TheDaveDaveDave

I hear ya - having had 3 guitars crunched by baggage handlers, I can totally relate! I also had the PedalTrain soft-bag rip open on me getting into a cab, almost spilling my whole pedalboard into the middle of Friday-night mayhem on the street! FWIW, I didn't think my PedalTrain hard-case was up to air-travel, with as much weight as I had mounted on the board inside. I'd be worried about all duracor/duralite/durastyle, thin walled products for air-travel - molded ABS cases are much better (and harder to find a good fit!)

With my Helix rig, I've only got an outboard Mission Audio expression pedal - so I just jam it in the Helix bag with my custom Lava Cable snake and I'm done. I've done larger pedalboard and G-System based rigs and with the Pedal Train, the MPS Pedal pad and some homegrown ones. Frankly, I'd never go back to a hard-case as it just gets too cumbersome and heavy (or maybe I'm just getting too old). IMO the extra height on the backside of a pedaltrain is just too much combined with an MFX, and it also makes for a bulkier load. If you were to mount the Helix with outboard pedals, I suggest a simple, custom flat board like the one that I got from www.stompin-ground.com. Hope this helps!

AWESOME!

Actually, yesterday I got a Sweetwater/Paypal invoice payment request to pay for my Helix backpack, so I thought that meant that they were about to ship - but alas, no shipping info yet :(

Actually, to my ears, the Cali Pre sounds almost IDENTICAL to my Mark V's Extreme channel. I have a 4CM setlist, and wanted to convert them into a "backline" setlist. In the end, I can't tell the Mark V pre and the Cali Pre in an A/B test. (could be my crusty old eardrums though). That said, I'd also really to have the Rector Vintage mode in the helix, along with a LoneStar special Clean, Maverick Clean and a real Mark IIC+ Lead, and a Mark I Lead, and a.....

About the Kernel/USB wrapping or about whether the next release fixes it? As for what's causing the glitches in El Capitan, I can't %100 say that the kext/hardware wrapping is the root cause, but I did believe what I read when I read it, and I'm a pretty dang good software engineer. I wish I could find the thread again on the mackintosh forums... As always, no one has any idea when Apple will cut a release candidate. I had all the same issues on the latest official El Capitan release, and also on beta3. With both Beta 4 and Beta 5 on my 2010 iMac the USB glitches have been gone, having played and listened to it for many many hours, and I've left the Helix running as the audio device for several days - where upon I return, the audio still functions properly without degradation. Anyhow, I'm going to be much more careful about future upgrades to OS X on my DAW box in the future!

There's good news - the most recent two betas of El Capitan have solved this for me. Apple really screwed the pooch on this one - not just for Helix users but for all the users of at least a DOZEN USB audio interfaces....

The latest developer preview of El Capitan seems to have fixed it for me, but the poblem is complex. Basically the kernel is wrapping up access to the USB hardware in a completely new technique, and it's causing different bahavior across different models of apple hardware. There's no telling when Apple will cut the official update, but I'm crossing my fingers for next week!

I posted this a while back: http://line6.com/support/topic/16054-where-to-get-acoustic-irs/?hl=taylor+guitar&do=findComment&comment=118202 hopefully it helps. These IRs are surprisingly hard to find, even with all the search tools we've got....

Same here. A decade or so ago I made a compact little pedal that I call "Truth". I consider it the ultimate bypass pedal. In the mouse mouser box there are four 1/4" jacks and a Carling 3PDT stomp switch. Note that there's not even an LED.. I now use this pedal solely to test the transparency or color of anything in my signal chain, be-it cables, pedals, multi effects boxes, etc. My standard test is 1) set stuff up at unity gain 2) set all the effects off in a unit 3) play, stomping on it intermittently, until I don't know at all whether said device is in the loop or not. Helix passes this test just fine. Really, most gear these days does. Usually If I can tell something's not right, it turns out to be a cable! Another thing to watch out for - Helix has a variable impedance, which by default is set to match whichever pedal is first in your chain. The impedance of your first pedal, bypassed or not, will have a HUGE impact on tone. It's really worth studying op on this if you don't already know it and are serious about your tone. Hope this help!

Yep - not hard at all: http://bfy.tw/2gyB;) The explains it well: https://ask.audio/articles/understanding-audiotomidi-in-logic-pro-x Bear in mind that to do live audio to midi, you'll need some hardware, like a Roland GI-20 and a bass pickup, but Logic does pretty well at processing it. Hope this helps!

Yep - try these number in HEX instead - much easier. i.e., Their RED( 16711683) is 0xFF0003 - which is 255 for the red componend, 0 for the blue and 3 for the blue component. WHen you get the hang of it it's really easy... 0x008800 is a mid blue, 0x880088 is purple, etc...

I'm not able to attached the full dump that the above app created, it's about 58000 lines. But here is the first few lines of the Python structure: Perhaps you could post it up on GitHub and post a link here? I'd love to help!

Crikey. I wanted to do an A/B test between Helix and my G before responding to this thread - but I blew up something between the R1 preamp and the power amp on my Mark V - and smoke came out of it. I still have R2 and R3 but they're noiser than usual even with the 1CM - so I can't really do a proper test to verify. Recalling *last* week when I had a functional Mark V and Helix, I'd say the Helix is about the same noise level as my G-System did. Of course, I wasn't plagued by all the problems that Laird and the crew over at the G-System board solved. My G-gystem/nova drive rig had a normal, as-to-be expected level of hiss added that you'd never notice in a studio or live environment. When I did try isolation transformer (EBtech Hum Eliminator) it didn't have much of an impact unless I had a ground loop setup (i.e., USB connection). Real bummer is that on top of living without my favorite amp, my 20/20 power amp died, and my only other amp with an FX loop is a Maverick with a parallel loop. I guess I'm just gonna live with no 4CM until I get my gear fixed up.

Hey metal lives - in a addition to Jaeger's advice, check this first - on your Amp Gizmo, make sure that only one of the channel led/buttons is active at a time - lots of amps including my Mark V get stuck in this 1/2 way state if the switcher tries to activate two channels at a time. If this *is* the problem, there's a really simple fix called "group mode" to make sure it never happens again - check page 18 on the manual: https://www.rjmmusic.com/manuals/Mini%20Amp%20Gizmo%20Manual.pdf Hope this helps

lolz - Thanks for the reminder :)

Hi folks, I see a lot of Ideascale submissions that ask for 2 or 5 or 10 amps in a single request, like this one: http://line6.ideascale.com/a/ideas/top/campaigns/51424 or this one: http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/New-high-gain-amps-for-the-Helix-series/726782-23508 I think it would better help prioritize the modeling team's next moves if there were submissions for specific amps. For instance, I'd LOVE to have a Trainwreck Express model (or even a Komet). Given that it takes about a month to model an individual amp, when that amp is buried with 10 other amps, whose to say what people are voting for, and what the team should work on next? I think it would be well worth the time for those of you who've submitted ideascale entries to break them out as individual entries, because the mega-ideascale tickets will probably wind up semi-ignored... That said, here's my ticket for a Trainwreck: http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Trainwreck-Express-model/789407-23508?submitted=1 Just my $.02

Personally, I would have loved to go with the rack, but for two things: 1) I'd have liked the remote to include an expression pedal 2) I didn't want to wait! :) I'm using an 18" PedalSnake right now. These days none of my gigs are on a stage big enough for that, but it is nice to have one thick cable that I can just loop the excess slack up behind the amp without making a tangled mess. https://www.pedalsnake.com/osCommerce/catalog/index.php?cPath=22 It still is a little messy with all those 5 pin DIN connectors though, so I'm upgrading... Any day now though, my custom Lava Power Tube snake (hehe) should arrive in the mail - which also includes an AC line to plug into the back of the Helix - this should make for a much tidier setup. http://www.lavacable.com/index.php?id=150 As for having sensitive gear on the floor I don't think it's such a big deal... I've had all kinds of pedals, processors and what not on the floor, and it really just depends on the build quality of the units. Amongst the worst - the Roger Andrenalin, the Apex Aural Exciter and the Yamaha DG Stomp. I've had the Nova System, G-System, Eventide H9 and my old Digitech 2120 on stage, sometimes in the rain even, and they've all done fine. I'd put the Helix build quality up there with the best of the bunch, but not quite at the top - only time will tell. If it does break down mid set, I'll just make sure to have my amp's foot controller handy, and wing it the old-school way. In life, inevitably, lollipop happens - be prepared ;)

Lots of other options too, in terms of length: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_keywords_4?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A172463%2Ck%3Aethercon+cable%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_five_browse-bin%3A7800928011&keywords=ethercon+cable&ie=UTF8&qid=1445633067&rnid=7800923011 (AFAICT, the VDI cable is plain old "Ethercon")

Actually, I think Helix can do 4 in mono, can't it, depending on the amp models and their dsp consumption?

(EDIT -what I said here was incorrect! Tx 2 xavierb!) "Actually, you can have two, one each in signal paths 1 and 2...." "Hope this helps :)" (EDIT <--- also incorrect ;) )

Ah, the sweet smell of innovation - can't wait! :)

Hey Digital Igloo - not to be a pain, but my G-System has patch/delay spillover, as did my Digitech 2120.... I'm perfectly happy with the in-preset spillover the Helix provides though! Question - the workflow and structure of the Helix reminds me a lot of my old 2120. Was there any influence there - or do any of the old Digitech guys work at Line 6? Helix is the first box I've used in a decade that trumps the 2120's usability.

Hey - I tried to preview it, but Soundcloud says: " Sorry! We can't find that track.Did you try to access a private track, but were not logged in? Maybe the track has been removed." .. I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

Very interesting indeed! On the flip side of the coin, I've mainly experimented with "tone matching" the front end. My with experiments to recreate my Mark V's "Extreme" preamp have been very successful in that substituting it with the Cali preamp could fool anybody. Note that in my 4CM experiments, I was using a single, real-life cab with a looper, so I basically got to rule out the cab sim/IR factor. In short, it proved to me that the Helix was a keeper, and I'm wont for nothing at this point. Even if Helix or any other modeler's cab, preamp or other simulation is not spot-on, the room I'm in will most likely have a bigger impact. The mixing board EQ, my mood, the humidity levels, how large a crowd is - all these factors will have an impact on tone that the listener will here first. Not to disparage the in depth and valuable testing and analysis - I love to do it too when I have time and am REALLY grateful that other folks are putting in that time. My point is that when it comes down to such a minute level of sonic differences, that there are so many other factors at play that the disparities found in lab-like testing become almost moot in real life. I haven't yet experimented with much direct work with the Helix yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if I do find insufficient low-end resonance, I'll simply season it either with some pre-cab EQ, some global EQ, or just let the sound-guy do it. The Helix, AxeFX and Kemper units are such great tools that they *feel* good, and that makes the player - the MOST important factor, play better. FWIW, for the rare pro-studio work that I do do (I said doodoo) , none of the recording engineers that I work with would EVER let me record with a cab sim. Just my .02 spacebucks...