kraftybob

Assuming it’s the same as the Helix...

Thanks for the responses. I don't plan to troubleshoot any more than what I've already done - just wondering if others have seen this (and possibly a fix?). I'm in IT so I fully understand not going down a rabbit hole when a "Ctrl-Alt-Del" of the Helix, and removal of the offending patch, took care of the problem. If it keeps happening that's a different story, but I played again at lunch and it's running fine now. I don't use a lot of presets - probably less than 25 - and of those I probably only use half on a regular basis. If ever I setup/download a patch and don't care for it I overwrite it to delete so I do try to keep my Helix cleaned up. Probably because I'm an IT guy, whenever I make changes I always run a backup - which is stored on my NAS with mirrored drives so even my backup has a backup LOL. Thanks again.

Strange thing happened this morning. I was playing a little before work and when changing presets all of a sudden my Helix LT locked up. I had to power off to clear it. Playing a little more and it locked up again. Restart. The only change I made to my presets recently was earlier in the week I deleted a snapshot and made it a stomp instead. I did this on two difference presets, but I could move in and out of both without a problem. I decided to import my previous setlist from back up (July) to back out the snapshot changes in the off chance that had something to do with. But it still locked up. After some more troubleshooting I realized that preset 3A was causing the lockup. I could move around to any preset, but as soon as I selected 3A it locked up. I then fired up HX Edit and when I used that to change presets it didn't lock up - even when I selected 3A. Preset 3A is called Clender Fean that I downloaded from CustomTone in March and have been using pretty often since. At first I thought it was corrupted but it worked up until today. Even if it did recently get corrupted, it should have been fixed when I did the restore. Also, it shouldn't have mattered if I used the foot switch on the Helix or HX Edit. You would expect a corrupt preset to lock either way. I deleted the preset (copied a blank over it in HX Edit) and it no longer locks up. I then added and amp and reverb and it's still working fine. I have not re-installed the original patch yet (will likely do that this weekend), but since 3A is working now that rules out a bad foot switch. Bottom line is everything seems to be working fine now but I'm wondering if anyone else experienced something similar? I'm running v2.92 which I installed in July and it's been working flawlessly since.

What the GT-1000 does for you live that the Helix doesn't? I don't know much about Boss multi-effects so I'm truly curious. It must be pretty significant seeing you've already invested time and money into the Helix, but are still considering switching.

If I remember correctly you can’t assign the outputs in GarageBand so you can’t use it to reamp. When I was messing around with reamping I used Reaper.

Your question is like asking what are the preferred speakers to use with a JCM800, or Dual Rectifier if you using amps instead of a modeler. It's personal. As dacop13 mentioned above it's a little different when going FRFR as that's recreating the entire signal path from guitar to mic. However, even in that scenario what cab/IR you choose is going to be personal. I am not a fan of V30's - never have been. But there are others who love them. I love T75's but there are others that can't stand that speaker. Similarly there are plenty of people on here that swear by FRFR speakers. I personally can't get along with them. Granted I haven't tried very many but I prefer a power amp and speaker cab. I currently use my LT with a Marshall DSL40C in 4CM, so when I'm bypassing the DSL preamp and using the Helix as my preamp, the DSL is my power amp and that runs through a G12M Creamback in my combo and a 1x12 closed back cab with a G12T-75. I like the mids that the Creamback brings to my tone and also makes up for what the T-75 lacks. Yet the T-75 gives me a great bottom end - especially being in a closed back cab on the floor. I like this speaker combination whether I'm running my DSL, the Line 6 Badonk, a Revv amp, etc. It's a much simpler setup for me as I don't have to worry about speakers/IR's, mic types, distance, etc. I'm sure others would say that I'm missing out on a lot of capabilities. But what some consider capabilities, I look at as a potential rabbit hole that I'm just not interested in going down. And while I'm not currently playing out, those that have heard me have complimented my tone - so I'm good with this setup. It's all personal. On a side note if my DSL even went south where it wasn't worth repairing, I would likely pull the Creamback and put it in a 2x12 cab with the T-75 and get a power amp like your setup. I've looked that the Orange Pedal Baby and Seymour Duncan Power Stage and have read/heard good things about them.

I’m probably in the minority here but I use my LT in 4CM with my Marshall DSL40C & 1x12 cab. I like the amp in the room sound and really like my speakers (Celestion Creamback G12M-65 and T-75). I also never really jumped on the IR bandwagon so considering all this I have no need for a Power Cab. Some of my patches I use my DSL for tone and the Helix for effects only. Other patches I use an amp in the Helix and route direct to the effects return of my amp so now it’s only a power amp at this point. Since I’m using my DSL as a power amp I typically use a preamp in the Helix. But some amp models are on the quieter side so I use the amp version which is louder and makes leveling volume across patches easier. Just another option to think about.

I’m sure you know, but the signal path you described above is the four cable method (4CM). I use this with my DSL40C. Some patches I use the DSL preamp and the Helix for effects only, and others I use effects and preamp in the Helix and then route directly to the effects return so my DSL is only a power amp at that point. I have some really clean, ambient patches that I’ve downloaded and tweaked and I can get really loud without any break up. But this is on an amp where most of the gain is coming from the preamp (which is bypassed at this point). The Helix can do it, I think the question is more can the amp your looking at do it?

Update: Pete at Line 6 support watched my video and confirmed the Ext Amp is not working correctly. There’s an authorized repair center about 45 mins from my house so I called them asking what their turn-around time is for this type of repair. I’m hoping to get it in this week. I’ll update when it’s fixed.

I just opened a support case online with Line 6 with this latest information. I was going to call them but it's after their support hours. Also, I just realized what an idiot I am lol. During my testing I reconnected the original Marshall footswitch and was using my meter to check continuity so I knew which state the buttons were in (my foot switch does not have LED's). But for some reason when I switched to testing my Helix I was looking at voltage, not continuity. I have no idea why...

No worries - you've been very helpful in this thread!

Thank you for testing and for your feedback. I didn't realize the voltages aren't necessarily in play here - which makes sense now that I think about it since it's a "short to sleeve" function. I setup the same patch as you did Codamedia - with a footswitch for tip and another for ring (attached). I then checked the continuity and the Ring shorts out but the tip does not. I also did a short video of my test which you can see below. This is very helpful and pretty straight forward for me to go back to Line 6 with. Thanks again! Edited to add I confirmed the cable is good as it rings out on both ends. I also get the same result with a different cable. @rd2rk - I don't have a response from you on my other thread - perhaps you're thinking of someone else? Here's the thread: Ext Amp Test.hlx

If you have the Helix LT, are using the Ext Amp control and have a meter, can I ask a favor of you? With a TRS cable plugged into the Ext Amp jack, measure the DC voltage across the tip to sleeve and ring to sleeve at the end of the cable and let me know what you get? I would imagine the Helix floor would yield the same results, but since I have the LT I figured I'd stick with that for an apples-to-apples comparison. The reason for my ask is my LT only changes the reverb (ring) on my Marshall DSL40C, and not the channel (tip). I called Line 6 Support and all they could say is they don't guarantee it works with all amps. However, my DSL foot switch is "short to sleeve" as the Helix manual states, and it is changing the reverb. I would expect if it wasn't compatible it would not work at all. Also, I know of other DSL users (not necessarily the 40C) that use both functions. Additionally, to see if changing the channel was the problem, I rewired one end of a TRS cable swapping the tip and ring. This sent the ring signal from the helix to the tip in my amp, and that successfully changes the channel. The reverb no longer works because now it's getting the tip signal from the Helix - which is what I expected. I think something is messed up in my Helix because the voltages across the tip vs ring are different. I asked Line 6 about this as well and they couldn't answer me. However, if a few of you all have the similar readings to each other, and they are different than mine, I can go back to Helix with some evidence to hopefully convince them that mine needs to be repaired. Here's what I get with my Helix: Tip On = 3.26v Tip Off = 3.26v Ring On = 3.5mv Ring Off = 2.0mv As you can see the tip is measuring in volts while the ring measures in mv. Also, the ring (which is the one that works) changes voltage when the state changes from on/off, whereas the tip remains constant. Thank you in advance if you are able to check this for me.

Update. I called Line 6 Support and they were not able to offer any help at this time. He said they cannot guarantee that it would work with my amp, but I find it odd that the reverb works but not the channel. I would expect it to be all or none. Question: Is anyone else here using the Helix LT with a Marshall DSL40C (not CR) and able to change both the channel and reverb with the Ext Amp connection? Additional Info: when my TRS cable is plugged into the Helix and I check the voltage I get unusual readings: Tip On: 3.26v Tip Off: 3.26v Ring On: 3.5mv Ring Off: 2.0mv Yes, you are reading that correctly - the Ring (which works) is in mv and changes voltage depending on the state of the switch. Where as the Tip is in volts and does not change state. I asked Line 6 about this and he didn't have an answer. I tested my TRS cable with a meter and it's good. I also tried using a different TRS cable with the Helix and my amp and same results. I am running v2.92, however, I ran into this issue in previous versions but thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I didn't have a need for it at that time so I left it. Now I'm creating some patches with my amp and would like to have this option. Thanks.

Hello Everyone: I have a Marshall DSL40C and it has a two button foot switch - Channel (tip) & Reverb (ring) and the plug is a TRS. Using a TRS cable and setting the Helix to Ext Amp in global settings, I can only get the reverb to switch on/off but not the channel. I've tried assigning the channel and reverb to foot switches and I also tried the instant command and I still cannot change the channel. To test further I took a crappy TRS cable and swapped the tip and ring on one end and sure enough the channel now changes (but the reverb doesn't). This makes sense because the ring on the Helix side is now connected to the tip on the amp side. I also connected the Marshall foot switch again and it works as expected so I know it's not the amp. It seems as if the tip connection inside the Helix is not working. However, and this is the strange part, when I turn my amp on it's on the clean channel. As soon as I turn the Helix on it switches to the OD channel. When I turn the Helix off, my amp switches back to the clean channel - so obviously there's some connection on the tip taking place. I'm going to call Line 6 tomorrow, but wanted to check here as well to see if anyone ran into the same problem?

You bring up a good point. I don’t know much about the Powercab (I initially thought it was just another FRFR), but I’ve read that if you use the built in speaker models that it sounds more like an amp in the room. But doesn’t that then defeat the purpose of using an FRFR in some regards because what you’re hearing is different than what the audience hears through the PA? I also read that some guys disable the speaker modeling on the cab and use IR’s/cabs in their Helix. Why not just get an FRFR then? Another question is why use IR’s in the Powercab vs in the Helix? Does that offload some DSP to the cab? Finally, is the speaker in the PC a flat response guitar speaker and not a full range/PA type of speaker? Maybe I need to start a new thread for this topic but just curious about the Powercab vs FRFR.

I wonder if latency would be an issue going wireless to a PC?

Thanks for the replies and they make perfect sense. I guess it’s not as easy as dialing in the amp and going to town. I forget how much more goes into it. Again, I appreciate you guys taking the time for the detailed responses. Earlier this year I was starting to connect with another guitarist and a drummer and then COVID hit and put a stop to that. Now that the stay-at-home orders are easing up we’re talking about starting up again and the idea of going FRFR is intriguing to me. I struggle with this because I really like the tone I’m getting going 4CM into my amp but 1) my DSL weighs about 60lbs, plus anther 30lbs or so for my 1x12 extension cab and my back is not in the best shape, and 2) if the audience is not hearing the tone I am on stage what’s the point of hauling my amp around? It’s what they hear that matters. Sure stage volume/tone, but all things considered that’s dropping down on the priority list. Decisions, decisions...

I should start off by saying I have never played through an FRFR speaker. I don’t play out (yet), don’t play through a PA, etc. My setup consist of the Helix LT 4CM into a DSL40C so I’m either using all tube amp and Helix for effects only, or other presets I use a preamp in the Helix and route My signal to my effects return. I understand that using an FRFR is different than an amp (mic’d amp vs amp in the room). But why does it seem so difficult for many people to get a good tone, or not like how their FRFR sounds when pretty much all music we listen to is a recorded/mic’d amp - downloads, CD, vinyl, live/PA, etc., pretty much everything we hear is not an “amp in the room.” If anything I would think it would be easier to get a good and/or similar tone as the artist they’re playing because your more closely replicating how the song was created. It would seem to me the odd man out is actually the amp. Yet just about everyone treats the FRFR as being “different”, and “you have to get used to it because it’s not an amp in the room”, when actually it’s closer to the original recording that everyone knows so well.

Like you, I struggled at first with the Helix, but for me it was trying to get a good recorded tone. As @cruisinon2 mentioned above you have to adjust how you approach it vs a regular amp. Once I did that (and built my own patches) everything started to fall in line and now I’m incredibly happy with how my recordings sound. There’s a lot of great advice to be had on this form - take advantage of it :) I have the same headphones - MDR7506 - and really like them with the Helix. Good luck.

Thanks for creating and posting these. I don't have a baritone guitar but am interested to see how these sound with a standard scale.

I know Line 6 is not going to update the Helix manual until v3.0 so I decided to combine all the updates in one Excel Sheet. I know others have listed all the amps and effects and have gone into detail about them, so I did not repeat that level of detail here. I just included what Line 6 did in their updates - including Features and Improvements. I would normally put this info in a database, but figured a lot more people probably have Excel so I decided to go that route. It's a basic sheet and you can sort based on version, type, etc. Also, some of the the feature updates have a lengthy description so I put those on separate tabs and setup a link to that feature (in the Notes column). Helix Cumulative Updates.xlsx

I just did my LT tonight and had no issues. Just follow the instructions and you should be good to go.

I listened to your videos - nice job on the patches!

How would HX Edit manage 3 different Stomp configurations?