Assigning Footswitch Color to preset

[tu154team]

Is it possible to assign the footswitch color in a preset?

since they are all red, i would like to have a certain variety on the footswitches. Makes it much easier in the dark...

[HonestOpinion]

Is it possible to assign the footswitch color in a preset?

since they are all red, i would like to have a certain variety on the footswitches. Makes it much easier in the dark...

Yes you can assign a custom footswitch ring color and they are actually different colors by default depending on which block you assign to a footswitch. They are not all red. The procedure is in the manual page 33 and it starts from the Footswitch Assign page.

 

Customizing a Footswitch Color  (from the Helix manual)

1. From the Customize screen, turn Knob 5 (Switch LED) to select the desired color (or turn it off). Normally, you should leave this set to "Auto Color."

2. Press Knob 1 (Cancel) or to exit.

[Digital_Igloo]

Only stomp switches' colors can currently be customized. Preset switches are always red.

[HonestOpinion]

Only stomp switches' colors can currently be customized. Preset switches are always red.

 

Good point, that is probably what he was referring to. The wonderful world of color begins when using the Helix in "Stomp Footswitch Mode".

[tu154team]

Good point, that is probably what he was referring to. The wonderful world of color begins when using the Helix in "Stomp Footswitch Mode".

 

exactly! thank you, so now i know its not my fault :-) 

Ok- I NEED MULTIPLE COLORS WITH THE PRESETS!! and lin6 has to change or exchange this accident of a tuner, if you can call it tuner. This thing is really a catastrophy.

 

it would be nice to give these inputs directly to line6. is there a way to do that?

 

thx and best regards

[silverhead]

.......

 

it would be nice to give these inputs directly to line6. is there a way to do that?

 

...

Yes. You need to sign up to a service called Ideascale that Line 6 uses for product feature suggestions.

[Digital_Igloo]

and lin6 has to change or exchange this accident of a tuner, if you can call it tuner. This thing is really a catastrophy.

That's a pretty large vitriol to helpful suggestion ratio. What exactly is wrong with the tuner?

[tu154team]

So , i got the helix since 3 days.

And first i have to say - yes it can replace an amp without degrading sound etc.

its really a versatile device, and i like it.

 

Now, lets explain issues with the tuner.

i use some different drop tunings going down to the low B,A and G.

First, the scale of the tuner is rough, these big blocks combined with the missing sensivity make it hard to tune the guitar precisely.

I'm tuning the guitar, everything is green, and a chord sounds horribly out of tune. i have to adjust with my ear.

Playing one single string 3 or 4 times, the tuner changes its mind and suddenly explanes i am too low. Then i'm ok again and so on. Its really a mess. Had this experience with different guitars and different outputs.

 

Now i added my external KORG pitch black. and, as i expected almost ALL notes differ from the Helix tuner (both in 440hz).

So how can that be?

Its a shame that with such a display and programming it is not possible to change the resolution of the tuner and the displaying method like having a strobo or an analog needle.

My other guitarist in the band has absolutely the same problem with his helix. (we both changed complete setup to helix 3 days ago)

The tuner is useless.

 

Secondly the switching time between presets is too long.

 

And as mentioned it should be possible to asign colors to presets.

 

so i guess i have to sign up for the ideascale.

best regards

 

edit: my old POD HD tuner is great, no comparrison to the helix tuner.

[phil_m]

So , i got the helix since 3 days.

And first i have to say - yes it can replace an amp without degrading sound etc.

its really a versatile device, and i like it.

 

Now, lets explain issues with the tuner.

i use some different drop tunings going down to the low B,A and G.

First, the scale of the tuner is rough, these big blocks combined with the missing sensivity make it hard to tune the guitar precisely.

I'm tuning the guitar, everything is green, and a chord sounds horribly out of tune. i have to adjust with my ear.

Playing one single string 3 or 4 times, the tuner changes its mind and suddenly explanes i am too low. Then i'm ok again and so on. Its really a mess. Had this experience with different guitars and different outputs.

 

Now i added my external KORG pitch black. and, as i expected almost ALL notes differ from the Helix tuner (both in 440hz).

So how can that be?

Its a shame that with such a display and programming it is not possible to change the resolution of the tuner and the displaying method like having a strobo or an analog needle.

My other guitarist in the band has absolutely the same problem with his helix. (we both changed complete setup to helix 3 days ago)

The tuner is useless.

 

Secondly the switching time between presets is too long.

 

And as mentioned it should be possible to asign colors to presets.

 

so i guess i have to sign up for the ideascale.

best regards

 

edit: my old POD HD tuner is great, no comparrison to the helix tuner.

Something sounds not right here... I have had no issues with the Helix tuner either playing at home or in the context of playing live and with a band. Is your guitar volume up? Are you going directly into the Helix from your guitar (no pedals or anything in between)?

[tu154team]

Something sounds not right here... I have had no issues with the Helix tuner either playing at home or in the context of playing live and with a band. Is your guitar volume up? Are you going directly into the Helix from your guitar (no pedals or anything in between)?

 

Haha... YES, volume cranked up and YES going directly into the Helix.

Its not the first time i am using a tuner and a guitar. And my collegue has the same problem. The tuner is inaccurate and shows incorrect values. If time permits, i will post a picture with the korg tuner right next to it.

And believe me the Korg one is correct, we are working with 3 guitars and are very experienced with tuners, drop tunings, intonation and all that kind of stuff, and i really was amazed by this fail :-)

[phil_m]

Haha... YES, volume cranked up and YES going directly into the Helix.

Its not the first time i am using a tuner and a guitar. And my collegue has the same problem. The tuner is inaccurate and shows incorrect values. If time permits, i will post a picture with the korg tuner right next to it.

And believe me the Korg one is correct, we are working with 3 guitars and are very experienced with tuners, drop tunings, intonation and all that kind of stuff, and i really was amazed by this fail :-)

 

Are you sure the "offsets" parameter in the lower right hand side of the screen is set to "off"?

 

I just did a quick test with my Helix by sending a pure sine wave signal from my digital synth rig (no pitch drifting with that), and the Helix immediately goes to green for the expected note.

 

Honestly, this seems like something particular to your Helix or your setup. I've not seen any other complaints regarding the tuner in the months the Helix has been out. It's such a commonly used feature, that I'm sure if it were a widespread issue, it would have been raised before now. Not saying I don't believe you or saying you're wrong. I'm just kind of scratching my head with this one.

[HonestOpinion]

I have not had any problems with the tuner although I have not compared against another tuner for accuracy. I would imagine that to do a comparison with other tuners you would have to use at least two or three to ensure that your reference tuner is accurate. I do love the huge display! However, I do find that once I get the green bar, I can flatten or sharpen the note a bit and the tuner will still continue to show a green bar. Allowing a bit of variance is normal behavior for many tuners, or users would go crazy trying to get the green bar, particularly on guitars with tuning pegs("machines") with poor ratios. With that said, I would love to see two features on the tuner. The ability to change the parameter for the "accuracy" of the tuner so that more demanding users or recording/performance situations could decide how many cents or (micro?)cents off the tuner will tolerate for a green bar. I would also love to see strobe functionality which I find particularly useful for setting up intonation.

[phil_m]

I have not had any problems with the tuner although I have not compared against another tuner for accuracy. I do love the huge display. However, I do find that I can flatten or sharpen the note a bit when tuning and the tuner will still continue show a green bar. This is normal behavior for many tuners, or users would go crazy trying to get the green bar, particularly on guitars with tuning pegs with poor ratios. With that said, I would love to see two features on the tuner. The ability to change the parameter for the "accuracy" of the tuner so that more demanding users or recording/performance situations could decide how many cents or (micro?)cents off the tuner will tolerate for a green bar. I would also love to see strobe functionality which I find particularly useful for setting up intonation.

 

You're talking about precision, not accuracy. Precision has to do with how fine tuned your measurements can be. Accuracy in the case of a tuner means that its calibration is true - its A440 really is A440. I'd say that most digital tuners are very accurate, however the precision varies. Some may be get you within +/- 5 cents, and some may be within +/- 1 or 2 cents. I imagine, though, if you were able charts out the results, their center pitches would all hold true. It's just that range of pitches they registered as true would be smaller or larger depending on the actual precision.

 

[Digital_Igloo]

The tuner is inaccurate and shows incorrect values.

I think you might be confusing accuracy with granularity. Helix's tuner is absolutely, positively accurate, and our ridiculously expensive test equipment proves it. When only the green box is lit, your note is within +/– 1.5 cents; when both bracket arrows are lit, your note is within +/– 1 cent (1/100th of a semitone). If you'd like higher granularity, that is, additional bracket arrows that show when your note is within +/– 0.5 or even +/– 0.1 cents, you can always request this in IdeaScale.

 

Or check out the numerous articles on tuning temperaments. Perhaps Korg's tuners default to something other than equal temperament. Doesn't mean one works and the other is broken. And either way, with Helix's tuning offsets, you can create your own tuning, or even match that of Korg's.

[HonestOpinion]

... I would imagine that to do a comparison with other tuners you would have to use at least two or three to ensure that your reference tuner is accurate. I do love the huge display! However, I do find that once I get the green bar, I can flatten or sharpen the note a bit and the tuner will still continue to show a green bar. Allowing a bit of variance is normal behavior for many tuners, or users would go crazy trying to get the green bar, particularly on guitars with tuning pegs("machines") with poor ratios. With that said, I would love to see two features on the tuner. The ability to change the parameter for the "accuracy" of the tuner so that more demanding users or recording/performance situations could decide how many cents or (micro?)cents off the tuner will tolerate for a green bar. I would also love to see strobe functionality which I find particularly useful for setting up intonation.

 

I think DI addressed the point of the accuracy of the tuner with his comments about rigorous testing with high quality equipment. Great to hear and as I pointed out you would need to have multiple reference tuners of equal or greater quality and accuracy to do a proper comparison anyway.

 

 

You're talking about precision, not accuracy. Precision has to do with how fine tuned your measurements can be. Accuracy in the case of a tuner means that its calibration is true - its A440 really is A440. I'd say that most digital tuners are very accurate, however the precision varies. Some may be get you within +/- 5 cents, and some may be within +/- 1 or 2 cents. I imagine, though, if you were able charts out the results, their center pitches would all hold true. It's just that range of pitches they registered as true would be smaller or larger depending on the actual precision.

 

I think you might be confusing accuracy with granularity. Helix's tuner is absolutely, positively accurate, and our ridiculously expensive test equipment proves it. When only the green box is lit, your note is within +/– 1.5 cents; when both bracket arrows are lit, your note is within +/– 1 cent (1/100th of a semitone). If you'd like higher granularity, that is, additional bracket arrows that show when your note is within +/– 0.5 or even +/– 0.1 cents, you can always request this in IdeaScale.

 

Or check out the numerous articles on tuning temperaments. Perhaps Korg's tuners default to something other than equal temperament. Doesn't mean one works and the other is broken. And either way, with Helix's tuning offsets, you can create your own tuning, or even match that of Korg's.

Yep, I am not referring to the accuracy of the tuner which I never challenged, I am referring to "granularity". I am far from an expert on the subject so you'll have to forgive my terminology abuse. Ideascale is definitely the place to request a "granularity" parameter and strobe functionality (may already be an Idea in there for strobe). The accuracy of the Helix tuner, as DI stated is +/-1 cent when both of the brackets are lit. This is exactly the same as the stated specification for the Korg Pitchblack Pro. So the Helix appears to be operating at one of the highest industry standards. I think multiple high end tuners in perfectly working condition, or high end test equipment which is what they used would be required to dispute their claims. So far it is working great for me (requesting greater granularity might be a request too far but I would still love to see strobe for intonation :D ).

 

One additional note, it seems there is a relationship between accuracy and granularity. If the greatest accuracy you can achieve is +/-1 cent, then even if you provide the ability to adjust the granularity in microcents, you would still be outside the "margin of error" set by the +1/-1 cent accuracy spec.  At that point you would also need to provide the ability to adjust the reference tone (A440) in microcents.  A user with those kinds of demands or ears could just use extremely expensive test or tuning equipment to get the desired results. If by some snowball's chance in hell modifying the Helix's tuner to be adjustable in microcents, turns out to be a minimal effort, by all means, what the hell.

[klangmaler]

...and, to be precisely -

 

this is really off topic ;-)

[duncann]

Assuming the tuner is accurate, it would be interesting to find out if changing just the graphics of the tuner would change some people's perceptions of it. For example, having huge blocks, like it is now, might give the perception that the tuner is not as accurate as it could be, or just slightly off. Could simply putting smaller, and more, graphical bars in there change that?

[HonestOpinion]

Assuming the tuner is accurate, it would be interesting to find out if changing just the graphics of the tuner would change some people's perceptions of it. For example, having huge blocks, like it is now, might give the perception that the tuner is not as accurate as it could be, or just slightly off. Could simply putting smaller, and more, graphical bars in there change that?

 

Bingo, I think it is largely a perceptual problem. More bars would probably do a lot to change that perception. I do however love the incredibly large easy to read way they implemented the tuner. I think the ability to also show a strobe underneath the bar tuner would also help put most criticisms to rest. I still however dig the tuner, so much better than many I have used and there are other enhancements I would prefer to see first.

[HonestOpinion]

So , i got the helix since 3 days.

And first i have to say - yes it can replace an amp without degrading sound etc.

its really a versatile device, and i like it.

 

Now, lets explain issues with the tuner.

i use some different drop tunings going down to the low B,A and G.

First, the scale of the tuner is rough, these big blocks combined with the missing sensivity make it hard to tune the guitar precisely.

I'm tuning the guitar, everything is green, and a chord sounds horribly out of tune. i have to adjust with my ear.

Playing one single string 3 or 4 times, the tuner changes its mind and suddenly explanes i am too low. Then i'm ok again and so on. Its really a mess. Had this experience with different guitars and different outputs.

 

Now i added my external KORG pitch black. and, as i expected almost ALL notes differ from the Helix tuner (both in 440hz).

So how can that be?

Its a shame that with such a display and programming it is not possible to change the resolution of the tuner and the displaying method like having a strobo or an analog needle.

My other guitarist in the band has absolutely the same problem with his helix. (we both changed complete setup to helix 3 days ago)

The tuner is useless.

 

Secondly the switching time between presets is too long.

 

And as mentioned it should be possible to asign colors to presets.

 

so i guess i have to sign up for the ideascale.

best regards

 

edit: my old POD HD tuner is great, no comparrison to the helix tuner.

 

Your Helix could have a hardware issue but I just wanted you to know that I just did a test with a Roland TU-1000 stage tuner (a relatively high end tuner) in the strobe mode and it was in perfect synch with the Helix. The tuning on both tuners was exactly matched. Again, not trying to deny that your unit could have an issue but mine is dead on accurate.

[HonestOpinion]

...Helix's tuner is absolutely, positively accurate, and our ridiculously expensive test equipment proves it. When only the green box is lit, your note is within +/– 1.5 cents; when both bracket arrows are lit, your note is within +/– 1 cent (1/100th of a semitone). If you'd like higher granularity, that is, additional bracket arrows that show when your note is within +/– 0.5 or even +/– 0.1 cents, you can always request this in IdeaScale.

 

.

 

 

The highest accuracy spec I could find in tuners on the market were the Peterson tuners and their accuracy spec (0.1 cents) is exactly the same as the Helix would be if they were to add additional brackets per the suggestion DI made for entering into Ideascale. Peterson also has highly accurate software tuners for the iPhone & Android phone, but no more accurate than the potential the Helix has according to DI. The Peterson site has some interesting options for tuning if you ever want to compare or have a highly accurate second tuner. I don't think they will provide anything the Helix can't hopefully do in the future though, and I do want to stress that I already find the tuner to be top-notch. It sounds like the potential is there to make it even more accurate if they add the additional brackets, so I added the following idea to Ideascale which also requests a strobe function.

 

You can vote for it here:

http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Increase-granularity-potential-on-tuner-and-add-strobe-function/805253-23508

 

 

 

Links to the Peterson tuners site:

 

Rackmount

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StroboRack?adpos=1t1&creative=83049425281&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=COWeosKS6coCFccXHwod5HQEyA

 

Clip-On

https://www.petersontuners.com/products/stroboclip/

 

iPhone Tuner

https://www.petersontuners.com/products/istrobosoft/

 

Android Tuner

https://www.petersontuners.com/products/istrobosoft/

[tu154team]

Ok, i will now try to explain my problem more precise.

 

With all your comments, i tried it once again, and everytime i use my helix units, that spoils me- really.

Some facts:

 

- Valley Arts Strat with 3 Singlecoils, passive.

- .062 - .012 Strings, 5 days old.

- direct input from my Guitar to Helix.

- Tuner Mode is normal, no offset etc.

- Tuning: B,F#,B,F#,A,D

- Sperzel Locking Tuners

 

First, checking the tuning.

Some are green, some not. Without listening to it, i m only tuning everything to green, except the low B, which must remain -2 or -3 in Red, due to decay and fat strings etc.

Then listening to it, and taadaaa... sounds horrible. THEN i am making fine adjustments only with my ear, really very fine. The tune is not perfect, but its ok. And... the helix tuner still shows ALL GREEN!

i admit it has to do with the perception of these ugly big blocks, but either i am stupid or all other guys dont like perfect tunings.

Next i tested it with the Korg Tuner, and i inserted it into the helix send. there is a difference of 2-3 brackets. How i know the Korg Tuner is correct?

We are playing with keyboards coming from a sequencer. One of us used to have one from Boss. Also no Problem and we have 3 Guitars, everyone must be in tune, or it ends up in a mess haha :-)

My 2nd guitar player also uses now a helix. And we would both like to stay with it, its really such a cool device. But he has exactly the same problem with the tuner, thats why we continue with the ones from korg so far.

 

i dont say its only the tuner, it can be my perception for sure. I would so much like to know, if everything would be allright with a higher resolution or a different design. But for now its more like "argghhh it drives me crazy" :-D

[tu154team]

By the way...

my KORG pitchblack+ has an accuracy of +/-0.1 Cent.

That could be an explanation, especially when its going for down tunings.

[HonestOpinion]

By the way...

my KORG pitchblack+ has an accuracy of +/-0.1 Cent.

That could be an explanation, especially when its going for down tunings.

 

Yep, that model Korg's +0.1/-0.1 cents would be ten times more granular than the current implementation of the Helix tuner (+1/-1 cents). Please vote up this Idea on Ideascale if you want to see similar granularity on the Helix.

 

http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Increase-granularity-potential-on-tuner-and-add-strobe-function/805253-23508

[Digital_Igloo]

Again, this is not accuracy. It's GRANULARITY. And again, if both Helix and the Korg tuner are showing different notes, it's most likely because Korg defaults to something other than equal temperament, which is fine. +/– 1 cent isn't going to make something sound out of tune, but attempting to match two guitars referencing different temperaments will absolutely, positively sound wrong.

 

]You can create a custom tuning in Helix (page 2) that matches the Korg, if you prefer its temperament.

 

Sorry to obsess over what may appear as semantics, but I don't want a bunch of people spreading misinformation about Helix's tuner's accuracy.

 

EDIT: Double-checked with engineering. Helix's tuning engine has ~ 0.05-cent accuracy, twice that of Korg. It just doesn't have the extra bar of LEDs (Pitchblack + only) that can display sub-cent granularity. Regardless, we added the ability to automatically route Helix's audio to your favorite tuner (Tuner screen's Knob 2 [Output]) because people love their tuners. If one prefers the Korg or Peterson stuff, we designed Helix to easily incorporate them. G70's wireless receiver has this feature as well.

[phil_m]

Yep, that model Korg's +0.1/-0.1 cents would be ten times more accurate than the current implementation of the Helix tuner (+1/-1 cents). Please vote up this Idea on Ideascale if you want to see similar accuracy on the Helix.

 

http://line6.ideasca...on/805253-23508

 

Precise, not accurate... As DI already brought up - not the same thing!

 

I would honestly be surprised if any guitar or any stringed instrument can hold a tuning within .5 a cent of the target for very long. Every guitar I've played, even ones with locking tuners or trem systems just naturally drifts.

[HonestOpinion]

Yep, that model Korg's +0.1/-0.1 cents would be ten times more granular than the current implementation of the Helix tuner (+1/-1 cents). Please vote up this Idea on Ideascale if you want to see similar granularity on the Helix.

 

http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Increase-granularity-potential-on-tuner-and-add-strobe-function/805253-23508

 

 

Again, this is not accuracy. It's GRANULARITY. And again, if both Helix and the Korg tuner are showing different notes, it's most likely because Korg defaults to something other than equal temperament, which is fine. +/– 1 cent isn't going to make something sound out of tune, but attempting to match two guitars referencing different temperaments will absolutely, positively sound wrong.

 

You can create a custom tuning in Helix (page 2) that matches the Korg, if you prefer its temperament.

 

Sorry to obsess over what may appear as semantics, but I don't want a bunch of people spreading misinformation about Helix's tuner's accuracy.

 

I changed the verbiage to granularity in both my post above and the Idea in Ideascale although it still says "accuracy" in the title because if I change this it will change the link. I think the use of accuracy although incorrect has become incorrect common usage and a source of confusion because it is the verbiage in the specification that many of the tuner vendors provide. See the examples below from the Peterson and Boss page. But I agree, this is not just a semantic difference, "accuracy" and "granularity" mean different things although how close you can get to a reference tone involves the interaction of both factors. Clearly tuner vendors need to employ both specs to both educate the public and provide a more complete and truthful specification on their tuners.

 

https://www.petersontuners.com/products/stroborack/

 

http://www.bossus.com/products/tu-1000/specifications/

[HonestOpinion]

I changed the verbiage to granularity in both my post above and the Idea in Ideascale although it still says "accuracy" in the title because if I change this it will change the link. ...

 

Heck, in the interest of semantic "accuracy" I went back and changed the title to "granularity" for the Ideascale title as well and edited my posts to point to the newly titled Idea  :huh:

[texasdave]

 When only the green box is lit, your note is within +/– 1.5 cents; when both bracket arrows are lit, your note is within +/– 1 cent (1/100th of a semitone). 

 

I know I'm treading on thin ground after this discussion blew up on "that other forum," but I'm honestly just trying to figure out if this level of precision (and specifically the increased precision via the brackets) were part of a specific update that may or may not be propagated through subsequent updates.  My "green box only" is closer to 2.5c +/- and my brackets are 100% in sync with "green box only." I've tested the brackets using a sine wave sweep across the red/green threshold using what amounts to a .5 cent sweep over a 60 second period.  I can park on a frequency where the "green only" and "red green" oscillate back and forth and brackets are 100% in sync with green only.  If you'd rather not address this here I do have a support trouble ticket in the works.

 

I understand your frustrations on the topic.  I hope you can understand my frustration when my unit is not operating in the manner you describe above.  I hope you can also understand that if my situation is more widespread while your unit is operating as above, this would only fuel lack of consensus as to how "good" the tuner is.  

 

I'm also fully aware I may not have a firm answer on this prior to editor release.

 

Respectfully,

 

Texasdave

[bobthedog]

Same on mine, green box and arrows are perfect synced.

 

I can have the green box on, both arrows on and the guitar is slightly out. at least a couple of cents.

[tu154team]

Same on mine, green box and arrows are perfect synced.

 

I can have the green box on, both arrows on and the guitar is slightly out. at least a couple of cents.

 

So, is there any news on this?

many people said that 1.12 firmware has an improvement of the visual sensivity of the tuner but i couldnt find anything in the update list?!

 

and for anybody from LINE6, who didnt believe me:

 

 

this clearly shows, what i mean! i did the same with a Korg pitchblack and, while the korg was above the green, the helix was below.

seems like this problem is more representative with lower tunings.

 

please, once again: provide us a higher graphic resolution!!!!!!

[MikeKelly369]

On 2/8/2016 at 5:08 AM, phil_m said:

 

Are you sure the "offsets" parameter in the lower right hand side of the screen is set to "off"?

 

I just did a quick test with my Helix by sending a pure sine wave signal from my digital synth rig (no pitch drifting with that), and the Helix immediately goes to green for the expected note.

 

Honestly, this seems like something particular to your Helix or your setup. I've not seen any other complaints regarding the tuner in the months the Helix has been out. It's such a commonly used feature, that I'm sure if it were a widespread issue, it would have been raised before now. Not saying I don't believe you or saying you're wrong. I'm just kind of scratching my head with this one.

Tuner is terrible on mine as well. I have to use the Logic inbuilt tuner. Have been playing for 40 years and this part of the board has been really diappointing