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Line 6 Helix.


fretmeister

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On 31/12/2017 at 17:07, intime-nick said:

Quick print of first prototype minus the polycarbonate screen (I've still got the original film on the screen hence the bubbles).  I'll be making a few tweaks to the design (mainly so the lettering prints better) but it fits well and doesn't look too out of place.

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That looks superb. I'd definitely be really interested in buying one from you and would be happy to road test it and offer feedback. 

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I’ve got the prototype polycarbonate screens now, and they fit in the frame and work as expected.  There will be a few design tweaks to bring it up to a standard that I’m happy with and then I’ll be sending a few out for testing. After that, if there is enough interest, I may make a few to sell. 

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12 hours ago, intime-nick said:

I’ve got the prototype polycarbonate screens now, and they fit in the frame and work as expected.  There will be a few design tweaks to bring it up to a standard that I’m happy with and then I’ll be sending a few out for testing. After that, if there is enough interest, I may make a few to sell. 

I can’t help feeling inspired Nick. I wanna get creating too! (Well, minus the skills you have lol!)

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On 1/5/2018 at 23:29, intime-nick said:

I’ve got the prototype polycarbonate screens now, and they fit in the frame and work as expected.  There will be a few design tweaks to bring it up to a standard that I’m happy with and then I’ll be sending a few out for testing. After that, if there is enough interest, I may make a few to sell. 

Yeah - interested!

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bit more progress - got the polycarbonate fitted but need some stronger magnets to hold the assembly in place.  Should have them in the next day or so and then I'll make another prototype to check fit etc.  Also printed some feet to screw the LT to the board (same thickness as the rubber feet so they use the same screws)

also got my new Smoothound wireless fitted (just !) and am experimenting with it being battery powered (via a 5V - 9V converter) and a 5000mAh mobile phone power bank.  Seems to work OK - will need to check run times etc but it means no extra power sockets on the board (not that i have room for them anyway!).  Just got the XLR jump lead to solder up to save wear/tear on the Helix socket and to act as a basic line of defence if someone trips over the cable and then try it at band rehearsal into two Yamaha DBR15's we use for the drummers Drum-Tec E-Kit

I'm using return 1 as my main input as the guitar input can't handle my Vigier Passion IV or G&L L2000 (even with the input pad on) - seems OK though

 

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Edited by intime-nick
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2 minutes ago, LewisK1975 said:

Nice fit for the LT on that pedalboard, do you happen to know the make / model of it?

It's an old Swan Flightcase i bought years ago when i went through a phase of buying/using a lot of pedals !.  Don't know the model number but I've removed the support under the main board and screwed it into the base to drop the height of the unit and replaced the awful fluffy carpet they supply as standard with proper 3M velcro.  

Outside dimensions are 610mm x 400mm x 160mm

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How about using a 5 pin XLR lead. Make a Y split cable - the two ended side, one end with a XLR that goes to your Helix, one that goes to your Smooth Hound with 9v cannon adapter on end... and the other side, a 5 pin XLR (to plug into the long 5 pin XLR lead)

Other end, is a similar break out... One into mixer, one connects to power adapter that sources it's power near the mixer.

 

If you get my drift.

 

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i've done similar things in the past and it works OK.  I prefer to keep my cables as non-unique as possible so any XLR cable will work in case of damage etc.  I quite like the 5V-9V adaptor idea - it has a centre +ve output that works for the Smoothound with no polarity changer needed.  Our 6U rack with the XR-18 and all the other gear means I've run out of rackmount power sockets there as well and i like to keep things as neat as possible with the minimum of plugging in during setup / teardown etc

Edited by intime-nick
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A small query about external patch changes via midi. I'm using my Strymon Big Sky in a stereo effects loop and have set a switch to select the patch I want on the big Sky. That works fine. What I would like to happen is the Big Sky patch being selected automatically when I select the patch on the Helix without having to press the button once I have selected the Helix patch. I hope that makes sense. Anyone any idea if this is possible and/or how to set it up.

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2 hours ago, BassBus said:

A small query about external patch changes via midi. I'm using my Strymon Big Sky in a stereo effects loop and have set a switch to select the patch I want on the big Sky. That works fine. What I would like to happen is the Big Sky patch being selected automatically when I select the patch on the Helix without having to press the button once I have selected the Helix patch. I hope that makes sense. Anyone any idea if this is possible and/or how to set it up.

Does the Big Sky have a MIDI In socket?

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34 minutes ago, BassBus said:

Yes and that's all sorted. Midi works fine. I just need to know if switching the Big Sky patch when I switch the Helix patch is possible.

In that case, you'll need to make sure that both units are set to the same MIDI channel, and then you should get program switching at the most basic level - i.e. selecting patch 1 on the Helix will select patch 1 on the Big Sky. I would suspect that at least the Helix will have MIDI program mapping (I haven't delved that far into mine yet) so that you can assign the program number that the Helix sends via MIDI on selecting a patch independently of the actual patch number selected on the Helix.

If in doubt consult the MIDI implementation chart for each device.

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Problem solved on the Line 6 forum. Go to command centre and select one of the 'lightning bolts' at the top. Then just enter all the midi details that correspond with the channel and patch of the Strymon, save and job done. Each time I solve a problem like this I marvel at how good the Helix is. Probably the best designed piece of kit I have ever used. 

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19 minutes ago, nord1 said:

Does anyone have any advice or patches for super clean slap tone? Been through the l6 customs tone page, but all seemed on the dirty side. 

Try a Fender Twin as a starting point... and take the bias down and the master volume down so the "power amp" stays clean.

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11 hours ago, BassBus said:

Problem solved on the Line 6 forum. Go to command centre and select one of the 'lightning bolts' at the top. Then just enter all the midi details that correspond with the channel and patch of the Strymon, save and job done. Each time I solve a problem like this I marvel at how good the Helix is. Probably the best designed piece of kit I have ever used. 

Essentially doing what I suggested in my previous post, but in a way and terminology aimed at people who haven't spent years deciphering MIDI implementation charts which is almost definitely a good thing.

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Has anyone tried any aftermarket IRs  - specifically the Ownhammer Ampeg collection and the 3Sigma offerings ?  I might give them a whirl but was curious to know if anyone had any good (or bad) experience with them beforehand.

Edited by intime-nick
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I've got a bunch of aftermarket IRs

 

Some are great some are shite. The downloads usually come with dozens of files so it's very easy to get ear fatigue auditioning them.

And so far I haven't found a solitary IR (for guitar or bass) that I couldn't match with the onboard cabs.

Then there's the OTB eq setting option instead of using any cab sim at all. That's pretty cool too.

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