Effects loop trails/spillover when switching presets?

[tobitill]

Hi everyone,

 

I am considering purchasing a Helix Floor/Helix LT to replace most of my current rig.

At the moment I'm running 3 multi-effects units in parallel.

 

If I were to place a delay, looper, or multi-effects unit in one of the effects-loops,

is there an option to have spillover , so that the trails/loop get carried over when switching to a new preset?

 

I am aware of how snapshots work, but I am asking specifically about preset switching.

I know the trails of the built in delays cannot be carried over,

the internal looper can keep playing if placed in the same path.

 

Edited to add:

Apparently there is spillover in this case (thank you for your answer, kylotan).

Does anyone know if the spillover of the trails of the external device will be seamless or if it will be affected by the momentary silence caused by preset switching?

 

 

My apologies if this question has been answered before.

 

Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge.

 

Regards,

Tobias

[kylotan]

The external device certainly won't know to stop producing output when you change preset, so providing there is some way to accept input from that device on the 2nd preset (just like you would have had on the 1st preset) then there will be spillover.

 

If you think about it, it's exactly the same as when you play a note on the guitar and change preset - the input keeps coming, so the note 'spills over'. In your case the 'instrument' is actually an external delay or looper or whatever, and it's coming in a return rather than the usual guitar input, but it will continue to generate its output regardless of the state of the Helix.

[tobitill]

Hi Kylotan,

 

Thank you very much for your reply.

That is good news.

Do you also happen to know if the short gap (momentary interruption in sound) that occurs when switching presets

will also occur in the signal sent from the external device to the effects return of the Helix?

 

Regards,

Tobias

[silverhead]

The external device certainly won't know to stop producing output when you change preset, so providing there is some way to accept input from that device on the 2nd preset (just like you would have had on the 1st preset) then there will be spillover.

 

If you think about it, it's exactly the same as when you play a note on the guitar and change preset - the input keeps coming, so the note 'spills over'. In your case the 'instrument' is actually an external delay or looper or whatever, and it's coming in a return rather than the usual guitar input, but it will continue to generate its output regardless of the state of the Helix.

You're correct about the external pedal continuing to send its output to Helix. However it's not clear that Helix is able to continue receiving it. It depends on the assignment of the FX Loop in the new preset and how Helix handles that Return input signal.

 

Clearly if the new preset does not contain an FX Loop whose Return is assigned to the same physical jack as the first preset then there can be no spillover because the new preset will not receive the signal from the external pedal. But even if the two presets are designed similarly there is no guarantee that Helix will continue to recognize that Return signal during the preset change operation. We know, as tobitill says, that there is a brief Input signal interruption from the regular inputs (Guitar, Variax, etc...) during the transition; presumably that will apply to the Return input as well. And once the signal is interrupted will it resume after the preset is fully loaded? I presume so but only an actual test of this will be conclusive. I have not done such a test. Perhaps someone has/could and will report back here?

[kylotan]

You're correct about the external pedal continuing to send its output to Helix. However it's not clear that Helix is able to continue receiving it. It depends on the assignment of the FX Loop in the new preset and how Helix handles that Return input signal.

 

Yes, the implication was that there would be an equivalent block in the new preset, of course.

 

I don't know about the gap between presets but I suspect that it will still be present because the new preset is being set up during that period - no audio from any source is being processed, or can be processed, as I understand it. The block to receive the input wouldn't have been loaded yet, nor would the routing for that block or anything around it. So I don't think it's possible for this to be seamless. For seamless switching, that's where snapshots come in.

 

Alternatively a reverb and/or delay patched in after the Helix might do a decent enough job of hiding the preset switchover.

[silverhead]

One other observation - the Looper in Helix is able to playback a recording seamlessly between preset changes but I expect that's because it does not need to overwrite the memory space in which the recorded loop resides. Different when you're loading an FX Loop block in a preset change.

[jbuhajla]

If I am not mistaken, all audio stops during the preset switching process, no matter if you have the same block in the subsequent preset. For "true" spillover, an external effect downstream of Helix would have to be utilized. But even then, it would have to be at 100% mix with zero % dry going through because there would be a gap in the dry. 

[CraigGT]

So I just did a quick test with a reverb in a loop and there is a short glitch when the patch changes but the reverb carries on after that.

 

Is that what you wanted to know?

 

Craig

[tobitill]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for all the information.

 

Craig,

 

yes, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

Thanks for testing.

 

I'll see what I can come up with as a new rig,

it's a pity that the spillover isn't seamless, but I expected that.

 

Regards,

Tobias

[tobitill]

Hi everyone,

 

I just wanted to add this:

I'm not posting on this forum (Unless I have questions. I've been using the M9 for years, but there are so many other people far more knowledgeable than me on that subject)

or The Gear Page,

but I'd just like to thank Frank Richotte, Digital Igloo,

and all the Line 6 expert  members ( Phil M comes to mind, silverhead in this thread)

for sharing their knowledge.

 

Cheers,

Tobias