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Helix Rack "EXP TOE SWITCH"


jackwagner
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I'm a fairly new Helix Rack user (a few months)...I read the manual and did a forum search already, but didn't find an answer...

 

I don't understand how one would use the EXP TOE SWITCH input. What can be connected to that input? Is it TS, TRS?

 

A little more background...I have a Helix Rack but DO NOT have the Helix Control. I'm a bass player and have never used a wah or volume pedal. But I'm creating a preset where I would like to add a volume block and use an external switch or expression pedal to control the volume. I really just need the volume to be either 0 or 100 which I why I'm trying to understand the EXP TOE SWITCH input and determine if it's usable for what I want to do.

 

TIA,

 

--jack

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You wouldn't need to use that jack for that... You could just use an expression pedal. The expression toe switch jack is TS and momentary N/O. It's normal use would be if you want to use the expression pedal to control a wah and have the toe switch turn the wah on and off. And actually, with the Auto Engage feature that was added, it's kind of redundant feature, but it could still be used as an extra footswitch for something.

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If you like the feel of a toe switch, for wah or something like that, there’s a mission pedal with a toe switch that you can buy that connects with two jacks to Helix Rack (or Control). One TS cable for the toe switch and one for the EXP.

 

It is the only pedal you can use like that unless you make one I guess.

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You wouldn't need to use that jack for that... You could just use an expression pedal. The expression toe switch jack is TS and momentary N/O. It's normal use would be if you want to use the expression pedal to control a wah and have the toe switch turn the wah on and off. And actually, with the Auto Engage feature that was added, it's kind of redundant feature, but it could still be used as an extra footswitch for something.

 

Perfect. I have a Boss foot switch (https://www.boss.info/us/products/fs-5u_5l/) which I would prefer to use over an expression pedal. 

I image my preset would have a path, 1B, that would have all of the effects that I want and end with a volume block before it merges back into path 1A. Can I use that foot switch connected to the EXP TOE SWITCH input to control that volume block to essentially disable path 1B?

 

--jack

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I spent some time over the weekend on this...For the Volume Block, the EXP TOE SWITCH didn't even come up as an optional controller. I'm not sure if that's normal, but my foot switch isn't going to work for that. Instead I tried a Roland EV-5 expression pedal. That didn't work well either. It would control the volume block, but it didn't work as I expected. In the heel down position, it would result in volume 0 as expected. As I progressed to toe down, the volume would go up to about 50, then go down to about 9 and stay there at toe down. I tried various settings (ie, polarity, EXP1, EXP2, EXP3), but nothing seemed to change.

Ultimately, I decided to buy a Helix Control, which hopefully will do everything that I need.

--jack

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I spent some time over the weekend on this...For the Volume Block, the EXP TOE SWITCH didn't even come up as an optional controller. I'm not sure if that's normal, but my foot switch isn't going to work for that. Instead I tried a Roland EV-5 expression pedal. That didn't work well either. It would control the volume block, but it didn't work as I expected. In the heel down position, it would result in volume 0 as expected. As I progressed to toe down, the volume would go up to about 50, then go down to about 9 and stay there at toe down. I tried various settings (ie, polarity, EXP1, EXP2, EXP3), but nothing seemed to change.

Ultimately, I decided to buy a Helix Control, which hopefully will do everything that I need.

--jack

 

The expression toe switch can't be used as a controller. It can only be used a bypass footswitch. So it won't show up on the Controller page; it only shows up on the Bypass Assign page. You can, however, use any of the expression pedals themselves to controll the bypass states of blocks by using the auto-engage functionality. So like I said, there's some redundancy built in with that switch because auto-engage lets you do stuff without using it. The one thing the switch does on the floor units is allow you to toggle the function of the on-board pedal between EXP1 and EXP2. On the Rack, though, you don't get that option.

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Your Helix Control device is money well spent. It will open up a world of possibilities for you.

You had a rack without control and now you got Control?

 

your life... about to change... for the better...

What he said ^^^

Couldn't agree more with the above; I couldn't even fathom the idea of my Helix Rack without Control minding the store...

 

Well, I'm a BASS player. I usually just use 1 preset for each band that I play with. I set the preset before we start and leave it. The Rack is great for this and simplifies my gear (no more pedal boards or other stuff).

 

I'm working on a new project and I want to be able to change one or 2 things dynamically. I was hoping to save some $$ and use some gear that I already had, but it makes more sense to use the Helix Control. But it's another piece of gear to lug, setup, etc.

 

The expression toe switch can't be used as a controller. It can only be used a bypass footswitch. So it won't show up on the Controller page; it only shows up on the Bypass Assign page. You can, however, use any of the expression pedals themselves to controll the bypass states of blocks by using the auto-engage functionality. So like I said, there's some redundancy built in with that switch because auto-engage lets you do stuff without using it. The one thing the switch does on the floor units is allow you to toggle the function of the on-board pedal between EXP1 and EXP2. On the Rack, though, you don't get that option.

 

Got it, thanks!

 

--jack

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