silverhead

Inexplicable but true! Maybe I haven’t gone crazy after all. Witches and gremlins…. Thanks for letting us know - might be useful for others in similar situations.

I agree. If your Blackstar preamp sounds different in 4CM that would be a setup or preset issue. Double check the cabling and make sure you have the Helix Send, Return, and Main Out Levels set to Instrument. To test, turn off all FX in the Helix preset, including amp and cab as well as Noise Gate on the Input block. Leave only the Send/Return blocks active. The sound you hear in this arrangement should match the sound of connecting your guitar directly to your Blackstar, with no connections to Helix.

Nothing is completely future proof. However, you can expect that a working used Variax guitar will continue to work as is for some time period. How long is completely speculation. Everything electronic device fails eventually. However, the Shuriken also has magnetic pickups and they should last as long as any regular guitar. The software will no longer be updated. You don’t say where you read the software has issues. if it was here, recognize that this is a user support forum. People come here to get help with problems. The many more satisfied users don’t come here to describe their satisfaction and lack of problems, so the overall perspective here is heavily skewed. There is a banner near the top of this page that describes Line 6 policy re: support of discontinued products. It is updated periodically and I haven’t checked it re: Shuriken but you can do so. Parts will also become more difficult to find over time since they are no longer being manufactured. Bottom line: you can expect it to work as it does now for some time, perhaps a long time. Eventually it will fail like all electronic devices. It’s your decision. You’re probably already leaning one way or the other and are looking for advice that supports your leaning. Don’t listen to it; go with your gut.

What Line 6 product do you have? Once I know that I can move your post from the Lounge area to the appropriate product forum for greater visibility and more responses. it’s probably not a firmware issue. Try using an electronics contact cleaner (avoid anything like WD-40) and stomp the switches repeatedly. If that fails open a support ticket.

Try Global Settings-> Ins/Outs -> USB In 1/2/Trim. Lower this value until comfortable.This does not adjust your PC volume but lowers the signal level as it enters the Stomp.

Use HX Edit to export your preset file. The filetype will be *.hlx; note the destination folder. Then make another post in this thread. Below your text you will see a paper clip icon. Select the hlx file to attach it to your post.

I suggest you open a support ticket.

That’s very odd. Is your computer configured to use the POD Go as its audio device?

Just to be clear - your offer is for the Rack only, not Rack+Control?

Line 6’s primary business is guitar amp and FX modeling. Their business relationship with RiffWorks was a sideline that they wisely (imho) dropped. As I outlined above there’s nothing that RiffWorks could do that your basic DAW can’t, except for its restrictive looping conceptual model. You can easily recreate that recording style and method in the most basic DAW if you want to. It’s essentially copying and pasting recorded song segments. And you won’t have to abandon the ability to re-amp signals using plugins, or integrate MIDI tracks (neither of which I think RiffWorks ever supported). The free Cakewalk by Bandlab DAW blows RiffWorks away. As do pretty much all others. If you haven’t tried regular DAWs yet do yourself a favour and spend some time learning their basics.

Seems that your DSP requirements are heavy and there’s really no solution for that other than offloading some DSP to external pedal(s). The HX FX would certainly get you thru the hurdle, and something like the HX One might suffice for many presets.

Double check your 4CM cabling (see POD Go manual v2.50 pg 9). When set up properly you can assign a POD Go FS to simultaneously enable/bypass both the FX Loop and the amp model having one or the other, not both, active at all times. When POD Go FX Loop is enabled and its amp bypassed your guitar signal goes through your Marshall preamp. When the reverse is set your guitar signal bypasses your Marshall preamp and uses your POD Go amp model. Instrument (Amp) and Line levels are just different standards of signal level. Typically your Marshall’s Return jack should expect an Instrument level signal so that’s how you should set your POD Go Main output.

Yes you can do that but 4CM is more flexible allowing you to use either the POD Go preamp or your Marshall preamp without having to re-cable anything. You just have to toggle the FX Loop block and amp model in your POD Go preset.

Is there an input on the back of the head? If so, use it. If not, and the only input is in the front going through the preamp, then it seems you can’t bypass the preamp. What speaker/cabinet are you using? There may be options to connect your POD Go directly to that.

Double check that the POD Express ASIO driver is installed and that your PC/DAW is properly configured to use it.

“Delay noticeable with significant effect or amp changes” Does that mean that this is the only situation in which the problem occurs? In other words, presets with snapshots that don’t involve significant effect or amp changes do not cause these problems? It is quite common for there to be odd sounds when switching snapshots with dramatic changes in amp and FX settings or selections, although there is usually not a noticeable delay. Is it possible that the delay is a result of FX changes (e.g. Autoswell, Delay time, …)? Ask yourself “What would I expect to hear if I made these changes instantaneously using the actual real-world equipment rather than virtual models?” For instance, rapidly rotating the Delay Time knob on a real pedal while playing will produce odd sounds, and so does doing the same with snapshots. I suspect your problem is not a bug or faulty equipment but just a result of the nature of the dramatic changes involved. Try to identify the blocks/settings changes that are causing the issue and make the changes less dramatic. You can also try setting Trails On for the FX blocks so that the apparent delay when changing snapshots is less noticeable. If there is an actual problem it’s likely hardware since you seem to have dealt with potential firmware issues. Open a support ticket if you are unable to resolve anything.

Did you purchase them from Marketplace? If so they will be available for download in your Line 6 account. You can access your account from the Support tab at the top of this page. Look for the Marketplace item in the list on the left side of your account page.

The POD XT is an older device that does not use Core Audio - it requires a driver. You can find it in the Downloads area filtering by Hardware, Software (choose Driver), and OS. However, notice that it is not compatible with newer Apple devices, with a M1 chip and running Sonoma. If you’re lucky someone more familiar with Mac OS can help you with a workaround or configuration. Or, if this is important enough to you, you can obtain an old, used, cheap Mac computer that can run this driver and use this computer only for this purpose.

Likely a power supply issue which means new/repair hardware. Open a support ticket. Follow the Support tab at top of this page.

Read the manual section on Command Centre.

You’ve assigned it to FS1, which is the Bank (or Preset, or Snapshot) Up switch whose scribble strip is hidden unless you also change a Global Setting. You have a lot to learn about operating your Helix. Click on the Support tab at the top of this page. There is an entire section devoted to Helix tutorial videos. One of those deals specifically with assigning footswitches to FX blocks. Don’t be afraid of the manual either. Also, a new Helix device comes with a simple Cheat Sheet. Find and use it until you get familiar with device operations.

Assign the Looper block to a footswitch, just like any other FX block. See manual for details if you are unfamiliar with doing this. It’s basic operations. Also to see the six functions you need to use the 6-switch looper, not the 1-switch version.

A brand new Variax Standard includes the hardware interface. Inquire with the seller.

When the UX2 was introduced it included a license for the original POD Farm product. I believe this license would still apply to your UX2. You can still download and install Pod Farm; it will only run when the UX2 is connected- the hardware is the license. When POD Farm 2 was released the original license did not extend to it; you still need to purchase PF2 separately if desired. Unfortunately I can’t help with your actual problem. However I had a similar issue with a Line 6 M5 device some time ago. It had been sitting unused for a few years and when I tried to resurrect it I found that it would not start up properly most of the time. Being stubborn I kept trying. Like your UX2 the few times it did start up properly it worked properly. Over time it has gotten to the point that it starts up and works properly every time - it’s been a long time now since it has failed to start. I offer no explanation for that but perhaps you’ll be lucky - maybe it’s just gotten lazy and needs exercise!

Hope this helps…