worth a try anyway and sweeping through the high cut is a good way at the least to find out generally where the offending frequencies are, they may well be above the 1.5-3k range he indicated in his post. I also agree with deadlocked that this could be a 'Fletcher-Munson' issue in that he says the problem occurs "as soon as he bumps himself up to stage volume". Adjusting amp block settings at volumes closer to what he will be playing at as well as employing EQ/high cuts is probably a fine place to start. Using the sweep method with a parametric can also help identify problem areas in the EQ curve. Experimenting with amp/cab/mic/IR choices as DunedinDragon recommended might also provide a more pleasing alternative that requires minimal EQ tweaking. If none of the above works then maybe it is time to try another guitar but with the options available on the Helix he should be able to adjust for almost any guitar that is not either damaged or horrendously mismatched to the song.

LOL. Cheech & Chong quote? :D

Ain't it the truth! Fractal has some great features but the interface on the Helix along with its I/O options is what made the choice so easy for me. The single area I believe that Fractal did a better job on the interface was providing enough parameter knobs so that all of the critical parameters on an amp can be tweaked without paging or for that matter even pulling up the amp block. However I feel this is vastly outweighed by the superior design of the Helix in almost every other area.

I hear you on the expense thing although I don't think it is excessive and it does provide a measure of security. Making sure you always download the driver directly from Line6 should be relatively secure unless you type in the wrong URL and somebody spoofs the site. I don't believe this issue will be 'fixed' without a certificate. People will simply continue to work around it using the link in Chuskey's post above to disable driver certificate checking. http://line6.com/support/topic/23736-windows-10-issue/?p=181048

Have you tried a high cut either in the cab or in an EQ block? Don't be afraid to take it down as low as 4khz if necessary although 5khz or thereabouts often does the trick.

I have seen this issue on tuners for basses before. It is less than an ideal solution (particularly if your intonation is not correct) but tuning by hitting the octave or the harmonic can help.

These inputs are described in the manual as being intended for 'line level' instruments like keyboards and drum machines so my guess is they have a lower impedance than 1MOhm. Here is a blurb from Wikipedia - "A typical line out connection has an output impedance from 100 to 600 Ω, with lower values being more common in newer equipment. Line inputs present a much higher impedance, typically 10 kΩ (0.01MOhm) or more. Although line inputs have a high impedance compared to that of line outputs, they should not be confused with so-called "Hi-Z" inputs (Z being the symbol for impedance) which have an impedance of 470 kΩ to over 1 MΩ. These "Hi-Z" or "instrument" inputs generally have higher gain than a line input. They are designed to be used with, for example, electric guitar pickups and "direct injection" boxes. Some of these sources can provide only minimal voltage and current and the high impedance input is designed to not load them excessively." I suppose if Line6 is not going to answer the question someone could test their Helix (carefully and in warranty ;) ) with a multimeter.

Kind of like the early days of computers when it took a warehouse of giant tube driven mainframe monstrosities with truckloads of punch cards to do even simple computing that any smart watch can now execute with ease. Technology marches on! :)

We still have plenty of problems (just look at this election), this just makes for a good distraction. It's all relative, Monaco is complaining about the quality of the caviar this year while people in destitute countries discuss where their next meal is coming from. It is definitely a First World privilege to even be having this conversation but as long as we are I say bring on the new.

The superior method for Line6 going forward would seem to be to get the driver certified with Windows rather than having users disabling certificate checking. I would think this would be cheaper and easier than supporting people with update issues. Certainly it would be a friendlier approach to the user. I believe it is pretty much as simple as getting a Symantec certificate (or other approved trusted certificate provider) for the Line6 driver. I sympathize with Line6 becauseI know Microsoft makes it a pain, and makes it more expensive by generating revenue for companies like Symantec but Microsoft is also trying to make your computer more secure and prevent hackers from spoofing drivers. I don't understand why Line6 continues to have certificate issues on not only driver installs to the new Win 10 Anniversary edition but even for downloads of the firmware in previous firmware versions. Wouldn't it be better to just jump through the hoops for proper certification?

Number one priority for me on the Helix is stability. I use it live like many others here and nothing is more important to me than being able to rely on it during a gig. No OS/firmware/software issues like freezing or locking up, expression pedal setting itself to 1%, etc. and no hardware issues under normal use like joystick failing, knobs breaking off, switches going bad, or expression pedal failing. Making the Helix as bullet proof as possible and repairing issues that turn out to be manufacturer defects without saddling the customer with any or at the most a minor expense is far and away my greatest concern. Most of all no catastrophic failure that knocks it completely out of commission during a performance. I would love to see more effects as well as improvement of existing effects (e.g. '3 OSC Synth', 'Pitch', etc.) where needed. I don't want to belabor the polyphonic thing as we already have an active forum proponent for it but that would be huge. I wouldn't mind seeing a wider range of distortion pedals and a really good 'Slow Gear' "auto-volume" type pedal. I also like the Moog pedals as well as some of the synth-like pedals like the EHX Mel9. I'm sure other people have their favorites that I would be more than happy to experiment with. The reverbs could definitely stand to be upgraded as Line6 has told us directly that these are the ported HD500X reverbs. Right now it is my understanding that we essentially have the generation of reverbs from an older and far less expensive and powerful piece of hardware (HD500X). I would imagine they can make some much better ones for the Helix. I appreciate that there are only so many basic amp designs that many other amps are based on but a few more good amp models would not hurt either. There are a substantial number of amps out there have distinct characters of their own despite the fact that many of them have similar architectures. Even if you can get the sound of most amps now by playing with the various amp parameters (e.g. bias, sag, etc.) and EQ I would prefer not to spend my time doing that and instead have a wider (not necessarily huge) choice of amp models ready to go if possible. I do like the idea of being able to swap different tubes in and out (essentially having tube models to choose from). I also recognize that option paralysis is a potential pitfall but it can also become a convenient excuse for a lack of options. There is probably a good compromise regarding the number of amp options and that number does not need to be the same as Fractal. Overall however, new amps models are low on my priority list, though some additional ones would be just fine with me. There are also some minor features or issues that have been outstanding for a while like improving the way the scribble strip on the expression pedal displays that I would like to see addressed. I also think there are many improvements that could be made to the Editor. So much to do, so little time. I guess it all comes down to priorities. In the meantime, I have more than enough flexibility on the Helix to displace every second of practice time with twiddling if I allowed it.

Still sounds like the potential might be there for Helix to up the byte limit on the IRs, even if it ate up an entire route/'DSP processor' on the Helix when you loaded up a large IR. I wonder how the amount of memory onboard the Helix compares with the amount of memory on the AX8. Large IRs also take up more memory.