jbuhajla

2.11 update smooth as silk. I also changed the volume blocks to EXP2 (default) in all of my presets to take advantage of the auto switching for volume/wah with the toe switch.

The stock cabs are not bad at all. Last night I actually set up an identical stock cab and A/Bed with the IR. Same mic settings for each. I landed up turning up the room reflections on the stock cabs almost all the way to get the "fullness" that the IR had. I still liked the clarity and response to picking articulation better with the IR. I am sure I will find some presets that I will like the stock cab better, but I do love the flexibility of being able to use both.

After a few months of using the Helix, I am finally getting around to trying some IRs. I tried the OH and Redwirez freebies last night. Just a really simple patch: AMP>room reverb>IR. I REALLY like the difference! The IRs are much more "clear" and the response to picking articulation is much more "snappy". I play only in the clean-crunch realm, and really liked what I heard. So I found that Rosen Digital Audio is having a 20% off, buy 3 get 1 free sale. I bought 4 for under $20. Can't wait to give them a try over the holidays. I am not a professional musician, so I don't have a lot of time to tweak tones. The IRs are going to save me a lot of time getting tones that I like.

Mine has hung up a few times, but only while connected through USB to my Mac. I try not to power up any more with the USB connected to anything.

You can set the stompbox mode to 10 switches, which makes the bank switches go away. You can also go into pure snapshot mode and have 8 snapshots with the bank switches. There are other combinations as well.

I will definitely try that.

I do have to keep in mind that this is a Line 6 forum, and a lot of us are putting ideas/gripes out on here knowing that Line 6 R&D ideas are coming from this very forum. Sometimes a gripe spelled out here may turn out to be a new feature in the next firmware version. Just trying to keep things positive...

Thanks for the post and update. Your original post was my final tipping point into purchasing the Helix. I have since sold everything that was on my pedal board and just use the Helix. I am still on the fence about adding a Variax to my collection. I guess I need to find someone willing to lend one to me for a weekend to make my mind up.

I would use it.

You could also run your delay in parallel with a y-split, then turn off the signal to the delay on the next snapshot. The delay would still be active and trailing, but your signal no longer going to the delay input. I'm sure there is a way to make it work with some creativity. Another great thing about the Helix: you no longer have to think within the box of typical effect routing.

True, but in his case where going to a snap with the delay bypassed, setting identical tempo/time base should do the trick. In some cases where I change delay tempo with snaps, I just have to do it in a place in the song where I can live with the faint glitchy sound. Sometimes it sounds pretty cool so I don't even worry about it. It's a small price to pay for having the extreme flexibility of snapshots.

...another thought. Even though you are going to a snapshot with the effect bypassed, the tempo or time base may be different. Make the tempo match on the effect in both snapshots. The effect is still trailing when you activate the other snapshot, so the tempo/time base will still effect the trails.

If you are changing the time base or tempo of a delay with snapshots then you'll get that effect just the same as reaching down and turning the "time" value on the delay while playing. To minimize that effect, go to Global Settings>Preferences>Tap Tempo Pitch and select "transparent". It may still sound a little glitchy if you make a big change in tempo or time base, but I have found that I can live with it. It's either that or turn trails off for that particular preset.

I begin all of my IR file names with a number then a text description (1-Marsh_60, 2-Mesa_4x12, etc...). That way they will all be in order for the import after an update.

I also reboot after importing all my files back to Helix. I've had what I thought were bugs before, but went away after rebooting so the presets would be rebuilt again after my imports.

In that case, you would have to utilize external expression pedals, with one effect assigned to each. That's what I love about Helix, there seems to be enough options available to make about 99% of everything work.

Find a store that has multiple that they will let you try. Take your Helix and a guitar with you and test them.

Perfect example.

It's highly dependent on what you are playing it through. The Helix is definitely not plug and play into any amplification system. A good set of headphones will be a more true representative of the actual sound. I use the headphone monitor as a baseline, then adjust to whatever FOH I am playing through.

I just wanted to make a quick post that was not inspired by pissed off negativity or a rant about firmware 2.xx. I have been using Line 6 stuff since the beginning. My first was the AX212 modeling amp, and have/had M13, M5, PODs, etc... I've had my Helix for a couple of months now. I am a non-professional hobbyist church worship band musician. We run all stage sound isolated at church. I made the plunge and am using only the Helix on stage, direct, with in ear-monitor system for the entire mix. The Helix is PERFECT for my situation. I needed a huge variety of tones/sounds/effects. It is not feasible/affordable to have multiple amps/effects to try to attain the variety of sounds needed. I can get nearly ANY sound I can imagine if I tweak long enough. Also, Snapshots takes tonal variety to the next level within just a single song. I have a preset for each song that we do, so consistency is automatic. I am also a family guy that needs to play at home through headphones more than 1/2 of the time. I also dabble in a little recording, which is made so simple on the iMac with the USB interface. I don't buy even 10% of the equipment that some of you guys do, but it is hands-down the best investment I have made in a piece of music equipment considering my personal needs, EVER. I guess I'll have to start looking into getting a Variax now... Cheers and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays.

Research before spending $1500 then threatening to return it.

What kind of headphones did you use to build your patches?

http://line6.com/software/ Select Helix on the drop down menu. It will take you to all downloads for Helix.

Good! You will love all that is possible with snapshots.

I have found that playing an open string (while muting all others) then abruptly muting it gives me the best results. It gives the tuner less than a second to measure the input. Seems if the string is left to ring out, that is when the display gets jumpy.