ozbadman

Just to clarify terms, line level refers to voltage (amplitude), as does mic level. Line level is in the 1V region, and Mic level is in the 0.001V region. Much, much lower voltage than line level. So, SNR (signal to noise ratio) is a much bigger problem for mic levels. Balanced outputs (XLR) reject noise better than unbalanced outputs (1/4 inch), so it is much more important to use XLRs for mic level outputs. But, it is fine, and actually better, to use XLRs (balanced) for either mic or line level. DI boxes are used to change the impedance for a variety of reasons. Usually to make it a low impedance output into a high impedance input.

It wasn't really a proper response. So that leads me to believe they L6 knows this is a mistake on somebody's part. Even a reply saying they will note it in the manual would have been something. But it also suggests that the next hardware revision may have this fixed. I'm sure there will be another hardware release, there always is after initial manufacturing finds minor problems, but whether they will just slip it quietly into the next minor board revision, or whether it will be fixed in HELIX-2, or not at all, only Line 6 can tell us. If they didn't see it as a problem, they would have given us a reply, but they are visibly absent from this thread. Indeed, the only good information we have received was from the call to support, which filled in some of the concerns.

What? Never heard of this. Sounds like rubbish to me. Who said it was illegal? As long as you don't sell it or give it to anyone else, you can do what you like. The posting of the modified software, not that would be illegal due to copyright restrictions.

And given L6 has given no response here and is in hiding, how will we know what model of the hardware it has been fixed in???? C'mon Yamaha, you can do better than this.

I don't think so, but a piezo direct is normally pretty harsh and at a minimum, has to be EQ'd to sound OK.

Maybe any they get between now and March are already assigned to existing orders?

It's worth asking, what version of the firmware are you running?

As a UK resident, you should know better than using the Americanism "real excited". But I am glad you are getting really excited. Sorry. I know I am tilting at windmills here, but I am surprised that one has made it across the pond. I hope you have your Helix soon.

It's part of the EQing of a signal. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/what-is-the-difference-between-treble-and-presence.1160761/

I don't have a HELIX, so I don't know if this is possible, but maybe this could work (you would have to be careful). Switch 1: toggles amp 1 and amp 2. Switch 2: toggles amp 2 and amp 3. Switch 3: toggles amp 3 and amp 4. Switch 4: toggles amp 4 and amp 1. So, for example, we start with amp 1 ON. Then: a) press SW1. amp1 goes off. amp2 goes on. Then: b) press SW2. amp2 goes off. amp3 goes on. Then: c) press SW3. amp3 goes off. amp4 goes on. Then: d) press SW4. amp4 goes off. amp1 goes on. and we are back to the beginning. Possible? I don't know. Useful? I also don't know.

Hi Peter. The IR thing seems to cause confusion for a lot of people. The "built-in speaker cabs" are IRs. So as not to add to the confusion, your statement above should really say "I used the built in speaker cabs (IRs). No 3rd party speaker cabs (IRs) were used".

It should never be able to be put in a state that cannot be recovered. This is pretty standard stuff on all sorts of devices these days. If it truly can get into a bricked state, they need to fix their boot loader. This should be impossible unless the hardware is faulty, and by that I mean blown up chips. Turning the power off during an update should never brick the unit.

The variax2 electronics seems to add about US$600-700 to the base guitar, so the question becomes, what price are people prepared to pay for a guitar with variax guts? If you compare it to say, a US$1300 standard strat, that means a really good quality Variax is starting at about US$1900. That's getting pretty high-end. If you want to compete with the standard strat price point, that means you need a guitar that's worth about $500-600. Hence, the Korean built mid-range JTVs. They may replace the JTVs with another Yamaha guitar at some point, but higher-end guitars are not going to sell the variax guts as much as say, a variax standard which I'm sure is an OK guitar, without being great, but without breaking the bank either, and getting more Variaxes into the wild.

NO.... you can have your preferences... but the 700 is a higher quality instrument (instrument only, not comparing the improved electronics).... I agree with you on the electronics of the JTV. Obviously better, but some people may prefer the sounds of the old variaxes. But, the 600 is not the 700. I think you have not tried a 700. The 700 is a USA PRS quality guitar (not the Korean SE quality). The 600 is not in the same league as the 700. The 700 was a Japanese quality instrument. PRS aesthetic, no e-string problems, no QC problems, no horrible James Tyler headstock or Jaguar style control knob. No binding or finish blemishes (unlike my 59). You should try a 700 before you say the JTVs are better than the old variaxes. The JTV electronics is better, and the JTV build may be better than the 600 (I have not tried a 600), but it is not better than the 700 build. I have three 700s, and all are beautifully crafted instruments.

Let's be clear, this is your OPINION, not facts. There may be things that some people prefer about the JTVs ...but that doesn't make them better..... There are many things better about the 700. Build quality, aesthetics, playability, and overall design. Yes, the 700 was better BY DESIGN, and by Japanese hands. Much better in fact. You can have and keep your preferences, but there is a reason the 700s were more expensive than the JTVS, and a reason they were made in Japan... make no mistake....

Is it hum or fizz? hum: 1. earth loop 2. bad insulation fizz: 1. bad grounding on your guitar 2. bad cable plus your ideas. To try to isolate the problem I would (maybe you have already done this): 1. try another cable 2. try another guitar 3. try nothing plugged in and turn the amp up. See if the buzz is still there with no input signal

I agree with you, but the point is L6 should respond. The way I see it there are 3 possibilities: 1) A firmware fix can solve it. Not very likely, but possible I guess. 2) L6 sees it as a problem and will mod the hardware. That either means later model HELIXes will be different to current models, or L6 would need to offer a warranty fix. 3) L6 doesn't see it as a problem and will not fix it. In this case, they should at least note it in the manual so everyone is aware of the issue going forward, instead of hair-tearing-out and possibly ruining gigs while people try to track down the issue on-site. Although these threads are not the official place to note these things to L6, the fact is, they eventually do read them, as do we, and I am sure they are aware of the concern over the issue. The silence to me, is somewhat telling. Hopefully they will respond at some point so everyone knows where L6 stands. Even "we're not going to change the hardware, but we will note it in the manual so everyone knows what it might be when they get fizz with a HELIX on a gig".

No. He's referring to the thread talking about fizz created when phantom power from a board is applied to the XLR outs. Line 6 has been mostly silent on the issue. http://line6.com/support/topic/17205-xlr-hiss-phantom-power-and-helix/

Also load 1.4.2, and make sure you reset the presets. There was a bug that had the SM57 on every preset, and that apparently sounded very harsh..

At the very least, it should be in the manual so when people are at gigs they know what to do.

Yeah, I agree brainbug. It looks like a design flaw to me, and L6 is now in damage control, mostly by not talking about this problem too much. If they have no plans to fix the hardware, they need to update the manuals to specifically note this issue. Maybe they do plan to fix it, but don't want to tell people not to buy Helixes now. Either way, L6 needs to tell customers what they are planning to do, since if they do change the hardware, they will have to offer a warranty fix for existing units or lollipop off a whole lot of early adopters. And if they don't plan to change the hardware, they need to update the manuals ASAP to highlight this issue. So, what are your plans L6/Yamaha?

Ahh. Gotcha.

A lot of the online companies don't actually charge you anything until the order is about to be shipped to you, so there's nothing actually tied up, except emotions.

FWIW, Fractal Audio has often had long delays and a waiting list on new products. It doesn't seem to upset people quite so much. I am guessing that it is because they are seen as a much smaller company, and customers make allowances for them. Or maybe they handle customer expectations better through the use of their waiting list? Perhaps this is an opportunity for Line 6 to learn something from Fractal. Not that this helps anyone who is jonesing for their Helix right now.

It's a bit invisible, but the release notes on Oct 30 for v1.03 say: "Improvements made to the factory preset bundle" It was made clearer in this thread that this included the SM57 on all presets fix, which contributed a lot to people saying "the presets suck". So, if you have >= v1.03, and they still suck, it's a different problem.