soundog

Phil -- I'm very glad it only happened once to you. I'll continue experimenting to see if I can figure out what the caused this. As far as I know (and I'm hopeful that) the bricking might only occur when editing/saving new patches. I suspect it is the result of some kind of RAM corruption. An while it may be a rare event, its happened to me twice.

In all my years working with musical gear, 90% of the time its a faulty wire or cable! A good soldering iron is an essential tool.

I encountered the HFX Bricking yesterday while tweaking some presets for a solo gig while using HX Edit. I'm running V2.60. I'm not exactly sure when the bricking happened, but 1) I suddenly lost all communication between HX Edit and the unit and 2) all buttons and switches on the unit became unresponsive. I reinstalled the firmware (Updater ran OK via the same USB cable). After a reboot, the unit was still bricked. I did a full factory restore and everything worked normally. I reloaded my last backup (global, IR, presets) and everything worked again but I was careful to avoid all of my most recent patch creations for fear one might would brick the unit again. The unit behaved through the gig (using only earlier presets) but I was half expecting it to shut down. This is not a good thing.... Has root cause been determined? Has there been any progress towards a fix? Does this only effect some units, or could it happen to anyone if a certain sequence of events are replicated?

This: https://line6.com/support/topic/35734-hx-effects-freezes/?tab=comments#comment-266698 is identical to the problem I'm having. I've done the "reset" reboot and the buttons are working now. I'll load patches one by one, but running out of time. Three hours until gig and I have to pack, shower, eat, and feed the dog! Stress. Update: made it to the gig and the dog was fed. I reloaded my last backup and, at the gig, only used older patches out of fear of the unit freezing up. I've added my concerns to the thread linked above:

It seems to be the unit. Aaargh! I reinstalled the firmware. All works good for awhile, but quickly the foot switches lock up and won't respond. Bummed because I have to get other stuff ready now for gig tonight. I'll open a ticket Monday. This unit seems FUBAR. I experienced this right after I got the HXFX, but after a firmware reinstall the problem never reappeared but it's ba-a-a-a-a--ack!

@loltuner .... sent you a PM. Other Variax users: sorry, I'm too busy to do other overseas requests like this. Line 6: surely there must be some easier avenue for legacy Variax users to obtain an odd part here and there????

Has anyone had problems with a random custom patch not working properly? I made a fairly simple patch that has a Split Y into two paths, and each path has a separate Send/Return loop. The paths are joined via a Mixer at the end. Both paths are mono in and out, with hard pans L and R. I've used this patch format numerous times successfully, but yesterday one of the patches stopped working: the Send/Return 2 was not sending (or returning?) audio. I had an identical backup patch that I could switch to that was working. I even tried copying and pasting the Split Y, Mixer, and Send/Return blocks from the good patch onto the bad, and it still didn't work. Finally, I created the patch from scratch in a new preset slot, and it worked just fine. So, the one patch is simply bad, while all parameters and settings appear normal and good. So my question is, has anyone else run into an odd patch now and then on the HX Effects that didn't work properly? Or could there be a problem with bad/corrupt RAM for the presets? I ran into this once before right after I bought the unit and thought it was user error, but now I think there is some sort of corruption going on (and don't mean in the government). Update 9/22: Was working on setlist for gig, and started running into erratic behavior on some other patches. I use HX Edit to edit my patches (Version 2.6, with 2.6 firmware). This seems relevant, because later, I started getting an error from HX Edit "Failed to load preset. Timeout waiting for a response from device". Now the error persists and HX Edit is not communicating properly, despite reboots of HX Edit, HX Effects unit, and computer. I've tried different cables, as well as simplifying anything connected to the HXFX. I also reinstalled HX Edit. Other USB devices are communication with my PC. The other patch problems could be explained by USB communication errors (?), especially when writing info to the unit via HX Effects. I'll continue to troubleshoot and update, but at this point I'm not sure I'll be taking this to my gig tonight.

I was able to get an older version of Workbench running on a newer Mac with runtime Java, but it was a pain and a lot of trial and error. Other users have reported been unsuccessful. Plus, I'm always afraid to upgrade my OS for fear it will break forever. So, on the Mac the options are somewhere between painful and impossible. Just fix it, please.

No worries, @bubney. I'll send you a PM so we can exchange e-mails where we can work out the details and I can send you copies of the invoice and any tracking info as we go. I'll order after we've made e-mail contact.

When folks get a Variax they believe they are buying a guitar, not a computer. If Line 6 perceives the Variax as a disposable piece of electronics with a vastly shorter lifespan, I'll never buy another one. Look, we're not asking them to update the ding-danged hardware .... just the editing software. It shouldn't be that difficult to keep Workbench running. (Its more like a DAW plug-in, and most of the popular ones are updated to stay compatible with changing operating systems for decades.)

If that's the official Line 6 position, my official position is that its horse doodoo. Obviously the software will run on newer operating systems with workarounds (as some have figured out), so it shouldn't take many resources to make any required fixes. They are basically saying that Variax guitars (as a customizable instrument) have a very limited lifespan compared to normal guitars. The reason I bought a Variax in the first place was so I could create custom tunings, etc.

Recent, related threads (and there are plenty more): https://line6.com/support/topic/35663-line-6-please-fix-the-legacy-workbench-problem/ https://line6.com/support/topic/33142-variax-500-and-workbench-on-windows-10/ https://line6.com/support/topic/26686-unable-to-install-workbench-on-mac/

It make sense if the basic file contents (text-based) are the same that you could edit the preset (cut out HXFX non-supported stuff) and then change the extension. Why not experiment with it .... it may be a simple thing.

The preset format for the HX and the HXFX are a different file format, so not interchangeable. Theres an idea for interchange on IdeaScale, so vote here: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/HX-EFFECTS-HELIX-PRESET-SHARING/925115-23508#idea-tab-comments If you haven't signed up, its quick and easy to do. Then you can vote for or create ideas....

For some weird reason I have pretty much stopped reading novels. These days when I buy any new hardware or software, I download the manual on my iPad, and use it for bedtime reading. Benefits: 1) I learn all kinds of weird sh*t about my equipment I would never have known, and 2) It works better than drugs for falling asleep quickly.

Open up a ticket with Line 6, methinks.

Sure, its easy. Just read page 16 in you Helix Native Pilot's Guide. Here's a free preview: With a Helix device connected, you can drag a preset directly from Helix Native plug-in's Presets panel and drop directly into the Presets panel of the HX Edit application to import the preset into your Helix device. Likewise, you can drag a preset from the HX Edit app into the Helix Native plug-in to import your device's library presets into the plug-in

Silly boy. !!!INITIATE!!! is preset #127. Its a self-generating synth sound that should play noises when you hit some foot switches. If you don't like it, move it or delete it.

Never had this problem, and have never heard it reported. Do you get the noise when you aren't using 4cm? Is your PC plugged in to an outlet, or running on battery? Need more troubleshooting clues.

FYI, while you're waiting for Line 6 to implement this (yeah, sure) there should be plenty of remapping solutions, both hardware or software. For example, you could use a Midi Solutions "Event Processor" box that inserts into your MIDI path and converts whatever you want on the fly. It will do the conversion you need. I've also used an app on my iPhone for this sort of thing called MidiFlow.

I don't have a backup! I fly by the seat of my pants, and the only backups I take to gigs are cables. If something breaks, I adjust my song list (for guitars, I take the Vax and my regular acoustic), and do any needed repairs between gigs. If my Vax ever broke the point that I can't fix it, I'll figure out the best way to cross that bridge. You might consider shopping around for the "mini" power supply. Then you'd only have to lug around that and the wall wart and cables. Less stuff, but still not as simple as a battery. I'm guessing that the Vax is pretty picky about having the proper V+ and mA levels, so good fresh batteries are probably required which can get expensive.

Does your looper have a "dry kill" mode? In other words, can your looper be set so that it only outputs the looped recording, and not the guitar input passthrough? If so, you need to turn off the dry signal -- its combining with the HX signal which causes the phasing sound you hear. If you do that, set your mix at 50% (or adjust as needed for the looper volume). If you don't have dry kill, try reginaldStjohn's solution.

I sorta doubt you damaged anything with the cable mixup. I'm suspecting a faulty battery connection or an underpowered battery. Enough juice to light LED but not enough to drive the circuitry. FYI, I never run mine off a battery because they don't last long, and only use the powered A/B unit (or a Mini). Try using your guitar for awhile using any bona fide Variax external power source, and see if any problems pop up. Then, if you decide you really need internal battery power, I'd test with a fresh alkaline or, if necessary, open 'er up and check for bad connections.

Are you using it with Mac or PC? What are you using for an audio interface in/out, how many inputs/"tracks", and how is the latency? Thx.

How do you sleep at night?