HonestOpinion

Not sure whether this is a bug, or a hardware issue that just happens to coincide with my upgrade today to 1.04.2. My #12 footswitch, the one directly to the left of the Tempo footswitch, is no longer consistently turning on and off. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I have multiple blocks assigned to this footswitch. This is the one I generally assign to my distortion pedal so I can no longer reliably switch from lead to rhythm. This is happening on my saved presets that I have reloaded after the Global Reset procedure. I have yet to test it on the factory presets. Have a gig coming up so I am not too happy. If anybody who upgrades to the 1.04.2 firmware starts having this issue please post back here. Otherwise I will assume this is a hardware issue and unfortunately get the unit swapped out (hope another one is readily available). Really hoping this is either a firmware issue or an issue with restoring user presets with multiple block assignments as having a footswitch go bad in the first month of light use does not bode well for switch durability unless this turns out to be a rare case. Bumming me out 'cos I love my Helix :( Btw, the Helix App 1.02 is still having issues with restores If your presets are not all contiguous it is putting User presets blocks back in the correct preset slot but puts the preset's name in the first empty slot, such that the preset's blocks end up in one preset slot and the preset's name in another (with no blocks). This of course necessitates you having to rename all your presets.

Might just be my imagination as I did not time the old firmware but it seems as if the Helix is booting up faster with this update. Not that I thought it was an issue before.

Call me overly cautious but I not only wear a seat belt but prefer to follow the recommendations made by the folks who write the software. Reset process run! Thanks for the response!

So is Line6 recommending we run the 9&10 "Resetting Helix Globals" procedure after the update or is this strictly optional?

They probably have ways to code around it but this might be a reserved character because the front-slash is a path divider, e.g. "/Helix/Effects/Mods/Phaser" in Linux/Unix which could well be the OS kernel underlying the Helix codebase.

Voted this up already, Helix needs this badly!

I wonder if any of this is heat related? The Helix has what appears to be a heat vent on the bottom of the chassis. I am being careful not to let the Helix overheat and avoid setting it on a carpet in case the heat is indeed venting from the bottom. Carpet probably hinders heat dispersion from the surface of the metal on the bottom as well. Do we need to keep this vent clear L6?

Love me some auto-volume, I had already voted that one up, great idea!

Thanks! Clearly some other more experienced folks were already aware of it but I just stumbled across it.

I find the Linear setting alright for general volume adjustments but Logarithmic far superior for volume swells, but you have convinced me that maybe I should try leaving it set to "Logarithmic" for general use as well. I would agree I am not ready to give it an "Expression Pedal Of The Year" award yet, but it is working really well for certain operations. Not quite sure what you were referring to with the "auto" option. Do you mean like having an "auto volume" effect like the old Boss "Slow Gear? Loved the "Slow Gear", hope they add that effect at some point.

Sorry, don't have anything set up to record at the moment. Only using the Helix for practice and live use. I will work on that.

The Helix expression pedal is killing it on volume swells! I just wanted to take a second to say how amazing volume swells on the Helix sound with the volume pedal block's "Curve" parameter set to "Logarithmic". I am getting extremely musical violin-like swells with zero effort; no capoeira, ninja, or dance skills required. Really effortless and sweet sounding. These are the best sounding and easiest to create "violin" swells of any expression pedal I have ever tried. Something I only use on a few songs but it sounds superb!

I know adding the ART pre or other similar schemes to get a tube in the signal chain after the Helix are working solutions but I am stubbornly clinging to the belief that I can EQ the nasty frequencies out just using the Helix. Although adding another device is a perfectly legitimate and simple solution, I feel like having to add additional processing and devices to get the Helix to sound natural is conceding defeat and I am not there yet. And the Helix does sound natural on many settings, but it is not totally consistent, the ghosts of crappy digital sound still do show up here and there. I do wish there was a selection in the EQ section entitled "Fizz & Digital Crud Filter" that already had all the offending frequencies dialed out. I am not sure if that is possible as I don't know if the fizz is caused by the interaction of the Helix with a huge spectrum of possible external equipment, leaving no way to anticipate where the cuts should be. If it is impossible to anticipate where the fizz will be, ideally I suppose I would be able to plug in a reference mic that listened to the sound being produced and responded by using an L6 designed algorithm and filters to automatically tweak it to analog warmth. Until then, I intend to become a wizard with EQ. I don't get the fizz when I go through a tube amp and analog pedals and I would really like to not have to hear it on a high end MFX. At least many sounds/settings leave me exclaiming "this sounds really close or even indistinguishable from a real tube amp", but consistent analog warmth still appears to require some tweaking. A little disappointing I must admit but probably producing a device that has the option of full frequency response may always require specific filtering to emulate analog warmth. Even when the Helix delivers perfect tone the device you play it through might emphasize an unpleasant frequency. It would be great to see it made it a little simpler for the end user with some concrete recommendations on what to tweak, an EQ "analog" filter selection, or as mentioned above, with reference mic technology and automated filtering.

Tagmusenmagnus1 has it right. Just grab any effect from path 1 and drag it down to create what will now be path2 and two new split/merge blocks, then follow his directions to drag the split and merge blocks down to create the separate route. You can copy the block your dragged down back to the path 1 after you create the new route but remember you need to leave at least one block on what is now path 2 or it will collapse back up into path 1 again. The key is always having a block on a path other than the merge and split as a placeholder or the two paths collapse back into one.

You can have up to a total of four path lines. If required, each one can have its own input/output. Take a look at the Helix provided template "04B" in the Templates presets list. I am not quite clear on whether you are trying to run two separate input/output routes out to two different external amps with a third input/output for a mic or or just trying to switch between two "virtual" Helix amps out to a single external amp with an additional Helix input/output for the mic. There are routing alternatives for either of these scenarios. I think the best way to find the routing method you are looking for may be to scroll through the Templates preset list on the Helix. The templates include many different routing scenarios for up to 4 separate inputs/outputs routes. One of them will probably get you close enough to customize it to what you need. If you are only running out to one amp and need a second input/output for the mic you can use the link for the template I created for CustomTone http://line6.com/cus...e/tone/1460280/ . As you have probably discovered, one of the tricks when you are setting up routes on the Helix is you need to keep at least one block, even if it is a dummy effect you are planning on moving or deleting, on existing route lines as you move things around (like merge & split blocks) or the two route lines can collapse back into one.

Yes, just drag down both the split and the merge blocks to the second path you already created. The split and merge blocks are those tiny little blocks created once you drag a block down and create a second path. This will create a totally separate path with its own input and output. I put a Template in the CustomTone repository that gives you the bare bones setup for this. You can find it here: http://line6.com/customtone/tone/1460280/

I am hearing the fizz too, particularly when the distortions are cranked up. Have not done enough tweaking on all my presets yet but it usually requires finding the offending frequencies with a parametric or graphic EQ. and dialing them out. The "fizz" I am hearing is what gives MFX that "digital" sound, Setting up a low pass filter helps but does not totally get rid of it unless you cut the highs more dramatically then I want to. There are some other offending frequencies elsewhere that I cut out more surgically with EQ. I want my sound to be as close as possible to an analog tube amp and pedals (at least for my meat and potatoes, go to sounds). That fizz is what gives it away. Was hoping that would be completely absent in the Helix and it is absent from many sounds but it looks like it needs to be dialed out on some effects and settings. Not unusual I guess. I am thinking 3khz may be one area to keep and eye on. Saw an interesting quote in the documentation for Ownhammer's demo IRs. It is supposed to apply to his IRs but it might be worth trying with the Helix cabs. Not sure if it will apply as this seems like a lower range than where fizz would be present but perhaps not as he sets the "Q" on the parametric quite wide. I am going to play around with it. Here is the quote from the Ownhammer documentation. "With the files contained in this library there is a very quick, simple step that can be taken to duplicate the sound of a guitar tube power amp with the Presence and Depth set to 0. To replicate this sound, following the cabinet IR loader add an EQ with a parametric bell curve set to -3 dB at 400 Hz. Adjust the Q/bandwidth to roughly where the edges of the curve start to make the initial cut around 100 Hz on the low side and 2 kHz on the high side. If necessary, adjust the Q/bandwidth to taste from here to best suit your sound source and tonal preference." Any of you audio engineers out there know exactly where the "fizz" lives?

Thanks, 'cos I am thinking about going with that case.

You can click on the "RT60" column heading and this will sort from the samples with the shortest decay to the longest. There are some IRs that might be short enough in the OpenAir database, even truncated. http://www.openairli.../auralizationdb However, I think most of them will be too long as you indicated for Helix use but great for use in a DAW.

Thanks for the contribution, awesome! Is the problem with the IRs on the openair site due to the size/duration, number of seconds of the IR? There are a lot of IRs there. Hopefully there are some that are short enough, if not, we will use them when the Helix III comes out :huh:. They might also be great to use in various software recording applications(DAWs).

Please post links for free Impulse Responses (IR) here. Looking for links to freeware, promotional, basically any IR that is legal to share and download including Helix user created IRs that you are willing to share. THANKS!!! Here is one to get things started: http://www.openairlib.net/auralizationdb This is kind of an interesting site with a huge repository and has some extraordinarily different IRs available for download. There are definitely many in the mono 48khz format preferred by the Helix. The stereo ones can be used as well but you will only get the left channel per the documentation in the Helix. I suppose if you know how you could possibly also transform the IRs that are not in the proper format for the Helix. If you find an IR you like just click on the link and then select the "Impulse Response" tab. I have successfully downloaded the IRs from there. Note: Some browsers will automatically try to play .wav files; you will need to make sure you use a browser that doesn't, or change the settings so that it gives you the option to download or play. I have to admit I have yet to use them but it looks like there is some amazing potential here. These are not mic/cab IRs, they are IRs from all kinds of spaces and structures, natural and man-made, taken from locations around the globe, I imagine they could be used in lieu of a reverb or echo for instance, or perhaps even instead of a cab. Thinking some of these might also work well for acoustic guitar as well as electric. They have one from a space that is described as having the longest natural echo of an any man-made structure in the world. http://www.openairlib.net/auralizationdb

Here is a topic started for expression pedal squeak: http://line6.com/support/topic/16996-expression-pedal-squeak/?hl=squeak Just curious if you followed the procedure to back up all your presets first, upgrade to the Helix app 1.02 , do the firmware 1.04.1 update, do the 9&10 reset, and finally restore your saved presets with the latest version of the Helix app? If you did a full reset including globals using the 9&10 footswitch reset procedure as you know you will need to go back and set your global settings again. I wonder if any of the global settings could be impacting the preset sounds?

Hoping more folks will vote this one up at http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Swap-footswitch-assignments-from-top-row-to-bottom-vice-versa/790520-23508 Global setting to allow swap of footswitch assignments from top row to bottom & vice versa If there was a global setting to swap assignments from the top to the bottom rows the player would be at their leisure to decide for themselves whether they prefer pedals on the bottom or top row. You would be able to change your preference for presets on top or bottom row and have all your factory and user pedal assignments follow your preference. Create a setting in global settings to swap all of the footswitch assignments from the top row to the bottom row and vice versa. As of now, pedal assignments do not follow your preference choice of whether you want pedals on your bottom row or the top. If you change this preference you would have to reassign every pedal manually. The Line6 factory presets are set for the pedals to show up on the bottom row and the only way to change that is reassign every pedal, one by one. That creates a big problem if you are a player who likes to use the bottom row for presets and have your pedals on the top row. The Helix has the great feature of allowing the user to decide whether they want to split pedal/presets on either the top or bottom row. It is a shame to see this functionality crippled by not allowing the factory presets to conform to the users choice without days (months) spent on manually reassigning every footswitch assignment in the factory and potentially user presets. http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Swap-footswitch-assignments-from-top-row-to-bottom-vice-versa/790520-23508

Sounds unfortunately like it may be time to open a repair ticket with L6.

All good points and probably accurate. I don't know what the actual cost would be to get this done and that is the data point I am missing to truly understand the decisions to limit the hardware. Your points may be self evident given the direction various manufacturers have taken. Again, perhaps we just have to wait until the hardware components run so cool, cost so little, and are so abundant that the hardware is no longer bottle-necking the software. The perplexing thing is that in the rest of the software world (non audio software), the hardware usually runs ahead of the software. It takes programmers a while to write software that takes advantage of the new processors and hardware innovations. With MFX units the reverse seems to be true; the hardware is constantly struggling to keep up.