specracer986

I'm in L.A. and I'm more concerned with keeping my guitars hydrated. I keep a humidifier going most of the winter. Otherwise I'm dealing with buzzy necks. It's 33% in my practice room right now. Just about right.

Thanks, I've never checked under the hood. I guess I'll have to lift a saddle and do some investigating.

Is there any? I've seen posts of guys saying they clean something with contact cleaner and a toothbrush, but I'm not really sure where they are cleaning. I ask, because I have one Variax that doesn't sound as good as my other, and I'm trying to eliminate all the variables.

6. Helix can now restore by clearing only the current preset instead of wiping out all presets. While holding footswitches 11 + 12 In reading this part of the instructions, am I correct to assume that since this update only has one new preset, I could just have my Helix on Factory 1 32A when I shut it down,then do the 11/12 button reset on startup and I'll get the one new preset without having to restore all my own user presets? I know, it sounds too easy. I actually don't care about the new preset, I'm just trying to understand the whole update process for future reference.

Well, Custom Tuning was selected in my patch, with all the strings tuned down 1/2 step. So what you're saying is I need to have my Variax set to Custom on the tuning knob, and have that setting programmed to Standard Tuning? I may experiment with this to see how big of a pain it is. I'm really hoping that Gen 3 Variax will make Helix integration a little smoother.

I got busy at work today and had to forgo play. I'll check the setting in my Helix patch tomorrow. I'm not sure what it's set to. It does give me Eb tuning when I switch into the preset without changing anything on the Variax. If I can't get it to release and return to standard tuning as I leave the preset I'll probably go back to just switching the tuning knob on the Variax. I'm so happy with the Variax as it is, I can live with that hardship. I'll let you know after I investigate some more.

I definitely have 2.50 FW and 2.51 editor version. I may have missed the one new preset. I will check in the morning and if I don't have the new preset, then I will do the start up sequence. I think we're making this out to be more complicated than it is, but one complete set of instructions would be nice. It's surprising to me that we have to do a start up reset. I thought we were done with those. No biggie though.

My update was painless. I didn't have to do a restore. All of my presets, IR's and settings are fine. I don't see any new presets that use the new amps. Are there any new presets?

My band does a couple of songs in Eb. Rather than retune I use the tuning knob on my Variax JTV69. I decided to program Eb tuning into a Helix patch. Last night after finishing that Eb song, I switched patches and started playing the next song, and I was still in Eb. I switched patches back and forth on the Helix, and I was still in Eb. I checked the tuning knob on the Variax and it was set to Standard. I had to turn the tuning knob from Standard to Model, then back to Standard before I got back to E Standard tuning. So it seems the Helix managed to get the Variax stuck in Eb tuning. Not earthshattering, but not the kind of thing I want to happen at a gig.

I've had my Helix floor for over a year. I've always used the 1/4" out to my DXR12. The last two weeks I've been using the XLR out because I found that it eliminates a hum I have when my computer is hooked up to the Helix via USB. The problem I now have is the XLR output seems to fluctuate between line and mic levels. Sometimes I'm getting a full signal, then a little while later it's much lower in volume and thinner sounding. I switch back over to the 1/4" out and bam, back up to full signal. I have both 1/4" and XLR outputs set to Line Level. I have Volume Knob Controls set to "Multi". The only time this will be a problem is when I use both outputs to go to FOH and my DXR. I know this is probably a hardware problem and I'll have to open a support ticket, but I have a two day out of town gig coming up and I have a lot of prep to do for it and I really can't lose the Helix right now. I'm going to wait till after the 2.5 update and hope it might miraculously clear up.

Thanks, I guess I read it wrong. I'll give the Voice Box a try when it comes out. Maybe that will do the trick.

I don't normally get excited about FW updates, but I have a current project that needs a Vocoder. I'm hoping the legacy Vocoder effect is going to work, so I'm a little anxious to try it out. Also, before I bought my Helix, I was shopping for a Lonestar amp. So this is a chance to scratch some of that itch.

This is the set up I'm using, currently. Mainly because, I want the DI to protect Helix from phantom power, I'd prefer an XLR cable to FOH for better signal quality over a long run, and my DI only has 1/4" input. So I set "Volume Controls" in global settings to XLR. It seems to be working except I'm finding that I have to turn the Helix volume knob up higher for the XLR out than I did for 1/4" out that I was using.

In my practice room, I've always hooked my Helix up to my DXR12 with a 1/4" cable. When I would attach the USB line from my computer I would have an annoying hum. Livable, but annoying. Last night I used an XLR cable to connect the Helix / DXR12, and no hum. That was a pleasant surprise.

I would record with a patch, plus the dry signal for re amping later. I play much better with effects that are close to what I'm looking for, but would want the option to change things later.

Very nice. If the JTV's had this finish when they first came out, they probably would have sold a lot more.

I have an older Line 6 VDI cable that came with my guitar, (not the dongle one), and a newer one I bought online. The newer one is a little thicker. I've been using that one for close to a year, dragging it around gigs, rehearsals and generally stomping all over it. I've never had a problem with it and it coils as well as any other guitar or mic cable I own. I keep the older one as a spare, but I've never needed to use it. I think if you buy a current Line 6 cable, you'll be pleased with it.

Thanks, I ordered a Radial Pro DI. I found a used one in good shape. It should work well.

I seriously doubt we're going to get built in wireless with gen 3 Variax. I'm actually keeping my gen 3 expectations low, so I'm not too disappointed. Any improvements over the JTV, which are pretty good in my opinion, will be welcomed by me. I'd love wireless. I'm not sure how much I'm willing to pay though. Most of my gigs have limited space and wireless would be wasted.

Great, one less thing to plug in is good. Thanks.

I'm going to be doing my first gig with a soundman since getting my Helix. I want to get a direct box to avoid any chance of phantom power getting turned on by mistake and damaging the Helix. Is there any reason for getting an active box over a passive one?

Post a pic of your Amethyst. I considered getting one. But I have three JTV's that serve me well and I decided to wait until Gen 3 Variax comes out. Whenever that is!

Yeah, I flubbed my description. I don't have a Strat here to verify, but a Strat should have 3 bolt holes, one of which doesn't line up with a Variax. So you would need to drill two holes in a Strat replacement neck and you would have one extra unused hole. I didn't like that scenario, and opted to have my luthier drill all four holes.

Yes, a standard Strat replacement neck fits the JTV69 and JTV69S. There is one complication. A Strat neck has four mounting holes and a JTV has three, and one of those three don't line up with the Strat holes. So when I ordered my Warmouth necks, rather than needing to drill two new holes and having an extra hole that wasn't needed, I had them not drill any holes. This way I could have the neck and body lined up properly. I'm a handy guy. I can pretty much fix anything and I own tons of tools. I do my own guitar set ups. But I decided that the luthier I use is so good at what he does and very reasonable with his pricing, that it really didn't make sense to do the neck swap myself. So I had him do both of my Variax neck swaps. The two JTV's are my #1 and #2 guitars, so I'd say the projects were a success all around.

The only complication your set up might cause is that what you're hearing and what foh is hearing, might be very different. So the patch you made at home through your cab, won't sound the same through foh. It may not be a big problem, but still something to consider.