HonestOpinion

According to Line6(Frank Ritchotte https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/26088563/) even though it is not listed in the bug fix notes for 2.54 they have actually fixed the issue where you could not get the proper level of saturation with the 'Mix' control on the new HX Mono reverbs. Yay! Btw, seems worth mentioning that at least as of the writing of this post the latest version of HX Edit is 2.52 and the latest version of the firmware is 2.54. These two are at least for now a matching pair. I also got prompted by the 1.12 version of the Line6 Updater (automatically installed by the 2.52 HX Edit package) to upgrade to the 1.14 version of the Line6 Updater. So go grab the latest version of the Updater before you do this firmware update. If you are already on the 2.52 version of HX Edit you will not need to update the editor(yet?). You will just be upgrading your firmware with the latest Line6 Updater. Good on Line6 for having the Updater prompt me for the latest version. Don't know if it did this in the past as I always had the latest version already but the upgrade process in general is definitely improving all the time.

I own a Helix but I think it is essentially the same as the LT. If you want stomp mode, showing up to eight stomp assignments just press FS6 ('Mode' footswitch). Assuming this is not just an issue with actually assigning the effects to the bottom row of footswtiches. See page 12 in the LT manual. Do the dropdown menus for the footswitch assignments not give you the option of assigning footswitches on the bottom row? Also, after entering FS6(Stomp mode) are you able to use the touch method for assignment. Just highlight the effect you want to assign and then touch and hold(don't click down) the footswitch on the bottom row you want to assign. Does this pop up the screen options to assign the footswitch?

I don't know of a method to more finely dial it in. It is true as DD mentions that by working the 'Q' the difference should be fairly minimal. You may be able to edit the frequency in the .hlx file directly and then load the edited version back in but that will not help you for a global EQ, just a parametric. I don't know whether the Helix will "round" up to the closest frequency or not. You will have to test this but I would not be surprised if it works. I think in the long term it would be better if they went back to allowing finer tuning of the frequencies/parameters here and elsewhere.

Not only would I like to see the display of the last poster restored to the topic listing but the page markers as well. Has anyone noticed that if you go to a topic with multiple pages you have to go to the first page and then choose the most recent page (or an alternate you want to jump to)? Am I missing something here? I don't see page markers displaying any more with the topic heading. At the very least it seems like clicking on a topic should take you to the most recent page rather than the first one as it does now. I wonder if they did this in an effort to encourage people not to always jump to the latest page but instead to use the new function where highlighting the topic title show the most recent post. If so I hope they restore the page number hyperlinks once people have a chance to get familiar with the new site format.

Lots of great little tweaks to the new forum format. I am discovering more of them as I go through the various functions. I do think it is a big loss in the new forum format not to show who last posted in a topic in the topic listings. I only see the original poster now. I truly hope they add this back in as there were certain forum members whose postings I would always check out when their names popped up next to a topic; particularly Line6 staff. I also found it easier with the old bolded font to see which topics I had already read but I think my eyes will gradually adjust to the new look. I do like the new feature of being able to hover over a topic title and show a tab for the original poster, latest answer, and Best answer. I think the latest answer should be the default tab rather than the original post however. Or perhaps show both the original post and the latest answer without having to switch tabs. Either way though this is a nice feature and probably lessens the load on the server because it means the entire thread does not need to be retrieved in order for a user to see the latest response.

Just migrate the whole site to something like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or the like and then you don't have to worry about capacity, backups, redundancy, or load balancing any more.

Agree, another guitar input would have been most useful. You could always use a Return although the impedance probably won't be correct for your third guitar. Your best option might just be a splitter before the Helix.

Not the highest quality parts, just a simple plastic pedal but it works great with the Helix. At this price for the M-Audio, $29, you can afford to replace it when it fails. It has a polarity switch which I believe I had to reverse. https://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-EX-P-Expression-Pedal/dp/B000NLRWEI/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1521066028&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=M-Audion+EX-P https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PedalExp--m-audio-ex-p-expression-pedal?s=M-audio+ex-p

Could a reserved character in the OS that was used in a preset or IR name cause this?

What PeterHamm said ^^^. It sounds like you either have not upgraded to the 2.52 version of HX Edit. You will have to do this to see the new models in the Editor. If you are not seeing them on the Helix then most likely your firmware version is not updated to 2.53. When you bring up HX Edit and and click on the icon of the Helix on the bottom of the screen or click the "About Helix" entry under Help in the menu, what firmware and editor version are you seeing?

Hmm, how about your IRs. Can you select all of them and do a successful export. I know 0 or 1k, essentially empty file IRs, have caused backup problems before. You may have already tried this but I would try uninstalling HX Edit 2.52 and reinstalling. Also assuming you have restarted the Helix since your firmware update, this allows the final rebuild of the presets. As the full-state backup does Setlists IRs, and global settings I would be looking towards them as potentially causing an issue. You can select all of the presets in a setlist at one time and export them as individual files. Might be worth trying this to see if any of them crash when being exported. Just trying to figure out why perhaps you can get successful backups when you do setlists but not for a full-state backup. Look at the major components of a full-state backup, setlists/presets, IRs, and global settings. If none of the more obvious solutions are working it might be worth opening a ticket with Line6 and providing your crash report. Btw, looked at your crash report and thought these lines looked interesting: Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS) Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x00007f9813aa4e00 Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY Termination Signal: Bus error: 10 Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xa Terminating Process: exc handler [0] This is a comment from a the Apple website on this 'Exception Type': "A SIGBUS exception is typically caused for one of two reasons — either the presence of a bug in the software in which it occurred, or the presence of faulty RAM. Have you tried running your MacBook Pro’s Apple Hardware Test, to see if it can detect any problems with its RAM? (Note that the AHT cannot detect all possible RAM defects, so even if it is unable to identify a problem, that isn’t a guarantee that no problem exists.) " There also seem to be a number of programs that can cause this issue so try to shut down everything you can before you attempt your backup and maybe you can pin down the issue if it is a competing process or application. Take a look at this link: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/sigbus-errors-exc_bad_access-what-does-this-mean.697689/ I also see solutions involving permissions (try using a different directory to save the full backup). Also I would definitely be trying the Helix connected to other USB ports. If all else fails I would open up a ticket with Line6 and provide this crash report.

Does the editor only crash when you try to execute a backup, does it work for other operations? Which version of the firmware is your Helix on? You may not be using the matching version of HX Edit. They are not necessarily the same version numbers. HX Edit 2.52 currently matches the 2.53 firmware version. Also, probably not your issue but make sure you do not have the Line6 Updater up when you use HX Edit. Rebooting the Mac and trying alternate USB ports can be helpful. Are you able to do individual setlist exports rather than full-state backups? You might be able to drill down and see if there is a particular preset causing a problem if none of the above helps.

Good point. Getting the "matching" firmware for your HX Edit version does NOT necessarily imply that they will be the same version numbers. Sometimes the matching pair have different version numbers as brue58ski pointed out.

I would try the more obvious fixes first, rebooting the PC and changing the USB port I have the Helix plugged into. Could we get some more information. What device do you have Helix, LT, or HX Effects? What version of HX Edit are you running and what version of the firmware are you on? Have you downloaded and installed HX Edit 2.52? If so, I would uninstall it and download and unpack it again. Also, do you have HX Edit closed when you try to open the Line6 Updater? You don't want both up at the same time.

Good catch though and it should probably be addressed at some point.

Btw, a couple of years ago when I first got my Helix I was determined not to end up with a broken screen or joystick and went heavy-duty with the Gator G-Tour LGW. This case comes with a pedalboard with handles(fits the Helix), plus it rolls. So always an option if you want a serious case for your Helix and handles for when you move it around. Get a larger size than the LGW if you are planning to place additional pedals on the included pedalboard. You will have to custom cut the velcro attached foam with this case but it only requires a scissor and is simple to do. The backpack is a lot lighter, cheaper, and easier to carry though and seems to have excellent padding. :) https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GTourPBLGW--gator-g-tour-large-pedal-board-with-wheels

Might be you just need to continue to experiment with various compressor settings and amp models, gain staging and levels. Or maybe you just have an overall and immovable preference for the sound/feel of a guitar amp in which case you can always use the Helix as an effects-only device with your guitar amps. It might be worth experimenting with the Helix and your favorite amp and adding blocks in one at at time to just try and nail down what is killing the sound you are looking for. As others have noted it could have something to do with your impedance or pad setting or something in your levels as you construct your presets. Another thing worth checking is the level you get when you bypass your amp block. Is it maintaining unity gain? The levels should remain similar or slightly higher when you activate the amp block. This was a good tip from Ben Adrian on the latest Line6 podcast regarding using this technique(bypassing amp block) to gain stage your preset properly. He also mentions using the output block instead of the 'Ch Vol' to level your presets as the 'Ch Vol' can affect the response of any blocks downstream from the amp block and impact your tone(and maybe feel). Btw, just in case, does this occur when you have the noise gate in the Input block set to off?

I don't think this is a bug but more of an operational quirk in the current editor(2.52). If you double-click a preset after selecting a setlist such that there is a preset actively selected in that setlist; then the "Export Setlist" entry in the menu is no longer greyed out and works properly.

I totally hear ya. A global setting was my first thought when I encountered this behavior as I naturally think of EXP1 as my volume pedal which is not how the Helix is configured. As I have mentioned before not a major thing to me as it is clerical and primarily only affects my workflow conceptually and not operationally. I think it was wise of Line6 to have an auto-assign feature for the volume and wah or many new users probably would have had endless configuration problems getting the two working together properly on the internal pedal. With that said, a bit more flexibility with default assignment might be nice to have. I am reminded of a friend who rented a car with "collision avoidance" and had it automatically stop in front of an oncoming truck in order to avoid another vehicle, completely freaking everyone in the car out in the process. Sometimes a device can be a bit too "smart" or just require even more complex "intelligence" built in to handle contingencies. ;)

Behavior like this is exactly why I do not reverse the Helix's default settings of assigning the volume block to EXP2 and the wah to EXP1. I don't think you are really hitting a bug but instead running up against the by design default expression pedal assignment behavior on the Helix. This is why I think it is easier if people use EXP 3 if they are only using one external expression pedal. It is also a good idea where possible to stay with the Helix's default assignment of EXP2(Volume) - EXP1(WAH) or you can find yourself constantly fighting the Helix's auto-assignment of these two blocks and having to go back and manually reassign expression pedal inputs after making minor changes to blocks that use the expression pedals. Ultimately you should use whatever expression pedal setup works best for you but just need to be aware of the auto-assignment feature when a wah and volume block are employed and the fact that if you choose different EXP assignments from the default you are going to be looking at extra work on preset configuration. Not to speak of the fact that, as you mentioned, most Factory and third-party presets are going to work differently than your custom assignments.

HX Edit 2.52 and Firmware(flash) 2.53 are the latest "matched" pair currently.

Amp channel switching is still a bit dicey on the Helix. The CV switching does not work correctly with all amps and I believe there are some bugs being reported right now with the way snapshot and/or preset switching sends MIDI commands. However, many players have successfully setup CV or MIDI amp channel switching and this video is pretty useful for a MIDI setup.

This one seems pretty comprehensive. There are many more on Youtube just search for "4CM and Helix".

Although shortening boot time is always a laudable goal in pretty much any device, given the choice, I prefer an emphasis on stability. That way for the most part I don't have to be concerned about boot time and restarts. I have found the Helix to be very stable across many shows. Maybe I have just gotten lucky but I don't ever remember having the Helix fail in the middle of a song or even between songs. If it did I would restart it and and try to divert the audience's attention to the keyboard player. :) I find the bootup time relatively negligible given what the device delivers once it is on. To me the setup time I save with the Helix due to its consolidation and simplicity far outweighs the 20 seconds it takes to start versus an analog board which might come on immediately. The cabling routing confusion and cable failures on complicated analog board setups have cost me way more time while setting up than the Helix ever has. I can see where there may be certain corner cases like playing during an NFL halftime where boot time becomes critical but I personally have never had a gig where I did not have the luxury of at least enough time to start my Helix. If I am late for a gig or have extremely limited setup time, the Helix's boot time is the last of my setup worries. If the device goes out due to a loss of power and that is going to be a career impacting problem with a particular gig, I would bring a UPS or if necessary just use something with an instant boot time. If I had enough setup time I might bring a fast-booting option as a backup on an A/B switch. If all else fails you can always learn to 'scat' your guitar parts vocally. ;)

Clearing the cache usually fixes this. Perhaps this was due to planned modifications to the site, migration of data, or maybe it was unanticipated server problems, over the last few days but this has been occurring roughly every few months. Makes me wonder if it is an archiving process run amok. Stating the obvious here but whatever the cause if it is possible it would be preferable if Line6 popped up an "Under Construction" or "Undergoing Maintenance" page rather than having 502 errors or a brief uninformative message(with visible formatting code) pop up that requires users to clear their browser caches to be able to access the forum again.