Zaiten

true, but it costs $500 (same as the Pigtronix Infinity), that's 1/3 of the Helix msrp for a single effect, it's also apparently discontinued. The 45000 also does quantize to midi-clock but it's more of a multi-track recorder, mixer and sampler, great alternative ...just too expensive, large and feature-loaded for those of us who want a simple looper to record short phrases to play with a live band, without MIDI clock quantize a looper is a useless gimmick outside the bedroom.

yes, but Boss loopers with MIDI are too big and too heavy. I also read about the Boomerang III Phrase Sampler but it's discontinued and out of stock everywhere, similarly to EHX 2880 —though that one was replaced by the 45000. Again, too much, it's a multitrack mixer/sampler/looper. I guess that's our only recourse until line6 updates the Helix looper to quantize to MIDI clock. no multi tracking, no advanced stereo sampling, no time-warping, only MIDI clock quantize ...and maybe a metronome assignable to any of the 8 outputs.

I switched from an HD500X to the Helix and I was expecting a better looper, how disappointing. Loopers seem cool and magical effects on youtube demos; in reality they are virtually useless for a band without a metronome, and it's impossible to manually sync a looper to a click. I´ve only come across three loopers with MIDI quantization so far: Pigtronix Infinity, TC Ditto X4 and EHX 45000; they are all apparently prone to syncing issues, clock glitches and firmware freezing. Also, way too expensive and overly bloated with features. I think what you and I want is simple rec start/stop quantized to a clock coming through a MIDI-in, nothing else.

No need to mod whatsoever. simply use the hex key to loosen the expression pedal resistance screw and it will do that: as soon as you let go it falls to heel position —at varying speeds depending on the tightness. Aside from EXP-equipped multiFX pedals, I've only come across a single expression pedal with a spring to do just that and it's the Yamaha EP1.

Could you please elaborate on those *ways and *plans? I'm very intrigued. During the course of this discussion I bought a Helix (still waiting for it to arrive). I found it trustworthy that a firmware update with an improvement as significant as Snapshots could be rolled out after launch; something I could never expect from Roland. back in the GT10 days I learned to never change a patch mid-song, instead to exploit programming and stacking assigns. I outgrew Roland's crummy midi implementation and moved on to an HD500X. on that note: do snapshots transmit PC (Program Change) data over MIDI, or do those only work on a patch-switching basis? I'm migrating from the Pod which acts as the brain of a rig based on patch-syncing devices on a MIDI matrix.

Sounds reasonable, I can finally see how some people would prefer the Headrush and value a distinctly simpler and effective offering. I'm guessing that Line6 tacked-on the concept of Snapshots after release (not so much to solve a shortcoming but) as a means to rethink switching in a clever and equally effective way —and also to steer people away from changing patches.

that's surprising, I had the impression (from skimming over sample videos) that the purpose of the GP10 was compete with stuff like Variax: independent tuning for each string, pickup simulation and a few effects here and there. Having 3 fully tunable oscillators is way powerful, I hate the GR20 for its lack of tuning capabilities and stacking of timbres. The GP10 seems to have more in common with the SY300 and the Variax than the others. Does the GP10 or the GR55 allow panning of strings? ie. 6th all the way to the left channel, 1-5th to the right. or effects assigned specifically to a string (clean -12 to the 6th, distortion +12 to the 5th)

It's a forum thread, arguments and preferences are discussed rationally, isn't that the point? I respect your desire for gapless patch switching, but I refuted the arguments with facts and better alternatives. Otherwise you're simply looking for confirmation bias. Helix Snapshots debunked the need for gapless patch switching for "folks that aren't great with programming", and deep parameter tweaking is absolutely sufficient to the savvy patch programmer. If that's the only advantage of the Headrush then it offers no advantages at all.

yeah well, nope. Both of their rigs could be emulated and loaded simultaneously on a single Helix, on a single patch. They each play about 10 pedals and two amps. Applying snapshots to that patch along with deep-programming opens switching and tone-shaping posibilites that neither of them can replicate with their analog rigs.

DBCrocky, funny that you mention the GTpro, it did 11 years ago what the Helix is doing now: dual DSP (like having two GT8 in tandem) and 15 FX blocks. I skipped on it for the GT10 which had dual chain paths and 10 discreet blocks. I would rather go back to a GT10 than a Headrush. The Helix vast-routing 4-chain / 32-blocks is what got me excited in the first place. it seems naive to mention jam bands. Please name a classic jam band who goes through more than 2 amps or 3 pedals in a half-hour set. Monster shoegaze hoarders like Kevin Shields who have 40-stompbox pedalboards are never using more than a few at a time during any given song. It seems to me that snapshots pretty much debunked the issue of gapless patch changes for you and everyone else and yet here we are. I suppose it isn't without merit to fantasize about having 20 DSP chips inside a single unit and a hundred FX blocks, a "Super-Helix" that cost 10 grand! I can imagine people complaining about that too: "darn you Line6 you snobs catering to the rich and elite!".

Gapless patch changes is a ludicrous issue to fixate upon. People complaining about that are going about programming in the wrong way. Snapshots are nice, but I've used an HD500X for years and I never needed those. Just about anything I've ever wanted to do in a song I've been able to program in a single patch, with a single move if necessary; unlimited parameter values can be freely stacked to EXP1&2 sweeps, ie. modulating an amp's gain while a chorus/rev/delay/pitch blends in and out, inverted cross-amp volume sweeps, etc. The venerable GT10 did all of that for me 10 years ago. I'm in the process of acquiring a Helix and I understand it also allows endless parameters to be stacked and assigned to a single footswitch. Again, snapshots are a great alternative but I rather program. So the Headrush does gapless patch changes, but it only allocates 11 blocks per patch? seems silly compared to the Helix. I'm curious to know: does it offer four loaded path-chains with full spill-over and zero latency when merging or hopping from path to path in real time? does it stack endless parameters and MIDI signals on a single FS/EXP like the Helix? I'm failing to see where the Headrush exceeds the Helix.

did you drop that ticket? I'd be curious to know what Line6's response was. doesn't the SP1-L6H require a TRRS jack/cable to be able to transmit toe FS signals? I would like to conflate a Helix with three toe-switch equipped expressions pedals.

Does anyone know if the EXP2 jack is TRS or TRRS? I'm trying to figure out if that jack works with a toe-switch equipped expression pedal like the SP1-L6H (which does state "only for helix rack"), the point is to have on/off switching directly on each EXP.

oh wow, unbelievable that Line6 managed to simulate it, the fuzz factory had never been turned into a logarithm, I understood it was impossible to simulate its behavior. According to the manual, the Boss Hyper Fuzz was virtualized as well, I'm shocked! not even Boss managed to digitize their own FZ2, not for their FZ5 digital stompbox or their flagship GT100. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm now interested to know how you made that comparison. The FF is ruined by buffered impedance and I could never place it in the send/return of the HD500X due to its low-Z, the FF oscillator is killed by buffers. I once queried Zachary Zvex himself about a solution to make a custom FF compatible with buffers but he didn't know how, he requested his engineer (a guy named Thomas) to make further tests ...and he couldn't figure it out either. Does the Helix allow send/return jacks to simulate guitar pickup impedance? or did you have to locate your FF before the Helix?

hey, thanks a lot. I went for it, saved up and went for it.

You're wrong, since the 80s Eric Johnson has been seamlessly switching from a real Marshall to a real Fender on stage with no drops, boosts or pops. Simulating that procedure is a breeze now, I've been doing that for years on a BOSS GT10 and later on a HD500X: I drop a Marshall on path 1, a Fender on path 2 and seamlessly fade between the two with an Expression toe/heel tilt. When I needed four amps in parallel I hooked both pedals with MIDI. Helix made both redundant. I can do plenty of other "impossible" stuff as you said: modulating amp gains and EQ curves in real-time with an expression pedal tilt; turn a bass into a guitar with a synth pitch-shifter, turn a guitar into a Japanese bamboo flute, a 6-string into a 12 or 24-string, etc. I agree some people have illogical expectations, gapless patch changes is the most asinine; they are going about programming in the wrong way. Synthesizers are the same, one does not simply change patches mid-song, period. Same for a DJs with Ableton sets or launchpads: one song=one patch. Line6 addressed this request with Snapshots but the truth is I never even needed that on my HD500X. Everything the OP wanted can be programmed and assigned to a single move in a single patch, no tap-dancing or patch change required. I don't have a Helix yet, but 4 path-chains is akin to having two HD500X in tandem, with 4 different amp/cabs or IRs and stacks of effects to alternate within a single preset with full spill-over, zero gaps, and no latency whatsoever. wanting more DSP is silly. as far as I'm concerned, we're already living in the future.

isn't running a CAT5 cable along with a 13pin GKC from your guitar too cumbersome? besides, I thought the GR55 did PCM, multi-chain FX and everything the Variax did (independent tunings, pickup simulations), I could be wrong though. You raised a few questions. How exactly is the GP10 like a synth? I've never used one of those. Why do you run two cables from your Godin when the guitar out on the GP10 outputs a true-bypassed signal that you can use to plug into the helix? I have a GR20 rompler and similarly to the GR55 they don't have a 1/4 guitar in jack so its not possible to hook them through the send/return of the Helix. how do you route the GP10 to process the GK3 signal from the guitar plus the send/return?

what about multiple harmonizers, pitch-shifters and octavers, how many does the Helix DSP handle simultaneously spread on all four chain paths? how many along with an amp/cab/IR?

Hey, a couple of questions. so does the industrial fuzz modeler on the Helix self-oscillates like the real analog fuzz factory? I mean full-on squealing from ripping ultrasonic all the way to a rumbling growl, with varying degrees of grain and hiss by adjusting the stab parameter. Second, I have an HD500X which allows me to map pedal parameters (knobs) to the expression pedal, do you think it’s possible to assign stab/drive on the Helix FF model to modulate them in real time with the expression pedal?

Thanks, I only need two 1/4 input jacks for a bass and a synthesizer, the bass splits into three chains (1 fender guitar amp, 1 vox, 1 Crate bass amp) and the synth goes into a Roland amp. How are signal flow chains assigned in the system?

Hi, does the Helix LT have 4 chains which are assignable to 4 individual outputs that go into 4 separate amps? here's my signal flow: 1st INPUT: BASS chain #1: looper => octave up =>fuzz => 1/4 L => guitar amp chain #2: octave up =>pitch+5 =>fuzz =>1/4 R => guitar amp chain #3: looper =>OD => sansamp =>XLR L=> bass amp 2nd INPUT: SYNTH chain #4: EQ =>chorus => delay =>XLR R=> synth amp I have four separate chains in my current pedalboard (pictured below), an HD500X which outputs chain 1 & 2 above, the analog pedals which make up chain 3, and the TCH/GTX receives the 2nd output from a GK3 synth pickup which processes chain 4. I'm looking to ditch the HD500X, all the analog pedals and the TCH to consolidate all 4 chains in the Helix ...if it's possible, is it?

Are there really two DSP chips on the Helix? Because if it's twice as powerful as an HD500X, it could very much suffice, couldn't it? The POD barely offers 10 blocks (across two chains) and I can still drop 2 amps, 2 pitch glides, 2 fuzzes, 1 synth and 3 simple effects; that's a very loaded patch for a two year old POD. I mean, sounds very similar to what you did with one DSP alone!

Great, just what I needed. thanks!

Can I have 4 signal paths separately assigned to the 4 outputs? (L&R XLR to F.O.H., L&R 1/4 to amps) Can I drop 3 amp blocks, 3 pitch-shifters, 3 fuzzes and 3 vocal effects spread across the 4 effect paths? Can I assign footswitches to be toggle, momentary and inverted polarity? Can the looper be assigned to a specific signal path (unlike the aggravating HD500X)? Can the looper FS be removed, reprogrammed as a free FS or used as a patch change?

Thanks for the samples and thorough explanation. However, this solution didn't work for me because the HD500X does not have dual FX-LOOP blocks to place in both signal chains (I play in stereo with effects littering both paths). I was actually tricked when I bought the pod, I was told that since there were two return jacks and a TRS send jack, I would be able to hook up two analog pedals in separate FX-loops; not the case. you're right, "studio/direct" must take precedence! thanks, So to recap, in order to utilize stage amps, I´d plug the 1/4 jacks into the "return" Loops of the tube amp head (or solid combo) to bypass a coloring preamp section. I would then ignore both the send jack and the front input, am I right? Final question, I've heard some power amp sections do not have volume control ...which means they would be at full blast and that could be potentially destructive. Should I run the 1/4 outputs through pedals with volume knobs to attenuate the signal? I have a BOSS LS2 mixer and a LM2 limiter lying around.