silverhead

Agreed on all points. And just to clarify…. I have no interest in having people buy presets on the Line 6 Marketplace. That has nothing to do with my belief that many people can find value in purchased presets. As you say, and I agree, people should learn the basics of preset construction for themselves. Sometimes we’ll constructed purchased presets can help with that. I don’t have any presets for sale in the Marketplace, and I don’t benefit in any way from Marketplace sales. I feel I need to say that here because users often presume that we who carry the ‘Line 6 Expert’ tag must have some sort of special relationship with Line 6. We don’t, beyond the fact that we like many other users are often beta testers.

I generally agree with everything here except your opening advice. My advice to those who aren’t comfortable (yet) creating their own presets would be to try some and then decide whether to pursue it. Also I don’t think you need a miracle, or to be very very lucky, to find something you like. In fact the last paragraph I quoted above above indicates that you, too, believe that some presets created by others may be valuable. Personally, I have found that the presets I have purchased provide a MUCH better starting point to not only learn more about about patch construction but many of them do sound good right out of the gate. Of course some tweaking can tailor them to your own gear but if they’re designed for FRFR they generally sound good off the bat through any FRFR equipment. Of course ‘good’ is a relative term. I won’t ever buy metal or even hi-gain presets. I can easily create my own presets in that genre that sound bad to me; I don’t need to spend $$ to get something created by someone else that sounds bad to me. However I have purchased many blues, basic rock, and acoustic tones that I use (some slightly modified) all the time. I’ve also built many of my own, both independently and based on the purchased stuff. I think many users find value in purchasing some bread&butter tones to get them on the right track.

The manual describes how to move some (not all) FX in terms of pre/post amp but not how to move their positions relative to each other. I expect that means their relative positions are fixed. Specifically, the Signal Flow diagram shows the COMP block fixed in the post-amp position. Nor, for instance, can you place a DLY block before the MOD block when both are in the same pre/post position.

There is really no information about this in the manuals that I can see. I would raise a support ticket to get the details. The main question I would have relates to the signal processing for cab/mic over USB. There seems to be no such processing in the Catalyst amp itself, so presumably the signal sent over USB would need to have an IR added as a plug-in within the DAW. This would apply to both direct and re-amp recording. Just a guess.

Your Fender amp is itself a modeling amplifier so the main issue you are facing is the potential to have both devices applying their modeling to your guitar signal. That won’t sound good. The best way to handle that is to use 4CM (see POD Go manual for cabling setup) and make sure that your POD Go presets are constructed to ensure that only one set of amp models are used at a time. This is accomplished by enabling or disabling the FX Loop in your POD Go preset. When you use a POD Go amp model in your preset disable the FX Loop (which blocks the signal from going through your Fender’s amp modeling section). When you want to use the Fender amp model do not include an amp model in your POD Go preset and enable the FX Loop. Also, your POD Go presets should never include a Cab/IR because you will always be using the Fender cab for output.

Does this noise persist if you disconnect the Helix USB from the computer?

Yes. The JTV series uses Workbench HD and it runs fine on Win10.

There’s a link to them earlier in this thread by username olerabbit. Or, you could Google ‘free Line 6 IRs’…..

Yes. Begin by downloading and installing all components of the HX Edit v3.15 package. Then follow the instructions!!

Just some further thoughts on this, in case you’re still monitoring this thread….. 1) While you’re visiting presets to adjust the Vol knob setting check the Tone knob setting as well. I seem to recall some of these were set to 0 too. 2) Personally I avoid using the Don’t Force setting because I find it can cause confusion. That setting does exactly what it implies - it does not change the current setting on the Variax. Specifically, it does NOT mean that the current physical position of the Vol knob takes effect. Here’s a scenario: imagine you are using the Preset knob to progress through a range of presets one at a time. As you rotate the knob each preset is loaded in sequence and based only on the preset name that is displayed you decide to try it out or simply move on without hitting the guitar strings at all. Now imagine that one of the presets you bypass has the Vol knob set to 0. On the next rotation you land on a preset you know you like because you remember that this preset is one of the ones where you had changed the Vol knob setting to Don’t Force. You start playing but surprisingly there is no sound. You check, and sure enough - the setting is Don’t Force. Can you explain what’s going on? Of course this scenario is just an example. The situation can occur in many more common situations such as using the Variax Vol or Tone knobs intentionally to establish a unique and unusual setting for a given preset. If the next preset you load has a Don’t Force setting you can find yourself surprised and wondering why it doesn’t sound as expected.

Glad it’s sorted out. Thanks for letting us know.

1) Of course, your existing Helix device will work as an interface but I assume you want a small desktop interface. Many manufacturers make such devices, and anything that your PC DAW recognizes will do. The smallest Line 6 offering was the POD Studio GX/UX series but I don’t see those in the Products list anymore. Apparently they are now Legacy products but you could probably get a used one at a good price. In any case I think you’d be better off getting an interface with a headphones output; probably better sound quality than a regular computer’s soundcard unless you have a special gaming soundcard. Google your options. 2) Two things here. First, Helix Native operates as a plug-in to a DAW (VST3 or AAX) so you’ll need a DAW (audio recording program) that accepts one of those formats; most do. Secondly, I presume you’ll want to hear the Helix Native effects in real time as you are playing. There will necessarily be some latency because Native needs to process the incoming guitar signal after you hit the strings and before the sound reaches your ears. You’ll need a computer powerful enough to support that without the latency becoming a hindrance to your playing. Again, unless your computer is really old it should be able to handle this though you may need to configure it differently than the default values (e.g. buffer size).

I also purchased a set of MBritt patches - there are 32 of them. I think this is the set you have also. I am looking at them now in HX Edit, with my Helix Rack and Variax JTV-59 connected via VDI. I agree - they are good! As you say, the Input on all of them is Multi so your Helix LT should be picking up the signal from your Variax Standard whether you are using the 1/4' or VDI cable. By the way, you shouldn't be using both. I assume you have also installed the MBritt IRs as documented. Even if not, you should still get a signal - not silence. The Noise Gate in the Input block is OFF so that shouldn't be the issue. I see a couple of possibilities: - some patches have the Variax Vol knob set to 0.0 while others have it set to Don't Force. If your Variax settings are Per Preset, the 0.0 setting would explain things in itself. Try using your Vol knob as the first attempt to produce sound from the silent patches. If that's the issue and you want it to disappear you'll have to Edit and Save each such patch individually. - each patch uses a VOL pedal with two controllers: Toe Switch for Bypass and EXP2 for level. Experiment to see if you can find a pattern re: what happens when you move your EXP2 pedal. Otherwise I can't explain the issue you're having. I suspect an intermittent problem with your cable from Variax to Helix; try using different ones.

Yes.

Just to clarify, this is actually a copy/paste operation rather than a move, and that’s exactly what the OP wants.

1) A VDI a cable is not included with a Variax. It is purchased separately because it is only required to connect Variax guitars to compatible Line 6 equipment, which not everyone has. It’s useless to many (most?) Variax users. If you need one, buy or build a proper one (shielded at both ends). Don’t use a regular CAT5 cable. 2) Get the buzz fixed with a proper setup. It will play havoc with the modeling. 3) I didn’t know the JTV US comes with a case. The regular JTVs come with a gig bag. Open a support ticket.

I think you just answered your own question. Is any potential misjudgement in your confidence level worth the extra $$?

Sorry. I’m not very familiar with IRs and I don’t use them much. I am familiar with troubleshooting in general and that’s where my earlier suggestion came from. No particular knowledge of IRs required for that.

As far as I can tell the Pitch Shifter in the Catalyst is a monophonic shifter, meaning it is designed to work on individual notes, not a chord. Works best for lead solos where you want, for instance, to add a doubled note shifted up or down up to an octave. Doesn’t really work for retuning the guitar and isn’t designed for that.

Display issues like this are usually caused by hardware. I would open a support ticket. https://line6.com/support/tickets/add.html

Any audio interface that your computer/DAW can recognize will work. It doesn’t have to be a Line 6 product.

The Helix USB connection provides 8 selectable channels for your DAW to record. Which channel are you selecting in the track being recorded? There is an option to record the dry signal, which by design is sent at a lower level than the wet signal.

I presume you are using HX Edit to do this? You could also try using Helix Native, which has a Hardware Compatibility mode. Set HX Native to HX Stomp mode and import the Helix LT a preset into Native, then export it as an HX Stomp preset and try importing it in HX Edit. I’m not saying the result will be any different, but it might be.

I don’t know. But there’s something in the manual that caught my eye. It talks about one of the rear panel items: MODE SWITCH – Controls the state of the FX Loop RETURN; When switched to the left, the FX Loop is engaged (as described above). When switched to the right, Power Amp In is engaged, sending the return signal directly to the power amp. This feature is great for use with external effects processors or pedals. Have you experimented with this switch?

I went on to mention it ….. FX blocks after the loop. That’s all I had in mind.