dadonaldd Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I have some effect blocks set up so that they are toggled by the toe switch of the expression pedal. The problem is that SOMETIMES (not always) when I engage the effects blocks using the toe switch, *SURPRISE!* the volume cuts to ZERO. Please note that this is an intermittent problem that happens about 10% of the time - if it happened every time, I'd know that the error is in the way I have something set. However, since it does not happen every time, I am wondering if it's a glitch that there's a workaround for, or if my Helix is defective. It was happening with version 3.11 firmware, and it's still happening with version 3.15 firmware. Any advice is appreciated - thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Trying to explore things that would not be hardware or firmware related, but a setup problem….. Is this 10% occurrence within the same preset or are you switching presets? Is it possible that a Vol/Gain block in the preset is set to Min in the toe position? As a workaround, can you assign a footswitch rather than the pedal toe switch to turn the FX on/off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 Do you have the effect turned on or off in specific snapshots? If so, that could be the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadonaldd Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 On 2/17/2022 at 6:30 PM, silverhead said: "Is this 10% occurrence within the same preset or are you switching presets? - both, but never consistently. For example, I have one preset for Kansas' "Carry on Wayward Son" and I kick the harmonizer in for the short seven-note harmony that happens before the first verse singing starts. About 1 time in 10 or 15 times, I'll hit the Toe Switch, and everything goes silent. I absolutely cannot have that happening during gigs. Is it possible that a Vol/Gain block in the preset is set to Min in the toe position? - That was what I suspected, so I checked, and the volume is at 100%. I am probably going to make a video and submit it to Line 6 as a ticket. The lack of consistency with this problem concerns me. If it was happening every time, I'd suspect user (me) error. Something else that is possibly related, but I am not sure: About 25 of my presets have all changed the input model to Sitar. I have all my patches set to specific instruments, and this just happened. A couple more switched today, while I was at rehearsal. WEIRD! As a workaround, can you assign a footswitch rather than the pedal toe switch to turn the FX on/off? I suppose that I could, but I shouldn't have to on a unit I just spent $1,500 on two months ago. This thing should be rock solid for years. I used a very complex MIDI setup that I designed and built in a situation where we played hundreds of shows a year, for over 20 years, with nothing going wrong except one footswitch that failed. This was a rig that wasn't Line 6. Anyway, thank you very much for the help - any ideas are appreciated. I am really starting to suspect there's something wrong with the Helix, though, as the problems are getting stranger, and more frequent. I suppose that happens every now and then. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadonaldd Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 On 2/17/2022 at 7:58 PM, theElevators said: Do you have the effect turned on or off in specific snapshots? If so, that could be the issue. I am not using snapshots - just one per preset currently, so this wouldn't be likely to be the problem. But thank you for the idea, all are appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadonaldd Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 OK, I finally know what caused this. We all know that when you hit the toe switch, the onboard expression pedal changes from "EXP1" to "EXP2" and vice versa - unless you are using a separate expression pedal plugged into the EXP2 jack. Let's assume that I am using two volume blocks on every patch - one, assigned to EXP1, and the other assigned to EXP2, so that I have volume pedal control regardless of which patch I am on, and regardless of the toe switch setting. We all also know that you should set the pedal to be global if you want to retain the setting associated with the pedal position across various patches. Now, if I was using a patch where I switched from EXP2 to EXP1, and faded the volume to zero, and THEN switched to a patch where EXP2 was the default assignment to the expression pedal, all is well. HOWEVER, if I use the toe switch NOW to toggle to EXP1 (which you may recall, I had just faded to zero volume with EXP1), well, guess what? Since it's set to Global, it is still set to zero. So, since there's no menu setting to say "Stay on EXP2 (or EXP1) regardless of the toe switch toggle state, I created a shorted plug to plug into the EXP2 jack. Now, the toe switch doesn't change - it stays on EXP1, and I now only need one volume block per patch, and it can now be ALWAYS set to EXP1. I came to that solution by a lot of trial and error, and with more than a little help from other posters in this forum - so, thanks for the help, gang. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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