HonestOpinion

Keep in mind that when you do a global reset after a firmware update the Templates directory gets overwritten so if you store anything there make sure to back it up before your update.

Not sure about the second part of your question but the Ext Amp commands are assignable to snapshots via the Command Center. See pages 38 and 45 in the Helix Rev. D manual. If you can use MIDI instead of Ext Amp switching with your amp many have found this video helpful.

LOL, damn, you beat me to it. :)

I think in addition to the times when this is caused by ear fatigue, it is also due to coming back to the sound with a different mindset (context), slightly altered hearing, different volumes, day vs. night listening, synesthesia, barometric and temperature changes, non-linear space-plasma physics and who can forget "parasitic oscillation". :P From : https://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Theme_sound_environment.html A) Sound propagation characteristics influenced by environmental factors; B) Incidence and reflection phenomena; C) Absorption phenomena; D) Complex propagation phenomena; E) Resonance and standing waves in enclosed spaces; F) Binaural hearing and the perception of acoustic space; G) Electroacoustic recording and reproduction of acoustic space; H) Soundscape notation and the information contained in the spatial behaviour of sounds. http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=23198 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia https://books.google.com/books?id=hLaBjx2aB5sC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=Conditions+that+modify+sound+waves&source=bl&ots=uqObGlkkt2&sig=lZDCUoTlSCEUl009dhgUKw__ta0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZu47B6ovVAhWE8j4KHU9WBwYQ6AEIKjAB#v=onepage&q=Conditions%20that%20modify%20sound%20waves&f=false https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_oscillation https://www.britannica.com/science/sound-physics

Nope, must be his cousin... ;)

Does your bass player have a second band because this sounds exactly like my bass player? :D

You are probably already aware of it but there is a noise gate on every Input block. You are most likely designing your presets from scratch but some users find that the notes on their solos are losing sustain when they first start using the Factory presets due to a noise gate setting that is too aggressive for their particular guitar's output signal. The cause of this is not so obvious because the noise gate does not show up as a separate block but, as aforementioned, part of the Input block.

Wanted to also mention noise gates. If the gate does not close gracefully you can sometimes get weird sounds from effects or amps downstream processing the last dying gasp from the noise gate.

I have listened to your track on soundcloud and I definitely hear that nasty sound you are referring to. I would say digital clipping is not a bad guess. It does remind me of a few things other things as well, not that I could localize it to any one. Digital clipping The sound you get when an effect, particularly a digital effect, is not getting a high enough input signal level and starts to introduce strange artifacts. This relates to the next point. The sound when S/N ratio starts to get too low and the noise floor starts getting louder than the signal The sound when a poor wireless signal starts to peter out at the end of a note and the low signal level causes the amp to misbehave. The sound when something physical on the guitar is causing a problem, e.g. buzzing fret, bad cord, bad jack, vibration in the whammy bar assembly or machines, etc. Delay effect repeats seriously degrading the original signal The video on fizz posted above definitely does a great job of pointing out that some of our favorite solos coming from our favorite artists and studios contains fizz but I am still not convinced that this is not the product of something having gone slightly awry in the recording process or even in the rig that was used for the guitar part. Even if it ends up sounding great in the overall recording. It also seems important to differentiate between the kind of high end "sizzle" that sounds great in a mix even if it sounds raw and not so good with the guitar track isolated..., and the fizz that sounds like a digital amp or effect sputtering out. I don't feel that I get the sound being heard on your Soundcloud track on my physical real amps and effects unless something is wrong. I am not sure I buy the argument that it is "natural" and always present in a guitar signal, but maybe it is. If it is always present in an analog signal, then it seems like there are times then where it is getting overemphasized in the digital world, again going back to the S/N ratio. The digital realm with its surplus of EQ and processing options certainly provides plenty of latitude to overemphasize parts of the guitar signal that are not desirable. Ultimately I think that fizzy breaking up sound represents something not quite right somewhere in the signal path. Occasionally I end up with a preset like this on the Helix (and probably most other modelers) and unless it is something obvious like a delay with the "Headroom" parameter not set properly I usually just move on and create a new preset. It is probably a matter of not having a block set up correctly or something about the amp or effect blocks used, my signal path, the quality of the delay repeats, or perhaps EQ that is overemphasizing the noisy crappy part of the signal. I definitely don't hear this on most of my presets and if this is a "natural" part of the guitar signal I agree with your suggestion that there is no good reason not to figure out how to get rid of it with a filter or processing. The digital world has the potential of improving on guitar tone. Conversely the sheer clarity of a digital signal can allow us to hear things not so evident or prominent in the analog world including unpleasant sounds that should be attenuated. That attenuation often happens naturally in the analog world with its limited frequency range and unique equipment characteristics but may require active intervention with a digital signal. Listen to a CD versus a vinyl record if you want a demonstration of that. Even so, why settle for audible nastiness for the sake of authenticity, even if it exists in the analog world as well? This reminds me a bit of the discussion surrounding why EQ cuts on the high end are often required with digital modeling. With digital modeling and FRFR speakers you get the potential for a wider frequency range than you would hear through a traditional guitar amp. Just because the digital realm is capable of reproducing every nuance of the guitar and effects' signal in vivid technicolor does not mean you want to hear every part of that generated sound in every corner of the frequency range. It seems that the same would apply to nasty guitar artifacts that may naturally occur. That part of the signal needs to be attenuated or eliminated. Most presets seems to do that quite well for me but I do run into isolated instances where the nasty jumps out at you.

This is probably one of the better videos on how to get U2 type sounds out there if you can manage to wade through it. There is one point at about 8:25 into the video where he talks about turning any pick that has an abrasive surface on the wide part and turning it around to face the strings. He then scrapes the abrasive part of the pick across the string as he picks to get a more percussive sound with a bit more character. It is an interesting technique. This guy knows more about the math behind note subdivisions than you ever wanted to learn.

Btw, when all else fails with an uncooperative and unfamiliar PA and I need a quick fix the Helix's global EQ becomes my best friend. Be prepared to cut to 5k or even below but opt for a setting as high as you can get away with so you don't get a muffled sound and totally kill your high end. You might require a low cut as well. This should at least, in short order, get you a tolerable tone if not ideal.

It sounds like your bass player just did not like your tone through the PA and/or stage monitor. Instead of making suggestions on what he would like to hear, he just teed off with one incorrect assertion after another, most egregiously the patently false - "No one uses amp modeling for live performance". That is just flat out wrong! I do like using a monitor of some kind onstage, I prefer an FRFR, although it can also be your vocal monitor with a feed from the mixing console, IEMs, or a guitar amp. IEMs unfortunately don't allow you to generate feedback. I agree with others here, if you can't educate this fellow, come to a compromise, and get to a sound you both like, playing with the equipment you want to play through, you might want to consider a different band or bass player.

Glad to hear it! :) Not sure what shook things loose and allowed the Editor to work properly but you mention a couple of potentially relevant details that might help someone else that don't get mentioned often. The usual advice - reflashing firmware, installing/uninstalling Editor, trying alternative USB cable or port, or another computer, but also... Update your OS, particularly with an older OS like Win 7 Turn off firewall/antivirus while you test (might want to be offline when you do this) and check if Editor works properly. Turn firewall/antivirus back on. Note: Most machines don't seem to have any problem the Editor working with firewalls or antivirus programs other than very occasionally during the download of the software. Turning off the firewall/antivirus is not only usually unnecessary but does entail some risk although it can be minimized. This should probably be one of the last things attempted and I am not sure if it helped but certainly worth a try. I have definitely had firewall and antivirus programs interfere with other (not Helix) software installs or device communication in the past.

I sense a Native release soon and a period of feedback and maybe bug fixes before a new firmware release. Once Native is stable (hopefully soon after release) then I see a period of refining the process of porting new firmware/software simultaneously to all Helix platforms (Native, Helix, Rack, LT) in combination with working on the next firmware version. Good thing this is a fantastic device already because I truly love a new firmware release; always happy to see new effects, amps, and features. Line6 has surprised me on many an occasion in the past though so who knows what they are multi-tasking? Just trying to be realistic about my expectations per DI's comments on this topic and others. Now that I have reminded myself to be patient I'll just quietly return to 'champing at the bit'. ;)

Agreed, development resources are finite and are often directed such that the most coveted, criticized, or critical features tend to get the lion's share of attention. Max flexibility for footswitch options seems like a relatively laudable goal and good use of resources. 'Course my opinion is totally relative and dependent on Line6 and other users' priorities... :)

What you say does make some sense but only as an option. I wouldn't mind trying it that way (although I am not sure about the "Tap Dance Of Shame" part). It does fly in the face of convention as it seems many pedalboards have been designed with vertical bank buttons. Nothing wrong with that though. The Helix does provide a great deal of flexibility in footswitch assignments, better than many pedalboards I have used in the past. However, I have been seeing a lot of posts lately requesting alternate footswitch arrangements such as being able to reassign the tap tempo/tuner, mode, or bank switches, or different combinations of preset, snapshot, and stomp . Perhaps eventually the trick (if certain switches are not "hardwired" to what they control) will be allowing the user to configure all of the switches on the Helix as they see fit. Different users have different requirements and no one setup is inherently "wrong" if it works for you, freaky and inane as it may seem to another user. I think part of the dilemma for the maker of a pedalboard in providing too much flexibility in footswitch assignments is that people start getting confused about switching operations and assuming (and posting) that their device has a glitch or is defective. We see a fair number of posts on the forum in that vein even with the footswitch options currently available. With that said though, I usually err on the side of maximum flexibility and would rather have extra options and educate myself on the device's operation.

http://line6.com/support/topic/16055-unable-to-connect-to-pc/ Interesting, another topic on this that looks eerily similar with no resolution. When was the last time you ran the Windows Update on your PC? It looks like at least one user was having more luck with a Windows 10 machine than Windows 7. Btw, did you do the global reset after updating your firmware (take backups first)? Some other thoughts: Try a different USB cable If available I would try connecting to another computer, hopefully with a more up to date OS, and see if you still get the same disconnect message. If so I would probably try doing the firmware update and global reset again. Contact Line6 tech support

The difference in how different ears perceive volume definitely occurred to me as one of the variables that would make a "perceived output meter" less than perfect. There are some commonalities though such as the more sensitive range in our hearing for the human voice as well as the Fletcher-Munson curve that are fairly universal; even if there are variances from one ear to the the next. Those universal characteristics of human hearing if accounted for would allow a meter like the one I was describing be a better more accurate tool for leveling presets than a simple output level meter. Ears works just fine too though. I just figured that if my job is going to be replaced by a robot one day it might as well start with my ears... ;)

If there was a MIDI command that could switch the value for the 'Input' parameter on the tuner you could switch it via MIDI. That would allow you to assign a MIDI command to a preset, snapshot, or footswitch, or external MIDI controller. Alternatively a firmware change that made the 'Input' parameter assignable as well as preset specific, would solve the issue more elegantly. The 'Input' parameter on the tuner is currently global so it cannot just be assigned in the usual manner to a preset, snapshot, or footswitch.

I believe this scribble strip says "Contact tech support" in an ancient Sanskrit dialect. :P I am sure Line6 will take care of you. Good luck with this!

I don't know Phil, Sophi, or Cal... Sorry, just couldn't resist. :D

Agreed, potential uses to be found for mono reverbs in the studio world as well and yet another reason to provide them.

You may have already tried this but I would suggest unplugging every USB connection possible on your computer, rebooting, and then trying each available USB connection (front, side, back) with the Helix.

Agree with everything said here although I still think level meters would be handy for at least getting in the right ballpark until fine-tuning by ear. I wonder if someone will eventually develop a "Perceived/Subjective Fletcher-Munson meter" that takes into account the way the human ear responds differently to various frequencies as the signal level increases as well as accounting for the frequencies, particularly in the human voice range, that we are most sensitive to. A meter like this instead of giving an objective readout on signal output levels would give a subjective number based on algorithms that accounted for not only the output level of the patch but also the frequencies the human ear is most sensitive at varying volume levels. This would allow you to level up your presets to perceived volume level rather than the actual output signal level. For example, presets with a more pronounced mid/high end would receive a higher perceived volume rating. Just speculating here. A meter like this would take quite a bit of fine tuning. Not expecting Line6 or anyone else to produce anything like this anytime soon.

Yes, mono versions!!!! I am sure many of us run mono rigs (at least for performance) and the perhaps extra DSP overhead and unnecessary merge of the stereo signal into mono at the 'Left' output would make mono reverbs a welcome addition and maybe even sound better in a mono signal chain.