HonestOpinion

1 hour ago, amenity421 said:

I have a handwired Cascadia JTM45. I'm currently running Helix floor 4CM into the Zero Loss loop using the JTM jumped preamp and it's pretty close to the Cascadia alone dimed into my Two Notes Captor X. 

 

I need to play with the Hiwatt. There's so many great models in this thing I've never gotten around to it.

Great to know. I still love a good Marshall model!

23 minutes ago, GabCS said:

Hello! Tried every cable I own and every single port of my PC. Already contacted an official tech support to try and see whats wrong since it seems that my footswitches don't work. Once I can get access to the Safe Boot mode everything should go fine.

Thank you so much!

Let us know how you got it back online when you get the issue resolved. Good luck!

12 hours ago, zarby1 said:

Hi, how to make an auto wha with the Helix

thank you

Laurent

If you are just speaking generically as in auto-wah, envelope filter, T-Wah etc. look under the 'Filter' effects category. There are several including a few in the Legacy category that don't appear under Mono or Stereo.

Here's a handy resource for looking up effect(also amp/cab) models:   

https://helixhelp.com/models

This^^^.  Is it possible you are using the Import command off the yellow task bar towards the very top of the librarian section of HX Edit titled "SETLISTS" ?  To import presets you want to use the Import command from the section below it in white labeled "PRESETS".

As always make sure your HX Edit version is the one that corresponds to your firmware version.

4 hours ago, trolley said:

Can I just make clear:

1) I didn't just buy the Helix - I've had it for 4.5 years.

2) I have read the manual - on several occasions

3) I've always done what I said & not had an issue.

Just to be clear - because clearly I wasn't - On the LHS of the main rack unit are 4 buttons. The Home button currently does nothing when I press it. The Save & the one next to it (to open menu with advanced settings & functions) work OK. The Home button seems to do nothing.

Line 6 advised to use the Updater to reinstall. Since it gave me the option I regressed to 3.1. Same result.

The last option offered is to contact their service guys, in case the button's gone dead.

It seems strange that just one button doesn't work (?) - a bit like me maybe :)

Could easily be a hardware issue with the button needing cleaning or just failing. The Home and "Page --> " buttons on my Helix have both started to periodically require two clicks although my Page button started to fail a year earlier. Their performance has degraded over time. Opening up the chassis and cleaning the contacts might help. For now I am just tolerating it. 

3 hours ago, rpelliccia said:

 

 

that would be a shame. i own one and thought the concept was great and was hoping for further developement.

 

those Spark amps are being advertised all over the place and seem to be selling with a very similar concept to amplifi. So there seems to be a market for it.

Yep, I have a Spark and it is a great little practice amp. Just could not deal with the Amplifi's lousy Bluetooth connectivity. Would have preferred just to see the Amplifi continue to be developed and supported though.  Postive Grid appears to essentially have just copied the Amplifi concept and improved on it although the multiple speakers in the Amplifi and the software were a great foundation for Line6 to build from.  I guess they weren't selling enough to make it worth it.

1 hour ago, GabCS said:

As expected I can't get into "Safe Boot" mode, it just pops up the "Updating UI MCU Firmware, please wait" screen. What bugs me the most is that there isn't a single light coming from the switches' rings or EXP1/2 at the startup.

 

EDIT: Still can't connect it to my PC via USB I uninstalled everything, rebooted and reintalled, rebooted again and no signal from my Helix over HX Edit or Updater

Probably not the issue but make sure your power cable is firmly seated on both the device and outlet ends. Also ensure nothing else is plugged into the device while doing the global reset including the USB as datacommando recommended.

If you can get past the "Updating UI MCU..." screen it might require rebooting the PC yet again and try swapping out the USB cable for another one(or two) and moving it around to other USB ports. Worth trying another PC if you have one available as well.

Also, keep trying the global reset FS6 & FS12 as data recommended as well as some of the other reset options available at https://helixhelp.com/tips-and-guides/universal/reset-options. I know other users on the forum have had success through sheer perseverance by rolling through the various reset options.  Ultimately you may have to open up a ticket with Line6.

53 minutes ago, brue58ski said:

This is an issue that I've noticed. before. There is also a similar issue with the Helix tone parameter. Try this. Make two patches with the JTV Variax and a compressor (just to get the volume up). Set one patch up with the tone at 1.0 and the other with the patches tone set at 10.0. When you switch from the 1.0 patch to the 10.0 patch, the tone will still be at 1.0 even though the 10.0 patches parameter says it's at 10.0. You can hear it. If you click on the 10.0 patches switch again it will then change. There are other parameter issues as well but I haven't checked them since the 3.1/3.11 upgrade. I have checked the tone issue though and it's still there. Haven't had time to check the others. I've submitted several support tickets for this since 2019. The issues have slightly changed but the bottom line is the Helix does not control the Variax the way the manual describes and hasn't ever since I got my Helix. It's still a very cool thing and controls it mostly. At least enough that I do use my Helix and Variax together. But the issues are there and it's been awhile. In regard to your detuning issue, try clicking on the switch a second time. Does it switch to the proper tuning then? Please let me know I am curious. I'm pretty darn sure it's not a bad JTV Variax since I have two and they both exhibit exactly the same behavior. Creat3e a support ticket for this. I feel like I'm the only one that has reported this type of behavior.

Agree that the manual and the settings need to be corrected/reconciled. The workaround, even if some find it less than ideal, to this issue is similar, as you point out, to the approach to tunings I detailed above. Just force all the settings on the Variax by setting them explicitly on the Helix. At least you know what you are going to get when you switch to a preset or snapshot that way.

I suspect Line6's approach to HX operation of the Variax is similar to the one they took with the Powercab+ and this informs the lack of urgency for making changes to the way they are controlled remotely. For example, in the case of the PC+ you cannot select the presets on the PC+ from the Helix even though this capability has been repeatedly requested. You must remote control every parameter individually from the Helix. Once you decide to control the Variax or PC+ from the Helix/LT Line6 seems to shall we say "encourage" you to control all parameters on these peripherals from your HX device.  I appreciate their approach and I can see how it ultimately cuts down on confusion that might otherwise be caused by passing control back and forth from the Helix to the Variax/PC+.  It does however require more effort and intention on the part of the user when designing Helix/LT presets for the Variax and PC+. The allowable interaction and operation between devices could be documented better and with more detail.

8 hours ago, GabCS said:

Hello! Today I booted my Helix LT as usual (I've been an user for 2 and a half years with 0 problems in the past) when all of a sudden none of the LED rings were working aswell as the switches or the expression pedal, neither the EXP light above it. I was getting no sound from it, but I had display signal and I could navegate through the presets and setlist aswell as the global settings etc. I panicked and tried the safe mode, and the reset from factory boot holding the proper switches. None of this worked, all I got was the main view with no chance of entering the desired modes. When I got home I plugged it in via USB, my PC recognized it and I proceeded to update it (I updated my HX Edit first) I went from 3.0 to 3.11 BUT when it restarted after "successfully" updating, this happened. What shall I do? Where I live is way too difficult to find a replacement and Im afraid its going to be a Hardware issue. RIP HELIX

 

Did it just freeze on this screen, was this the only message you got? Maybe you mistyped but there is no "HX Edit 3.11" yet as of this moment for the LT. The latest HX Edit version is 3.10. It is the latest firmware that is at 3.11.

You may want to try a manual update using the Line6 Updater if you can't get things working with the HX Edit automated update..

1. Uninstall everything.
2. Download HX Edit 3.10 and install it with all checkboxes checked. If you can upgrade the firmware to 3.11 successfully at this point great. If not, proceed to #3.
3. Download/install the Line6 Updater along with the 3.11 "Flash Memory" firmware file. 
4. Run global reset - https://helixhelp.com/tips-and-guides/universal/reset-options
5. Manually run the firmware update - Run the Line6 Updater, point it at the 3.11 firmware file you downloaded.
6. Use backup to restore global settings and setlists

On 4/28/2021 at 12:36 AM, soundmodeler said:

Hi,

 

I've set one of my Helix presets to tune my Variax JTV69 down 1/2 step. When I go to other presets, most of which are in standard tuning, this detuning won't change - the guitar stays frozen in it. In these other presets, the Variax tuning page incorrectly indicates that the guitar has changed to standard pitch ("0"). It's actually still 1/2 step down.

 

I do have one clumsy workaround: regardless of which preset I'm in, if I go to the Variax screen's tuning area and click "Custom" (it's usually set to "Don't Force"), the guitar suddenly reverts to standard tuning  - it wakes up or something. But this move aside, there's no getting out of the alt tuning. In the preset in question, I've set the tuning to per preset (not global). 

 

I'd be grateful if anyone has a suggestion about how I might fix this. I realize that the problem could be the Variax, not the Helix, but since I'm detuning in the Helix (I'm not using Variax onboard alt tunings or Workbench), I figured I'd troubleshoot the Helix first since that's where I'm making the adjustments. Thanks for any help. 

I find the best way to address this is first to make sure that on the second page of parameters on the Input block you have 'Variax Settings' = "Per Preset".  Then set 'Preset Variax Tuning' = "Custom" for every Variax preset.  Make sure on the third page of parameters every preset/snapshot has your preferred tuning set. Even if you are using standard tuning. More of a PITA but it gives you explicit control over the tunings in all your Variax presets/snapshots via the Helix with much more predictable results. You also have the added benefit of assigning and changing tunings per snapshot in addition to per preset this way if you wish.

On 4/27/2021 at 6:18 PM, EJD8724 said:

I am having the same problem and i downloafrd every driver they had for the Helix and Windows 10

If you have not already, try uninstalling first and download and install the latest version of HX Edit(3.10) with all checkboxes checked. Sounds like you just tried the various drivers.

6 hours ago, Rtrain said:

Today I set up 2 no. foot-switches within command centre to control snapshots; next and previous.

 

Whenever I cycled through the snapshots, I was presented with the command centre screen and has to manually press home to go back into the preset. This is not workable in a live situation.

 

I am a new helix floor user on firmware 3.10 so I’m not sure if this is exactly a fault. 

One thing to be aware of is if you have the global settings 'Footswitches' --> 'Stomp Select' = "Touch" and you touch a footwitch that is assigned to a CC value that will bring up the Command Center screen as you observed. Stomping on it with a shoe on(or wearing gloves :-) for example does not do that so unless you are playing barefoot it should not impact your live performance.  

If you find this inconvenient during editing you can always set 'Footswitches' --> 'Stomp Select' = "Off";  at least while you are editing your presets but that brings with it the downside of not being able to use the touch capacitance to switch the focus to a footswitch assigned block.

6 hours ago, Rtrain said:

Today I set up 2 no. foot-switches within command centre to control snapshots; next and previous.

 

Whenever I cycled through the snapshots, I was presented with the command centre screen and has to manually press home to go back into the preset. This is not workable in a live situation.

 

I am a new helix floor user on firmware 3.10 so I’m not sure if this is exactly a fault. 

There is a 3.11 version of the firmware out now so that is what I tested on. Same question as rd2rk as to what "2 no. footswitches" is referring to?  Can also confirm though that using global settings 'Footswitches' --> 'Up/Down' Switches' = "Snapshots" is working normally, can't replicate your bug.

Update: Just noticed you set up two additional switches for snapshots in Command Center. I will try that next.

This is just great! We are already seeing the benefits of the improved upgrade process with what essentially amounts to a quickfix in very short order addressing some issues in 3.10. The fact that the new upgrade process causes far fewer users issues allows these kinds of quick responses to bugs or even to just push out new features more rapidly while minimizing the number of users who have problems with the upgrade. To me this is perhaps the greatest benefit of a smoother upgrade process and it is manifestly demonstrated with the release of 3.11 so shortly after 3.10. Just remember to follow the upgrade instructions and run the factory reset and restore afterwards! Thanks Line6! Cheers!

If you go check 'File' --> 'About HX Edit' in HX Edit after your update is completed you should see HX Edit 3.10 and the firmware at 3.11.

1 hour ago, soundog said:

I just finished making a controller for my studio, including control of my HX Stomp. The project is based on a Teensy 3.2 microcontroller (Arduino based), with 16 rotary encoders and two toggle switches. It’s sorta like a MIDI Fighter Twister, but only cost me about $50 (and way too much time soldering and debugging code!).

 

The controller is USB MIDI, although it could be wired for 5-pin DIN. For Stomp control, I settled on using “standard” amp controls for the top 6 controls, and the others can be used for whatever I want. I can change the stick-on label strips as needed, but have only made one (the one in the photo) so far.

 

I can easily upload different code to the controller to customize it for whatever I’m working on (guitar recording, DAW plugin control, etc). Caveat: the Stomp only supports “absolute” CC parameter control (a big bummer), so I wrote code so that the encoders start position matches the Stomp preset settings. That way, I can twist the knobs and they always start relative to the preset settings, without jumping to the encoder value. (For DAW control, I wrote code to use “relative” CC mode, which is perfect for plugin control of channel strip EQ and compression.)

 

The best part is being able to control amps and effects with knobs instead of a mouse!

 

 

 

 

Wow! That is one very impressive homemade electronics project!

On 4/22/2021 at 1:39 PM, pbatts said:

 

They are the exact same pedal. One has the switch, the other doesn't. The one with the switch has two jacks, one for exp and one for the switch.

 

Get the one with the switch. If you find you can use it (now or later) great, if you can't, no loss. Last I looked (not lately) they were the same price.

There is a $10 difference right now, at least on Sweetwater, but your same logic still applies and that seems a small extra price to pay for the flexibility and future-proofing.

I could see it being handy to have an additional option to the  'Extract Files From Backup' command that could extract individually all the current presets located on your HX device rather than those located in a backup file on disk.  It could use the current process(all your presets as individual files, sorted into directories named after their respective setlists)  but also allow a destination directory for the extraction to be selected. The current process uses your selected backup file's directory as the root directory for the extraction so it doesn't require you to select a destination.

Granted you can use this command as it is now to extract the current presets loaded on your device by creating a current/new backup first and then extracting from it. It just requires an extra step to use it with the setlists on your device so no tragedy if this proposed option never gets added. Using this two-step method does have the additional advantage of providing you with a current backup. Never a bad thing. Still, having the option to point at a backup or your currently loaded setlists would be convenient but as suggested above easily enough worked around and that functionality does already exist as well in HX Edit's librarian section. Just more kludgy using the old method. Ideascale(or not :-) ).

4 hours ago, ExJAck19 said:

Agreed 100%.  It's a plus that I'm the type of guy that can never just "let it be".  I'm always looking to tweak and mod everything I own (my bass, my truck, my PC, you name it), and the Helix is just making it that much easier for me.  I know I'll eventually be where every patch I use is my own, but nevertheless Customtone has helped jump start things a little.  In the meantime, YouTube, YouTube, and more YouTube.

 

Again, thanks for all of the help.  When the Village Idiot speaks up, it's not often met with courtesy ;-)

Stated with great humility. No true village idiot would have said that. Good luck on your quest!

Found a couple of bugs with the 'File' --> 'Extract Files From Backup' function in HX Edit. Was hoping some other users could confirm them and if so I will create a ticket.

Hardware: Helix  Floor
Firmware/Editor: Firmware 3.10; HX Edit 3.10
OS: Windows 10 
Bugs: 'Extract Files From Backup'

I noticed two bugs in the 'File' --> 'Extract Files From Backup' function in HX Edit. At least on my Helix. Not sure if these bugs will show up on every HX device or even on every Helix as my setlists are almost six years old now and are full of presets that have been through almost every firmware upgrade. Anyway here are the bugs:

One bug is that it does not seem to be working consistently if you just try to extract one setlist. When you do that you may just get an empty directory with a file named info.txt. Or, you may get a proper extraction but depending on which setlist you selected you may also get additional setlist extractions that you did not select. The extract seems to work properly however if you leave all the setlists selected for extract.

The second bug is quite minor. For some reason some of the empty presets named (by default) 'New Preset' don't seem to follow the naming convention properly and just end up with the preset number. I suspect this could be related to if those new presets slots were previously used and then had a blank "New Preset" copied back to them, or perhaps the name of the preset before them breaks the naming convention. Just speculating though.  Again, not a showstopper but a bug nonetheless.

There is a kind of cool feature in the 'File' menu in HX Edit named 'Extract Files From Backup'.  This command will allow you to go back to a previous backup and extract the individual presets from any of your setlists. That means if you just need a specific preset(s) from an old backup/setlist but never extracted the presets individually you can still go back and get to it easily.  Ever wanted to go back to a previous firmware's backup and see all the Factory presets? Now you can. You can also use it to make additional backups of all your presets individually before every firmware upgrade. Something I always do out of an abundance of caution. This allows you to rescue a setlist that isn't loading from your previous backup by using it to extract all your presets from a setlist in that backup and load them individually until you figure out what is breaking when you try to load that setlist.

If you just leave all your setlists checked the 'Extract Files From Backup' command will create multiple separate directories(on your hard drive, not on your device) under your backup directory. Each directory named for each setlist with all of your presets extracted there individually. It also extracts your IRs and Favorites if you leave those checkboxes selected. Btw, it is noninvasive in that it does not overwrite any presets/IRs you have loaded on your HX device(at least not so far in my testing) so feel free to experiment with it. It even prompts you when the process completes with the link to open the directory where your presets have been extracted. Nice!

I did notice at least two bugs in this utility but they are not showstoppers.  Don't know whether everyone will observe the same bugs that I did as my setlists are now almost six years old and have been through every firmware upgrade. Maybe this utility is more bug-free on setlists full of presets created only with newer firmware versions?

One bug is that it does not seem to be working consistently if you just try to extract only one setlist. When you do that you may just get an empty directory with a file named "info.txt". Or, you may get a proper extraction but depending on which setlist you selected you may get additional setlist extractions that you did not select. The workaround is to just leave all the checkboxes checked and extract all the setlists. This seems to work properly.

The second bug is quite minor. For some reason some of the empty presets named (by default) 'New Preset' don't seem to follow the naming convention properly and just end up as files named with only the preset number. I suspect this could be related to if the slots for those blank presets were previously populated and then had a blank "New Preset" copied back to them, but I am not sure.  Again, not a showstopper but a consistency bug nonetheless.

I will list the bugs over in the bugs topic so hopefully others can confirm them but overall this is a very handy capability in HX Edit that I had not used previously, nor did I find it documented in the 'HX Edit Pilot's Guide' or any firmware's release notes. If it proves reliable(Update: currently it is not, see bug two posts down) and I am assuming it will 'Extract Files From Backup' provides a much easier method of backing all your presets up individually into their own directories. That is something I have always done before a firmware upgrade by creating a directory for each of my setlists(I eventually set up a blank directory template on my hard drive for this) and then going through each setlist individually, highlighting all my presets at once and clicking 'Export'. A real PITA. This however turns backing up all your presets as individual files, sorted into directories named after their respective setlists, into a hassle-free single click affair. It also executes and completes shockingly fast. I like it, a lot!

20 minutes ago, CraigGT said:

Get a cheap usb lead, nibble at it with cutters until you can see the wires and cut the black one.

Save yourself the expense of an isolator and if it doesn't work you've only wasted a dollar!

Do NOT cut the red wire, 60, 59, 58, ...  :-)

On 4/20/2021 at 9:05 AM, johnlong1956 said:

Hi I have the same problem. Have tried everything you suggested. It is well and truly stuck in “boot failure,Entered update mode”. 

Just to be sure, have you tried downloading, installing, and then running the latest version of the Line6 Updater manually while the screen shows the boot failure message?

If you have and it is not working can you describe what is happening. Also, have you tried swapping USB ports, USB cable, and even trying the update on another computer if you have one available?  Btw, if you have an SD card inserted in your computer make sure to eject it, reboot and run through the recommended steps.  If none of this works I would open a ticket with Line6.

As cruisinon2 already mentioned the Fletcher-Munson curve is a harsh mistress and will always pose a dilemma for guitarists - "How do I get my presets to sound the same at performance levels as they do when I designed them at home?" The answer is you can't unless you have unbelievably tolerant neighbors and a masochistic urge to damage your hearing. So my method has been to try to get the volume up as much as I can without posing a danger to my hearing while I am designing presets intended for stage. Rehearsal has always provided my best opportunity to edit them at the higher volumes more closely resembling performance levels. Unless your band has unlimited patience you might find this difficult at first. Several things will happen though as you get more adept at programming your HX FX. You will be able to dial in the sounds you want more quickly so your drummer will look upon you more kindly, and you will learn to anticipate to a certain extent what will sound better at higher volumes so your presets will require less tweaking to get gig ready.  You should also be able to use some of the presets that have proven to work at stage volumes as templates or guides for others. This is a huge timesaver. The variety of those will increase with time.

Now the other dilemma. For many guitarists a traditional guitar amp just has a "feel" and limited frequency response and range that they prefer.  However, that is not what your audience is going to hear whether you go direct to the PA or mic your amp.  As stated already a FRFR floor monitor or IEMs will definitely give you a more accurate idea of what your audience is hearing through the PA.  This makes for a more accurate translation from your practice/rehearsal created presets to the PA. If you don't like the sound of an FRFR/IEM as a stage monitor, and there are a fair number of users who don't and prefer using an amp, then there is no getting around the fact that there will be more of a tonal divergence between what the audience is hearing and what you are hearing from the stage. That makes preset design for the PA more of a challenge as you create your presets with a rig that sounds nothing like the PA. And to pile on you need to find a sound that sounds great on both your amp and the PA. You will need to account for that disconnect as best you can when designing presets. Easier to do with some presets and equipment than others. Whatever approach you decide on is fine but there are always compromises to be considered. 

Just to throw a third monkey wrench into things, once that guitar tone that sounded fantastic in your practice space finds itself in a mix with other instruments it may not work near as well. Could be harsh or not cutting through for example. Yet another good reason to test and modify your tones in rehearsal. If you have to, make some mental or written notes on how your presets might need to be adjusted as you may not have time to get to them during rehearsal. Refine those presets at home on your own time and try them out at the next rehearsal.

There is some really great advice given in this topic that should be helpful but fundamentally there is no perfect solution that I have found yet that lends itself seamlessly to presets that work every time when transitioned from practice/rehearsal to stage. Sometimes it is only during the show that you find out that a preset you thought was ready for prime time could use a little more work. Damn you physics! Back to the drawing board. To get them right every time you would literally have to create your presets at the gig and that ain't gonna happen unless you can put chickenwire or plexiglass between you and the audience because the beer bottles will be flying. All I can say is it gets easier and faster as you spend time with the equipment.  You also end up with a few go to presets that work well under most circumstances.

At the risk, no, certainty, of being redundant, the more similar your monitoring equipment is to the PA, e.g. an FRFR, the more likely it is that your preset will translate more directly to the PA. But if you prefer an amp, you can make that work too probably requiring a bit more effort or adjustment.  Nothing but time and money is stopping you from endlessly experimenting and vacillating between various approaches like a good number of the musicians on this forum until you find your preferred method and at last...(Nope! You then proceed to continue experimenting and vacillating, but with better results).

On 4/19/2021 at 8:04 AM, talonmm said:

Thanks guys, I guess I did not see that and I should do a better job of reading...

 

 

Heh, don't feel bad, I know for a fact you are not the only one who skimmed over that release note. When I first saw the new text in my scribble strip and was busy appreciating how useful I thought it was this is what ran through my head, "Has that been there for a while or is that new?  Don't think I remember seeing that there before, but maybe it was. Am I really that unobservant? Nah, that is definitely new.".   :-)

4 hours ago, Rewolf48 said:

...
It can be worked around, but in a rather inconvenient manner: if you have a single instance of "Force" then you have to set Force on every patch and every snapshot within those patches.

 

...

Agree with your concern but using "Force" as you state is how I would address it. I want all my Variax parameters to be set from the preset/snapshot if I am using the Helix.