phil_m

That may be the case then. The fastest and least disruptive way to see them would be to just turn the channel volume knob. That doesn't really affect the amp tone at all. It just changes the overall volume of the tone, and it will be easy to at least get close to where it was saved in the original preset.

Can't you press the Presets knob to go into Edit mode and scroll down to the AMP page to see the settings for the tone stack parameters? I don't have the HD400, but it looks like that's the way it works from the manual.

Just thought of this as I was walking upstairs, and was coming back down to edit my post to add it... :)

Well, I honestly think the reason it was left out is simply that an input like that is not something you typically find on top-tier pro-level gear, which is what the Helix is aiming to be. The other thing I'd say is that if you're using the Helix connected to your computer via USB, it will playback any system audio from your computer. So you can still play along with anything you'd play in iTunes, Windows Media Player, Spotify, etc.

" There's no dedicated 1/8" MP3/CD in on the Helix. So you'd have to run it into a pair of the 1/4" returns and set those up as an input on one of the signal paths.

There's isn't an MP3 input on the Helix like there is on the HD500(X), but you could use a pair of the 1/4" returns as an input for the iPod. You'd just have to get the right cable and adapters.

The Helix 174.3245% better than the POD HD... I can show my work if you like.

Well, I can say without any hesitation that one Helix is way more useful than three POD HDs. Nothing against the HD, but trying to sync three of them would be pretty futile. The thing is that with the one Helix everything you would want to do is seamless. I'd also say that being more than a bit presumptuous here basing all your "findings" off of a couple clips. Again, the HDs are great units, but I can't say I'd be tempted to go back after spending a few months with the Helix. Yes, it costs more, and that's definitely going to be a consideration for a lot of people. Line 6 understands that if they're going to release a device at a premium price point, it needs to deliver a premium sound and feature set. I think delivers that and some.

I'm sure the DC input is for when you're using it as a controller via the USB connection. It probably draws too much current to be powered by USB.

It's powered from the rack unit.

You can have multiple instances of the same effect. The only limitation is the total DSP available. But you should be able to use two of the Pitch Glide blocks without any problem. As far using the cab modeling without the amp modeling, no you can't do it. Selecting no amp will disable the amp block completely.

Yes, there is a DMM model. It's called "Elephant Man". You can choose either chorus or vibrato modulation modes, and it has a drive parameter for the delay repeats. It sounds pretty sweet.

With all the more publicized footswitch failures, I never got the impression that it was the actuator itself that was failing. With the X3L, for example, it was the mechanism under the switch that was breaking. I don't recall reading any complaints about the actual piece mounted to the boards. Honestly, any mechanical piece can fail, but I wouldn't be too worried about the actuators. Pretty much every manufacturer making digital effects is using a very similar piece. I've also owned a ton of Line 6 gear, and other than the DM4 I used to own, I've never had an issue with any of the footswitches. I gigged with my M13 regularly for over 5 years.

No hold up... They've been saying end of summer all along. The ones that are around are prototypes/beta units, not units from a full production run. This is pretty much how manufacturing works. You wouldn't start doing a huge production run until you're certain everything is in order.

Well, ground loops are always a possibility, and it's not really the fault of any single device you're connecting. It's really a complex issue. I have tried Helix connected via the 4CM with my Egnater Renegade, and I had no issue with noise. I haven't tried the 7CM. I actually don't know if I have enough cables laying around to do it!

The footswitches on the Helix are a new design. Check out Dale's (aka 'Design Guy') post over on the TGP. He was one of the industrial designers for the Helix. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/line6-helix.1586637/page-72#post-20156828

Well, that shouldn't be happening... Are you using the latest firmware?

You can use the cab models without an amp selected, so that part is doable. And as long as you put the FX loop block before the amp block, I think you could get the signal flow you want. The thing that might be a deal-breaker in your case, though, is the amp itself. You would still need to have a speaker or some load connected to it when you have it on, otherwise you will damage the output transformer.

That's even cooler...

Yep, you sure can. Just set up a tone with all the effects blocks left blank and choose "no amp" for the amp model, and you'll be good to go. You probably want to make sure the amp/line switch on the HD500 is set to amp, and you'll want to turn the master volume all the way up. That should give you very close to unity gain through the HD500.

The EP1-L6 works great with the Helix. I actually recently broke down and bought two of them after using my old EX-1s for 15 years (they still work, btw). The Helix has a calibration function for external pedals, so I actually think any potentiometer based pedal with a TS connection should work, although I'm not sure if there is an upper limit to the impedance value it will work with.

Yeah, it's a possible issue with all optical pedals. Like I said though, the Helix construction is pretty different. There really isn't much of an opening under the Helix pedal, so I don't know how possible it is for light to leak in. The one nice thing with Helix is that there are two additional expression jacks, and you can also assign control functionality to the switches, so even if you did have to forgo using the on-board pedal for some reason, you could still have plenty of control.

Yeah, I've actually haven't seen the Firehawk in person yet, so I don't know how alike the pedal is to the 500X, but it could be that the 500X sensor is more shrouded than the Firehawk. I actually have read posts here, though, of people having similar issues with the 500 and 500X in direct sun. Actually, I've read about the same thing with the X3L and XTL as well. It's just a limitation with an optical pedal. Line 6 could have gone with a potentiometer based design, I guess, but those have limitations and potential issues as well.

Yes, it is. Although, the pedal itself is constructed quite differently.

I can't imagine that stage lighting is going to be bright enough to mess with it. It could be possible, I suppose, if there was an extremely bright light right above you, but it would have to be really bright. Sunlight is orders of magnitude higher in intensity than even the brightest indoor lighting. This is the same sort of sensor that pretty much all of Line 6's floor processors have had in the expression pedal.