miurajef

I did that, but it doesn't help

Trouble in paradise: all of a sudden (overnight) I have a (non visible) second and pitch shifted tone on all of the presets (factory and user), making the unit unusable. I installed the latest firmware 3 days ago, without any problems. I've tried the factory reset, to no avail. Any thoughts? The problem occurs with any guitar, not only with my Variax.

Well, it looks like I have been too pessimistic, and haven't been giving the store enough credit. I got it back repaired after just one week. Sometimes life ain't bad :)

Mmm, I don't think it's that bad, I suspect they're not too keen on selling Line 6 products because of it's 'virtual technology', they reckon they will sell less Fenders, Gibsons, Marshalls, Boss pedals,... because of it. I sometimes think that is the real problem.

I contacted the store, they tell me to 'expect at least (!) 2 to 3 weeks for repare ', nothing more specific, no mentioning of a replacement unit. I already know now, that my Helix will be gone for at least a month if I take it to them. These guys ('Key Music', they have 18 stores in Belgium and Holland) really don't seem to care. I just had a similar experience with them concerning a part I needed for my JTV 89 Variax. It is a big contrast with all the friendly, going-out-of-their-way-to-help-you' Line 6 people on these forums and on Facebook. The only thing I blame Line 6 for is not choosing their business partners more carefully. These people at Key Music really seem to hate Line 6 products, and only sell them because people want them.

Well that's good news then, thanks, I didn't know that.

I just did, but what else can they say than: 'bring it to your dealer' ? ;)

Mine is just over a year and out of warranty. I didn't do anything to it, it's always transported in a specially designed flight case. I'm considering to open it myself to see if I can detect a loose wire/contact or something. If I bring it to the store I know it will be gone for at least a month :(

Same here , I can go up/down and left/right but pressing it does nothing. This really really sucks :angry:

I've tried to 'make it happen again' with both a regular guitar and the JTV, but it it didn't ;) The room where I rehearse is not particularly hot (22 Celsius) so that can't be an issue. What I have done in the mean time is an update and factory reset to the Variax, maybe the 'old' software version was causing troubles? We'll see.

I've had the following experience twice now: I start rehearsing, and after about one and a half hour, right after changing to a new preset I get no sound whatsoever. Everything appears to be normal, but no matter what I try, there is no more sound coming out of the Helix. After I switch the unit off and back on again, everything is back to normal. Any ideas? I use a Variax JT 89 connected through the VDI. I can't have the failure repeat itself by going through the same sequence of presets. Can this be a temperature issue, I mean could it be that the unit is heating up in some way?

I don't think it 'resided under their roof'', let's just say they didn't exactly go out of their way in order to obtain the part :)

I received a very friendly email from technical staff at Line 6, asking me to contact the store again, because the part was in stock, available within 2-3 days. I forwarded this email to the store, and the very next day I got an answer saying the part could be collected at their premisses. Well well. Seems like all this time it was the store that was creating the delay.

In the mean time, I received the part, as said via my friend who resides in th US. I didn't tell the store here, I left the order standing, reckoning that I would have a back up if it finally arrives. I checked yesterday, and they still don't have a clue when to expect the part. This means that if my friend hadn't bailed me out , I would have been stuck with a virtually unusable instrument for already 3 months now. Do I need to say more? This is really beyond comprehension.

I opened a support ticket, the answer I got was this: Hi, you have contacted technical support, unfortunately we cannot provide delivery dates for parts delivery time for imported parts can vary (some weeks if it must be produced) Your dealer already checked this with the local partscenter so we cannot provide additional information But the part can definetely be delivered, please check with him if he already ordered it for you you can also order parts via our Benelux service-center Hanex in the Netherlands I contacted this Hanex service center but they don't have it, and don't have a clue when it can be delivered either. I have arrived at a point where I'm starting to feel disgusted. To me this illustrates a total contempt for the EU customer. If we're so not important, please stop selling your stuff in Europe. The reason I say this? I have a friend living in Seattle, he ordered the part with Full Compass, he had it the next day, and according to USUPS it will arrive at my home this week. How hard can it be? I'm so pissed off I'm considering to put all my Line 6 stuff on ebay, at half the price.

Well, a broken flap isn't so bad, in my case the whole VDI socket is kept together with duct tape :) Accidents like that are bound to happen, and if you check the line 6 webstore for guitar parts, that particular part is prominently present, so I don't think it's that 'exotic' :) I did check with Full Compass, but they're not allowed to send the part abroad. I'm fine with that, but then make sure your EU importers have it available.

My main rig consists of a JTV 89f, a Helix, and a Firehawk 1500 amp. Is that enough to consider me to be a Line 6 fan? Five weeks ago I asked the store where I bought the gear how long it would take to get a new input jack assembly for my Variax. I need a new one because the old one got heavily damaged in an unfortunate accident (for which I only have myself to blame, btw, this has nothing to do with any warranty issues). They answered 'distributor says it's in stock, shouldn't be more than a week'. That was 5 weeks ago, and I still don't have a clue when the part is going to arrive. I'm not blaming the store, 'cause they depend on the distributor (Yamaha?), but this really sucks. Do I really need to call upon friends in the U.S. to order it for me, and then send it to me (I'm in Belgium), causing extra costs? This is bad publicity.

Thanks Will, this certainly explains a lot of issues.

Have you tried sending an extra signal to the guitar input of the FH, for instance by using a send block right after the amp block in the Helix?

I need one too, but it's not (yet) available in Europe. US stores seem to be reluctant to ship it overseas.

Thanks, I checked it out. Chad suggested I would use an extreme ping pong delay. I did that and I heard the sound going back and forth from left to right, but my concern still is: could it be that the 'motion' I hear is just between the central and the right speakers, or is that impossible? There's a lot of speakers in a relatively small box, that's why I'm not a 100 % sure.

I've had my FH 1500 since June, and I've always had the impression that sounds come mainly from the right hand side and the center, in that order of loudness. It doesn't sound 'symmetrical' if you get my point, and yes both my ears are still functioning, thank you ;) Yesterday I used it at 'serious volume' for the first time, and the impression became stronger. As there are so many speakers it's difficult to be a 100 % sure though. I use the FH as amplification for my Helix (stereo out of the Helix to the monitor in of the FH with the latters gain at max, I also have a dry send from the Helix to the guitar in of the FH), but the impression remains when I use the FH as a stand alone. Two questions before I have it serviced (a bit of a hassle, hence the questions): 1. could this be some kind of 'setting' I'm not aware of ('mono', 'normal stereo' and 'wide stereo' don't change it)? 2. is there a way of determing beyond doubt that the left side speakers are not working (without opening the box of course) as in : 'hook it up in this and this way, pan extremely, and if you get no (or faulty) sound then something's out of order' ? Note: when I say 'left', I mean when facing the speakers Much obliged if anyone could help me out.

I'm having a similar problem. I connect the 1/4'' outputs of the Helix to the monitor inputs (with two 1/4" jack to jack cables, regular guitar cables if you will), and the sound 'modulates' from muffled to sharp, like it's being sent through a heavy phaser or autowah, which is not the case. We don't rehearse extremely loud, but still I have to crank it to 75 % in order to get sufficient volume. Weird. Any ideas? Could this be a phase problem? Update: the problem seems to disappear when I turn the monitor input's gain to maximum. Only at maximum gain the 'wobbling' goes away. Weird.

I have had my Helix for almost 4 months now, and I've had some issues, but all in all this thing is just plain wonderful. Every week I discover new possibilities, and it amazes me. As I told my wife the other day: of all the guitar gear I have bought since I started playing 40 years ago (and believe me, you could easily fill a medium size store with that) the Helix is really the thing I have had the most fun with, I can already say that after 4 months. So instead of giving you guys a hard time about imperfections, I thought I 'd give you a big compliment, for all the pleasure it's given me. Hats off! :)

Your post is very adequate, I want to thank you for it as well. It would seem that the architecture of the Helix is such that there's always a way to get out of trouble :)