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Helix Bug Reports


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I already made some remarks on other threads about the app not being stable with OSX El Capitan. It crashes every few minutes/seconds, especially with export and import.

 

But I also found that when I try to import setlists (I was lucky once or twice when the export succeeded), often the imported presets all have the same settings (from the first preset) or are all blanco. The name of the preset is still there.

 

And, when connected to my macbook pro, Helix crashes too sometimes: just freezes, no buttons are operating, but I can still play. Or, it freezes and the main screen goes to black (with backlight on).

 

When it's not connected to my laptop, the Helix works like a charm.

 

What could cause this?

 

Helpdesk sugested: reinstall app, new firmware update, factory settings, new cables, different usb ports. Did all that.

 

Tnx for your support!

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Firmware: v1.10.0 

 

Bug: When saving preset with Pan set to 100% Left, preset recalls with Pan set to 100% Right

 

(Step by step description of how to reproduce bug)

  1. Add Stereo PAN and set to Left 100%
  2. Save preset and switch to another preset
  3. Come back to preset you saved and see that now Stereo PAN is set to Right 100%
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Not a Helix owner yet, but this was reported in this forum:

 

 

[...] I am able to assign a foot switch to my amp to control gain, vol, bass,...  But when doing this I am not sure how or if I can change the name on the scribble strip.  Currently I have a gain boost with a volume drop set to a foot switch, which gives a nice gain boost while keeping the volume close to the same and it doesn't color the tone any which is really awesome, but the scribble strip reads "multiple 2" and I was hoping to be able to rename this just like I can with any other effect that i add.  

 

Thanks for help.  

 

btw I did try to change it the way I would if changing the name of any other strip.

 

Thanks again

 

Go over to the Command Center, pick the switch for the scribble switch you want to rename and hit Customize.

 

You first have to assign an on/off function to the switch for an amp or pedal, then use the Command Center-> Customize feature to rename the script, then un-assign the on/off function. The Helix won't allow me to access the Customize feature until I assign the pedal to turn on/off an effect or amp.

 

That seems like a bug, doesn't it? You should be able to change the scribble strip name for a footswitch at any time, regardless of what it's assigned to do.

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Not a Helix owner yet, but this was reported in this forum:

 

 

 

 

 

That seems like a bug, doesn't it? You should be able to change the scribble strip name for a footswitch at any time, regardless of what it's assigned to do.

You can. You don't have to have on/off functionality assigned to footswitch to change the label. You can change the labels of ones used only as controllers, too.
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You can. You don't have to have on/off functionality assigned to footswitch to change the label. You can change the labels of ones used only as controllers, too.

So the info in this thread is wrong? How? tdub77 didn't have the problem he reported? Rocco_Crocco's version of why that happened and how to work around it is wrong?

 

Confused.

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So the info in this thread is wrong? How? tdub77 didn't have the problem he reported? Rocco_Crocco's version of why that happened and how to work around it is wrong?

 

Confused.

 

Yes, it appears there's some confusion in that thread. I'm not exactly sure what the issue is. You do have to have something assigned to a footswitch before you can apply a custom label to it. So, you'd have to make control assignments before you go into the Command Center, but you don't have to assign toggle control. I have custom labels on footswitches used as controllers in a number of my presets, and I've never had to assign on/off control for it to work.

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Yes, it appears there's some confusion in that thread. I'm not exactly sure what the issue is. You do have to have something assigned to a footswitch before you can apply a custom label to it. So, you'd have to make control assignments before you go into the Command Center, but you don't have to assign toggle control. I have custom labels on footswitches used as controllers in a number of my presets, and I've never had to assign on/off control for it to work.

Phil, maybe you could interact w them on that thread, both to help them get sorted, and to prevent the spread of misinformation?

 

(I don't have my Helix yet, so I have no experience trying any of this, just saw the thread.)

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I started this on it's own thread, but someone suggested it's some sort of bug and that I should try reporting/posting this in here - hope that's O.K ;) .
 
I’m not sure if this is a software or hardware problem but now it’s really driving me crazy.
Since acquiring my Helix at the end of November 2015, I have been using it at the heart of of my studio set up, effectively replacing my old POD HD500 and Focusrite Saffire Firewire interface recording system.
Essentially the Helix is connected via USB to my 6 month old, 3.3GHz iMac Retina 5K (with 32GB of RAM installed). From new the Helix has had every update done, up to the latest firmware v1.06.5 on the release date16th Feb and the Mac is now OS X El Capitan 10.11.14 (installed 28th March, a while after problems started). My near field powered monitors are cabled to the Helix 1/4†out sockets with gold plated jack plugs and my Variax then hooks up on the dedicated input. In addition my, very old (if it’s good enough for Brian Eno then it’s good enough for me), RolandED PC-180 MIDI keyboard controller which uses the old school DIN plug to input MIDI data to the various software synths available in GarageBand or whatever, goes to “MIDI in†on the rear of the Helix. 
I have to say that the swap over was quick and painless (i.e. no drivers etc.). 
Everything simply worked perfectly normally, as it should, until about 2 weeks back (early March) when things started to get very weird. Any audio from iTunes or via the internet seems to function normally. It’s when I playback a GarageBand/Logic X track, it will start out O.K., and then after very short while (less than a couple of minutes) the audio degrades to the point where it sounds like it is running through a bit crusher effect, spluttering and popping until it ultimately fades into silence. This then becomes a system wide problem, screwing any and all up audio coming from any other source, iTunes, YouTube etc. The only way to clear the bug is by switching back and forth to the iMac onboard audio, except on returning to your favourite DAW it happens again, and again, and again. Apart from the audio output being screwed, the MIDI has also ceased to work properly. Any pre-recorded MIDI played back O.K. until the audio channels start to go flakey. Using the PC-180 keyboard I can get soft synths to trigger intermittently on single notes in GBand, but in Logic -  not a sound, nada, zip, zilch, zero. It’s totally bizarre, because nothing has really changed - once the recording system had been set up, it was, fire and forget, nothing else required. It just worked!
O.K. To try and figure this out I wanted to go through everything in the chain. First hurdle - cannot test the Retina iMac and FocusRite because the interface is FireWire400 into the module and the Mac is Thunderbolt to FW800 crossover. ARRGH! Right! I decided to connect everything up to the old iMac, how it had been pre Helix days. So I have the Focusrite patched to the MIDI keyboard on DIN, that sends/receives audio and MIDI via FireWire and outputs audio to the monitors. Yep - that works just fine, no stuttering, soft synths respond to slow swelling chords and fast single note sequences. So, now I use Helix as the hub, in the way listed above except this time it’s the old Mac running GarageBand. Well, I think you can guess what happens - correct we are back with the spluttering, stuttering, crackling popping and fading audio and flakey MIDI.
Now don’t get me wrong but, when it comes to this hi tech MIDI sort of stuff, friends and associates usually ask me to fix it for them (hence the handle “data commandoâ€). I’ve been using computers and MIDI for over 30 years, in 1984 I owned an early Roland JX3P - the first synth with MIDI - which was hooked up to a Yamaha CX5M II MSX Computer System, and later to an Atari 1040ST (1986) running Sternberg’s Pro24 Sequencer (early version of Cubase). I still have a collection of rack mounted vintage synth/sample,FX modules e.g., Roland U110 and D110, Yamaha TX81Z and SPX90, Kawai K3M and K1M plus an AKAI S950 and XE8. Oh yeah, there is a Roland GR33, BOSS GT6, PODXT Live and a HD500 along the back wall, and a Korg digital drum machine in a box somewhere in here.
Please note: on the iMac I have done all the usual “fix it†stuff - repair permissions, reset SMC and zapped the PRAM/NVRAM.
There must be someone out here in Helix land who can maybe give me a clue has to WTF is happening - please help!
And while I’m at it - why does Line 6 and the Helix state audio sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96KHz. On the Mac only 48 can be selected - surely some mistake? See attached png.
At the moment this whole shebang is totally FUBAR!
 
To find the attached png and the continuation of the original post check here - let's hope someone from Line 6 is interested enough to follow up this!:
http://line6.com/support/topic/19463-bizarre-audio-midi-fault-its-driving-me-nuts/

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Hi - I've been keeping tabs on a few thoughts on the Editor Software:

 

1. UI / INTERFACE

  • In the Controller Assign Module, the button for "NUKE MY SETTINGS" is dangerously close to "HOME" navigation. On many screens, the visible definition between the buttons is dim. I've nuked my settings more than once by accident
    • There is no feedback or confirmation that controller assignments have, in fact, been deleted, so it often comes as a surprise after continued use
    • People hate confirmation dialogues - but for this one, it might make sense
  • As above, the small buttons to bypass a block or to delete it are very close to one another without a clear visual indication of where one ends and the other starts. Without a confirmation step, it is very easy to dete a block when trying to turn it on or off

2. Handling of Pedal Assignments / Controller Assignments

  • The device and software seem to have a different number of F/S and controller assignments that a footswitch can handle. For this reason, some bizzarre behavior was observed - particularly when using the software to edit patches created on the device (which can assign more things to a footswitch)
    • Behaviors observed include:
      • All pedal assignments and controller assignments deleted from a patch when saving
      • Seemingly random changes to all f/s assignments

3. Matchless DC30 Ch 2 - tone control not reflected in software.  The DC-30 tone control is a 5-position selector on the HELIX, however, the tone control on the editor is a 0-10 slider. Changes made in editor are not reflected on the device, and vice-versa. Hard to tell what's going on when working with that amp

 

4. F/S assignments erased when copying and pasting a patch. Not sure what operations led to this, but it happened twice. A patch was "copied" using the left panel in the software. Then pasted to a new slot When the new patch was selected, all the pedal and controller assignments were gone. I stopped trying to recreate this.

 

5. This would be RAD... when you go to the Controller Assign module, the "minimum value" defaults to "0". Of course, the vast majority of the time, users want this value to start where they currently have a given parameter set. So, now I have to memorize or write down all my setting to input them on this screen. I know this is a can of worms, but just putting it out there.

 

6. I know a lot of the controller / footswitch stuff is in the globals menu, and this is also probably a can of worms... BUT managing footswitches in more complex patches becomes difficult. The usability of the software is really held back by not allowing us to see all the different things assigned to the different footswitches. To see everything assigned to a given FS is very important. On the unit, you can tap the f/s to page through these. In the editor this is not possible. This means its virtall impossible in the software to know everything I have assigned to a footswitch and  what state each block/controller will be in, depending on the footswitch state (on/off).  Nailing this is important.

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Hi everyone. I just had my Helix arrive in the mail a few hours ago. Within the first ten minutes of it being on it froze in a "locked" position. By this, I mean that I still had a display and complete sound but I couldn't disengage that patch and go to any others without rebooting the rig. After a few times of that, I've now gotten a couple blacked out screens. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you!

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Hi everyone. I just had my Helix arrive in the mail a few hours ago. Within the first ten minutes of it being on it froze in a "locked" position. By this, I mean that I still had a display and complete sound but I couldn't disengage that patch and go to any others without rebooting the rig. After a few times of that, I've now gotten a couple blacked out screens. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you!

 

Did you install the latest firmware? That would be the first thing I'd recommend you do.

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Helix still will not connect to my Mac - OSX El Capitan.

 

"Cannot connect to device"

 

doesn't matter how many times I restart and unplug and replug any part of the process..

 

Just don't go..

 

 

I'm really wanting to update to the latest firmware and put on some IR's and presets i have waiting on my macbook.. but it's really a piece of s**t... 

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Helix still will not connect to my Mac - OSX El Capitan.

 

"Cannot connect to device"

 

doesn't matter how many times I restart and unplug and replug any part of the process..

 

Just don't go..

 

 

I'm really wanting to update to the latest firmware and put on some IR's and presets i have waiting on my macbook.. but it's really a piece of s**t... 

 

It is not a convenient or great solution but if you have access to a version of Windows software you can spin up a dual boot or even a virtual Windows instance on your Mac.

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I just received my Helix on Friday and have assembled a few patches and am playing it live for the first time today. Very pleased! The only issue I've noticed is the volume pedal becomes unresponsive after a period of time (f/w 1.10). If I change banks and come back, it works again.

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This is not a real bug but a small imperfection in the amp modellings: in the preamplifier stage, setting the "sag" to maximum, it becomes evident a compression effect with a noticeble time of attack that makes the sound result not optimal. I think it might be correct to improve your already wonderful amp. thanks for your excellent work.

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Did you install the latest firmware? That would be the first thing I'd recommend you do.

I did. It freezes almost instantly once I start trying to change any setting or engage too many effects. The screen is also going out occasionally. I mean, it freezes every minute to minute and a half of operation.

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Hi Phil

 

What was the outcome with this?

 

I've got my helix rack arriving today and I've gone from excited to crapping myself... So many bugs, so many lock ups, so many software updates.

 

Is this thing consumer ready yet??

 

I'm worried. Should I update.. Should I not update.. Everything seems to kills this product

 

 

I did. It freezes almost instantly once I start trying to change any setting or engage too many effects. The screen is also going out occasionally. I mean, it freezes every minute to minute and a half of operation.

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I did. It freezes almost instantly once I start trying to change any setting or engage too many effects. The screen is also going out occasionally. I mean, it freezes every minute to minute and a half of operation.

 

If that's the case, this sounds like something particular to your unit, as I've not seen these sorts of issues anywhere else with 1.10. I would recommend opening a support ticket: http://line6.com/support/tickets/add.htmlor contacting the retailer you bought it from to see about the possibility of an exchange.

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This is not a real bug but a small imperfection in the amp modellings: in the preamplifier stage, setting the "sag" to maximum, it becomes evident a compression effect with a noticeble time of attack that makes the sound result not optimal. I think it might be correct to improve your already wonderful amp. thanks for your excellent work.

This is noticeable in hig gain preamp...

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Hi Phil

 

What was the outcome with this?

 

I've got my helix rack arriving today and I've gone from excited to crapping myself... So many bugs, so many lock ups, so many software updates.

 

Is this thing consumer ready yet??

 

I'm worried. Should I update.. Should I not update.. Everything seems to kills this product

 

 

I did. It freezes almost instantly once I start trying to change any setting or engage too many effects. The screen is also going out occasionally. I mean, it freezes every minute to minute and a half of operation.

 

 

If you have not already, make sure to run the global reset after doing your firmware update.

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I ran the update today and lost most of my patches. The patches themselves are still there, but I lost all the effects within the patches. I assume I did something wrong. In all my previous updates I always skipped resetting the global settings, but I decided to do it right this time. I followed the instructions on the download page, but still goofed something up. Does anyone know what I might have done and if the patches are really gone?

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Is'nt it recommemdet to backup the own patches before updating? Not neccessary for the factory presets, as they come back with a reset. But if they are changed to your taste.....?

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was just dragging a few patches across to helix in the helix app and was getting the dreaded -device not connected (yes, el capitan) i hadn't saved my own presets (about 25+ of them ) as i wasn't updating any firmware etc , just importing a few patches .. well anyway ended up with an unresponsive helix with totally blank screens somehow.. (it just froze) restarting was no help and had to do factory restore losing all my patches. This really is unacceptable when just plugging into the app can basically brick your helix.. this really needs to be fixed .. the problem with mac el capitan has persisted too long!

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Yeah I backed up the patches from the previous version, but when I import them all my effects are gone. Admittedly I didn't have a chance to really mess with it because I was in a hurry to get to practice, but I followed the steps as outlined in the support page. I like to build patches per song so I had hours of tweaks that I lost. Unfortunately I only had the backups in one place. My confusion comes from the patches being good when I backed them up, but no good when I try to restore.

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was just dragging a few patches across to helix in the helix app and was getting the dreaded -device not connected (yes, el capitan) i hadn't saved my own presets (about 25+ of them ) as i wasn't updating any firmware etc , just importing a few patches .. well anyway ended up with an unresponsive helix with totally blank screens somehow.. (it just froze) restarting was no help and had to do factory restore losing all my patches. This really is unacceptable when just plugging into the app can basically brick your helix.. this really needs to be fixed .. the problem with mac el capitan has persisted too long!

 

It might be worth going through the global reset process or even completely reinstalling again and trying to restore your presets. If that does not work you may want to consider rolling back to the version of the editor and firmware you used to backup your presets.  Then back them up again,  go through the upgrade process one more time, and restore your presets. Depends on how much work you want to put in to preserve your presets. Good luck!

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was just dragging a few patches across to helix in the helix app and was getting the dreaded -device not connected (yes, el capitan) i hadn't saved my own presets (about 25+ of them ) as i wasn't updating any firmware etc , just importing a few patches .. well anyway ended up with an unresponsive helix with totally blank screens somehow.. (it just froze) restarting was no help and had to do factory restore losing all my patches. This really is unacceptable when just plugging into the app can basically brick your helix.. this really needs to be fixed .. the problem with mac el capitan has persisted too long!

 

 

I absolutely agree!!

 

Call Apple and tell them they need to fix that pile of crap.  Let us know how you make out.....

 

They are giving the Helix a VERY bad reputation.

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I found a bug in the MIDI implementation of the editor (exists in 1.11) All of my patches use the 1/4" only output block. Every patch has the Level parameter assigned to CC100 and the Pan parameter assigned to CC101 so I can control fading and overall volume from my MIDI controller. When I bring the patches up in the editor, go to Controller Assign and toggle between the two parameters, they both think they are assigned to CC101. The other parameters (Min, max) are accurate, just not the CC#.

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Should the new firmware be taking longer to load? Every time I turn the Helix on it takes a bit longer to load than before. It rebuilds my presets every time which I hadn't noticed before, but I could be wrong.

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 It rebuilds my presets every time which I hadn't noticed before, but I could be wrong.

 

It shouldn't be doing that. One of the earlier beta builds did this for me, and when I reloaded it, it went away forever. Yes, it rebuilds them all the first time, but that's it.

 

re-load the latest firmware.

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Ok thank you...I've restarted it 4 times since updating and it rebuilds each time. The 2nd and 3rd times all got hung up on a certain preset so I had toggle the power switch. I'm bummed that I lost most of my patches, but I actually like the sound of one of the patches I had to make on the fly a little better so...there's a small upside.

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I found a bug in the MIDI implementation of the editor (exists in 1.11) All of my patches use the 1/4" only output block. Every patch has the Level parameter assigned to CC100 and the Pan parameter assigned to CC101 so I can control fading and overall volume from my MIDI controller. When I bring the patches up in the editor, go to Controller Assign and toggle between the two parameters, they both think they are assigned to CC101. The other parameters (Min, max) are accurate, just not the CC#.

 

This seems to be the behavior everywhere when you try to assign CCs to multiple parameters.  I just tried to assign CC106 to mix and CC107 to decay in a reverb block and as I toggled from parameter to the other the CC stayed whatever it was last instead of what it assigned for that parameter.

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Odd Behavior -- with amp + cabs and cabs that load up with the 421 Dynamic Mic model. These are:

 

2x12 Double C12N

2x12 Mail C12Q

2x12 Silver Bell

4x12 WhoWatt

4x12 Green Back 20

 

It shows the 421 Dynamic Mic as the one that loads with these, but when switched away auditioning mic models, then come back to the 421 Dynamic it sounds very different - more treble like the other Dynamic models in that first group. If you save the preset and reload it, it sounds like it did when first loaded - identical to the 121 Ribbon MIc model. I don't particularly like the 421 Dynamic sound, and usually switch to something else, but if you would like to use it with those models, it will always load up showing the 421, but sounding like the 121 Ribbon.

 

As a test I loaded a cab not in the above list that 421 Dynamic is not normally loaded with, then changed it to the 421 Dynamic and saved. When I reloaded the patch, the normal sound of the 421 Dynamic was there, not the 121 Ribbon, so it appears to only affect the cabs in the above list or the amp+cabs that use those in the list above.

 

I don't know if this is a new bug, or if anyone else has found this.

 

I've been chunking through all the models and cabs to find my favorites and see the differences between the amps, cabs and mics, so I set up a "Test Bench" set list for experimenting with the sounds. 

 

Side note - as I was going through the list of cabs finding the ones that load with the 421, my Helix glitched on me -- everything FX, Amps, ALL blocks on the top path disappeared. I was in my "Test Bench" set list, so I loaded my normal gigging set list and everything on those top path's were gone as well. when I re-booted the Helix, the patches rebuilt, with the count-up, and came back with the top paths back in place. That's the first glitch like that in these most recent set of firmware(s) that I've had. Has anyone else noted this behavior?

 

Dave.

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Firmware: v1.10.0 

 

Bug: When saving preset with Pan set to 100% Left, preset recalls with Pan set to 100% Right

 

(Step by step description of how to reproduce bug)

  1. Add Stereo PAN and set to Left 100%
  2. Save preset and switch to another preset
  3. Come back to preset you saved and see that now Stereo PAN is set to Right 100%

Not happening here—Also on 1.10.0. Is something else special about the preset?

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