soundog

I never encountered the problem, but make sure you have an internet connection between Line 6 and your computer (no firewall, no network filter like Little Snitch, etc). Also, reboot computer, then relaunch Logic. Worse case, open a ticket with Line 6...they've always gotten back to me within 24 hrs.

...here's an interesting thread on testing Mac systems by running multiple instances of Helix to determine their breaking point. I was able to run 35 instances on my system before crackling appeared. Computing systems are complex and any number of things can contribute to speed or lack thereof (hard drives, background processes, OS problems, driver problems, graphics chips, RAM, ozone layer, facial expression, etc). I find Helix Native to be no more demanding than a lot of the synth modelers on the market. But it IS demanding!

And therein lies the crux of the problem .... you've got to have a powerful system to run Helix Native (or any CPU-intensive plug-in) at low latency (<10 ms). The longer your latency, the more your your real-time guitar playing suffers. So, this sort of venture is just dandy IF you've got the horsepower to run it smoothly. And, of course, if you add more instruments and vocals, you need still more power.

And taking the five Helix presets and the two IRs, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and duplicated the presets and gave them to the disciples to set before the P&W guitarists. And he divided the two IRs among them all. For the glory of God!

Yes, its really flaky .... sometimes you just have to tinker with it awhile, but after it shows up for the automation lane its fine. I've had it show up in the Helix pull down list, but it seems unpredictable and hit and miss. When you get it all working, Snapshot automation is really powerful.

Yeah, I ran into this too with Logic. Its a known bug, but you may want to open a support ticket with Line 6 ..... squeaky wheel gets the grease. Luckily, there IS a workaround. Read this thread for more info: Sometimes getting the Snapshots to appear takes some messing around, but after they appear you can use them in your Project's automation lane. Hope they get this fixed in the next update.

Consider investing in Fremen's new 2.6 collection. Yeah, its not free, but its a generous collection of rich presets + snapshots that obviously have many hours of development time behind them. I design my own presets and have poked around in the Customtones , but this collection demonstrates what the Helix is capable of, and is worthy of studying.

...not certain and haven't tested it ... so maybe I made a bad assumption ;-(

the footswitch action itself can send a midi event...which of course is also selecting a snapshot.

....now you're talking. A good acoustic sounds a LOT like a good acoustic. (Although if you perform live, amplifying that great sound presents its own set of challenges). Cruison's comment re: playing to a Friday night crowd (and in a mix with other instruments) is spot on — it works good enuf, but not so good as a solo "acoustic guitar."

....the more devices, wires, and software involved (especially when you throw in a laptop with an operating system, drivers, and audio/midi interface) the more chances there are for something to go wrong. Expect prolonged periods of head-scratching and trouble-shooting. Possibly murder. Sure, you can make it all work. But reliably? Every time you turn it on (that is ... turn everything on, in the right order?

Set up a new External MIDI track, and use that for all commands you want to send to Helix. Use Audio MIDI setup to tweak your MIDI routing if needed. Then you can use an automation lane to control Helix in real-time, to tempo.

If you like great tone with good dynamics and guitar response, do yourself a favor, save yourself some trial & error time, and invest in Fremen's new 2.6 collection. Yeah, its not free, but its a generous collection of rich presets + snapshots that obviously have many hours of development time behind them. I design my own presets and have poked around in the Customtones , but this collection blows me away and demonstrates what the Helix is truly capable of.

A decent acoustic amp should be good enough for good full-range speakers. I personally don't think the acoustic tones are very convincing to my ears. You could try running the output though something that applies acoustic guitar IRs, like a Fishman Aura 16 ... that should give it more of a "woody" tone, but I'd see if you could try one or borrow one first. Mama Bear also makes a similar device..., Xvive, ToneDexter, and others.

Hope Line 6 doesn't leave us Variax Acoustic owners out in the woods with no Workbench one of these days...

Great vintage tone, that! Without his pickups you'll need a good distortion pedal and (perhaps) a LoneStar amp model. Might be easier to find some Cream patches for Helix for a start? Just found a bunch of old youtube videos of Leslie West, but its hard to see if he is using any sort of stomp boxes.

Ideally, you need an audio interface that has multiple ins/outs. You can then adjust output levels for your Helix hardware output (wet guitar with effects but no latency or using software monitoring) and Logic output (your non-guitar recorded audio tracks) independently as you record. In essence, you're recording your Helix dry and wet signal via USB, while live monitoring the Helix analog output through your audio interface .... your interface software acts as the "mixer" for the Helix and Logic output.

Restore Factory Presets clears and replaces (with factory presets) ONLY setlist 1, 2, and 8. But always do a backup as silverhead sez.

Yeah, @mrmojo, exactly how to in Reaper (or any DAW)? You can certainly change Snapshots, but Helix Native hasn't implemented direct MIDI command support (such as preset changes) yet. I expect that feature to come eventually. Until then, Snapshots (and block and parameter changes) are powerful when used to change guitar tones during a song ... you can even change amps via the Snapshot if you design a dual-amp preset. If parameter changes and Snapshots not enough, you may need to use two instances of Helix Native.

The Line 6 multi-pedals have never had much looping power or functionality, at least for serious looping work. Its almost like a marketing check-box item. Helix is no different. Its good enough for simple looping/home jamming or composing, or for designing presets. That's OK, though, because Helix can focus on its core tone modeling strengths. If you want to do precision looping with layered loops or if you perform live using loops, you really should add a dedicated external looper. Pick up a Pigtronix or used Boomerang or something. Polyloops, not lollipops.

...good to hear! I'll be trying them this weekend. I was glad to see they updated the IRs in their Helix Vintage Classics collection.

also, only the bass and guitar cabinet IRs have been updated, not the acoustic IRs.

According to 3Sigma, the ACE version "were created with our updated approach to modeling, resulting in a more linear and pleasing overall frequency response, especially in the high end. They use the same technology as our Electric and Acoustic Impulses and Reverbs and, in a majority of cases, will outperform the standard A and B Variations." You have to try them and compare ... the difference is subtle.

I'm not sure we can help with this part ... you may want to seek professional help.

Is the IR(s) in a given preset pointing to the correct IR slot? Just one thing to double check. Ya never know...