Older Preset Rebuilds

[sm_smith99]

I recently updated to 3.80 which went 'ok'. I now understand that some of the older presets, i.e. Angl Meteor, Revv Red/Purple, Friedman, Archon, and other high gain stock presets are no longer available? 

 

I did complete a backup prior to updating, however I mistakenly saved them to OneDrive rather than my PC. Fast forward- I recovered the presets and was able to import them via HX Edit, but all that it imports is the name- there are zero blocks for the preset.

 

I did enjoy the stock configuration of the above-named models, so I would like to know any or all of the following:

 

1- The original block configuration (so I can rebuild myself)

2- How to import (from somewhere else) the presets in their original form.

3- Am I doing something wrong when creating a backup?

[silverhead]

1. Unnecessary

2. see link below for v3.70 and v3.80 factory setlists

3. My standard practice is

- a) perform update including mandatory system backup

- b) perform recommended factory reset

- c) save latest factory setlists installed in previous step

- d) restore system backup except for factory presets

 

This way you will maintain a history of all previous factory setlists.

 

 

[datacommando]

On 1/20/2025 at 5:13 PM, sm_smith99 said:

I recovered the presets and was able to import them via HX Edit, but all that it imports is the name- there are zero blocks for the preset.

This is the most concerning part of your post - if you cannot see any of the new amps and fx, it usually means that you need to ensure that you are using the latest version of HX Edit. This has been well documented over quite a few years.

 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

[sm_smith99]

Clearly, I am not savvy enough to understand. Forgive me, but I just want to know how to access any and all of the previous factory presets. 
 

I am also unclear as to why my backup files contain no “guts”, or blocks, but the names are intact. 
 

Silverhead- I follow and understand your post, and to my knowledge did what indicated (obviously something was different), but the references you included are not doing much for me. Please further dumb-it-down if you can/care to.
 

Datacommando- thank you as well for your reply. All programs/applications were updated prior to updating the Stomp. 
 

I feel like this should be a more intuitive process overall. I’m normally pretty good at new learning new platforms, but all 3 times I have updated this unit, I have had some issues. Maybe I need to wipe it or rollback the firmware to 3.7 and call it a day. 

[silverhead]

OK, I'll give it a shot...

 

First, factory presets are embedded in the firmware. Performing a firmware update does NOT install the embedded factory presets in order to prevent potential data loss. The only way to be certain that you have the full, complete, and accurate set of factory setlists is to perform a factory reset with whatever firmware version is installed on your device. That's one reason that performing a factory reset is part of the recommended firmware update procedures.

 

Line 6 does not make all prior versions of factory presets available for download. Some users, myself included, create personal backups of the factory presets every time a firmware update is performed. I am in the habit of posting these in this forum for potential use by others. The link I provided in my firtst post in this thread will let you download the factory presets for firmware v3.7 and (later in the same thread) v3.8.

 

Also it is very important that you update HX Edit before you update the firmware. If you are running HX Edit v3.7 with firmware v3.8 the results are unpredictable. This could well be your problem.

 

I don't know what backup files you are referring to that don't contain any blocks. The backup files created during a firmware update are not like that; they do contain all blocks.

 

I suggest you begin the update procedures again, starting by downloading the HX Edit v3.8 installation package. Install it. Then run the Line 6 Updater program (part of the just-installed HX Edit package) to update/reinstall the v3.8 firmware. This procedure forces you to create a reliable system backup file. Then perform step 3a through 3c in my first post. Factory setlists are numbers 1, 2, and 8.

[datacommando]

On 1/25/2025 at 2:09 PM, sm_smith99 said:

Clearly, I am not savvy enough to understand. Forgive me, but I just want to know how to access any and all of the previous factory presets. 
 

I am also unclear as to why my backup files contain no “guts”, or blocks, but the names are intact. 
 

Silverhead- I follow and understand your post, and to my knowledge did what indicated (obviously something was different), but the references you included are not doing much for me. Please further dumb-it-down if you can/care to.
 

Datacommando- thank you as well for your reply. All programs/applications were updated prior to updating the Stomp. 
 

I feel like this should be a more intuitive process overall. I’m normally pretty good at new learning new platforms, but all 3 times I have updated this unit, I have had some issues. Maybe I need to wipe it or rollback the firmware to 3.7 and call it a day. 

 

Hi,

 

DETAILS MATTER: Use detail in your post. When seeking assistance from Forum users it's a really good idea to supply as much information as possible regarding your computer and operating system plus which HX device and DAW you are using.

 

It is only now in your second post that you mention you are updating a HX Stomp!

You also failed to mention what version of the firmware you were updating from! 

 

The links that @silverhead provided are for the v3.70 firmware Factory Presets for the Helix, Rack and LT units, and they cannot be loaded into the HX Stomp which has only a single DSP chip available. The other models have 2 DSP processors inside.

 

I seriously suggest that you follow this link and read the section entitled - 

Updating Helix/HX Hardware

Take special notice of the points listed at 3, 4 and 5.

These explain how to load the new factory presets that are included in the v3.80 update.

If you previously had v3.7xx installed with the original Factory Presets still in their original state, then the backup you made prior to installing the update should still contain them as untouched. Restore from back up will put them back as they were.

 

Also note the section entitled:

 

I updated but why don't I see [Model X] in HX Edit?

 

 

You are strongly advised to read and study the Release Notes BEFORE attempting a Firmware Update.

 

Be prepared!

 

Hope this helps/make sense.

[sm_smith99]

First, thank you for patience and taking the time to run through this again. Ok, this makes sense. I shall follow these instructions and report back. 
 

The one thing I am certain of is, that I did in fact update my HX Edit BEFORE I even plugged the unit into my PC. Its currently running V3.82 (I assume this  sufficient?)

[datacommando]

On 1/25/2025 at 4:16 PM, sm_smith99 said:

First, thank you for patience and taking the time to run through this again. Ok, this makes sense. I shall follow these instructions and report back. 
 

The one thing I am certain of is, that I did in fact update my HX Edit BEFORE I even plugged the unit into my PC. Its currently running V3.82 (I assume this  sufficient?)

 

HI,

 

Even if you think that you did update your HX Edit, please ensure that you did by checking the version number from under the About menu option. It its not uncommon for 2 versions to still be active, and the older version launches by mistake, although this is more common on Mac OS machines.

 

Furthermore, when you said that you had "updated to 3.80 which went 'ok'", you didn't mention if your HX Stomp had gone through the "Rebuilding Presets" routine when your Stomp restarted? This is a normal part of the update and brings all old presets up to the latest format.

 

You may want to keep a note of these Reset Options for your device -

 

HX Stomp

Hold these button combinations while powering up the HX Stomp:

 

1. FS1, 2 & 3: clears all presets/IRs
2.  FS1+2: resets presets and IRs
3. FS 2+3: factory restore (globals, presets, IRs)
4.  Page >: update mode. This update mode is helpful if the update is interrupted, and the HX Stomp will not boot properly. You will see a blank screen (no visual feedback on the display).
5. Upper & Lower Knobs: Rebuild presets. Wait for "Will Rebuild Presets..." to appear and let go. 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[sm_smith99]

Alright, time for an update, but a big thanks once again to both Silverhead and Datacommando for the feedback. All points made are fair. 
 

Verified all programs were updated and created a new backup since I had already tweaked a few presets since the 3.80 update. Backup is solid (enough), but additional info on this below. 
 

I now see where I went wrong- I had been “importing presets”, not “restoring from backup”. Unfortunately, I think my older backups are missing some presets from earlier versions, so I do need to see if there is a file floating around out here with the presets (i.e. multiple Fender models like the Bassmans,Tweeds, etc.) unless I’m still missing a crucial piece in the process. How, for instance, can I get back to this setup?:

 

https://www.fluidsolo.com/patchexchange/view-models/Amplifiers,a

 

When accessing the backup files, I have additional issues:

1. Some backups created an accessible file folder that i can then drag/drop presets from. I suppose the easier way would be to create a separate folder with just the presets i care to use.
2. Here’s the problem: some backups, specifically the ones I really want to work with, were created as “.hlx” file format. I cannot open this folder to drag/drop presets into HX Edit, or another folder. Why the difference in file type? I’m not making any changes to the path it suggests in Edit when I create the backup. 
 

Creating “Favorites” is another problem for another day. I’d like to get the issues at hand solved first.  Clearly, I really suck at this platform and UI. Admittedly, I probably don’t use this often enough, and I’m sure I’d get better, but I don’t have a ton of time to play in the first place, and the headache and time consumption in fooling with this is reaching a point where I may never update the unit again. 

[silverhead]

I think part of the problem is terminology. There isn’t one type of ‘backup’. There are several, and they involve different file types. All are options when working with HX Edit. Here’s my off-the-cuff description.

 

NOTE: the following is written in the context of HX Stomp, which does not have setlists. Well, actually it has only one so does not use Setlist terminology.

 

1) Drag/Drop: you can drag one or more presets from the list to anywhere in your computer folders, and similarly in reverse. A preset filetype is *.hlx.

2) Export/Import: an alternative to drag/drop.

3) Create/Restore backup: this creates a file of type *.bkp (I think) which contains everything on your device, including presets, global settings, IRs, and other things. Again, nothing is individually accessible. You can select which components you want to send to your device during the Restore operation. This is what the firmware update procedure forces you to create prior to the update. Again, you can specify a target folder location.

4) Extract Files from Backup: this allows you to create folders on your computer that contain individual components of the backup file.

 

Review your experience with these options in mind to explain your observations, and to move forward. 
 

 

 

 

 

[datacommando]

On 1/26/2025 at 1:07 PM, sm_smith99 said:

When accessing the backup files, I have additional issues:

 

Hi,

 

You do seem to be having problems navigating and managing how to save and restore presets from your HX Stomp.

 

It's really not that complicated and when you're in HX Edit if you click on the "Question Mark" icon in the lower left of the GUI window, you can select "Pilot's Guide" from the pop out menu and you can download a pdf of the user handbook that explains all the various functions and options available through HX Edit.

 

Or even easier click here:

https://line6.com/data/6/0a00051aff0e673cd37585ccd/application/pdf/HX Edit Pilots Guide 3.80 - English .pdf

 

All the details for dealing with preset file management can be found on page 23 in the "Working in the Editor" section.

 

Also, to spare me from lots more typing - have a look at this video - it covers version 3.0, but the information should be good for any backup/update.

 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

[sm_smith99]

Thank you, this feedback continues to be helpful in developing my understanding. 

 

Good call on the "pilots guide"...I will most certainly take a deep dive (thanks for the link).

 

I will continue to hack away at it, and if I screw something up, at least I have a useable backup to restore from.

[sm_smith99]

Example of what I am describing with the file types via the "create backup" in HX Edit:

 

I do not understand why some created file folders AND a .hxb folder, and some only created (like the one I just did) only a .hxb. The file folders are useable to me to pull data from to a completely new folder that I can organize the presets I want on the unit only, the .hxb folder is useless for the purpose I am after. What am I netting from the .hxb format other than a full "restore from backup"? (which I do not want to do), I want to be able to pick and choose which presets I want to play with (which I can do from the file folders- 1st picture)

 

I am beyond frustrated with this and it's gotta be almost comical to you experts at this point. 

 

 

 

 

 

[datacommando]

On 1/26/2025 at 6:29 PM, sm_smith99 said:

I am beyond frustrated with this and it's gotta be almost comical to you experts at this point. 

It is - especially when I gave you the link to the Pilot’s Guide that explains all of this stuff. It becomes really tiresome to keep typing out information that is freely available in the documentation.

 

Suffice to say, regarding the .hxb files, they are complete device backups that contain not only your presets, but also your global settings, default settings and Favorites. Think of this as an archive from which you can extract anything you may require. Furthermore .hlx files are simply Presets! That’s it - it couldn’t be simpler!

 

I cannot understand why you cannot understand the screenshot you supplied that actually states in the save window - “Create a Helix Backup (.hxb) to store all your presets, IRs and Global Settings in a single file”.

 

Please go and read, study and inwardly digest the information given on pages 27-29 of the Guide.

Ye gods! I despair!

 

Hope this helps/makes sense. 

[sm_smith99]

I read and re-read the guide you supplied PRIOR to my last post. It does not provide any knowledge that I did not already know (albeit it was a sloooow process).

 

I uninstalled everything on the unit and my PC and started fresh at V2.80, which is what it was when I bought it years ago. Also, I do understand that the file type it illustrates it will create is in fact a .hxb- a backup. I get it! Does not change the fact that for the casual and infrequent user of the update aspect, that this interface sucks. There has got to be an easier path, but I am not a software engineer. Anyway, rant complete.

 

Thanks again for the help and hand-holding, I do greatly appreciate it. I'll live with this version until I muster up the courage to try to attack this in the future. Over and out.

[datacommando]

On 1/26/2025 at 8:14 PM, sm_smith99 said:

I read and re-read the guide you supplied PRIOR to my last post. It does not provide any knowledge that I did not already know (albeit it was a sloooow process).

 

I uninstalled everything on the unit and my PC and started fresh at V2.80, which is what it was when I bought it years ago. Also, I do understand that the file type it illustrates it will create is in fact a .hxb- a backup. I get it! Does not change the fact that for the casual and infrequent user of the update aspect, that this interface sucks. There has got to be an easier path, but I am not a software engineer. Anyway, rant complete.

 

Thanks again for the help and hand-holding, I do greatly appreciate it. I'll live with this version until I muster up the courage to try to attack this in the future. Over and out.

Now I’m really stunned - you want to revert back to v.2.80 firmware from 2019 - I fail to see what you hope to achieve with this, as the backup and restore routines are identical. 
 

I would say you are making a mountain out a molehill - but by mixing my metaphors, I feel the retrograde step could put you into a deeper hole than the one you’re already in.

 

This stuff is only as complicated as you decide to make it - for example there is a Line 6 Helix User Group over on Facebook with in excess of 45,000 members - the majority of which seem to get by with dealing with this stuff.

 

Happy trails.