MGW-Alberta

Open a support ticket. https://line6.com/support/tickets/

Exactly my point. You're doing it right now. You can't envision needing more capability and you think that won't change but it always does.

The follow is one man's opinion. Feel free to have a different opinion if you like. It seems to me that a number of the query posts we see here and elsewhere on the internet relating to HX products have to do with people trying to figure out how to do something that exceeds the capabilities of the device. I suspect what happens is the person decides at the time of purchase that they can get away with a cheaper model because they don't envision needing any more capability than that but then once they get into it and start learning and paying closer attention to what other people are doing with their HX device they decide they want to try a few new things for themselves ... but they can't because of the limitations of the device they chose. What I am saying is that I think people in general should probably get the most powerful one they can possibly justify spending the money on, even if it means saving up a little longer and not buying anything right now. If you don't want to come up against a brick wall at some point down the road then now is the time to follow the old saying, go big or go home. My two cents.

Only you can decide what a great sound is. I was unable to get a satisfactory tone from a pair of Powercabs but other people like the sound of them. I run my Helix into my Boogie amp using the 4 cable method and I am VERY happy with the tones I get but that is MY preference. Other people are bewildered at my approach. There are as many different opinions on tone as there are guitarists. If I were you I would start out by trying what you have on hand first and see if you can get something you like out of it. Another option is to rent something before buying it. People do that all the time.

How long is a while?

I think more important than us explaining to you what needs to be done I think it is far more prudent for you to explain to us what you have actually done. You said you followed the 7CM connections to the letter but I think I would prefer to see (by way of pictures) what those connections actually are, just as confirmation. Sometimes in the past there have been misunderstandings and miscommunications and pictures help to eliminate that from happening. The next thing would be for you to upload your preset here to this thread because if you have in fact correctly connected everything then the problem could very well be in the configuration of the preset.

Places to look

If one of your presets sounds good but the other two do not sound good then the problem does not lie with the hardware. The problem lies with how you built your presets.

So, in as little as 60 to 120 seconds you bring your laptop into the venue, connect the cable to Helix, open HX-Edit, wait for it to connect to Helix, find an open slot to upload your presets, upload and install them, disconnect it all and still have time to plug your guitar in, strap up, tune up, adjust your mic stand, put on a smile and play. That's amazing.

I have a question. You're not allowed to change or add so much as a little 6" patch cable but you're allowed to load and install presets ... so how exactly do you do that?

I don't think you will find another solution and still keep two dry delayed signals and a wet, un-delayed signal. The "extra" gear you'd have to carry could be as simple as a 6" patch cable for the Helix loop patch, an A/B/Y box to sum your two signals, a short XLR to 1/4" adapter cable and a short 1/4" cable for use between Helix and the A/B/Y box. That's all there would have to be over and above your other normally required gear. So, two short cables, a 6" patch and an A/B/Y box ... you could probably carry that in your guitar case or even a jacket pocket.

So sorry. My bad. I didn't take into consideration you have Helix LT and not Helix Floor. I have Floor and I sometimes forget there are more differences than just scribble strips and number of loops. You don't have an AUX input. I am now wondering if you could patch a cable from the send 1 jack to the return 2 jack and set the input on path 2 to return 2. That will definitely mean changing path 2 output to XLR. Hopefully you weren't planning on using your loops for anything else because they will now both be used,

This might work but I'm not sure. I have input on path 1 set to guitar and output set to 1/4". Path 1 signal flow = input > compression > dist > dist > amp > cab > EQ > split > chorus > verb > 1/4"Out (left/mono) Path 1B > Send 1 Insert patch cable from Send 1 jack to AUX in jack. Dry signal now going to AUX in. Path 2 input is set to AUX and output is set to Send 1/2 but I don't know if that will work, it might have to be changed to XLR. I don't think it will let you use 1/4" out. I think I tried doing that one time and the software let me do it but the sound didn't work. I might be mistaken about the specifics of that though. I do recall a couple of times where I tried to use the same output or send block on both paths and it made no sound even though I could place the blocks. Anyway, either way, two delays on the dry signal, 1 each on paths 2A & 2B. Send all 3 output signals to a small outboard device to sum them. I have no idea if this will work. I've never tried anything like it. Hopefully it points you in the right direction to do some experimenting on your own.

Export your presets to your computer within HX Edit. Then they will be saved on your computer and you can load them onto Helix anytime you want. You won't have to buy them because you'll already have them. First step, learn how to use HX Edit at least so far as how to manipulate your files. More would be better but at least learn that much first. Do that before doing any updates.

^^^ This. DunedinDragon tagged it. That's what I do. I save my best presets first (individually), archiving them for safekeeping just in case something goes awry ... and it sometimes does so I learned to do this the hard way. Then I do the backup per instructions. Then I update. If something goes wonky with the restore or the update I still have them in archive. I've been told that's overkill but I think it's better to be safe than sorry.

Your file is locked. It can be downloaded but not opened. I think you should do a better explanation of how you're hooking all this up. You say Stomp is connected to JC40 in 4CM but then you say you run a GE7 in the loop. Stomp has one loop which is used for 4CM to the JC40. JC40 also has one loop and it is busy with 4CM to the Stomp. That is unless you're using 4 cables but not in the actual 4 cable method. A diagram or picture could help.

A/B/Y box? That's where my mind goes first. Imperial / Guitar > A/B/Y < \ Helix

That's the way I'd do it. Place the block twice, next to each other, bypass one and assign the parameter on the other and save. Change to the other preset, swap the bypasses and assign the parameter and save.

Hmmmm .... That has not occurred during any of my "restore from backup" experiences. I have always had to make those changes manually after a restoration. Is there a backup setting I have to change, perhaps? Or maybe it's a restore setting ... I'm going to have to remember to look into this when I get home and make a note to myself. I keep a document with important things I learn that I won't normally use except on rare occaisions.

One thing I've always forgotten to look into and was always having to make adjustments for after an update ... Can global settings be backed up? Every time I've updated I've noticed something in the tone of my existing presets wasn't the same and then remembered the global settings. I guess I could look around in there but I'm not at home right now.

If you browse around on this forum long enough, you'll find a number of posts about issues that arose after an update. It may not be the norm for most people but it does happen. The chances of a problem are not zero. I started a few of those threads myself. The updates always contain new models, some of them quite useful and sometimes there are also improvements to how some models work and/or consume DSP processing power but it's not always a bowl of cherries. I suggest you follow the advice of PierM and theElevators and do some research before proceeding with any updates. You did not mention any reliability issues with your Helix in its current state so if you read things about reliability improvements in new versions then they don't apply to you right now but they might after an update. If you do encounter issues you will most likely waste significant amounts of time fixing your unit rather than playing it, as all of us who had problems did. For the record, I will not likely update any further unless I start having trouble.

Basically more clarity, more in-your-face. Other aspects too but in my experience, that's the primary difference.

There is one thing you can experiment with once you're up and running that has the potential to sound kind of cool. If you place a simple delay block immediately after the return from the Radial and set the mix to 100% with zero repeats and a very short delay time of only about 5 milliseconds or so it should give you a wider sound image. The downside is if you set the time too long it will introduce artifacts. It will sound somewhat like a chorus but a kind of ugly chorus.

Yah, that should work. Make sure the HX loop block that you use for the gold pedal (whatever it is, I can't make it out) is placed on the path before the loop block that you use for the amp/Radial combination. You don't want to be placing any loop blocks after the one that goes to the amp/Radial. It looks like it says American on it so I assume it is some kind of overdrive or distortion pedal that mimics an overdriven American amp. If so, that should be fine. Be sure all of your wet effects blocks you place after the amp/Radial loop block are stereo, otherwise you'll have a wet/dry system with two identical mono wets instead of a true wet/dry/wet rig. Have fun.

If it continues to serve your purpose and sounds good and you're happy with it, does it really matter if something newer comes out? For some people the answer to that question is definitely yes. The question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you are one of them. I derive my enjoyment from playing guitar and sounding good while doing it so as long as Helix continues to work properly I couldn't care less what new gadget comes along. I'm not interested in spending a bunch of money on a new unit and then having to spend months dealing with a new interface and a new learning curve just so I can find out the new unit is mostly just different but not necessarily all that much better sounding. I'd rather spend that time and effort playing guitar and avoid the frequent hits to my wallet trying to keep up with the Joneses. One man's perspective.