HonestOpinion

I have to agree with that sentiment, I'll happily welcome new effects/amps or features before editor changes!

That thought had occurred to me but it would make more sense if there was a tablet app for it on the iPad or Android. Granted many people have touchscreens these days on their laptops or sometimes for their PC but I think most people probably tend to use their keyboards and mouse with the Editor. The Microsoft tablets are a small share of the market but I suppose those who have them may like having the large bars, you point may be quite salient for them. There are also ways to set up a remote desktop on your iPad for the Helix but there are probably relatively few people doing it as it still requires the Helix to be USB tethered to a PC or laptop. If the Editor was a Blutooth app this would make more sense to me but given what appears to be the current intended usage for the Editor (laptop or PC) it does not require the large bars.

The Early Reflection parameter is a great way to get a bit more of an amp in the room feel although I find extremely low settings are more than enough for my tastes.

Much as I love having an editor, it has great functionality, thank you L6, I agree, the way that the GUI design team used huge colored bars for everything in the editor is one of the more inexplicable design choices I have witnessed in all my years of using software and editors. I do not understand that decision and I think other more traditional GUI elements like pulldown boxes, switches, etc. and yes, even smaller vertical sliders for EQ would have been a much better choice. Could someone please explain the advantages of this design to me and why I have to scroll down in a screen to control a relatively few number of parameters because all the bars rival the Grand Canyon in their size and scope if not its natural wonder. Why do I have to drag an enormous bar to see effects and amps one by one when there may one day be 200 of them to scroll through (one can hope)? Wouldn't smaller pulldown menus where you could see all or most of your choices all at once make a lot more sense and as a bonus conserve the space required to fit everything on one screen? But I have belabored this point elsewhere so I will leave it at that. Rant over, please don't flame me ye lovers of huge colored bars.

1. If you upgrade to 2.01 and there is some kind of problem with the upgrade then reinstalling the firmware should fix the issue. If you are encountering an actual bug that exists in the 2.01 firmware then other users should be able to confirm that bug unless it is unique to your equipment, for example, the USB ports or drivers on your PC don't play well with the Helix and prevent the Editor from connecting. Even when it is not the fault of the Helix other users with similar equipment to your own will most likely be able to confirm the behavior you are seeing. 2. Usually when one user has a bug that others can't confirm it is either a problem with the PC or software, DAW, etc. they are using with the Helix, or it has something to do with the procedure they used when doing the firmware upgrade, or they actually have a defect or failure in their particular Helix that requires a repair. And... sometimes the user simply does not understand an operation that is working as designed and mistakenly thinks it is a bug. I find that the forum and L6 staff is pretty good at sorting out legitimate bugs from other issues but not always.

Not every bug gets fixed in a firmware upgrade, only the ones that L6 is aware of and that they have had the time to address in the latest firmware release. A new firmware release, particularly one that introduces new features can even sometimes introduce a new bug while also fixing known bugs. There can be exceptions but in general, keeping your firmware up to date is the best way to ensure that you have the most bug-free release available. If you are asking if in the event that you needed to rollback to a previous version will things work and sound the same, yes, they should as long as you restore all of the presets and IRs (restore to exactly the same slot they were in previously) from the previous version as well as set the global settings exactly the same as they were (so take note of them before upgrading).

Actually I thought you were using a pitch block. That is some extremely talented use of a whammy bar, no wonder you end up breaking them :)

Which app are you using?

Absolutely phenomenal playing! I love the use of the pitch whammy. Great Helix sounds with fantastic musicianship to demonstrate them!

Yep, toe down or heel up activation of the wah with no switch is a feature on the Fractal and although I vastly prefer the Helix the Fractal guys definitely got that one right. This should just require a firmware change. It is a nice feature and I can see why people want it. You can also see switchless features on some wah pedals like the Morley Steve Vai Bad Horsie 2 which actually activates from the weight of your foot. Weight activation would not work too well on a pedal serving dual purpose like wah/volume without also using a switch but that Morley implementation is damn ingenious.

Agree with all of this including the fact that it is the developers who would be working on modifying the upgrade procedure, not the support staff. I probably was not clear enough in my post but that was my point, that improving the upgrade process would eat up developer cycles, not support staff cycles, and it is the support staff that is currently working with failed upgrade issues although they probably reach out to developers now & then.

I agree it is a little premature to label this one solved given the topic's title. The switching situation has certainly improved exponentially with the addition of snapshots and will probably be enough to satisfy a large percentage of the Helix's users. Regarding the mechanics of it being marked solved, only the original poster(OP) of the topic can mark it solved (and maybe the L6 forum administrator Line6Tony although I don't think he marks other people's topics solved) so it was probably marked solved by mjorden, the fellow who started this topic and that is certainly his perogative (even if others including myself feel it is not yet "solved", just better by a country mile).

I have never had an issue with an upgrade and I have done all of them although I have had some questions along the way. I agree that the process should be more bullet-proof if possible. Ideally this is the way I see an update working although I personally prefer Line6 keeps working on new effects and features as it is support staff who deals with failed upgrade issues and I would prefer the developers don't get sidetracked on the perfect upgrade scenario. However, for those who have suffered through the upgrade process or panicked at a temporarily locked up Helix I feel their pain. Ideal but probably developer time intensive upgrade process: Running the Updater automatically first backs up all global settings (text document for reference only as available global settings may change in the new firmware version), a bundle, all setlists, and all presets individually as well as IRs and then verifies them. "Successful backup"! The updater would then go out and automatically look for the latest version of the "Helix" application unless instructed specifically to look for an older version (in case you need to roll back). It would then download the latest or designated older version of the "Helix" app and install it which would put the latest or appropriate version of the Updater, Editor, and drivers on your PC. Running the Updater would give you a choice of only one version of the firmware, the one that matched the version of the Updater, Editor, and drivers it just downloaded (remember, even if you are rolling back to an earlier version of the firmware step number two has already installed the software matching that version of the firmware). The Updater updates Helix to the latest version of the firmware, runs any necessary global resets and restarts and finally prompts the user to restore their presets, IRs, and global settings or better yet gives them a choice of doing it automatically. The former global settings could be referred to in the text document created in step #1 and if they ever cease to change between firmware versions global settings could be backed up and restored automatically.

Yes, thirty seconds or less has been my experience. It sounds like it was doing the initial preset rebuild the first time you booted. Once it has completed this one-time process successive bootup time is quite fast.

Snapshots do accommodate a huge number of scenarios/presets that don't require a whole lot of additional effects. For straight ahead rocking I can have three amps models and a cab, a 70's chorus, distortion, phaser, flanger, wah, touch-wah, compressor, and EQ, in a single preset, no problem. This covers me for most songs and allows me to have a virtual three channel amp with spillover and no switching latency. Magnificent! But for presets that require more DSP intensive effects like the tri-chorus or pitch shifting as well as a looper, or perhaps multiple IRs, etc., usually an amp channel or two may have to go to regain the necessary DSP if I want to keep the rest of my go-to effects in the signal chain. I know those kinds of presets might seem ridiculous to the large number of users who prefer simpler signal paths but there are occasions where it is nice to have everything but the kitchen sink jammed into a preset, or just have two presets with different effects, and switch presets during a fast song without getting a dropout. I agree with Gunmetal that snapshots do not mean that there is no reason not to keep working on reducing latency between presets but they do reduce the urgency. I hope L6 continues to work on reducing inter-preset switching latency. The snapshot feature is definitely a home-run. And, once again, I have to stress that the Helix feature-set is so great, is such a joy to program and play, sounds so bloody good and is so stage friendly that I am smiling ear to ear every time I plug in. L6 has really committed to making this thing great and they have succeeded!

It did not seem to take any longer to boot to me but I did not time it before and after. Given the new features, snapshots, etc. I think the bootup time is impressive and lightning fast considering what they are loading up.

You do see the strobe start to fluctuate as the initial pluck decays but once you get it tuned there is usually a moment where it stabilizes before it starts to move again. That is the behavior I use when for instance adjusting the intonation or tuning with a strobe or any granular tuner.

I thought that was just my less than new strings but it is happening on multiple guitars. At the risk of sounding ungrateful which I am not, big thanks for the vastly improved tuner but I am finding it a bit too jumpy as well. This may be the price we pay for getting a more granular readout but I am wondering if Line6 can stabilize it a bit in future firmware updates. Perhaps by freezing it for a moment after a brief read and then allowing it to warble (which is probably accurately reflecting what the string is doing). I have used other similarly or even more sensitive/granular tuners as well as strobe tuners and they are not as jumpy. Sorry to chime in on this one so soon after a phenomenal firmware upgrade. It must feel sometimes like no good deed goes unpunished.

Btw, I would love to see a keyboard or editor shortcut for assigning a parameter to the snapshots in the editor.

This is so true! What cuts through when drums, bass, keys, horns, etc.. are cranking is very often not that pleasing when you are practicing alone and building presets. You have to be able to anticipate that extra edge you will require for your mix in the band or at least build your presets with enough latitude to dial it in when needed.

I am not saying the Helix has one but a memory leak can cause a crash or freeze that is time related rather than heat related. So it could be related to how long it is up, not necessarily how hot it gets.

As long as you have already done the FS 9&10 reset after your firmware upgrade you should be able to just load your presets (and IRs to the same slots they were in previously if any of your presets use IRs). You should not have to take any further action although I always turn the Helix off and back on after I load my presets as I seem to remember the Helix running a final rebuild upon restart. After that you should be good to go. If you have not already, remember to reset your global settings back to your preferred values as the global reset will have set them back to their defaults.

You may want to try and follow Klangmaler's excellent instructions for the upgrade here: http://line6.com/support/topic/19200-helix-can-not-connect-to-device/?p=166095

Some great material, old Van Halen, their best stuff, not to speak of that crazy bastid Nugent's magnum opus.

Was there a Helix or even a guitarist in that video? I didn't notice :D