Verne-Bunsen

Always makes me scratch my head how much information Line 6 shares on the Gear Page that never makes it's way to the Line 6 forum except through word-of-mouth. You'd think they'd want to share here? That's honestly a surprising number regarding joystick failures, I'd have expected more. I'm 1.5 for 2 just on my own. I wonder if that statistic is specific to the solder joint failures that were being discussed or if that is joystick failures by any failure mode? Not asking you to comment on it, just wondering aloud. Thanks for the info and the reminder that I should probably be keeping up with that Gear Page thread better. If you'll excuse me, I've got about 2000 pages to catch up on.....

That is interesting. I never heard any mention of that even in deaing with getting mine repaired and ultimately replaced for this issue. May I ask where you got that information?

I chimed in on this earlier in the thread but I can update. The joystick on my first Helix failed after just over a year. It was replaced and I've had the second one since May, currently the joystick has begun to intermittently fail to register rotational movement (scrolling). Just waiting for it to fail completely. Most definitely a weak link. Thank goodness for warranties and service plans (I bought the 3-year coverage from Guitar Center on this one...)

Glad you got your issue sorted out and that you captured it here. Someone else is bound to come around looking for exactly the same thing. Not sure why you got downvoted but whoever did it has since deactivated their account. Passive-aggressive trolling? At any rate I countered it for you...

Did you hear that? What a give away! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!

I did hear back from Line 6 and they suspect some kind of user error. Can't say as I blame them given the magical nature of the fix. So, nothing to add. At the very least, I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one who has encountered this and that, maybe, I'm not nuts. Here's hoping it doesn't pop back up later....

That's an intriguing idea. I've been thinking of getting a computer to dedicate to my practice space for recording and such, If I do that then I may look at that. Thanks for all of your input!

My thinking is a lot like yours, I just put my whole rig on a surge protector.

Yeah, there were multiple re-boots, a footswitch 10+11 reset and a firmware re-installation in there too. It must've just needed another nights sleep...

I'm all about checking the simple stuff; there's a reason the tech support guy's first question is always, "Is your computer plugged in?" Be that as it may, in this case the issue was (yes, "was", read on...) not isolated to the USB. I initially encountered it straight to my monitors and only brought USB into it to do the re-amping and recording for further troubleshooting. No Globals, I did verify that. Volume knob down has gotten me in the past, along with the good ol' "left-the-guitar-unplugged". I usually try to cover those bases before consulting outside assistance, just to save a bit of what face I have left, haha! Well, here is how that went. I brought Helix into another room and fired it up and, lo and behold, it sounded just like it was supposed. So I thought you were on to something with the whole electricity thing. Next step was to plug it back in where it usually lives and confirm that it sounded wrong there: false, sounded great. Moved it over to the computer and hooked it up, re-amped the same thing as before: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0asgigyfylgvsp/Helix%2063%20Re-amp%20post%20magic.mp3?dl=0 And that's about right. So, looks like I got your "Magic Repair" after all! I'll update the ticket with Line 6 but I'm still interested to hear what they have to say. I'll report back. Things I'm happy about: Helix sounds great again. There isn't an electrical issue in my house. Things still nagging: The issue is real and remains un-resolved.........

Man, I think I'd prefer it not to magically fix itself! I always feel like those sorts of things are just waiting to rear their head again at a less opportune time. And probably after the warranty period expires, haha! This is my second Helix as it is, my first was replaced after the main joystick/rotary dial failed. I'm a big fan of identifying problems while the warranty is still in effect.... I don't suspect the USB is at the root of the problem, only observing that whatever is going on is affecting the standard guitar input the same as it is the USB input from the DAW. I don't have the USB cable connected unless I am recording, and it wasn't connected when this issue appeared. There is nothing very fancy going on for this tone, just the guitar (the DI track is from the middle pickup of a Nashville Telecaster), tremolo, Deluxe Reverb, spring reverb and two cab IRs in parallel. It was my go-to patch for that guitar so I know it well, and now without anything changing it is suddenly different. All of them are. Probably I could go back in and re-kajigger all of my patches to sound ok again, but something has happened that has affected everything and I want to fix it there. It was late last night that I submitted the ticket so I'm not sure if it's even landed on anyones desk yet. The automated reply to my submission said I should hear within three days. I'll report back on whatever they have to say.

Latency and bit rate in the DAW are at default, they're not parameters I've made any adjustments to. Likewise with any USB level controls. Interesting thoughts, I'll check it out. The behaviour is not limited to re-amping over USB, it is also present when plugged straight in and playing into my monitor. Thats how I first encountered it in fact, the re-amping was just a way of verifying measurably that something was "different". Perhaps there is an input module shared by the guitar input and the USB that is boosting things unpleasantly? I have re-amped with this unit before and when it is functioning correctly it is as you describe: there is no discernable difference between playing the track and re-amping the dry track.

I submitted a ticket with Line 6 and uploaded the audio as well as linking this thread. I'll report back on their input.

Yes, the tracks re-amped through the Helix hardware were about 3dB higher than the original, but nothing clipped within the DAW. I did not compensate for it as it is part of the collection of things that are "different" with the hardware suddenly. The sound in the recordings is faithful to what I'm hearing out of my monitor while playing. The track re-amped with Native did not present this increased level...

Hello all, So, yesterday morning I spent some time playing and Helix sounded fantastic, as per usual. I sat down to play again yesterday evening and right off the bat everything sounded "bad". Blown out brittle highs and flubby boomy lows. I went through multiple presets with multiple guitars and found all of them were just not sounding like they should. Today I set out to confirm either that I've lost my mind or that something has gone terribly wrong with my Helix. Verified no input pad, no Global EQ. I started with a 10+11 reset to rebuild all presets: no change. I followed that up by re-installing firmware v2.21, rebuilding, reloading IRs and presets, rebuilding again: again, no change. A few weeks ago I recorded some audio to demo my Malekko Spring Chicken spring reverb pedal, and I captured the dry track at that time so that I could re-amp it to compare with Helix spring reverbs. I decided that that dry audio would be a perfect tool for sussing out what is now going on with my Helix. Here is the original track from a few weeks ago (in this case with the Helix 63 Spring Reverb, not the external pedal): https://www.dropbox.com/s/4yx66ke2mmu5etn/Helix%2063%20Original.mp3?dl=0 Here is the track re-amped through exactly the same patch today: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hsosvhxcyjy8nl2/Helix%2063%20Re-amp%20Trem.mp3?dl=0 As another test, I decided to bring Helix Native in as a comparison I loaded the patch directly from the Floor unit, same everything. Remember that this is using a dry track originally recorded with Helix as an input device, so there are no hardware changes. I left the tremolo off for these. Helix Native: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rjskrr8hziq3i98/Native%2063%20Re-amp%20%20No%20Trem.mp3?dl=0 Sounds good. Sounds like I'd expect it to. Helix Floor, exactly the same patch: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sl8jhjgrdshgk9r/Helix%2063%20Re-amp%20%20No%20Trem.mp3?dl=0 Sumpthin' ain't right... My conclusions are as follows: Using the same input and patch, the output of the Helix Floor unit does not sound the same as it did. Using the same input and patch, Helix Native DOES sound like it should. Using the same input and patch, the output of the Helix Floor unit does not sound like Helix Native. Ergo, something has gone wrong in my Helix Floor Unit. Am I nuts here or are you guys picking up what I'm laying down?

My money is on a model of the Greta personally.... I just hope it comes with a 1x4 cab as well!

Continues to change every so often, but currently: Digitech Trio+, EQD Erupter fuzz, Malekko Spring Chicken spring reverb, EQD Afterneath reverb.

I use XLR out to an Atomic CLR cab for monitoring and USB direct to my Mac/Logic Pro for recording. Tones translate very faithfully between the two.

The toe switch can be selected from within the bypass assignment menu.

Well, I think I finally figured out how to get killer spring reverb tone in Helix. Step 1: Track down a Malekko Spring Chicken. Step 2: Put it in a Helix FX loop. Step 3: Wonder why on Earth you didn't do it a long time ago! Here is a sample recorded with the Spring Chicken. Amp is a Deluxe Reverb (US Deluxe Vib), guitar is a Nashville Telecaster: https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/malekko-spring-chicken?in=vb-tunes/sets/malekko-spring-chicken-with-line-6-helix For comparison, here is the same sample re-amped with the Helix Spring Reverb: https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/helix-spring-reverb?in=vb-tunes/sets/malekko-spring-chicken-with-line-6-helix And the Helix '63 Spring Reverb: https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/helix-63-spring-reverb?in=vb-tunes/sets/malekko-spring-chicken-with-line-6-helix

This is what I do. Can be a bit cumbersome at times but it allows for making changes to suit one guitar without negatively impacting what was already perfect for another.

Not that it helps you now, but it is good practice if you find yourself using a factory preset a lot to save a copy of it in a User setlist. That way you will remember to back it up with your others before updating. They often make changes to the factory presets with new firmware releases and sometimes a favorite might go away or be changed.

Yes, I do believe so.

Who says IR management with Helix is cumbersome? :lol:

This. Start from scratch with the P90s where you don't have to worry about preserving what works with the HBs and it'll come together for you. I have several guitars that I use with Helix and it's a losing battle to try and make presets that play nice with all of them. I have a Twin, AC-30, LItigator and Plexi patch for each of them and then some guitar-specific presets, and I can tweak to optimize one without then negatively effecting another. It is a bit of an undertaking initially depending on your stable of guitars, but ultimately rewarding...