Request Update? Selectable Stompbox vs Snapshot Mode Per Preset

[TyneGuitar]

G'day

 

Been a Helix user for live and studio applications since 2017. Great piece of kit, serves 99% of my purposes. The 1% can become difficult though as I will explain. I am a few years out of the loop with developments however, I merely update as firmware is released but don't get particularly involved in reading patchnotes, too much work to do. I usually hunt around in HX Edit for 10 minutes for new effects and that's about it.

 

Since the introduction of Snapshots the request has existed to allow us to set within the preset itself, weather it runs Snapshot or Stompbox mode. I'm wondering how far we are to completing this request since it's becoming more and more necessary and we're not getting any younger around here :p

Stompbox mode is primarily useful for 90% of the setlist. A preset per song is not acceptable as I may be playing a 3 hour club gig one night, and a 1 hour mainstage festival show the next, and the setlist will vary wildly. The other 10% of songs really need snapshots for ease tapdancing mid solo (Blow by Ed Sheeran for eg, Rythmn to Lead to Lead w/Octave to Rythmn w/Octave to Ending Chaos). Since I use the 10 stompbox mode, the option to press the two bank buttons to switch to Snapshot mode isn't available. I am aware stompbox buttons can be used to change multiple parameters at once on several blocks, it's been my workaround currently, but it's not a foolproof system, frequently buggy, and has strange sound glitches as the system works through each command one by one. Snapshots are instant, and workarounds aren't really fine. Not for premium products such as this.

 

No, reaching down and changing the global setting is not an option either. I play structured shows to a click where there's barely enough time to stay in tune/swap guitars between songs, let alone fiddle with anything. It's ready, set, play. Everything has to be set and forget in the studio a week before. What I desperatly need is the ability to run my stompbox patch, and a patch for each song that needs snapshots (there's usually 2 or 3 in a gig I lament playing for this reason).

 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the new bits and bobs. Effects are cool and keep the customers coming in. But some QOL love would be delicious and make me buy more Line 6 stuff. 

 

TL;DR: How long till stompbox/snapshot mode is selectable per preset. It was requested several years ago and other options either aren't suitable or not suitable enough.

[phil_m]

As of the 3.10 update that came out back in Spring 2021, you can assign snapshots to footswitches in the Command Center using the HX Snapshot command. This way you can stay in Stomp Mode and access snapshots as necessary.

[datacommando]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:50 PM, TyneGuitar said:

I am a few years out of the loop with developments however, I merely update as firmware is released but don't get particularly involved in reading patchnotes, too much work to do. I usually hunt around in HX Edit for 10 minutes for new effects and that's about it.

Hi,

 

That approach is like blundering around in the dark. The Release Notes provided with each Firmware update usually lists all the important stuff for you.

 

As the saying goes - “a picture is worth a thousand words” - this video might help.

 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

[TyneGuitar]

Bloody brilliant, case closed. Thankyou good people.

 

I dream of a day of having someone take care of most my duties so all I have to do is studio work, live performance and reading patchnotes haha. One day.

 

EDIT: Seems buggy. 3/4 snapshots working as intended, one is deciding to send me back to the snapshot menu. Investigating now to see if there's any other parameter interfering, but this is a brand new preset.

 

EDIT2: Most definitely buggy. Some sort of issue with having command centre open on the floor at the same time as HX Edit. It doesn't seem to save parameters and defaults to the most recent save when HX Edit command centre is closed. Investigating now.

[MGW-Alberta]

I use Snap/Stomp mode.

My bottom row is 4 snapshots per preset.

Top row is 4 extra Stomps (or combination of Stomps) I can toggle on and off.

I've never needed more than that for any one song.

[phil_m]

On 5/2/2022 at 7:17 PM, TyneGuitar said:

Bloody brilliant, case closed. Thankyou good people.

 

I dream of a day of having someone take care of most my duties so all I have to do is studio work, live performance and reading patchnotes haha. One day.

 

EDIT: Seems buggy. 3/4 snapshots working as intended, one is deciding to send me back to the snapshot menu. Investigating now to see if there's any other parameter interfering, but this is a brand new preset.

 

EDIT2: Most definitely buggy. Some sort of issue with having command centre open on the floor at the same time as HX Edit. It doesn't seem to save parameters and defaults to the most recent save when HX Edit command centre is closed. Investigating now.

Not buggy. You just have to program the command for each footswitch per snapshot. The SNAPSHOT ^ is the default setting for each command. This was a change in the 3.15 update.

[datacommando]

On 5/3/2022 at 1:17 AM, TyneGuitar said:

I dream of a day of having someone take care of most my duties so all I have to do is studio work, live performance and reading patchnotes haha. One day.

Hey up, Marra,

 

Hold on to that dream, but until then it is advisable to read the Release Notes, and the Helix 3.0 Owner’s Manual, so that you don’t get caught out on any changes to the way things work. Sometimes it’s not the picture you need - it’s the 1000 words or a permanent guitar tech.

https://line6.com/data/6/0a020a3f041b611d61cac763b/application/pdf/Helix 3.0 Owner's Manual - Rev F - English .pdf

 

May be you have just fallen foul of this change (from the v3.15 release notes)

 

Per-Snapshot Command Center > HX Snpsht Values

Command Center > HX Snapshot command parameters can now be controlled by Snapshots themselves. For example, imagine that you are on Snapshot 1 and create an HX Snapshot command on FS2. You set it so that pressing that switch recalls Snapshot 3. You then switch to Snapshot 3 and set the same switch to recall Snapshot 6. Recall Snapshot 6 and set the switch to recall Snapshot 2. Finally, you recall Snapshot 2 and set the switch to recall Snapshot 1. Now, you go back to Snapshot 1 and begin pressing the switch. Each successive press recalls the assigned Snapshot and you would cycle Snapshot  1 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 1 > 3 > 6 > 2 and so on for each switch press. NOTE: this assumes that the Snapshot Edits global is set to Recall. If it's set to Discard, you'd have to save the preset after each set in order for the changes to stick

 

Hope this helps makes sense.

[TyneGuitar]

On 5/3/2022 at 1:15 PM, MGW-Alberta said:

I use Snap/Stomp mode.

My bottom row is 4 snapshots per preset.

Top row is 4 extra Stomps (or combination of Stomps) I can toggle on and off.

I've never needed more than that for any one song.

 

I tried running like this but it just wasn't as practical for most of what we were doing as having complete control. For the primary preset I use through 80% of the show, I'll use 6 or 7 different sounds, then need access to punching in delay at certain points and solo boost which converts to mono. I probably could get away with a full 10 snapshots, but it was far simpler to run stompbox mode. This other songs however lend themselves to a single button switching everything, so this new feature is exactly what I need. I treat Helix as an oldschool pedalboard, but occasionally I feel I want a "GigRig G2". New update fixed that problem.

 

 

On 5/3/2022 at 8:55 PM, phil_m said:

Not buggy. You just have to program the command for each footswitch per snapshot. The SNAPSHOT ^ is the default setting for each command. This was a change in the 3.15 update.

 

Has been done, that's what was throwing the error. What I noticed was programming each footswitch on HX Edit caused unreliable results. EG:

 

Choosing FS10 as Snapshot 4. Pressing save. Cycling through FS7, 8, and 9 worked as intended with snapshot 1, 2, and 3 respectively. But pressing FS10 triggered the SNAPSHOT ^ 

 

I would then go back into Command Centre and see that the footswitch was set to trigger "Next" on press, rather than "Snapshot 4". I had only set it as Snapshot 4 moments before.

However, programming it from the command centre onboard Helix itself caused each snapshot to work correctly.

 

I don't wanna seem like everything I don't understand is an error, but repeating an action onboard Helix functioned as intended, whereas completing the identical action in HX Edit seemed to cause the above issues.

 

It did seem, when I was working on it yesterday, that the error only happened when I closed Command Centre in HX Edit, but that no longer seems accurate. I have recreated the above issue just before though.

 

On 5/3/2022 at 9:10 PM, datacommando said:

Hey up, Marra,

 

Hold on to that dream, but until then it is advisable to read the Release Notes, and the Helix 3.0 Owner’s Manual, so that you don’t get caught out on any changes to the way things work. Sometimes it’s not the picture you need - it’s the 1000 words or a permanent guitar tech.

https://line6.com/data/6/0a020a3f041b611d61cac763b/application/pdf/Helix 3.0 Owner's Manual - Rev F - English .pdf

 

May be you have just fallen foul of this change (from the v3.15 release notes)

 

 

Per-Snapshot Command Center > HX Snpsht Values

Command Center > HX Snapshot command parameters can now be controlled by Snapshots themselves. For example, imagine that you are on Snapshot 1 and create an HX Snapshot command on FS2. You set it so that pressing that switch recalls Snapshot 3. You then switch to Snapshot 3 and set the same switch to recall Snapshot 6. Recall Snapshot 6 and set the switch to recall Snapshot 2. Finally, you recall Snapshot 2 and set the switch to recall Snapshot 1. Now, you go back to Snapshot 1 and begin pressing the switch. Each successive press recalls the assigned Snapshot and you would cycle Snapshot  1 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 1 > 3 > 6 > 2 and so on for each switch press. NOTE: this assumes that the Snapshot Edits global is set to Recall. If it's set to Discard, you'd have to save the preset after each set in order for the changes to stick

 

Hope this helps makes sense.

 

This could be tremendously useful in the future, especially for structured festival shows like we play.

[codamedia]

On 5/3/2022 at 7:13 AM, TyneGuitar said:

Has been done, that's what was throwing the error. What I noticed was programming each footswitch on HX Edit caused unreliable results.

 

IME... programming from HX Edit requires saving on the unit itself, and requires a lot of saving to be safe. I'm not sure if "buggy" is the term I would give it... since it does appear to work as intended - it seems like more of a communication breakdown, "on certain setups". 

 

YMMV....

[TyneGuitar]

On 5/4/2022 at 1:23 AM, codamedia said:

 

IME... programming from HX Edit requires saving on the unit itself, and requires a lot of saving to be safe. I'm not sure if "buggy" is the term I would give it... since it does appear to work as intended - it seems like more of a communication breakdown, "on certain setups". 

 

YMMV....

 

This would appear to be the case yeah. I've never had an issue changing pedals/parameters etc, normal stuff, HX Edit in that regard has been bulletproof. But thinking back, I remember having issues with midi parameters, and also global EQ switching.

 

I guess I should get more comfortable working from onboard for safetys sake. I've always just carried a laptop with me and loaded everything that way, even when on the road, since I can access previous backups/patches via Google Drive. Perhaps HX Edit isn't 100% stable.