HonestOpinion

Your point is well taken about having parameters like sag, hum, bias, etc. to customize the amps. Even if these parameters encompassed all of the possible amp variations (which they don't, as a matter of fact, most of the customizeable parameters are geared towards tube or cab/mic settings, not modifying amp components), how many guitarists have the time or expertise to set them to emulate their favorite amps? Like any other application your primary job as a user is to make the most of the application to do other things, in our case, to play guitar. Yes, some configuration is required but it should not necessarily cross the line into you needing to develop the application as well. IMHO part of what you are purchasing when you buy an advanced modeler is the expertise and resources of the company selling the device to do the hard work and get you those emulations as faithful to the original as possible. That is the jumping off point I believe most users prefer before they start customizing the amp according to their own preferences. Otherwise, why not just provide only one amp model and let people fiddle with parameters to get all the rest? There is probably a happy medium of a good range of high quality amp emulations that satisfy most users. I definitely would rather see 100 great amp models rather than 300 models that range from crap to good. Of course those numbers are arbitrary and the bottom line is I would like to see as many high quality models of great amps as can be reasonably created whilst fixing bugs, providing new features, and new effects. As has been stated here ad nauseam, quality over quantity please but a good selection if possible. In summary I guess I am perfectly happy if Line6 decides to take the 3Sigma versus Ownhammer approach to models which is to provide a smaller selection of only the best models possible rather than a huge array of choices, as long as there is an "adequate" number of choices available (whatever that is, I suppose the number where complaints die down to a dull murmur). I personally don't require 100's of models to choose from unless they are all spectacular. The approaches of both these companies are perfectly valid and different users will gravitate to one or both of these strategies, e.g. Helix or AX8. Personally, more amps is rather low on my priority list as there are other features, bug fixes, and effects that I would rather see get top billing.

Important clarification, thanks, they are not the same thing! There can be some dependencies between the two as this article discusses. http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/word-clock-midi-interfaces/

I think it would be great to have sync included in the Helix but in case you do find it critical now I believe the Helix Rack does already have this capability in case you wanted to swap out the floor unit. Assuming it is working (I own the standard floor pedal version), this feature is described in the Helix Rack manual as well as having a WordClock input on the Rack model.

More like flew right into me, I was indeed amused. My reply was all in good fun as well. Enjoy your posts phil_m, keep 'em coming (I'm sure you will) :D

I'm just guessing here but casting yourself in the role of Shakespeare's character Shylock may not be exactly what one might call mounting the most effective defense for DI (not that he needs one). Magnificent as that line is there are probably better literary references out there that do not defend the taking of a "pound of flesh". Perhaps not the most fortunate of the great bard's quotes to invoke. The Prince thing works really well though. Just sayin' :D

I can see what you mean about the presets in the video not being perhaps the best showcase of the Helix's sound or sonic capabilities but his deconstruction of the Helix in his written review where he actually takes it apart and shows the parts used and the quality of the build was one of the most compelling things I have seen in regards to buying the Helix. I do like the level of effort and detail he puts into his reviews.

I prefer to think of the Helix as more of a rose bulb than a car. I have carefully planted it and now with a little water (important safety and cautionary note, just a metaphor) and fertilizer (again, a metaphor) one day it will grow into a beautiful rose bush rather than end up wrapped around a tree or requiring a new transmission. Maybe a thorn or two along the way but its beauty will make it worth the occasional prick ;) (yet again, a metaphor). Shhhh, quiet, I am in my circle of trust now watching unicorns dance on rainbows. :D

Hmm, thanks for the feedback, it looks like perhaps there is more than one, or a different, issue at work here, I wonder if it has anything to do with when the login was created. The login that is working was created years before the one that is having an issue. Perhaps the registered products with the working login is just coincidental and not the cause of the issue. I also just created a new test login with no registered products and it is also broken with the CustomTone downloads. Perhaps there is a difference in the fields or some other issue with newer logins. For example, my new login does not have any address information other than zipcode, perhaps there are other fields associated with the old login that do not exist with the new one. If I were Line6 I would start comparing old login behavior to new login behavior. I look forward to others reporting in on the CustomTone login issue. The first step towards testing is probably retrying a login after registering a product although this unfortunately may turn out to be unrelated (I realize this did not help in your case). If anyone has a broken login with CustomTone and no registered products and has a product they can then register and retest with that might be very revealing. After hearing that your login is still not working even though you have registered products, the only conclusion I can draw right now is that the bug seems to be login related although I don't know what difference there is between logins that are working and ones that are not.

I think you may be able to inform Customer Support that the issue is with whatever the CustomTone site does once the flag is set that indicates that there are no registered products associated with the login. I will wait for others to confirm this but I am pretty sure now that is what is causing the bug.

Your error may well be unrelated to this bug but try using the supplied Excel sheet and workaround detailed in the link below if you are getting the "Rebuilding" messages when you start the Helix. Fixing these problem presets may allow your backup to function normally although perhaps more often this behavior seems to be an issue with the USB connectivity. http://line6.com/support/topic/20454-grid-for-getting-rid-of-the-preset-rebuild-messages-on-boot-in-latest-firmware-1120/?hl=grid

Loved that Tom Scholz gear, sorry he ever stopped manufacturing it. Unbelievable what he was able to achieve with solid state equipment. Who knows what he would have come up with by now in the digital world.

I think I figured out what the bug with the CustomTone download link is and it has nothing to do with the OS version or browser, at least not on Windows. I have two Line6 logins, one login has products registered to it and one does not. When I login with the one that has products registered, I do not get the grey screen with the "x" and I can download normally. When I use the login without a product registered, that is when the webpage goes wonky. So.. it looks like you need to have at least one product registered not to get the weird download behavior. This may impact your ability to comment your uploaded preset in CustomTone as well. Update: I have to revise my testing conclusions such that the CustomTone download issue appears to be a login issue. If it is OS or browser related as well it may be limited to how the login is interacting with the OS/browser only in Windows. Will have to wait to hear back to see if any Mac users are having the same issue.

I think I figured out what the bug with the CustomTone download link is and it has nothing to do with the OS version or browser, at least not on Windows. I have two Line6 logins, one login has products registered to it and one does not. When I login with the one that has products registered, I do not get the grey screen with the "x" and I can download normally. When I use the login without a product registered, that is when the webpage goes wonky. So.. it looks like you need to have at least one product registered not to get the weird download behavior. This may be impacting your ability to properly comment your uploaded presets as well.

I think I figured out what the bug with the CustomTone download link is and it has nothing to do with the OS version or browser, at least not on Windows. I have two Line6 logins, one login has products registered to it and one does not. When I login with the one that has products registered, I do not get the grey screen with the "x" and I can download normally. When I use the login without a product registered, that is when the webpage goes wonky. So.. it looks like you need to have at least one product registered not to get the weird download behavior. Update: It seems that at least one user is still having the issue even with registered products on their login. I have to revise my testing conclusions such that the CustomTone download issue appears to be a login issue. If it is OS or browser related as well it may be limited to how the login is interacting with the OS/browser only in Windows. Will have to wait to hear back to see if any Mac users are having the same issue.

The plot thickens, can't imagine why your browsers are working. Now I am starting to suspect an issue with different ISP providers as I have tried this on several versions of Windows as well as assorted PCs and laptops, with and without antivirus software, and always get the same result, broken. Are you using the download arrow on the right side of the page with all of the presets listed without clicking through first on the preset name? Also, which browser are you using, Edge or IE (neither works for me, nor does Chrome or Firefox)? Clutching at straws here, wondering also how you are accessing CustomTone as in how are you bringing up the initial CustomTone page? I would imagine all links lead to the same CustomTone page but perhaps not.

LOL. What he means by "stuff" is things that may or may not pertain to the Helix to be delivered in a temporal milieu as yet to be revealed. And yet, somehow my spirits and hopes are bolstered. ;)

The screen shot with the grey screen with the tiny "x" (close widget) and the two scroll arrows below it is exactly what I see when I try to download from any browser (IE, Firefox, or Chrome) on a Windows 10 PC.

Thanks, I fired up an old Windows XP machine and it also gets the same greyed out tiny "x" behavior, I am doubly mystified as to why Windows 7 is working on your machine. I wonder if it has something to do with Active X or script settings in the browser?

Interesting, I wonder if this is a Windows 10 related issue, and maybe only in the U.S.. If anyone is using Windows 10 outside of the U.S. please let us know if the download arrow on the right side of the Helix CustomTone page is working for you and with which browsers (without clicking through on the preset name which is the workaround).

You might want to try a simple path just testing the mic output through a speaker first to remove the recording setup as a possible point of failure, and of course check to make sure the ouput block is set correctly to the output you are using (sorry in advance if you already tried this). You may also want to check your level in the "Mic In Gain" in Global Setting's In/Out parameters. When you are recording the Mic output will be going to USB 1/2 by default if for instance you have "Multi" set for the ouput.

I am on Windows 10 and in the U.S.A. if that helps narrow things down. I get the same issue on Firefox, IE, and Chrome.

Why is the download link (arrow) on the right side of the CustomTone page still broken? What does it take for Line6 to get out a simple fix to a web page? Please let your lone web developer out of the basement, he says he is sorry and he won't do it again.

Don't know whether to believe this or not but a Canadian research team is claiming that many antivirus/security programs are actually opening some security holes and putting your PC more at risk than just using an up to date modern browser. Seems dubious to me but interesting and maybe points out some issues that antivirus program developers need to address. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3574724/Is-antivirus-software-putting-risk-Programs-offer-lower-levels-security-browsers.html

You have expressed total ambiguity with complete clarity. I used my super secret Line6 decoder ring on that message and I am excited about the next release! July or whatever can't arrive soon enough. ;)

+1 to stability! Like a lot of other players on this forum I use the Helix for live performance and stability is my foremost concern, not that I don't still look forward to seeing some other critical features added that enhance my performance and enjoyment of the device.