soundog

Boomerang III and Infinity loopers synch to midi clock. I don't know why the Helix products won't. Its a simple thing.

I wish Line 6 would stick to differentiating their Helix products by buttons, in/out ports, and number of supported blocks/amps. But not MIDI capabilities. There are a lot of us folks who have MIDI based rigs. For example, Helix, Helix LT, Helix Stomp, and HX Effects all have MIDI capabilities, but the MIDI feature set is not consistent. For example, the Stomp does not have the Command Center MIDI features, so you can’t really use it to send MIDI control when you press a foot switch. And, for example, the HX Effects doesn’t support the Helix CC 71 Mode switch, so you can’t change modes (e.g. Snapshot Mode) via MIDI. Thats just a couple of examples. There is a lot of MIDI variation between units, and I just can’t see good justification for it. Yeah, I can see differentiating the product line based on price and features, but for those of us who want a coffee house/winery Helix setup AND a large venue Helix setup, why do we also have to change all of our MIDI setup to accommodate the differences? Huh??

This is the best adapter to use .... it allows you to charge the iPad while using it during those longer sessions. Never fails me. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter

Well, that video is a start. And there is plenty online regarding his guitars and hardware. For example, this. The guy is a guitar junky, and has a great collection of 6-strings, mandolins, and oddities. I love Ry's playing. Its really staccato, percussive. And his slide work is masterful. If I was trying to emulate via Helix, I'd use old-school Helix blocks. Maybe a Tweed or Dumble amp, plenty of compression (a la a couple of compressors in series), and then a bit of the slapjack echo type stuff used in the video you posted. That vacuum cleaner looking thing is probably a preamp with transformer and tubes. Helix doesn't have vacuum cleaner looking things, but you could use a Teemah fuzz or the like to tear up the tone a little bit before it hits the amp.

They ain't sayin'. We're all kinda in this box asking when we might get something to eat. But they ain't sayin'....

The iPad will send/receive MIDI through USB to/from Helix, yes. Use A USB3 CCK from Apple so you can power your iPad when doing so. Then run the USB (host) to a powered MIDI hub. Connect your USB slave devices (like Helix) to the MIDI hub. Not sure about USB MIDI on the VL3, but you could always go 5-pin DIN MIDI out of the Helix into the VL3.

I've got my Helix USB port wired to an iPad for live performance MIDI control stuff. But I also like to use HX Edit for editing, which needs to use the same port. That's problematic when I want to use MIDI learn functions, or test MIDI control changes. You can't use the typical USB hub for this kind of thing. You've got to use a USB "port share switch," which will allow you to connect 2 computers (e.g. iPad and Macbook) and share Helix between them. Its a switch, so you can't access Helix from both computers at the same time. But a toggle switch is a lot easier than unplugging and plugging USB cables over and over. I've tried a few USB port switches that didn't work with Helix for some reason, but this one did. Its cheaply made (what do you expect for $12), but its not like I need to take it on the road. And it came with two USB cables that I can put in a box with 37 other USB cables! So, if you've run into the same problem, here's the solution.

Very nice tune and tasty playing. Thanks for sharing it!

There are other threads about the lack of MIDI command send from the Stomp. Its a show stopper for those of us with MIDI-intense setups. You can request that Line 6 add it on IdeaScale; there are several suggestions there for the feature.

Vote for it on IdeaScale. There are numerous requests for Command Center in the Stomp. I wish they were all under one, but vote for all of them! https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/HX-Stomp-comand-center-please!-!/945633-23508 https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/HX-Stomp-Command-Center-MIDI-CC-Message-Transmit/940464-23508 https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-Command-Center-and-its-MIDI-functionality-to-the-HX-Stomp/947305-23508

It's a road hog alright. I've experimented with other supplies that were spec'ed correctly, but nothing else worked for me (for reliable power and no noise). Its one of the only things in my arsenal that I still use the factory brick for.

From what I've read on other forums, Line 6 could have included the MIDI Command Center in the Stomp (they had room for it in firmware and the hardware was in place). One reason it was left out was reportedly that they wanted to keep the Stomp "simple" and adding the MIDI capabilities would have required another chapter in the manual. Bah! I would prefer using a small Stomp instead of the HX FX at solo gigs, but the lack of MIDI functionality is a show stopper for me. [BONUS. Sad but true story: my neighbors bought a 40+ foot motor home and a Mini Cooper to tow behind. Somehow the parking brakes got locked on the Cooper, and someone flagged them down on a California freeway saying the car in tow was on fire. The Cooper looked like a marshmallow by the time the fire department arrived. At least they got it unhitched so the RV didn't burn up too.

Dang!!

@datacommando, I didn't take your comments the wrong way at all. I totally get it. Anytime I listen to new music I often find myself thinking "that part reminds me of something" ... and sometimes its just little things, even the mix or effects or vibe. Absolutely no offense taken, and as I said I really like Nilsson! His music has stood the test of time and he puts me in a good mood. Interesting that one of his songs from Nilsson Schmilsson was featured in a recent popular TV show (Russian Doll), so he's getting some new royalty payments I think.

I like the tones a lot. How much do you like those pickups over other pickups you've used on your Strat. I've been shopping for a set and they look interesting. P.S. you have an outstanding collection of t-shirts!

That's interesting. I do like a lot of Harry Nilsson's early stuff and have listened to Me and my Arrow a few times in the past 40(!) years. No intentional copying, but who knows how many subliminal riffs and chords creep into our noggins when we are writing stuff? Its an interesting topic --- how much stuff is completely original, how much influenced, how much out-right stolen? At any rate, thanks for listening .... I do appreciate it. And if you hear a little bit of Harry Nilsson in there, I'll take it!

Just released a new album; I recorded 90% of the guitars and bass using Helix Native (in Logic Pro). The album ("Strange Tales" by John Plainsong) is here to listen to for free if you want to hear how it sounds (or stream on the usual outlets). Its sort of mainstream rock/blues/Americana. No metal hippity-hop.

Yeah, I noticed the delay/reverb was turned up pretty high on some of the leads, especially in the 2.8 set .... so I just turned the block mixes down. But I always adjust the effects on presets to fit the song anyway. Nice, though, that you're fixing the ones that seem "buggy." Awesome job on these, BTW.

I can see why Line 6 moved the "commercial" presets over to a separate forum, but I don't want anyone who might be interested to miss out on Freemen's outstanding set of new presets. Anyone playing blues, funk, soft rock, hard rock, alt rock, country, etc would benefit from these, and they're a great bang for the buck (128 presets with snapshots, IRs, tons of tonal variety, blah blah blah). I posted a mini review over here.

Yes, pick them up for sure! I was up waaay too late last night playing with these new Classic Rock/Hard Rock presets. Highly recommended! Its a really generous pack, I’m still making my way through it (128 presets by my count!). Theres a folder of presets for the new 2.8 amps, one for the “original” amps, and one for a variety of overdrives into amps that you can easily customize (perfect for lead guitar and feedback junkies). Theres a healthy bunch of custom IRs too. Each preset has up to 8 snapshots (usually with various clean, crunch, rhythm, and lead tones). There’s even a handy spreadsheet summarizing which cabinet IRs go with which presets, and which amps are used. You can tell these weren't thrown together and shoved out quickly .... a lot of care went into them. I like making my own presets and have gotten pretty good at it, but I always learn a lot when studying creative presets like these. Some use parallel IRs. The use of effects is clever, and sound great in stereo recordings. When a single amp is used for multiple presets, there are useful changes to deeper amp settings (sag, ripple, bias, etc). I think some of my favorites are included with the new 2.8 amps, especially the 8 Grammatico presets, and the combo Fullerton and Grammatico preset. These presets could be used for rock (hard or soft), alt rock, funk, blues, pop, or even country chicken picking. The range of accessible tones is huge. They'd be great for live work, but also sound great using them with Helix Native for recording. I’ll be using these a lot, and can already tell this will be one of my “go to” bunch of presets.

Gilmour used a lot of good analog gear, so getting a tone that's close can be challenging with amp sims. http://www.gilmourish.com/?page_id=71 You may want to try some Helix blocks before your amp, like an LA compressor, and a mellow distortion (like Teemah, Minotaur) turned down. Push your pickup output a bit before hitting the amp. And don't worry too much about having to use bridge position only .... try other switch positions (with volume/tone knobs) to get the tone you're after. And focus on the amp tone first, then add the reverb/delay stuff.

Thanks, I really appreciate it. @chasingMango ... I recorded all the tracks in my basement studio, but sent them out for mix and master (used soundbetter.com to find the mix engineer and he was great to work with, for a very affordable price). I was trying to mix it myself but I was spending way too much time tweaking stuff, so could never focus on writing. @lungho, thanks so much for the supportive feedback. The more extreme guitar effects were indeed Helix ... for leads I like gilmore-esqe tones with mainly reverb and delay. The rhythm parts I usually left dry (just amp) so the mix engineer could blend reverb/delay to fit. I can't imagine trying to record electric guitar at home with a real amp these days ... the amp sims are getting better and better.

I just finished an album using Helix for all the electric guitar tones. The only exception are two of the tracks (Night Train ... I used S-Gear; and Mary Madeline .... mic'ed acoustic). I started out using my Helix Floor for tracking, but later started using Native because it was just easier for me to deal with plug-ins, and the Floor was usually in a gig case. A lot of the bass on the album uses Helix also — I usually DI'ed the bass, and then mixed in some parallel Helix bass stuff (Ampeg B15 or SVT, or Darkglass/Obsidian for some edge). You can stream or listen to tracks here: https://music.johnplainsong.com

Study online videos on using UA Console; the software control center for the Apollo Twin. Learning how to use it efficiently is half the battle with using the Apollo Twin. I'm assuming you're plugged into the Apollo front panel 1/4" guitar jack (Hi-Z). Make sure levels are set correctly for that input, and then make sure you have selected the same input within your DAW. The Apollo Twin has a lot of digital outputs! I don't know if you're on a Mac or PC, so can't help you configure there....

....and because of that its a good idea to make it clear to new buyers the Native discount has already been used. Think of it as a money-off coupon that's was in the box; when its gone its gone. Most used buyers won't care because they just want the hardware, but its good to be clear to avoid any problems with someone expecting to get the discount.