phil_m

Should be all there is to it, really. I know this is a dumb question, but have you changed presets on the Whammy so you know that the PC it's supposed to be receiving is for a different preset than what it's on?

What does the Boss OC-2 do that you can't do with the current pitch effects on the Helix?

Well, I guess I'm wondering if we're observing the same thing, because what I noted was barely noticeable, imo. I had to check it like a dozen times to even really be sure. I can't imagine it being something I would ever notice in a real world situation where I was turning an effect block on. It seemed to me to be a very subtle ramp on, but it was very quick. I mean, there could be something else going on than what I'm speculating.

Well, Workbench HD doesn't support the older Variaxes, so, no, Helix doesn't add anything there. The older Variaxes will only work with the original Workbench, and Helix doesn't support that.

Well, the M9 technically does run on DC power... There's a bridge rectifier right after the plug, so it converts the AC voltage to DC. So the M9 will work with DC power.

Perhaps I'm not understanding you, but it seems to me you have the same inherent problem with gates whether they be digital or analog. That is trying block what is truly noise without affecting the inherent signal too much. I hardly ever use gates, personally, because I feel you always sacrifice something when using them. I do have a few heavy tones where I use the hard gate, though.

I think they may have changed the way effect blocks ramp up when they come on to try to combat some of the issues people were having with popping when changing snapshots. I spent some time messing with this last week, and it seemed that it wasn't so much that the block wasn't coming on, but there was a short ramp up period now.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a Helix bean... I think that Helix Native will do the job for most people looking for that sort of functionality.

Funny, I have always liked the feel of the on-board pedals on the Line 6 boards, with perhaps the exception of the X3L (the pedal itself was a little small)... I've never had one of them fail, though.

Are these pitch effects you're talking about assigned to expression pedals?

There's always going to be some latency with anything digital, but the total throughput latency of the Helix is very minor - like around 1ms. It would go up a little if you're using any of the FX loops, but still, 6 or 7ms is probably at the lower end of the spectrum that you could even notice. It's certainly not enough to throw off your timing. What you heard tonight was probably more just the experience of playing though a different amp and hearing yourself differently.

Try running the updater with the Helix connected to a different USB port.

I'm not sure why they would have told you this is a known issue, because changing Variax models per snapshot has been working for awhile now, and it's still working with the 2.20 firmware. The one thing to realize is that the Variax model doesn't just automatically save with the snapshot. In the input block, you have to have the "Variax Settings" parameter set to "per preset", and you need to assign the Preset Variax Model parameter to a snapshot controller (on the Helix itself, push and turn the knob, and brackets will appear around that parameter). Then you can set the Variax model you want for each snapshot. I can assure you this works in 2.20.

Yes, and it's also possible that you have saved the preset on the Helix or whatever device you're plugging into with the tone knob at a low value.

Uh, the first day of spring was less than two weeks ago... Doesn't end until June.

How old are your strings? I've always found that the piezos are way more sensitive to old strings than the magnetic pickups.

That sort of jumpiness is just inherent to MIDI clock. +/- 1 BPM is about the best you can get. Having the display be a few BPMs off isn't unusual, either. I think the thing is that even though MIDI is a universal protocol, there are still difference as to how individual manufacturers and drivers try to deal with jitter, and it causes some of this.

The Helix application is for editing, IR loading, and patch backup only. It does not update the Helix. To update the Helix, you need to find the Line 6 Updater application. If you installed package from the link above, it should be on your computer already. Run that first to install the update. Beyond that I'm not sure what else to say. If you're still having trouble, I suggest calling Line 6 customer service.

Here is the link for the Helix installer package for OS X: http://line6.com/getrelease?rid=7400&uid=416571

Yes, and there should be a button that says "Get Download" when you scroll down there... What OS are you using?

Assign the notes (or frequencies) to snapshot controllers, and play a different drone chord per snapshot... Run the 3 Note Generator into the 3 OSC Synth block into a delay, and you can create some very cool sounding pads. Really, there's all sorts of create stuff to be done.

You need to just select "Helix" from the middle menu.

About the Helix and 4CM? Which thread are you referring to? I honestly haven't read a lot of complaints about Helix and 4CM, and it seems to me I've read a lot more positive experiences than negative ones. What amp are you using? I think the 4CM is one of the most complex use cases for any modeler simply because it has so many different points where differences can be introduced. There's a lot that can complicate things, and it's not fair to lay all the blame at the feet of the multi-FX manufacturers.

Go to the "Downloads" link at the top of the page and select "Helix" from the middle pulldown menu (the system should have your OS selected already). On the next, the Helix download should be the first thing that shows up. Scroll down and hit the "Get Download" button. That will take you to a page where you check a license agreement, hit "Accept and Download", and on the download should start automatically. It depends on your browser settings as to whether it asks you where you want to save it or it just downloads to some downloads folder automatically.

Are you sure you're grabbing the 48 KHz wav versions of the IRs? I believe that each of these companies give you the IRs in multiple formats and sample rates.