HonestOpinion

I doubt this will happen but it is a great idea! I love software that is designed like this! Short of this, I would like to see as much information on the various screens as possible stopping before it becomes unusable visual clutter. At the very least I want a main screen that displays the detailed name of every amp, effect, IR, routing, etc. block in the preset (e.g. specific amp name, specific effect name). Drilling down on a block should bring up all of the parameters for that block on a single screen or at the bottom of the main screen if there is enough real estate. Another way to implement this would be to have a tab with each amp and effect name that would bring up all the parameters for that block on one screen; although all those potential tabs might be difficult to fit on a single screen. As ranted on earlier, retaining the paradigm of vague general icons, and multiple parameter pages used currently on the Helix would be a terrible implementation of the editor IMHO.

There is no doubt that the better designed the interface, the less trips to the manual are required and the Helix is particularly well designed in that respect. I still think a well written (and well indexed) manual is a beautiful thing; particularly for more complex operations! The length of the manual should be contingent on the complexity of the device. Different people learn differently, some folks are a whiz with hardware, they are the ones who could disassemble the family VCR at the age of six (and put it back together); they may never look at a manual. Other people are greatly assisted by seeing pictures, others by text. A well written moderated WIKI is a great way for users to build on, contribute to, and enhance the manual provided by the company. I would love to see a Helix WIKI that consolidates all the great explanations, procedures, tips, and tidbits that have been provided on this forum and The Gear Page. A WIKI allows the users to build a much better manual over time than any company would dedicate the resources to. There is great stuff here but it is so spread out and ages off the screen such that the same questions get asked multiple times and great tips get lost in the sands of time.

It will be ridiculous if huge bars mean paging over instead of having all parameters show up on one page. It should be an absolute priority to eliminate paging wherever possible. That is one of the huge advantages of an editor. Paging is dictated by the screen size and number of knobs on the Helix. No need to carry that over to a software editor.

I agree that the editor following the main screen does make it simpler to use but I am actually bummed to hear that the editor will continue with the limited visual information provided by the current icons. I would prefer the editor enhance the same icons the Helix currently uses with text underneath telling you exactly what amp, effect, etc. you are looking at. It would be better to know at a glance whether I am looking at a flanger, chorus, phaser rather than just a "mod". Better yet, I would like to see exactly which chorus (e.g. 70's Chorus, Trinity) I am looking at, what amp (e.g. Marshall, Matchless) is in use not just a general "Amp" icon, which distortion is being used (e.g. Minotaur, Teemah), not just a "Distortion" icon. The Helix could offer more differentiation of the icons or allow us to assign custom icons so it would be easier to tell exactly what amp, effect, type of EQ, reverb, etc., is in the signal chain by just looking at the big picture. I think it is kind of a shame that you have to actually highlight each icon as they currently only indicate a general class/category (Amp, Distortion, Modulation, EQ, etc.). Ideally you should be able to tell at a glance that your preset had a Marshall amp/cab with a Minotaur distortion, Script Mod Phaser, 70's chorus, Bucket Brigade delay, and a Spring reverb, etc..A picture is worth a thousand words and every picture tells a story don't it? I have had an idea in Ideascale for a while to add more icons, or allow custom icons. Don't want to see memory eaten up unnecessarily but I think adding some more variation to the icons or even allowing two or three letters on them so at least for example, a chorus would show up as an icon with "CHO" across it, a parametric EQ would be an icon with a "PAR", etc.. If you provide enough icons, ability to add letters, and/or color customizing of icons, you could potentially have a different one for every amp and effect. If that is unfeasible, you could at least drill down a little bit more from let's say "Modulation" to "Chorus", even if there are not enough icons to indicate that it is a "70's Chorus". It might take you a while to learn the icons but you would soon remember at least the ones you use frequently. It would be incredibly helpful when you look at the main screen of the Helix. I definitely want to see the editor take advantage of more screen real estate and infinitely less memory limitations to enhance the icons currently used on the editor's virtual "main" screen. I do not want to have to go to each icon to see what is in a preset in the editor, and I would prefer if I didn't have to do it on the Helix main screen either. Please vote for icon enhancement here: http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Customizable-Icons/787888-23508

There is a pretty good answer from an amp designer here: http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?88098-So-why-ARE-tube-amps-louder-than-solid-state

This thing is awesome! Talk about post-modern retro. Can I get a candle/solar powered distortion and phaser too? :D

Sorry, no photos. Just use a good sharp utility knife. You only have to cut the four foam posts. Keep in mind that the tray is tilted so it is taller in the back then in the front. If you have any doubts on your measurements, cut less, and then go back and adjust.

The bugs with the expression pedal footswitch custom labeling of the scribble strip just seem to keep dragging on, the last fix did not seem to correct the issue properly unless this is user error (I don't think it is). If someone knows how to make this custom labeling behave properly, please post the procedure up here. Firmware: 1.06.5 Bug: When you use a custom label on the scribble strip for the expression pedal switch, it always comes up in the "on" state (lit) when you have a volume and wah block selected, or for that matter a volume block and any block/parameter selected. The scribble strip does not seem to accurately reflect the on/off state of the blocks you have assigned to it. The state of the scribble strip does not change initially until the expression pedal is pressed twice, after that, one click will change the gray/lit state of the scribble switch. How to recreate bug: 1. Create a preset with a volume block and a wah block. 2. Assign a custom label to the expression pedal switch, for example "WAH" 3. Save the preset, go to another preset and come back to the one with the custom label. 4. You will see that the label comes up lit instead of grayed out as it should be. You will be in this example still controlling the volume, even though the "WAH" on the scribble strip is lit (not grayed out). 5. Now click the expression pedal switch, the state of the custom labeled scribble strip does not change, it stays lit, but now you are actually controlling the wah. 6. Click the expression pedal switch again. Now the scribble strip starts to inaccurately reflect the state of the blocks assigned to the expression pedal switch. The behavior of the scribble strip for the expression pedal switch should allow it to come up grayed out when it is controlling the volume (default) and light up when the "Wah" is selected. Instead, this behavior only occurs after you click twice on the expression pedal switch. Then the scribble strip starts going from lit/gray with only one click. It seems to me that the way this scribble strip is intended to be used in the VOL/WAH example for the custom label to light up when the wah is selected. You can try this example on a blank preset with nothing but a volume and a phaser block. Things get even weirder when you try to assign for instance the expression pedal toe switch to the phaser block and assign the phaser rate to EXP 1. Set up a blank preset with a volume block and a Script Mod Phase Assign the expression toe switch to the Script Mod Phase Assign the Script Mod Phase rate to EXP 1 Custom label the expression toe switch "PHSR" Save your preset, switch away and come back. Total weirdness ensues! Try to make rhyme or reason of the scribble strip behavior as you click on the footswitch. The first click always seems to leave the scribble strip lit up. Only on the second click does the state of the scribble strip even start to change. Try to get the scribble strip to light up when the Phaser is on and volume is off, and gray out when the volume is on and the Phaser is off. If you custom label the expression switch "PHSR" you don't want it to light up until you click the switch and the phaser block comes on and the phaser rate is being controlled. Right now, when you select the preset, the "PHSR" is already lit up although you are only controlling the volume. Once you click the switch it stays lit, but now you are actually controlling the phaser rate. Click the expression pedal switch again and the scribble strip grays out and starts to reflect the opposite of what it is controlling. And just to make it super confusing, it requires one click of the pedal before it even starts operating "abnormally". As if this wasn't all confusing enough, depending on how I set it up, I can get the opposite behavior where the scribble strip always comes up grayed out and takes two clicks before it starts switching between grayed out and lit. Again, if anyone has the right procedure for setting up a custom scribble strip for the expression toe switch, please do us all a favor and share it. Make sure you switch away from and then back to your test preset when trying it. Thanks!

Thanks for the note on dBSPL, good to know. Just wanted to add that although "watts" may not necessarily say anything about loudness, there is often a correlation. Extra watts can give you more "usable" loudness. One thing extra watts does often buy you is extra headroom before things start to distort.

No kidding! And that is downhill in both directions with no passengers or cargo and no one heavier than an anorexic jockey at the wheel, also no accessories whatsoever on, even if that means no windshield wipers, heat, or headlights at 2am in a driving rain/snowstorm in the middle of January.

Thank you for the reminders that in the end run it is the music and creativity that matter most. That essential truth can definitely get lost in a haze of late night equipment twiddling. I also find that my tone is integrally connected to my creativity, the better things sound, I find the better I play.

Totally agree, specs these days can be really deceptive or practically non-existent, particularly since the advent of "D-Class" amplifiers which almost always list peak power instead of continuous. The lack of consistent apples to apples numbers on power can make it difficult to accurately compare products. At the very least I like to see a piece of equipment I am considering list frequency response, continuous or "RMS" power, THD, and the item's total weight.

Ah, ok, that makes sense, that screen does offer the "Customize" option for naming, although if you are not going to assign the amp to a footswitch an easier way may be to use the "Global Settings" --> "Command Center" screen which also offers the "Customize" option but saves you the effort of having to assign and then unassign the amp.

One of the better videos I have seen on building a preset, you have a good ear (or two), thanks! One note, you are probably already aware of it but I don't think you have to assign the amp to a footswitch before setting one of the parameters on the amp to the footswitch (in your example the "Master" volume). I believe you can skip the step at 10:55 minutes in on your video. You just pick the amp block and go directly to "Global Settings" --> "Controller Assign" as you did in the next step where you assigned a footswitch to both amps' "Master" volume parameters.

It would be nice to have an option to turn that off.

I also am not lawyer so I am speaking strictly as a layman. Many requests by users for information can fall under the umbrella of legal issues like NDAs, or information that could come under insider trading rules, or promising something that ends up not being delivered on time or at all and then constitutes a breach of promise, although breach of promise can often be mitigated by disclaimers. You see them all the time on company websites e.g. "Specs may differ in final product, hardware may differ from version to version, etc" . Sometimes it just comes down to not letting the competition know what is next in the pipeline. I think sometimes though it is simple as sales numbers. It may be for instance more profitable to let people know that the editor is coming than promising a delivery date that may cause people to wait to buy the product; by which time there may be a competing product on the market. Not saying this is the case here but these scenarios do arise where it is not necessarily a legal issue but a sales driven one. And sometimes there is a fine line between a sales driven decision and one that could have legal ramifications. There will also always be the possibility of deadlines slipping with complex software. This can lead to a publicity nightmare if a specific date is promised, even if disclaimers prevent it from resulting in a successful lawsuit against the company. Ultimately I just wish L6 either had the resources or the margin to throw more programmers and resources at things like firmware updates, features, amps, and effects, bug fixes, and yes, the editor. They have to decide where the balance between profit and customer satisfaction lies and I would imagine there are a bunch of marketing and sales guys in weekly meetings with graphs and numbers doing just that. As a customer I definitely would prefer to see them lean heavily towards customer satisfaction and take the long view on profits.

No problem using the Helix App (librarian) to reorder songs. First backup your setlist! You can drag and drop presets to change the order, or you can right click and do cut and pastes.

Thanks!

I have to agree, "Block Vol" would have been much better. "Ch Vol" makes it seem like the overall volume for the preset or something, when actually it is only the overall volume for the amp block. Also, IMHO, the "Master" volume should have been on the first page of parameters so it could be adjusted in tandem with the "Drive" parameter, more like a real amp. "Ch Vol" adjustments could be made as needed after the blend of "Master" to "Drive" is dialed in. Overall volume for the preset would then be adjusted from the "Output" block which just makes more sense to me. Lastly, in the next version of the Helix I would consider a dedicated knob for the "Output" block volume as this is perhaps the adjustment you most need to get to quickly in live playing situations and it would be handy while programming presets as well. I guess it could be argued however that the expression pedal is a better way to quickly adjust volume, especially during a gig. I have an Idea in Ideascale for moving the "Master" volume to the first page of the amp parameters. http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Put-Master-volume-on-the-same-page-as-the-Drive-in-amp-model/788502-23508

+1 Great post, bookmarked!

I concur!

Unless you live in the Arctic or Greenland in wintertime, due to the fact that this only happens when the Helix is cold, it sounds unfortunately like it might be a hardware issue. I suppose you could always try reinstalling the latest firmware in case this issue is actually a firmware issue related to the amount of time the Helix has been up rather than how warm it is. If that does not fix the issue, you may want to open a ticket with L6 support for this.

Thanks for the tips on speaker placement BigRalphN. I also have the KRK Rokkit 4 speakers and although they are just fine for studio work ultimately I think the small size of the speakers is less than optimal for guitar sound reproduction. They are adequate for monitoring while recording a tune but I don't expect them to do justice to the Helix as a guitar amp/cab substitute.

All great advice from Silverhead, just wanted to clarify one point. I think his point above is in reference to running the 9&10 global reset procedure after you upgrade to the latest firmware. This will make sure that all of the latest new factory presets are setup properly, it will not restore the original factory presets that ship with the Helix(although it will overwrite any factory presets you edit so make sure you do this before you start editing presets in one of the "Factory" lists [copy them to User list first]). Again, copy any factory presets you intend to edit into a User directory first and edit them there, as Silverhead recommends, so that they don't get overwritten in the next firmware update.

I think the calibrate function on the Helix is supposed to be automatic. As far as I know there is no explicit calibration process.