TheHYPO

I have the Helix (floor) already and I was looking at the Native software for the purposes of recording. I currently record by way of USB output from the Helix's main processed output (including the amp, and effects, etc.) and I can use my footswitches on the Helix to bypass and switch snapshots and all that. The main downside is the inability to tweak and reamp. I often record a second track with the raw guitar pass-through (USB7 in my case) so I can reamp if needed, but that still means replaying the audio, running it through the helix in realtime, and re-recording, and repeating if it doesn't sound right.

I'm using the Native trial and the ability to reamp is exactly what I want. My workflow is that I've selected the raw bypass input from the Helix Floor (USB7) as my DAW input, and Helix Native applies it's effects. What I lose is the ability to control the sound with the Floor itself. This means I'm stuck with a static sound until I go in later and automate changes (which I can't hear while I'm playing, and could affect how I play the part)

I'm reading some older threads that suggesting that the only way to do this is to set up a midi controller. I'm not even sure the Floor itself could be setup as a midi controller if I'm using it as my interface (can it?) I just wanted to confirm whether there have been any updates or improvements and if there is any way to control Helix Native in realtime from Helix Floor while recording with Helix Floor as my interface?

Before I downloaded Native, I had assumed logically that it would function much like HX Edit does for people who have the hardware, and that Native would automatically reflect the state of the Floor unit (or at least that this would be one mode it could function in), but it seems this is not the case?

If anyone else can share their workflows or suggestions, that would be appreciated.

I can't speak to whether it will achieve the effect you want, but you can certainly assign footswitches to momentary bypass. It's not in the command centre though.

After you create your effect (reverb), just touch (not press) any footswitch with your finger (or any skin). This will bring up the 'bypass assign' screen where you can assign that effect to that switch. There is a 'type' option controlled by one of the knobs under the screen that will change from latching to momentary. The latter will turn the effect on (or off if you start it on) only as long as you hold the switch.

in HX Edit, you can do this by clicking on the effect, and right below the pathway window, there are two wide tabs for 'edit' and 'bypass/controller assign' - the second tab is what you want.

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Just wondering, is it now going to be Standard Operating Procedure that we'll have to update the device, wait for all the presets to rebuild, then restore the device manually from backup and then manually restart to do another rebuild?

I'm just curious why this is necessary.

I'm not sure if the double line is the BEST implementation - I'd have to see more feedback from other users if they can foresee any confusion or issues that might arise from the double lines, but I'm all for a visual representation of the stereo/mono that is quick and easy. This works for me.

I just want to confirm I'm understanding correctly that after the update is completed, and the presets are rebuilt, you need to then restore from backup and rebuild again? I'm noting that the instructions for 2.91 include this step but 2.90 did not.

I'm looking to get a dust cover for my Helix. I've seen various suggestions on this form. Mainly focused on the StudioSlips and the Ampcovers, leaning towards the latter. I'm not sure what the interior of the StudioSlips is made of, but the Ampcovers one is lined with some sort of crushed velvet or something.

My concern is that the pedal on the Helix is very textured, which is great for grip, but does anyone have a dust cover, and if so, does the pedal wear on the interior at all? Similar question for people with soft bags for the Helix.

Cheers

On 7/31/2019 at 9:15 PM, Sentox said:

 

Definitely not unique to you. I had tried everything in this thread to no avail. As soon as I let the WinUSB drivers install, the updater could see my Helix Rack again.

 

Without the "WinUSB" drivers, there's a random device that appears to the computer as "Msg Pipe" but doesn't have a driver. With these drivers installed, that same device shows up as "Helix Rack" and the updater can see the unit.

 

Edit: Interestingly, looking at the drivers that are installed when "WinUSB" is selected, the INF includes entries for basically every piece of Helix hardware. The architectural changes in 2.80 are clear since the Helix Drivers actually installs two packages simultaneously now, 1.92 (which works for any Helix unit pre 2.8) and 1.93 (which obviously applies to 2.80). To Windows a 2.80 Helix is a completely different piece of hardware than any earlier version. It also enumerates an extra device as mentioned above that the WinUSB drivers apply to. Not sure if this is for sending keyboard inputs to the PC, or perhaps a new way for L6 software to talk to the Helix, but it's clearly necessary for the update to complete.

 

The installer is a tiny bit misleading (imho) in that it can lead you to believe you don't need the WinUSB driver if you have a rack/floor/etc.

Thanks for confirming that I'm not crazy. I would respectfully suggest that the installer is more than a little misleading. It explicitly suggests that there are multiple sets of drivers for different sets of Helix equipment. This has been a common setup for years - Pods vs. guitarport vs. etc. With a description that has three drivers (Helix drivers,  HX Stomp drivers, and WinUsb drivers with a description "Installs HX Effects drivers"),  this is pretty explicitly wrong, not just misleading. These are not HX Effects drivers. they are drivers for all Helix equipment and are necessary for the installation.

I hope Line6 corrects this going forward for other peoples' sake. As of the HX Edit installer for 2.81, it says the same thing.

Nice - thanks!

I have just done a thorough comparison.

The only template the is MISSING from the new set that was previously there is Quadraphonic - it was a four single-input, with four outputs (1/4 and XLR - both stereo), each with a different reverb on it. Not sure why they removed it, but it's gone.

Old 4C was DAW Remote (MMC) - this was moved down the list to go with the rest of the DAWs, and everything else was moved up one. Everything from 6A onward is new.

As for the Factory lists, I am ASSUMING that any playlists that have the same name have NOT changed. I base this on the fact that they have made slight name changes to some presets that HAVE changed (like Dover Cliffs vs. Cliffs of Grover). I'd love to get official confirmation on this.

I admit that with all the moving around of presets (sometimes even moving between FACTORY1 and FACTORY2), I might have counted one or two as "gone" that are still there, but I count 97 of the 256 presets that have been REMOVED from 2.71 to 2.80 - some have been replaced; other updated. What I find quite odd and confusing is that 24D onward (33 presets) on FACTORY 2 have been left blank. Why remove 33 more than you need for the new replacements? The only logic I can think of is that they wanted to leave some room for future updates without removing any.

Still, on the factory reset, there are five blank banks. No reason they couldn't have just started FACTORY3.

I'd love to hear something official on why they chose to do it this way. My plan is to create a new playlist with all the cut presets from 2.71.

Edit: For I'd also love to hear an explanation why they do not choose to group the BASS presets all together - they are in blocks, but on FAC1, they are in two different places, and they are also split between FAC1 and FAC2. There's all sorts of other interesting questions like why BAS:Domz Go 2.2 was updated to simply BAS:Donz Go instead of some higher number.

My update hung after the mid-update reboot, and I couldn't get the Helix to connect to the PC after cancelling it.

After trying a few things, I reinstalled HX Edit (for a third time) but this time, I installed all three drivers listed instead of nixing the HX Stomp and WinUSB (which description said "HX Effects drivers") which I had unchecked previously because I don't have an HX Stomp or HX Effects. It could be a coincidence, but that got my Helix Floor to show up against in Line6 Update and a re-update went smoothly.

It might have been a coincidence and something else was the problem, but Line6 might want to double check if one of those two other drivers is necessary for a clean update because I can understand why people who don't have an HX Effect/Stomp might uncheck those boxes like I did. If so, it should either not be uncheckable, or at least the update instructions should indicate not to uncheck them :)

My solution may be unique to me, or it may have been a coincidence, but I got the same 'stuck' at 50% as others after the reboot (waited 20 minutes for the post-reboot progress bar to proceed) - cancelled the update and rebooted the Helix (Floor) and still got the 'update mode' error on the Helix - and couldn't recognise the Helix in Line6 Update to repeat the update.

Reinstalled Helix Edit and that didn't work.

On a whim, I reinstalled it once more and instead of installing ONLY the Helix drivers (I only have a floor) as I did the first two times to save the unnecessary drivers, I let it install all three drivers including the one for HX Stomp, and the WinUSB driver that is described as "installs HX Effects drivers".

After that, my Helix Floor showed up again in Line6 Update. Let's see how this update cycle goes. Again, could have been a coincidence, but maybe one of those other drivers is necessary to recognising the mid-update machine.

Edit: Yep, just completed a problem-free and quite fast update!

This reply is not mean to insult anyone, or criticize anyone, or put anyone down for being antsy about the update; I am just genuinely curious, having read the list of anticipated updates to the unit.

What is it in the 1.8 update that people are so excited to get their hands on?

If one or more of the new amp/effect models are exciting to some, I can totally understand that, even though, for me, the unit already has a plethora of choices built in (on top of all the purchasable and free add-on content people have made for it) - but I can understand that.

None of the feature updates stood out to me as mindblowing, but rather "that would be nice".

I fully recognize that I use the unit for very limited purposes and do not stretch the capabilities of the unit very far, so I am totally curious which part of the update has people so anxious to get it? No judgment. Just curiosity.

Cheers

I too found it loose in the plastic bag containing the brand new Helix. At first, I thought it might be a plug for the footpedal's adjustment bolt access hole. I still find it curious and surprising that it is not mentioned anywhere in the User Manual, nor other Line 6 site information.

I was certain this was what it was for. It fits perfectly in there. When I put it in, I remember considering how to get it out of there at the time and I thought I knew it, though now that I revisit, I hope I can get it out. It would never have occurred to me that ONE i/o port would require a protective cap without any mention in the documentation.

Thank you both for the detailed answers.

amsdenj, you indicate that other than the main guitar input, the others "work well" with active pickups. That said, you also indicate that you use a mandolin and electric guitar (plus the variax) - I assume all plugged in to different inputs. Does the mandolin or electric have an active pickup or will the aux in "suffice" (but not be ideal) for passive pickups?

Similarly, does the 04B template HonestOpinion mentioned (Gtr+Vox+Bas+Keys) contemplate a bass with an active pickup?

If I had two passive electric guitars, am I understanding that it wouldn't work very well with Helix (at least from the perspective of the 2nd guitar (not going into Guitar-In) not sounding very good)?

Thanks,

Edit: Or on second thought, am I understanding correctly that the FX returns can be set to high-impedance and used for a second passive pickup instrument?

Forgive me if this is somewhere obvious. I've been searching the web and FAQs for a long time and I can't seem to find a straightforward answer to this particular question. Back when I had a PodXT and the X3, one of the cool features they were touting was that you could run two gutiars through it at the same time with two different modelling chains. I thought this was cool feature so that if I ever had a friend over, they could just plug into the pod and benefit from it. I never ended up getting another pod, but I'm loving what I hear about the Helix.

So I'll ask straight up. Can you plug two different guitars (or a guitar and bass) to the Helix and use them simultaneously? I am pretty sure from what I've read that if one is a Variax, the answer is yes because of the separate Variax input, but I'm talking about regular 1/4" passive pickup guitars/basses.

If the answer is yes, followup questions:

how is it done? Via the guitar input and aux inputs (I read one vague comment about the aux input not being "the same" type of input as a guitar input which implied maybe you couldn't use it for a for a second guitar, but it wasn't clear enough to answer the question). If you can do it via aux in (or another input) there any difference in the quality/capability of the two inputs?

Are you able to assign presets independently to the two instruments or do your presets have to be pre-designed for two inputs (in other words, is it like preset 1A is a Fender Twin for the guitar-in port and a Mesa Boogie for the aux-in port, or is it like guitar-in can be set to preset 1A and aux-in can be set to 3B?). If you have to predesignate the presets for two guitars, given the massive customization available on Helix, I assume you can split the footswitches between the two instruments?

At the end of the day, my goal is not to use a Helix regularly for two people on stage or even at home, but it would be a nice feature to have in the back pocket. I could also imagine uses for it like pulling an Alex Lifeson or Ritchie Sambora -style mid-song guitar switch without having to also worry about unplugging.

That brings me to the secondary question - If two at once is NOT possible, in the alternative, is it possible to have two guitars plugged in but only using one at once (I would imagine if you can do this, you could also do them at the same time, but if for some reason you can, I'll ask the question). This would still be convenient for a few reasons such as shows where I have a bass and a guitar, I wouldn't have to constantly unplug and replug; I could just have one in each input and switch presets.

Thanks in advance for any answers that come.