PierM

Hi,

you can use HX Looper commands to program a FS (the one you want) to only send the Stop command on Press action.

Page 47 of the latest version manual.

Stating the obvious, but if you use your pedal in front of HX Stomp, it will work as a main input volume pedal, and that's saving the EXP port for something else.

35 minutes ago, jet460 said:

I have been told by literally everyone,including line 6, that the updater is the first thing to install.

 

That's a thing of the past.

Today, just follow the Phil advice, and install the HX Edit app. It will install everything you need to communicate with Helix (drivers), to update the firmware and to make/edit/download/upload the patches from/to your unit.

Just carefully read all the instructions before to proceed, and everything should be fine.

51 minutes ago, circu5 said:

Thanks for your insights, everyone. Pier, what make and model of power conditioner do you use?

Adam Hall PCL 10 Pro for the Rack, and Furman AC-210 A for the pedalboard. It'EU stuff, if you are in the US, you need to find the correct models for your AC.

If you manage to control the main output from Helix to FOH (to avoid a loud pop), from your position, you can quickly reboot as soon as you have a similar problem. With latest firmware, it takes ~10/13 seconds to reboot. I do have all my rig plugged to a power conditioner, so if anything goes freezed, I just do a superfast OFF/ON on the conditioner, and restart everything. Still a bad thing to happen, but better a hole of 10 seconds than dropping the entire performance 'til the end of the piece.

Then, as said above, avoid overheating your units and, probably even more important, take care of the quality of the power feeding your system, using a power conditioner (this is not just for the Helix, but anything digital, works better with a clean and stable power). Even the cheapest Furman, is better than nothing.

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but hard reboots, with a shut down in the middle, are typically referred to hardware problems (you are not reporting a software crash, just a random shutdown/reboot, so I do agree the firmware reinstall doesnt make much sense), and the more you use it, the more the risk to damage more parts, if the issue is related to current leaks, shortages, supply problems or even just a defective controller, etc etc etc...It can be LOT of things, but I doubt it's just software level. Of course the support guys from l6, have to try the standard procedures, like firmware reinstall etc, before to proceed with other steps.

Helix are just fine products, but as any other electronic/digital device, they can face issues. Good news is they can be repaired, or better, replaced. Send it for repair. GL!

Hardware reboots (with a shut down in the middle) aren't funny and I don't really think you can "fix" this just messing around with firmware reinstall or a reset.

Support ticket, and I also would stop using it until properly diagnosed. 

Something ready to go doesn't exist, but you can build your own grabbing a Rack Panel with just Neutrik D Type holes, and then buy the Neutrik panel connectors to mirror the back of the Helix. Every Neutrik panel connector has a Front/Back port. Back port it's to connect your Helix ports with the Neutrik port, which will be then available on the Front.

Something like that for the panel (12 ports);

https://www.thomann.de/it/adam_hall_rackblende_neutrik.htm

Or a 24; https://www.thomann.de/it/adam_hall_872214.htm

Then you can grab the Neutrik that you need, depending what ports you want to mirror. They do cover basically everything, from XLR to Jack, from CAT to Midi, from USB A/B etc etc...

https://www.thomann.de/it/search_dir.html?sw=neutrik+panel&smcs=95a60f_2730

Between patch panel, patch cables, and Neutrik panel connectors....isn't gonna be cheap.

Last friday I had a recording session (live/studio) with some friends musicians, and a good part of controllers, plus a drum set, were working via BT (mostly live controlling), and a set of other devices were linked through WiFi.

Half of the BT devices didn't want to re-link to their previous companions, and two of the WiFi devices were disconnecting all the time. We've wasted more than an hour to find out how to solve this situation, and move to the job. As a VERY BT/Widi enthusiast, I can say all this mess wouldn't have happened with standard cables.

I guess some wireless protocols (not talking mics here), aren't yet solid enough to be trusted for "professional" use (talking mostly BT, and intra-connections happening within a WiFi network). Then I agree, the "Pro" term means nothing more than being paid for the job. And in all honesty, if this were a paid job, I would have wired everything with cables. (Not that with cable is all always safe, but the time to debug a cable issue is usually less than the time you need to debug multiple wireless glitches, and once you solved you can relax as you're sure problem is gone). 100% imho.  :)

Molte grazie, thank you. 

22 hours ago, datacommando said:

10 "Downvotes"

...56 and counting. 

Hi,

Display on the top isnt same nature as the scribble strips. A scribble strip has a very strong backlight, also leaking on the boundaries, while the main display looks like a dim lcd.

I do have the same output as your on my Helix Control. Never seen one with main display bright as the strips, I dont think it's possible.

Even in promo shots, the difference is evident..

Mine;

9 minutes ago, z3albw1rr said:

There's no way to tell which combination of effects will be possible and which won't based on the manual.

If you download the trial of Native, you can test all the combination you'd like to test, using the plugin in compatibility mode. The only thing that you can't test are FX Loops, as they are hardware, but those are basically DSP free.

It's LOT OF FUN, and does really give you a realistic overview over the hardware counterpart. 

A good practice, that always worked for me, is to download and study the manual (which are all available in pdf for every modern pedal in the market), before to buy new stuff. Also cheatlists are good help. This way I do get two advantages; 1) If Im gonna buy it, I will already know good stuff as soon as it arrives new home, so I can start messing with it, out of the box. 2) Manuals are telling you what's doable and what's not, so that's enough info to decide if buy or not buy. In this specific case, you also have a trial of Native, to experiment the details, and the sound of everything. We do live great times. :)

Works for me 90% of the time. 

26 minutes ago, galbur said:

Hi

 

Thanks for all the answers. And sorry for the misunderstandings.

English is just not my mother tongue.

 

Sure, I read the manual, but I wasn't aware that the two knobs for the bypass switch can also be operated with the foot. That works with a little practice.

 

So I will take 3 snapshots and switch the whole thing to "bypass" if necessary.

To make the whole thing a little easier, I'll probably get a footswitch to use it to switch "bypass".

Thanks at this point to PierM for the effort and the hint with the footswitch.

 

But I'm sticking to it. The whole thing takes a training period.

When I connected the HX Stomp for the first time, preset 01A was immediately active.

I was able to activate / deactivate 2 blocks but not switch the whole bypass (I hadn't read the manual yet -).

 

I also had the full-tone OCD in the chain. The following applies: Footswitch On = Effect On / Footswitch Off = Effect Off. It’s easy.

 

Unfortunately, this does not work with the HX Stomp. To see the difference between "HX Stomp on" and "HX Stomp off" I had to switch to an empty preset.

Now that I know how to switch the bypass, this problem has also been solved ;-)

 

Thanks again and have a nice day

Christoph

Yep. You can grab a cheap footswitch, stick it in the HX Stomp EXP port, and in the Global Settings set FS4 to All Bypass.

You can also set the HX Stomp to act as a True Bypass, instead DSP. I do personally prefer the second, but you have the option available.

As for the visual feedback, when the HX Stomp is in all bypass, does show a big yellow sign in the LCD screen, so it's very easy to monitor, even on the floor.

Keep in mind that, depends what blocks are you using (and if you are doing gain staging), the all bypass might produce a significant drop in the signal level.

Bought one from another brand for the HX Stomp (pretty much same design concept), and removed after 48Hrs (sorry, I'm not saying is bad product/idea, but imho is overdone for the purpose).... I did find extremely difficult to dial with all the rotary and buttons, half buried down that thick piece of plastic. Also one of the rotary was touching the edge of the plastic while rotating (since that rotary doesn't always perfectly rotate within its axis), and that scratched the knob a bit. Then, I do have cats, and just after two days there were lot of cat hair trapped between the cover and the Stomp... 

Much prefer just single protective films for the display. At the end of the day, the LCD is the most sensible area, imho.

Anyway, if some EU guy here (no UK) is paying for shipping, Im happy to give you for free (costed me 35£ + 15€ of Custom fees). :)

8 minutes ago, datacommando said:

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. 
 

See page 53 - HX Stomp 3.0 Owner’s Manual - One Expression Pedal (there is even a diagram)

 

I tried that, but for me doesnt work. I mean, if I connect a TRS pedal, straight into EXP port, does the 0/100/0 thing, even with all properly setup as the manual. Manual isnt clear if the example it's using a TS pedal or a TRS tho... a bit foggy.

30 minutes ago, scottwilliams said:

well... thanks for the comic relief..  FWIW, I have looked in manual, but even the part you quote doesn't seem to address how to connect a single expression pedal, and there were a bunch of folks on the forum - including the other guru above - who seemed to indicated the M audio pedal would work without modification.   I guess I'll find out one way or the other tomorrow.  Thanks!

Ok im confused now.

In the OP you said it's a Moog Exp Pedal, which is a TRS/TRS. Now it's a M Audio, which is a TS pedal. Hard to help when things arent clear enough. Still not clear if Helix or a HX stomp...

Anyway, if it's a Moog Exp Pedal, like the EP3, you just need a Y Cable, TRS to TS/TS (like pic 1), and a custom cable with TRS on a side (that you'll plug to your exp pedal), and a TS on the other side (that you'll plug into one of the two TS female from that Y cable). The custom cable it's just a TRS cable with the ring wire cut and isolated on the TS side, and only Tip and Sleeve properly weld to the jack terminals. This worked for me 100% of the time (even with few TRS Expression knobs) , so I guess it should help your situation too. Then, if it is a M-Audio, it should work as it is. STILL, if it's a HX Stomp, you need that Y cable.

7 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

 

Posted for the sake of clarity, since we both know that EVERYONE reads the manual.... :-)

Oh yeah! Who's reading the manual in 2021? :D

5 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

EXP 1/2, FS 4/5 Connect an expression pedal here to adjust a wide variety of parameters.* With a Y-cable (tip-ring-sleeve 1/4" jack, split to two tip-sleeve 1/4" jacks), two expression pedals can be connected. Alternatively, you can add one (or with a Y-cable, two) external footswitches to access additional stomps, presets, snapshots, etc. (FS4=tip, FS5=ring). To set this jack’s function(s), see page 52. By default, this jack is set to accommodate a Mission SP1-L6H Line 6 Expression Pedal, which has a toe switch that toggles between EXP 1 (Wah/Pitch or Poly Wham) and EXP 2 (Volume/Pan). For external footswitches, the momentary (unlatched) type should be used.

Not sure what's the message here. I do have the Stomp, and Rack too.

If you have a TRS pedal, and you use a TRS/TRS cable, straight into the Exp port, it won't work. It will go 0/100/0.

Pedals in Helix must be TS, but since 99% of the market is TRS, you either need to mod the pedal, or the cable, as I did for all my TRS pedals.

Said that, not sure that's the problem with the OP, as he should still get 0 to 100 to 0. Just trying to help, like you.

1. If you don't need the tap/tempo then you have 3 switch available
2. If you need more than 2 or 3 blocks to be controlled by a dedicated switch, then you need an extra MIDI controller, or 2 Footswitch to activate FS 4 and FS 5
3. If you need more visual feedback, you can keep the HX Stomp display in patch edit mode, so blocks are bigger and on/off status is more visible (but still, if you want a dedicated led, it's again point 1 and 2)
4. You can switch blocks AND snapshot, on the same session (without using hands), if you use the external FS4 and FS5 for Snapshot Up and Snapshot Down and keeping the 3 Switches for Blocks.
5. Remember you can assign more blocks per switch
6. Remember you can set blocks to be ignored by a snapshot memory (Action button, set snapshot bypass to OFF)

Said that, HX Stomp has max 8 blocks per patch. Assuming you are not tap dancing all of them, you should be totally fine with 3+2 Switches. If not, you need a more complex foot controller with leds, like an MC8 or similar. Or sell it and grab an HX Stomp XL.

Helix doesn't accept/work with TRS cables and exp pedals. The EXP port does only listen for tip and sleeve.

You either need to mod the medal, or the cable, to make it a TRS to TS, isolating the Ring.

11 hours ago, lawrence_Arps said:

I too am tired of people talking about things "sounding digital".  There a great vid around from an Audio Engineering conference where they ran a file through a cheap ($30.00) soundcard over 100 times and no -one could hear any difference.
Yes, back in the first year or two of CDs there were issues with the brick wall filters on the Players....and issues with mastering engineers preparing tapes for vinyl and then having it put on CD.  None of that is relevant now.

plastic is also  a useless term - just like saying it sounds too orange, or too fur coat. 

also unhelpful is not specifying the signal chain and the monitoring system.   If you run your helix though a headphone amp and into a 1000w poweramp then into a 1 inch compression driver with no horn there is a real chance it will sound "thin".

 

Well, while I do agree about the difficulty to describe a sound with words, we do also have to agree that (given the personal taste) hearing is a subjective experience. Not sure if you ever did an audiogram test, but as with speakers, we do also have our own "frequency response", and we are all different as humans, due age, high volume damages (yep, it's a serious thing between gigging people), etc etc.-. Also, when you are getting older, you start developing specific frequencies notches (typically on top of 4Khz), and an early falloff on both edges of the spectrum. This means you may want to pull more highs to compensate your hearing perception, while a young folk would perceive this as way too much. Same on the bass side.

This is something people tends to ignore, but it's a fact... so yeah, I do tend to believe (or at least Im not bashing them) these folks that are hearing stuff that Im not, and viceversa. You could easily test this, "hiding" a generated tone above 8KHz@0dB SPL, in the middle of a guitar signal - and see how many will spot it.

I do always suggest my friends gigging musicians to do an Audiogram, at least once a year. ;)

2 hours ago, voxman55 said:

 

I completely agree.  Just to clarify, the replacement IS the old version - it's still the Mk1 G10T not the G10T II  

Whhaaaaaat? Oh my god, this is getting more intricate than watching Interstellar in reverse play...

1 hour ago, Schmalle said:

Define 'digital tinge'.

Here is an A / B comparison between Helix and it's high end analog tube amp counterpart (well 100w model vs. 50w version). Please tell me what to listen to in order to observe  that 'digital tinge'.

 

Hmmmm, Im not sure I do believe that video. Im tempted to overlap the A with B and do a phase test... ;)