HonestOpinion

Never had this issue pop up with an update. The update may just be coincidental but certainly a first step might be reflashing the firmware as you already attempted. Also, if you have not already, I would backup my IRs/presets/setlists and do a global reset. Sounds unfortunately like the tuner footswitch might be failing. Do you ever have any issues with the the Tap tempo (same switch)?

I received my Variax JTV69s and I thought I would share my initial impressions. First off, I am delighted to say that as of now I don't have any major problems with the radius or the feel of the neck. It is a bit on the chunky side (I would prefer a smaller radius) but I rather like it and I do not foresee having to swap it out. However, I have to agree with the observations about the strings being positioned in the nut (perhaps due to the design of the neck) perhaps a bit too close to the edge of the fretboard. It seems almost as if the neck is narrower at the nut and wider at the bridge end than many standard necks (my imagination?). One advantage is that it is quite easy to get your thumb over the top of the fretboard for those Jimi Hendrix chord fingerings. I will have to see if this creates an issue with either the low or high E string slipping over the edge of the fretboard in regular use. I have a standard guitar that has this problem and there is nothing like having your high E string stuck under a fretwire over the fretboard edge to put a screeching stop to your solo as you correct it. I have not had the guitar long enough to form an opinion on that potential (non?)issue yet. I would say to those considering the JTV, that depending on your hand size, finger thickness, etc., you may find yourself just fine with or even quite happy with the neck. The setup from the factory seemed satisfactory although I believe the strings it came with are 10's and I use 9's. I anticipate possibly having to do another setup when the strings get changed out and I have heard some people complain about slippage in the nut and issues with 9's. Hopefully that will not be an issue. Is anyone using 9's with their JTV69s? Have to say, a ton of versatility and way more convenient being able to do alternate tunings with the turn of a knob, and being able to control Helix parameters with the volume and tone controls is great! I use guitars with whammy bars and even a simple Drop-D tuning has often forced me to do a full retune both when dropping and going back to standard tuning. Flipping a knob on the Variax is a lot quicker and easier and is one less guitar I might need to drag to a gig. I will be adding an Open E custom tuning, not quite sure why they did not include this but it is easy enough to swap it in for a tuning you won't use. The acoustic sounds are ok but to be honest they sound more like an electric guitar EQ'd through an acoustic guitar pedal emulator than a true acoustic. Expect to have to spend a lot of time setting up a Helix preset and the PA to get you close to anything that sounds like a true acoustic. I was expecting this however and am not disappointed. For the occasional acoustic "sound" it is not bad but it will not replace your acoustic for the real deal, especially for rhythm, it is more convincing on finger-picked passages. Slap a little chorus, reverb, and delay on and you have a reasonable acoustic facsimile. The models and mag pickups sound quite good for the most part. One small complaint I have is the VDI cable that comes with the package is really cheesy, lightweight, and lacks the XLR type collar that the better cables sold separately have; it is essentially a slightly enhanced standard ethernet design. You are probably going to want to buy a better VDI cable but they can be had relatively inexpensively. I think L6 should have spent the extra couple of bucks to include a higher quality VDI cable. The gig bag although perfectly adequate is not as well padded or as nice as the one that came on the original Variax, guess they saved a few bucks there, surprising as the JTV is a much nicer guitar, but at least they are not selling the bag as an accessory. On the plus side, the Helix powers the Variax from the VDI connection which means you can operate without a battery, less guitar weight and no drained battery in the middle of a set, me likee. Overall, my first impression of this axe is quite good although I have not had it long enough for this review to hold any substantial weight. I will try to report back when I have had more time to suss it out. Helix + Variax = "lots 'o fun"!

I would start by getting the grounding issue sorted out first. Test the outlet with a receptacle testing plug first if you have one. I would also try a different guitar and guitar cord as well as a different amp or powered speaker if you have not already. If the buzz continues to occur when you touch a switch I would contact Line6 support as this could be an issue with the Helix not being grounded properly (if the ground issue is not in your home). Do you get the switch buzz with no guitar or cables connected other than power and of course a speaker/amp? http://www.soscleanroom.com/product/facilities/ohm-stat-sp-101-electrical-ground-checker-circuit-tester-grounding-plug/?gclid=CMO3s4mJsMwCFddahgodotUCaw

Thanks, good to hear, I hope to fall into that camp but I tend to take heed when a significant number of people describe the same issue.

Not right now but I remember a response a while back from DI that indicates it is possible. I had asked if there was a way for a footswitch to detect two clicks in fast succession (similar to a double-click on a mouse) and he said theoretically the footswitch could detect it. So who knows, maybe at some point either a hold or double-click option will get implemented.

I have not seen this behavior on my Helix. As mfalker indicated, checking the footswitch assignments sounds like a good place to start troubleshooting. First check the main screen to visually confirm that hitting the expression pedal footswitch turns on/off the IR (you probably already did this). You can then highlight the IR block and check the "Footswitch Assign" screen to see if you have an assignment to the expression pedal switch you were not anticipating. The Helix Editor might also help to see if anything looks out of wack. Another approach would be to reconstruct the preset from scratch and see if you get the same behavior. If you upload the preset perhaps one of us can test it for you. Does it happen no matter which IR you assign in the preset or is this only happening with certain IRs? If the issue is IR specific, I would check to make sure the loaded IR is 48khz(Helix supported format) , reloading the IR to the Helix again might also be advisable, and try changing the name of the IR to something like "Test". I doubt the name could cause a failure but it is worth checking. If all else fails you can always backup your presets/setlists and try updating the firmware again.

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the JTV69 neck. Hopefully it will be tolerable to good enough, if not, as pointed out the savings can go towards a Warmoth or Mighty Mite neck. Sorry to hear more folks don't love the stock neck. I owned the original Variax when it first came out and although the modeling was super cool I found the guitar construction lacking and I ended up selling it in short order. My impression has always been that the JTV model was an effort to make a high quality guitar with L6 electronics and it seems it is other than some poor design choices on the neck (the most important component to me). I hope L6 has listened to all the feedback on the neck and incorporated it into changing the design for future models.

I use this method but I also design my presets around my most common tone and volume setting (both of them rolled off a bit) as this is where those controls will be parked much of the time for my guitar style. I tend to use a footswitch boost or the expression pedal to boost the volume for solos. I use the volume knob on my guitar primarily to determine how much grit/distortion is in my tone as the heavier amps and distortions usually sound thicker with increased signal coming from the guitar. So if you tend to work your volume and tone frequently the method asmenj describes is probably the way to go. If you have a certain "sweet spot" you tend to park volume and tone at, you may want to also design some presets towards that.

Nice sentiments and the intersection of music theory and the human response to it is heady stuff. I have to disagree with your author friend on one point. I think it can be easier to have an emotional impact with music than with words alone. Songs can not only include words (lyrics) but have the added advantage of whatever psycho-mathematical components music brings to the table and the effects they have on the human brain. Think how many songs with absolutely dirt simple or even terrible lyrics have the capacity to move you in some way. A song does not even need to be in a language you understand and it can still evoke a response. Good songs are often cross-cultural and appeal to incredibly diverse populations across the spectrum; a feat also accomplished by some books but one that is arguably as or even more difficult.

Not sure if this is can really be classified as normal. It may have something to do with some parameter in a preset that requires updating by the current firmware but then does not stick after a power down. I suspect this will either be addressed in a future firmware update or at least someone will hopefully figure out what causes it. I wonder if this can be caused by restoring a preset that was not saved with the corresponding Helix app for a particular firmware release. I would think eventually the part of the preset causing the issue will be identified and updated and saved within the preset the first time so that it does not pop up again.

No harm in helping people to use what may be an additional controller to be used with the Helix controller. I can also see someone who already has a midi controller integrated into a bigger setup just wanting to continue with it instead of adding the Helix controller. I do agree though, for many users, just pony up for the Helix controller, you will be happy you did in the long run. If you want to add additional MIDI control that is fine too.

Klangmaler is right and I can see why he would assume the presets are already dialed in given the title of this topic. Once you have the presets dialed in as best as possible his tips are a great way to proceed at the gig. Btw "GEQ" is a little ambiguous too as it also stands for "Graphic Equalizer" as well as global EQ as you intended it in your post. Just having a little fun here, great tips! ;)

Beer and drinks, and even rain in outdoor venues, always a potential hazard, not only from audience and Mother Nature, but from band members as well. Wouldn't water-resistant MFX be great? Keep in mind that right now you have to assign the on/off for the blocks to the Helix footswitches before you can use the Behringer to control them. DI pointed out in another post that the Helix does not allow direct MIDI addressing for the on/off functionality in the blocks yet (I hope it is coming at some point); although once they are assigned to a footswitch on the Helix they can be controlled from the Behringer. I don't know if parameters are directly addressable with MIDI yet? Anyone tried it? The expression pedals on the Behringer FCB1010 are working with the Helix now though.

Have to agree with gunpointmetal here. If you start with the Global EQ you leave yourself no room for global adjustment to different rooms and rigs. Additionally, the various EQ blocks available within a preset (parametric, 10 band graphic, etc.) provide much more exacting tools to get the EQ right. Get what you want first within a preset and then use global only when you need it to adjust to the room and whatever amp, PA, etc. you are playing through that day.

I play with a couple of bands and also a duo. The duo uses two Turbosound iP2000 speakers (Bose's less expensive cousin) and I go direct from the Helix thru the mixer to the Turbosounds. Both electric and acoustic guitar sound fantastic!

I have the maple neck JTV69s on the way. How do you like the neck on the JTV69? People have me a bit concerned with all the posts describing the neck as a tree trunk and talking about how they swapped it out. I like a good fast neck, closer to slim than fat. Are people exaggerating the neck issue?

Have you tried using the "Ext. Amp" control jack on the Helix with the "Control" input jack on the Trio? Not sure how you would go about that, I don't own a Trio or do much beyond basic looping. Probably wouldn't help you for using both the Trio and the Helix looper simultaneously anyway because I don't believe you can assign "Ext. Amp" control to a footswitch while the Helix is in looper mode. Might be an interesting way to control just the Trio looper though.

Ordered, that is exactly the model I have been looking for, thanks zooey & phil_m!

I saw those reviews as well. I have gotten repackaged merchandise sold as "new" from different retailers on occasion (this is not just a MF issue). I am hoping I will get a decent one. I will try to post back after I receive it.

I would prefer to see a way to back up the Global EQ as I think a global reset is intended to not only reset anything that might be affected by a firmware update but also potentially anything that a user may have inadvertently set that is adversely impacting their sound.

I believe right now that turning on the tuner while the "Output" parameter is set to "Multi" bypasses the preset's signal chain giving you just your direct guitar sound; although as you discovered, the "Multi" setting reverts back to "Mute" when the Helix is powered off/on. However, I believe for the people who prefer a "Thru" option to "Mute" on their tuner, many of them would actually prefer that the Helix output the full signal chain in the preset and just leave the tuner up on the screen. This is the way a "Thru" setting works on many tuners, particularly the ones found on traditional standalone pedal board tuners for users who always leave the tuner on while they play and do not mute for tuning or mute at the mixer or somewhere other than their pedalboard (or in this case their Helix). This allows them to tune "on the fly" during a song, something I usually try to avoid. Ultimately, although a low priority for me, it might be nice to have three options -- to either mute, bypass the preset, or go through the preset with the tuner staying up on the screen (perhaps a smaller version of the tuner that would allow other info to be displayed). I suppose one handy use for a tuner that bypasses the signal chain, although I don't use it that way, is it can be useful for leveling the guitar signal by toggling between the preset and the bypass to get roughly equal volumes, particularly since the Helix currently lacks signal level metering. However, I find the disparity between volume of the direct signal and the processed signal so great on my Helix presets that I think that would be of limited use for me. Personally I always prefer a tuner's "Mute" setting but I think there may be a fair number of users who use tuners differently given the fact that "thru" functionality has remained in almost every tuner on the market. Note: Line6 has already informed us that the bug with the "Multi" setting retention after power down will be fixed in a future firmware version.Thanks nippyjun for bringing it to their attention and DI for addressing it.

Voted!

Great player!

It would be great if for instance pressing both bank switches at the same time would cycle through the set lists.

Although there are some electronics gurus on this forum who could give a more technical explanation and there are some great posts on the web, essentially the logarithmic taper provides a more gradual, musical, and usable travel on the expression pedal for volume and many other assigned parameters. You will notice for instance that volume swells sound much better on the logarithmic setting.