basic HELIX tools - ideas etc.

[luedmo]

Hello Everyone

 

New to Helix, so far so good with the sounds slowly exploring

 

Meanwhile, here are some small observations/comments about some basic tools to make Helix more useable. If it's been covered in another thread, apologies.

 

 

1. level VU/meter

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There is no way to get a visual check would to “see†if any signal is getting through at different points (e.g. maybe the lead is not working? maybe there is a patch setting in a FX which has a level switched to 0 etc.]. 

 

In live situations you need to check levels *before* you make a noise, not during the singer’s introduction/pastor’s sermon etc.. We cannot do stuff on the fly unless we mute our amps and put on headphones. Impractical.

 

We cannot "see" the amount of compression attentuation etc.. we have chosen

 

idea: level meters at different stages of the chain

 

2. tuner

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My Petersen strobo-tuner is *very* accurate, especially so for difficult and double stringed instruments which need high-level resolution. The Helix easily has the DSP resources to achieve this degree of accuracy but the current tuner is pretty basic and I never can be sure it is reading back true.

 

idea: why not implement at least ±0.1c and also give some better visual feedback?

 

3. Mono button

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We cannot check for phase issues and test the “stereo†imaging

 

idea: a MONO button on the output stage

 

4. Metronome

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I am playing free-time, it'd be nice to TAP the tempo and get a click

 

idea: a metronome so we can play along 

 

Thanks All

 

:lu

[davidb7170]

Can't help you with all of the above, but here would be a way to do the mono button, number 3. Set a gain block (choosing the mono version, not the stereo version) as the last effect before your output. Set it to 0 dB (no boost, no cut), and assign a footswitch to it. That way, when you bypass it with the footswitch, it will allow the stereo signal through, when you activate it with the footswitch, it'll be mono. No special revision to the firmware to accomplish this one.

 

Dave

[klangmaler]

I guess all of your observations / ideas are or were already part of the ideascale:

 

http://line6.ideascale.com/a/ideas/recent/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/51424

[mdmayfield]

#1 is definitely on my wish list. I would even be OK with requiring a block for a level meter - which you could "pick up" with the Action button and move around to different points in the chain.

 

I've had to actually create a path with all effects bypassed and at unity gain, route it into USB 1/2, and connect it to a DAW --- just to check my mic gain level (using the DAW's meters)! This kind of MacGuyver-esque chicanery is tiresome. Helix would be immensely more satisfying to use with a basic metering block.

[klangmaler]

#1 is definitely on my wish list. I would even be OK with requiring a block for a level meter - which you could "pick up" with the Action button and move around to different points in the chain.

 

I've had to actually create a path with all effects bypassed and at unity gain, route it into USB 1/2, and connect it to a DAW --- just to check my mic gain level (using the DAW's meters)! This kind of MacGuyver-esque chicanery is tiresome. Helix would be immensely more satisfying to use with a basic metering block.

Again: Please use the ideascale:

http://line6.ideascale.com/a/ideas/recent/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/51424

[luedmo]

oops!

newbie has moved over to the ideascale where plenty of people have already made the case (better and more usefully than me)

thanks everyone

:lu