TheDaveDaveDave

Wow, there's a lot of confusion on this thread - i probably am confused too. In short YES, you can easily set up the Helix to play the Thin Lizzy solo harmonies, but you'll have to hit a footswitch. There's no way that a custom programmed scale will help to achieve the results without a footswitch press to change the scale or the intervals.... Of note, even in the Hotel California video, the player has to switch the harmonizer into a different scale. I'm pretty sure if you just sit down and try it, you'll find it's not that hard (I did, and I did) :)

Good Gravy man, I hope you have roadies! ;). Nice looking rig! i

This sounds like a really tricky UX problem to solve elegantly.... I'm sure there's a way though, and one that is better than any other unit has implemented so far....

Similar findings here from a former G-System user. 4CM works AWESOME with my Boogie Mark V. A couple of experiements that I've done: 1) Simulate my preamp (Cali + EQ block) - results: SUCCESS! I'm sure in an A/B test one would have trouble IDing which is which, and there's NO way that if you didn't know I'd switched from my modelled preamp to the real thing in mid song, live or recorded - unless I'd told you (like in the A/B test) 2) Unity Gain Check - I used a seriously overbuilt bypass box that I call my "Truth" pedal to switch out a sting of bypassed Helix blockes before my Boogie's Preamp. Wow - I'm really impressed that the Helix is dead on with unity gain, at least with my amp. What's really cool here is that the Helix allows for gain boosting, which the G-System does not. On the downside - do hear a higher noise floor from the pre-preamp Helix circuitry, even while all blocks are bypassed, but it's really not all that bad - less than a single db for sure, and generally inaudible even at high gain. 3) Channel Switching - works as it should with no delay, but has similar but minor issues as do most floorboards. That is: when assigning two foot switches to Channel 2 and Channel 3 respectively, Helix allows you to activate both. For some amps this may not introduce any audio side-effects at all and will default to one of the active channels. The Mark V however, will go to an "in between mode" that sounds different than either channel, and it may in fact not be good for the amp. In any case, the trick is to stay diligent and wear wide enough shoes that enable stomping on both channel switches at a time, simultaneously toggling one channel to off and the other to on... Hope this helps!

I had a the same thing happen. I tried reconnecting without the sub him to no avail, but after a reboot my Yosemite Mac picked up the conncection. Makes sense as there was a driver update. Hope this helps....

I said that too! :)

On the contrary, I think it's quite easy and faster than on the DAW. Here's what I've been doing to audition IRs, CABs and dirt boxes: 1) Using the Helix app (runs smoothly on my Mac), just drag 2 or 10 or 20 IR files into the Helix window. BOOM, they're on your Helix...takes about 3 seconds to drag'n'drop, process and upload 10 IRs. 2) Select or rebuild a preset that has a separate cab block. Once it sounds good, bypass the cab block 3) Add a looper block to your favorite preset, BEFORE the CAB block. (hint - the action button is useful for moving blocks around really quickly if you need to make room) 4) Start the looper and play 5) While looping your phrase, go to the IR block and spin knob #1 - instant cab selection. I've used a similar process above to match the Cali preamp to my Mark V's Extreme mode (tone and level), to set unity gain across (real) amp channels inserted into the Helix via 4CM, and to get a nice balance between modeled distortion and overdrives. I've gotta say, the looper is an amazing tool. Alternatively, I imagine that an even quicker way to audition IRs is to use pedal-edit mode on the IR selection instead of a looper.... Hope this helps!

I found a few.... Normally I'd say LMGTFY http://bfy.tw/2EMD, ;) but they were actually pretty hard to google up! The ones on this thread are a little dark, and you have to dig up a converter to extract them from the fractal SYX format: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/user-cabs-irs/38490-2048-point-acoustic-ir-available.html Here's the converter download: http://www.ownhammer.com/free/axe-o-matic/ I also found these Taylor guitar ones that are quite nice: https://drive.google.com/a/t-sciences.com/file/d/0B1XgNa5vH3j1ZkVoTFJLQ241WTg/view I flip understand the best results so far by putting separate IR blocks in paths 1 and 2, and using the tube pre in front of them. I also intend to experiment with a higher impedance input setting, which should help to add a little more shimmer. I have a Godin and a Parker with Piezzos that I can't wait to try - I just can't seem to find a 9v battery! Hope this helps!

I borked it too and couldn't get 4cm working for hours.... Then I finally realized that I'd had connected my intended send to send 1, and the return to send 2. I've been so used to sends and returns being vertically aligned instead of horizontally! DOH! Happy camper now....

Another approach - press and hold both the bank up an down buttons simultaneously, and they will change to preset up and down... This way you can have two buttons for preset changes and 8 stomps. Of course, this presumes that you'll have to arrange all your presets for your set list. I also think it would be great to be able to change the layouts to have mixed presets and stomps on upper and lower rows - this was how I had my G-Sytem set up. However, I'm sure that if there were more than two options (I.e., presets for the left four or right four) that a lot of users would complain about how complicated it is. Just my $.02

Good catch! ("Up voted"!) In any case, it sure would be cool if future Helix updates enable slaving to SPDIF, but I can see how this would be waaaay down the priority list....

Is your audio interface's word clock setting set to slave?

Preliminary impressions in 4 words: it's very very very good. (Extra "very" added for impact ;) ) I've only spent 45 mins with it through a pair of KRK rokit 8s, but DAMN if this doesn't cream all prior line 6 modeling! Build wise it's not as bulletproof as a G-System, but nothing else is either. UI/UI wise, it's the best on the planet! More to come....

Oh - also, can a brother get a bump with the "like" button here and there? ;) Thanks!

Erm - not quite. The amp TRS output is labeled "EXT AMP 1/2" - so I think you're talking about the same thing twice. Perhaps you're looking at the 1/4" jacks labeled "EXP 1" and "EXP 2"? These are input jacks for expression pedals, not external relay controls. Alas, out of the box with no extra hardware, you get the "effect" of controlling only two switch jacks. (/ducking after that pun). I guess this was one thing the G-System has a leg up on the Helix with four separate relays and two TRS jacks. Oh, also, yep - you're right to point out that you do need some kind of splitter on the other end of the TRS cable. Hope this helps!

Yep, you can use the TRS EXT AMP cable alone to switch between all 3 channels on the Mark V - I've done this with the G-System. I hope the Helix Relays are faster than the G-Systems though. Make sure that you always double check the channel switch settings on the back of the Mark when switching things around though - it's on a mini gig-checklist that I keep on my phone :) re: the original issue - using the CV output to the amp's switching sounds REALLY scary, and I'm pretty comfy with a soldering iron and an o-scope. @drew_fx - Using an Amp Gizmo is your best bet, IMHO, but it does suck to have to shell out more coin. Check the amps listed on http://www.rjmmusic.com/products/amp-gizmo/- there are a lot of VHT/Fryette amps that they make DIN cables for, and even if not, call them up and they're usually happy to wire up a custom cable too! RJM is another awesome company. There can be some strange nuances using a 3 or 4 channel amp with the Amp Gizmo and a midi controller though... for instance, you can set your basic program settings pretty easily, but then when you want to change channels within a program/preset, you need to send CC messages to the Amp Gizmo. The wierd part is that the controller (G-System, Helix, etc) doesn't know one CC from another when it sends them out, so if you wanted to have 3 footswitches dedicated to channel switching within a single preset, Helix probably won't know to switch off the other two footswitched that you *didn't* press when you changed channels... in other words, using mor than one footsiwtch to control you amp in one program can show you that the amp has two or more channels switched "on" at the same time, or all "off"... very yucky. My solution has always been to a) set the program to have a default channel, i.e., RHY1 or RHY2 and then program a "bump" switch that knocks it up to the next channel - so pressing BUMP on RHY1 switches the channel to RHY2, and if the default program channel was RHY2, BUMP switches to LD1. Everything on the floorboard always reflects what the amp is actually this way, but at the expense of only having 2 amp channels per preset. I'm hoping that some finer details of the Helix's MIDI control scheme may alleviate this.. if anyone else has any input on this I'd LOVE to hear it! Otherwise, I'll juse be setting it up on Thursday and reporting back... Cheers y'all!

Mine shipped too! Bummer is that I sent an email to them requesting an upgrade to overnight shipping - no reply, and shipping 2nd day :( Looking forward to all the posts coming from you lucky guys!

I think I'm in a similar boat as you are. My main application will be to replace my G-System for gigs and practice. My Helix will assume the duties of pre-gain pedals (wah, drive, boost), post preamp (time domain and mod) as well as control my Boogie Mark V's channel switching. As a simple 4CM effects and control rig, these are the advantages I'm looking at over the G-System: No extra dirt pedals! G-System doesn't have any overdrive or distortion effects. Generally I try to stick with raw amp tones, using light-gain drive pedals for extra texture and boost. I haven't tried all the dirt-boxes that the Helix models, I'm certain that they'll be more than up to snuff - based on the demo that Sean posted of the Fuzz Factory with it's out-of-control oscillations. I won't be getting rid of my top 5 dirt boxes though.... Instantaneous Channel Changes (I hope!). The G-System has REALLY slow relays and I'd be very surprised if Line 6 doesn't outdo 10 year old tech from T.C. Integrated Foot pedal (x2) - I love that I'll have my volume AND an EXP in one footswitch, for a smaller footprint and less gear to haul Foot-Powered Editing! Generally I think this will benefit pedals more so than amps. If all goes well, I'll have less stuff on the floor no more rack, and a more useful rig to use with a backline or into a PA. I had considered holding out for a Fractal FX-8, but Helix's addition of amp modeling, mic-pre, scribble strips and the audio interface just made the Helix a no-brainer for me. The G-System is going up on the market, but I'm sure I'll hold onto some other toys including the Nova Drive, Eventide H9, and maybe even my Line 6 M5. I'll be sure to post my findings when I get my hands on it. Dave

Lasvideo - most of your posts have been reasonable, thoughtful and contributive, so it's a shame to see such condescension. Too bad we won't get to read any Helix comparisons from you. Bye now.

There's a setting on page 42,that looks promising: Volume knob controls "Determines which output(s) are affected when turning the top panel VOLUME knob. For example, you may want to control the level sent from the 1/4" outputs to your stage monitor without affecting the XLR level sent to the front-of-house mixer." Hope this is the droid we're looking for!

Awesome! Thanks for posting!

It'd be great if someone added these to post #1 on this thread! (With the effects too)

I concur!

BUMP! I'll be benchmarking my Helix with it arrives anyway, but low latency is a very important characteristic to me, so I'd love to know what to expect, in terms of MS delay and/or samples. I'm assuming that on the Helix, each insert is a movable effect block, and so would have it's own A/D - is this correct? I'm a little concerned about having up to five AD and five DA conversions in a 4cm setup with 3 looped pedals - all those buffers can add up. On my G-System rig I have a similar setup, but with onboard and outboard ADC. Wehn I add in a SoundBlox Overdrive, Line 6 M5 and Eventide H9 (all with their own AD/DA) I can really feel how late the sound is. Hopefully the Helix can obsolete some of these and other pedals just with it's own effects. Thanks,

+1!