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2.81 firmware available now


phil_m
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CLICK HERE if your Helix/HX hardware has already been updated to 2.80.0 firmware.

 

CLICK HERE if your Helix/HX hardware is running firmware 2.71.0 firmware or older. 

 

Bug Fixes in 2.81

  • The active EXP Pedal (1 or 2) was not saved with the preset
  • On Helix LT, the XLR Outputs would reset to Mic level upon power cycle
  • After loading two presets in a row containing a Looper block on Path 1B or 2B, audio could sometimes drop out
  • In rare cases, restoring a backup made on 2.71 could cause headphone audio to be lost
  • In hands-free Pedal Edit Mode, moving an expression pedal could also affect any Wah, Volume/Pan, or controller assignments
  • Changing IRs via controller or snapshot could sometimes result in an audible crossfade between IRs
  • Presets with Input > S/PDIF blocks would not pass audio until another preset with a different input block is loaded
  • When Global Settings > Preferences > Snapshot Edits is set to "Discard," tempo would not reflect this setting when set to "Per Snapshot"
  • Command Center > MMC > Record, Punch In, and Punch Out commands could not transmit correctly
  • In rare cases on Helix Floor, Helix Rack, and Helix LT, FS6 (MODE) could fail to toggle between footswitch modes
  • Adjusting certain Frequency parameters (typically those below 1kHz) could change at different increments between hardware and HX Edit 
  • In HX Edit, assigning both a block and Command Center command to the same footswitch could result in erratic behavior when attempting to change the LED color
  • Snapshot-controlled Command Center > CC Toggle or CV Toggle values could sometimes not import correctly from older presets
  • In rare cases, undoing a footswitch assignment remotely from HX Edit could result in a firmware crash
  • In HX Edit, repeatedly pressing Up/Down arrows could inadvertently jump to the bottom of the controller parameter list
  • In HX Edit, attempting to undo hardware changes after a Global Factory Reset could sometimes reload preset data from before the reset
  • In HX Edit, performing an Undo/Redo function could sometimes cause a Cab > Dual block to change to a Cab > Single block
  • In HX Edit, performing an Undo/Redo function could sometimes cause a stereo effect block to change to a mono effect block
  • In HX Edit on Windows, the Edit panel's sliders could sometimes fail to appear
  • In HX Edit on Windows, customized Command Center text could sometimes be truncated
  • On Windows, the Win Defender pop-up could block installation of Helix Native or HX Edit

 

Known Issues in 2.81

  • On Helix Rack/Control, connecting an expression pedal to Helix Control could sometimes cause the pedal position display to behave erratically
  • Pitch/Synth > 3 OSC Synth, 3 Note Generator, and 4 OSC Generator are louder than in 2.71
  • In rare cases, the Dynamics > LA Studio Comp model can sometimes cause a drop in preset volume
  • In HX Edit, applying a custom color to a Snapshot footswitch can sometimes not be reflected on the hardware. For now, apply snapshot footswitch colors from the hardware
  • In HX Edit, if the current preset has not been saved, importing a different preset, setlist, or bundle does not currently clear the Undo history
  • In rare cases, Helix/HX devices can become disconnected from HX Edit. If possible, always connect your Helix/HX device directly to the USB port closest to your computer's power connector. Never use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on the front of towers
  • Helix Native will not open in hardened runtime builds of Cubase 10.5
  • Some tempo synced effects can act authentic with the global setting set to transparent if tempo changes are controlled via snapshots.
  • In HX Edit, importing a setlist containing Command Center > Instant commands may transmit the messages even if no new preset is loaded
  • Logic Pro X is currently unable to write snapshot or switch automation data for Helix Native
  • In HX Edit, performing an undo after a block cut or clear can delete the block's footswitch and/or controller assignments
  • In HX Edit, moving an effect, amp, cab, or IR block can sometimes inadvertently reposition a Split or Merge block
  • In HX Edit, certain Output > Powercab and DT parameters cannot currently be assigned to snapshots via Alt+click/Option+click. For now, press and turn the knob on the Helix hardware
  • In HX Edit, Ctrl+click/Command+click on certain Output > Powercab and DT parameters may not reset them to default settings
  • In Helix Native, changing models can clear automation assignments of common parameters (such as Amp > Bass or Delay > Time)
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OMG! Just read the release notes. There are WHOLE SENTENCES and ENTIRE PARAGRAPHS of instructions!

All over the earth people's heads are exploding!

 

OK, who's going to be the first to BOLDLY go forth with this update?

 

All right, I'm bored. I'll volunteer.

I haven't created any significant new presets since 2.8, so I'm not even going to back up.

Turning OFF my devices. Closing all apps, especially L6 and other audio apps.

 

Here I go! Wish me luck! I'm stepping out of the capsule.....

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A couple of notes here, first off this is just like any other update. START BY MAKING BACKUPS AND THEN DOWNLOADING HX EDIT 2.81. CLOSELY FOLLOW THE UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS. As usual there is new firmware that needs to be updated as well as the new version of HX Edit so after installing HX Edit(it will install the Updater) you will want to update the firmware as well.  Except for rare occasions where you need to do an offline installation because of internet connectivity issues you DO NOT need to download the flash file, drivers, or Updater separately. These will get installed when you download and unpack "HX Edit" 2.81.  

 

For the people who have encountered installation issues going to 2.80 I think most of you will now find the install process seamless as you are already on the new CORE architecture. It was moving from the old architecture to the new in 2.80 that caused some people to panic when the update stopped midway(which to be fair Line6 had documented quite well and provided instructions on how to proceed). The update from 2.80 to 2.81 does not have that hard stop and could not have been smoother. Similar to rd2rk it took minutes to do the new update.

 

Huge shout out to Line6 for finally posting HX Edit at the top of the downloads page so it is the first thing that someone downloading the update will see!  This is how it should be positioned on the download page every time there is an upgrade that includes HX Edit. Also thank you for the  lighting fast response time on fixing critical bugs! Things are really rolling at Line6!

 

When you are finished with the upgrade your firmware should be 2.81 and your version of HX Edit should be 2.81. Make sure they match.

 

Note: There is also a new Helix Native 1.81 that corresponds to the 2.81 Helix firmware.

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Floor update complete! Total elapsed time to update two devices <30 minutes including reading release notes and nervously slurping coffee.

Everything appears to be working. 

About to update Native.

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Updated Native on both devices. All appears to be well!

Entering test portion of update. This will take a while.

If I survive, I'll report back. If you don't hear from me, it's probably because I'm having too much fun playing......

 

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4 minutes ago, mapletop said:

So it looks like both the 2.80 and 2.81 has issues why would you up grade to 2.81 if it has issues?

 

Are you talking about the "Known Issues"? I think there's always known issues. They just decide which ones are minor enough to put off for a future release and which need to be addressed immediately.

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2 hours ago, mapletop said:

So it looks like both the 2.80 and 2.81 has issues why would you up grade to 2.81 if it has issues?

 

Almost any large codebase will have issues when it is released or upgraded. If you didn't upgrade you would still be on for example the first ever release of Windows.  There is a long list of fixes in 2.81(yay!) and it is also a best practice to list known bugs. That should not necessarily stop you from upgrading unless you can't live with them. For the more prudent or for those with a gig coming up this evening you may want to wait to see what gets reported on this update. Bravo Line6!

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18 minutes ago, mapletop said:

So it looks like both the 2.80 and 2.81 has issues why would you up grade to 2.81 if it has issues?

 

IF after reading the list of FIXES, something you deem critical to your situation was fixed

AND after reading the list of known issues there's nothing that's a show stopper for you

AND you don't have a career make-it-or-break-it gig in two hours

THEN update NOW

ELSE wait for 2.82

END IF

:-)

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46 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

IF after reading the list of FIXES, something you deem critical to your situation was fixed

  AND after reading the list of known issues there's nothing that's a show stopper for you

AND you don't have a career make-it-or-break-it gig in two hours

THEN update NOW

ELSE wait for 2.82

END IF

 

Rd2rk, found a bug in your code. Looking forward to an update

 

IF  you found 2.80 and 2.81 not meet your demand

THEN revert to 2.71

OR go on vacation 

 

:-)

/Per

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Not that it really matters and I don't know if this was intentional by Line6 or not but I noticed that when you check the "About" section in Native 1.81 for the version number it says "Helix 2.80 Compatible". I would have expected this to say "Helix 2.81 Compatible".

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I'm a little disappointed that this still resides in the "known issues" category....

 

On 8/6/2019 at 12:52 PM, phil_m said:

In rare cases, the Dynamics > LA Studio Comp model can sometimes cause a drop in preset volume

 

That's the biggest concern I had with 2.8 as I use the LA Comp near the end of every preset I use... therefore I have never updated from 2.7.1

 

I don't have a break in gigs until September.... actually late September. Had this been resolved in 2.8.1 I may have rolled the dice with a few days between gigs, but if it's still hanging around I'll have to wait until I get a good week or two off before I can attempt the update.... even for testing.

 

C'est la vie! I'll still update Native and enjoy the new features there. 

 

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16 hours ago, HonestOpinion said:

Not that it really matters and I don't know if this was intentional by Line6 or not but I noticed that when you check the "About" section in Native 1.81 for the version number it says "Helix 2.80 Compatible". I would have expected this to say "Helix 2.81 Compatible".

 

Hi HO (I love doing that!)

 

Not that it really matters, as these guys must have been working away like maniacs fixing this stuff, so I will forgive them a few typos.

Example here: Not Native 2.80 - easy to screw up, but somebody will gripe about it.

 

"STEP 1b—Backing Up Helix Native

If you don't currently own Helix Native, skip this step.

  1. Open any instance of Helix Native 2.80 (NOT the new Helix Native 1.81) within your DAW and "

 

Anyhow, just done my Helix Floor and Helix Native - no problems, works a treat .

 

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I'm highly delighted to report that 2.81 has fixed what was for me, a show stopper. I posted a video on another thread clearly showing a significant delay in turning on and off 4 effects attached to one stomp switch. All 4 effects now switch on and off simultaneously. I have a hunch that this was down to some issues in processing grunt and was causing the delay in switching IRs etc in snapshots. The whole system under 2.80 was slowed down by the upgrade. Normal speed has now resumed which should effectively cure a lot of similar problems that I had experienced.

 

What I believe is also a crucial step, make a backup of your system and presets while you've got 2.7 as I definitely had to perform a global and setlist recovery for my Helix Floor to work correctly.

 

Hope this works for you guys

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19 hours ago, mapletop said:

So it looks like both the 2.80 and 2.81 has issues why would you up grade to 2.81 if it has issues?

 

Because 2.81 is supposed to have a lot less issues than 2.81. I agree the known issues list of 2.81 looks a little heftier than it should.

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Hi

I successfully updated my Helix LT to 2.81 today. Took less than 30 minutes (actually don't know as I had coffee and ice-cream outside in the sun and it was ready when I came back).

 

I made the 2.80-upgrade when it came out, also that went without any problems. And, this has been my experience from my start with Line6-products starting 1998 with the POD (upgraded to 2.0 but that was a eprom-change :-) via POD XT and a POD HD Pro. Also have a Variax 500 (2003) that I still own and use. Never had a problem except a hardware problem on my POD HD, solved quickly by Line6 and their support. Never a software or update problem, feel lucky there.

 

Thanks Line 6 for a grate work and another great update – Fullerton, Grammatico, Revv, KOT/POT and Dhyana Drive are all favorites now. So are Tilt and Shelf…   

 

Also, the hat off for everyone in this forum and at TGP who spend so much time helping to solve problems for those in trouble, with an endless patience. During all years I have been here I have seen an endless amount of knowledge pass through. An invaluable support that built my own knowledge and also proactively prevented me from running into problems, simply gave me more time to play music ... say this partly because you who put down this time should feel that there is a deep gratitude for your work. This update has been a challenge for quite a variety of reasons and makes this forum important. It also says that those who are looking for support here should not take it for granted, most show their respect/appreciation, but unfortunately there are those who either listen or show traces of gratitude for having access to this benefit... Thanks you all for helping us out when we need it.

 

Hope the message goes through correct, English is not my native language, and don’t want to start a war :-)

 

//Per

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4 hours ago, markcockerill said:

I'm highly delighted to report that 2.81 has fixed what was for me, a show stopper. I posted a video on another thread clearly showing a significant delay in turning on and off 4 effects attached to one stomp switch. All 4 effects now switch on and off simultaneously. I have a hunch that this was down to some issues in processing grunt and was causing the delay in switching IRs etc in snapshots. The whole system under 2.80 was slowed down by the upgrade. Normal speed has now resumed which should effectively cure a lot of similar problems that I had experienced.

 

What I believe is also a crucial step, make a backup of your system and presets while you've got 2.7 as I definitely had to perform a global and setlist recovery for my Helix Floor to work correctly.

 

Hope this works for you guys

this was just about the only noticeable thing for me with my presets....wasn't a show stopper either only 2 out of 90 presets utilized stomps in this way as a momentary switch....but still glad to see it was resolved. 

 

Only other issue I have is that on one specific preset I cannot get the auto engage parameters to stick regarding my wah sound.  I have it so toe down is 'off' and 97% engages the wah, it works when I save the preset, but when I got to use it again, the called up preset is correct (wah off) when I rock back past 97%, nothing happens.  When I go back up to 100% (should be off) it now turns on the wah.  Almost like its reading 97+% as the 'on' area.  Its only one preset and I've 'fixed' it several times and resaved.  Not a big deal as once the 2.80 issues were resolved I was going to redo my templates for songs anyway to help with volume issues.  You learn so much on the forums and over time with the unit that its almost easier to start from scratch than try and undo/redo things....

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1 minute ago, themetallikid said:

this was just about the only noticeable thing for me with my presets....wasn't a show stopper either only 2 out of 90 presets utilized stomps in this way as a momentary switch....but still glad to see it was resolved. 

 

Only other issue I have is that on one specific preset I cannot get the auto engage parameters to stick regarding my wah sound.  I have it so toe down is 'off' and 97% engages the wah, it works when I save the preset, but when I got to use it again, the called up preset is correct (wah off) when I rock back past 97%, nothing happens.  When I go back up to 100% (should be off) it now turns on the wah.  Almost like its reading 97+% as the 'on' area.  Its only one preset and I've 'fixed' it several times and resaved.  Not a big deal as once the 2.80 issues were resolved I was going to redo my templates for songs anyway to help with volume issues.  You learn so much on the forums and over time with the unit that its almost easier to start from scratch than try and undo/redo things....

 

I think this is because of the Wait parameter. It's really designed to work for situations where pushing the pedal forward engages the wah (or whatever effect you're controlling). In your case you're rocking the pedal back, so the Wait parameter won't work correctly. It will actually act like a delay in engaging the effects. The solution is to go into the Global Settings menu and set the polarity to Invert for the EXP you're using. Then you'll have to reverse the min and max settings under the Controller Assign tab. So instead of setting the bypass point at 97%, set it to 3%. Then that Wait parameter will work correctly.

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6 hours ago, BlueD said:

 

Because 2.81 is supposed to have a lot less issues than 2.81. I agree the known issues list of 2.81 looks a little heftier than it should.

 

Well, now I'm confused...

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9 hours ago, BlueD said:

 

Because 2.81 is supposed to have a lot less issues than 2.81. I agree the known issues list of 2.81 looks a little heftier than it should.

 

Personally I don't want to in any way discourage an honest accounting of known issues. Helps to get them addressed and prevents users from updating when they shouldn't as well as wasting their time troubleshooting known issues.

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On 8/7/2019 at 6:56 PM, HonestOpinion said:

 

Personally I don't want to in any way discourage an honest accounting of known issues. Helps to get them addressed and prevents users from updating when they shouldn't as well as wasting their time troubleshooting known issues.

 

I promise this is the last time I ever bother writing on this forum, but damn it, it's impossible to write a single thing without being interpreted in the least probable / reasonable way, it's lollipoping extenuating.

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1 hour ago, BlueD said:

 

I promise this is the last time I ever bother writing on this forum, but damn it, it's impossible to write a single thing without being interpreted in the least probable / reasonable way, it's lollipoping extenuating.

 

No offense intended and quite reasonable IMHO.

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My update from 2.80 to 2.81 was quick and trouble-free.  One thing I'm noticing was probably there in the past but on one Helix patch when I went to another snapshot, the Variax volume went to zero even though the knob on the JTV 59 was set to 10.   In the patch variax volume was set to change with snapshots ( bracketed ) and set to 10.   Rotating the volume knob brought the sound back.

If nobody else is seeing this then it's probably a patch I brought in from a non-variax setlist and it needs to be massaged.

 

HelixVariax.jpg

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I "think" this may have been a byproduct of purchasing a patch that used stomp pedal mode and had amp drive assigned to a footswitch. Since I always operate in snapshot mode, I guess the amp drive was going to zero since I couldn't really see anything wrong with the variax settings. I did set the variax volume knob to snapshot based at 10 though, rather that leaving it alone. So I had to do that for each snapshot I planned to use.

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The only problem I had is that my global setting for XLR output changed from mic level to line level.   This presented itself as a huge volume boost.  Upon checking the global settings I saw what had happened and switched it back.   Helix LT.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Probelm with EXT AMP and Powerball II in 2.81.

With 2.80 if I press the switch in this sequence I have all perfect:

If I press the switch where I have tip -> channel 2 then if I press the switch where I have sleeve -> channel 3 and then if I press the switch where I have tip&sleeve -> channel 4

 

In 2.81 If I press switch with tip -> channel 2, if I press switch with sleeve -> channel 4 instead of 3. For me it's a big problem. Rolled back to 2.80 but I hate the EXP pedal issue.

Damn.

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