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"Host Sync" doesn't control modulation LFO start


OmniFace
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I'm writing a song that uses a square or saw tooth tremelo effect synced to the beat with a 100% intensity for the primary rhythm element.  I've found that though you can sync the tempo to the track, you can't control the start of the tremelo cycle with the DAW to sync it up with other elements.  This means that each time you start the track, the phase of the cycle may not be what you expect.

That makes it very difficult to sync up properly...

 

For example, I've set up a sine wave generator, then an instance of Helix Native with a single Modulation > Mono > Tremelo:

 

129582362_OutofSyncTremSettings.thumb.PNG.da5fe841fff88977891b1cb6d80d933f.PNG

 

I've then set up my DAW to enable the effect at a particular spot in the "song" so that the effect would theoretically start the cycle the same each time.  Then, I rendered the same section of song 3 times and added them to the project.

 

130787051_OutofSyncTrem.thumb.PNG.75fa2feb5faf2bb77270cb581e1a4e7e.PNG

 

As you can see, the first bar is the solid block sine wave, and then the tremelo effect is kicked on.  You'll notice that the phase of each cycle is quite different, even though they all are turned on at the exact same time.  (Three may have been me accidentally leaving one unmuted before the next render)

 

Next, I attempted to bypass the Helix plugin entirely, rather than just the tremelo effect block.  The same behavior is exhibited.  The start time of the cycle is entirely unpredictable, and appears to simply be running non-stop after you load the plugin into memory or something.

 

69723147_OutofSyncTremBypass.thumb.PNG.5d3f878b18c2b950ceb127f8ac1aa04a.PNG

 

As suspected, this is true for other Modulation effects as well.  Here's the same test using a whole not with the Script Mod Phase effect:

 

87703795_OutofSyncModBypass.thumb.PNG.6d7126d3096d4c49fd38dbd8cdbb260f.PNG

 

Helix Native needs to honor the Host Sync's start event (assuming that actually exists) to reset it's LFO for Modulation effects.  Otherwise, results are unpredictable and potentially unusable during rendering.  :(

 

I haven't tested the Helix Floor pedal to see if the bypass/enable of a trem effect resets the LFO, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had the same basic problem...

 

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Yes, having the same issue on HX Stomp. It seems we have to just give up and use tremolo effects from other devices like BOSS GT-100, which syncs perfectly with tempo. Having a tremolo like this in Helix products is a completely useless thing. Don't really know whats the point to have Patterns Tremolo and Bleat Chop Trem in general if you can't sync it to the song. Great job, Line6!

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FYI, the firmware V3 notes this bug fix: "When synced to external MIDI clock or retriggering via TAP, certain models with tremolo circuits' LFO set to square wave would invert the waveform–FIXED"


This does not affect this particular issue.  Re-rendering a sine wave with the tremelo on it still has a different time offsets.
 

image.png.02abbd1b9eba93119b77910343184e99.png

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On 3/13/2021 at 4:12 PM, jskourletos said:

Hi team, 

 

Has this been looked at or fixed by L6 devs?

 

Or has anyone found a usable workaround?

 

I'm sending midi clock from an Ableton session to HX Stomp and need the Trem tempo & cycle to sync perfectly with the session playback... 

 

I vaguely remember testing it, but I heard hitting the tap tempo button may start the cycle over.  So you can possibly get them synced manually. Not ideal obviously.

 

Sending a Program Change message to select a patch might also reset the cycle?

 

 

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Can someone of the line 6 staff please explain why they are not interested in fixing the LFO start bug? Is it too complicated? Too few complaints about this? I understand that introducing new effects or amps is more fun for the Line6 marketing. But wouldn't it be worth to make all modulation effects much more usable again with fixing a singe bug?!?

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On 8/6/2023 at 11:49 AM, p8guitar said:

Can someone of the line 6 staff please explain why they are not interested in fixing the LFO start bug? Is it too complicated? Too few complaints about this? I understand that introducing new effects or amps is more fun for the Line6 marketing. But wouldn't it be worth to make all modulation effects much more usable again with fixing a singe bug?!?

 

Hi,

 

Firstly:

 

There are no Line 6 staff here and only very occasionally do they visit these forums - (See the “sticky comment” in the black banner stripe at the top of this page entitled “Welcome to the Line 6 forums”).

 

This link is where you need to go to have any hope of it been seen by anyone from Line 6:

 

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/index

 

Before posting any new ideas, please do a search to see if it's already been listed. Multiple requests for the same thing will thin out the votes. Also, post your ideas one at a time. Many users don’t vote for combined suggestions.

 

Then you should use the “sticky thread” in the main Helix forum to let other users know what your suggestions are, with links to IdeaScale, so they can vote on it if they wish.

 

Secondly:

If you think you have found a genuine "bug' in the firmware, the best thing to do is raise a ticket with Customer Support. They cannot fix things they do not know about, so if everyone who thinks this needs to be fixed actually raised a ticket you are more likely to get a result. There's nobody here who can solve this issue.

 

You have more chance of being able to contact a member of Line 6 management over on TGP in the Digital & Modeling Gear section. That's where they are known to hang out.


https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?forums/digital-modeling-gear.53/

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

 

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