silverhead

I wrote a little reference document for my son-in-law at the time. It’s written in the first person and directed at him. It’s not to be considered official Line 6 documentation in any way, and parts of it may in fact be wrong. It also references some companion work that I did both on his computer and on his HX FX device. Obviously nobody else has this stuff but I think it’s sufficiently well described that it can be recreated. Some readers may find it useful so I attach it here for your reading pleasure! Questions for clarification will be accepted. Criticism will be ignored. If you find it helpful, great. If not move on. HX:DT - ReadMe.docx

Yes, you would need to update the amp firmware to enable full control of amp model selection and parameter settings from a Helix preset. You would also benefit from using a program called DT Edit (a free non-Line 6 product) though it’s not necessary. I think you may also need midi cables; I’m not sure this is done via L6 Link. If you’re not planning to use the Helix amp/cab modeling you might find that the HX FX product is more suited to your needs. My son-in-law has an HX FX a with a DT-25 amp. I helped him set it up for full amp control using midi, 4CM, and HX FX presets. It works very well. I’m sure the same capabilities are in the Helix device.

Is there an echo in here?

Well, you could try purchasing the item from Marketplace and try to load the bundle into your Variax using Workbench HD. If it works, great. If not you can apply for a refund using a pointer to this thread for justification. Note: By 'the item' I specifically mean the aforementioned Tweaked Complete Bundle which I am almost 100% sure is a Variax guitar bundle. If there are other Marketplace items you're wondering about you can mention them here and I will try to help you figure out what exactly they are based on their description.

I find that confusing. Helix Native has nothing to do with Variax bundles, and Variax and Workbench HD are Line 6 products. Perhaps Line 6 has decided not to host Variax offerings in their Marketplace but I would find that odd. I would try to contact Chad directly; he has a website. The Marketplace description of his Tweaked Complete Bundle is clearly a Variax preset bundle, not Helix (except for a single Helix preset that you can simply ignore). I see no reason that it can’t be loaded into your Variax Standard using Workbench HD. There may be a strange licensing/authorization issue whereby Marketplace requires you to be a registered owner of one of their listed hardware products (which does.not include Variax). If so then that is the reason one might be unable to download from the Marketplace. But Chad could likely sell the bundle to you directly, bypassing the Marketplace.

It depends on your playing style and the switching requirements. Personally, I can easily switch presets during a song as long as I do it at a point in the song when I’m not actively strumming. There’s usually time for a half-second pause (plenty of time for the preset swap to occur) between note strum/pluck. The only time it’s an issue is if you really, really need to switch presets while strumming without pause. Easy enough to manage around in my experience..

You can't use two separate amps on the POD Go within a single preset. However, I would be surprised if you can't find a way to use the same amp with different parameter settings, and perhaps different FX blocks, to get a good result using snapshots. As for the 20 yrs of tech advancement..... the gap when switching presets is caused by having to load a new preset with all its detailed specifications to replace the old one. The 20 yrs has given us much faster processors as well as a huge amount of extra data (RAM requirement) in preset specifications. If the processor speed is quadrupled (say) and the amount of data has increased by a factor of eight... will the preset switching be faster or slower? I don't know, but it's possible that the net effect in terms of delay might even be greater than it was.

I find this interesting so I took a more detailed look. It is confusing since, as I noted above, some bundles seem to be Helix presets and others are Variax presets. How do you tell the difference? Not easy. I think the only way to definitively tell from the Marketplace info is to purchase the bundle, unpack it, and inspect the file types. For instance, there's one by Peter Hamm that seems to me to be Helix presets designed specifically for use with Variax guitars. To use these as designed you need both a Helix device and a Variax guitar. Similarly, Eric Broadbent's offering seem to be a Helix preset bundle designed for use with a Variax. By contrast, Chad Huskey's offerings seem to be Variax preset bundles. These should load onto a Variax guitar using Workbench HD. Some of Chad's Variax bundles seem to include one or more Helix presets as a bonus - not a requirement. But as I said - this is my interpretation of the Marketplace descriptions. I suggest you contact the seller directly before purchasing any of these. Make sure you understand what you're buying.

Is there a specific statement that says this? I would find that surprising. You will need Workbench HD to load the Variax presets into your guitar, but the USB Workbench Hardware interface will do that job. It should have come with your Variax Standard. EDIT: I think Marketplace hosts two types of Variax-type presets. Some do seem to be Helix presets with Variax control parameters. These do require a Helix device since they are, in fact, Helix presets. But many Variax bundles on Marketplace seem to be Variax presets which will work on your Variax independently - no other Line 6 device required. As mentioned earlier, they require Workbench HD to load them onto your Variax guitar. Some of these also specify that Helix preset(s) are included in the package but that's a bonus for Helix owners, not a usage requirement.

Too bad nobody will read it. Punctuation is your friend.

I’m not sure how important the morphing is, but if you want instantaneous changes you should consider using snapshots. I think it would be easier and simpler.

It won't damage anything but you may have signal level issues. You may also have different issues if the HX Stomp preset uses a mic/cab model.

Help with what, exactly? If it’s the delay control, it seems that is assigned to the Tweak parameter. You can remove that assignment if you wish. If you want help with something else please specify.

I suggest you open a support ticket to work directly with Line 6 Technical Support.

I’m afraid that’s the way it works. Not very flexible, I agree. And at this point in the product’s lifecycle I don’t think an update is coming. In your case I suggest you try using the M20D Remote app. One band member could use a remote device (e.g. iPad) to turn the Media Player on/off at the desired time. (Note: Again, this product is not receiving firmware or Remote App updates at this time. Unfortunately the Remote App is not compatible with recent iOS updates.) Another option might be to use a laptop rather than the SD card for the backing track. This Streaming feature uses the USB connection and Channels 17/18 to receive input from a connected computer. You would then control the play/stop of your intro from the laptop.

I’m not sure if this will fix your specific problem, but it always best to be running the current firmware. Have you updated your firmware? If not, begin by downloading and installing the Pod GO Edit installation package.

When using the USB interface make sure there is a charged battery in your Variax. You could also try using the Helix as the interface; connect your Variax to Helix via VDI, your Helix to computer via usb, and then just run Workbench HD - no need for USB interface or Monkey.

Not trying to be rude, but you would really benefit greatly by reading the manual to get a general understanding of how things work. And yes, the sounds are indeed inside the thing. As phil_m said, you don’t need to buy anything else. https://line6.com/support/manuals/podgo

Than ks for the correction, Phil.

I don’t believe there is a MIDI message for next/previous preset. You need to specify the desired preset (see MIDI section of manual for a complete description). Curiously, you can use MIDI to select next/previous Snapshot within a preset.

I believe that's correct. It won't load at all.

Yes. Use the Line 6 ASIO driver. ASIO4ALL is a pseudo-driver, not a fully compliant driver, and is known to cause problems with Line 6 devices.

Stop the personal nonsense.

Personally, if I were playing a full acoustic show I would use an actual acoustic guitar, but would still use the Helix for signal processing. The Variax acoustic models require a player to use a much lighter touch. Takes some getting used to. The Variax acoustic models are very handy when you need an occasional acoustic sound during a primarily electric setup, imho.

2) The mag pickups are similar to those on the ‘real’ guitar that the specific Variax guitar bodies are modeled after. In other words, the JTV 59 has two humbucker pickups like a Les Paul. The JTV 69 has three pickups like a Strat, two single coil and one humbucker I think but not sure. I can’t answer your string gauge/type questions. 3) What I described is done either through HX Edit or on the Helix device itself. Workbench HD is a separate program that allows you to create/modify the Variax guitar models themselves. Workbench HD is to Variax as HX Edit is to Helix. You can do things like select different body types, pickup types, pickup location and orientation, alternate tunings, and many other things. You can create your own custom Frankentar.