Make every parameter snapshot-enabled by default?

[nfpotter]

Is there a way to make EVERY parameter on the Helix Floor snapshot responsive by default?  It's a HUGE pain going to each individually...

[theElevators]

No, no such thing.  You would need to select each parameter and do "snapshot assign" for it.  The limit is 64 parameters.  If you max out your preset you will exceed that limit after around 10 blocks.  So, nope. 

 

In my experience I've only needed to assign the following parameters to snapshots: 1) gain 2) mix 3) BMP.  I mainly bypass/un-bypass things in snapshots, don't completely change all the parameters.  And I have 65 presets. 

 

Some people assign amp controls to snapshots.  But I've never seen the need to control every single thing within each snapshot: sounds impractical and unnecessary. 

[nfpotter]

On 6/22/2023 at 3:20 PM, theElevators said:

No, no such thing.  You would need to select each parameter and do "snapshot assign" for it.  The limit is 64 parameters.  If you max out your preset you will exceed that limit after around 10 blocks.  So, nope. 

 

In my experience I've only needed to assign the following parameters to snapshots: 1) gain 2) mix.  I mainly bypass/un-bypass things in snapshots, don't completely change all the parameters.  And I have 65 presets. 

 

Some people assign amp controls to snapshots.  But I've never seen the need to control every single thing within each snapshot: sounds impractical and unnecessary. 

Thanks for the reply.  I understand, makes sense.

 

How about for "Snapshot Bypass" (Action button, knob 5)?  That's annoying, as well.

[theElevators]

If you are editing your snapshots, simply bypass / un-bypass things you need; then click save.  That's all you need to do.  Bypass-assign is IMO completely unnecessary feature that is buggy as well.  I went through all my presets and removed that assignment.  It used to cause the state of auto-engaged effects to flip for me. 

 

2 examples from my presets.

 

1. you want to have snapshot 1 be dirty, and snapshot 2 be clean: 

 

simply un-bypass the distortion block in snapshot 1, save.  Then bypass distortion block in snapshot 2, save.

 

2. You have your wah-wah auto-engaged past 5%.  But in snapshot 3 you want the wah-wah to be disabled, even if the expression pedal is engaged:

 

Remove any snapshot-bypass controls.  Bypass is assigned to the Expression pedal 2: its state flips after 5% engagement, and turns off if less than 5% after 350 ms.  Assign the "mix" parameter to snapshots.  Go to snapshot 3, set mix parameter of wah to 0, save.  You have effectively bypassed the wah in that snapshot--it's on but mixed out. 

 

I use this trick if I want to control something else in snapshot 3, like some filter.

 

 

[nfpotter]

On 6/22/2023 at 3:42 PM, theElevators said:

If you are editing your snapshots, simply bypass / un-bypass things you need; then click save.  That's all you need to do.  Bypass-assign is IMO completely unnecessary feature that is buggy as well.  I went through all my presets and removed that assignment.  It used to cause the state of auto-engaged effects to flip for me. 

 

2 examples from my presets.

 

1. you want to have snapshot 1 be dirty, and snapshot 2 be clean: 

 

simply un-bypass the distortion block in snapshot 1, save.  Then bypass distortion block in snapshot 2, save.

 

2. You have your wah-wah auto-engaged past 5%.  But in snapshot 3 you want the wah-wah to be disabled, even if the expression pedal is engaged:

 

Remove any snapshot-bypass controls.  Bypass is assigned to the Expression pedal 2: its state flips after 5% engagement, and turns off if less than 5% after 350 ms.  Assign the "mix" parameter to snapshots.  Go to snapshot 3, set mix parameter of wah to 0, save.  You have effectively bypassed the wah in that snapshot--it's on but mixed out. 

 

I use this trick if I want to control something else in snapshot 3, like some filter.

 

 

Good, I'm already doing that.  Thanks for your input!

[cglaser68]

Due to how snapshots work, you wouldn't want to have all parameters assigned to the snapshot controller anyway.  When a snapshot is selected, all snapshot controller assigned parameters are processed sequentially, and in the order they were assigned.  If all parameters were auto-assigned, then the Helix would need to step through every parameter in the entire preset when changing snapshots.  Since this cannot be done instantly (creates latency in snapshot loading/changing process), it can introduce or magnify audio artifacts when changing snapshots.

 

i.e. For the sake of example, let's say we have a preset with 10 blocks, consisting of a total of 64 total parameters (just picking that number since it's the current maximum allowed to be assigned to the snapshot controller).  Out of those, we actually only *change* 8 parameters between snapshots.  If they were all auto-assigned to the snapshot controller, that would be 64 parameters that would need to be sequentially processed, instead of only the 8 that actually change.  So, this introduces latency between the processing of parameters that actually change,  which can cause audio artifacts when you change snapshots.  Now, I realize that via software you could try and optimize this processing though various methods  (perhaps during the 'Rebuilding Preset' function, it could 'remove' any parameters that don't change between all snapshots, but then you are adding complexity, you'd also need somewhere to store that 'optimized' parameter list somewhere (uses memory), and you'd also need to rebuild pre-sets every time you make a change to a parameter.

[nfpotter]

On 6/23/2023 at 9:11 AM, cglaser68 said:

Due to how snapshots work, you wouldn't want to have all parameters assigned to the snapshot controller anyway.  When a snapshot is selected, all snapshot controller assigned parameters are processed sequentially, and in the order they were assigned.  If all parameters were auto-assigned, then the Helix would need to step through every parameter in the entire preset when changing snapshots.  Since this cannot be done instantly (creates latency in snapshot loading/changing process), it can introduce or magnify audio artifacts when changing snapshots.

 

i.e. For the sake of example, let's say we have a preset with 10 blocks, consisting of a total of 64 total parameters (just picking that number since it's the current maximum allowed to be assigned to the snapshot controller).  Out of those, we actually only *change* 8 parameters between snapshots.  If they were all auto-assigned to the snapshot controller, that would be 64 parameters that would need to be sequentially processed, instead of only the 8 that actually change.  So, this introduces latency between the processing of parameters that actually change,  which can cause audio artifacts when you change snapshots.  Now, I realize that via software you could try and optimize this processing though various methods  (perhaps during the 'Rebuilding Preset' function, it could 'remove' any parameters that don't change between all snapshots, but then you are adding complexity, you'd also need somewhere to store that 'optimized' parameter list somewhere (uses memory), and you'd also need to rebuild pre-sets every time you make a change to a parameter.

Good to know, thanks for the great input!