HonestOpinion

As silverhead indicated just follow the release/installation notes to the letter. Make sure you backup as you go. As you are coming from such an old version I would backup my setlists individually as well as a bundle. If it were me I would even backup my presets. You have been probably been refining them for years. Do a global reset and restore per the release notes after you update HX Edit and your firmware, then restart the device and let the presets rebuild before doing anything else. What a treat to be updating from such an old version. You are going to feel like you have the next generation of the Helix, and essentially, you will.

@Wondo100 Sorry not sure if you are talking about the alphanumeric values at the right side of the sliders which seem to be missing in your screenshot(I can confirm they are still here in HX Edit 3.11) or the sort of greyish tracks(bars) that used to be the background behind the sliders. If you are talking about the grey tracks don't bother reinstalling or resetting, they are indeed not there in HX Edit 3.11 or at least they don't show up on my screen. I suppose the bars might still be there with perhaps some color value that was changed that affected the contrast making them effectively invisible(at least on my monitor) and although the old look might arguably be superior depending on your aesthetic I find it doesn't matter to me much one way or the other.  Good catch though, hadn't noticed them missing until you posted.

Dropbox and Soundcloud have also been some of the common ways to share larger files or audio for those who don't own a website, 

On 6/8/2021 at 10:03 AM, MrNoisy said:

I have lost all sound output from the Helix - i changed presets to a new one i downloaded and installed (shown in screenshot) - had sound until i clicked on a block to try to change the tone and the sound disappeared - went back to previous preset but sound remained gone - then checked about 10 other presets - all soundless. Checked global settings (even though i hadn't touched them) and the expression pedal is not set to global (also i don't have a pedal anyway as its a Rack and Floor Controller).

There are about half a dozen threads on the usual forums with similar such problems - NONE of them were ever resolved - every one of the threads just ends hanging with no updates.

As the topic you referred to indicated, a corrupt preset appears to be one of the possible causes for this behavior. Additionally it is always a good idea, particularly when downloading and importing older presets to shutdown and then restart your HX device and let the preset go through the rebuild process before editing it. 

You can first try deleting the corrupt preset and restarting. If the Helix hangs upon restart hold FS11&FS12 while restarting to delete the offending preset.  If you have an HX device other than the Helix check the link below for the reset option for deleting the current preset for your device.  If you have the Helix Rack there does not seem to be a documented option to delete a single preset, contact Line6, maybe they have one.  If not I would probably do a backup, factory reset and restore all my setlists with the exception of the setlist with the corrupt preset.  You could use 'File' --> 'Extract files from Backup' and restore all the presets in that setlist with the exception of the corrupt one.

Worth mentioning that this is the second global reset option(delete current preset) I have noticed lately that is missing or at least not documented on helixhelp.com for the Rack. The other missing reset option on the Rack is the 'UI Test' mode which is handy for testing for hardware problems.

https://helixhelp.com/tips-and-guides/universal/reset-options

3 hours ago, dacop13 said:

Its a 1x12 Mesa Cab that had a V30 in it. I removed it and installed the F12-200. I already had the Orange Pedal Baby and have used that with the Helix with various real cabinets, Helix AMPs and PREAMPs (no Cab/IR options). Using the F12-200 FRFR enables me to use Helix Cab/IRs. 

Sounds like a great solution! I really like the F12-200 speakers. All the physics surrounding cabinet dimensions, sealed vs. open back, ported or not ported, air displacement, construction material(wood, particle board, plastic) and how they need to be precisely matched with the right speaker at the correct number of ohms, although possessing some truth, can drive you batty. Sometimes its as simple as slapping the speaker you prefer into an available cabinet and it's off to the races :-)

On 6/7/2021 at 4:38 PM, georgevoigt said:

Does someone’s have the factory 1 and 2 presets from V 2.71?

I think you can get all(most?) of the old firmware version presets at the link below although I don't know if it specifically has the 2.71 presets but it might. It might require downloading from a couple of links on that page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a download link for all the older deleted ones up to I believe version 2.5(?).  The newer firmware versions have links further up the page.

You can also try using the 'File' --> 'Extract Files From Backup' utility in HX Edit to extract the 2.71 presets if you have an old 2.71 backup.

http://benvesco.com/store/line-6-helix/

14 hours ago, Mincer said:

I am running the most recent firmware on my HX Effects. For an expression pedal, I am using a Thru-Tone EXT-Ult, built into an Ernie Ball volume pedal with a kick switch on the side. The wah is turned on by using the kick switch on the side, and then controlled with the treadle itself. So the switch is just an on/off switch connected to the HXFX exp pedal 2 jack with a small patch cable. 

 

Recently, on about 20 different occasions (during performances and practice at home), I was nowhere near my pedalboard and the wah just switched on. To turn it off, I have to engage the switch and then disengage it. Trying the patch at home, I was looking at the computer editor and watched the wah engage by itself. 

 

I've swapped out patch cables. And before the most recent firmware, this has always worked for over a year and 100s of performances. What could be causing the wah to switch on? I didn't change anything in the patch in the new firmware- it is the same one I always use. Obviously the HXFX thinks the on/off for the wah was engaged, but it most certainly wasn't as the pedalboard was across the stage at the time. I spent the last few shows glued to my board, ready to turn off the wah (good thing, too, as it happened a few times). 

 

When I am not using the wah, I use the exp pedal for delay time and feedback, otherwise I'd just program the wah to come on when I reach 5% or something. 

 

I might just ditch the wah in my presets if it isn't something I can fix. I can't say for certain it is the firmware, but that is when all of this started happening. Anything else I can try? Priest? Holy water?

As rd2rk indicated a global reset is probably the best place to start(create a backup first) and if nothing else has changed since the firmware upgrade hopefully this should sort it out. Assuming you don't have auto-engage set up for your presets with wah as this would lead one to check whether it was a calibration issue.  Has anything in your cabling or the way the switch/knob are set on your Thru-Tone mod changed?  Could the mod on your wah be failing?  An interesting test would be to detect whether a signal is issuing from EXP2 when the wah switches or whether the expression pedal is just switching on by itself without the aid of the HX FX; or I suppose checking to see if the wah block comes on spontaneously without the Ernie Ball connected. If the factory reset doesn't fix things it might be worth testing the expression pedal for a while without the HX FX to see if this is the case.

HX Edit 3.11 has been released. It currently is paired with the 3.11 firmware.

13 hours ago, phil_m said:

It sounds simple on the surface, but there are a lot of “edge cases”, so to speak, that would need to be accounted for, and there isn’t necessarily a straightforward way to deal with them. What if, for example, someone has a patch where they use multiple cabs, and in some snapshots one is on and one is off? If you bypass them all via a global setting, ok that’s one thing, but what happens when you change that global setting to have them come back on? It would have to somehow account for getting blocks back in the proper state. And this is just one example of something that would have to be dealt with. I think it’s these sort of things that are the reason there isn’t a simple cab on/off global setting.

Can definitely see where you would have to pull this off without impacting the saved state of a preset. The global settings for the Variax('Variax Settings') and Powercab('Powercab Remote') immediately leap to mind though, where a global setting is set from within a preset that impacts and essentially overrides all other presets until it is turned off. At that point all the presets revert back to their prior/usual settings. Kind of analogous to what you would be trying to accomplish with a global cab/IR bypass.  

Regarding routing I haven't thought enough about it to anticipate every scenario that might present some challenges. I would think for example as you mention some of the dual cab presets might not translate as well to a no cab/IR setting depending on your rig but you could just select presets that didn't have dual cabs or provide two physical amps/cabs of your own to mimic the previously digital combination. As you say, implementing this might not be as straightforward or simple as it might first appear but it would be a welcome feature I suspect for a number of players and preferable in some scenarios to the current solution of maintaining multiple duplicate setlists for different setups.

On 4/23/2021 at 10:00 PM, HonestOpinion said:

Found a couple of bugs with the 'File' --> 'Extract Files From Backup' function in HX Edit. Was hoping some other users could confirm them and if so I will create a ticket.

 

Hardware: Helix  Floor
Firmware/Editor: Firmware 3.10; HX Edit 3.10
OS: Windows 10 
Bugs: 'Extract Files From Backup'

 

I noticed two bugs in the 'File' --> 'Extract Files From Backup' function in HX Edit. At least on my Helix. Not sure if these bugs will show up on every HX device or even on every Helix as my setlists are almost six years old now and are full of presets that have been through almost every firmware upgrade. Anyway here are the bugs:

 

One bug is that it does not seem to be working consistently if you just try to extract one setlist. When you do that you may just get an empty directory with a file named info.txt. Or, you may get a proper extraction but depending on which setlist you selected you may also get additional setlist extractions that you did not select. The extract seems to work properly however if you leave all the setlists selected for extract.

 

The second bug is quite minor. For some reason some of the empty presets named (by default) 'New Preset' don't seem to follow the naming convention properly and just end up with the preset number. I suspect this could be related to if those new presets slots were previously used and then had a blank "New Preset" copied back to them, or perhaps the name of the preset before them breaks the naming convention. Just speculating though.  Again, not a showstopper but a bug nonetheless.

On 5/3/2021 at 3:11 PM, HonestOpinion said:

 

Thanks to AgFX for bringing attention to an additional bug that renders this command unreliable until it is fixed. The preset files the 'Extract Files From Backup' utility  extracts fail when you try to import them back into your device with the following message: "-8103 - Target is incompatible".  Perhaps there is a manual edit that could be done to the extracted preset files in the meantime that could get them in the proper format for import but who wants to have to do that. I opened up a Line6 ticket with all three of the bugs discovered so far.

 

Update: AgFx posted that he went ahead and figured out the manual edit required for the preset files produced by the extraction and was able to import them so they do provide some measure of usefulness but for most users this utility still needs to be fixed.

Upon a quick inspection all three bugs as described above in the 'File' --> 'Extract Files From Backup' command in HX Edit appear to have been fixed in the HX Edit 3.11 update.  Bravo Line6! A shout out to datacommando for reminding me to check this out in the new editor version. Thank you!

Btw, a few days ago they responded to the ticket I had opened to let me know they were aware of the issue. I was not expecting a fix to make it into this version of the editor, fantastic! Of course not harboring any false illusions here and my bet is they were working on the fix well before I opened a ticket. 

Interested to see if it is working consistently for everyone else on the new 3.11 editor version.

22 hours ago, datacommando said:

I have HX Edit rigged to connect to my Line 6 account when I open it. Today it told me the update was available (I don’t use HX Edit on a daily basis), the download failed at about 90%. First time that has ever happened, although I blame myself for this, as I clicked onto another active open window, and that may have caused the failure. I usually try not to do anything that might mess up downloads. However, I didn’t try to do it again, and I simply went straight to the download page and grabbed it without problems. I had to go to downloads to get Helix Native anyhow.

 

 I was wondering if you had a chance to take a look at the new version to see if the problem of extracting individual presets from backup files is fixed? I should have checked before I locked up the studio for the day. Doh!

 

It updated to 3.11 from HX Edit 3.10 without issue for me but details of your attempt and how to remedy it are always helpful.

Thank you for reminding me to check for this! I am happy to report they did fix the 'File' --> 'Extract From Backup' command and you can now import the presets it creates without error. Wahoo! I will update my post in the bugs topic as well. Btw, they did respond a few days ago to my ticket and say they were aware of the issue but it looks like the fix made it into the latest HX Edit 3.11 version. 

It looks like all three bugs in the 'Extract From Backup' command were fixed:

1. If you select only one setlist to extract it now properly extracts just that setlist. Before the fix it also might extract setlists you had not selected.
2. Blank presets("New Preset") are now properly named "New Preset" with their accompanying numerical location in the setlist. Before the fix they could display only the numerical location.
3. Most importantly the extracted presets, as mentioned above, now import properly without an error message.

Try this command out fellow users if you haven't already. Great way to instantly have every one of your presets in every setlist, factory or user, as well as Favorites and IRs extracted individually in case you need 'em and they are automatically arranged logically in separate directories named by setlist under the file location where the backup you extracted is located. Really well thought out by Line6.

On 6/2/2021 at 2:58 AM, Kirill7 said:

Hello,
I recently became the owner of the HELIX LT, and was very surprised at how much you can configure, but I was absolutely shocked by the lack of a mode to turn off the CAB section globally.
I saw that it is possible to split the signal into XLR / 1/4, but from my practice on stage there is always a 1/4 cable that goes somewhere in the DI BOX, or directly into the mixer.
I understand Line 6 made the most professional version, but sometimes the connection on stage is not organized correctly, so it would be great if there was a function to globally disable the CAB section, because it used to be on the XT, X3 and Pocket POD that I used before.

On 6/2/2021 at 10:14 AM, phil_m said:

Well, the issue is there isn’t anything like a simple “cab section”. There are cab blocks, dual cab blocks, and then there are amp/cab blocks that contain cab modeling. And you can have multiple cab blocks in a preset, so you very quickly run into all sorts of complexities when you start trying to disable them globally somehow. Then beyond that, there’s also the IR blocks, which replace cab blocks, and it wouldn’t be unheard of for people to use the cab blocks in some presets and IRs for others...

 

Basically, Line 6 decided to offer more flexibility as far as the signal chain goes in individual presets versus having a lot of global functions that affect every preset.

Adding the ability to globally turn off all cabs, all IRs, or both would add even more flexibility and be a mighty useful feature potentially offering a fast and efficient way to adapt to different monitoring scenarios.

You don't need to download anything manually from the Line6 "Downloads" page for this update. The process is now automated and this is strictly an editor update, no new firmware version yet. As long as you are on HX Edit 3.01 or later you can initiate the update by going to 'Help' --> 'Check For Updates' in the HX Edit menu. HX Edit will initiate and execute the update automatically. As always I did a 'File' --> 'Create Backup' first. Worked seamlessly for me but if yours fails then you can always resort to a manual download and install of HX Edit 3.11.

You will need to download and update Native separately.  Exit your DAW and any open instances of Native before upgrading or you may get an error message when you attempt to install. If you want you can export a Native bundle first as a backup. Clicking on the Settings(gear icon) in the lower left hand corner of the Native plugin and then clicking on the 'Check For Updates' button will take you directly to the Downloads page where Native 3.11 is located or you can still navigate there manually.  The redirect from the plugin is not seamless yet in that it prompted me to login and select the version for my OS but it will put you in the ballpark.

Setlist/preset management is one of the areas on HX devices that could use improvement. Hopefully a firmware update and/or enhancements to the librarian functionality in HX Edit at some point will address this.  We need a setlist "meta" layer with pointers to presets rather than having to import/load every preset to a physical location coupled with enhancements to the interface to make swapping things around easier.

On 5/4/2021 at 10:49 PM, nathan42 said:

My Helix LT came in demo mode. I'm holding down FS3 and FS7 when I power it on, but the screen flashes a "POD HD2 BON TESTING BON Version 1.0 03/14/2014" message and doesn't do anything. What am I doing wrong? When I start up in demo mode, both switches seem to be working fine.   I get the same screen if I only hold down FS7. If I hold down FS2 at startup it goes to some crazy screen with a moving square. I know both switches work, but I can't seem to get them to work in tandem to turn off the demo mode.  

 

I installed the latest updater (windows 10) hoping to force it to 3.10, but it won't recognize the device in the program. I don't know if that is because it's in demo mode or part of the problem.

 

Thanks!

2 hours ago, Jposival1 said:

Hello,

 

I am having the same problem with my Helix Floor Model holding FS3 and FS7 gets the POD message. Holding down FS9 and FS10 does nothing. 

Have you tried this exact sequence of instructions to do the upgrade, courtesy of @SaschaFranck? Seems to have worked for a lot of other users.  Maybe it will help knock the device out of Demo mode.

- Quit HX Edit! Don't start it again until you're finished with everything following.

- Go here and download the Line 6 Updater (in case it's not installed on your machine already):

https://line6.com/software/

- Also download the "Flash Memory" from there (it's the actual update).

- Install the updater.

- Reboot the Helix while holding down switches 6 and 12 (this will take you to safe boot mode).

- Start the Line 6 Updater, select "Offline Mode" and see whether it finds your Helix.

- If yes, select it and choose "local file". Point it to the Flash Memory file you've downloaded.

57 minutes ago, CraigGT said:

There seems to be some confusion here, if you're borrowing cables from your router then they are Ethernet cables not Ethercons.

The connectors you pictured are Ethercons, they are much more rugged and provide a better ground connection.

I didn't notice any confusion over the two types of cables but maybe that was an erroneous assumption. In most applications Ethernet and Ethercon should be interchangeable other than as you say the much more rugged nature of Ethercon cables. The point about the improved ground is interesting though and I wonder if it makes any difference in the operation of the capacitance touch sensing.  Maybe you're on to something there, I don't know? Line6 seems to indicate that it shouldn't matter(quote from the manual below) although a few people here seem to have reported having the best luck with the cable that comes with the Rack(don't believe the one provided is Ethercon, need confirmation as I don't own a Rack). Don't know why the included cable should make any difference other than maybe people were trying third party cables that weren't CAT-5 as recommended by Line6, hmm?

Quote from pg. 10 of the Rack 3.0 Rev. D manual:

42. HOST Port Connect Helix Control to Helix Rack via a CAT-5 (included with Helix Control) or Ethercon cable.

If Line6 cables working better isn't anecdotal or  coincidental and is in fact due to some unique quality of their CAT-5 cables that should be something that Line6 elaborates on further. Especially if they are somehow proprietary and there is something distinct about the conductivity or grounding of their cables. Seems unlikely though. You would think that any decent manufacturer's CAT-5 cable, Ethercon or not, would work. You would also think cables like a Cat-6 or Cat-7 would work as they are  backwards compatible to a Cat-5 cable on most equipment.

Any approach is legitimate if you like the tone you end up with. Using a clean amp setting and applying distortion/overdrive instead of applying more gain via the amp model is a perfectly fine way to go about things although(similar to cranking the gain knob on an amp model) you are essentially getting preamp instead of power amp distortion(when cranking the master volume on the amp model). To be honest though, they can be nigh indistinguishable at times, especially in the digital world.  If you are getting a "musical" harmonic distortion(if that is even what you are looking for), who cares how you get there.

Sometimes I use the same approach that I used to use in the analog world. If I am using a model like a Fender for example, better known for its clean tones, I am more likely to use a pedal as an assist for an overdrive sound because in the real world, Fender IMHO never had a great dirt sound with the exception of a couple of their amps. Not that I won't tweak the gain settings on the amp as well but I find it harder on these types of amp models to get the overdriven sound I like with just the amp.  What Fender always provided was a great clean amp platform that handled pedals exceptionally well or perhaps some slightly dirty blues. Was never particularly fond of their high-gain tones. On the other hand, when I use a model like a Marshall, Boogie, Soldano, etc. which inherently has great higher gain tones built in I start by dialing in the distorted tone as best as I can on the amp and then may or may not add an overdrive, possibly with the gain set relatively low to give additional edge, sustain, or color. Pretty much what I would do with the real thing. 

A boost is a frequent but definitely not an "always on" thing for me, especially for a crunch tone(as opposed to a lead sound). And by "boost" in this context I mean an overdrive/distortion pedal. It is either an intentional part of my tone or used to get some extra hair on a solo. I do always have a gain(volume) block boost of a few decibels set up as well to add volume where needed, frequently on a clean tone to give it some additional girth, on a solo to help it cut though the mix, or anytime I need some additional volume to level up with the rest of the band.

As a younger player I gravitated more towards heavy distortion(early days with Boss Distortion(the orange box) or Metal Zone pedals) Over time and probably with changes to my repertoire and as my technique improved I came to prefer the distortion coming mostly from the amp with the addition of a subtler overdrive rather than a distortion pedal; something like a Tube Screamer, Kinky Boost, Minotaur, Compulsive Drive, or Teemah. Used to love my old Japanese Boss Super Overdrive too but I have trouble dialing the one on the Helix in to my satisfaction. Don't know if it is that Line6 did not quite nail that pedal or if my tastes have changed.

Was never a big fan of the MXR or Rat distortions and had almost no use for most fuzz pedals although they sure seem to be ubiquitous on the Helix. Not sure how to articulate it but these pedals always seemed to have a "coarser" sound that never really appealed to me that much. 'Course you need them for certain tunes. Experimented for a while with a Brian May approach of an amp just at the point of breakup being pushed over the edge with a treble booster as well. I love the almost vocal like quality of his guitar tone. Also like the sound of a cocked/fixed wah sound ala Frank Zappa now and then. In general, for songs where i don't need a clean sound, as long as I hear some degree of compression, dirt, and have a tone with plenty of sustain and warmth that won't die before I stop applying vibrato to the strings I'm happy. By way of contrast my old blues playing friends literally had nothing but contempt for any pedal between their guitar and the amp. Everything had to come from the amp. Damn purists :-) It really is all purely subjective and somewhat dependent on what music you play!

I think the repeating theme is rules are made to be broken and it is so convenient and there is no place easier to break 'em than in the digital realm. It takes only moments to stack pedals, place them in unusual locations in your signal chain, assign parameters to an expression pedal, or put outlandish combinations together that might just create a torrent of noise with old stomp pedals. When it takes longer to find the "perfect" tone at least you can save your results such that it is worth the extra effort. Even easier to retain your work since the addition of 'Favorites' and 'Defaults'. Additionally not all the same analog rules apply in the digital world, accurate as the emulations may strive to be, and sometimes that's a good thing.

47 minutes ago, MrNoisy said:

Ah i see. Fantastic info - thank you very much that will save me some time on what is already proving to be quite a painstaking learning curve - i hadn't realized how complicated this unit is when i went in for it lol. Thanks again. 

I know what you mean but once you get past the initial part of the learning curve and any proprietary quirks it represents a fantastic compromise between a strong feature set and an extremely intuitive interface. A lot of power under the hood especially after many years of firmware upgrades. 

12 hours ago, MrNoisy said:

It says None. But then i question what is the field entries displaying in the lower (Stomp) row in the top picture (Snap/Stomp mode)?

The stomps in the bottom row are assigned to footswitches 7 thru 11 so they do show up as they were assigned in this preset when you have "Snap/Stomp" mode selected. Changing the mode to "Stomp/Snap" does not just flip the assignments to the top row. It simply means that if you have already have footswitch assignments for the top row(FS 1-5) they will now be displayed. That is why users who pick one of these modes, e.g. Snap/Stomp or Stomp/Snap, tend to stick with it as they design their presets accordingly to show the stomps on the selected top or bottom row.

You can experiment with this by assigning some blocks in a preset to footswitches 1 thru 5 or even just assign a block to every footswitch. Now when you flip modes, e.g. Stomp/Snap, you will see the stomps for the top row displayed.

5 minutes ago, MrNoisy said:

I assume they must be the same bank of presets in both photos as all i did was change the "Preset/Snap" order in Global Settings - and the rows swapped instantly (but with 1 becoming blank) - I didn't didn't touch the controller at all in between the two pics (just seconds apart).
Also i haven't assigned anything at all since performing the factory reset 2 days ago.
Also, i tested this with 2 Ethercon cables (including the original 25 footer) and was the same result both times.
Have updated my Line 6 support ticket with this info but so far still no response after about 48 hours.

Just take a look at the 'Bypass/Controller Assign' tab for this preset in HX Edit. If you don't see any assignments for footswitches 1-5 then you can safely assume the preset was displaying normally in stomp/snap mode with no entries on the top row.

51 minutes ago, MrNoisy said:

This might be a clue?:

In Global Settings > Snap/Stomp mode both rows (stomps and snaps) are populated.

But Global Settings > Stomp/Snap mode only the bottom row (snaps) is populated - why is the top row (stomps) unpopulated (empty)? - is this indicative of a software / firmware problem and thus the limited capacitive functionality?

Edited my post above to include caveat about the preset's assignments which could easily result in this display as per design.  In other words, this is normal behavior for any preset that does not have the top row of switches assigned to stomps.

Also found this old post from phil_m that seems to indicate that at least in 2019 there did not seem to be unfortunately, a UI test available for the Rack. Might be worth asking Line6 support if one has been added though.

1 hour ago, MrNoisy said:

This might be a clue?:

In Global Settings > Snap/Stomp mode both rows (stomps and snaps) are populated.

But Global Settings > Stomp/Snap mode only the bottom row (snaps) is populated - why is the top row (stomps) unpopulated (empty)? - is this indicative of a software / firmware problem and thus the limited capacitive functionality?

If your screen grabs are showing the same preset in both modes and there are stomps actually assigned to the top row of footswitches then this definitely appears to be a firmware issue. Again, only if there are stomp assignments to footswitches on the top row and they are not showing do you probably have a failed firmware installation. If that is the case I think you need to try another backup, factory reset, and firmware update.  Until you get the firmware acting properly on more obvious issues like this I would not discount it as the possible culprit for the capacitive touch issue.  However, this may very likely be a case where there were simply no stomps assigned to the top row in this particular preset in which case the screen and stomp/snap option is displaying normally.

Btw, have you run the UI test on this device yet? Only problem is I am not sure how to get into it on the Rack controller. It is simple on the Helix Floor or LT. If you can find the right footswitch combination on the rack to launch the test(@phil_m?) it allows you to test the capacitance touch at the hardware level using the UI test mode. This might give you a better idea of what is working at the hardware level. Don't know if a bad firmware install can impact this test but if it was designed properly it shouldn't. See the link here for details on how to run it(on the Helix Floor not the rack): 

1 hour ago, MrNoisy said:

i ran an extension chord to another power outlet - no change.

i live about half a mile from a small hydroelectric dam

i live in the western half of japan where the cycle is 60hz - this occasionally causes electrical incompatibility with devices made for the 50Hz eastern side, but most devices run on both frequencies here.

Interesting details about Japan's electrical grid. The extension cord was a worthy effort but actually moving the devices to another location might be worth trying just to eliminate any possible unique sort of electrical/static situation. With that said, given that you have tried global resets, and reapplying firmware, swapping cables out, etc.,  I think we are missing something here. Possibly you have a faulty component or some more esoteric issue leaving Line6 as the best resource.  Good luck with this.

2 hours ago, MrNoisy said:

just tried a 3rd Ethercon cable - borrowed from internet router - dunno if Cat5 or not but it didnt work either.

assuming the first cable was an original Line 6 supplied one - which i'm 99% sure it is as its 25 feet long and looks the same as pics i've seen) - then it doesnt seem cables are e the problem - unless the Line 6 one are faulty due to age, and the other 2 are low quality cat 7's - so i'll probably have to oprder a new Line 6 ethercon cable to test and if its not that then i'm probably out of options.

 

Can the usb ports on the rack and controller be used to connect them (just to test)?

Clutching at straws here and I know it might be a hassle but have you tried moving the rack and controller to a different room and power outlet and testing? Any chance you live right next to a power plant or directly under a powerline, grin(just kidding)?  I have to agree with Silverhead that barring some seriously bad luck with multiple ethernet cables it might be worth contacting Line6 and seeing if they can help. It sounds like you have been troubleshooting fairly thoroughly and might need to escalate this.

44 minutes ago, MrNoisy said:

I wonder if another Factory Reset and/or Firmware rollback and re-update might help?

Definitely something I would try!! Especially if as you say it is not just affecting one or two switches but all of them. The 1.5 second delay you described would also lead me to repeating the factory reset and firmware update. I would not bother with a rollback.

Btw, I notice you said "I updated Helix drivers and Firmware from 2.92 to 3.11" but didn't mention the HX Edit version. Just to double-check the firmware version I would check the HX Edit menu under 'Help' --> 'About HX Edit'. It should have HX Edit at 3.10 and the firmware version at 3.11.

Did you try troubleshooting with all cables unplugged?