HX Effects: Calibrate expression pedal?

[Jasonbrianmerrill]

right now, it's only detecting 59 percent of the toe position. I have changed the knob on the side of the pedal to no avail. Polarity switch is correctly positioned.

 

Is there a way to tell HX what is my pedal's 100 percent and what's its 0 percent? I thought the pod hd500x did this? 

[datacommando]

1 hour ago, Jasonbrianmerrill said:

right now, it's only detecting 59 percent of the toe position. I have changed the knob on the side of the pedal to no avail. Polarity switch is correctly positioned.

 

Is there a way to tell HX what is my pedal's 100 percent and what's its 0 percent? I thought the pod hd500x did this? 

 

Well, hello again Jason,

 

It would be a help to know what expression pedal you're trying to calibrate?
You say that you have "changed the knob on the side of the pedal to no avail".
Sadly we don't know what that knob is or what it's purpose is, your comment is a little vague.

NOTE: Not all brands of expression pedals are compatible with your HX FX, you must use one that is wired Tip/Sleeve NOT Tip/Ring/Sleeve.

Many users are having difficulties with amp/channel switching for similar reasons.

 

Well, waddayano? - Jason, IIRC you were having trouble yesterday, with that very thing! You don't appear to be having much success with this.

 

Line 6 say that they tested lots of stuff for compatibility, but obviously cannot test everything on the market.

 

This is a basic setup for an expression pedal.

 

 

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Jasonbrianmerrill]

thanks for that! I am looking specifically, for something that can calibrate my pedal. I have already set it up, as I mention, it just doesn't see the entire range of the pedal. The knob on the side adjusts the range of the pedal, but nothing I seem to do can get the entire range to show in the HX. 

 

Let me just make it perfectly clear: I love the HX! 

[datacommando]

2 hours ago, Jasonbrianmerrill said:

thanks for that! I am looking specifically, for something that can calibrate my pedal. I have already set it up, as I mention, it just doesn't see the entire range of the pedal. The knob on the side adjusts the range of the pedal, but nothing I seem to do can get the entire range to show in the HX. 

 

Let me just make it perfectly clear: I love the HX! 

 

Believe me, I really do understand your enthusiasm for the HX, but I’m still no wiser as to exactly what sort of pedal you’re using.

 

As can be seen in the video above, the expression pedal doesn’t really require calibration. Patch the jack plug into the socket and sweep heel to toe and vice versa. If your pedal is not registering 100% of travel, have you considered the possibility that the issue may be with the pedal rather than the HX box.

 

Again, in the the earlier post, I noted that not all expression pedals are compatible. Now if the situation is that you are hooking up a Mission pedal, specifically designed to work with Line 6 products, and not achieving the desired result, then it may be time to raise a ticket with tech support. Although I would suggest, that if possible, you try a different and compatible pedal first.

 

Hope this makes sense.

[Jasonbrianmerrill]

De pedal works perfectly with my memory boy, so I doubt it's a problem with the pedal. I've also hooked it in to MIDI devices at the studio and it works perfectly. My question was whether or not the HX can calibrate at all. If that isn't the case, that's fine. I'll just have to buy a different expression pedal which is compatible with the HX. But that's why we ask questions, no? 

 

 

[datacommando]

58 minutes ago, Jasonbrianmerrill said:

De pedal works perfectly with my memory boy, so I doubt it's a problem with the pedal. I've also hooked it in to MIDI devices at the studio and it works perfectly. My question was whether or not the HX can calibrate at all. If that isn't the case, that's fine. I'll just have to buy a different expression pedal which is compatible with the HX. But that's why we ask questions, no? 

 

 

 

O.K. Here we go.

 

The answer to your question is no you can’t calibrate your pedal using the HX.

 

The HX Effects, as others in the Helix range, is designed to auto calibrate whatever is connected. The early versions of the Helix units could be calibrated, but that was dropped due to a lot of compatibility issues and “auto” was initiated as the way to go.

 

Without going into a whole bunch of physics stuff (but I will), in its simplest form your expression pedal is a variable resistor in a metal/plastic box. All you are doing is sweeping that potentiometer from one end to the other, typically 0 to 100%. Different manufacturers use components with different ratings, therefore it may work perfectly well with you Memory Boy, but not the HX. Much, as you have found to be the case, many early Helix users found their pedals produced unexpected results. Some had readings of around 11% in the heel position going up to 100% at just beyond mid travel and then rolling off again at the Toe end. All this is due to the pedal presenting too much, or not enough, current to the input. I imagine  the pot in your pedal is topping out a 59% of of the current that the HX expects to see.

 

Hope this makes sense.

[phil_m]

The HX calibrates the expression pedal(s) automatically when it powers up. Not all expression pedals are compatible. Line 6 uses a different wiring scheme for its pedals compared the typical TRS scheme that most manufacturers use. Line 6 pedals are designed to be used with TS cables. The main advantage of this is any normal instrument cable can be used to connect the pedal to the jack.

 

This is a typical schematic of Line 6-compatible expression pedal:

 

 

This is normal TRS expression pedal:

 

 

All that being said, some TRS pedals do seem to work OK with the Helix and HX if you use a TS cable.

 

What pedal are you using?

[datacommando]

8 hours ago, phil_m said:

 

What pedal are you using?

 

 

Hi Phil,

 

I asked that specific question in my first post, but it went unanswered. The OP did state that the pedal had a knob on the side which didn’t seem to make any difference to the situation. My guess would be he is using a Boss FV500H which has an additional volume control on the side. They are a little unusual because they can be used as a volume or expression pedal or even both at the same time.

 

IIRC, a couple of years back, a few people were having problems with those pedals. There were reports of odd percentage values being shown on the Helix, some didn’t actually start at a zero point then went up to 100% at around three quarters of the range and then went into reverse beyond that - most bizarre. This was at the time when the Helix firmware first changed to auto calibration for volume and expression pedals. Those were the days!

[Jasonbrianmerrill]

Oh, and it's an m-audio expression pedal - was at a gig and couldn't answer you, Phil.

 

Ex-p

 

Worked perfectly with the older pods and works just fine with midi controllers and the memory boy. I find it odd that calibration would be dropped as a feature, but I'm one of those reaper user guys who loves getting stuff configured just right and having options.

 

What is a cheap, suggested alternative?

 

Thanks Phil! Your posts always help 

 

[codamedia]

21 hours ago, Jasonbrianmerrill said:

De pedal works perfectly with my memory boy, so I doubt it's a problem with the pedal. 

 

Sorry to say it, but that means nothing! There are many ways to wire an expression pedal, and many ways a product is built to read it! 

 

7 hours ago, Jasonbrianmerrill said:

Oh, and it's an m-audio expression pedal -EXP

 

I use that very pedal with my HX FX. There are several revisions of that pedal, I'm not sure we will have the same one.

• Mine has a switch on the back for "M-audio" or "other"... I set mine to "M-Audio"
• The pot on the side needs to be all the way down. (When looking down at the pedal (as you would step on it), turn the top of that pot away from you until it stops)
• It doesn't work when you first turn on the unit... I need to "turn on the HX... rock the pedal, change the patch, rock the pedal"... then it works as expected for the rest of the night. If you touch the pot on the side of the pedal, you're screwed. Start over! 

 

Ultimately... the components are there in this pedal. A person can easily wire a T/S cable directly to the pot as per the L6 diagram PHIL_M posted above. This would bypass all the options of the pedal that really just get in the way. 

 

Good luck

 

[Jasonbrianmerrill]

thank you, so much! :) 

 

I'd rather not use it then - I'll sell it to a friend who has a memory man :) 

 

does anyone have a recommendation for an expression pedal for the HX effects? Something not too long. :)

[markhaworth]

Hello, I'm having a similar issue. I have 2 Boss fv-500h 's which worked perfectly with my M13, I've just bought a hx stomp XL, I get 0-100% wiith exp 1, but 0-99% with exp 2, swapped the 2 bosses over and got the same, tried a different Y cable and now get 0-100 on exp 1 and 2-100 on exp 2... a real issue if trying to control pitches