Helix Ideascale Community Submissions

[datacommando]

6 hours ago, HonestOpinion said:

 

You might have to add another layer of DSP calculation and management to pull some of this off. That may be why you don't see some of these proposed modifications, at least not yet. It might be trickier in some cases than others to allow certain kinds of on the fly changes to blocks if the change pushes the preset over the maximum DSP available. Stereo blocks for example use more DSP than mono.  I suppose you could just gray out any option that would kick over the DSP limit. 

Hi,

 

Precisely.
 

The reason I gave the proposed scenario is simply because it already exists within the current hardware/software. The OP,  stated that the situation of splitting amp and cab configuration was something they were experiencing quite a lot in “sound designing”. If that’s the case it simply comes down to a more considered workflow, especially as the separate amp and cab blocks do not use any more DSP than the combined blocks.
 

It seems that Line 6 included the separate blocks so that users had the option to add blocks between, such as spring reverb and tremolo effects  - similar to “real world” functionality. I wouldn’t regard that as a “downside”, rather more a bonus.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense

[zappazapper]

 

4 hours ago, datacommando said:

Hi,

 

Precisely.
 

The reason I gave the proposed scenario is simply because it already exists within the current hardware/software. The OP,  stated that the situation of splitting amp and cab configuration was something they were experiencing quite a lot in “sound designing”. If that’s the case it simply comes down to a more considered workflow, especially as the separate amp and cab blocks do not use any more DSP than the combined blocks.

...which is why I said you made a good point. There's nothing wrong with pointing out possible workarounds in the current firmware, especially considering the amount of time it would take for this feature to materialize even if there was unanimous agreement. But this thread, ultimately, is a place to discuss the possibilities for future updates. I guess I just don't want the discussion to end with "here's a workaround. Next." 

 

4 hours ago, datacommando said:

It seems that Line 6 included the separate blocks so that users had the option to add blocks between, such as spring reverb and tremolo effects  - similar to “real world” functionality. I wouldn’t regard that as a “downside”, rather more a bonus.

I didn't say separate Amp and Cab Blocks was a downside, I suggested that with any "innovation" comes consequences, downsides. The downside to the Amp+Cab block is that someone could suddenly decide they want to try adding a second cabinet. The downside to separate Blocks is that it takes up an extra slot. In either case, the process for switching from one to the other isn't particularly user friendly, and if L6 were to make it more user friendly, then those downsides wouldn't really exist anymore. That's all.

[hideout]

Ducking Tremolo.  My latest submission.

 

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Ducking-Tremolo/1016296-23508?submitted=1

[kactus218]

Death By Audio effect sims:

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Death-By-Audio/1016723-23508?submitted=1

[zappazapper]

I was looking at this: 

 

https://amtelectronics.com/new/amt-incinerator-ng-1/

 

It's a noise gate with a loop. It uses the level at the input for its detector, and then applies the gain reduction to the signal coming back into the return jack.

 

AFAIK, none of the gates included in the Helix work this way (we all know that L6 doesn't provide a ton of information on the individual effects; Helix Help doesn't mention anything about it either). I'd be interested to hear some thoughts on this, whether anybody has used a gate like this, whether they work better than a "normal" gate, whether it's got any appeal to Helix users besides me, or whether I should just shut up and buy one of these and put it in one of the loops. 

[vstrattomusic]

I wish the PV Panama model had a Mk.1 and Mk.2 switch and a 6L6 / EL34 switch, like the TSE x50 v2 plugin.

[HonestOpinion]

On 4/13/2021 at 10:09 PM, zappazapper said:

I was looking at this: 

 

https://amtelectronics.com/new/amt-incinerator-ng-1/

 

It's a noise gate with a loop. It uses the level at the input for its detector, and then applies the gain reduction to the signal coming back into the return jack.

 

AFAIK, none of the gates included in the Helix work this way (we all know that L6 doesn't provide a ton of information on the individual effects; Helix Help doesn't mention anything about it either). I'd be interested to hear some thoughts on this, whether anybody has used a gate like this, whether they work better than a "normal" gate, whether it's got any appeal to Helix users besides me, or whether I should just shut up and buy one of these and put it in one of the loops. 

 

On 4/13/2021 at 10:09 PM, zappazapper said:

...whether they work better than a "normal" gate, ...

 

That is the crux of the biscuit; does this approach give any substantial benefit?

 

Using what is currently available on the Helix one way to employ a noise gate when you are using pedals in a loop is to assign the same footswitch used to engage the loop to a noise gate placed right after the loop(or before I suppose if you prefer). That way that gate remains bypassed unless the loop is engaged. Doing this at least gives you a method to specifically target noise from the pedals within the loop with a gate with an appropriately set threshold, the gate active only when the loop is active, even if it is not using the pre-loop signal/noise levels to clamp down after the loop as the 'AMT Incinerator NG-1' does.

[jceepe]

10 footswitch mode for the LT please Line 6

[Jim_Spinner]

Hi couldn’t see this anywhere, how about being able to use midi cc as the modulation oscillator for the modulation effects. That way you could control the flange  or phase sweep with an expression pedal or external cc generator.

[circu5]

I use two Variax guitars on stage. I'd like both to be controllable via my Helix - so for this, I need to use Variax Digital Cables.

 

Is there/or could you make an AB Switcher Pedal, which I could plug both my Variax guitars into, then one output goes into the "Variax" input on the Helix. Being able to switch between the two would mean I can avoid kneeling on stage to plug/unplug them.

 

There are some RJ45 switch/splitter selector boxes available online. However, none of them can accommodate the secure Neutrik casings of the Variax Digital Cables. I could purchase cables with Neutrik casings one end, and the standard ethernet connections the other. However, the standard ethernet connection wouldn't be very secure, and would cause problems if it jiggles around.

[di0sys]

Not sure if anyone has thought of this but,

 

It would be absolutely stellar if a midi keyboard could be plugged in and the notes auto mapped out whenever one of the 3 or 4 note tone generators is present. Effectively turning it into a very capable synthesizer. Perhaps maybe an option for poly chaining the tone generators together for more voices of polyphony? This could be really interesting. Thanks!

 

Cheers!

[lou-kash]

18 hours ago, di0sys said:

Not sure if anyone has thought of this but,

 

It would be absolutely stellar if a midi keyboard could be plugged in and the notes auto mapped out whenever one of the 3 or 4 note tone generators is present. Effectively turning it into a very capable synthesizer.

 

It was one of the first things I tried after buying the Stomp last year and discovering that it has a synth. And I was "mildly" disappointed that it doesn't work.

 

Has anyone posted that on Ideascale already?

line6.ideascale.com/a/ideas/search?templateId=0&query=synth+keyboard

If not:

18 hours ago, di0sys said:

This could be really interesting.

 

… please do so:
line6.ideascale.com
Thanks

[Anders_BC]

Hi

 

What about looking in to the three stage rocket from Lunastone - idea for a cascading gain stage circuit?

 

It is a signature pedal - Soren Andersen

(don’t know if it is an legal issue).

 

Hope someone from the Line 6 crew will give it a thought.

 

Thanks

[guitarboy_02451]

I just added this: https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Dr-Z-Carmen-Ghia/1020183-23508

A Dr. Z Carmen Ghia would be nice :)

 

 

[spiceagent]

This has to be setting some kind of record, lol...lobbying for changes/updates to a product that hasn't even shipped yet.

[bigtim1966]

Does this thread get read by the moderators?

 

If so can I suggest an idea for the hx effects (and probably other units)  The full issue is below

 

HX Effects - Snapshot name in scribble strip question - Helix - Line 6 Community

 

Basically I'm asking can the current snapshot number be shown on an IA button configured to increment the snapshot number (in a similar way that it is displayed in the preset name scribble strip when in preset select mode)

 

 

[bigtim1966]

Is there any chance of implementing a two (or three) channel looper?  I'm talking about two or three loops that could be recorded to and then turned on and off independently. 

 

Obviously max loop times would go down if more channels were enabled.  

[datacommando]

4 hours ago, bigtim1966 said:

 

Does this thread get read by the moderators?

 

Hi,

 

There are no Line staff here and only very occasionally do they visit these forums - See the “sticky comment” in the black banner stripe at the top of this page entitled “Why is Line 6 not responding”

 

 

This link is where you need to go to have any hope of it been seen by anyone from Line 6:

 

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/index

 

Before posting any  new ideas, please do a search to see if it's already been listed. Multiple requests for the same thing will thin out the votes. Also, post your ideas one at a time. Many users don’t vote for combined suggestions.

You should use this thread to let other users know what your suggestions are, with links to IdeaScale, so they can vote on it if they wish.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[Kirill7]

Hello,
I recently became the owner of the HELIX LT, and was very surprised at how much you can configure, but I was absolutely shocked by the lack of a mode to turn off the CAB section globally.
I saw that it is possible to split the signal into XLR / 1/4, but from my practice on stage there is always a 1/4 cable that goes somewhere in the DI BOX, or directly into the mixer.
I understand Line 6 made the most professional version, but sometimes the connection on stage is not organized correctly, so it would be great if there was a function to globally disable the CAB section, because it used to be on the XT, X3 and Pocket POD that I used before.

[phil_m]

7 hours ago, Kirill7 said:

Hello,
I recently became the owner of the HELIX LT, and was very surprised at how much you can configure, but I was absolutely shocked by the lack of a mode to turn off the CAB section globally.
I saw that it is possible to split the signal into XLR / 1/4, but from my practice on stage there is always a 1/4 cable that goes somewhere in the DI BOX, or directly into the mixer.
I understand Line 6 made the most professional version, but sometimes the connection on stage is not organized correctly, so it would be great if there was a function to globally disable the CAB section, because it used to be on the XT, X3 and Pocket POD that I used before.

Well, the issue is there isn’t anything like a simple “cab section”. There are cab blocks, dual cab blocks, and then there are amp/cab blocks that contain cab modeling. And you can have multiple cab blocks in a preset, so you very quickly run into all sorts of complexities when you start trying to disable them globally somehow. Then beyond that, there’s also the IR blocks, which replace cab blocks, and it wouldn’t be unheard of for people to use the cab blocks in some presets and IRs for others...

 

Basically, Line 6 decided to offer more flexibility as far as the signal chain goes in individual presets versus having a lot of global functions that affect every preset.

[HonestOpinion]

On 6/2/2021 at 2:58 AM, Kirill7 said:

Hello,
I recently became the owner of the HELIX LT, and was very surprised at how much you can configure, but I was absolutely shocked by the lack of a mode to turn off the CAB section globally.
I saw that it is possible to split the signal into XLR / 1/4, but from my practice on stage there is always a 1/4 cable that goes somewhere in the DI BOX, or directly into the mixer.
I understand Line 6 made the most professional version, but sometimes the connection on stage is not organized correctly, so it would be great if there was a function to globally disable the CAB section, because it used to be on the XT, X3 and Pocket POD that I used before.

 

On 6/2/2021 at 10:14 AM, phil_m said:

Well, the issue is there isn’t anything like a simple “cab section”. There are cab blocks, dual cab blocks, and then there are amp/cab blocks that contain cab modeling. And you can have multiple cab blocks in a preset, so you very quickly run into all sorts of complexities when you start trying to disable them globally somehow. Then beyond that, there’s also the IR blocks, which replace cab blocks, and it wouldn’t be unheard of for people to use the cab blocks in some presets and IRs for others...

 

Basically, Line 6 decided to offer more flexibility as far as the signal chain goes in individual presets versus having a lot of global functions that affect every preset.

 

Adding the ability to globally turn off all cabs, all IRs, or both would add even more flexibility and be a mighty useful feature potentially offering a fast and efficient way to adapt to different monitoring scenarios.

[phil_m]

8 hours ago, HonestOpinion said:

 

 

Adding the ability to globally turn off all cabs, all IRs, or both would add even more flexibility and be a mighty useful feature potentially offering a fast and efficient way to adapt to different monitoring scenarios.

It sounds simple on the surface, but there are a lot of “edge cases”, so to speak, that would need to be accounted for, and there isn’t necessarily a straightforward way to deal with them. What if, for example, someone has a patch where they use multiple cabs, and in some snapshots one is on and one is off? If you bypass them all via a global setting, ok that’s one thing, but what happens when you change that global setting to have them come back on? It would have to somehow account for getting blocks back in the proper state. And this is just one example of something that would have to be dealt with. I think it’s these sort of things that are the reason there isn’t a simple cab on/off global setting.

[HonestOpinion]

13 hours ago, phil_m said:

It sounds simple on the surface, but there are a lot of “edge cases”, so to speak, that would need to be accounted for, and there isn’t necessarily a straightforward way to deal with them. What if, for example, someone has a patch where they use multiple cabs, and in some snapshots one is on and one is off? If you bypass them all via a global setting, ok that’s one thing, but what happens when you change that global setting to have them come back on? It would have to somehow account for getting blocks back in the proper state. And this is just one example of something that would have to be dealt with. I think it’s these sort of things that are the reason there isn’t a simple cab on/off global setting.

 

Can definitely see where you would have to pull this off without impacting the saved state of a preset. The global settings for the Variax('Variax Settings') and Powercab('Powercab Remote') immediately leap to mind though, where a global setting is set from within a preset that impacts and essentially overrides all other presets until it is turned off. At that point all the presets revert back to their prior/usual settings. Kind of analogous to what you would be trying to accomplish with a global cab/IR bypass.  

 

Regarding routing I haven't thought enough about it to anticipate every scenario that might present some challenges. I would think for example as you mention some of the dual cab presets might not translate as well to a no cab/IR setting depending on your rig but you could just select presets that didn't have dual cabs or provide two physical amps/cabs of your own to mimic the previously digital combination. As you say, implementing this might not be as straightforward or simple as it might first appear but it would be a welcome feature I suspect for a number of players and preferable in some scenarios to the current solution of maintaining multiple duplicate setlists for different setups.

[Kirill7]

On 6/2/2021 at 9:14 PM, phil_m said:

Well, the issue is there isn’t anything like a simple “cab section”. There are cab blocks, dual cab blocks, and then there are amp/cab blocks that contain cab modeling. And you can have multiple cab blocks in a preset, so you very quickly run into all sorts of complexities when you start trying to disable them globally somehow. Then beyond that, there’s also the IR blocks, which replace cab blocks, and it wouldn’t be unheard of for people to use the cab blocks in some presets and IRs for others...

 

Basically, Line 6 decided to offer more flexibility as far as the signal chain goes in individual presets versus having a lot of global functions that affect every preset.

I agree that this approach gives a lot of flexibility, but provided that you are 100% sure what will be on stage, otherwise you will have to work on editing on the fly, if there are not many presets, this is not very difficult, and if there are many presets with a complex chain, then this is possible it will be hard.
Today I will try the split chain work for rehearsals.
I think it would be ideal to have such settings:

1. CAB enable for 1/4

2. CAB enable for XLR

3. CAB enable for both

4. CAB bypass for 1/4

5. CAB bypass for XLR

6. CAB bypass for both

 

And same settings for IR.

And I think that in the GLOBAL SETTINGS this function worked like a BYPASS button, it just turns it off, but does not change anything in the preset settings.

 

 

A little more about global settings, I have an old BOSS GT-6 processor, so it has a very interesting global reverb level setting, it seems to be responsible for the global mix of the reverb effect, this is very convenient when there are different room sizes, and you can make adjustments. I understand that in a situation where there are many reverb blocks, this is all very difficult, but sometimes very useful.

[shawnt113]

Diezel Herbert at least channel 3

[Namaqua]

GLOBAL SETTING to disable Amps & Cabs / IR's so the effects can be used in a Guitar amp set up.

Ideal for some fly out gigs where you have to plug into an existing stage amp. FLYAMP mode, there I've even given it a name LOL

[katesmith1304]

On 6/5/2021 at 11:36 PM, shawnt113 said:

Diezel Herbert at least channel 3 Spicemoney paymanager tumangaonline

This could be happening.

[hideout]

My latest submission - Oil Can Delay

[GraceToo]

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/KORG-SDD-3000-PREAMP/902180-23508

 

This one ain't mine, but I agree whole-heartedly. Come on, Line 6, you gave us the Echoplex EP-3's preamp in the form of Kinky Boost... please give us the SDD 3000 too! You can call it Edgy Boost. :)

[palladinojt]

Would love to be able to save and recall multiple Global EQ profiles/presets.

[markanders]

There are so many pages here that this may have been suggested, but I would like to have sort of a scratch pad in HX Edit where, while editing, you could drag blocks to save them while comparing. There are so many Amps/Cabs/Effects/etc, that after tweaking, if you want to try something different and compare, you lose all of your work. It would be nice if you could drag a version of a block to a temporary library so that you could recall it if you want to get back to it.

 

An alternative/addition/easier to use feature would be to maintain the changes to a particular block type (like Amp) so that if you change the parameters of the one amp type, then change it for another, when you switch back it maintains your settings. It's not back to defaults.

 

This would be an HX Edit only feature.

[pipelineaudio1]

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/On-off-option-for-wah-auto-engage-to-fix-snapshot-bug/1026321-23508

 

On/off option for wah auto engage to fix snapshot bug

It is very hard for me to put this title into short but catchy words so if anyone has a better title, let me know and I'll edit it.

The problem: Using an expression pedal to "auto bypass" say a wah results in a bypass toggle rather than actually specifying bypassed or enabled.

 

This causes the wah to often be in the wrong state and turn off when it should turn on in snapshot situations, as documented in many threads such as: https://line6.com/support/topic/47968-auto-engage-and-snapshots/

From page 50 in the Helix manual "For example, moving EXP 1 forward past the heel down position can enable a Wah or Poly Wham block, and returning EXP 1 to the heel position will bypass it again"

This is not actually true. When using this method, the Position parameter actually determines the toggle point. Whatever state the wah is currently in, going past Position will toggle it.

Example problem case:

1. Lets say you have enabled your wah and the wah is on and everything is working fine. 
2. You are done with your wah movements and lift your foot off with the pedal halfway thru its travel, but above the Postion value 
3. You now switch to a new snapshot where you specify the wah being bypassed. 
4. The wah is in fact bypassed and all is fine, until;
5. You decide you need the wah on so you move it forward. Since it has not crossed Position, it stays bypassed
6. Well, OK, you just rock it back to heel down passing thru Position
7. Oops! Now the Wah is ON on heel down, but moving it back towards toe down bypasses the wah once you pass Position

Suggested (but not really working) workarounds:

1. Put the expression pedal in per preset mode. Same problem, the bypassed/enabled state can still flip the wrong way (and can happen in presets as well as snapshots!)
2. Put the expression pedal in global mode (snapshots will no longer bypass the wah, though you could set the mix to 0% for snapshots where you KNOW you'll never want a wah)

What DOES work (with caveats, and silly to need to do) which hopefully Line6 can implement in the EXP Bypass method:

According to the manual on page 51 "Incoming CC values 0-63 turn the block off; values 64-127 turn the block on"

Unlike auto-engage with the EXP pedals, this is not a toggle. So as silly as this sounds, plugging the MIDI out of the Helix back into the MIDI in of the helix can work far more closely to the intended behavior!

The video at this link shows proof that MIDI controls the bypass state as claimed: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vr4ihix5usjy0zc/2021-07-25%2012-07-12.mp4?dl=0

I was wrong about the stretching, so ignore it when I say that in the video, as I learned a bit later.

This next video shows the wah working with wherever you set the MIDI value so you can pretty well emulate the Position parameter that you attempted to use with the EXP pedal: https://www.dropbox.com/s/750xhpkcifzcd19/2021-07-25%2012-25-58.mp4?dl=0

Desired Behavior:

1. Have at least the option to change the EXP pedal bypass method to On/OFF rather than toggle, like MIDI control of bypass can do. ( I can see use cases where toggle would be the desirable behavior, so it would nice to chose)
2. Still able to have the wait time as it is now
3. An option to turn the wah on by moving it even if it is currently past the Position value, and of course turn if back off once it goes under
4. Be sure that this works as predicted with snapshots, especially if that snapshot is meant to start with the wah bypassed

Of course all this applies to other FX such as the whammy and others that would be nice to auto engage

[acousticglue]

Lo-Fi reverb and like others have said more reverb options

[shawnt113]

On 1/11/2018 at 7:09 AM, neuk01642 said:

Was thinking the other day some side chain filtering options on the compressors would be awesome.

 

A true clean boost and out and out treble boost in the distortion section.

 

Some Diezel-esque amp models (VH4, Herbert) and some Friedman Esque (BE100, Dirty Shirly, Buxom Betty, JJ).

+1,000 on the Herbert

[Lantheria]

I'd really like a way of preventing snapshots from affecting parameters that are assigned to controllers. Like turning off snapshot bypass, but at the parameter level.

 

My use case is a little out there, but here goes: I have song-based presets that I've set up to be used in either 4CM or direct (long story, but I just like having options and it was a fun exercise to figure out). The heart of it is a footswitch labelled "Direct" that turns off the FX loop—where my amp is—and turns on the amp/IR blocks at the same time. These blocks have snapshot bypass turned off, so if I'm at a gig where I can't use my amp, I just save my preset with the Direct switch turned on ahead of time and I can use the one set of verse/chorus/etc. snapshots either way.

 

What I also want to do is use this switch to change the levels of the two output blocks, i.e. when the 1/4" going to the amp is at 0dB, the XLR going to the PA is at -120dB and vice versa. I also want it to collapse stereo effects to mono when using 4CM, e.g. turning spread down to 0. The problem is now that those parameters are assigned to the switch, the snapshots now consider them legitimate targets. If I hit the direct switch on my preset prepped for 4CM, the 1/4" output correctly mutes, but when I hit the next snapshot in the song, it reverts.

 

I'm working around it by using two sets of effects and gain blocks at the end of the two chains, but ideally I need the option to divorce those parameters from the snapshots entirely.

 

Also, I would kill to get the Hot Cake in my Helix.

 

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Prevent-snapshots-from-changing-parameters-when-already-assigned/1029386-23508

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Crowther-Audio-Hot-Cake/1029387-23508

[hideout]

I just posted this idea.  Please upvote.

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Electro-Harmonix-Knockout-Attack-EQ/1029823-23508?submitted=1

[Schmalle]

Proposal: MIDI-CC "On/Off by value" option

 

Currently MIDI control change (CC) messages 49 to 58 are implemented to "Emulate Stomp footswitch mode" by toggling the footswitch (FS) irrespective of the message value.

An "On/Off by value" option should be added: a CC message value of zero would turn the FS off, a non-zero value would turn it on.

This enables:

• multiple CC-Messages can switch multiple functions reliably
• the On-state and the Off-state can be split in to different MIDI-controller buttons
• the MIDI-controller state indicator (LED) reliably shows the Helix FS state (if CCs are also sent after each PC)

Vote:
Ideascale: Footswitches via MIDI Control Change: On-Off by value option

[chechunka]

Posting this again because it's still the only thing I miss on the HELIX, and I miss it a lot. 

 

I would LOVE to see you replicate the Stutter effect that Eventide has available in the H9. It's a preset within their UltraTap algorithm. Super inspiring and the only effect I miss since switching to the HELIX. They're since released a dedicated pedal to this effect called the UltraTap.  

 

https://www.eventideaudio.com/pedals/ultratap/

 

 

[shawnt113]

I am too lazy to watch the whole thing, what time in the video does it happen?

[ChaserHUN]

Do Line 6 read this? I tried to post my ideas on the Line 6  ideascale, but says moderator didn't validate my receipt, but it was. 

So my ideas: 

- Aguilar Agro, preferably the rackmount unit, with and extra blend/mix function. I think it would make a lot of bass players really happy :) 

- EVH 5150 III EL34 version
- Rivera KR100 or KR7 for all us Slipknot fans :)