Do updates have undesirable side effects?

[johnnyvlee]

Anyone besides me think Helix updates with modern amp models seem to make older amp models sound worse?

 

Might be my imagination, I don't know. But I play a lot of cover rock from 60s-80s and I faithfully update my Helix updates as they become available, but it has seemed like my existing patches which use amp models that are older don't sound as good as they used to.  By the way, I'm not comparing with the newer amp models, that's just playing the same songs after an update.

 

My approach has been to create a patch per song, and use snapshots within the patch. Sometimes for a new song I just copy another song's patch, and I may or may not tweak it.  So, I end up using the same amp models in multiple patches. For example, I know I have used the WhoWatt 100 in quite a few patches. Those all seem to sound not great anymore.

 

Also, I've used AMP+CAB models a lot.  I had thought I would go back and change those to separate models, but it's a bit of a pain since you have to manually duplicate the amp and speaker settings.  Would have been fantastic if they would have had a feature in HX Edit to split up the amp/speaker models for you.

 

Then again, they don't even have a search function within a setlist, which seems to me a very basic need.

 

Anyway, I'm debating no longer doing updates.  But I know it will nag me every time I run HX Edit for any reason.

[SaschaFranck]

Downdate, record something, update, record something, ideally using reamping or Helix Native. Then compare.

That's the only way to really find out.

[silverhead]

…I think you would need to downdate/update Helix Native also…

[silverhead]

On 1/18/2025 at 11:41 AM, johnnyvlee said:

Anyone besides me think Helix updates with modern amp models seem to make older amp models sound worse?

 

Might be my imagination, I don't know. …

I expect it’s your imagination. Some updates can alter the tone of previous presets but that is really rare and well documented in release notes. Even major updates like rewriting the cab engine as was done recently do not affect the tone of the previous cabs. Even very minor things like a different volume level on your Helix knob or your speakers/mixer can trick your ears into thinking something’s different - and it is. But not due to the update.

[theElevators]

In my 5+ years of Helix ownership, presets never sound worse after an update.  Everything sounds exactly the same, maybe even better when oversampling was introduced.  The only explanation is that your global settings got reset from what you used to use prior to the update.  These can be the input pad, output levels. That's why it's good to always back up your Helix religiously. 

 

Also for the latest firmware update, there was an initial bug with HX Edit, where it messed up the global settings.  So if you are now experiencing weird behavior, please update HX Edit to the latest version with the fix.  Line 6 released a fix for this issue shortly after releasing 3.8.

 

Also there was a pesky Left/Mono not being mono, but instead only the left side.... bug (until you plugged something into the right side, then unplugged it).  This bug got seemingly fixed for good.  So it could be that you are now getting left/mono mixdown and it sounds unusual to you. 

[datacommando]

On 1/18/2025 at 4:41 PM, johnnyvlee said:

Anyone besides me think Helix updates with modern amp models seem to make older amp models sound worse?

Anyway, I'm debating no longer doing updates.  But I know it will nag me every time I run HX Edit for any reason.

Hi

 

Nope, just you - it must be psychological. 

 

I have owned my Helix since 2015 and done every firmware update from v1.60.5 through to v3.80, and it never fails to surprise me how the thing just get better and better.

 

If this was actually a real thing, you can definitely guarantee that this place would be alive with even more complaints than those usual “Update bricked my Helix” posts that always happen after a firmware update.

 

There is absolutely no reason why an update should do what you say. It makes no sense whatsoever. Line 6 have always maintained that they endeavour to ensure that none of your presets are modified by any firmware updates. If there is even a minor chance that something may be altered in the slightest, then it is listed in the Release Notes. The whole concept of deliberately changing the actual sound output would be a legal minefield - guess it’s just your imagination.

 

I suggest it might be advisable to check that your Global setting haven’t changed in some way.
 

Hope this helps/makes sense.