HonestOpinion

I am using the Helix direct to our mixer and then out to our L2M floor monitors. All of the band's vocal and instrument monitoring as well as my Helix are channeled through the L2M monitors and it sounds great -- articulate and organic. Definitely had to tame the high and low end on my presets though as these are full range PA speakers.

You may be able to get around this by temporarily changing the screen resolution on your monitor.

+1 Amsdenj you have consistently made the most substantial contributions to this forum for using the Helix with an acoustic guitar. Thanks for all your great work! I hope L6 picks up your banner and adds some IRs, amps, effects, and presets of their own specifically geared to the acoustic guitar.

Europe is certainly doing a better job of protecting their consumers than the U.S.! Where is our 2 year warranty? I have found L6 to be exemplary about supporting their products but a longer warranty would definitely give me more of a warm fuzzy feeling!

+1 This is a fantastic idea and I definitely voted it up! As the idea states it addresses not only global input/output assignments but also potentially provides a way to do a much needed implementation of spillover. I think however it is a somewhat complex idea and difficult to express quickly and simply in Ideascale, otherwise it would have way more votes. Perhaps the idea could be titled differently (e.g. "Add global input/output settings and spillover capability") or perhaps summed up differently in the first paragraph, IMHO this idea should have hundreds of votes by now!

Moving a footswitch not only loses the name and the custom LED ring color if you had one, but most importanly, it loses all multiple assignments. There is an idea in Ideascale to address this. Please vote it up if you agree. http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Move-to-new-footswitch-should-maintain-settings-on-Multiple/790995-23508

Make sure you select not only the User list you want but also click on the preset location/slot you want to import to. Also be sure to use just the "Import" link, not the "Import Bundle" or "Import Setlist" link.

Thank you for this kind offer and all of the great advice, very cool of you, I may take you up on your offer some time if I ever get access to or purchase a Fishman Aura! I agree, using an electric guitar amp/cab with an acoustic does not usually yield great results, the only one I have tried is the Jazz Rivet which actually does not sound bad, just not great. My best results have still been with no amp/cab or IR. I have tried using Taylor acoustic guitars as well as a PRS acoustic, neither of which have pickups that use body images to the best of my knowledge. I also have done all my experimenting with only an amp/cab, or only one IR. I am not sending one IR into another, nor am I sending an amp/cab into an IR. Have you found an IR you are really happy with, I am curious, what was it?

I always wonder too and actually to be more specific, Digital_igloo recommended the 9&10 footswitch reset procedure after an update which includes the globals reset. Don't know if this will be the case for every update but it was the recommended procedure as of the 1.04.2 update. IMHO if a global reset is not truly optional but is actually required or advisable (perhaps when new global parameters are added or for other reasons) it should happen automatically as part of the update process to reduce confusion on this issue. Having a "Globals" backup as part of the Helix App would be nice too.

I don't think it is required but Digital_Igloo (L6 rep) did recommend updating the Global settings to be thorough when updating to the latest firmware.

I am using the Taylor IRs with no other speaker/cab. Just can't seem to get a decent sound out of them. Have tried various acoustics and they all sound like crap through the IRs. I don't think it has anything to do with the guitar pickups. Maybe the Taylor IRs are just not for me, they sound thin and seem to accentuate some harsh frequencies, the acoustic sounds better with no amp/cab or through the Jazz Rivet than with the IRs. I do like having the ability to have the chorus, delay, reverb, etc. on tap as well as an easy way to boost the signal for acoustic solos but I am still not getting a great acoustic sound on the Helix. It has been ok and good enough for a ballad or two at my mostly electric gigs but is definitely not "there" yet. Hoping there will be more decent acoustic presets and IRs out there as time goes by.

What am I doing wrong? I tried several of the IRs from the link for the Taylor IRs that has been floating around and they all sound awful. My acoustic sounds infinitely better just going out without an IR and with a bit of compression, delay, and reverb. I have also gotten some acceptable results with the Jazz Rivet amp. Are those Taylor IRs not well produced or am I doing something wrong? Putting an IR in the path makes the sound just terrible! Does anyone have some suggestions or a link to some acoustic IRs that are working well? Thanks!

+1 Great review on the Gator G-Tour LGW case! I also purchased this one, very happy with it and feel a lot better knowing my Helix is well protected. You are right, the fit feels like it could damage the knobs when the tray is left in the case. The tray was actually one of the most compelling features of this case to me. The tray keeps the bottom of the Helix up off carpeted floors for better cooling and less risk of exposure to spills or wet spots, the tray handles and slightly extra height help protect if from other people's feet. I carry the tray separately to the gig right now. I am going to use the height added by the tray (as it sits in the case) or slightly less as the guide for how much foam to cut out, as the fit is pretty snug without the tray. Going to err on the side of cutting out less rather than more, easier to cut twice than glue foam back in (although I know any self-respecting carpenter would tell me to "measure twice, cut once"). This seems to be a really solidly constructed case and the modification for the tray appears to be extremely simple as you only have to trim the four braces you referred to rather than a large square of foam.

Sorry to hear about the faulty channel but glad to hear you got it sorted out and that is was not the Helix. Now on to the fun! :D

Does this happen when going through headphones? What are you playing the Helix into? This issue sound a lot like what has happened to me with some powered speakers with main boards that started to go bad. They worked fine for a little while and as they heated up the sound would just drop to almost nothing.

+1 Totally agree! Some people will use an MFX board within a preset and some need to switch between presets. It depends on your particular situation, preferences, and requirements. This has been a discussion that has been raging for a while and I don't understand why people are so adamant about insisting that users who need to switch between presets can get everything they want within a single preset. That is simply not the case for what may well be a considerable(?) number of users, at least enough to merit addressing. As has been mentioned elsewhere, there is not yet scene functionality (ability to assign the same block or parameter to multiple footswitches). This lack of scene functionality substantially limits what you can do within one preset. I am hardly what I would characterize as a "power" user and I have already hit the wall on what I can do without within a single preset without scenes on a couple of occasions. When I can't do everything I need within a preset I switch between presets. I personally find that switching between presets usually does not create an issue for me, I usually have enough time between rhythm and lead. A full band jamming behind me helps cover up a lot as well. However, any substantial audible switching delay coupled with lack of spillover can potentially be problematic. I don't see the harm in encouraging L6 to do whatever they can to minimize these challenges. I know they have already mentioned that they have some ideas on how to deal with spillover and I would imagine they will continue to do whatever they can to minimize the latency between preset switches. I for one give them my enthusiastic support in those endeavors. I think many users will appreciate the flexibility down the line to be able to use one preset for a song or to be able to jump between multiple presets without compromising their sound. The Helix is a beautiful new MFX sports car, nobody, including L6 wants to tell you that you can only turn right in it. For those who are happy simply living within a single preset per song, more power to you. The variety and quality of sounds that the Helix offers within one preset is already amazing but there is definitely room to improve (Scenes!! sorry had to mention it again). Go L6, make this board as great as you can for as many users as possible, l can't wait to see how you deal with spillover and latency. The Helix is already my favorite MFX and if I have to wait for the next generation to see these issues resolved or minimized I am willing, but I hope I don't have to.

You may have tried this already but working with the global settings "Mic" vs. "Line" for your outputs and perhaps adding a pad might help you rein this in globally. And of course there is always the large physical volume control.

It does seem just a wee bit of overkill but I can absolutely understand where an AxeFX owner might want to buy the Helix as an AxeFX controller for over the top massive processing capability. The Helix at a discount is a little less than twice the price of the AxeFX MFC-101 foot controller. But for a few hundred dollars more the Helix includes an expression pedal and is of course a full featured stand alone MFX. Of course, if you are savvy enough with MIDI programming to set this up the Behringer FCB1010 with an UNO chip is a far less expensive controller for the AxeFX but does not offer the scribble strips, processing power, flexibility, routing options, ability to use the Helix by itself, and all out fun that having the Helix and an AxeFX would. I will leave this option to those with much larger bank accounts than my own.

I have seen others posting not to turn the master volume up all the way as well. When I want the cleanest tone possible on a real amp I often do turn the master up all the way and then adjust the Drive or Pre up until I get sufficient volume. Is there a reason not to use this strategy on the Helix?

Duncann is correct, you will be limited by the DSP as to how much you can put on any one path. Each set of two paths (1A & 1B, 2A & 2B) have one DSP processor dedicated to them. The way you get around this is by "connecting" your paths into a larger route like "Super Serial X2" but you give up some of the flexibility to have separate paths/instruments when you do this. It is a balancing act that hopefully goes away in the next generation of the Helix. Depending on how you set up your routes, and which effects/amps/cabs/IRs you select, this can leave you with available blocks but without enough DSP to populate them. Line6 opted to provide maximum choice to the user instead of limiting the number of blocks or routing scenarios which was a good decision, but the hardware has yet to catch up to what the software offers. Other manufacturers have similar DSP limitations but less flexibility in which effects or routing scenarios are available. Other devices deal with DSP limitations by for example only allowing a maximum of one amp, distortion, or chorus pedal in the chain. The Helix allows you to mix and match until you run out of DSP. The Helix will allow you to put for instance four different distortion or chorus pedals in a single preset.

Open the Helix App (you did not mention this so if you have not downloaded and installed it yet you will need to). You can't use the Updater to install presets. First do an "Export Bundle" so you have a backup in case you overwrite something by accident. I download the preset from CustomTone to the .../Line6/Tones/Helix/Presets directory. Alternatively you could probably just navigate from the Helix App to wherever you download the CustomTone to. Press the "Import" link in the Helix App (about halfway down). Make sure you have the preset slot selected that you want to load your CustomTone to so you don't overwrite a preset you want to keep. You want the "Import" link, NOT the "Import Bundle" or "Import Setlist" link. Navigate to the preset you downloaded and hit OK. Your new preset should be loaded.

I would agree, I think there needs to be more variance in general for the icons. I would also like to know whether I am looking at a chorus, flanger, phaser, etc. instead of a "Mod". It would be nice to see at a glance which amp, Fender or Marshall, or which distortion/overdrive from the home screen. The scribble strips if they are assigned do offer some of that capability but not every block gets assigned. With more variation in the icons the home screen would be a lot more informative. You can vote that idea up here: http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Customizable-Icons/787888-23508

There is a template for setting up four paths similar to this. Look under the "Templates" user list. It is preset "04B".

Yes mine has failed too but I have full confidence that either the company that sold it to me or Line6 will take care of it. Both the retailer and Line6 seem to be acting responsibly and even proactively in this regard. We may well be just the unlucky ones in the inevitable 2% or 3% of units that will fail no matter how well built and no matter who has produced it. I recognize no production line or parts manufacturer is perfect. I just hope this is not indicative of more footswitches to fail. I got one of the first Helix's and it actually feels like a second footswitch is starting to fail as well. I know, what are the odds, not trying to slam Line6, this thing is amazing. Just need it to hold up over the years.

That is awesome to hear! Line6 rocks! If Frank happens to still be listening I just had a footswitch go bad on my brand new Helix, please feel free to reach out to me as well. Thanks!