silverhead

My suggestions: - first backup any setlsits/presets you want to save - power cycle Helix. This fixed the same symptom for me during beta testing. - if problem persists, reinstall firmware. Then open a ticket if still not working properly.

Helix has been out for some time now and I haven't seen many (any?) reports of broken displays from exterior damage. Depends on what is dropped on it, of course, but so far they seem up to the task.

Humming in that situation is not unusual at all.

Not sure what presets you are listening to but one of the factory presets contains a bunch of presets that are designed for vocals or a mic'd acoustic guitar. Those have their input set to Mic, not Guitar, so you won't hear anything from your guitar. Also, many presets use a Vol FX controlled by the pedal. Make sure that the pedal is not in the heel (miniimimum) position.

If you haven't previously saved the patches you will have to reinstall the firmware to restore the factory presets. You will not be able to recover any custom presets unless you previously saved them.

Helix supports Variax JTV and Standard guitars. It does not support older models including the Variax 700.

Check that the air vents aren't blocked. These vents allow the heat to escape from the device.

Two ways. Both require either the Workbench Hardware Interface device, or a Pod device that works as a Workbench interface. 1) If you have previously used Workbench to back up the factory preset bundle then you can use Workbench again to restore it, or 2) Run Line 6 Monkey, select the Variax as the device, and reinstall the firmware. http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/guitars/variax-guitars-bass-workbench/variax-reflash-and-software-update-instructions-r309

It might be helpful to consider backwards compatibility of patches as a 2-step process. First, translate the old patch into the new patch in terms of amp and FX model selection settings and signal routing as much as possible. This could be automated without a whole lot of difficulty, but this is the easy part. This is also the least time consuming part to perform manually. We've all done this before; takes about 5 or 10 minutes per patch with a good UI on the new device. We're not talking about tone here - just duplicating settings. The second and more time consuming part of this is tweaking the new patch. The whole idea of getting new equipment is to obtain better tones. If all you want to do is recreate the same sound of your existing device, then what's the point of upgrading? Keep your existing device. The new device is generally based on new modeling technology, new routing options, new this, new that..... It's highly unlikely that the exact same models with the exact same settings are going to sound exactly the same. In fact in my experience it typically sounds not very good. So given that you want a better tone you need to do some tweaking. Unfortunately, I don't see how automation can help with this second step. And that's what takes the vast majority of the time.

If you import a bundle it will restore all presets in all setlists in the order and state they were in at the time of export/saving. But you can't import individual setlists or presets using a bundle file. Each exportable item - preset, setlist, and bundle - contains all details of all contained items. A preset contains all details of all amp and FX settings. A setlist contains all details of all presets, including the individual preset details. A bundle contains all details of all setlists, including all preset details. However, you can only import at the same 'level' that you exported. You can't import the details of just the amp from a preset file. You can't import a specific preset from a setlist file. You can't import a specific setlist from a bundle file.

There may be another consideration for you, other than price, with Helix. It does not operate wirelessly with iOS/Android devices. Firehawk does.

I also experiment with a split path between amp and cab blocks. I put the reverb alone on one of the splits, and my other post-amp FX like chorus and delay in the other path. That way the reverb is not applied to the chorus and delay, or vice versa. The paths merge just before the cab. Subtle differences but noticeable.

Absolutely!! That'll do it! I understand your request and it's certainly a valid one. I was just poking an elbow in your ribs a wee bit. Thanks for taking it well.

Very true! And applies to all of us at various times. Btw.... How's that request in your signature coming along? (Just kidding..... 😊)

I agree with your comments re: Ideascale and its perception in the community. Many users contribute their ideas with the expectation that it be incorporated quickly into the existing product. But Line 6 doesn't always use the ideas in current products. For instance, many many of the features in Helix were taken from ideas posted in the context of the POD HD products. Ideascale contributors of the original ideas will feel disappointed that their ideas are not yet, and won't ever be, implemented in the POD HD devices. Similarly you might find that some of your ideas here for improvement to POD HD Edit will find their way into future editors, and never be implemented in HD Edit. But I can assure you that Line 6 does consider all Ideascale submissions. It is the primary source of user feedback that they use. And I agree that bugs should be fixed. Still, the best way to influence that is to use Ideascale. Like it or not, that's what Line 6 uses. Any minor bugs not reported and voted up in Ideascale are not likely to get the visibility required to become prime candidates for fixing. Again, your efforts here are helpful and should be appreciated by the community.

No. Firehawk will not function as an AMPLIFi controller.

If the looper is in post position (at the end of the signal chain) the playback should not be affected by patch edits/changes. Please confirm that the looper is in post position. Note that in the looper display, the text indicates what WILL happen if you hit the footswitch. In other words, if the text display says POST that means the looper is currently in PRE position. The best indicator is to look at the position of the looper block in the main signal flow display.

A setlist contains all settings for all presets in the setlist. It is not just an ordered list of names. If the same preset exists in different setlists it remains a unique preset. Changing one does not affect the other(s). Exporting a setlist backs up all presets but you cannot restore/import individual presets. If you want to import an individual preset you must first save it as an individual preset.

Right - if the cable works in other circumstances it's not the cable. There's nothing special about the cable that came with the unit. It's a standard USB cable.

In step 2 above I would save the desired factory presets to my computer rather than to chosen slots. Then restore you saved custom presets (setlists would be better if you saved them). Then drag/drop the saved factory presets to your chosen slots. In your intro you say that you've saved a folder of your custom ordered presets. Re-importing these as you describe in step 3 won't necessarily retain their order. That's why I would save the setlist rather than individual presets. Importing a setlist does retain the preset order.

Sure - but you need to have an active (self powered) cabinet/speaker. For best results, get an FRFR speaker/cabinet and use the cab/mic modeling in the FX100.

This is a good initiative, Smashcraaft, and it's handy to have this info consolidated in one place. Similar things have been done in the past with other products. It's important to understand, though, that Line 6 may or may not pay any particular attention to this thread. For sure some Line 6 staff will read it, but doing anything about it requires them to step outside their normal procedures and responsibilities. That's why it's very important to also make sure that each of these bugs and feature suggestions is also recorded in Ideascale, the official Line 6 feedback mechanism. If you really want this thread to have official impact I suggest that you (or any other interested user who wants to volunteer some time) go through your list one item at a time and determine whether or not the item is already present in Ideascale. If so, provide link(s) to the relevant Ideascale item(s). If not, create an Ideascale item for it and provide the link. Then all readers here can use the links to add their own votes to their priority bugs as well as their favorite ideas and suggestions.

Have you tried using different USB ports on your computer?

I know you mean that as a joke, but I think there's a lot of truth there. It's not a trite statement to me. And I'm speaking about reverb in general, not just Helix reverbs. For me the best reverb is the type that your ear hears in a natural setting, like a room or hall, or... (Hence the FX names). It's best when it sounds so natural that you don't really notice it. It's not that there's no reverb present, but that the level/mix is such that you don't hear it as a unique FX. You would certainly notice its absence, but mostly you only notice its presence when it's too much. I think it's like a good event planner, or soundman. It's a basic behind-the-scenes thing. If they do a great job you don't even know they're there. It's only their mistakes or lack of planning/setup that get noticed.

You can't change setlists using the footswitches. You need to use the Presets knob and joystick, or the editor.