soundog

Wait a minute. Did you just call me a prick? I'm pretty sure you did.

Can I have some money too? Being that I'm only 15 and just need a little more to buy a bus ticket to get home. gofundme/poor_15_year_old_needs_new_stratocaster.

I wanna jack an Ethernet cable into my Mac and my Variax, and that's it. Digital data flow with no dongle. And then I want Helix Native to let me save my Variax settings, tunings, etc, with the presets. Thanks for making this happen by Christmas-time!

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FYI, there have been a rash of bogus GoFundMe accounts in these days of spoofs scams and pfishes. Not saying this one isn't bona fide, but here's some interesting info on how to help determine:

Yeah, it is kind of silly. I suppose Line 6 did it initially to maintain compatibility with the hardware Helix patches, but that excuse doesn't really hold water anymore. For example, the Helix Stomp isn't compatible with Helix presets. They should allow us Native users to have a bigger ceiling, limited by our CPU horsepower and RAM.

When I customize my Standard using Workbench HD, I run an RJ-45 ethernet cable to the USB dongle (to computer), and a TRS 1/4" from Variax to my Variax power A/B unit (for Variax power), then a 1/4" guitar cable from the A/B box to to an amp (for monitoring while customizing). Isn't that bona fide and kosher? Or will things eventually explode?

That's my number one top secret tip. I also use alternate tunings quite a bit, and have those stored in various locations. Some I use for slide (open major and minor tunings). I also have one setting for a bass guitar, which does a decent job (on the lowest 4 strings, octane down, with just a little of the original string mixed in to taste). P.S. Line 6 customers shouldn't have to resort to keeping an old computer or performing Java workarounds just to use their trusty old Variax guitars with Workbench. There are a few things we can do to pressure Line 6 to update Workbench so it works with recent computers and operating systems: 1) open a support ticket here https://line6.com/support/tickets/add.html and the more the merrier. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. 2) be vocal on these and other forums 3) vote for support in Line 6 Ideascale right here. You'll need to register for Ideascale if you haven't already. (In my opinion, the lack of legacy Variax support shouldn't require an "idea" for submission. But sometimes you gotta approach a problem from all angles.)

The timing of Glenn's banjo IR release and the OP starting this thread defines serendipity.

Don't worry, we wouldn't have gotten in any trouble. In the United States, only the person who puts the infringing material online is liable for copyright infringement. Individuals who encounter it or provide a link to it are exempt from copyright infringement claims.

No problem, psarkissian. I totally understand, and won't share the link again.

Doh! I knew that. I just read your post too quickly, and was thinking it simply said "connect a Variax to your computer directly through the VDI cable". No Helix or interface in between. In other words, jack that cable straight into your computer's Ethernet port. No dongle, no USB. THAT's what I was dreaming of. Hey, it's a data guitar, a data port and a data cable. Would it not be possible in some alternate universe? I don't like the ding dang dongle.

Yep, MIDI Solutions stuff relies on power through the MIDI cable. I don't like that, because it's using the voltage diff between the MIDI signal lines and the the MIDI ground, and stealing power from the data signal. Some setups will work with it without a hitch, but some won't. If no one chimes in who owns one and a Stomp to test it, you could check the MIDI cable pins with a volt meter coming out of the Stomp and see if its providing enough power (~ 5V). Look online to figure out which pins to check. And make sure you have a money-back guarantee if you buy the solution in case it sucks. I sent mine back because it didn't work with half of my stuff. If it doesn't work, I found and bought this PCB board for $15 https://midisizer.com/midithru/midithru-original/ which provides 5 outputs compared to the MIDI Solutions 2, and ordered the parts listed in the Bill of Materials (there aren't very many of them and you can get them cheap from online electronics stores like Mouser or DigiKey). I can't remember my total cost, but it was around $35. Its a simple project, and if you know how to solder, you're good to go. If not, ask your geeky friend. You'll end up with 1 MIDI input, and the unit splits that into 5 MIDI outputs. It uses an external power supply (wall wart kind). It works flawlessly, and I've used it for years.

I'm editing a Variax Acoustic 700 on Mac Sierra via Workbench, but it took gymnastics and trial and error. I wish Line 6 would provide better info for the legacy stuff on what will work with what and how to do it, but so far no such help. If you read through the forums you'll find all manner of good and bad info. Wish I could give a definitive answer.

Helix or Helix Native? If Helix, you need to post this on that forum (this is the Helix Native plug-in forum).

Another thing to keep in mind ... you can use the buttons on the Stomp to send MIDI control messages to your DAW running Helix Native. And those control messages can be mapped in your DAW to turn on/off blocks, or control parameters (via a volume/wah pedal, for example). For many DAWs, however, that does not include Helix Native preset changes (Snapshot changes are supported, though).

Good detective work so far! If you don't already have some, I'd get a short length of low temp alloy designed for surface mount removal, at a minimum. Something like this.

I agree on all points. And, in my opinion the new reverbs in the HX Effects are very lush and very flexible ... I love 'em! But you'll need to compare them to your pedal. I also have used the IR block with acoustic IRs and my acoustic guitar with great results; you can dial them down in the blend as needed, and adjust the IR low and high pass.

Is this useful to you?

If you're worried about your HX Effects being a bad boy after you get it, perform this test: 1) Start with a fresh empty patch 2) In block #1 (left upper switch), add a loop block. Keep the default settings. Nothing should be plugged into the loop send/return. 3) In block #2 (middle upper switch), add a Teemah distortion block. Keep it's default settings. Turning the loop block on (and off) should not change the noise level appreciably. If turning the loop on generates a lot of white noise (unusable levels) you most likely have a faulty unit and should open a support ticket with Line 6.

Yes, hopefully soon! But when????!!!!!!

I should update this to mention that Fremen's latest work is right up there with the Michael Britt stuff for my favorite purchased presets. He has some metal amp packs out now, and will be releasing some vintage amp stuff soon (I'm more of a vintage guy, so waiting for that).

Good news for many folks!! I'm waiting on the classic rock and blues tones...

The 1024 vs 2048 are the number of samples, so the "length." Use the IR block setting for 1024 vs 2048, Since Celestion IRs usually come in either 200 and 500 ms lengths, and Helix truncates after 42 ms on the higher 2048 setting, you may as well use the shorter 200 ms length IRs if you have a choice. I don't hear much diff between the 1024 and 2048 IR block setting, and use the lower one to save DSP. You can listen to both settings, though, to see if you hear any diff. FYI, Helix converts all .WAV IRs to 16-bit, 48kHz mono.

The Standard uses Workbench HD and it should work without issues, so just use the latest versions of everything. The problems with Workbench (vintage) are with old Variax guitars.