PierM

Yes it is totally possible with the looper, and very easy to do; just set the overdub level to be around -3dB (or more), so you'll get old material fading away while adding new material (overdub decay) like happens with the two tapes technique (frippertronics). Said that, the original concept was that Delay Time was the result of the distance between Record Head and Playback Head, so a more realistic tape frippertronics would be achieved with a standard mono Delay block, set in the 4~8 seconds range, and using the Feedback parameter to simulate the natural sound on sound decay. Trail better if set to on. You can then add some filter at subtle levels, like Retro Reel, to give the tone the proper tape'ish sound. Works great with both methods.

There is for sure people doing wrong, but there is still room to improve the update system imho. I'm reading WAAAAAY to many of these problems. It's too easy to mess things up, and a solid firmware update mechanism shouldn't allow that. Funny thing is we are now heading back suggesting the use of the "old" l6 updater, instead HX Edit...which was supped to solve the l6 updater problems back in the days.

Yeah man, I said already I totally get your point as that guy was really unprofessional. I was just pointing out that an authorized repair shop remains an independent bench, so he can refuse any task, but wasn't an argument against your POV, which remains totally justified. (In your shoes I'd be pissed off like you, if not more) Also, there is no "certification". It's just a repair shop that has a deal with yamaha to take care of their stuff, but again, they are forced to do nothing if they don't want to. That guy should have said NO THANKS since from the start. That's where he messed up.

Not sure how it works over there, but never heard of "certified" centers, just authorized. (worked myself in one of those "authorized" centers for Quad amplifiers when I was very young) An authorized center isn't forced to do anything (it's an indipendent bench, that's it), they just are authorized from a specific manufacturer to do a task, access parts, and stay compliant with the manufacturer process and warranty regulations. Then, if you have problems with a repair shop, you contact your local/area distributor, which is the proper entity that has to help you finding another one. There is no such thing as corporal punishments if you don't do a job you don't want do, lol!

Agree. This is just unprofessional. 100% unprofessional.

Not justifying the guy at the service, but Id be curious to know how much money they get from tasks like these. Honestly Id be probably one of those guys telling "no thanks" as those are a PITA to repair, yep I can assure you (and I do repair my audio devices on my own since late '80)...

In the previous driver there was a bug crashing Cakewalk, that they fixed in the latest version (which is the one you have installed). This means could be there is another one crashing Ardour. You should report it in the bug section, and maybe open a support ticket. For now seems working fine with Ableton, but each DAW has its own code to call and use the ASIO drivers.

They are not like those PCs with negative internal pressure due the forced airflow, pulling tons of dust and crap in the inside. Air Pressure inside a passive cooling device, that also has no vents like the Helix, it's same as the outside. (Always better to use a vacuum cleaner instead of compressed air) Risk to damage an electronic device opening and touching circuits, twisting and pulling ribbons, is WAY higher than a bit of dust. As for the tactile switches; Isnt dust the problem...they do either naturally break or get surface oxidation.

I have my delay time set to 4 months. ..waiting for the next led flash.

There'll be no fur inside the unit. Maybe a bit of dust (and some dust/fur under the pedal), but these are passive cooling device, so there is virtually no in/out air flow. I believe you are a bit overthinking. :) PS; I've 3 cats, and when I repaired my helix floor ( 2 years old), was pristine in the inside.

Same story as with the FH1500; dropped in the market and abandoned. Be aware, Catalyst owners... ;)

Just set the helix as MIDI interface in the daw settings (globals MIDI USB ON), and prepare a preset as a "Native commander", programming all FS to send MIDI CCs to Native. You need to map both sides of course, but it's a one time only job. It's a bummer they didnt put this stuff in the code already, to make it working out of the box.

You could grab a cheapo Electro Harmonix Cntl Knob, and set exp 1 to min and exp 2 to max, and plug this in one of the exp ports of the rack. This is also great to save two different levels of a same parameter, like amp drive, to move from clean to crunch.

Layers (cycles) are stacked into the same audio sample, so you cant have a dedicated volume for something it's being glued with previous cycle. Is technically impossible unless you are looping on separate tracks (which isnt possible with Helix) Playback does adjust the loop sample cycle to be played at a specific level, like if you want to play a solo on top of a backing track that you want a tad lower. Overdub does adjust the level of the loop sample (the one in the buffer), and that value is being triggered at every overdub cycle. This means for any value under 100, you'll get a sound on sound decay, like a frippertronics. It's working as it should. :)

WD40 specialist contact is translated into air VOCs after few minutes, so there is no residue at all. (tecnically it's 100% volatile) I've been using this stuff in any kind of electronics and repairs, there is no such thing as "killed a led". With a dielectric strenght of 25000 Volts there is no possible currents involved. WD 40 is just a brand, but of course if you spray the WD40 lubricant, than that's doing a mess indeed...but just because it's the wrong product.

It's impossible to reach the tactile switch from the outside. The inside is being isolated by a plastic ring (which is part of the same ring that does glow with the led lights) installed around the mechanic Footswitch, and the tactile switch is being engaged by a tip at the very end of the mechanic switch.

Just be sure you are using the last two ports (the only two with 500mA) of your CS12. No extra actions required. :)

I did measure tha actual current draw and it's average higher than 900mA. Also at boot it has sporadic peaks well above 1A. It will work, but I was getting random boot/NO Audio issues when using two 500 from Zuma. Rare, but happened. Nothing that would put the unit at risk tho.

When you record with a VST, your track will always be "DRY". VST are being applied in real time, 'til you decide to export your mix to a audio file. Isn't like you are recording from the outputs of a Helix. This also should answer your first question; All tracks in Ableton are Stereo, but you are recording a signal coming from Scarlett Input 2, which is just one channel of the two, and that's being recorded by Ableton as is, centered. The Stereo effects will be there in the mix, as soon as you add them in Native, or other VST, or Ableton FXs. DAW is non linear, non destructive, until you render. ;)

Any contact cleaner is fine, as CRC or WD40 Contact Cleaner. Dont overflood the switch. If it keeps misfiring then it's starting failing and needs to be replaced.

Modifiers aren't for lazy lollipop, but they bring your stuff next level. Also through modifiers you can basically build your own effect logic, changing its behaviour. I do for example love big reverbs, but I hate the boomy mess they do when you are phrasing, so just throwing a slew limiter and I get portamento applied to reverb params, leaving you alone when you are doing busy playing, and smoothly raising/falling when there is the right room to do so. You could even use logic through comparators, to trigger whatever change you want in your sound, or pedal status, when something specific happens to the signal; like a note, or a target level, etc... It's niche (who cares), but it's lot of fun.

Great News! Enjoy!

The fact you have a list of legacy L6 drivers stacked in system (even if not used), it's already an answer. :)

Don't be. Most of the time it's just the PSU, or just the very first protection in the AC section. Just be patient. It'll be fine.

A healthy PSU other than provide the proper voltage and current, acts as a "firewall" in front of DC circuits. When a PSU fails, and protections collapses (fuses, diodes, secondary capacitors etc..) you risk to damage the entire board, and at that point everything would be pretty much fried. Leave it alone and bring it to assitance.