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Hello everyone! Merry Christmas and happy new Year to all of you! I can finally say that thanks to my new Shuriken Sr250, the Helix lt and 2 frfr speakers i found my final setup! I tried everything, heads, combo, pre + power amp rack etc etc but nothing holds up the comparison, you just have to spend some time to set and program everything. I made this patch Acoustic Paris Patch Video I use only the helix blocks, without any external IR, let me know what you think ;-) Gio

Hello y'all! I am new to the world of Digital Sound. I am a veteran here in my local music scene. I'v played through a Mesa Boogie F50 and Laney GH50 for the last 14 years. Using different setups from rack to floor fx setups. Like many on this forum I've gigged extensively, have written and have recorded many a track and tune. I took a break for the last 5 years. I stepped back in a year ago through a couple friends who wanted an EP produced, which I am hoping both will be complete within the next few weeks. The reason I decided on Helix and to enter the world of digital sound are many. One it's where the market is progressing towards. 2. I needed to hear and feel the difference myself as a guitar player. 3. I am hoping to be venturing in to my creative disc in the coming weeks after I finish said artists production. So, I thought maybe this unit will offer some inspiration. Finally I decided this against the KEmper, Axe and Headrush. For the money my research found this unit is a solid overall machine for the value. We'll see. I purchased the Helix rack, the controller and a Headrush power cab a few days ago. I am waiting on the power cab. Since my purchase I have started a journal documenting my journey with the machine. I thought I'd post the journey here in hopes to A) Meet some incredible people, musicians and creative talent. B) Learn something from the community and finally C) If I can offer help that would be cool too. With this said; Please chime in, offer anything such as direction, feedback and ETC. I'm here to be a part of everyone's creative journey as I frolic through my own. Cheers. Below is my Journey through Day 1 through 3 with a couple pics. Day 1: Not impressed with the machine, but all I have played through are the presets it came with, and I'm running through a pair of JBL 2300's. I'll need to create some patches using it as my source. Day 2: Helix update: Jumped on it this morning after beginning my fun diet of smoothies, boiled eggs and tuna. (I have officially acknowledged that my age dictates my weight. Therefore I must fight the battle of aging so that I may live longer, play more and do all of our favorite thing to do... How can I say this politically correct? Headboard against wall. ;) So back to subject at hand. My goal with this machine is to emulate a tube amp's characteristics. Such as touch response, harmonic clarity, string articulation, textures of gentle compressed lows, warm mids and pleasant highs. While offering that 3d visual one gets when listening to a tube amp. So out of the box the Helix is very very digital sounding. There is no love out of the box for an experience player. However, the interface is very intuitive. There are a few parameters that are new to me. Such as Sag, Ripple, Bias along with a couple more options. These are suppose to control an amps "characteristics". They do, but ummm.... Not as noticeable as one may think. What I have found is like in music production a little goes along way when one is mixing. Same goes for the Helix rack or it seems. For example: Right now I am using the emulation of an Bogner Shiva connected to its Uberkab 4x12 loaded with V 30's. This has a high gain and dark sound from the get. I have a Ribbon 121 mic 8.5" away from the grill giving it about 30% of room ambience. Initially it sounded good, but nowhere near the goal I'm looking to obtain. The first thing my ears notice were harsh grainy highs and muddy lows. (Remember my source. I am pushing the Helix through a pair of JBL 2300 studio nearfields. They are loaded with a 5" wolfer and 1" tweeter. A guitar cabinet is at least a 12" speaker. So, I am asking a lot out of the JBL's. I basically want the Helix to come across as a well mic'd 4x12 cabinet. Think about this, I want it to sound like 4 12" speakers out of 2 5" speakers. I am pushing the Helix. ;) After eq'ing and compressing with emulated gear such a LA Studio Compressor, the MXR 10 band EQ, a low and high filter along with a noise gate. Spending about a half hour on it by figuring how each parameter, and piece of emulated gear react with each other. I have come very close to the sound being acceptable. Almost there. If I can reach what my ear is asking for I'll post a video of it if you're interested in listening. I'm learning a tune from Metallica called "and Justice for All" I believed they used Mesa Mark IV's on that LP, but I decided to use the Bogner. Which is probably a fault since my ear is accustomed to that Mesa sound. Either way I started with the Bogner so I'll finish with Bogner. Day 3: ;) 3rd Day with the Helix. Today I am running it through my recording rig. It's a modest set up with a couple Focusrite 18i20's and Pro Tools. I recorded the patch I spoke of yesterday. An emulated Bogner Shiva with its 4×12 Uberkab. Thus far I am digging the tone. Both through the 5" JBL's and the recorded track through a pair of Tonnoy 6" nearfields. I'm still missing the touch response and 3D sound you can hear through a tube amp. I do not expect this unit to nail it. However I'd like to be able to feel as if I am playing through a tube amp. I'm sure some of this is physiological and a mental obstacle to I need to accept the LIne 6 Helix is what it is. Today I am going to learn the cool features Sag, Ripple, Bias and ECT. Hoping to find that "touch response" I'm looking for. I know this will not nail a tube amp, but I'm sure I can get close, or am I asking to much. Today my goal is to find it. Below are pics of my modest jam room/studio, the axe I am using to workout my first patch and the patch I've started to build.

Everything is okay with (old) workbench, updating Variax 300 with new firmware, reflashing, etc. Except: I cannot update any of the patches. As soon as I start uploading a patch to the Variax 300, UBS interface starts flashing on UBS side, no flashing on Variax side (just green) and then error with connection and also connection to workbench is lost. Happens on Mac and on Windows. So problem must be on Variax side. Does anybody know what the problem could be? (I got the 300 recently, second hand. Only had JTV's so far)

I made this list of Patches even though its in the Firehawk App, so I can take notes on what I like, dislike, want to delete, ect, So if you are interested feel free to copy it. It would be nice if someone could make a spreadsheet from it with parameter list options! Bank 1 HD Rhythm Lead The Way American Clean Ambient Delays Bank 2 Wind Cries Mary Msg in a Bottle Heartbreaker Fast Lane Bank 3 Locked Outta Hvn 7 Nation Army Move Like Jagger Tighten Up Bank 4 Refugee Eight Miles High Day Tripper 4 What Its Worth Bank 5 Sober Laid to Rest Hanger 18 Walk Bank 6 4 on 6 Phase Dance Blue Suede Shoes Hello Mary Lou Bank 7 Come As You Are Man IN The Box Black Hole Sun Cherub Rock Bank 8 Lie To Me Need Your Love Couldn’t Stand True Lies Bank 9 Another Brick Own A Lonely Hrt Pull Me Under Killer Queen Bank10 Crazy Train still of Night Mean street Sweet Child Bank 11 Right Next Door Still Got Blues Laundromat Blues Sweet Sixteen Bank 12 Back In Black Iron Man Everlong Jailbreak Bank 13 Streets No Name Hysteria Octave Broken Dreams Freak On A Leash Bank 14 Bomber Uber Treadplate Angel F-Ball Line 6 Insane Bank 15 So What Octaves Purple Haze Solo Bender Go Crazy Fuzz Bank 16 Jazz Clean Blackface Lux-V Blackface Double Class A-30 TB Bank 17 Machine Gun Pedal HarMinE Have A Cigar Auto Wah Bank 18 Gibtone 185 Super O Brkdn Tweed B-Man Divide 9-15 Bank 19 Rock: Rhythm Rock: Clean Rock: Crunch Rock: Solo Bank 20 Metal: Rhythm Metal: Clean Metal: Flange Metal: Solo Bank 21 Indie: Rhythm Indie: Clean Indie: Lead Indie: Solo Bank 22 Blues: Rhythm Blues: Clean Blues: Lead Blues: Rotary Bank 23 Modern: A30 Cln Modern: A30 DDL Modern: A30 Rhythm Modern: A30 Push Bank 24 County: Trem Country: Slap Country: Lead Country: Boost Bank 25 Jazz: Solid State Jazz: Full & Clr Jazz: A30 Gritty Jazz: Dirty Bank 26 Shoegaze Lead Octo Wash Seismilk Synth Sample & Hold Bank 27 DADGDA Kashmir Open E Statesbro Open G Brn Sugar Fortunate Son D Bank 28 Acoustic Rhythm Acoustic Chorus Aco Fingerstyle Acoustic 12 Bank 29 Acoustic Rain Song Aco New Age Banjo Sitar Bank 30 User User User User Bank 31 User User User User Bank 32 User User User User

I hope that this is OK to post this here.

A demo of all 4 snapshots of my 'Foolin' by Def Leppard preset for the Line6 Helix, Helix LT, Helix Rack, and Helix Native. Snapshot 1... Main Snapshot 2... Clean Snapshot 3... Pre-Chorus Snapshot 4... Solo

Hi Guys Im having problems using Helix to control MainStage. I have set up Helix to have a preset for each song in my set, I want MainStage to have a playback and metronome click for each preset. I have successfully got Helix and MS synced up so when I change presets it changes patches on MS using an instant command in command centre. I also set up 2 switches on my Helix for each patch, one to turn on the metronome, the other to turn on a playback in MS. That works fine. However when I change presets using the Helix it also immediately fires either the metronome or the playback neither of which I want to happen. Ive tried all sort of combinations in MS but can't seem to stop it happening. Im no expert in midi so maybe my commands are wrong - Im using CC toggle commands for the playback and metronome but have no idea what CC# means so have tried different numbers which does nothing. Then I read on this forum that when Helix sends PC commands it also send all the other commands as well so Im wondering if this is the issue. Any help on this would be appreciated

Hello All My questions are around 'how do you use stereo paths, effects and routing? Q) Do you use 'stereo' distortion in front of an AMP? If I use a dual path with two amps and a stereo Distortion in front of the two amps and I pan A/B is this really creating a stereo path? Q) Do you use a split path with effect in parallel or series? Q) Have you noticed that the smart harmony block, in stereo if its in front of a dual path does NOT split the harmony out to discrete stereo? Q) Do you notice anything interesting about stereo block effects before amp paths?

Hey everyone, I just got a awesome Spider MK 2 HD100, and iam really happy with it, but it has come with the older floorboard with no connection to pc so I have bought a midi to USB cable to connect from the head into my pc but everytime I begin the firmware update i get a few popup windows open saying everything is ok click "yes" to proceed and then tick the user agreement and then i get a error window with the code 8000000, any clues please? Windows 10 btw. Cheers. Shaun.

Hello, new pod owner here. Upgraded from GT-10 to pod HD500x. I've had my HD for 2 weeks now and have downloaded and constructed a few patches using my headphones. When i play thru my monitors, my patches sound the same regardless of what amp sim I use. The tones sound muddy and thick. (to much bass.) Last night my wife was listening and told me my speakers sound like they have a towel draped over them. I turned the bass down on the unit itself and no change. Turned the tone knob up, no change. All i could do was laugh and make fun of my new piece of expensive gear I begged to purchase. Then I started started twisting the master volume nob clock wise and counter. Back and forth, back and forth increasing and decreasing my patch level. Suddenly the sound woke up no more bass or mud in that particular patch. I haven't tried this technique on any of the other patches yet. What gives? Does anyone else have this problem?

A little help, guys. I purchased, downloaded, and installed several of custom patches into my Helix from Worship Tutorials. I feel like everything loaded correctly, but when I look on my Helix all I am able to do is switch between patches, not change the effects like a stomp box. Any thoughts on what I'm missing in the process?

Sorry for the clickbait-title but it is true! Never understood why the slots are so restricted and there is no playground-area which could be used to try custom models. https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/An-area-to-store-unused-presets-within-Workbench-HD/902175-23508 Please give your vote to this idea :)

Hey guys, I thought I'd make this a separate post so that it's easier to find for anyone who might be having some issues. The patches for the HD500 do not import directly into the HD500X Edit software at this time. They use different file formats. There is a work-around that I posted earlier, and is being passed around now. All you have to do is change the extension on the patch files: For individual patches, change the extension from .h5e to .5xe For bundles, change the file extension from .h5b to .5xb For setlists, change the file extension from .h5s to .5xs I have found no inconsistencies among the patches from the HD500 Edit to the HD500X Edit using this method. I don't know if/when Line 6 will update the software to allow backwards compatibility, but in the mean time, you can use this method to get your 500 patches to your 500X. UPDATE: Someone else mentioned that you can drag-and-drop individual HD500 files into the tone slots in the 500X Edit software. I can confirm that this works. You will still need to change the file names for set-lists and bundles, though.

What happens in this scenario Lets say in a bank I have 4 presets: 1. Clean 2. Crunch 3. Lead 4. Speciality Lead/FX I am playing live with my band. Because we are human or the drummer is a doofus we are playing faster (or slower than normal). At the beginning of the song I have a clean sound with some delay, so I tap tempo on the firehawk switch to get in sync. But...what about the other 3 presets (2,3 and 4) I want those presets to have the same tap tempo as what I just tapped for the intro/first preset so that when it comes time to hit on the lead patch, the tap tempo is the same. From what I gather this is not possible? As an aside...how does tap tempo work if the line 6 switches are on release? I find you have to be more 'tappy' with your foot to try to get it in time?

Greetings folk, is there a list of the factory installed presets that come with the Helix (Rack) that you can point me too please? I've had a look but can't find anything. My previous Line6 purchases did. Many thanks in advance. Tim

Does anyone else have an issue with the POD HD Pro X (or other POD versions) overwriting patches seemingly randomly? This has happened to me on multiple occasions and it's kind of annoying when the only way to get the patch back is to restore it to defaults. I don't want to have to keep doing this. It seems like it happens when switching from one Set List to another, but there might be other factors, and it happens so sporadically that I am only just now coming to this conclusion after having the device for almost 3 years. For example, say I'm in the "User 2" on patch 5D. Then I switch to the "Best of HD" setlist and the 5D from "User 2" will now be the 5D there. Does this happen to anyone else? Is there a solution for it? It's really annoying and seems like something that should be patched.

Sometime ago I watched a video on Periphery's live set rig and I learned that they used a DAW to send MIDI signals to their Axe-Fx to switch patches during their performance. I was curious if the Helix is capable of this and if there is a good tutorial to set it up.

There are a lot of promotional videos from Line6, and they all sound much better than any preset I created with my new Helix. Jack Thammarat e. g. shows how to create a lead tone for Helix: I reproduced everything like shown in this video, I also used an Fender Stratocaster – but my patch sounds not as good as in the video. Much less brilliant and not as much like an tube amp in this video. Well, Jack Thammarat wrote he recorded the sound directly via USB … I can't believe it. Are there any tricks to get my guitar and Helix sound better? Preamps? Post production? Other things? Has anyone any suggestions? Ulf

1-I want to assign the Helix looper function to al my patches and activate by a footswitch 2-the first single path has run out of space how do I add more patches

Hi, Was wondering whether anyone has had any problems with sound dropping out while using a pod hd500? Sometimes,and intermittently, I will be playing and the volume just disappears. If I switch patch it comes back but on a few occasions it hasn't. I thought it was to do with the exp pedal at first so I removed this from the signal chain but it is still happening. It's really annoying as it's not all the time and I can't tell when or why it's happening. I only use this pedal while onstage (no amp) so when it goes I'm left looking like a fool. I found turning it off and on again works but I can't be doing this every night. Any ideas would be greatly received. Cheers

This info will probably be 101 type stuff for a lot of regulars on this forum in particular, but I had gotten some questions on my other patch videos about dual paths and stereo setups. So I made a video building a patch showing how to do this. If anyone has any questions about setting up dual paths this might be helpful.

I've been working on Metallica tones for their first five albums. The goal was to get as accurate as possible. Here's where I ended up! The video quality varies quite a bit but all the guitar playing is recorded direct to the computer via USB with no mixing or any kind of extra processing added. It's straight Helix. Seek & Destroy for that gnarly, old-school metal Kill 'Em All tone Fade To Black with Hetfield's revamped and modded Marshall tone

Ive recently recieved a pod xt live as a gift and after hours of research cant seem to find anything about downloading patches using windows 10. I know that you need to use line 6 edit to save and move patches to the pod but the line 6 software page says that line 6 edit is not available for windows 10. So is there any possible for me to download custom tones to my pod xt live with windows 10?

Hello all, I don't usually frequent gear forums so I apologise if my forum etiquette is sub standard. I've been really excited about the Helix since the reveal of the device. I've been waiting for you guys to drop a new modern unit since the HD500x. So, I've been nurturing use of a Pod XT for many years now and it has served my playing routine greatly since purchase. No to mention that I've had very little problems with the unit. I hit my tone limit a long time ago. I need more control over the signal chain to be able to really suss my guitar tone out. I'm seriously tempted to take the plunge on the Helix and have the funds to do so. I have my doubts though, especially considering it is such a great deal of money to drop on a pedal. Could I trouble some knowledgable users with some questions? 1) Line 6 edit I think I saw that Line 6 released a "Gear Box" Win/mac user interface for the Helix unit. How is this coming along, is it good quality? I can't find any screen shots at all. Nobody is hailing it as god's gift, if it has been released. I understand the larger display and functionality might completely over-rule the use of something like this. I'm curious as to it's current state of play. 2) Patch latency This is something that's been raised a few times on here. I understand the nature of loading process for patches. As I've dealt with the XT live, I do understand THIS IS modelling. With the XT, there was a noticeable delay in switching patches. It wasn't terrible but it was noticeable. I'd argue it is literally the longest patch latency I'd be willing to put up with. Can anyone clarify if it is an improvement? Some have said the time it takes to load a patch is directly related to the amount of "blocks" you have in your patches. I'm not looking for multiple cabs and amps per patch. The XT had Comp, Gate, EQ, Amp Sim, Cab, Delay, Mod, ​Reverb. Considering that as a base line. What sort of latency are we looking at as standard? Better or worse? Painfully delayed? 3) Further talking about patches delays. Some have suggested loading everything into one patch and using that? I saw Glen Delaune's, 3 channel amp patch and I wasn't THAT sold on the "method". Surely you can run into instances where both, your clean channel is running and your boost is on? Surely your tone is going to more of a compromise instead of what you actually want to here? 4) Do custom IR's perform better or worse re: quality and patch latency? 5) Spreading blocks over to "Both CPU processors"? How is this actually done? Do you run the amp and cab on a separate line with links between. How effective is this reduction? 6) Direct into a Tube Amp I use a 2x12 Fender Hot Rod Deville. Can anyone elaborate as to how will this pedal plays with standard Tube Amps. I don't need a processed video from Chappers, I've seen it already. You know what I mean. My query is the ability to sculp the sound and fix mushyness. Sustain at volume, deliberate feedback etc. 7) Some people in other posts have suggested using 8 Template <02c ... XXXXX as a base line for your tones, to avoid latency problems. I don't own one yet, so I can't exactly investigate as to what these patch templates have to offer. Can anyone elaborate as to what these templates have to offer and how they work? I know there's a lot going on above regarding my questions. If you'd be so kind as to weigh in where possible, I'm sure others will review this thread to help put minds at ease. Please be as honest, clear and descriptive as possible I know it's a pain... although they're not "Million dollar" questions, they are the "Thousand dollar" questions that I would really appreciate clear answers for. I really appreciete you taking the time to review this thread.