silverhead

Oh - I thought the Variax Rack was a licensed product. Thanks for clarifying.

Regarding the hum: I recall hearing a disturbing background noise on my L3t once. After a visual inspection I saw that one of the input level knobs on the L3t side panel mixer was at about 12 o'clock. Even without a mic/guitar connected the speaker was producing white noise at the input. Turning the level knob to zero removed the noise. Don't know if that's the case for you (not on the L2m for sure) but worth checking on the L3t.

My Sonic Port VX works fine on my iPhone 6. I am running iOS v10.1.1. My Mobile Pod app is v2.0.2. Maybe update your software?

Yes, I think you raise a good point. Let's assume for a moment that any technical challenges could be overcome. There are other considerations. The two that come immediately to mind are IP and logistics. The potential for 'Variax ready' instruments relates to intellectual property (IP). Line 6 has a long standing policy on this. They do not make Variax internal components available in the market.* They manufacture and sell Variax guitars, and that's the only way to get the motherboard and other key internal IP-protected components. Lots of people perform Variax transplants - but they have to buy a Variax guitar to get the components, and Line 6 does not support the transplant process. Clearly Line 6 has crossed this bridge before. When the Variax JTV and Standard products were introduced Line 6 had the option to simply upgrade the internal components of the existing Variax 300/500/600/700 models. They chose not to do that. I see no reason for them to change that long-standing policy now. I expect when a Variax HX technology is ready they will incorporate it into a new line of Variax guitars as they have always done. The other non-trivial issue is the logistics of performing the hardware upgrade. I think this could be a either a support nightmare (a mailout board with DIY installation**) or a significant cost item (requiring installation at an authorized service centre). I can't imagine this being done by someone who is not very comfortable with electronics repair and soldering. So what's the cost of supporting idiots like me who might destroy the new motherboard by trying to install it themselves, or paying the service centers to do it properly and reliably? In any case, there's really no point in even considering the technical challenges unless these two (and perhaps other) issues are resolved in a feasible manner. Having said all that, I would love for the idea to reach fruition. I just don't think it's going to happen. * There was a brief exception to this policy. In the pre-JTV days Line 6 did license the Variax technology to a 3rd party who manufactured the Variax Rack product. This license was not extended to the JTV or later products. I don't know if the Variax Rack product based on the older technology is still being manufactured. ** I know this was done before too. I believe the original POD (or some other product long ago) received a hardware EPROM upgrade. The chip was mailed out and users installed it. However I expect that was a simple pop-out pop-in chip replacement that involved no soldering and no motherboard removal. Big difference I expect.

One thing you could try is in global settings - I expect the Ins/Outs subsection. You can specify whether you want the Master Volume knob to affect the 14/", XLR, or other things. You could set it up so that the Master Volume affects the XLR (to FOH) but not the 1/4". That way you could control your stage speaker level independently while reducing the level sent to FOH.

Perhaps the clipping was on his equipment, not yours? The Main Volume knob should not create clipping when there was none inside the Helix signal chain. But it certainly can create clipping in the outboard gear if the output signal from Helix is too hot for that equipment. Not saying it wasn't from Helix, and there is no good way at the moment to detect internal clipping in Helix other than your ears or other external gear.

That info is best explained in the manual - the page describing the Back Panel. http://line6.com/data/6/0a06434d11a9d5100786314cca/application/pdf/StageSource%20L2%20Quick%20Start%20Guide%20-%20English%20(%20Rev%20F%20).pdf PA/Reference mode is best for FRFR.

I hear a headphone level drop when I change the mode of the Output Block from Multi to either 1/4" or XLR. But I hear no change in level when I change the global setting for headphones monitor from Multi to 1/4" to XLR. Not sure how to interpret that.

There's a whole other world of documentation about these things. They're not Line 6 specific and the best place to learn about them is from the manufacturer of the amp/FX being modelled. It would be a massive redundant effort for Line 6 to attempt to do this any sort of justice. But a couple of users here have done some great work in that respect. For instance, there's a Helix Help website that contains links to the original device descriptions. Many thanks to user jshimkoski for this. http://helixhelp.com/pmwiki.php There's also one of the best and most comprehensive descriptions I've ever seen of using compressors from user HonestOpinion in a thread here. Many thanks to him. See post#2 in this thread: http://line6.com/support/topic/23488-compressors-explained/

Potential problem with this is that if you do, indeed, start with 'delete any other Line 6 software you have floating around'...... presumably that includes the driver. And without the driver you can't use the updater. That's why you should start by downloading the editor installer file. You're right that you don't actually need the editor to use Helix, but you do need to make sure you have the latest (and compatible) versions of Line 6 Updater and driver. How are you sure that you get the right versions of those? The editor installer file. That's where to start. You don't nee to see, download, or install the firmware separately. The Updater program will do that.

You should not need to proceed through the updates sequentially. You should just have to install update version 2.10. However, it is very important to follow all instructions carefully. You need to begin with the Helix editor application. You will find this on the Downloads page by selecting Helix in the Software (not Products) field. You will see the detailed instructions there. In particular, do not just download the firmware and try to install it separately.

Check your Global Settings. They were changed with the global reset procedure. The Footswiches settings allow you to specify the display you prefer and how you want your switches to behave.

That seems strange to me. I have mine set to Preset and i changes guitars just fine between Snapshots.

Whether it ends up being a bug or not I think you should open a support ticket.

I think I suggested in another thread that you open a support ticket with Line 6. Have you done so? It probably won't lead to an immediate solution but it will be useful for debugging purposes. What I have read/seen about this since the update leads me to believe that there's a specific feature (or more than one) about these failing presets that characterizes them in some way, whether it's a specific amp/FX block, or Y-split block, or other routing configuration, etc. But something specific to certain presets is the culprit. Line 6 may need to get copies of the presets from you for examination. You say that you are now manually copying presets block by block. If you want to diagnose your own situation further I suggest that after you add each new block to the preset you attempt to export/import it. At some point, if you're lucky this procedure will fail and you will perhaps have identified the elusive preset characteristic causing it.

Note too that the global reset after the firmware update resets the Variax parameter to Global. You need to reset it to Preset if you want to store and use Variax settings on a preset basis. I don't think this affects what is described here but it could contribute to the overall performance of Varia parameters.

Well, my presets with snapshots were fine after importing into v1.10. So I think it's more than just presets. There is a known bug with the Helix floor (not rack) model and the built-in EXP pedal handling EXP1 and EXP2 in snapshots. But there's already a reliable workaround for that one. I have the rack model so perhaps that's part of why mine seem to be OK.

Yes, I think it's worth a try knowing that you can always roll back. But I think the failures are relatively few. Of course you are hearing (rightly) from those who have had preset import problems. As usual the (majority, I think, of) users who had no problems with the presets updating properly are not reporting that here. I did not have any issues but perhaps my presets are just not constructed in whatever manner it is that causes the problems. Yours may be OK too.

That's correct - you need the guitar to be 'awake' in order for it to be recognized. Let the battery charge fully and then try again. Let us know how it goes.

Removing the VDI cable from my JTV59 is also a 2-handed operation. In order to get the guitar working with the Workbench interface device you need a well-charged battery in the guitar and you also need to connect a 1/4" cable into the guitar jack nad have the Volume knob turned up. The cable acts as a power switch for the battery, and the Volume knob at 0 puts the guitar in sleep mode.

http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/live-sound/stagescape-m20d-mixer/wifi-connectivity-sd-card-compatibility-r112 ... and for more info..... http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/live-sound/stagescape-m20d-mixer/

Great - glad things worked out. Line 6 (Digital_Igloo) mentioned a day or two ago that they acknowledge that the update process can be improved, and indicated that we should see that in 2017.

Thanks for the explanation. Never heard it called that before.

To improve the comparison I would suggest using the same preset for re-amping, not just the same settings (see step 4 above). Export the v2.01 preset used for reamping, then update, then import the preset into v2.10, then reamp again. Doing both (manually recreating same settings vs. using same exported/imported preset) would allow you to identify any potential anomalies in the export/import process. Not sure what you mean by 'nulling' the reamped files against each other. Do you mean using some wav file comparison utility, or just using your ears?

That would be an excellent basis for comparison.