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Helix beta editor out


audionutmike
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If I had the time and programming skills, I might attempt to write an offline editor myself, but I don't. I remember someone else mentioning they might give it a shot. Can't remember who that was. It actually doesn't seem like it would be super difficult to make one. The presets are json files and all the models libraries are also json files. One thing that would be missing, I think, is exact DSP allocation.

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Overall very nice experience working with the editor - could sit upright and play the instrument while listening.

Working with sliders and clicking the blocks directly is very fast compared to knob-turning and navigating in the unit.

 

A couple of things:

 

1) The save button provided a surprise by not working the same way as in hardware - it saved immediately, without asking for confirmation, nor the place where to save, overwriting the original preset. This is potentially dangerous. How do you save to another slot anyway?

 

2) To me the "export" "import" terms seem inverted. When I'm working at a computer, I would expect "importing" the presets from Helix.

But that's down to preference I guess.

Number 2 point got me the other night.  I ended up overwriting a patch rather than backing it up!  

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Downloaded, updated, zero issues...nice!

 

The bad....same old low res user interface.....looks nice but can't read a damn thing because it is designed to specs a decade old....no resolution scaling available....so small on my screen it's unusable.....very disappointing....uninstalling.... :( :( :(

Just change screen resolution while using it and back when done. Very simple to do.

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Could someone else do a screenshot.  I think I not able to see all of the surface on my Notebook because I can't figure out how to modify any parameters..

 

attachicon.gif20160330_0105201.jpg

 

Also, when I installed the software, again I couldn't use the latest version of the updater.  I had to revert back to a previous version 1.04 of the updater to install the latest 1.10.0 firmware.

 

Any version of the updater past 1.04 thows a graphics OpenGL error and is unusable.  Not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep using the old updater to update, but it's worked for the last two most recent updates still.

Screen%20Shot%202016-03-30%20at%209.23.5

 

You probably are running on a very low resolution screen

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Great job, L6 crew!

 

USB/bluetooth support of my coffee maker would be nice...

 

Tell your bosses to give you all a huge raise, if only for all the whining you've dealt with!!!

 

So, when does the smartphone app come out??? :)))

 

I'm running Win 10, no issues, everything went just fine.

 

Thanks, this is awesome.

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Curious if someone can clarify something for me. I did the instructions as noted in the Beta instructions. (1) I saved my presets as a Bundle with the previous application etc. I did this instead of each Setlist separately ( mistake) . (2) I did the global reset with the firmware etc. (3) All my old presets were still there and I assume seem to work. (4) BUT the firmware had an instruction to separately and optionally load new factory presets  and If I do so it will wipe it clean. (5) I assume I should have no issue saving my currently installed setlists NOW with the current software etc and then reloading them? Or should I reload the bundle that I just saved before all this still?

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I would try saving and reloading my setlists now, before reloading the previous bundle. That should work successfully (the backup bundle recommendation was only a precaution). If there's no problem I would forget about the backup bundle. Note: while doing this create a new folder; do not overwrite any previously saved setlists.

 

If there is a problem then:

- reload previous bundle

- backup individual non-factory setlsits

- restart/reset Helix to restore factory setlists

- reload individual setlists

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Just change screen resolution while using it and back when done. Very simple to do.

 

 

Shouldn't have to do this and on the 4K laptop screen changing resolution just shrinks how much of the screen is visible so doesn't do you any good....

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I think I'm in love  :wub: 
This is a thing of beauty!!
As much as editing on the Helix itself is really quick, intuitive, and solid, I've always prefered computer based editors for certain things.
There's work to be done, of course, but I really, really like the direction it's going.

Thanks!

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 I'm running Axe Edit now and I've never owned one...  Use it to see how some of their patches are built.

 

How are you seeing presets in Axe Edit without a device being connected? I just downloaded the latest axe editor ( version 3.6.1) and I can't get it to load a preset without a device. Are you running a different version? I'm not questioning that you are doing it. I'm just trying to find out how you are loading presets.

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How are you seeing presets in Axe Edit without a device being connected? I just downloaded the latest axe editor ( version 3.6.1) and I can't get it to load a preset without a device. Are you running a different version? I'm not questioning that you are doing it. I'm just trying to find out how you are loading presets.

 

Don't know about currently, but a while back, more than a year ago, you could download an earlier version of axe-edit from Fractal's website. One of those earlier versions allowed an offline mode. However, it probably wouldn't work with more recent patches, if you can even find the earlier version.

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Don't know about currently, but a while back, more than a year ago, you could download an earlier version of axe-edit from Fractal's website. One of those earlier versions allowed an offline mode. However, it probably wouldn't work with more recent patches, if you can even find the earlier version.

 

That makes sense. Thanks. 

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You probably are running on a very low resolution screen

 

It's running at 1024 x 600.  It's a notebook Samsung NP150 with a 10" screen running Windows 10.  I'm only seeing the top half the app and it doesn't scroll.  

 

Does someone know what the minimum recommended resolution is?    If I have to buy a laptop to be a Helix editor I'm going with minimum I can get away with.

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It's running at 1024 x 600.  It's a notebook Samsung NP150 with a 10" screen running Windows 10.  I'm only seeing the top half the app and it doesn't scroll.  

 

Does someone know what the minimum recommended resolution is?    If I have to buy a laptop to be a Helix editor I'm going with minimum I can get away with.

 

10" screen? My iPad screen is bigger than that. 

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I loaded an older driver with oddly has a higher resolution capability.   Back in business !!!!!!   whew..   FWIW... The Editor looks great !!!

 

FWIW, while I will likely BUILD patches on the unit on the shelf it seems like the Editor will work perfect for on the fly adjustments without having to bend down to the floor.   Right off the bat I  see how seeing a long list of presets (until I get the ones I want to use close together) is awesome.  Minimal scroll and just click the one I want...  Nice.

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I kind of expected this because I remember hearing there won't be an offline mode. Disappointing nonetheless.

 

A bigger downer might be the almost complete lack of keyboard navigability. Too much depends almost solely on mouse control. Where's the use of arrow keys to change values? Right now the best way is right clicking and entering a value directly. Arrow keys would be easier and potentially quicker. Where's the use of the TAB key to change where the current focus is? The only way to scroll if an effect/amp has too many parameters is by using the mouse wheel or trying desperately to find the almost invisible scroll bar. The colors interfere with the text on certain things, like delays, making it impossible to read. White text on bright green background? Yikes. Just a little feedback for Line 6.

 

Not good initial impressions for me, as you can tell. It doesn't do a $1500 device justice at the moment. People who say editing on the device itself is easier probably weren't kidding at all. But I'm still glad to have something besides the device itself to edit with, saving both my back and Helix's buttons. So thanks Line 6.

 

Good ideas!

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Works great on my asus Zenbook with Win 7 and FHD resolution.

Even if there still are perhaps a few points to work on, for my taste it's allready way easier to use than the HD500 edit witch already was'nt bad and i was lucky to have it. For a beta, it runs really stable and the functionality is still not perfect, but still great.

 

On some parameters, it's sometimes hard to read the words cause the text color is similar to the bars behind the text. Otherwise, the grapical display of the global EQ is something i wished for a long time as i'm used it from HiFi DSPs.

 

If i could have a wish: Even if it's outdated, i would like to run it under the old windows XP as my workstation runs stable here and there are some applications i need wich won't run under 7, 8 or 10.

If i could add a second wish ;): When connected by usb with the Helix application, i cannot manipulate on the helix itself, so i have to disconnect.

Not a big deal, but as far as i remember, it was different with the HD500 and hd500edit.

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Bless you Line 6.  Thank you for the editor!

 

One minor annoyance is that on an IR block the IR's don't appear in a drop down list (like say the amp models do in an amp block), but the two sample rates are in a drop down list, 1024 & 2048. Seems backwards.  See attached.

post-1189006-0-23249300-1459373921_thumb.png

post-1189006-0-10058000-1459374190_thumb.png

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Bless you Line 6.  Thank you for the editor!

 

One minor annoyance is that on an IR block the IR's don't appear in a drop down list (like say the amp models do in an amp block), but the two sample rates are in a drop down list, 1024 & 2048. Seems backwards.  See attached.

 

Unfortunately, that's just how Helix's file system works.

 

You can, however, drag and drop an IR from the Impulses list portion of the Librarian over to the IR Select parameter.

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Unfortunately, that's just how Helix's file system works.

 

You can, however, drag and drop an IR from the Impulses list portion of the Librarian over to the IR Select parameter.

 

I would think that even if the Helix's file system works that way you would still be able to populate a dropdown list in the editor.  Can't the editor "translate" the Helix's file system into a more user friendly interface?

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Unfortunately, that's just how Helix's file system works.

 

You can, however, drag and drop an IR from the Impulses list portion of the Librarian over to the IR Select parameter.

 

Yeah, I see corresponding behavior in the Helix hardware editor too.  No worries. Not a big deal.  Thanks again to the Line 6 team for all of the hard work and quick responses to us devil's advocates ;)

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I notice that there are many places in the editor where a bar is used where a dropdown menu would probably be a better choice. This forces you to drag the bar accross to see the available options for a parameter one by one instead of a pulldown menu where all options would be visible. Would be nice to see pulldown menus used for text based parameter selections and the bars used for numeric values.  Not sure why the UI was implemented this way? It is very different from most interfaces I have encountered.

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I knows it easy to overlook, and I haven't used the editor yet myself, but please remember why its called a "beta" editor. ;)

Im pretty sure updates are forthcoming.

And a darn good beta I might add as well! Not trying to sound critical, just providing what I hope is useful feedback, that is what betas are for. Part of the beta process is to solicit impressions and ideas for improvement from end users as they are the ones who will be using the final product. Get your best suggestions in now, they won't be working on the editor forever.

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So far I have read almost nothing about crashes, frozen screens etc.

Still remember, this is a beta version - seems that you've done very good job which was worth waiting for it!

Again, please report (and if there are probs, don't forget to mention your OS etc.) -

next step is the stable editor,

and than 'the funny part' begins ;)

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Very nice job. Thank you very much for the editor, it's a nice piece of software. Have used it both on my Macbook Pro with latest OsX, Win7 and Win 10 but the nicest way to work with it is on my Surface Pro 3 with Win 10. It works excellent with the touchscreen.. :-)

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I'm running the editor on a 4K screen and it looks fine.

 

Hmmm....what resolution are you running?  I've got a 4K on my 15.7 laptop, which is what I want to use, and can't get the app resolution big enough to be able to read the text without a magnifying glass :(    I even used the screen sizing options with no luck.  It's better on my desktop as I'm running a 28" screen but even there I can't get the app to scale up like I can with Office and my browsers....normally I can get stuff to size the way I want it but not having any luck with the editor....

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I notice that there are many places in the editor where a bar is used where a dropdown menu would probably be a better choice. This forces you to drag the bar accross to see the available options for a parameter one by one instead of a pulldown menu where all options would be visible. Would be nice to see pulldown menus used for text based parameter selections and the bars used for numeric values.  Not sure why the UI was implemented this way? It is very different from most interfaces I have encountered.

Agreed! while a slider is great for linear values like volume, multiple choice is cumbersome when you can't see all the choices. An overlay across the slider indicating what and where the choices are that you could click on would be much simpler and easier. Would only require a graphic change not a program re code

/FS1/FS2/FS3/TS/EX1/EX2/EX3 etc.  Not worth slowing 2.0 for but up ther on Edit list my 2c..

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Great job Line 6 ! You have created some great products over the years, but the helix and now this editor are fantastic, my favorite of many pieces of gear that I own. Thank you for making playing guitar even more fun!

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