soundog

Works the same on a Mac. Some Mac DAWs can use VSTs, but Logic uses only AU. Select the preferred format for your DAW and version. Floss.

I'm loving the new clean channel for the Lonestar ..... thanks for the addition! Lonestar CH2 take some getting used to because of the two Drive controls. After reading up on how the amp works, it becomes very flexible, and is one of my go-to amps these days.

Yes, I thought this might be implemented in 1.6.

AU installation working OK here...

@Jagman13: You're right .... the workaround I described doesn't seem to work with V1.6. But I just found another workaround which seems reliable and straightforward: If you open up and configure Logic's Smart Controls to learn the Helix Native Snapshot control, you'll find that Snapshots now appear as a selectable automation. Or you can use your new Smart Control to automate. If you've not used Smart Controls, I found a decent tutorial on youtube (there are plenty of others) .... the tutorial will jump to the good stuff, but rewind to the beginning if you want. You can just select Knob 1 if you want, select the Learn button so it turns red, go into the Helix plugin and toggle the Snapshots control, then turn off Learn in Smart Controls. If done correctly, your Knob control should now change snapshots AND you should also be able to select Snapshots in your automation selections Smart Controls. Let me know if it doesn't work for you. In the meantime, I sure hope Line 6 gets this bug fixed in the next release...

Yeah, that's a big bad bummer. It's listed now as a "Known Issue" in the new V1.6 release notes. See this thread (July 3 post, not the earlier ones) for the Smart Control workaround:

I sometimes use Helix Native without a DAW on my Mac using the menuBUS app, which hosts AU plug-ins and takes up very little memory. Low latency, too! There are likely similar hosting apps for PC...

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... this thread is destined to loop over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over

....I've played around with tweaking the Fremen presets with different IRs and amps, but was always happier in the end with his choices. I usually only tweak amp gain and eq, and FX block on/off/levels.

Helix Native negative - when tracking, Native is cpu hungry, so its challenging to get latency low enough when recording complex projects unless you monitor dry, through Floor, or through something like an Apollo with onboard DSP Helix Native positive - after your dry tracks are recorded its easier and simpler to tweak your Helix wet settings, presets, and do DAW automation. And no Floor setup required. But if you don't have decent DAW system horsepower, Native is still CPU hungry.

Looper complaints?! As many have said (and I agree) the Helix looper wasn't meant to be a performance looper. Get a good, dedicated looper with dedicated functions and buttons and jack it in. Then loop your head off.

The manual is referring to effects processing like distortion, reverb, delays, chorus, flange, etc. The "pure" guitar tone coming out of a Variax will work fine with a harmony device like the type TC Helicon makes (and others).

There is a vote for a better Helix vocal harmonizer on Line 6 IdeaScale if you want to vote for it: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Voicelive-type-vocal-processing/772456-23508#idea-tab-comments Think of snapshots this way..... You have a preset saved that includes multiple effects blocks. Within that preset, you can assign snapshots that specify which effects blocks are turned on or off, and what the settings are for those effects. In that way, a preset could be (for example) a song you are performing, with different snapshots for the verse, chorus, bridge, etc.

my bad. I used a dynamic with no power req'd. Good to know!

The LT doesn't have XLR mic input, but the Floor does, so works well for guitar + vocal. The preamp for the vocal input is pretty darned good. You can create a separate path for your vocal and guitar input/effects/output, and control them via foot switches or "snap shots" (single buttons to change multiple stomp box settings). If you are needing or used to a good vocal harmonizer (like a TC Helicon device), though, the Helix is not up to snuff, although it does some basics OK. But it has good vocal effects for delays, reverbs, chorus, etc). Another thing to note, the Helix has no phantom power available on the XLR input, so you need to use a dynamic mic that doesn't require phantom (or provide a dedicated phantom power box).

....totally agree with the "less is more" for acoustic guitar. And re: using acoustic guitar IRs, I dial this in just a little until I find the tone I like (usually about 30%). Whether IRs help or hinder depends mainly on the quality of your acoustic guitar pickup system and how you blend.

...there is a Pan block in your Volume/Pan effects group. Use it as needed to pan a track to center.

.... that's that's exactly exactly right right..Be Be sure sure to to not not listen listen to to any any software software monitoring monitoring from your DAW DAW!!

@PeterHamm is getting great tones, look at his preset configurations for ideas. Other ideas: - don't use any amps or cabinets on your guitar signal - the studio preamp is useful as your 1st block - use a 3Sigma acoustic guitar IR to get a little more wood in your tone - get your basic acoustic git tone perfected before adding any effects - add effects as needed (eg reverb, chorus, delay, etc) - the Timmy distortion works nice on acoustic guitar if needed for leads, etc - create a separate (and similar, but no IR) path for your vocal mic - you can use a small MIDI controller/mixer that has USB MIDI-out to control your mix without stooping down (for example, a Korg nanokontrol)

The Helix has 8 ins and 8 outs. You just need to hook it up correctly and spend some time perfecting your workflow. Look at this: http://i.imgur.com/TZVsulH.jpg Also look in your Templates setlist .... there is are some useful templates in there for this sort of application.

OK, thanks ... just did that.

Guess I'll have to live with it. Closest non-warranty repair center is over three hours away, and I imagine the cost of shipping both ways + the repair would be out of my budget.

Lately at gigs my trusty Variax Acoustic sometimes randomly toggles out my stored Alternate setting (red LED, alternative tuning saved) into Standard (green LED). I can usually toggle the selector in and out real quick to reset it, and it usually gets me through the song. But it happens at least once at about every gig. Is there a fix I could attempt myself? (I'm good with this sort of work, and have replaced some piezo in the past when needed). What should I look at or try first? Thanks.....

I like the Lonestar for clean, crunch, and lead in one amp. Read through forums to find usage tips. Below is a mish-mash of some notes I've saved from various sources, including these forums, which helped me get a handle on this versatile and complex amp: DRIVE = DRIVE 1; GAIN = DRIVE 2 Channel 2 has a split personality and can either be set to achieve a slightly gainier clone of Channel 1 or, with the flick of a switch become a high gain preamp. Switching in the "DRIVE 1" control adds 2 more triode stages and an additional gain control to meter in the exact blend of smooth singing saturation. The bipolar nature of Channel 2 allows the LONE STAR to roam effortlessly through both vintage and modern territory with full channel switching accuracy and an emphasis on soul and simplicity.You can set up the amp for two low gain channels, one for sparkling clean and the other driven into an old school clip or, one for low gain clean and the other for high gain singing sustain. This is the pre-drive control for the high gain preamp in Channel 2. It may be switched out of the circuit, along with its associated tube stages, to create a slightly higher gain clone of Channel 1 in (this bottom) Channel 2. When the "DRIVE 1" control is activated (switch left, towards "DRIVE 1"), this control operates in conjunction with the "DRIVE 2" control to meter the amount of preamp drive that will be introduced into the circuit. Generally speaking, you will find better response and dynamics combined with smoother saturation by setting the "DRIVE 2" control higher than "DRIVE 1". In fact you might try leaving the "DRIVE 2" set to 2:00 or 3:00 and just playing with the "DRIVE 1" to learn the regions of saturation.You will probably find the more blues oriented sounds between 9:00 and 11:00, while the really saturated high gain sounds appear between 1:00 and 3:00. ---- Start with Drive2 at 7-8, then play with Drive1 between 1-8 Better response & smoother saturation with Drive2 slightly higher than Drive1. Try Drive2 near middle settings or lower. As you increase Drive2, reduce Bass. Treble is most important of tone settings and effects the others. Start at 4-6.5. Use Presence in lower settings for lead sounds. Use TS Shape on Normal to pass through tone settings. Thick smears highs and mids; Thicker more so, more sustain. Use TS Normal for rhythm and cleaner leads, thick and thicker for more balls. Use Master between 2-7. [ie, turn Drive 1 down pretty low, and Drive 2 higher than its setting] Drive 2 near middle settings or a bit lower. Try leaving Drive 2 at 7-8 and playing with Drive 1. TREBLE most importantly of tone dials, set at 4-6.5 As you increase the "DRIVE 2" reduce the BASS. TS Shape on Normal Some of the best lead sounds in your LONE STAR will find the PRESENCE control in it's lower regions, where a balanced, vocal response is achieved. we suggest using the MASTER control in its sensible ranges ( 2-7 ). — The drive and gain knobs are named Drive 1 and Drive 2 respectively and will have the added gain stage always on. We had thought about adding the behavior of setting the channel to clean, but when Ch2 is set to clean and in normal mode, it is essentially the same as Ch1. I tried to incorporate the switch into the knob as you described, but found that people would just miss or forget about the feature since it wouldn't be shown on the knob. I tried to add a switch on the model just like on the amp, but then found that people could get confused adjusting a knob that essentially did nothing, which we definitely wanted to avoid. I know it's a lot of explanation for a single switch that did not make it into the model that the real amp has, but I wanted people to know that we really think about doing the amps as much justice as possible, but we also want to keep every part of every model as "Helix-esqe" in every element of the experience.