HonestOpinion

Silverhead is right about the 50-18khz not quite being the typical 20Hz-20khz that many full-range speakers have but this range should be more than adequate for use with guitar. It sounds to me like you just need to filter the lows and highs with your Carvin until you are happy with the sound. If it is sounding boomy/muddy on the low end and brittle on the high end just start with a high-pass filter at 85hz(you may go as high as 150hz) and a low-pass filter at 8khz (you may go as low as 4khz) and then modify to taste. If it is still too muddy raise the high-pass filter setting, if it is too brittle then lower the low-pass setting. If you lose too many highs or lows than do the opposite and back those settings off a bit. You can set these limits with an EQ block, the Global EQ, or on the cab block's settings. I mention the 150hz and 4khz as what I consider to be floor and ceiling points where you have either already, or are about to, severely impact the frequency range, I would reserve cuts at or beyond those limits for "specialty sounds". Make sure you have the line/mic setting correct on your Helix outputs to the Carvin and the large "Volume" knob up to at least half way, turn down the Carvin volume if you have to. Once you have your lows and highs sounding the way you like you can use a parametric EQ block or the Global EQ to get rid of anything that still offends although I find I rarely have to resort to additional EQ after the high and low limits are dialed in to my liking. It is however always possible that the Carvin has a bump in its frequency response somewhere other than the low and high end that is not pleasing to you, if so, use the parametric EQ to dial it out. Also, don't be afraid to dial the bass way down on the amp models, a lot of them sound better to me with the bass closer to 3.5 than 5.0 (at least on my full-range speakers); also keep an eye on the amp's Presence setting and don't hesitate to take it down to 0 if required. I think it is the rare piece of equipment that cannot be dialed in to sound great with some patience, some take a little bit more effort than others. I don't think the Carvin will be any exception.

This may not be particularly relevant to anything but the next-gen Helix II (or "Double Helix") but It occurs to me that now every Helix preset in essence has become to some extent a "bank" of 8 presets (snapshots) and L6 has effectively eliminated switching latency, at least within a preset. Eight snapshots is more than enough different scenarios for most songs. I know this may sound like blasphemy but perhaps the next version of the Helix could have fewer presets slots and instead commit that memory to other functionality? Right now some folks still need to switch presets within a song if the pedals they need for different parts are significantly different (you can't change the effects from snapshot to snapshot) for the alternate song part and they can't get everything into one preset without exhausting the DSP. For most songs though snapshots do the trick, the need for additional presets within a song has been vastly decreased. If the next Helix version has enough DSP for most people to jam everything they want into one preset (many find they have enough DSP already) then maybe we won't need over 1000 preset slots and that memory could instead be dedicated to more amp/effects, more and larger IRs, functionality as yet to be imagined, or whatever. I guess I am just trying to say that snapshots have substantially reduced my need for a large number of presets slots and as a result those hardware reserves could probably be used for something else in the next version of the Helix (or maybe even this one). It is unfortunate that people compare the max number of available preset slots between competitor's MFX offerings because given the new paradigm established by the addition of snapshots I think that space could probably be put to better use, I hope the market allows Line6 to do something like that in the future.

Yes -2 is a whole step, each number you increment/decrement is a half step (don't forget it is a half step [-1] between E&F, B&C).

There are a lot of free presets to be had on CustomTone, I mostly prefer to create my own though. First thing I did was rename one of my unused "User" set lists "Variax". Next, I copied over some of my favorite presets from my other "User" lists and tailored them to the Variax. I set up and named some presets tailored to the acoustic instruments on the Variax like "Banjo", "Martin Guitar", "Sitar", and "Dobro". I used force on those presets so when I click on the preset it automatically pulls up the corresponding model on the Variax without me having to touch the Variax selector. Then I started playing with things like assigning the "Drive" parameter on my amp models or distortion pedals to the Variax volume knob so that turning up the guitar's volume would also crank up the drive and maybe simultaneously bring down the presence or highs. I played with assigning things like the delay time to the tone knob. The possibilities for controlling Helix parameters from your Variax are infinite. Lastly I started copying over and creating presets targeted and named after songs I perform, dialing in forced models for specific songs, Lester for this one, Strat for another, you get the idea. I am still just getting started. Having a tightly integrated guitar and MFX that can communicate and control each other is an astounding amount of fun and opens up whole new areas of experimentation and the ability to get an incredible variety of sounds quickly.

Although I had some questions along the way and do think the process could be a bit more obvious for newbies I have to admit I have never had a single problem upgrading and I have upgraded through every single firmware version since the Helix hit the market using a Windows 10 laptop. The only serious issue I have encountered is presets I created from previous firmware versions causing either the Helix or the Editor to lockup and I have always been able to remedy that issue by slightly modifying the preset and saving it.

You won't be missing the cab models as they install automatically when you do a Helix firmware upgrade and are part of the Helix's standard firmware. If you did not back up your IRs (which are basically third party mike'd cab models) however, and you do not have them on your PC, then unfortunately they are gone. The only way you would have had IRs on your Helix is if you previously installed them or if you got your Helix used and someone else installed them (no IRs currently come from Line6 pre-installed on the Helix). You will have to go back to whatever source you got them from originally and reinstall them. You use the Helix Editor to install and backup IRs. The IRs need to be backed up separately and additionally to the presets.

I know you have probably seen me post this before but I have found that making a slight modification to the preset and saving it usually works to prevent it from ever causing a freeze again.

I Want To Thank You, For Letting Me, Be Mice Elf B)

You probably ran the 9&10 footswitch global reset after upgrading. This clears the IRs from the Helix. You will need to restore them from your PC with the Helix Editor. This page details what the reset options do: http://helixhelp.com/pmwiki.php?n=Main.ResetOptions

I am not clear if you had IRs loaded before your upgrade. If you did hopefully you still have them in a folder somewhere and can restore them via the Editor. The trick is putting them back into the same IR slots they were in before the upgrade. Otherwise you will have to repoint each of your presets (the ones that you assigned IRs) to the correct IR. If you did not have any IRs loaded prior to your upgrade than the most likely source of the sounds having changed significantly is your global settings having been set back to their defaults. I have an earlier post in this topic for settings you may want to check. If you are still locked up or locking up there are many posts on the forum regarding how to backup and restore presets as well as how to recover from a failed upgrade (usually just involves preset backup, download and installation of the latest "Helix Editor" 2.0 install app, firmware upgrade via the Updater app, and then a #9 & #10 footswitch reset procedure). If there are specific presets you lockup on there are instructions on how to delete them or you can often retain them without future lockups by modifying them ever so slightly and re-saving them, depending on whether you can get into your Helix long enough to do that.

Great to hear, now the real fun begins. Love the features introduced in this update, they took the Helix to a whole new level.

You are happy about snapshots and so is everyone else, we are all happy to see them. I would go so far as to say ecstatic. That is not the point. Several of my other posts describe the overall implementation of snapshots as inspired. The fact that we are making a request about a relatively small issue like labeling is a tribute to what a great job L6 did with snapshots. We are not making a "fuss", six characters would be a 60% increase in the current namespace and could make a meaningful difference in labeling. No one here is going to sell their Helix if they don't remove the camera icon. We are just expressing a preference for that space to be used differently. I am sure there will be other modifications suggested on snapshot implementation as well, as a matter of fact there already are. Just normal feedback from the users on a new feature (snapshots) here, no need to berate us.

Have you installed the "Helix Editor" application on this computer? It will automatically install the Windows driver necessary for the Updater to see your Helix and do the firmware update. It will also install the latest Updater version as well as the latest Editor.

Oxford Dictionary definition for "faffing" Late 18th century (originally dialect in the sense 'blow in puffs', describing the wind): imitative. The current sense may have been influenced by dialect faffle 'stammer, stutter', later 'flap in the wind', which came to mean 'fuss, dither' at about the same time as faff (late 19th century).

No more console tape for me! Scribble strips all the way!

I'm with you on the large display thing. My vision is not the greatest either and I need a clearly visible screen (and I hate those tiny printed instructions too). I'm all for keeping visual cues easy to see from a standing position. I just think there is probably an alternative way to clearly indicate a snapshot without using 6 characters.

How long have you been at it? There is a bit of a learning curve before you get output levels and EQ dialed in but I assure you it is well worth the effort once you do. Those glowing 5 star reviews are well deserved and Line6 has not even finished improving the Helix yet. I would give it six stars if I could and I am far from a fan-boi.

The options I proposed could leave it as is for those who like it the way it stands. I do try to keep names short where possible but also like the flexibility that 16 characters offers for more complex presets or snapshots that gain from a more descriptive name. Seems like both camps could have their preference here. Just the same way that I would never insist that everyone should have their snapshots on the top row, just because I prefer them there. Options are good! Anyway, just my two cents worth and fairly low on the importance meter as frodebro pointed out.

That is the whole point, this is not the late eighties and we have these scribble strips with a ton of real estate. I don't need to have a decoder ring and a stenographer to figure out what my snapshot shorthand with a ton of possible parameter changes, means. Why squander all that abundant namespace? I agree this is not near the top of my list but just seems like a relatively easy change to make (easy to say :) ), not sure why it was done this way in the first place.

If it is not a technical requirement then we should change it or offer an option. Research would show that most musicians would benefit from a clear visual cue but not that it needs to be a giant space eating icon, there is more than one way to skin a cat. We can have both if it is not a technical limitation, a clear visual cue and a longer namespace.

I think I get it Phil_m, thanks for chiming in. It had not occurred to me that there might be some technical consideration that is not evident to us. If it was a matter of the icon saving on critical memory (although I would have thought this would take up more memory) or reducing snapshot switching latency, or some other technically driven imperative then I guess this decision makes sense even if we are not privy to what drove it. If that is the case I hope they can figure a way around it but I will certainly understand if not.

The difference between the number of characters between snapshot and preset names is six characters, not a couple. Presets can have 16 characters, snapshots only 10. That extra six characters is more than enough to make a significant difference in how meaningful a snapshot name can be and how well it can indicate its contents. So the camera icon is taking up a substantial amount of space. Yes, naming snapshots is a wonderful capability and I am happy it is there but there are other less invasive ways to indicate that you are looking at a snapshot. Asking me to "count my blessings" for a feature that could bear improvement could apply to anything on the Helix. They could have given us only 10 characters and a huge icon to name a preset or a pedal and I would still have suggested adding the characters back for more useful information in the scribble strip. My final question would be, didn't you beta testers notice the loss of characters during the beta period? You say you have been "playing with the snapshots for months". Didn't any of the beta testers express this concern with the loss of characters in the scribble strip to the icon? I have only been using snapshots for a few days and I can see a better method could have been used as well as the people who have chimed in agreeing (I am sure there will be more). Seems like this could have been headed off at the pass. Again, not trying to be critical of a monumental update and a paradigm shift in functionality, thank you Line6, just saying there is a better way to implement this aspect of the snapshots. It seems kind of self-evident, not sure I quite get the pushback. I am not disagreeing with the goal of easily visually differentiating snapshots, just saying Line6 could probably find a way that doesn't eat up the scribble strip. Lastly I would say that Line6 has repeatedly pointed out that the Helix is targeted at the "Pro" market. That market values form as well as function and as I said, the camera icon looks cool, but when push comes to shove I think most musicians would prefer a way of doing things that gives them a clear visual cue as to what they are looking at and also allows as descriptive a namespace as possible. Perhaps there could be a global option to allow those who like it to keep the camera icon and for those who want the extra six characters as well as an alternate way of indicating snapshots. That would probably be ideal for everyone.

LOL, hopefully at a substantial discount in which case I will be happy to take it off your hands. I will also keep in mind that you may easily mistake a $1 bill for a $100. :P

Yep, I agree, the two most frequent causes of presets appearing to change after an update are IRs not being restored at all or being restored to different slots than they were in previously, and global settings being set back to default. Here is a quick checklist after a firmware update, feel free to add any I have neglected to mention: Reset your various output settings back to "Mic" or "Line" (whichever you were using). This includes the send/return loop settings if you are using external effects Reset your impedance and pad values Reset your global EQ if you were using that Restore your IRs to exactly the same slots they were in previously, otherwise your presets may now point to the wrong IR or no IR at all Reset Tap Tempo Pitch to "Authentic" or "Transparent" (whichever you were using) Reset Tempo Select to "Per Preset" or "Global" (whichever you were using) Reset your sample rate to whatever you were using , e.g. 48khz (default)

I agree with every point made here, I have asked for improvements to expression pedal labeling in Ideascale as well. To those who like the camera icon because it easily differentiates a snapshot, I get it, and agree it is valuable to be able to easily tell the difference, even at a distance with old or poor eyesight. However, the ideas in ricardo_maia's post, as well as other methods, could easily accomplish the same thing without the loss of critical characters in the namespace. Pardon the pun but it simply seems myopic to me to defend this waste of space in the snapshot scribble strip.