Helix LT broken EXP pedal for the second time

[codamedia]

12 hours ago, rsvette12 said:

Plot thickens not sure how this exp change is suppose to work but I am assuming the bar is suppose to make some sort of contact with that recessed area but noticed on mine the rubber feet area bottoming out before the bar has a chance to get into the recessed area - not sure how this is suppose to work maybe someone can enlighten me of the functionality

 

If in fact the bar is suppose to contact the recessed area no wonder its not working

 

 

 

Out of curiosity, have you ever owned a Wah pedal? They work the exact same way. The rubber provides a stop point that stops the switch from accidentally engaging and needs to be deliberately "leaned into" to engage it. These are not meant to be engaged with hands, they are meant to be leaned into with body weight. 

 

If your pedal has an alignment issue that's one thing, and I'm sure Line 6 will correct that for you. But if the complaint is that the rubber is stopping the actuator from reaching the switch easily... that's the intent.

 

I have never felt like my LT requires any more pressure than a standard cry baby or vox wah. Same with my HD500 or my X3 Live before it. 

[rsvette12]

There is an alignment issue the bar is off center and not going into recessed area - glad your is working

[rsvette12]

Hi Guys:

 

The great support at Sweetwater is going to personally check out the pedal operation and send me a new helix LT overnight – best support around – highly recommend this company

[jerseyboy]

I’ve been and continue working 2qty LT’s 6 days per week since Fall 2017 with no expression pedal problems.  

 

The important note for our success is loosening the friction adjustment.  Do it right out of the box Allen wrench is provided.  My opinion is they ship with far too much friction to be rocked back & forth without stressing the design.

 

Another thing that might help is that I never use the toe switch to engage the pedal.  My setup merely changes presets to engage Wha or other expression functions.  

[codamedia]

1 hour ago, rsvette12 said:

There is an alignment issue the bar is off center and not going into recessed area - glad your is working

 

Understood... which is why I included this in my post....

 

2 hours ago, codamedia said:

If your pedal has an alignment issue that's one thing, and I'm sure Line 6 will correct that for you. 

 

 

I hope the Sweetwater solution works out for you so you can enjoy a trouble free LT. 

[Kilrahi]

This is the exact same design they used for the Firehawk 1500's FBV controller. In my opinion, it's a cheap design - the Mission Engineering pedal with a toe switch has an actual switch similar to the Helix stomp switches and it just seems like a better, but more expensive, approach.

 

With that said, the Firehawk's pedal works fine for me. It does take a bit of force to switch, but not an insane amount of force. Once you figure out how much it's pretty easy to do.

 

It's always hard reading these in forum posts because I have no way to tell if those complaining about their pedal are using the same amount of force but hating it whereas I don't care and I don't think it's a big deal, or is their's really a broken mess and it requires a stupid wrecking ball dropped on it to change. 

 

Still, that's the best feedback I can give on it. The pedal should take a nice little forward stomp (hell, you don't even have to do a real stomp as I usually keep my toe connected to the pedal the whole time) - but it's not a stomp that would break somebody's toe if they were on the receiving end either. 

[rsvette12]

Received my replacement Helix LT from Sweetwater - the exp change button action under pedal is way better 

 

I added a small black washer which was a perfect fit into the round recessed area and it switches even easier now - happy camper - I didn't expect it to be much different boy I was wrong  

 

Thanks to Peterstrat for washer idea and support from Sweetwater guys

[danmeblin]

Yup! The same thing happened to me. My first Helix LT lasted 7 months. They replaced it. Then the replacement just broke last night after 10 months. I thought they identified the defect and addressed it...apparently not. Literally the EXACT same thing happened to me...twice. The pedal becomes detached from the mounting brackets inside the unit. 

[HonestOpinion]

Good on Line6 for owning up to and taking care of customers afflicted by the units involved in the faulty manufacturing run. I can understand the frustration of anyone who has had to deal with it though. Better those things don't happen in the first place but you gotta hand it to Line6 for taking care of their customers. I've had plenty of stuff that broke in a weak spot and all too many times where the manufacturer took no responsibility.

 

I know this topic is primarily dealing with the LT but personally I have always found that although engaging the Helix's toe switch is not a big problem, it does take more force to press than I prefer or think it should require. It stands to reason that some of the extra weight/force applied to switching will get distributed to the hinged area in the middle of the pedal - Physics 101.  If that assembly is over-engineered then that may never result in a failure. If it is under-engineered or defective it is likely going to fail sooner rather than later. Even if it never breaks I would imagine the bearings and assembly are taking more of a beating over time than they would with a switch that clicked more easily. IMHO they should make the switch activation easier or better yet adjustable.

 

I had the Digitech IPB-10 pedalboard a few years ago and it had a digital parameter setting that was able to adjust how hard you needed to press the toe switch. What an elegant solution to control the expression pedal's analog physical toe switch with a digital preference. Not sure exactly how they did that although I have a theory but IMHO it is a superior solution to any other I have seen. Wish more manufacturers would adopt it.

Btw, my theory on how it worked was that it was a progressive pressure switch inside of a rubber sleeve that acted more like a potentiometer than an on/off switch. It engaged quite easily when the pedal was depressed toe-down. The rubber around the switch would provide more resistance(physical not electrical) as it was stepped on and compressed. This switch type made the switching digitally adjustable which meant you could set it to how hard you needed to stomp before it engaged.Picture the button on old refrigerators that depressed into a sleeve and shut off the fridge light as you closed its door. The digital setting on the Digitech probably selected at which point in the switch's travel the switch was engaged. Just a theory though, could turn out to be a completely different method. Never took it apart or took a good look to see how they did it but it worked perfectly.  It makes sense that this ability to reduce the force required to activate the toe-switch might prolong its life along with some of the other expression pedal parts.

[scoot13]

Absolutely have to hand it to Line 6.  They are putting a major effort into making this right.  I must commend Sweetwater for handling my returns "hassle free" too. 

 

You made some Interesting observations...  I was the original poster of this thread.  I moved onto Helix Floor after going through two LTs, each in less than a week. 

 

Following up what you said about the Helix Floor's toe switch...  I have played my Helix Floor professionally for 1 1/2 yrs now.  A few months ago, the toe button stopped working (changing from EXP1 to EXP2).  The Helix is so flexible that it was an easy work-around to assign the wah to a snapshot.  I learned that, for me, this is actually a better way to do it because you can also roll back the "input bias" on that snapshot making a more authentic wah (to my ears).

 

My Sweetwater rep called me a few weeks ago to ask how all my gear is working and I told him about the pedal.  He had a replacement floor sent to me.  I now have a new Helix Floor (that works perfectly) but I continue to use the snapshot method of activating the wah.  I can still step on the toe switch, if I want to activate it that way, but the snapshot immediately activates the wah, along with my solo delay, while turning off the volume pedal and rolling back the bias.  I would recommend everyone try it that way and save some wear and tear on the toe switch!

[SnowStormDA]

I found myself in the same situation as others in this thread when the volume pedal on my Helix LT stopped working.  The metal brace had sheared off inside where the pedal pivots.  My board was outside of the standard warranty but Line6 came through for me and got me a replacement system.  Hats off to their support team as I did not expect such excellent customer service.  This was hands-down the best product support I have ever received.  EXCELLENT JOB LINE6 SUPPORT!!!

[Mazerith]

Yup mine just broke what a lollipop off.

[Jimmy_vid]

I've same issue !!

My expression pedal has broken few days ago :(

My LT is from 2017.

I've opened a case with Line 6... and waiting feedback...