silverhead

Sorry - I don't think anyone can help you with that. At some point you either jump off the cliff or you don't. :lol: Do you haul two sets of analogue gear now, in case something in the first set fails? If not, how relaxed were you the first time out with you non-gig-tested analogue gear? Same situation, really. Once you get used to the new gear you will be relaxed with it. Of course, someone gigging professionally should always have backup gear, whether analogue or digital.

Have you tried putting the IR in a split path? Try using an A/B split block and adjusting the mix of the signal routed to the dry path vs. the IR path. More specifically, create Path 1A to be your fully dry signal - no IR. Then place the IR where you want it in Path 1A and drag it down to create Path 1B. Change the split block to be an A/B Split and adjust the A/B signal levels. This way you can leave the IR itself at 100% mix.

Moving from vintage analog to digital gear necessarily involves this risk, and eventual certainty. It's a simple fact that the digital gear will, eventually, fail. It's a computer, after all. The question is how long will it last and, when it fails, be repairable? Aside from the fact that there will always be newer, more powerful, more feature-rich digital stuff being released - the stuff we buy now should last and be repairable for many years and continue to do what it now does. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to get up to ten years from a digital device. That's a very arguable duration, but there is some point beyond which its ongoing use would be a real bonus. And that point is almost certainly less than the much simpler analog stuff. Will you have to replace a Variax guitar before a traditional Les Paul or Strat, or...... Almost certainly. But as the cost of the digital gear continues to decrease, and its utility continues to increase, the cost/benefit equation increasingly favours the digital stuff imho. You may have to replace a Helix in 10 years or less, while your old vintage Fender Deluxe carries on - but Helix provides you with so much more than the Fender Deluxe, at much less cost/space than having the analog arsenal.

Just so you know, I'm not employed by Line 6. And I'm still curious. You said you won't wait a year to get things added and fixed. So do you plan to sell it then if your expectations aren't met?

You need to connect your monitors to the Helix outputs. The Helix becomes you computer's soundcard and the speaker outputs on your computer are not used.

The IRs are not cabs in Helix presets. They have their own category when you are selecting blocks to assign in the signal path. Once you have loaded the IRs into the Impulses tab area in the app, each IR is assignable in the preset by using their location/slot number in the Impulses area. So to assign an IR to a preset you first add an IR (not cab) block in the signal chain and then in that block's parameters you identify the slot/location number of the IR.

Go here: http://line6.com/software/ In the Software field select Helix. Click on the Beta checkbox. Download the Helix app v1.11 installer. Then run the installer file to install the Helix app, the Line 6 Updater program, and the drivers. Connect your Helix device to your computer and run the Line6 Updater program to install Helix firmware v1.10 To load IRs, run the Helix app. Select the IR button and then drag/drop or Import the IRs into any slot/location you want.

I've just tested this a little more. I realize now that you might be talking about the separate parameter for Variax Tuning rather than Variax Model Selection (which my earlier response was assuming). With my Helix and JTV-59 the Atlernate Tuning Don't Force and Custom settings behave as expected. Switching from a Custom tuned preset to a preset with the Alternate Tuning set to Don't Force leaves the Custom tuning in place. Changing the Alternate Tuning setting to Custom and all offsets at 0 restores standard tuning in the new preset.

I've noticed that too. I think it's normal behaviour because I expect that telling Helix that the Variax mode for any preset is 'Don't Force' is interpreted by Helix as meaning 'don't make any changes to the Variax settings' - either model or tuning changes. Hence the Variax remains in its previous state when any 'Don't Force' preset is loaded. If that state happens to include an alternate tuning, then that tuning remains effective.

You do this directly on the Variax, not with Workbench. The Variax JTV manual describes the procedure.

Helix only supports Variax JTV and Standard guitars. However, like you I have experienced some degree of success with Helix and my Variax 300. The Helix -> V300 communication seems to work. My V300 will successfully recall a stored model in the Helix preset. However the V300 -> Helix communication does not work. I have to edit the Helix preset manually, since Helix does not properly track or respond to changes made using the V300. And since earlier Variax models are not supported it's possible that each one will behave differently.

I find it better to export the 8 setlists individually rather than the entire bundle. That way I have more control after updating the firmware. At this point if I were you I would do the following to end up with your previous user setlists/presets as well as the v1.10 factory setlists: - backup (export) the v1.10 firmware factory setlists individually - import your saved bundle from v1.06.5. This will restore your user setlists/presets - individually import the v1.10 factory setlists - individually export your user setlists. Although the editor supports exporting IRs I don't see the value in this because the export does not include the important location/slot number information about the IR. This is the information you use to select an IR in a preset yet it's not part of the export. Hence the export operation gives you exactly what you already have - the individual wav file that you imported into Helix in the first place. Since Helix firmware contains no IRs the only ones you get are the ones you import. No point in having duplicate copies produce by the Helix export operation. I back up all individual setlists prior to a performing a firmware update. After the update I restore the (potentially new/revised) factory setlists using FS7&8. Then I backup these version-specific factory setlists. Then I import/restore my individual User setlists. As I continue to work on my presets and setlists, I backup any setlist as frequently as I want to avoid potential loss of data. ...btw, holding down FS5&6 at startup restores the Global Settings to their factory defaults.

No - you can not use the editing software to disable the button.

I think you had another thread with this question. I provided one suggestion there..... http://line6.com/support/topic/19684-disable-looper-in-pod-hd-pro-x/?view=findpost&p=148181

I sometimes like to place chorus, delay and reverb between the preamp and cab - just like an FX Loop on a real combo amp.

Factory presets are no different from user presets except that they are preloaded. You can edit them and save them just like any preset.

- backing up presets and setlists are separate operations - a bundle includes all 8 setlists, whether factory or user data, for both backup and restore purposes. You can't restore only part of a bundle. - you can backup IRs, but since you had to import them in the first place you already have them as individual files on your computer hence there should be no need to back them up. Not sure about multiple export/imports at once.

To backup your presets and IRs you need to use the Helix device connected to your computer with the librarian/editor app running. You can backup individual presets and setlists, or the entire 'bundle' of presets. You can not back up your Global Settings. Updating the firmware does only that. It does not overwrite your presets. It is always wise to back up presets in advance. You can choose whether or not to restore the Helix to the factory presets after updating. Doing that ensures that you always have the latest factory presets. You are already aware that backing up IRs does not keep track of their location, which is important. I tend to rename them to include the location number as a prefix to the name. I'm not entirely sure whether or not the firmware update itself overwrites the global settings, but restoring them to the factory defaults is always the first thing recommended after installing the firmware. I've always done it so don't know what the result is if you don't do it. Then I manually reset them to my preferences. I've never felt the need to write them down.

No. You need to remove the SD card from the M20d, insert it into your computer, and copy/import into your DAW.

I suspect the repetition in this thread may be simply due to its current length. Perhaps some newcomers to the thread read the title and first post or two, decide to share their thoughts, and do so immediately without reading the 4 pages, hence not realizing that what they are suggesting is redundant and repetitive. I suggest we all just ignore repetitive posts. They're probably not intended to be provocative.

In the Knowledge Base section of this website (under the Support tab above) you will find a FAQ area. Filter for the Helix FAQ. Your questions are answered there.

No, you are not missing anything. To change a Variax model you need to either change Helix presets or do it manually on the Variax itself.

Please describe how you are monitoring the sound. Headphones? Speakers? How are they connected, and to what?

Correct - the headphones output is stereo, and there's no mono option. You will need a proper stereo-to-mono adapter.

If you are OK with ALWAYS using your hands to make any changes then you don't need the Helix Control floorboard. It's only needed if you want to make any changes, even turning FX on/off, while playing guitar. There's nothing you can do with the controller that you can't do with your hands on the Helix Rack itself or with the editor program.