trhx

Ah, OK. Thanks.

I think you're right, but I suspect I would need to do some scripting. I suppose I could poke around and see what the learning curve is like.

Is there any ipad software that could display the active snapshot with midi commands from the Helix? I understand that I might need to use Command Center to assign midi commands, but I don't want anything that would require scripting because this isn't important enough to spend that kind of time on. I realize that OnSong and other apps can control the Helix to change snapshots, presets, etc, but for now I'm just looking for the display. I'll keep researching, so I'll post if I find anything.

Is there any ipad software that could display the active snapshot with midi commands from the Helix? I understand that I might need to use Command Center to assign midi commands, but I don't want anything that would require scripting because this isn't important enough to spend that kind of time on. I realize that OnSong and other apps can control the Helix to change snapshots, presets, etc, but for now I'm just looking for the display. I'll keep researching, so I'll post if I find anything.

The problem with using a bunch of amps is that each has their own eq profile which may or may not be hidden under other instruments. IOW, you can set what sounds like the same volume when you're all alone, but that goes out the window with the whole band when one of your amps overlaps more with the bass amp. Every PA will also have it's own EQ profile, so what works at one gig may not at the next one. At the very least, never try to match levels at bedroom volume. Do it with as high a volume as you can without hurting yourself. Do this over a period of several days because your ears will get fatigued and will start to skew the tone. Once you've done that alone, do the same thing in band practice. You will also need to check mixer input gain levels from the Helix. All of your patches should hit approximately the same level except for solos that you boost, and even those shouldn't bump up too much. If you don't have the input gains under control, you will probably wind up slamming the mixer with your loudest patches. If you get into digital distortion, you can kiss some of your audience goodbye.

Ya gets on the internet, ya takes yur chances.

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Thanks.

I didn't come here to tie people up in knots or bait anyone. You're correct that my question is pretty insignificant and created a longer thread than I would have expected, but I'll engage as long as anyone else does. After I posted the original question, I thought about it some more and came up with my own theory, which I put in my second comment. The back and forth prompted me to look at other devices to see which theory might make the most sense, so the HX Stomp and other devices were examples that support my theory. I don't stop thinking about my own question after I post. If I wind up coming up with my own answer, I figure I might as well share. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate the time people take to respond. I've gotten answers to other questions here that I never would have figured out on my own. Thanks to all for the discussion.

Computer logic makes the computer work behind the scenes. Usability is how customers interact with the computer. You can find plenty of computer products that don't have user interfaces based on binary or hex. The HX Stomp banks are organized around 3 foot switches, so I think it's safe to say the Helix bank organization is also based on the foot switch layout rather than computer coding.

My Alesis drum kit, Songbook Pro on my iPad, my other guitar player's Kemper Profiler and my keyboardist's Roland keyboard all use midi. None of them use a binary base for their organization. The drum kit can store 70 kits, and other e-drum models have all sorts of different numbers of stored presets. The Profiler stores 625 rigs. SBP doesn't list a song limit, so I suspect that's a single storage size limit rather than a set number of songs. The Roland Keyboard organization appears to be random. Binary and hex are typically used for under the hood parts of a computer, not user interface. Again, I don't know what the Helix Developers had in mind, so it's a toss up. ETA: The HX Stomp uses midi. It has 42 banks with A, B, C presets for 3 foot switches. I'm gonna go out on a limb and conclude once and for all that the footswitch number determined the bank organization.

I appreciate the response, but I'll have to take that with a grain of salt unless that's what someone at Line 6 said. The dev team seems to have really taken usability into account, and hex and binary structures probably don't mean much to the average guitar player. I think it's more likely that the footswitch layout was determined by overall product size in the design, and that the preset banks were divided up from there. But I did ask and you did provide a theory (or maybe info provided by Line 6), so I appreciate that.

Are the preset banks divided up based only on the footswitch layout, or is there some other reason for the A, B, C, D organization?

I think you've completely missed the point of his post. Being nice straightforward guys worked against them because competitors have stolen ideas and rushed them to market, and internet culture is such that some lollipops will comment on them in bad faith; ie, make all sorts of pronouncements based on zero facts. I was also hoping to find info about the looper. I suspect the fact that they're explicitly NOT saying anything means that there is some kind of upgrade coming for looper functionality. The good news is that I don't really need to know until the Stadium is released, at which point I can decide based on demos and trial rather than on what someone (even the developer) is writing on the Internet.

Thanks! I figured out the problem. My connection apparently died in the middle of testing, so that made all those tests fail. The connection works this morning, so I was able to set the snapshot with these settings in the song: Control Change (Not program change) Control (which is the CC number): 69 (has a default label of Hold 2 in SPB, but that doesn't matter) Value: 0-7 for whichever snapshot As you say, I can only send one command per song. That's OK because I'm generally using the same preset for a number of songs, so as long as I change the preset manually when I need to, the next X number of songs will have the snapshot set by SPB. I know snapshot automation seems trivial when they can be set manually with one button in Snapshot mode, but I figured it was worth checking out since there can be any number of distractions at the beginning of a song (in my band, anyway). I also have a handle on automating presets if I decide to expand out that way. Thanks again for your help. I appreciate it.

Thanks. I'm just not sure how to tell the app how to send that command, so I was hoping there was a way to set the Helix to recognize the MSB as the snapshot value. I just found an SBP group in Facebook, so I'll see if anyone there has a suggestion.

I have the full version of Songbook Pro. I'm able to change presets over midi with the following per song settings: Program Change LSB (determines the bank - Factory 1, User 2, etc) Program Number (determines the preset within the bank) I only use a couple of presets live so I'd rather have a song trigger a specific snapshot. There's an MSB setting, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. Is there something I can set on the Helix that will make SBP control snapshots instead of presets? I've looked at the midi info in the Preset button and I see a way to choose a snapshot within a given preset, but I don't see a way to have that changed through SBP. Thanks.

Thanks. I'll check it out, but there's no volume drop for the preset using the mono output only - just added noise on top of the signal.

Thanks, but getting a monitor feed isn't the problem I'm trying to solve. That info was just context for the FOH/monitor split at the source (Helix XLR outputs). The mystery noise from the left output is the real issue, but if the stereo feed is the only thing that fixes it, I can live with the mystery.

I'm not using any stereo effects live, so I decided to go XLR mono. That will let me feed one XLR to FOH and the other XLR to our monitor rig when we're in that split situation. Unfortunately, the mono output to the mixer is extremely noisy regardless of which cable I use. When I switch back to stereo, the noise goes away (caveat below). This is all while connected to a UI24 mixer in our practice space, and I created or removed the stereo link on the mixer channels as needed. The caveat is that the stereo connection is only quiet if the Helix left out is connected to the mixer stereo link "right" input. If the left out is connected to the "left" in on the mixer, that channel is noisy. No noise from the Helix right output, regardless of which channel it is plugged into. This is a relatively easy fix, and it's no problem to run the Helix 1/4" line out to the monitor rig when needed, but I'd still like to know why it's happening if anyone has any ideas.

I'd like to bounce something off of peeps here before posting to ideascale in case I'm missing something. After a firmware update is done, presets, etc are automatically restored, but we're encouraged to reset the Helix and then restore the backup we created at the beginning. I'd like a prompt before the auto restore that would allow me to either skip the auto update if I plan to restore manually, or continue if I don't plan to do the factory reset yet. Does that make sense?

I see that the Fractal has an LFO. Someone keeps up a list of DSP requirements for each block in the Helix, but I don't see one for the Fractal. Regardless, would an LFO pedal through one of the loops do what you need? I get that it's an extra expense, but certainly cheaper than getting a Fractal.

The real Bogner Ecstasy is a $3500 amp that has more knobs, buttons and switches than any amp I've ever seen, so I'm betting they spent as much time to create that one amp as it takes to create a dozen simpler amps. I don't know if I'll use the Helix version, but I bet a lot of people will. So I'd look at this as a quality over quantity situation. After all, whatever favorite amps you have in the Helix so far, aren't you glad they got them right?

OK. No connection from the FOH mixer to the IEM mixer. All instrument and mic signals will be split before going out to the 2 mixers so the SE can concentrate on FOH and the band members can control our own monitor mixes. Any ground loop would potentially be from unisolated split outputs. Sounds like the ground lift is what I need. Thanks.

I'm researching for a planned IEM rig to take to venues that have a house PA. I suspect this is a dumb question, but you know ... Can a ground loop happen if the XLR outs are connected to house PA and 1/4" or headphone outs are connected to my IEM mixer? If yes, do you recommend an inline hum eliminator of some kind? If no, is that because Helix designed it that way, or is it just electronic design 101? Thanks. ETA: Of course, maybe this is exactly what the ground lift switch is for?

If you're going direct to PA, you can leave the EQ mostly unaffected going out of the XLRs and have a path splitting off at the end of your chain that goes to your 1/4" outs (then to amp or IEM rig), then put an EQ on that path to do whatever you want without hamstringing the sound guy.