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bbehrens

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Everything posted by bbehrens

  1. WOW! That gives a new meaning to DUAL CABLE Setup! Many Variax owners have done that exact setup - but running to an Amp Head or other external device via the 1/4". I LOVE the ability to change guitar pickups/volume/tone/guitar models on the fly! To me it is another EQ step to dial in the tone that I hear in my head that you can only get close to (if you're lucky) with a physical guitar. I think that the risk is if you run the VDI and battery simultaneously. So you are probably just fine. Though your guitar rig looks a bit complicated! Unfortunately, it has made me a little weaker in dialing in tone using my tone/volume knobs and pickup selectors on my "real" guitars. BUT, my Helix Floor went "paper weight" due to an update glitch and a probable issue with the USB port connectivity on the Unit - I need to take it in to an authorized service center here in Little Rock, AR. But I have been using my Stadium as I have found that the old Helix Presets don't necessarily transfer very well to the Stadium. Sometimes they are close enough that I just need to tweak the blocks - sometimes the Amp parameters, sometimes the Cabinet Models and/or Mics, but usually the Delays and Reverbs because of the fidelity of the Stadium they can tend to get dark and washy (muddy). I often will just rebuild the preset from scratch know where I want to go with the old Preset. Also, I have not found the captures to be all that compelling so far. I have a few and I really like the Morning Glory Distortion captures but the DSP cost is too expensive. The same holds true with the Agoura Amps as I have not felt that they are all that compelling. Mind you, I DO like them. But I can often get a dual Amp setup that is more satisfying using the older models. The DSP available is MUCH better - BUT it appears to be moderate to, or a little less than, the price increase from the old unit - Meaning anywhere from 15% to 80% more DSP available depending on what you want to work with. I also DO NOT LIKE the way the Splits and Joins take up full block space if you need to run parallel (e.g. Dual Amps or Parallel Delays). I thought that they gave plenty of DSP and available blocks and that adding another Pedal Board (B) along with the ten slots in (A) was overkill. But it turns out that I just have not had that much need to use it. I like having them - but I actually am not able to typically fit more than ten blocks onto a pedal board layout unless I want to turn EVERY single item on or off (I run compressors, spring reverbs, cab blocks, and EQ's as always on or by snapshot anyway.
  2. Agreed. A previous post stated that it would likely be in Firmware 1.5. July 31, 2026, post by Eric Klein (Line 6's Digital Igloo) on The Gear Forum. He stated: “We plan to align D10 firmware support with Stadium 1.5 before the end of the year.” He also explained that D10 support would not make firmware 1.4 because testing for Variax and Powercab+ remote control was extensive. There is evidence to suggest (not a foregone conclusion mind you) that the D10 is important to Line 6 as part of their Nexus platform. But that Variax integration is NOT a priority for them as there are features that affect 10 to 20 times more users (whatever that means). Line 6 lost their Variax development team long ago. Line 6 has sun-setted the Variax and has no more incentive (other than the threat of empty promises n the D-10 to continue supporting the Variax. They also recently let a bunch of hardware support and repair people go. It is rather unsettling for a new and still in development unit like the Stadium - more than enough incentive to look to units like the Headrush that just got additional NAM capabilities. The existing functionality in their legacy products (The Helix Floor) suggests that the functionality for the Variax and other technologies is already there. Some of the Line 6 developers also own Variax guitars and Eric Klein has previously stated that the functionality of the Variax was already fully functional. However, the high incidence of initial bug's in the Line 6 Unit and the Editor suggests that they had not fully tested the D-10 with the limited functionality that they had at the time. Since then, it's development has been sidelined in favor of functionality that impacts more of the Line 6 Helix customers. Since that is not the Helix Floor, and since the last firmware update was over 7 months ago, and since the Line 6 Stadium Edit DAW plug-in was released... your guess is as good as mine. (I think that we are on the same page here).
  3. Personally, I would be happy if Line 6 just delivered on the Stadium as a reliable and intuitive platform (mouse assignments including snapshots and scroll behavior are still difficult to keep straight). Inconsistencies (bugs), and unimplemented features that it's predecessor have already (block assignments and some MIDI features), coupled with the lack of delivery on the Expand hardware, should probably be addressed by Line 6 soon too! Who is with me?
  4. I have found that volume levels for both input and out on both the O.G. Helix Floor and the Helix Stadium XL need some tweaking and adjusting. But I have always found levels on the Stadium to be comfortable for everything except the Amp output as I do not really use that one (I go direct FOH via XLR or Headphones at home typically). I would try using some tools such as Orban Loudness meter, which I use to determine an input source volume, YouLean Loudness Meter 2, which I use to set output level from the Unit. I also really like the recently developed MeterMaid software (all of these are free to download and use. I have also noted that there is a definition and Clarity in the Helix Stadium that is superior to the O.G. Helix, which makes sense. But that can change your perception of the volume some.
  5. I thought that Stadium Native only used Impulse Responses from the folder that you specify. Delete or move the contents of that folder and Stadium Native no longer sees those Impulse Responses. I could be wrong as I only had the trial for a couple of weeks.
  6. Hey! Just saw this. This is wonderful. I have something similar but it exports to excel as I have a LOT of helix files and wanted to just be able to scan my directories. But they are not as detailed as yours. It looks like you have exposed EVRY Helix setting. I just wanted to let you know that this is really handy for me since my Helix recently died (terminal firmware update that Line 6 has, so far, no good fix for). I have a Stadium now but I have to fire up my DAW (Reaper) in order to see my presets (since HX Edit will not run without detecting the Helix). This handles the Split paths and Everything. I hope that You put something similar together for the Stadium since it is very similar in file structure already. Great Job. I hope that I don't have to pay for this anytime soon!
  7. Maybe I should cancel my Musician's Friend order. No money has been given to Musician's Friend so it would be a simple cancel. Line 6 needs to learn. Cancelled orders don't look good. I can't see Line 6 wanting to invest any more time and effort into a product that they no longer support, anyway. I am just wondering why they even pushed it except to get existing Variax users to buy the Stadium.
  8. Make sure that your computer is authorized using Line 6 Central. Your computer should show up in the interface and you will be required to log in there, if you have not done so already. Also, the registration is a little odd as it defaults to the FREE Limited version. But it sounds like a registration server issue. I hope that you at least tried it twice and on different days and times of the day just in case it was a Line 6 web site issue. Otherwise, it should be straight forward, otherwise you may need to to open up a Support Ticket. You can click on the "?" question mark in the top right corner of the Helix Native UI dialog, Click on Support, which should take you to the Line 6 Support page (https://line6.com/support/), and be sure to see if anyone else has had a similar problem by searching the support site, otherwise, there is a Support Icon in the middle of the page somewhere on the Support page, which should take you to the Line 6 Support Tickets page (https://line6.com/support/tickets/), Scroll down to the tag with the wrench on it and under it says "Support Ticket", then there is a link under support ticket in the text "support ticket" that you can open to open a Support Ticket. Hey, I didn't design their web site.
  9. I actually said that which is true - as of now. But to your point. Line 6 has had a long history of eventually coming through with most things that they plan for - like the touch interface. And they reluctantly included profiling in the Stadium. There was just no clean transition from the Helix to the Stadium for Line 6 users such as you and me. Since my Helix Floor died in an update Failure (still unresolved but I am working with Line 6 Support even though the Unit is 9 years old and it could just be failing at this point) I have no Variax interface now. I have good batteries but I used to use the guitar model for tone matching within the snapshots with no audible gap - something NO OTHER UNIT ON THE MARKET BACK THEN, OR TODAY, CAN DO. Too bad the Stadium can't do it right now. Arrgh. That is what I was using Helix Native (on the 15 day trial) for to see the models affect the Stadium Presets. The old Helix doesn't translate well for me. I think that the processing clarity in the Stadium is so good, and so clear, that I now hear artifacts such as distortion in Presets that were clean in the Helix. I also hear more... treble, bass, metallic sound of the strings, etc. that I never noticed n the Helix when every block is identical between the Helix and the Stadium. So I find that I tend to recreate or at least tweak the same Presets in Stadium to make it sound like it should. Maybe the trim can help with this but the Variax is not known for hot pickups in the models.
  10. Actually, I got it to work. It must have something to do with windows and file reservation or other weirdness. I had just imported the IR and was wanting to use it. It acted like many of the Stadium Edit Bugs early on. You couldn't always reproduce them and at other times they would not go away until you did something else seemingly unrelated. It works, I guess. I still find the File management to be horrible for my workflow. But I will live with it if it is working for most other folks here.
  11. Yes. Line 6 supporting it via the Variax CAT-6 interface in the D10 was a selling point for me and others. Of course, there are currently no Expand D-10's that have shipped, demoed, show, and Line 6 is now no longer talking about it at all. Because they did sell it as a future feature at Stadium launch, didn't they? I don't remember them going into any detail on Stadium NATIVE last year. Also, I no longer recommend the Variax to anyone since new ones are pretty much all relegated to distributors (if they have any left). And this includes the Shuriken. And I have only heard that Variax components are scarce to extinct, making it an unmaintainable guitar. I may be wrong on this but makes sense since, as VGK17 points out, the Variax was discontinued about three years ago. Of course, I still have my Variax Original (renamed as the Variax 500 when Line 6 introduced the Variax 700) that I purchased in 2010. One of the piezos is giving out on that one. I bought the first Red Variax to hit Skip's music in Sacramento that December (I think - memory isn't what it used to be). By the way Silverhead. I appreciate your input. I know that you have been an active member of this community since way back when Line 6 created these forums. I remember when you and a few others still on these forums where defending the Variax as being a great guitar. At least, I think that was you.
  12. So I think that I may have the first Helix to fail in this manner. I don't know as I am working with Line 6 to resolve this via support ticket. But... I have tried all of these things and the Line 6 Updater tools will not even see my Helix, whether I start it normally, or hold Footswitches #6 and #12 simultaneously until "Entered update mode" shows on the screen for at least a couple of seconds. I don't have bit locker as I am using Windows 11 Home and bitlocker is only on Windows Pro, Enterprise or Education version. I have also disabled memory integrity, local security authority protection, and Microsoft vulnerable driver blocklist. I have attempted removing with Windows KB5101650 and pausing updates, I have tried different USB cables, verified and tried different USB Composite ports on the back of my Computer (avoiding the USB Hub on top of the PC), and a laptop that has never had any Line 6 software installed on it except for the Line 6 Updater tool which I used to try and revive my dead Helix Floor. The Helix unit is about 9 years old and I have never had a problem before until now. I was trying to figure out why the Helix Floor was no longer sending MIDI CC pedal commands to Reaper DAW or MIDI-OX. This was a last ditch attempt to correct that minor problem b re-installing the latest Firmware, in case it was a Firmware corruption, when the update failed and now nothing has revived my old Helix. (playing Taps now, I guess). So Sad.
  13. My Helix Floor stopped sending MIDI (This was confirmed by MIDI-OX - Only get it from SourceForge by the way and NOT MIDI-OX.com). So I exhausted all other possibilities that I could think of and resorted to re-installing the Firmware thinking perhaps it may be a Firmware corruption as it was oddly specific. The Firmware update failed and now the Helix Floor is bricked and is history. I have opened a Support ticket but I have exhausted everything I think that they will ask me to do. Though I suppose that I will have to do it all again anyway. I am willing to send the Unit to a Line 6 repair shop (Do those still exist? - I hope so since I also have a Stadium - and it's MIDI works just fine). But the only way I can use Variax Models within a Song Preset is Expand D10. I know that this is not Line 6's problem. But it sort of is since I purchased the Variax and the Helix for this proposed functionality that (as of now) no longer exists.
  14. On Day 2 of the 15 Day Fully Functional Trial. A little confusing but I like the way Line 6 is offering a Limited Edition Free version (hoping it does not end) and a FULLY functional 15 day trial. It was only a little confusing getting the trial to Activate. Line 6 must be BUZZEE squashing bugs and trying to get promised features out. Personally, I got to admit that I really wished that Line 6 had gotten the EXPAND D-10 hardware out which was promised with the Launch of Stadium BEFORE the Stadium Native that was not even mentioned at launch... Anyways, I like that fact that I can have a split CAB block in Helix Native and have a 2x12 Match H30 as one cabinet, and an IR as the other cabinet. EXCEPT THAT I HAVE NOT GOTTEN IT TO WORK YET! I put the .wav file in the physical folder and it shows right up in Stadium Native. But ya can't do anything with it. The IR Cab shows as empty and I haven't figured out the Yamaha Incantation to get it there. Is this a(nother) feature (bug)? The first one I have found in Stadium Native if it is. I am glad that I have not paid anything for this yet! I probably will - but am a little more hesitant these days with Line 6.
  15. It looks to me like the ON/OFF and DELETE virtual buttons above the Helix blocks look like they are a about 5 pixels big. Did this change? Are my eyes just getting old? Also, it appears that Line 6 changed the editing behavior to require that you now hold SHIFT in order to use the mouse wheel for micro changes in a block parameter. Firstly, I wish that this was not just plain simply changed on us with little documentation of the change (I haven't found it anywhere yet - at least it is NOT obvious as fundamental editing behavior probably SHOULD be), but a simple mouse click STILL changes the parameter setting. I get using the SHIFT key to eliminate inadvertent mouse wheel changes but then to keep allowing left mouse button clicks to go ahead and inadvertently change the parameter seems a little inconsistent and NOT helpful. I really wish that Line 6 would not change the behavior that has been successful for over ten years and instead make these changes as new optional features that can be turned on and off depending on user preferences. I am continuing to be convinced that Line 6 does not know what user preferences are. Does anyone have a preference for not being given a preference? Will this improve instead of degrade? P.S. ALSO, CTRL-Z (typically undo last action in Microsoft Windows) instead defaults to the default for the parameter. So that behavior is not helpful either. P.S. P.S. ALSO, SHIFT-Left Mouse button Switches between Enabling and Disabling the Snapshot control of the block parameter! (Which could make you lose you snapshot settings for that parameter for all snapshots if you happen to inadvertently hit the Left Mouse button while still holding the SHIFT key) So be careful what your hands are doing. - Still awaiting the Expand D-10.
  16. Too often I have been unsatisfied with dialing in the exact tone in my head on my Helix, and then decided to play around with different guitar models on my JTV 69-S and been VERY happy with the result once I find the right guitar model/volume/tone/pickup position. I guess I could just buy real versions of all of those Variax Models (But that was the whole point as I remember. Except that I just saw a parts guitar with a Jazzmaster body and three P-90 pickups that I would like to create a model of in Workbench. Unfortunately, I have to jump through ridiculous hoops and compromise the security of my computer just to get Workbench to run and then it will not work with HX Edit anymore. It's not really Line 6's fault for dropping the Variax. But they were the ONLY ones to do a modelling guitar right. Too many of us Variax users are addicted to the convenience of changing presets or even snapshots and changing guitars and/or tunings with NO audible GAP. I STILL BLAME Line 6 and eps. Yama(HAHAHAHAHAHA).
  17. Hmmm, sounds like a challenge and one that I would routinely do for all sorts of changes in a preset/snapshots. In the Helix. I would set up the same Preset but with a different name. It used to not matter as I could do it at any time anywhere with Helix. But now with Stadium, you can only do it in the master set list (USER or whatever you want to call it that is NOT a Folder). The you need to make a new version (used to be called a copy) of a preset (Don't worry because Stadium will append something to the name because it gets confused over Presets with the same name. And then make changes to the COPY of the Preset. You can't really do an A/B comparison easily. But it is a lot easier (and you are not likely to lose your changes) using this method. You just have to decide which version of the preset you like better and if you want to keep the old version as a reference or for other changes. On a side note: I have only tried the DEMO of Stadium Native, but I saw a little A==>B button that looked like it might be a A/B comparison like some DAW plug-ins have. This would be very cool and very useful. But I wonder how Stadium Native will use the same file for a specific Preset name like Stadium does. Sorry, I still can't get used to that as it disrupts my workflow. I will adapt, like I have so far in editing Stadium presets.
  18. It means that the specific cabinet selected reacts differently to how hard the Amp is pushed and various other Amp settings. This ALSO can give the feel that the same Amp settings (e.g. Gain, Sag, and HYPE) can feel different with the same Amp settings. And I have found that, sometimes, the Amp settings need to change if I am using a different Cabinet Model. This is a subtle, but unique feature of the Line 6 Helix modelling technology. Agoura brings this to a whole new level (though, it is not overwhelmingly so - as should be expected as you do not want to intentionally change the character of the accuracy of the Amp modelling - Like Hype does).
  19. They USUALLY are updated together, but minor version one off's like this are not unusual.
  20. Just me but... It looks like they don't care as long as you own Helix Native. But you should be paying for Helix Native first and then paying $99.00 for Stadium Native on top of that. Otherwise, Line 6 is misleading buyers in their sales literature. But this is how I read it. Oh, AND ALSO, be sure that you are logged in to the Line 6 web site and it will show you what you can upgrade to autoMAGICally.
  21. LOVE the DEMO. No problems so far, but I only have the demo. Also, the DEMO is confusing, it sounded to me like there is a 15 day fully functional trial. BUT, the fully functional trial is limited (5 Amps/Cabs, An EQ, An Compressor, etc, etc, etc.). I think Line 6 would have wet more appetites IF they had released a fully free limited version and a FULLY Functional 15 Day limited time version. Just my opinion tho. Can't say that Line 6 listens to their customers these days too well. Ooops, I should have said YAMAHAHAHAHA. Looking to buy Stadium NATIVE, but am a little more cautious these days (since I am STILL awaiting EXPAND D-10 (HAHAHAHAHA).
  22. Yes, it does work as you described by appending a number to the end of the name. So if I have "Song 1" and copy it then it appends "(1)" to the end of the name so that I now also have "Song 1 (1)". This is how this works on the Helix Stadium Device once you figure it out (That is ANOTHER topic on this forum). But, you do realize that this only applies to the "USER" Song Library in the Helix Stadium Editor. If you copy "Song 1" in user set list "Set List 1" then you get a SECOND "Song 1" that is ALSO named "Song 1" and is the same "Song 1" as "Song 1". I am on the latest version of the firmware 1.3.2 of the Helix Stadium XL Floor and the Stadium Editor. This is one of many various discrepancies between the Floor Unit and the Editor. But it is getting better. DSP is another issue and Presets can get corrupted between the two editors as well. These are known bugs. I could not tell you any issue numbers though.
  23. You did misunderstand me. Perhaps I was not clear. With Saving another version of a Preset then I can always save different states of that preset for reference. I can do that with the Stadium too. I just have to introduce the idea of version numbers. Versioning is a MUCH better way of developing a preset. It must come from my software background. But the way it was implemented in the Stadium - I have to be much more careful about it and preset management gets to be a real chore. It doesn't save me anything but causes more work for me. Well, that is my work flow. Maybe the Stadium was a bad purchase choice. I just never got that feeling with the Helix.
  24. Oh, and don't forget that if you are running in Windows 11, Core Protection (in Settings => Windows Security => Memory Integrity) must NOT be turned on (a restart is required), AND Unsigned Drivers ("original name: L6SM.sys" and "published name: oem26.inf") must be allowed to load (Local Security Authority Protection must be turned off) in order for Workbench HD to properly load and recognize the Variax via the Variax USB cable. And I can't even get it to work via the Helix VDI Cable anymore. This will probably need to be addressed since Line 6 has ALREADY sold many of the EXPAND D10 Interfaces. Still waiting... All they have said is that it would provide a VDI Interface for the Variax. They have not specified which Variax Line they will support through the EXPAND D10 Interface. And they are not supporting the Variax Workbench since it was intended for the Variax guitar and not the VDI Interface.
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