cchimi

I’m trying to use my VoiceLive 3 Extreme through an effect loop on the Helix, using the Effect Loop 2 block right after the Mic input on the lower path on the Helix screen. I'm trying to get a clean mic signal into the VL to get some vocal harmonies going. The mic is an SM58. Routing is Helix Send 2 to VL mic input. VL mono output to Helix Return 2. The Helix jacks are 1/4†and the VL jacks are XLR, so I’m using appropriate cables just bought new, so they should work. I get horrible hissing, and no indication that the vocal signal is getting to the VL. Annoying as hell. I thought, as I usually do, that this would be easy. But I can’t see what I’m doing wrong. I've checked the ground lift on the Helix, with no change to the hissing. ​I must be doing something wrong. Anyone have any ideas what that might be? ​Thanks, ​Carl

Thanks. That's what I'm on, too. I'll be working more on this tomorrow (Wednesday) and will try MIDI-OX and Reaper to see if they work.

Thanks for working on this. I've been on a MacBook Pro, using QLab and Logic to create the commands. I'll try creating the commands in Windows, as you did, using both MIDI-OX and Reaper. Ultimately, these commands have to be in a MIDI file, so maybe I can create that file in Reaper. I won't be able to try this until tomorrow (Wednesday), but I'll report back here any results. Do you know what Helix firmware you're on? Mine, I think, is 2.12. Carl

Are you using Windows or Mac? I can try creating the MIDI files in Reaper, rather than in Logic Pro X, and see if that works for me. Maybe LPX is introducing something I'm missing. Are you on the latest Helix firmware? I appreciate the sharing of experiences. Thanks. Carl

Hmm. Just to be sure, have you done what I did in my example, that is call up a preset that has snapshots using a Program Change message, give it a CC 0 for snapshot 1, then a CC 1 for snapshot 2, then try to go back to snapshot 1. It's always that last step where things go bonkers. I've tried sending the messages from QLab and Logic Pro X, but not from Reaper. Ultimately, I have to use QLab, because that's how we automate our show.

I was running MIDI-OX on a separate computer, and definitely was seeing the CCs and PCs that represent a program change, when what I was sending was a CC 69 0 to get me back to Snapshot 1 of the current preset. Instead, today that CC always sent me to Snapshot 1 of Preset 125. I'd sure appreciate hearing how it works for you. Carl

Yes, I've isolated each MIDI command, and I'm sure that no other MIDI data are being sent, aside from the Program Changes sent by the Helix on a preset change. I think this is a pretty serious bug, at least for those of us who need to use MIDI for patch changes. I wonder if anyone can duplicate this problem?

I have a number of songs for which I hope to use snapshots. And I have to automate the switching of those snapshots using a simple MIDI file, which my band runs in software called QLab. I've just tried it, and it seems to behave strangely. The attached picture below shows the commands I am sending to the Helix, as I created them in Logic Pro X. The MIDI commands shown are intended to do the following: 1. Program Change to select SETLIST 3, PRESET 2 2. Control Change to select SNAPSHOT 1, staying on PRESET 2 (say for verse chords) 3. Control Change to select SNAPSHOT 2, staying on PRESET 2 (say for solo) 4. Control Change to return to SNAPSHOT 1, staying on PRESET 2 (say for verse chords again) 5. Control Change to select SNAPSHOT 3, staying on PRESET 2 (say for power chords ending) NOTE: the picture has a 3 where it should have a 2 to select SANPSHOT 3. That has been fixed. 1, 2, and 3 seem to work fine. But every time 4 runs it either takes the Helix to PRESET 125 in the same SETLIST, or it takes it to the first preset in another set list. Then 5 will select SNAPSHOT 3 of that incorrect preset. I guess I can't imagine what is causing this. I have run to MIDI file completely separate from all other MIDI data, with the same result(s). I've got a lot of experience with computers, with MIDI, and with debugging. And I know that the solution is often something you just can't see without different eyes looking at it. Anyone see what I'm doing wrong here? Any advice would be appreciated. Carl

It was having to use the method of copying blocks, which is tedious when you have many presets with many blocks to deal with, that caused me to ask the question. I guess I think we should at least be able to easily select multiple blocks for copying and pasting. Maybe that will come in an update. At any rate, I got the work done, and I thank those who replied. Carl

Thanks to all. Carl

Thanks to all. I happened to be working on an iMac when I asked the question, and I had checked the list of keyboard shortcuts, but hadn't experimented beyond what was in the list I saw in that manual. The discussion here made me experiment, and I think Option-LeftMouseClick did what I needed. I'll try it on my Windows Surface Pro 4 today, but the Edit program scales so badly on that machine that my old eyes can barely read the list of presets. Carl

Can a snapshot be copied from one preset to another? If so, that would make a job i have to do MUCH easier. I have a number of songs that take up two or three presets, and I am trying to collapse them into one preset per song. Thanks for any advice. Carl

​1. Are the Global settings found on the Helix unit available anywhere in the Edit program? 2. My connection to the Helix unit (floor model) keeps disconnecting, and I have to pull out the USB cable and reinsert it to reestablish the connection. This happens on three different computers I've tried it on: a MacBook Pro, an iMac, and a Surface Pro 4, all with the latest operating systems. The Edit program and Helix firmware are also the latest versions. The USB interface seems to work fine for audio, never dropping the connection. I have tried several different USB cables, all know good in other applications. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Carl

I'm fairly new to the Helix, and only yesterday started working with Snapshots. Let's say I want to turn the Gain of an amp down in Snapshot 1 and up in Snapshot 2. I understand how to make that happen on the Helix itself; I just push down the Gain button while turning it, and it shows white with brackets, which I guess means it is under Snapshot control. I've been trying to figure out how to do the equivalent task using the Helix Edit program, but I don't see how to do it. I'm sure it's simple, but I'm missing it. I tried setting the Gain low in Snapshot 1, then went to Snapshot 2 and set the Gain high. But when I went back to Snapshot 1 it had forgotten the low setting and taken on the high setting from Snapshot 2. I'm using the latest firmware and Edit versions. Any help would be appreciated. Carl

That would work great, and I appreciate the advice. But I actually moved quickly the first day and created the guitar/tones/effects presets I knew I needed, based on presets I'd developed for my HD500. Then I started assigning MIDI commands to footswitches, at which point I realized that copying the command does not copy the label. Oh well. I did end up first copying each command and then each label. At least the Editor program proved helpful with that. But it was more work than it had to be, in my opinion. All that said, in general I am really loving this Helix. Just the different available inputs alone make life easier, not to mention the MIDI-over-USB. And I appreciate how helpful people have been on this forum. Carl

That makes sense. I only got my Helix two or three days ago, and at most have one command assigned per footswitch. Still, I think it should be an option to let the labels copy over with the command, as it can lead to a lot of seemingly unnecessary work.

Not to be sarcastic, but that is the way to do something else. I wasn't asking how to make a copy of a preset. To be clear, I was asking about copying a command from one EXISTING preset to another EXISTING preset, and why when you do that the custom label created for that command doesn't copy along with it. I know how to make a copy of a preset. I know how to copy a command (or ALL commands) from one preset to another. I just don't see my custom labels copying when I copy those commands. Imagine you have already built 50 presets on the Helix, and then decide to use a sequencer to play backing tracks. You need four footswitches on each preset for these sequencer controls: PREV SONG, NEXT SONG, STOP, PLAY. Each switch has the associated MIDI command assigned to it. All 50 presets should have those same commands on the same footswitches, labeled in the same way. On the Helix it's easy to set those four switches up with their commands and labels for the first preset. But if you then copy and paste those commands to the next preset (which is easy) you have to retype all of the labels - four times for all 50 presets. The commands copy over, but not their respective labels. And that seems like an oversight to me, unless I am just not seeing some obvious way to make it happen.

Thanks, MusicLaw. Carl

My bad. You nailed it, HonestOponion. I got the Helix two yesterday, and had to upgrade the firmware from 2.10 to 2.11. I failed to do the reboot pressing 9 and 10. Just did it, restored my set lists, and it backed up the bundle just fine, and very quickly. Thanks a lot for a thorough answer that solved my problem. Regards, Carl

Yes, that copies the entire preset. But I already have presets built. Then, let's say I add a MIDI command to one of the presets and assign it to a footswitch and label it (e.g. QLAB STOP). I then want the same footswitch to look and work the same on ten other already created presets. I can easily copy everything about that footswitch's MIDI assignment EXCEPT its label. (It's possible the switch's ring color also doesn't copy, but I'm colorblind and don't really care about those colors.) It's not a huge big deal, but it does seem like an easily fixed oversight.

Yeah, that works, but it's annoying to see the exact same problem using three different instances of the Edit program on three different computers. Thanks!

When I try to back up my new Helix using the Editor program's Export Bundle command, the export always hangs at 5%, and never gets any further, even if left for hours. This happens when using my iMac, MacBook Pro, and Windows 10 Surface Pro 4. Same problem on each machine. Anyone else having this problem? Any known way around it? Thanks, Carl

My Helix is brand new and is on Firmware 2.11. The Edit program is also 2.11. Hmm. How do I submit a support ticket? This seems as though it was an oversight.

I just tried copying and pasting all commands from one patch to another. The commands themselves seem to have pasted fine, but the custom labels I had created for them (to show under their respective footswitches) don't seem to have been part of the paste operation. Each affected footswitch now is labeled "Bank/PC". Is there a way to get the custom labels to be part of the copy and paste operation? Thanks for any advice. Carl

If this is true, then I have two comments: 1. Wouldn't it be reasonable to expect to see that Helix only works with SOME Variax models in advertisements and official tutorial videos on sites such as YouTube? I can't remember ever seeing any distinction made between which models work and which don't in any of the many places I looked at before making this expensive purchase. That distinction may be made somewhere, but I've never seen it. All references to "Variax" I've ever seen simply say "Variax". 2. The 300 I mentioned is one of two Variaxes I have. The other is a left handed 500. The 300 is actually a custom-made guitar using the guts of a 300. I needed a backup for my 500 and scoured the internet trying to find another left handed 500, without luck. So, I had to buy a right handed 300 and have a luthier build a left handed body to put the electronics in. Line 6 did make the long-discontinued 500 in a left handed model for a while, but has (as far as I know) completely ignored the needs of left handed players since. If any of the newer Variaxes were made left handed, I'd probably have two or three of them now. Instead, I have now bought an expensive item that was advertised to work with my existing guitars, and have to wrote to this forum to find out that it doesn't. Seriously, that's adding insult to injury. Why doesn't Line 6 make at least ONE current Variax model in a left handed version? I'm sorry to sound harsh, but left handed players get treated pretty badly in the guitar world, and I've had almost 50 years of it. Carl