mikeolivercgp

You might want to be careful in assuming that the approach I outlined is only suitable for "less complex" signal paths.

I did check to see if our FOH console was sending phantom power. It wasn't. However, my experience of that problem occurred with the first Helix I received which proved to be defective. I haven't attempted to try this again with the replacement unit. I'll try this again...

I don't find this to be problematic. I create song-specific presets. Depending on the song, I'll set up one amp configuration on one of the 2 available DSP paths, and a second amp setup on the second path. Both paths have what additional fx are needed to support that path. I'll setup a single foot switch to toggle between which amp setup is active and which is bypassed. Other foot switches may be assigned to manage fx in either signal chain. The other added benefit of this approach is that I name my presets by the song name along with including the key signature in the name. I can then assemble a set list of "songs" knowing that when I hit the foot switch for that song, everything I need is immediately under my feet (including having the appropriate BPM tempo loaded given the number of songs we play that utilize click tracks and loops).

See my post at http://line6.com/support/topic/17965-removing-rubber-feet/for one approach.

I'm sharing this information in a couple different topic threads where folks are asking about cases... I removed the 4 screws holding the rubber feet in the corners and replaced them with 4 metric screws the same size, but longer -- long enough to allow me to attached to 1/2" clear pine cleats to the bottom of the Helix (with washers). The cleats are colored flat black so they disappear. I then set everything into a pedalboard roadcase with a lift off top (see attached photo). There are wood screws with trim washers that reach up from underneath the roadcase and hold the cleats to the roadcase. If you're wondering about the Radial stereo direct box, although the XLR outs on the Helix work fine in some local active monitors I use at home, I'm getting some noise when I run them into the FOH console at one of the venues I play every week (BTW, it's not related to the 'ground lift'; it's not the typical 'ground noise'; the position of the Helix ground lift switch for the XLR outs doesn't make a difference). I found that taking the 1/4" outputs from the Helix into the Radial gives me a clean signal to this particular FOH console. Hope this helps! :) BTW, the road case is from http://www.roadcasesusa.com/effect-pedal-cases-1-4-light-duty-ata-3-great-sizes-starting-99/ It's a 32"x16".

I'm sharing this information in a couple different topic threads where folks are asking about cases... I removed the 4 screws holding the rubber feet in the corners and replaced them with 4 metric screws the same size, but longer -- long enough to allow me to attached to 1/2" clear pine cleats to the bottom of the Helix (with washers). The cleats are colored flat black so they disappear. I then set everything into a pedalboard roadcase with a lift off top (see attached photo). There are wood screws with trim washers that reach up from underneath the roadcase and hold the cleats to the roadcase. If you're wondering about the Radial stereo direct box, although the XLR outs on the Helix work fine in some local active monitors I use at home, I'm getting some noise when I run them into the FOH console at one of the venues I play every week (BTW, it's not related to the 'ground lift'; it's not the typical 'ground noise'; the position of the Helix ground lift switch for the XLR outs doesn't make a difference). I found that taking the 1/4" outputs from the Helix into the Radial gives me a clean signal to this particular FOH console. Hope this helps! :)

I removed the 4 screws holding the rubber feet in the corners and replaced them with 4 metric screws the same size, but longer -- long enough to allow me to attached to 1/2" clear pine cleats to the bottom of the Helix (with washers). The cleats are colored flat black so they disappear. I then set everything into a pedalboard roadcase with a lift off top (see attached photo). There are wood screws with trim washers that reach up from underneath the roadcase and hold the cleats to the roadcase. If you're wondering about the Radial stereo direct box, although the XLR outs on the Helix work fine in some local active monitors I use at home, I'm getting some noise when I run them into the FOH console at one of the venues I play every week (BTW, it's not related to the 'ground lift'; it's not the typical 'ground noise'; the position of the Helix ground lift switch for the XLR outs doesn't make a difference). I found that taking the 1/4" outputs from the Helix into the Radial gives me a clean signal to this particular FOH console. Hope this helps! :)

cacibi, I removed the 4 screws holding the rubber feet in the corners and replaced them with 4 metric screws the same size, but longer -- long enough to allow me to attached to 1/2" clear pine cleats to the bottom of the Helix (with washers). The cleats are colored flat black so they disappear. I then set everything into a pedalboard roadcase with a lift off top (see attached photo). There are wood screws with trim washers that reach up from underneath the roadcase and hold the cleats to the roadcase. If you're wondering about the Radial stereo direct box, although the XLR outs on the Helix work fine in some local active monitors I use at home, I'm getting some noise when I run them into the FOH console at one of the venues I play every week (BTW, it's not related to the 'ground lift'; it's not the typical 'ground noise'; the position of the Helix ground lift switch for the XLR outs doesn't make a difference). I found that taking the 1/4" outputs from the Helix into the Radial gives me a clean signal to this particular FOH console. Hope this helps! :)

BigRalphN, I hear you... I play lead for one of the large Harrisburg PA area churches. Even though at 57 years of age, I'm in better shape than I was in my 30's and 40's, while I love the sounds I can generate with a Matchless Clubman 35, a Mesa Lonestar Special, and a pedal board with a number of boutique OD, distortion, fuzz, modulation, and delays, carting that much gear around to play multiple services each weekend gets old (LOL!). The funny thing is, I didn't go down Helix path with the intent of replacing my current analog rig. I was doing some research last fall looking at acquiring either a Firehawk or HD500 to pair with my Variax 700 for an event later this summer in the UK. The Variax would give me both acoustic and electric in a single instrument paired with an easy-transport multi-fx pedal that could also manage switching Variax modes. The early information I saw about the Helix led me to believe that I might possibly be able to use it exclusively into our FOH console for the services I play every weekend without compromising response dynamics, harmonics, and all of those other nuances that are part of the magic of analog gear. My first use of the Helix was on a Sunday morning the weekend before Christmas. At a rehearsal session earlier in the week, I used my Matchless rig. The Helix arrived later in the week. In short order, I was able to pretty much nail the sounds that I needed for that Sunday. After we did our typical Sunday morning run through, I asked the FOH how my guitar sounded compared to our mid-week rehearsal, to which he replied, "I thought it sounded the pretty much the same; why, did you add something new that I should have noticed?" He was shocked to discover that my guitar was coming exclusively through the Helix, direct into the FOH console. Since that time (as well as playing for 3 Christmas Eve services), I've exclusively used the Helix with nothing but a Relay G50 digital wireless between my Anderson droptop and the Helix. I like that I can run my acoustic guitars through the Helix, saving me from bringing a separate acoustic pedal board. I especially LOVE the virtual scribble strips. I run the Helix with presets displayed in the top row and any FX switch assignments in the bottom row. I name my presets by song title, including the key signature. I can order them to follow the flow of our set list for each week. Since so much of what we play is against a click track, I like being able to build a library of these presets (i.e., songs) and retrieve as needed to build a set list for each week (that was one of the things that was a pain about the analog setup I was using with a Crocodile One loop switcher and MIDI talking to a Line 6 M5, Eventide H9, TC Electronic Alter Ego X4, and a Strymon Timeline). Another thing I love about the assignable foot switches is the means of controlling several different FX attributes with a single switch. For example, a song on this week's setlist needs a low octave pitch, a soaring overdrive, a different delay, and a particle verb. All of those things need to come on simultaneously and several other fx elements need to turn off. It's so nice to be able to program 1 footswitch to toggle between those two states (I also like the fact that I was able to pretty much nail the lead guitar sounds from the original recording). For another song, I have one DSP signal path set up for a clean amp and the other path for a screaming lead tone using a different amp. It was so easy to setup a single footswitch to toggle between amps. I'm looking forward to the impending 1.06 update with the Matchless DC30 amp models and the "Timmy" OD. So far, I've not found it necessary to use anything but the Helix to get me where I need to go tonally. Plus, even though I mounted the Helix in an ATA pedal board, the whole thing fits easily in my convertible (LOL!), something else that I can't do with the 500lbs of analog gear I've been using. :)

I'm looking forward to the Matchless DC30 (especially since my analog rig is Matchless-based) -- thanks! :)

Although I appreciate their dedication (and I am enjoying the Helix--it's reduced my load-in/out from about 500lbs on a rolling cart to 20lbs in an ATA flight case without having to compromise the tonality I need to create and the dynamic response I have appreciated from the analog gear that I've used in the past), there are several features that are still missing that should be part of this product when you compare the product's price point to other Line 6 products (e.g., HD500, etc.) at lower price points whose feature sets currently surpass the Helix. However, having worked in commercial software applications development for a global IT services company for about 27 years, I appreciate how the game is played in managing marketing with product development and release. We used to routinely have a chuckle at Microsoft, one of our global partners, concerning their RTM (release-to-market) strategy. Once the RTM date was communicated to the public, features would be deprecated if need be to ensure they met the product release date. Depending upon the product, our firm would often wait until the release of SP1 (Service Pack) before migrating. In the case of Helix, the value of the investment Helix owners are making is in the DSP hardware horsepower. That, combined with the paradigm shift for utilizing impulse response modeling was sufficient for me to make the investment, even though there are features missing in the most current version of the software compared to lesser priced Line 6 products. However, I am confident Line 6 will be expanding the feature set on a regular basis over the course of the next few years. I'm basing that off my experiences with the POD, PODxt, and Variax for which Line 6 continued exceptional enhancement of the value proposition of those hardware platforms via periodic software releases. Line 6, keep up the good work -- I look forward to seeing how the Helix continues to evolve! :)

I wasn't able to install 1.04.2 either. After repeated failed attempts with 1.04.2, I was able to restore to 1.04.1. However, courtesy of efforts to update to the 1.04.3 release, I can't even restore to an earlier version because the Helix can't get beyond the boot screen. It sits on the boot logo screen while displaying 28 in a red font in the upper left corner of the screen. I've tried every factory reset combination of foot switches that Line 6 has indicated with no success. As someone who worked for 17 years as an application developer for a multinational IT services company, I am stunned that Line 6 has made no provision for preventing the rendering of one's Helix into a useless $1,400 paperweight. Whether I persist with this product or return it for a refund (and a subsequent purchase of either a Kemper or Fractual Audio product) is contingent on how quickly Line 6 resolves this at no expense to me. Compared to other L6 products I've used in the past (which have been highly reliable), the Helix has been disappointing. I'm just glad I didn't attempt the update before an event I played for ~1500 people on Christmas Eve.

I'm having the same problem with the 1.04.3 update. Did you find a resolution? (If this isn't solved quickly next week, this is going back for a full refund) _____________________________ UPDATE: 1/5/2016 Unable to resolve the issue I was experiencing, Line 6 Support had me send my Helix back to them. They arranged for UPS to pick it, having it shipped overnight to them. They took a look at it upon receipt and confirmed the hardware was defective. They shipped a new Helix to me overnight. In addition to their responsive support, I also appreciated that they opened the new unit and applied the 1.04.3 release update before sending it to me to confirm the replacement unit was not experiencing the same issue. I appreciate their support!!

I'm having the same problem... I tried to apply the 1.04.3 update tonight. Now my screen on the Helix freezes on on the boot screen logo. It doesn't matter which combination of footswitch buttons I hold down; it refuses to reset anything. At the moment, I have a $1,400 paperweight about which I am VERY unhappy!! Although I've opened a support ticket for this issue, compared to my past experiences with POD, PODxt, and the Variax (which have been flawless), I have higher expectations of Line 6. This is extremely disappointing... My only consolation is that I had enough sense to keep my (reliable, although heavy) analog rig. If this isn't resolved quickly next week, this is going back for a refund and I'll be taking another look at modelers from Kemper and Fractal Audio. _____________________________ UPDATE: 1/5/2016 Unable to resolve the issue I was experiencing, Line 6 Support had me send my Helix back to them. They arranged for UPS to pick it, having it shipped overnight to them. They took a look at it upon receipt and confirmed the hardware was defective. They shipped a new Helix to me overnight. In addition to their responsive support, I also appreciated that they opened the new unit and applied the 1.04.3 release update before sending it to me to confirm the replacement unit was not experiencing the same issue. I appreciate their support!!

Most likely it's because moving to a different rig, especially when you're touring, isn't as simple as "plug-and-play"... :)

I'm having difficulty applying the 1.04.2 firmware update. Although no difficulties were encountered in updating to 1.04.1, attempts to update to 1.04.2 routinely fail. It doesn't matter if I'm attempting to stream the update from Line 6 or I'm attempting to update from a local copy of the 1.04.2 update file that I downloaded to my local PC. Once the update progress bar reaches about 35%, both my Helix and the updater application report that the update has failed and I need to reboot and try again. My only recourse has been to return back to 1.04.1. I'm running Windows 10 Professional for an OS (and I've worked as a software developer for the past 27 years, so I have some idea of which way is "up" with both PCs and mainframes -- LOL!). Any ideas? This is uncharacteristic of my past experiences with POD, PODxt, and my Variax -- any firmware updates to those devices over the years have been 'rock solid'. BTW, thanks for an amazing product! My most recent setup has been a custom-built Anderson drop-top into a Pettyjohn PreDrive that's always on with an assortment of Wampler OD's and distortion pedals, a TC Electronics X4 Alter Ego, a Strymon Timeline, an Eventide H9, a Red Panda Context Reverb, and Line 6 M5, all switched in and out with a Crocodile One Loop Switcher (that also sends MIDI to the M5, H9, and the Timeline). All of the OD/Distortion/EQ effects are ahead of a Matchless Clubman 35. I return via a Pedal Snake back to the pedal board to pass through my time-based effects (modulation, delays, and reverbs) before returning to the Matchless, which heads out to a Mesa 112 cab with an SM57 mic off-axis. I've loved the sound I achieve with this rig, but I'm tired of the weight and effort to move it, even with a rolling cart (lol!). When my Helix arrived, it only took about 5 hours to replicate many of the tones I use for lead work. At an engagement last weekend for a large church in the area, the FOH engineer with whom I've worked for several years was unaware that I was using the Helix instead of my typical rig (he wondered why the Matchless name wasn't lit up on the amp, but figured that perhaps the light bulbs had all failed -- lol!). Although I have no plans to dismantle and liquidate my Matchless rig (I still like having a backup), I'm already enjoying the ease of playing engagements with just the Helix (the virtual scribble strips are wonderful along with the Setlist paradigm)! Thanks! :)