Helix Firmware 3.0 coming(sometime)

[Mr Insane]

Just watched a Facebook video where the lead Helix casually mentioned firmware 3.0 is coming.

*Note:the following is just what I think might be coming after a quick search. In no way is this to be taken as definitive.

After doing some searching on the interwebs, some POSSIBLE updates include new Variax features that will only be possible for Helix, LT, and rack. Won't be available for the smaller HX products.

And POSSIBLY new pitch shifting models comparable to the Digitech droptune for instance. Although they couldn't do it the way Digitech did, and had to go about it a different way. Which took some time.

 

[Ph03n1x]

There was a thread on thegearpage when 2.9 was coming. Someone from Line 6 said "soon". It took another 4 months before it actually came out. So I wouldn't count on their timeline being swift.

The big thing that will help for me is 8 blocks (instead of 6) on the HX Stomp. There is also supposed to be some sort of command centre app for the Stomp too. Whatever else they add will just be a bonus. I was previously holding out on them updating their reverbs but ended up ordering a Flamma reverb pedal.

 

[Rocco Crocco]

I thought polyphonic pitch shifting was already confirmed for 3.0. New Helix updates are fun but I try not to get sucked into the hype because the reality is it could be released next week or 6 months from now. Line 6 is usually pretty tight-lipped about updates getting dropped.

 

[drew365]

I don't know what, if any, Variax related changes might be in 3.0. But, I used my JTV-69 as my main guitar for about 2 years and have since lost interest in it. If L6 wants to keep Variax going, it really should do something to spark some interest before it gets to be too little too late.

 

[cybermgk]

I don't know what, if any, Variax related changes might be in 3.0. But, I used my JTV-69 as my main guitar for about 2 years and have since lost interest in it. If L6 wants to keep Variax going, it really should do something to spark some interest before it gets to be too little too late.

Agree. Only recently got my JTV-59, still love it. Awesome tool. Line 6 really needs to market the Helix and Variax together as the 'ultimate' rig. Of course, they need to start shipping new Variax guitars to dealers too. Combination of Covid and I imagine changing processes after Yamaha bought them has left dealers empty of product.

I also think they should market Variax, period. I run it with Axe FX (and Spark and Blackstar), and even without the Helix synergy, it's a great tool. IMHO, every Studio should have one, it's a Swiss Army knife.

 

[drew365]

Since I made the post above, I had positive experience with my JTV-69. I was starting to record a demo for a song that I wrote. I wasn't finding the right rhythm sound with my current two main guitars. Then I decided I should tune down half a step to give my vocals an edge, and I grabbed the JTV to save some time. I immediately stumbled on a combination of Strat sim (Spank) and an odd preset I had in my Helix that was the perfect sound for my song. It was so perfect that I'm thinking of taking the JTV to band rehearsal this week and use this great rhythm tone. I don't think this current band has ever seen my Variax. So the JTV may be working it's way back up the line up. There's definitely a lot of potential in these guitars.

 

[Mr Insane]

New Amps

Helix Floor, Helix Rack, Helix LT, Helix Native, HX Stomp

• US Princess, based on* the Fender® Princeton Reverb
• Das Benzin Mega, based on* the Mega channel of the Diezel VH4
• Das Benzin Lead, based on* the Lead channel of the Diezel VH4

New Cabs

Helix Floor, Helix Rack, Helix LT, Helix Native, HX Stomp

• 1x10 US Princess, based on* the Fender® Princeton Reverb cab
• 1x12 US Princess, based on* the Fender® Princeton Reverb with a 12" Alnico Blue driver

New Effects

Helix Floor, Helix Rack, Helix LT, Helix Native, HX Effects, HX Stomp

• Distortion > Horizon Drive (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Horizon Devices Precision Drive. Includes an extra Gate Range parameter that, when set to "Extended," drops the gate's threshold down to -90dB
• Distortion > Swedish Chainsaw (Mono, Stereo), based on* the BOSS® HM-2 Heavy Metal Distortion (Made in Japan black label)
• Distortion > Pocket Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), inspired by* the Jordan Boss Tone fuzz
• Distortion > Bighorn Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), based on* the 1973 Electro-Harmonix® Ram's Head Big Muff Pi
• Distortion > Ballistic Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Euthymia ICBM fuzz
• Dynamics > Horizon Gate (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Horizon Devices Precision Drive's gate circuit. Includes an extra Gate Range parameter that, when set to "Extended," drops the gate's threshold down to -90dB. Works best before an amp
• EQ > Acoustic Sim (Mono, Stereo), based on* the BOSS® AC-2 Acoustic Simulator. Can be used alone or in conjunction with an acoustic IR
• Modulation > Poly Detune (Mono), Line 6 Original
• Delay > Poly Sustain (Mono), Line 6 Original
  1. Assign Poly Sustain to a stomp footswitch. By default, Poly Sustain appears bypassed.
  2. First play the note or chord you wish to sustain, and then press the footswitch (on) to sustain it indefinitely. Keep playing while the note or chord loops. TIP: Some players may find it easier to change the footswitch mode to Momentary; that way, the note or chord sustains only while you hold the switch on, much like the sustain pedal on a piano.
  3. Press the switch again (off) and the sustained note or chord fades out.
• • Interval—Sets the pitch of the sustained note or chord. TIP: This parameter is especially cool for creating massive drones to play over
  • Attack—Sets the speed at which the sustained note or chord fades in
  • Decay—Sets the speed at which the sustained note or chord fades out after bypassing the effect
  • Mod Freq—Sets the speed of the built in modulation
  • Mod Depth—Sets the depth of the built in modulation
  • FX Level—Sets the level of the sustained signal
  • RandDpth—Higher values increase the randomization of the section of audio being sustained, resulting in a more natural, but less predictable drone
  • RandSpeed—Controls how fast the randomization wanders. Setting both RndDpth and RndSpd to high values will result in a glitch fest (not that there's anything wrong with that)
  • Level—Controls the overall output level of the block
• Delay > Glitch Delay(Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original performance delay that lets you freely manipulate the repeats' behavior in real time
  • Time—Sets the delay time; press the knob to toggle between ms/sec and note values
  • Delay Div—Divides the delay time into smaller increments
  • Mix—Controls the wet/dry mix of the delay. When set to 0%, no delay is heard; when set to 100%, no dry signal is heard
  • Feedback—Controls the overall number of repeats heard for the entire sequence
  • SliceFdbk—Controls the number of repeats heard for individual slices. At higher values, you could call this "Super Chaotic Feedback"
  • Shuffle—Determines the likelihood of repeats shuffling/reordering
  • Octaves—Determines the likelihood of repeats playing back an octave higher or lower
  • Reverse—Determines the likelihood of repeats playing backwards
  • Seq Drift—Determines the likelihood of the entire sequence changing every time it loops around. When set to 0%, the same sequence loops forever. TIP: Assign this parameter to a footswitch set to toggle between a higher number and 0%. If you hear a random sequence you want to maintain, press the switch to set Seq Drift to 0%, and it'll repeat that way indefinitely
  • Smoothing—Higher values apply smoothing between slices and can give a synth-pad type quality, lower values maintain transients. Or set it just high enough to avoid pops and clicks
  • Trails—When on, delay repeats continue to ring out after the block is bypassed
• Pitch/Synth > Poly Pitch (Mono), Line 6 Original
  • NOTE: Polyphonic pitch engines are designed for shifting complex chords with minimal artifacts, at the expense of latency (and our algorithms have lower latency than leading standalone poly pitch pedals). If you're looking to pitch individual notes (such as in a solo), monophonic pitchshifting is often preferred. See the Tracking parameter below for more information
  • IMPORTANT! 3.0's new poly models are extremely DSP-intensive. Some effects can eat up roughly a quarter of all available DSP on a Helix Floor, Rack, or LT or half (!!!) of all available DSP on HX Stomp or HX Effects. You also can't run more than one on the same path/DSP. Don't say we didn't warn you...
  • Interval—Sets the pitch of the effect in semitones
  • Cents—Sets the pitch of the effect in cents
  • ShiftTime—Determines how long it takes for the signal to ramp up or down to the set pitch when the block is enabled. Press the knob to toggle between ms/Sec and note/beat values. TIP: Want to hit the switch and have Poly Pitch dive bomb and land on the selected interval exactly one bar later? Press the knob to select note values and set ShiftTime to "1/1"
  • ShiftCurve—Determines the trajectory curve of the pitch shift over time. StartSlow values are concave (slower changes to start, speeding up toward the end); StartFast values are convex (the opposite). The default is "Linear"
  • ReturnTime—Determines how long it takes for the signal to return to normal pitch when the block is bypassed. Press the knob to toggle between ms/Sec and note/beat values
  • ReturnCurv—Determines the trajectory curve when returning to the original pitch. StartSlow values are concave (slower changes to start, speeding up toward the end); StartFast values are convex (the opposite)
  • Tracking—Determines how the poly pitch engine behaves. "X Fast" results in lower latency, ideal for faster lead lines. "X Stable" (the default) results in fewer artifacts when pitch shifting complex, sustained chords. "Fast" and "Stable" are somewhere in between. TIP: If you find yourself changing playing styles—say from fast lead lines to clean, open chords—you can assign this parameter to a footswitch (or snapshots) to optimize the balance between transparency and low latency
  • Auto EQ—Determines how much compensation EQ is applied to the shifted signal. If the effected signal sounds too harsh when pitched up (or dull when pitched down), adjust this setting to taste. When set to 0.0, no compensation is applied
  • Mix—Controls the wet/dry mix of the pitchshift
  • Level—Controls the overall output level of the block
• Pitch/Synth > Poly Wham (Mono), Line 6 Original. Works equally well on guitar and bass, although you might want to tweak the Auto EQ parameter for your particular instrument. See Poly Pitch notes above for additional information
• Pitch/Synth > Poly Capo (Mono), Line 6 Original. Simpler version of Poly Pitch when you just want to change keys. Works equally well on guitar and bass, although you might want to tweak the Auto EQ parameter for your particular instrument. See Poly Pitch notes above for additional information
• Pitch/Synth > 12 String (Mono), Line 6 Original 12-string guitar emulation
• Volume/Pan > Stereo Imager (Stereo), Line 6 Original
• Looper > Shuffling Looper (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original. Part looper, part sampler, part inspiration generator, part performance instrument, the Shuffling Looper intelligently chops up your playing and gives you realtime control over reordering, octave shifting, reversing, and repeating. It's all immense fun (even on vocals, drums, and percussion), but you'll want to familiarize yourself with its controls. IMPORTANT: The Shuffling Looper does not currently respond to Command Center > HX Commands or per-function MIDI commands

1. Add Looper > Shuffling Looper to a preset and assign it to a footswitch.
2. Turn Knob 1 (Slices) to set the number of slices your loop will be chopped into. 8 slices is the default.
3. Press the switch to begin recording. The LED lights red, indicating the loop is recording.
4. At the end of your loop, press the switch. The LED lights green and the sliced loop sequence immediately plays.
5. During playback, adjust the following knobs (or assign them to controllers, like expression pedals or snapshots):
   • Slices—Changes the number of slices your loop will be chopped into
   • SeqLength—Determines the number of slices in the sequence. This can be changed even after recording a loop
   • Shuffle—Determines the likelihood of slices shuffling/reordering. At 0%, the slices never shuffle; at 100%, they're constantly reshuffling
   • Octave—Determines the likelihood of slices playing back an octave higher or lower
   • Reverse—Determines the likelihood of slices playing backwards
   • Repeat—Determines the likelihood of slices repeating
   • Smoothing—Higher values apply smoothing between slices and can give a synth-pad type quality, lower values maintain transients. Or set it just high enough to avoid pops and clicks
   • Seq Drift—Determines the likelihood of the entire slice sequence changing every time it loops around. When set to 0.0, the same sequence repeats forever; when set to 10.0, the sequence changes completely every time it loops TIP: Assign this parameter to a footswitch set to toggle between a higher number and 0%. If you hear a random sequence you want to maintain, press the switch to set Seq Drift to 0%, and it'll repeat that way indefinitely
   • Playback—Sets the looper's playback level
   • Low Cut—Applies a low cut (or high pass) filter to the loop, letting you remove looper signal below a certain frequency
   • High Cut—Applies a high cut (or low pass) filter to the loop, letting you remove looper signal above a certain frequency
6. Want to change it up? While the loop is playing, press the switch to randomize its slice sequence.
7. Quickly double-press the switch. Playback/recording stops and the LED lights white, indicating a loop is in memory. Press again to restart.
8. While the loop is playing or stopped, press and hold the switch. The recording is deleted and the LED lights dim white.

 

[drew365]

Another painless update!!! Lots of cool stuff to play with. Unfortunately, more free stuff than free time.