optofonik

So the Helix hardware is now a subscription gateway to the software. If this is true I'm still within the return window. I stopped upgrading Adobe Creative Suite and buying Adobe products over their transforming into a subscription service. There comes a time when people have to simply not support this kind of business behavior.

Absolutely. This was the first thing that stood out to me as an unfortunate UI choice. If I want modulation I just want what sounds good for the song, I don't care where in the Line 6 history the effects came from.

Thanks for posting, that's really good to know.

Soundog, Codamedia, thank you both for an explanation that can help folks determine if their unit is one of the 1 in 200. I still wonder about the mysterious and vaguely described, "unsavory audio artifacts". I'm a technician so vagaries are anathemas.

If someone gains some experience over time and learns in several months (say, 25 months after purchasing) how to recognize the "other unsavory audio artifacts", specific details of which are unfortunately absent in the announcement, what then? It seems that embedding an audio file of the "other unsavory audio artifacts" in the notification posting would have been proper.

Yeah, the bread and butter are more than well represented at this point.

It would be interesting if Line 6 hired someone with modular synthesizer modeling expertise who could do just that. Being able to route various parameters from one effect to another would be game changing stuff. I'm not sure hardware DSP is powerful enough yet for that sort of thing, though

EHX Flanger Hoax (with expression pedal functionality). That darn thing is almost as big as the HX Effects. EHX Blurst Dr. Scientist Bitquest EarthQuaker Devices Rainbow Machine See a pattern?

Not very many pictures for a thread with "post pics" in the header. So... Assessment, reconfiguration, assimilation, and integration are currently in process... The HX Effects is a keeper... That of course has necessitated some changes; some culling, and, as is usually the case, a couple of additional additions beyond the HX Effects. My EBS SC pedal is now where it belonged in the first place, on my bass pedalboard, a Black Cat Tremelo was made redundant a while ago when I got the Adrenalinn III and doubly redundant now that I have the HX. The BC may end up on the bass pedalboard as well, though. The additions are both from EHX; a "Flanger Hoax" which is almost as bloody big as the HX Effects, and a "Blurst" with an expression pedal. The Blurst, a well proper filter full of wacky and then some, replaces the more traditional EBS. The HX takes two expression pedals so two more are in the mail but I may just pony up for a dually from EHX or Boss. The M5, Bad Stone, and MXRs might be on the chopping block after a few performances to make room for a few more boxes brimming with weirdness. It's pretty much a complete reconfiguration so I'm taking the opportunity to make custom patch cables using Canare cable (same brand I use at work) and Switchcraft pancake connectors. I added another power strip to the front of the pedalboard and I still need to add another power distro to the underside but the pedal layout is pretty much locked in. A full day of measuring and soldering is in my future after Thanksgiving.

I purchased mine new from GC for $509; well worth the return policy and security of knowing how much stomping it's been subjected to.

I just finished a two and a half week run and am actually looking forward to designing some presents. That hasn't happened with a piece of gear in a loong time. Thst alone speaks volumes to me about the HX Effects.

So does that mean the AXFX2 has more processing power than the Helix? Seems like an AXFX2 and an HX Effects would be a dream team.

Dup

From Sweetwater regarding the stock power supply: Tech Specs Input Voltage Range:100-240V/50-60Hz Output Amps:3000mA Output Voltage:9V Sleeve/Tip Configuration:Tip: Negative, Sleeve: Positive Manufacturer Part Number:98-030-0041-05

Forty-five days is plenty of time; I doubt it will take even that long. I'll keep building presets and digging deep into the parameters until I''ve sussed out all it can and can't do. I've been programming synthesizers since I was a kid and the HX isn't nearly as deep as some of those beasts. Indeed, and the ability to so easily re-order the HX FX chain is what intrigued me. That alone goes a long way to achieving unusual textures. I suspect this is true but will be part of a new product or, more than likely, the product that was planned from the start; corporations, even small ones, deal in long term strategies that maximized already existing R&D results. I find it hard to believe the name "Helix" was an arbitrary choice; a bit too "on the nose". When EHX came out with the "Canyon" I immediately asked about their plans for the "Grand Canyon". They denied any plans, of course, but it was pretty obvious that a "Grand Canyon" was planned from the start. The Helix is over three years old and now that every permutation of it has made it to market, it's time for the "Double Helix" to be introduced; it's just too obvious. I suspect the Double Helix will incorporate the very "changes to the core programming" and "sonic joy" you mentioned.

I've spent the afternoon mucking about with weirdness. I haven't hooked up my expression pedals or inserted my main board yet but so far I'm encouraged. I uploaded several bits of weirdness to the "CustomTone" section in order to illustrate my "selection criteria" (good choice of words, Soundog). They're also attached here though I don't know if they can be downloaded from the forum posts. They're all designed for Ebow so they're basically pads of a sort. Cycling w_SETI.hlx Dreaming The CPU.hlx Everglades@Night.hlx Gel The Lites.hlx Grinding Wall.hlx Max Mad Ring 01.hlx Synthy Warbly 02.hlx

EHX has an interesting catalog and four of their pedals found a home on my main board. In a way EHX is a good example of creating pedals from "off the shelf". Many of their pedals are permutations of various ideas they've already marketed successfully. It's a double edged sword though. How many POG and Big Muff permutations to we need? No argument there. Line 6 can only survive by selling massive amounts to a large consumer base and that base wants familiar bread and butter. Most musicians who are buying modeled mutiFX are in cover bands (gigging or not) and need to "model" the boards of various known guitarists and their sounds. Line 6 is only one of several companies catering to that largest market of musicians. Guitarists in worship bands are probably a sizable market as well. That's he beauty of modeling, though. "Creating" a pedal doesn't require hardware prototyping, it's done inside computers. Using "off the shelf" modeled circuits already in their (virtual) inventory it seems like it wouldn't require extensive R&D (unless they are tying to recreate an already existing pedal). Totally agree, I've got a Rainbow Machine in my sights. Inserting it into my main board's chain is going to take some work, though.

I didn't buy the HX Effects for "bread and butter" but that is the only type of demos I could find online. I decided to ignore the demos I bought it. Then I ignored the presets. Starting straight away with HX Edit I dug in and the three presets I uploaded are my first. Honestly, it didn't take terribly long to find some glitchy goodness but 45 days will tell the tale. If Line 6 can take a cue from the "boutique pedal" world and come up with some "outside the box" modeling (synth modules, perhaps) they will decimate the boutique market. There are just too many bread and butter multi-FX to not embrace the boutique aesthetic and model some wackiness, to embrace the weird, and genuinely differentiate themselves from everyone else. For now, it will be interesting to see how far into the left field I can take the HX during the next six weeks. If things start to sound "samey", though, it's over. Using firmware 2.70 Gel The Lites.hlx Max Mad Ring 01.hlx Synthy Warbly 02.hlx