PierM

Sorry not going to open unknown hlx files, but check if that preset is using an iR block, with a missing iR file. This is a possible cause for noise because the amp block is hitting the output without a cab or an iR.

No, there is no way to prevent a preset being loaded, if you give the unit the time to load it.

If this is annoying you that much (honestly never had a problem like that in 8 years of daily use), you can place a cheap volume pedal in front of the helix, and turn the volume down while browsing, or use PCs to call only the presets you want. 

Always do a full hard disk alias on your desktop, as this is a quick and easy way to access the entire disk. If you use the stock finder as is, it can be misleading.. :)

As I said, I was wildly assuming. No complains or being negative.

When I see no bug fixes for so many months/years, I start assuming the head programmers are busy and working on something else, while content guys are still there throwing goodies to keep the project alive, market wise.

Again, just saying based on what I've seen with HD and Firehawk and any other similar product or software I've worked with.

I'm happy with what I've, still, I'd rather have bugs and last gen OS drivers being released instead new stuff being added, but that's me - nobody cares really. :) 

All good, I'm still enjoying my HX with 3.15. 

On 4/26/2023 at 1:11 PM, brue58ski said:

What is the HX project?

Everything that is based on the HX modeling technology.

Reset the Globals.

On 4/25/2023 at 7:34 PM, theElevators said:

oh wow... more amps/cabs/effects...  why not just fix all the outstanding bugs? 

 

1. left/mono not being mono

2. bypass behavior chaos that still exists in 3.5

 

 

 

I believe the HX project is coming to a end, so they are probably just scraping the yet available market's barrel offering more toys to trigger some residual attention.

I wouldn't hold my breath on the "outstanding bugs" fixing on this phase. Probably there'll be a maintenance team later for this task.

I mean, we are still waiting for compliant Win/Mac OS drivers... :)

Just hardcore assumptions, but this always been the classic parabola of any other flagship Line 6 product.

On 4/25/2023 at 5:35 PM, daveinsa said:

This is an ancient thread, but I just got a helix in from Sweetwater. It had 3.15.0 on it. I tried doing the update and am experiencing the exact same things.

I severly doubt this is an old preset causing an issue, as the device is brand new. No amount of attempting to reinstall the firmware or any combination of holding buttons while booting has helped. I've also tried going back to 3.15.0, which the during the process of I get a bunch of errors too and then trying to update again, same thing.
I've tried multiple computers, multiple usb ports, multiple usb cables, multiple power cables, multiple power outlets, even a completely different house.
I've uninstalled everything from my computer and reinstalled just the line 6 updater. I've completely reloaded another computer so that it had the basic windows 10 and line 6 updater. Nothing has made any difference.
I've opened a ticket with Line 6, but I'm very near just sending it back to Sweetwater and ordering a headrush prime. this is ridiculous for a $1700 device.

 

Ok

If you want a full analog guitar signal hitting the audio interface, that Boss Delay pedal direct out is gonna work.

It may sounds tricky...but still better than iLok. Jeeeez...I once forgot to uninstall couple of eventide plugins from my old laptop before to trash it, and I almost had to write a begging letter to the Pope to get back that activation slot. Took more than a month to get the request approved. Viva L6! 

I still see a lot of overthinking here, probably because isnt a typical guitar controller but it's really easy stuff,

Just copy from Zoia and be happy, ;)

On 4/20/2023 at 4:28 AM, TCStuckey3 said:

It's all wired in on a pedalboard.  The looper starts up quickly, helix takes a bit.

I see.

I'm not aware of any commands being sent at boot, and I remember I used my Helix with many loopers without any issues. Today I only own the Stomp, and as far as I can see, it's not sending any MIDI at boot, apart those commands stored in the presets.

You could plug the Helix to a Midi event monitor and see what event is being sent at boot, if any.

Also, many cables and adapters from USB A to USB C are using a chip that needs to be discovered and allowed by MacOS prior any device connected to them. This means you have to unplug the Helix (and any other usb device) from those adapters each time you reboot the Mac, and re-plug after boot has completed.

Can't you just turn the Helix before the looper?

Zero issues with a MBP m1, running latest ventura.

Hi,

this is just a community forum, with basically no interactions with the L6 guys.

The right place for ideas is https://line6.ideascale.com

On 4/15/2023 at 10:17 PM, MGW-Alberta said:

Now that I am starting to understand this a little better it seems to me that the "sensor" would have to be a piece of hardware rather than a block, would it not?

I'm not yet sure how it would be connected but I suspect probably via MIDI.

I sometimes assign parameters to an expression pedal but I have to wonder if it's possible to assign parameters to another block.

I honestly don't know.  I've never heard of it being done.
Is it in fact possible?

Is there a such thing as a block that can act as a controller?

That's essentially what we're talking about, isn't it?  A controller block?
I don't think I've ever seen any other such type of block in the blocks listing.

If there is not then it seems to me if such a thing were even possible it would have to wait for firmware version 4 because that seems to me like a major revision to the operating system.
I don't know.  I could be wrong.  It wouldn't be the first time.

This envelope is ALREADY AVAILABLE inside the helix and used in all effects using the signal to drive an effect; Auto Wha. Auto Swells. Compressors, and many of those legacy effects that uses ECFs (Envelope-Controlled Filters). Calling it sensor just makes everything more confusing.

Let's take the Helix auto wah blocks. How does it works? A bandpass filter let the guitar signal pass only at a specific peak threshold and then it attenuates its shape above and under this envelope. Then they use the envelope detector (which becomes a dynamic envelope follower) to produce a control voltage from the top end of the input, this CV signal is then used to dynamically sweep the cut-off frequency of the bandpass filter, emulating the behaviour of a wah pedal. Isntead of your foot, it's the envelope detector driving the filter.

It's really easy to implememt. Line 6 just need to expose that same envelope for the user on the UI (imho the command area is the right place), and give the user the option to drive whatever parameter of any effect, using such envelope. Again, it's all there already.

On 4/15/2023 at 9:32 PM, syltru said:

It would be a Block / Model that passes sound through without changing it (while changing what is going on within other Models!)

An advantadge is that you could cancel its "control" over other Models by turning it off with a footswitch.

You dont need to waste a block slot just to turn it on or off, you can do it with commands.

Let's say you want to control a reverb with that "sensor"; you'd go in the Commands section, select a FS to assign then set the Sensor as command, assign the block to listen as audio, assign the reverb block and the parameter(s) to control, and the sensitivity. Done.

On 4/15/2023 at 6:19 PM, codamedia said:

Implementing it as another controller has merit... providing there is an easy way to assign a footswitch to turn it on/off. That is where adding it as a block would be a simpler, more intuitive approach. (IMO of course)

A block is meant to process audio and return audio. Has an audio in and an audio out.

An envelope detector is meant to process audio and return a control voltage. Has an audio in, and a CV out. Is a controller, not an effect.

Wasting a block for a controller would be a huge waste for HX users, even if I wouldnt really need it, as I have infinite envelopes available through the Zoia controlling my HX Stomp presets. Tons of fun and weird things you can do. :)

On 4/14/2023 at 2:05 PM, kduck said:

 

True that it would use at least one block, but I think it would be possible to map the CV from a single block to multiple parameters, similar to what can currently be done with an expression pedal.

 

I respectfully disagree.  The point in the path that you take the envelope measurement can make a significant difference, both dynamically and temporally.  The envelope measured after a compressor/limiter would have a different dynamic range than the dry envelope.  The envelope after a delay would be much different, as it would have the dynamics of the decaying repeats.  The envelope after an autoswell or reverse delay could be radically different than the dry signal.

 

Definitely some merit to this idea.  If that CV was exposed on the output of each block you could have the best of both worlds (no wasted blocks and multiple envelopes. 

 

One consideration would be avoiding a feedback loop if CV from one block is fed into a parameter on a block earlier in the chain.  Of course, that might be interesting in some cases!

 

Just some thoughts.  Not trying to start an argument over an idea that may or may not come to fruition.

 

As i said, these are not my ideas but just how it works. I use the envelope detectors every day to do these things, so Im just suggesting how to better propose the idea without reinventing the wheel. ;)

PS; position on the path doesnt matter as you can always just tell the envelope detector where to link, which means the detection will just start at a specific block stage.

PS2; if you dont want start an argument, then dont. ;)

Yes, it's an envelope follower, and using it as a block would be a waste as this CV is already available in the Helix, under the hood, just not being exposed for the user.

The envelope follower is just a control voltage signal that's composed by the top end of a signal level (envelope detector), and being used to control basically all effects that needs that CV, as compressors, auto wah, auto swell, etc etc... A Control Voltage is doing pretty much what an expression MIDI does, with the difference that the range it's 0 to 1, instead 0 to 127. 0 is no signal, 1 is peak of the given envelope.

Using it as a block means wasting room in the path for no reason, and also means you need one of these blocks for each effect you'd want to control. Isn't an efficient way to use a controller, that is virtually DSP free. You may think a block would be nice as you could put wherever you want in the path, but this wouldn't change much, as the envelope would be pretty much the same at any point, just with a different dB level, which is something you could control with a simple strength parameter.

All they should do is to expose that Control Voltage that it's already there, and put it somewhere in the controller page, and that you can use to link whatever parameter you want. Think it like an expression pedal, or a CC coming from the outside, but that it's automatically driven by the signal.

Then they can add a strength control for each connection, that allow you to set the ratio between the control voltage and the param change.

I'm not inventing anything, that's something used every day in any synth, or effect that uses the signal to drive a variable effect. :)

I think your description would just confuse the reader, and would make it looking overcomplicated, while it's extremely easy to implement.

On 4/13/2023 at 3:16 PM, cruisinon2 said:

 

And that's just what the devices are doing to themselves, lol...can't wait till somebody establishes a provable link between all this close-range, 24/7 EM exposure and some exotic cancer, or other weird ailment(s). We were built to be wearing a loincloth, and chasing wildebeest across the Serengeti...there's no way any of this crap is good for us, but I digress. On the bright side all the Telecoms will eventually go the way of Big Tobacco, once the lawsuits begin...hope I last long enough to see it, lol.

Let me tell you that, real story; since last year I had a full alexa domotic setup in my house. An echo dot for each room, hubs, smart lights, smart cctvs, air quality sensors per room, and every possible smart crap. After couple of weeks of this is mess online, my cat gradually started going nuts, running away from invisible things...pulling his own fur, stinky pee everywhere. Vet said was suffering of some allergy...so I started changing his diet, and everything...but nothing changed. Pretty young cat, never had a problem before...so after couple of months I started doing some reverse engineering in my head, and I realized the cat started this behaviour just when I setup the smart house. Next day I pulled all the wifi lollipop off, and kept only the router for my daily internet. After a week every single symptom was basically gone. Vet said was a coincidence, I call this BS. I'm 100% sure it was the EM exposure, so all that Alexa crap will stay off and buried in a closet.

What the OP is trying to describe is called Envelope Follower. An Envelope Follower will analyze the incoming audio signal and produce a CV signal based on its signal strength. You can then use this to trigger filter sweeps, audio effects parameter, etc. The connection strength can act as a sensitivity control.

In the Helix would be extremely useful for many purposes, like for example link your playing dynamics to a set of reverb block params, to reduce its presence while playing and push more while signal is decaying. You could then setup your own auto volume swell, or create an extremely dynamic tube behaviour etc etc...

It would need to be available as a controller, not as a block.

What’re some other places envelope followers are used?

Envelope followers are actually really common, but are generally built in to other devices. For instance, auto-wah pedals are controlled by envelope followers. Compressors effectively utilize envelope followers to calculate gain reduction (read all about compressors in our post about just that).

2.4 Ghz is a doomed frequency. Every single piece of wireless crap is using it, and even with 11/13 channels this isnt enough to get a solid link without something overlapping your bandwidth and injecting jitter and noise. The huge amount of SSIDs, smart devices, routers, extenders, smartphones, hubs, wifi bulbs, doorbells, cctvs, etc... are everywhere and filling every inch of air. This system isn't good anymore for Wireless audio, and it's time to move on something else. There are companies working on it, as this is a real problem, so I don't think is a commercial move. 

My L6 Relays also worked perfect for years, but now they are just grabbing dust because totally unreliable due the 2.4Ghz pollution. The only way I can get them working again, is to busk in a desert.

Probably you are expecting a different kind of clipping, more typical on analogue signals. Digital clipping is different and doesn't always produce distortion. In fact, it rarely does. Digital clipping means your signal transients are being "clipped", so everything above that line is being dropped. It can pop, or crackle, or just inject noise...whatever, isn't a good signal you are getting. The "trust your ears" isn't always completely true... ;)