HonestOpinion

Glad to see this get resolved so favorably! Just a heads up. The latest firmware version of the firmware is 2.92 so you may want to upgrade HX Edit and the firmware at some point. I would take some time first though getting familiar with what constitutes "normal" behavior on the Helix. I can understand where you might want to spend a few days enjoying your now properly functioning Helix before attempting an update :-)

Hmm, you said in your original post that the "Preset" button is cycling between presets but you were not able to get to the setlists. How did you get to the setlist/presets screen in the first place if it was not by clicking the "Presets" button? Are you using HX Edit? Are you by any chance confusing the terminology of setlists/presets with the block categories and effect blocks? When working normally pressing the "Preset" button will show you either just the setlists or the setlists & the presets depending on how the combination of "Preset" button and joystick was last used since you turned the Helix on. If you are seeing only presets and not setlists something is wrong. If you are able to click the "Preset" button and that gets you into the setlists/presets menu but then you can't select a preset by clicking a second time that would lead me to believe it is a problem that a global reset or refreshing the firmware might fix as the physical button seems to still be working. Otherwise you would not have been able to get into the setlists/presets menu with your initial click. Have you tried using the joystick to the right after your initial click on the "Preset" button as I recommended in my previous post? If that does not work the next thing I would try is a backup and global reset. If that does not work it is time to download/install the latest version of HX Edit and then update/reinstall the latest and version number matched firmware. If none of the above works it is probably time to open a support ticket with Line6. They can assist you in walking through this if it is simply a firmware issue or dealing with a repair if the "Preset" button is malfunctioning.

If the presets are showing pressing the "Preset" button should select a preset as you may have observed. Whether or not the presets are showing next to the setlists depends on what state the "Preset" menu was left in since your last use. In the state you are describing(presets are showing next to selected setlist), after pressing the "Preset" button if you want to change setlists you now need to use the large joystick button to the right of the "Preset" button and rock it to the left to get into setlist selection. You can then continue by turning the joystick to your preferred setlist and click the joystick(or the "Preset" button if you prefer excessive hand motion, hint: don't do this) to select your setlist, rock back right to the presets which will now be displayed, and then scroll to the preset you want and click(again using the joystick). So, to sum up, start playing with both the "Preset" button and the joystick to navigate between setlists and presets. You can also use HX Edit or the footswitches but that is another chapter.

Definitely totally abnormal. There should be no significant or for that matter even perceptible lag between making a change in HX Edit and the changes appearing on the Helix. Something is definitely wrong. Have you checked to make sure firmware and HX Edit versions match? As phil_m suggested try a different(all) USB port(s), preferably on the Macbook itself. Try a different USB cable. I would try reinstalling HX Edit if that doesn't work and make sure to check all the boxes to ensure a proper driver install. Restarting your Macbook and the Helix is also a fine idea(probably already tried that).

So true and more specifically, historically "soft" shutdown processes rather than hard shutdowns(switch off, unplug) have been used for two primary reasons - to prevent corruption of open files and also because, as you mentioned for performance reasons, many edit and other operations are initially executed in RAM/memory/cache which is generally much faster than a hard drive. Files must be closed and the data written down to hard drive or SSD storage before a shutdown, or data can be corrupted and changes lost. Thankfully this has not been an issue for any completed save in the Helix or to my knowledge any of the HX devices. Some users even use power strip switches without issue for shutdowns, never touching the switch on their L6 device.

LOL, love a little levity in a manual but this survey must have been of modern blues dentists. In my experience nine out of ten traditional blues "dentists" believe it is a crime to connect any kind of pedal or modeler whatsoever between their amp and the guitar.

Nothing but sippy cups for the front row :-)!!!

My experience has been similar and you are probably already familiar with most of my observations here. Many gigs I have played for years now have been using WIFI connected iPad and/or Android tablets to control mixing boards, various music related apps, and smart powered speaker systems. They are an awesome tool for mixing FOH as well as controlling monitor/IEM mixes. They also come in for a multitude of other uses including pumping in pre-recorded music during a break or changing parameters on smart powered speakers. They tend to work better if you take care to use a WIFI channel that doesn't have too much interference, particularly in venues where there are a lot of mobile phones and/or competing WIFI traffic and networks. Venues in populous urban locations are particularly likely to have many wireless networks overlapping in a small area. Often you can just use the default channel though. Basic security e.g. WEP or WPA(2), should always be set up on the router so audience members' mobile phones don't inadvertently and automatically connect and piggyback on your mixer's WIFI network. I have found tablets to be subject to occasional disconnect issues but they usually reconnect easily and many sound engineers also have a wired Ethernet solution to a laptop as an additional optional control surface. Adding any decent quality router to substitute for the mixer's built-in router also often helps with range and more consistent connectivity. Tablets allow the soundman, assistant, or musician to walk anywhere in the venue and dial in the sound remotely from the far corners of the house. Ethernet/WIFI control of the board often replaces the necessity for running a bulky cable snake out into the audience with a much less obtrusive Ethernet cable and/or a tablet depending on the venue and equipment used. There are plenty of excellent tablet holders available to attach to a mic stand for smaller or singer/songwriter gigs if you need to operate the mix or other apps/equipment from onstage. Tablets have become a common appendage for digital boards used from small club gigs and even some larger venues. At least in these parts. I still love the sound and punch of a good quality old analog sound system as well as physical knobs, switches, and faders, but the ability to add the features, convenience, portability, and ability to roam and optimize the sound in more areas of the house provided by tablets connected to digital boards and other peripherals is hard to beat.

What you propose is also a perfectly valid approach. I do think its more about preference and implementation than "smartness" when it comes to a touchscreen. There's more than one way to "skin" a modeler. There are a certain percentage of users who would prefer everything be self-contained in the modeler to having to use a tablet. Having the tablet as an additional option is ideal IMHO. Not too jazzed yet about Bluetooth though. It has gotten faster but still has lag. Perfectly usable though depending on how it is applied.

I'm also in the "if you're going to do it at all do it well" camp. Last thing we want is to spend the next three years and several firmware revisions waiting for it to work properly and well. Glitchy, poorly tracking polyphonic is no fun at all! Also, I love the virtual capo and pitch shifting stuff but where it really gets exciting for me is the potential for this to be used with synth patches.

I thing rd2rk put his finger on it. This setting can have a huge impact on the tempo within the snapshots in a preset/snapshot depending on what tempo they were saved with. Same type of thing applies to the global setting for the expression pedal("EXP * Pedal Position") where for example if you always want the volume to reflect the position of the pedal you need to set it to "Global". It comes down to whether or not you want your tempo to follow what you set at the snapshot level with each snapshot potentially following a different tempo, have all snapshots follow the same single setting for that particular preset, or have all presets and snapshots follow the same single tempo you set in the global settings(MIDI/Tempo --> "Global BPM"). You can of course always change the tempo for whichever global setting choice you made("Per Snapshot", "Per Preset", "Global") by using the tap tempo switch.

I know there's technical and quality hurdles to implementing plugins in a floor/rack modeler but other vendors can and are finding ways around them. In Neural's case by, at least at first, using only proprietary plugins. Touchscreens are clearly superior for certain kinds of operations and when combined with physical(knobs, switches) UI navigation you get the best of both worlds. The kinds of problems people are reporting with touchscreens seem a little anecdotal and hardly a deal-breaker. Wireless updates and wireless access to preset libraries and backup/restore seems like a no-brainer. Or, as has been said many times, at least a USB flash drive option. These debates are getting a little long in the tooth. Many of these ideas have been slapped down for years on the forum while other modeling companies have already successfully implemented them or are about to. Other companies probably keep an eye on this forum and other forums like it for ideas or to get a sense for what users would like to see in a next-gen modeler. I know I would if I were in their place. Love my Helix but seems like a waste of breath to misconstrue the status quo as the limits of the technology.

Just gotta say what a genius on the guitar. Technique is just unbelievable. What a loss! There might be some fairly dynamic changing of effect, e.g. reverb/delay parameters(as well as others), possibly partly in post-production, I think I am hearing multi-layered guitars in here, at least in spots. Although it could just be his phenomenal whammy skills it almost sounds like a synth guitar patch was layered on in some places. If so you may get close but it's gonna be difficult to impossible to get all those sounds matched with a single guitar track. Could swear I hear some phaser in there as well, particularly on the picked rhythm riffs starting at 0:27secs in and also in the long spacey outro. Never quite sure what-all I'm hearing with Eddie though. If anyone could do this in one take it would have been him. A wizard!

Wonder if some folks may be able to get around this by changing their boot order from the motherboard's BIOS settings.

May take more of a deep dive if this is a conflict with an updated Windows driver but does this happen with your HX device disconnected from the USB? Although it will not connect the HX Edit app should still start. If so, it might be worth checking your USB connection, and potentially swapping out or at least re-seating the USB cable and trying your other USB inputs. Also, sounds like you reinstalled a couple of times. Did you uninstall HX Edit before last reinstalling and did you leave all the checkboxes selected when you reinstalled? HX Edit version matched to the firmware? Probably not the issue but just in case, make sure you don't have the Updater running when you start HX Edit. Lastly if you bring up the Windows Event Viewer and look at the "Application and Services Log" it may have some clues you can research. Restarting Windows might not hurt either if you have not done that yet.

LOL Just wanted to make sure it was not something as simple as the iPhone volume being all the way down or mute engaged. I don't think class compliance overrides those settings although that is good to know as it may obviate any need for special routing of the iPhone output. Starting with the basics. Amazing what can be overlooked when hooking things up for the first time. Btw, I have experienced the lint in the jack issue. Actually not a bad thing to mention. Made me chuckle.

It would be nice to get 10ms or less but if they work tolerably well as a wireless guitar transmitter then they may be acceptable used essentially in the opposite direction to transmit to the headphones. The OP said he was only looking for a practice option.

Pretty sure you have already tried this but I was thinking about what I would do first if I ran into this issue so just in case... Have you tried unplugging the camera kit from your phone while playing a song just to make sure it is playing through the phone's speakers? If you have a lightning headphone adapter for the iPhone(about $8 on Amazon) you could also test with that to make sure signal is making it out through the connector. If not I would suspect something not set correctly on the iPhone. Lastly I would recommend again testing through a DAW. Tracktion provides a fairly nice one for free if you don't have one yet. Also when you get back to testing this through the Helix I would use the simplest preset possible to cut down on any possibility of an incorrect setting in the routing or input/output blocks. https://www.tracktion.com/products/waveform-free

As others here have commented I also would guess that this is a problem with either the Camera Kit or the cable. I will say that over the years, particularly with cheaper knockoff adapters and cables, I have run into cables/adaptors on occasion that due to design deficits or inadequate wiring only provide power to a device and are incapable of actually transmitting data. You may be running into one of these or perhaps just a flat out defective cable/adapter.

It is normal on the Helix for the USB cable not to push in all the way. I don't think that is the issue. Have you also got your output block set to Multi or whatever output you have your monitors connected to? If you are using headphones make sure the "Headphones Monitor" global setting described in the video is set properly. Maybe you could test the iPhone's output on a DAW on your computer to eliminate the USB cable or the camera adapter as being the source of the problem.

If you do not already own Native be aware that if the original owner already used their discount with the Helix to purchase Native you will have not be able to get the discount that comes with the Helix. I believe though the Native license is transferable if the original owner is amenable. Might not be a bad idea to check with Line6 support on that or I would bet that @Phil_m could probably provide some info on license transfers.

Don't find myself on Ganymede too often. Beating an old drum here but I still think the HX line could use some updated "Terran" HX versions(including mono) of the more basic reverbs like spring, plate, room, hall, etc.. It's just a product of the music I tend to play but I use the more conventional reverbs more frequently.

Interesting video on Fletcher Munson and the Helix. He has a CustomTone preset you can download down in the comments section.

Glad to see you figured out the issue. You said in your OP that you connected via MIDI from the Helix to your Marshall. Assuming you didn't manually change the Marshall's FX loop setting by accident, it is possible that the Helix generated a MIDI command that changed it. If it happens again you may want to try "Global Settings --> MIDI/Tempo --> 'MIDI PC Send' = "Off". Changing presets will no longer automatically send the attendant MIDI message.

This is essentially just a recap of rd2rk's points regarding using an FRFR versus a more traditional amp/cab approach as a monitor. Using an FRFR gets you the closest to hearing what the audience is hearing when using a modeler although that is, as already mentioned, subject to other variables such as the sound tech's skill and how similar your FRFR is to the PA speakers. As long as you are using a Quilter into a guitar cab you are using more of a "traditional" approach. Although the Quilter may be more "neutral than say a Boogie or Marshall head it is still going into a guitar cab with a limited frequency range and without a separate driver/horn(think tweeter) such as you find in a PA speaker(FRFR). A guitar cabinet inherently sounds different from the PA and presets designed using a guitar cabinet, generally speaking, will not translate as directly to FOH. That doesn't mean that your presets may not sound grand through the FOH, depending on a range of factors. I would, as rd2rk pointed out, give your current setup a try. If you are inspired by the sound you are getting on stage you may find that in short order you will learn to adjust your presets to a compromise that also gets you a good sound at FOH. If that does not happen you can always experiment with swapping your current rig out for an FRFR to narrow the gap between what you hear on stage versus FOH.