datacommando

Oh, yeah - Definitely MIDIpants®. +1 Tried the Space Pants – and I wound up with a very bad case of the asteroids! Sore "Lollypop" – Eek!

Theong, Sorry for the misunderstanding, but really you should not be hooking up your PC speaker system to the headphone socket. The correct way to connect your system was provided above – as "silverhead" stated, it works like this: Helix USB into computer and GarageBand, Reaper, Logic, Abelton, ProTools, iTunes, YouTube or your weapon of choice etc. Studio monitors, FRFR (or whatever, but you know what we mean) out from helix 1/4 inch or XLR Plug mic/guitar into Helix. Make noise! Nowhere does it say – "Oh, yeah if it seems like a good idea, you could plug you gamer's speakers from the PC into the headphone output". Apart getting into the realms of physics and Ohms law (I think the impedance is rated @ 12ohms on the cans output) etc. your headphone socket is probably sending the fully processed signal from Helix. Not good, you have to know it's going to distort. Just take a look at how many other Helix users on here say stay away from trying to judge any of the the sounds through headphones. Use speakers that you can evaluate properly in the correct setup. Anything else is going to fail - big style. Yeah , Zombie, Good call - let's get this guy on the right track so he can enjoy the sonic elegance that's the Helix sound machine.

Hi Thoeng, If you want to get this right – very simple answer – buy some real studio monitor speakers. They don't need to be huge or expensive - just anything that is a real monitor. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend why anyone would spend a stack of cash on one of the most state of the art digital modelling units in the world – and then feed the signal from the phones socket to some PC speakers. Jeeziz wept! Then you wonder why it distorts? Wrong, wrong, wrong, in so many ways it's just wrong! This is a joke post, right, or, is it me?

Got to get me one of those Ernie Ball string driven things. State of the art! If not, maybe I will try building one of these units – outstanding!! Check this monster out: https://guitarextended.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/arduino-based-pedal-pduino/

I pulled this out of a similar thread from a little while back. See if it is what you're trying to achieve. It uses a "Pitch Whammy" block, not the simple pitch. Here's a link to a tone I made that already has an "Eb Drop" switch for you to play around with. http://line6.com/cus...e/tone/2031305/ Have fun! PLEASE NOTE: A lot of users have complained that the upgrade to FW2.0 has screwed up the pitch shifting quality. Digital Igloo states that Line 6 are aware and a patch to revert the shifter algorithms will be made available.

Hi jjvillafane, If you didn't find anything about snapshots in your manual, then I guess you must be looking at an older version. The info you require is available on Page 34 in the Helix 2.0 Owners Manual – Rev D. You can download it here. Manuals | Line 6 Likewise renaming a preset via the Editor is pretty straight forward. 1, Select the name in the list that you want to change - it should highlight with an golden brown background. 2. Whilst highlighted, look up at the top of the list of preset names and you will see the options (white text on black) Copy|Paste|Import|Export|Rename 3. Click rename and the title you selected becomes available to edit - simply change or type the new name you want it to be. Done! If that doesn't make sense you could also grab a copy of the "Pilot's Guide" for the Editor software and have a good read. Get it here: ‎line6.com/data/6/0a06439c4dbd577d594db0bd0/application/pdf/Helix%20App%20Pilots%20Guide%20-%20Rev%20B%20-%20English%20.pdf The step by step you need is on Page 4 Have fun. LATE EDIT: "I musta bin asleep at the wheel" - as far as the Editor is concerned the Pilot's Guide is available under Help from the top menu. Doh!

Looks like you got to the correct download area, but I think you need to scroll down a little further. What you have there is the Firmware Update info. Just below that section, lower down the page is the Editor down load in section named: Helix Editor v2.01 Release Notes read all the notes and follow the instructions. At the end of the section there is a "button" named "GET DOWNLOAD" - click it and the d/l will begin - it's about 86MB. I wouldn't bother removing the HD500 editor unless you really want to. It should not cause a problem, the Helix is a completely different beast . I still have mine installed, should I ever wanted to use the HD500 at any time. Good luck. and let us know how you get on!

I think that I must have got the last piece of it... in this burger. Mmmmm. ;)

Nice quote: “The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.†- Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Although, while all this discussion is very stimulating, it doesn't seem to have much to with Helix, Line6 and/or Yamaha – which is where it all started. It seems to have got way off topic, and as I understood it certain issues were supposed NOT to be introduced into discussions on these forums. Can everyone please get back to arguing about the accuracy of the Helix tuner! :)

Yep – and 50% were happy shoppers. You pay your money and take your chance. As for spares – well, at these prices, you could get through 'em like a box of Kleenex! :)

Just my opinion, but I think that some of these expression pedals are ridiculously expensive when you consider what they actually do – sweep a potentiometer back and forth! Yeah, right! For a really inexpensive and functional solution, may I suggest the simple M-Audio EX-P. They have an integral 1/4" cable and also a built-in polarity switch, so they work with just about anything, keyboards, whatever - just plug in. Mine works a treat as EXP 2, plus you can buy half a dozen of these for less than the price of one Mission unit.

O.K. Helix MIDI users. Heads up for the Final Status Report on my Helix MIDI Issues This “mystery†was taken onboard and has been investigated by Digital Igloo (Eric) who, along with Marcus, did some extensive testing with dozens of various synths to figure out if that active sense messaging issue was only happening with Roland (and some M-Audio) keyboards. The general consensus is that it seems to be the case – something odd with the Roland and Helix MIDI combination (unless anyone else knows a different answer). Anyhow, just to bring everyone up to speed, the current situation for me is thus: As I had previously noted, time and again - I had no issues if I used the work around of connecting a mucho cheapo Chinese MIDI DIN plug to USB to hook up my old PC-180A to the Mac. Also, I have a whole studio rack full of vintage MIDI sound modules with DIN sockets that would always play nice with that particular controller, e.g.: Roland D110, U110, Yamaha TX81Z, SPX90, Kawai K3m, K1m, Akai XE8 drum expander and the ubiquitous Akai S950 Sampler. That's a lot of MIDI connections, not including the Roland GR33 Git Synth, Boss GT6, the PODXT Live and HD500, but they are all gathering dust over in a corner, so that's O.K. The thing is – I only had access to that one controller keyboard which I've used for years, so I had nothing else to use in a comparison test with the Helix. Trouble is, most new controller keyboards no longer have old school DIN sockets and use a single cable to supply power and USB communication. Damn! Screwed again! Except, I did happen to find a pretty good one - the Arturia Keylab 61 Hybrid Synth. Now this mutha is the mutts nuts and it has DIN MIDI in/out along with the more modern USB. Plus it's made of aluminium and wood, semi weighted keys with velocity and after touch. Way cool. Plug it into the Helix MIDI ports and away we go – perfect response instantly. Excellent! Note: Hooking up via the Helix for the MIDI connection frees up a USB port on the computer, which is always useful to have. Right – my life is worth living again, especially as the last Firmware update seemed to fix the equally mysterious fault I had with re-amping the Helix. It all works again. Yay! Now, because I don’t have another Roland keyboard to test the Helix with, I guess we will never know if it was spurious Active Sensing messages being transmitted to Helix that caused stuff to screw up. If anyone else has an problem like this, and they use a Roland (or M-Audio) keyboard, maybe they will have an idea of where to start on a fix it. As for the old PC-180A, I no longer care if Brian Eno still uses his! I think I will just drag it down the yard, stick a couple of rounds of 12 gauge through it, then give it a Viking funeral. I know this is not exactly a proper solution, but for my part – I think we can put this puppy to bed now. Thanks to the Helix Staff and Forum Users for all your assistance and patience in this matter. Happy trails Now, I’m off to get a studio tan!

If you wanna sound like Keef, then the Ampeg gear list above is an option, but so is a Tele (minus a string and tuned to open G) and a Twin Reverb. If you want to use the Helix Ampeg Bass model, you could do worse than going for the tone that Elliott Randall came up with for Steely Dan's "Reeling' in the Years". Quote: In an article in Guitar Player magazine (July 2007) Randall was asked what rig he used to record the solo on "Reelin' in the Years". He states, "That was my '63 Fender Stratocaster with a PAF humbucker in the neck position, straight into an Ampeg SVT bass amp. The SVT wouldn't have been my first choice for an amp – or even my fifth choice – but it worked a storm on that recording!"

HO, So, your Helix is a girl? What's her name? ;) Maybe you could post a snapshot of her!

Hi again, John, Glad to hear that you are now up and running. As for your Wet/Dry rig, search through the other threads on here and I think you may find some clues, if not an answer. Sorry , I can't help any more - 2 real amps, not my thing - I'm strictly studio based, recording straight into the Mac. Enjoy.

Hi mailman2020, Both posts above from "silverhead" and "phil_m" are basically correct. Except, the one thing that I did notice in your post, is the fact you are using a Mac. Hence my additional note below. A couple of things to bear in mind - IIRC. First check if the Mac can see your Helix from the System Preferences "Sound" and/or also by using the Audio MIDI Setup application inside your Utilities folder. I know it's obvious, but it's easy to overlook things like that. Secondly, I understand that the drivers are installed on PC systems automatically, but you may have to install the custom driver that was written specifically for the Mac OSX 10.11.4 and above. Get it from here: Helix Mac Driver 1.00 Public Beta Line 6 Software (make sure you check the Beta options box). Just a thought and worth a mention!

Hi Fabian, Yay! Great news, glad you managed to fix the problem. Now you can get on with the never-ending job of trying out new patches and storing them somewhere safe. Oh yeah, and playing some amazing stuff from this box of tricks. Have fun.

Hi Fabian, If you haven't already done so, I would suggest you have a look in this thread and see if there may be a solution there. http://line6.com/support/topic/19809-helix-mac-driver-100-public-beta-now-available/?do=findComment&comment=159427 This driver was supposed to solve certain audio/USB issues with some Macs. IIRC, I tried it and didn't do anything to fix my problems (MIDI & Re-Amp), so I removed it. I have not experienced the USB disconnect problem though. Mysteriously, the USB re-amp problems which I was having, just vanished after the last FW update. So, apart from my ongoing MIDI fault (I bypassed that with a cheap cable) - all works just fine on my iMac 27" Retina 5K & OSX 10.11.6 Try the driver and see if it helps - you never know, because there are so many spurious errors occurring while hooking up both Macs and Windoze - anything is worth a shot. Good luck.

Good work "duncann" - you got it figured for him, so it seems to make sense. Now he's going to put his toes in the sand. What a life? Me, I'm going in for the "studio tan". :)

Well the only info I can find regarding this stuff is on page 22 of the manual and then page 50 which states: 6 Digital Output Level: Sets the S/PDIF and AES/EBU output level. Normally, this should be left at 0.0dB. That is the only reference in the entire manual, or anywhere else I checked. This looks like one for Digital Igloo (appears he co-authored the manual) - Eric, where are you? Your assistance is required. I think I saw him leave a post on here yesterday so, I would suggest that you send him a Personal Message, although I think he will say that all this stuff classified, trade secret stuff that he cannot divulge, but you never know! As for the visual display of signal levels - well that seems to have been requested several times and is up on the IdeaScale pages. The alien intelligence that came up with this Helix machine must have slipped back into their own dimension and taken the wiring diagrams with them. ;) Happy trails.

MEDIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seems like "duncann" has gone down this path - and this is what he discovered. I can't comment further, I've never been there, too complex for me. Although, Peter, what you state here makes sense to me. I would think from what I've seen - the large volume knob controls the audio signal flow to the XLR or jack outputs to your monitor speakers, just like the small one sends a variable output through to your headphones, so it makes sense that the output flow to S/PDIF can be managed/trimmed via the Global Digital Output Level. I guess, that should be how you can balance the signal paths. This seems to be what is inferred in the latest Owners Manual Revision D. Please note I removed my Lab Technicians white coat earlier, so I may be well off the mark here. Later guys - I'm going for a beer! Let me know how it goes!

H twystedriffs, I too have an older/ancient (11years) Variax 600 model and it works fine hooked up on the VDI cable. Thing is, when I say "works fine" it does in as much as it is old technology connected to state of the art technology. What I mean is it works as a guitar with all the onboard digital models fully functioning, i.e.: the Spank is still a Spank, the Resonator is a Resonator in as much as they ever approximately did. If you have altered tunings assigned to the 2 Custom Banks, DADGAD, Open G, Hawaiian, Cross Note, Vestapol or whatever they will all work. I also have used my Variax Volume to control parameters within some effect blocks (delay feedback and such) no problem, just like an expression pedal. Plus I have it set so some patches load up with the correct Variax model selected already. There are a couple of caveats to this though. First up Selecting the model - that is determined by the Helix Patch NOT the actual Variax. I'm not sure that it should even do that, but it does. Plus I'm surprised that any of this works at all with this obsolete steam driven stuff. For me, I can live with the restrictions of using old gear, even if I have to repatch Workbench to do a few custom tunings. Ultimately, I have to concur with the observations made in the posing by "silverhead", above, "Since this is an unsupported behaviour there is no guarantee that this will work on other older Variax guitars". If you need all singing, all dancing - then sorry, you're gonna have to upgrade your Variax.

Hi Peter, Well, this S/PDIF thing intrigued me a little, so I went down to the studio and sparked up the Helix and had a poke around in the Global Settings options. Under the Ins/Outs section on the 3rd page, Knobs 5 and 6 are allocated to "Digital Output" and "Digital Out Level" respectively. Knob Five switches between the choice of using S/PDIF or AES/EBU and number 6 can dial in an output level between a low of -60.0dB and a high of +18dB. The default setting on these 2 items are S/DIF and 0.0dB. A little more investigation reveals that on the First Page, Knob 6 is assigned as a "USB In 1/2 Trim" option also with a 60.0dB to +18dB range. I would imagine this is bound to make sense you and other techno minded boffins alike - Me, I'm going to hang up the white coat and I'm off to make a racket! Hope this sheds a little light. Good Hunting

Hi again Peter, Well, ouch! You just hurt my head with all that physics stuff - I just mess around with my Helix until I think it sounds good. There are no index marks on the main volume control, so it may well go all the way up to eleven - I dunno, mine never gets past about one third of the sweep. Come to think of it, I don't even recall seeing a full tech spec, schematic drawing for the Helix so all that "attenuation" stuff is above my pay grade. There are a whole bunch of people on here that will have a much better idea, and be able to give you proper answer to your query. Here's a good example from another thread - It was posted by Digital Igloo (a Line 6 Product Manager), he would most likely know. Thing is, he got married recently and is otherwise engaged at the moment! This is from Helix's electrical engineer: The XLR outputs, when set to line level, are 20Vpp max, which is approximately +19.2dBu. So if you want to talk about nominal levels, you can say that’s +4dBu nominal with approximately 15dB of headroom. The ¼†outputs are exactly the same levels when set to line level, except unbalanced. XLR outputs are balanced. Another thing to consider is Helix's Guitar Input, which has > 123dB of dynamic range (due to patented circuitry), which is industry-leading. And here's another example response about "nominal output level". That's correct. If you switch your speaker to +4, that means it's expecting a hotter signal, so it'll turn down its input sensitivity and be quieter. -10dBV and +4dBu are just analog voltage level standards. Any given analog audio signal (such as the analog output of your Helix plugged into the analog input of your speaker) may be at, between, or outside these levels in amplitude at any given moment, as determined by the nature of the sound itself, plus any volume controls it passes through. As long as the signal does not overload the speaker's input and cause unwanted clipping distortion, you should be OK using either the -10 or +4 setting. More info (maybe more than the average person would care about) here: https://en.wikipedia...wiki/Line_level Let's hope one of these real techie guys on here can point you in the right direction - sorry I can't help more, than this. Right - I'm off now, and I'm just gonna make mine louder! Good luck.