The Helix 3.01 update addresses potential severely corrupted audio output. Due to this, we recommend updating your Helix family device as soon as possible. This issue may also be experienced on Helix Native, an update for Native will be available in the very near future.

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.

*NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.

New Features

True Preset Spillover

Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT

Despite what some might have you believe, the only digital multieffects units with true preset spillover were the DigiTech GSP1101, 2112, and 2120, and they accomplished this by dedicating one of their two DSPs to spillover and only spillover. (Basically, to hear two dynamically allocated presets with absolutely zero gap—not a global reverb smeared to cover the gap—you need enough DSP to run both of them simultaneously.) So... if you're willing to sacrifice half your DSP—that is, COMPLETELY DISABLE PATH 2—you too can have true preset spillover. IMPORTANT! Unfortunately, Looper recording or playback will not currently spill over from one preset to another. Also, note that there may be a slight hiccup when switching between two presets with different impedance values for the Guitar Input.

1. In the Global Settings > Preferences menu, set Preset Spillover to "On." (SHORTCUT: Hold ACTION and press HOME.) A dialog appears, reading "Remove Path 2 to enable preset spillover?"
2. Press Knob 6 (OK).
3. Press HOME. Path 2 has disappeared! You may now switch presets to your heart's delight with true spillover but note that if Preset A is still spilling over into Preset B (say one of its delay blocks' feedback is making it self-oscillate), switching to Preset C will abruptly cut off Preset A.
4. To return to normal operation with two paths, turn Preset Spillover back to "Off". (SHORTCUT: Hold ACTION and press HOME again.) A dialog appears, reading "The preset must be reloaded. All unsaved changes will be lost!" So if you've made changes to the preset, be sure to save it before turning Spillover off.
5. Press Knob 6 (OK).

But but but... I don't wanna lose Path 2 just for spillover!

Then keep using snapshots.

Favorites

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

If you've dialed in an amp or effects block exactly the way you like it, you can now save its settings as a favorite so it can be added very quickly, complete with bypass state and footswitch assignment. Favorites appear in a new "Favorites" category and can be renamed, reordered, and cleared. TIP: If you don't want a favorite to be recalled with its footswitch assignment, add the block before you assign a switch.

1. Choose one of your favorite amps or effects and tweak it exactly how you like it, with or without footswitch assignment.
2. Press ACTION and then press Add to Favorites. The Favorites list appears.
3. If you wish to replace an existing favorite (you get 128 total), select it and press Replace Favorite. If you wish to add a new favorite, select the location where you want to place it and press Add New Favorite.
4. OPTIONAL: While the Favorites list is open, press ACTION.
   • To reorder the selected favorite up or down the list, turn Reorder Favorite (on HX Effects, press Reorder Up or Reorder Down)
   • To rename the selected favorite, press Rename Favorite
   • To clear the selected favorite, press Clear Favorite
   • To clear all favorites, press Clear All Favorites. A dialog appears. Press OK to confirm.

All right, so what?

Here's what:

1. At any time, select an empty block and turn the joystick (Big Knob on HX Effects or Lower Knob on HX Stomp). All your perfectly-tweaked favorite amps and effects instantly appear, without having to open the model list at all. If you typically keep model categories on the same stomp footswitches, you could conceivably create a brand new preset with all of your favorite stuff—including all footswitch assignments—in less than 10 seconds. Creating tones has never been faster or easier. TIP: If you keep one or more external pedals connected to Helix's FX Loops, add the FX Loop blocks as favorites and then rename them after the real thing.

User Model Defaults

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

3.0 lets you save any amp, cab, or effect block's settings as default so every time you call that model up, it sounds exactly the way you want it. Or, if you want to revert it to factory default, you can do that too. NOTE: Unlike Favorites, user model defaults do not store any footswitch assignments.

1. Choose any model and tweak it exactly how you like it.
2. Press ACTION and then User Default. From Helix Native or HX Edit, right-click (Mac: control-click) the block icon and select "User Default"

Global Settings > Preferences > Auto Impedance

Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT, HX Stomp

A new Global Settings > Preference parameter determines how the Guitar In's impedance circuit behaves when Input > In-Z is set to "Auto." When set to "First Block" (the default), the impedance circuit reflects the impedance of the first block on Path 1A, regardless of whether it's enabled or bypassed. When set to "First Enabled", the impedance circuit reflects the impedance of the first enabled block on Path 1A. Called "Auto Impedance" because "Sorry-this-took-so-long-we-love-you-Tito83" wouldn't fit.

Min/Max Value Indicators

Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT, HX Stomp [Feature already in HX Effects]

Parameters assigned to controllers or snapshots now display small Min Value (below) and Max Value (above) indicators. You can now see the range of continuous controllers from the Home screen.

8 Blocks in HX Stomp

HX Stomp

HX Stomp's simultaneous block count has been increased from six to eight.

IMPORTANT! Although HX Stomp now has two additional block locations, this doesn't mean it magically has more DSP horsepower to accommodate those blocks. Don't be surprised if you're not able to fill all eight blocks with exactly what you want, especially considering the new polyphonic pitch models take up a lot more DSP. We've taken note of those who've bemoaned HX Stomp's 6 block limit, and if the same person now complains about running out of DSP with 8 blocks, we're sending hooligans to their home to administer an atomic wedgie.

NOTE: It shouldn't come as any surprise, but any presets you make in 3.0 will not be compatible with 2.92 or earlier firmware.

The Helix 3.01 update addresses potential severely corrupted audio output. Due to this, we recommend updating your Helix family device as soon as possible. This issue may also be experienced on Helix Native, an update for Native will be available in the very near future.

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.

*NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.

New Features

True Preset Spillover

Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT

Despite what some might have you believe, the only digital multieffects units with true preset spillover were the DigiTech GSP1101, 2112, and 2120, and they accomplished this by dedicating one of their two DSPs to spillover and only spillover. (Basically, to hear two dynamically allocated presets with absolutely zero gap—not a global reverb smeared to cover the gap—you need enough DSP to run both of them simultaneously.) So... if you're willing to sacrifice half your DSP—that is, COMPLETELY DISABLE PATH 2—you too can have true preset spillover. IMPORTANT! Unfortunately, Looper recording or playback will not currently spill over from one preset to another. Also, note that there may be a slight hiccup when switching between two presets with different impedance values for the Guitar Input.

1. In the Global Settings > Preferences menu, set Preset Spillover to "On." (SHORTCUT: Hold ACTION and press HOME.) A dialog appears, reading "Remove Path 2 to enable preset spillover?"
2. Press Knob 6 (OK).
3. Press HOME. Path 2 has disappeared! You may now switch presets to your heart's delight with true spillover but note that if Preset A is still spilling over into Preset B (say one of its delay blocks' feedback is making it self-oscillate), switching to Preset C will abruptly cut off Preset A.
4. To return to normal operation with two paths, turn Preset Spillover back to "Off". (SHORTCUT: Hold ACTION and press HOME again.) A dialog appears, reading "The preset must be reloaded. All unsaved changes will be lost!" So if you've made changes to the preset, be sure to save it before turning Spillover off.
5. Press Knob 6 (OK).

But but but... I don't wanna lose Path 2 just for spillover!

Then keep using snapshots.

Favorites

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

If you've dialed in an amp or effects block exactly the way you like it, you can now save its settings as a favorite so it can be added very quickly, complete with bypass state and footswitch assignment. Favorites appear in a new "Favorites" category and can be renamed, reordered, and cleared. TIP: If you don't want a favorite to be recalled with its footswitch assignment, add the block before you assign a switch.

1. Choose one of your favorite amps or effects and tweak it exactly how you like it, with or without footswitch assignment.
2. Press ACTION and then press Add to Favorites. The Favorites list appears.
3. If you wish to replace an existing favorite (you get 128 total), select it and press Replace Favorite. If you wish to add a new favorite, select the location where you want to place it and press Add New Favorite.
4. OPTIONAL: While the Favorites list is open, press ACTION.
   • To reorder the selected favorite up or down the list, turn Reorder Favorite (on HX Effects, press Reorder Up or Reorder Down)
   • To rename the selected favorite, press Rename Favorite
   • To clear the selected favorite, press Clear Favorite
   • To clear all favorites, press Clear All Favorites. A dialog appears. Press OK to confirm.

All right, so what?

Here's what:

1. At any time, select an empty block and turn the joystick (Big Knob on HX Effects or Lower Knob on HX Stomp). All your perfectly-tweaked favorite amps and effects instantly appear, without having to open the model list at all. If you typically keep model categories on the same stomp footswitches, you could conceivably create a brand new preset with all of your favorite stuff—including all footswitch assignments—in less than 10 seconds. Creating tones has never been faster or easier. TIP: If you keep one or more external pedals connected to Helix's FX Loops, add the FX Loop blocks as favorites and then rename them after the real thing.

User Model Defaults

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

3.0 lets you save any amp, cab, or effect block's settings as default so every time you call that model up, it sounds exactly the way you want it. Or, if you want to revert it to factory default, you can do that too. NOTE: Unlike Favorites, user model defaults do not store any footswitch assignments.

1. Choose any model and tweak it exactly how you like it.
2. Press ACTION and then User Default. From Helix Native or HX Edit, right-click (Mac: control-click) the block icon and select "User Default"

Global Settings > Preferences > Auto Impedance

Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT, HX Stomp

A new Global Settings > Preference parameter determines how the Guitar In's impedance circuit behaves when Input > In-Z is set to "Auto." When set to "First Block" (the default), the impedance circuit reflects the impedance of the first block on Path 1A, regardless of whether it's enabled or bypassed. When set to "First Enabled", the impedance circuit reflects the impedance of the first enabled block on Path 1A. Called "Auto Impedance" because "Sorry-this-took-so-long-we-love-you-Tito83" wouldn't fit.

Min/Max Value Indicators

Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT, HX Stomp [Feature already in HX Effects]

Parameters assigned to controllers or snapshots now display small Min Value (below) and Max Value (above) indicators. You can now see the range of continuous controllers from the Home screen.

8 Blocks in HX Stomp

HX Stomp

HX Stomp's simultaneous block count has been increased from six to eight.

IMPORTANT! Although HX Stomp now has two additional block locations, this doesn't mean it magically has more DSP horsepower to accommodate those blocks. Don't be surprised if you're not able to fill all eight blocks with exactly what you want, especially considering the new polyphonic pitch models take up a lot more DSP. We've taken note of those who've bemoaned HX Stomp's 6 block limit, and if the same person now complains about running out of DSP with 8 blocks, we're sending hooligans to their home to administer an atomic wedgie.

NOTE: It shouldn't come as any surprise, but any presets you make in 3.0 will not be compatible with 2.92 or earlier firmware.

This update improves the stability of Helix Native and is recommended for all users.

• Fixes a crash that could occur when dialog boxes are presented
• Fixes a crash that would occur when loading a preset with a missing IR

This update improves the stability of Helix Native and is recommended for all users.

• Fixes a crash that would occur when loading a preset with a missing IR

Helix/HX Firmware 2.92

Helix/HX 2.92 and Helix Native 1.92 include important bug fixes, and are strongly recommended for all Helix and HX owners. Doesn't matter what firmware your Helix/HX product is currently running; you can go straight to 2.92.

IMPORTANT! Carefully read and follow the update instructions below. If you don't—and then run to the forums asking why it's not working—the interwebs will make fun of you.

Updating Helix/HX Firmware to 2.92

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

STEP 1—Updating HX Edit to 2.92 (assuming you haven't done this already)

1. Log onto line6.com, download, and install HX Edit 2.90:
   • macOS: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9678
   • Windows 7/8/10: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9677

STEP 2—Updating Helix/HX Firmware to 2.92

1. If you have Helix Rack/Control, turn off Helix Control. Also, shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc.
2. Connect your Helix/HX device to a Mac or PC via USB (do not use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on towers) and turn it on.
3. Launch the new version of HX Edit 2.92 you installed in Step 1 above. If you're not signed in, click "Check for Updates" in the lower right corner and sign in. If you're already signed in, a dialog panel appears, indicating an update is available.
4. Click "Update Now." A window appears, asking you to back up your Helix/HX hardware. Click OK, optionally rename the backup and/or choose a different destination folder, and then click "Create Backup." IMPORTANT! Note the location where you've saved the backup.
5. Continue following the prompts. Once updated, the window reads "Update Complete" and your Helix/HX hardware begins rebuilding its presets; wait for this to complete and click "Back to HX Edit."
6. From the File pull-down menu, click "Restore from backup..." A dialog appears. Click "Restore Backup" and then "Yes."
7. Once the restore has finished, turn your Helix/HX product off and then on again.
8. If you have Helix Control connected to Helix Rack, turn on Helix Control. Helix Rack reads "Helix Control must be updated to work properly." Press Knob 6 (OK).

Helix/HX Firmware 2.92

Helix/HX 2.92 and Helix Native 1.92 include important bug fixes, and are strongly recommended for all Helix and HX owners. Doesn't matter what firmware your Helix/HX product is currently running; you can go straight to 2.92.

IMPORTANT! Carefully read and follow the update instructions below. If you don't—and then run to the forums asking why it's not working—the interwebs will make fun of you.

Updating Helix/HX Firmware to 2.92

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

STEP 1—Updating HX Edit to 2.92 (assuming you haven't done this already)

1. Log onto line6.com, download, and install HX Edit 2.90:
   • macOS: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9678
   • Windows 7/8/10: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9677

STEP 2—Updating Helix/HX Firmware to 2.92

1. If you have Helix Rack/Control, turn off Helix Control. Also, shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc.
2. Connect your Helix/HX device to a Mac or PC via USB (do not use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on towers) and turn it on.
3. Launch the new version of HX Edit 2.92 you installed in Step 1 above. If you're not signed in, click "Check for Updates" in the lower right corner and sign in. If you're already signed in, a dialog panel appears, indicating an update is available.
4. Click "Update Now." A window appears, asking you to back up your Helix/HX hardware. Click OK, optionally rename the backup and/or choose a different destination folder, and then click "Create Backup." IMPORTANT! Note the location where you've saved the backup.
5. Continue following the prompts. Once updated, the window reads "Update Complete" and your Helix/HX hardware begins rebuilding its presets; wait for this to complete and click "Back to HX Edit."
6. From the File pull-down menu, click "Restore from backup..." A dialog appears. Click "Restore Backup" and then "Yes."
7. Once the restore has finished, turn your Helix/HX product off and then on again.
8. If you have Helix Control connected to Helix Rack, turn on Helix Control. Helix Rack reads "Helix Control must be updated to work properly." Press Knob 6 (OK).

Helix/HX 2.91

Helix/HX 2.91 includes important bug fixes, and is strongly recommended for all Helix and HX owners.

IMPORTANT!

Carefully read and follow the update instructions below. If you don’t — and then run to the forums asking why it’s not working—the interwebs will make fun of you.

Updating to 2.91

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

STEP 1 — Updating HX Edit to 2.90 (assuming you haven’t done this already)

1. Log onto line6.com , download, and install HX Edit 2.90:

• macOS: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9678
• Windows 7/8/10: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9677

STEP 2 — Updating Helix/HX Firmware to 2.91

1. If you have Helix Rack/Control, turn off Helix Control. Also, shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc.
2. Connect your Helix/HX device to a Mac or PC via USB (do not use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on towers) and turn it on.
3. Launch the new version of HX Edit 2.90 you installed in Step 1 above. If you’re not signed in, click “Check for Updates” in the lower right corner and sign in. If you’re already signed in, a dialog panel appears, indicating an update is available.
4. Click “Update Now.” A window appears, asking you to back up your Helix / HX hardware. Click OK, optionally rename the backup and / or choose a different destination folder, and then click “Create Backup.” IMPORTANT! Note the location where you’ve saved the backup.
5. Continue following the prompts. Once updated, the window reads “Update Complete” and your Helix / HX hardware begins rebuilding its presets; wait for this to complete and click “Back to HX Edit.”
6. From the File pull-down menu, click “Restore from backup…” A dialog appears. Click “Restore Backup” and then “Yes.”
7. Turn your Helix / HX product off and then on again.
8. If you have Helix Control connected to Helix Rack, turn on Helix Control. Helix Rack reads “Helix Control must be updated to work properly.” Press Knob 6 (OK).

Bug Fixes in 2.91

• Resolves multiple unexpected behavior that can occur when adjusting the Volume knob, entering the Tuner, or other actions during the first 30 seconds after power up—FIXED
• Engaging the Tap Tempo switch would calculate a different tempo than intended—FIXED
• When routing Path 1 to Path 2, the Path 2A andor Path 2B input blocks could display clipping even when the signal was not—FIXED/
• For presets with parallel paths, the Mixer > Merge block boosts signals by 3dB—FIXED

Known Issues in 2.91

• A slight thump can be heard when loading a Distortion > Kinky Boost, Arbitrator Fuzz, or Tycoctavia Fuzz model
• While backing up, the scribble strip on FS8 can sometimes flicker (Helix Floor, Helix RackControl)/
• In very rare cases, leaving the unit on for many hours can sometimes cause reverb models to cease outputting audio
• In a preset with two IRs blocks, moving one IR block to Path B can sometimes cause the other IR block to reset its Impulse Response to slot 1
• In rare cases, after exporting and then importing presets using HX Edit, the Split block’s bypass state can sometimes change (Helix Floor, Helix RackControl, Helix LT)/
• When using Blue Cat Audio’s PatchWork VST host software, resizing the Helix Native window may not scale smoothly (Helix Native)
• The Looper block’s Overdub function does not currently respond to incoming MIDI (HX Stomp)
• While connected to HX Edit, quickly changing models through the IR block can sometimes result in a unit freeze (HX Stomp)

Helix/HX 2.91

Helix/HX 2.91 includes important bug fixes, and is strongly recommended for all Helix and HX owners.

IMPORTANT!

Carefully read and follow the update instructions below. If you don’t — and then run to the forums asking why it’s not working—the interwebs will make fun of you.

Updating to 2.91

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

STEP 1 — Updating HX Edit to 2.90 (assuming you haven’t done this already)

1. Log onto line6.com , download, and install HX Edit 2.90:

• macOS: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9678
• Windows 7/8/10: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9677

STEP 2 — Updating Helix/HX Firmware to 2.91

1. If you have Helix Rack/Control, turn off Helix Control. Also, shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc.
2. Connect your Helix/HX device to a Mac or PC via USB (do not use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on towers) and turn it on.
3. Launch the new version of HX Edit 2.90 you installed in Step 1 above. If you’re not signed in, click “Check for Updates” in the lower right corner and sign in. If you’re already signed in, a dialog panel appears, indicating an update is available.
4. Click “Update Now.” A window appears, asking you to back up your Helix / HX hardware. Click OK, optionally rename the backup and / or choose a different destination folder, and then click “Create Backup.” IMPORTANT! Note the location where you’ve saved the backup.
5. Continue following the prompts. Once updated, the window reads “Update Complete” and your Helix / HX hardware begins rebuilding its presets; wait for this to complete and click “Back to HX Edit.”
6. From the File pull-down menu, click “Restore from backup…” A dialog appears. Click “Restore Backup” and then “Yes.”
7. Turn your Helix / HX product off and then on again.
8. If you have Helix Control connected to Helix Rack, turn on Helix Control. Helix Rack reads “Helix Control must be updated to work properly.” Press Knob 6 (OK).

Bug Fixes in 2.91

• Resolves multiple unexpected behavior that can occur when adjusting the Volume knob, entering the Tuner, or other actions during the first 30 seconds after power up—FIXED
• Engaging the Tap Tempo switch would calculate a different tempo than intended—FIXED
• When routing Path 1 to Path 2, the Path 2A andor Path 2B input blocks could display clipping even when the signal was not—FIXED/
• For presets with parallel paths, the Mixer > Merge block boosts signals by 3dB—FIXED

Known Issues in 2.91

• A slight thump can be heard when loading a Distortion > Kinky Boost, Arbitrator Fuzz, or Tycoctavia Fuzz model
• While backing up, the scribble strip on FS8 can sometimes flicker (Helix Floor, Helix RackControl)/
• In very rare cases, leaving the unit on for many hours can sometimes cause reverb models to cease outputting audio
• In a preset with two IRs blocks, moving one IR block to Path B can sometimes cause the other IR block to reset its Impulse Response to slot 1
• In rare cases, after exporting and then importing presets using HX Edit, the Split block’s bypass state can sometimes change (Helix Floor, Helix RackControl, Helix LT)/
• When using Blue Cat Audio’s PatchWork VST host software, resizing the Helix Native window may not scale smoothly (Helix Native)
• The Looper block’s Overdub function does not currently respond to incoming MIDI (HX Stomp)
• While connected to HX Edit, quickly changing models through the IR block can sometimes result in a unit freeze (HX Stomp)

Helix / HX 2.90 | Helix Native 1.90

“The Always Level Presets By Ear at Stage Volume with the Rest of the Band Playing Update”

Helix / HX 2.90 and Helix Native 1.90 include new amps, cabs, effects, features, and bug fixes, and is strongly recommended for all Helix and HX owners.

Updating to 2.90

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

STEP 1 — Updating HX Edit to 2.90

1. Log onto line6.com, download, and install HX Edit 2.90:

• Mac OS X: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9678
• Windows 7/8/10: https://line6.com/software/readeula.html?rid=9677

STEP 2 — Updating Helix / HX Firmware to 2.90

1. If you have Helix Rack/Control, turn off Helix Control. Also, shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc.
2. Connect your Helix/HX device to a Mac or PC via USB (do not use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on towers) and turn it on.
3. Launch the new version of HX Edit 2.90 you installed in Step 1 above. If you’re not signed in, click “Check for Updates” in the lower right corner and sign in. If you’re already signed in, a dialog panel appears, indicating an update is available.
4. Click “Update Now.” A window appears, asking you to back up your Helix/HX hardware. Click OK, optionally rename the backup and / or choose a different destination folder, and then click “Create Backup.”
5. Continue following the prompts. Once updated, the window reads “Update Complete” and your Helix / HX hardware begins rebuilding its presets; wait for this to complete and click “Back to HX Edit.”
6. If you have Helix Control connected to Helix Rack, turn on Helix Control. Helix Rack reads “Helix Control must be updated to work properly.” Press Knob 6 (OK).

New Amp Models in 2.90

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

• Revv Gen Purple, based on* the purple (Gain 1) channel of the Revv® Generator 120

New Cab Models in 2.90

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

• 1x12 Fullerton, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe
• 1x12 Grammatico, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange

New Effects Models in 2.90

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

• Distortion > Alpaca Rouge (Mono, Stereo), inspired by* the Way Huge® Red Llama (modded)
• Distortion > Legendary Drive (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Carvin VLD1 Legacy Drive (high gain channel)
• Distortion > Xenomorph Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), inspired by* the Subdecay Harmonic Antagonizer
• Dynamics > Rochester Comp (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Ashly® CLX-52 and created in conjunction with Billy Sheehan
• Modulation> Pebble Phaser (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Electro-Harmonix® Small Stone phaser
• Split > Dynamic, Line 6 original. This new Split block type lets you dynamically route signals to Path B, depending on how hard you play. For example, you could roll your guitar’s volume back a bit and play clean chords through a Grammatico on Path A and then roll it back up and dig in to blend in a searing Revv Gen Purple lead on Path B
  • Knob 1 (Threshold) — Signals below the Threshold are routed to Path A; signals above the Threshold are routed to Path B
  • Knob 2 (Attack) — Determines how fast the signal routes to Path B once reaching the Threshold
  • Knob 3 (Decay) — Determines how fast the signal returns to Path A once falling below the Threshold
  • Knob 4 (Reverse) — Swaps dynamic path routing. When set to “On”, signals below the Threshold are routed to Path B and signals above the Threshold are routed to Path A

NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.

New Features in Helix/HX Firmware 2.90

Output Meters

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT

The following block types display output meters in the inspector when selected:

• Output
• Send/Return > Send
• Send/Return > FX Loop

IMPORTANT! Meters (in any product, not just Helix) are never appropriate for ensuring consistent levels from preset to preset. The models you use, the preset's frequency and dynamic response, your guitar or bass, your pickups, your playback system, your environment, your location in front of (or behind!) your playback system, and especially your bandmates all radically affect the perceived loudness of various presets. It's very common for the meters of one preset to show it's louder than another, while what you hear is the exact opposite. ALWAYS trust your ears when leveling presets, and whenever possible, level presets at stage volume, with the rest of the band playing.

Gain Reduction Meters

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT

The following block types display a gain reduction meter in the inspector when selected:

• Dynamics > Compressor (the 3-Band Comp displays three meters)
• Dynamics > Gate

Signal Present/Clip Indicators

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Stomp

The following block types now display a pale green background when signal is present and a bright red background if the block clips:

• Input
• Output
• Send/Return > Send (clip indication only)
• Send/Return > Return (clip indication only)
• Send/Return > FX Loop (clip indication only)

Improved IR Referencing

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

Impulse Response blocks now reference each IR file by waveform instead of index number. This means that when presets are shared and the recipient has the same IRs, they'll appear in the right place without having to manually reorder all IRs to match.

IMPORTANT! For improved IR referencing to take place, all presets must be rebuilt. Presets should've automatically been rebuilt after updating to 2.90, but if they didn't, you can manually rebuild them:

• Helix, Helix LT: While holding FS10 and FS11 (bottom row), turn on Helix. Wait for "Will rebuild all Presets..." to appear and let go
• Helix Rack: While holding Knobs 1 and 3 below the screen, turn on Helix Rack. Wait for "Will rebuild all Presets..." to appear and let go
• HX Effects: No preset rebuild necessary
• HX Stomp: While holding both the Upper and Lower Knobs, turn on HX Stomp. Wait for "Will rebuild Presets..." to appear and let go
• Helix Native: The first time you open the plug-in, a dialog appears, reading "Your presets are being parsed to associate IR blocks intelligently with the IRs they reference." Click OK.

Command Center > HX Preset

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects

A new Command Center command type lets you assign any preset (or Next Preset or Previous Preset) to any stomp switch. Together with HX Snapshot and HX Looper commands, you can now customize Stomp footswitch mode to your liking.

1. From the Command Center, select a stomp switch and turn Knob 1 (Command) to select "HX Preset."
2. Turn Knob 2 (Preset) to choose Next Preset, Previous Preset, or any single preset within the current setlist.

IMPORTANT! Although stomp mode switches can be assigned to multiple functions, to avoid unintended behavior, we strongly recommend HX Preset commands be assigned to empty footswitches.

Command Center > HX Snapshot

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects

A new Command Center command type lets you assign any snapshot (or Snapshot Up or Snapshot Down) to any stomp switch. Together with HX Preset and HX Looper commands, you can now customize Stomp footswitch mode to your liking.

1. From the Command Center, select a stomp switch and turn Knob 1 (Command) to select "HX Snapshot."
2. Turn Knob 2 (Behavior) to set the behavior of the stomp switch:

• Press / Release — Pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; releasing the switch engages the Knob 4 (Release) function.
• Press / Hold — Briefly pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; pressing and holding the switch for 1 second engages the Knob 4 (Hold) function

IMPORTANT! Although stomp mode switches can be assigned to multiple functions, to avoid unintended behavior, we strongly recommend HX Snapshot commands be assigned to empty footswitches.

Command Center > HX Looper

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects

A new Command Center command type lets you assign any Looper function to any stomp mode switch or instant command. Together with HX Preset and HX Looper commands, you can now customize Stomp footswitch mode to your liking. Note that a 6 Switch Looper or 1 Switch Looper block must be present in your preset for HX Looper commands to function properly. Also, caution should be taken when assigning HX Looper commands, as only the Press function is displayed on the scribble strip (Performance View on Helix LT); Release and Hold functions are not displayed.

1. From the Command Center, select a stomp switch and turn Knob 1 (Command) to select "HX Looper."
2. Turn Knob 2 (Behavior) to set the behavior of the stomp switch:

• Press / Release — Pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; releasing the switch engages the Knob 4 (Release) function.
• Press / Hold—Briefly pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; pressing and holding the switch for 1 second engages the Knob 4 (Hold) function.

IMPORTANT! Although stomp mode switches can be assigned to multiple functions, to avoid unintended behavior, we strongly recommend HX Looper commands be assigned to empty footswitches.

Shortcut > Model Subcategory

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects, HX Stomp

You can now quickly skip through model subcategories without ever having to open the model list. Finding a specific amp or effect is now faster than ever.

• Helix / Helix Rack / Helix LT — From the Home screen, hold < PAGE and press PAGE > to jump to the the next subcategory. Hold PAGE < and press > PAGE to jump to the previous subcategory. Then turn the joystick to select models within that subcategory
• HX Effects — From Stomp view, press and turn the Big Knob to skip subcategories, then turn normally to select models within that subcategory
• HX Stomp — From Edit view, press and turnthe Lower Knob to skip subcategories, then turn normally to select models within that subcategory

For example, if you have HX Stomp and have selected an empty block location, pressing and turning the Lower Knob will jump to the first model in each subcategory: Distortion > Mono, Distortion > Stereo, Distortion > Legacy, Dynamics > Mono, Dynamics > Stereo, Dynamics > Legacy, EQ > Mono, EQ > Stereo, Modulation > Mono, Modulation > Stereo, and so on.

Update Firmware From HX Edit

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects, HX Stomp

Instead of hanging out on social media, desperately asking when the next firmware’s dropping, you can now, I dunno, actually play guitar? As soon as a new update becomes available, HX Editwill tell you, and all you gotta do is follow the prompts.

New Features in Helix Native1.90

NOTE: For additional information on Helix Native 1.90 or HX Edit 2.90, check out the latest Helix Native and HX Edit Pilot’s Guides, which are automatically installed with the new 1.90 / 2.90 software.

A/B Compare

Helix Native

A new set of buttons lets you temporarily store all of the Helix Native instance’s model selection and parameter settings, then tweak any number of parameters and easily compare an A version and a B version. Click the middle button to quickly copy the current state to the other (A to B or B to A).

Other Changes and Improvements in Helix / HX 2.90 | Helix Native 1.90

• The EQ > Low / High Shelf model’s Hi Freq parameter now goes down to 400Hz (Helix Floor / Rack / LT, HX Effects, HX Stomp, Helix Native)
• Booting up now takes roughly half the time (Helix Floor / Rack / LT, HX Effects)
• While in Tuner mode, the three footswitch LEDs act as additional tuning indicators (HX Stomp [feature is already in HX Effects])
• Edited presets now display a small “E” icon (HX Effects, HX Stomp [feature is already in Helix Floor / Rack / LT])
• Blocks can now quickly be copied and pasted across signal flows by Option-dragging (Windows: Control-dragging) the block (Helix Native, HX Edit)
• IRs can now be dragged directly from the Impulses list onto the signal flow view (Helix Native, HX Edit)
• Double-clicking an IR in the Impulses list now auto-populates the currently selected IR block (Helix Native, HX Edit)
• Parameters with very few values now appear as select boxes instead of sliders (Helix Native, HX Edit)
• Parameters assigned to controllers now scale slider width to reflect Min and Max values (Helix Native)
• A “Check for Updates” box has been added to the Preferences window (Helix Native, HX Edit)
• Lots of stability and usability improvements across the board (Helix Native, HX Edit)

Bug Fixes in 2.90

• Distortion > Obsidian Drive’s polarity was reversed
• Remotely changing Powercab Plus speaker modes upon preset recall could sometimes result in a volume bump
• Using Learn to quickly assign a parameter to footswitch control could occasionally swap the switch’s Latching / Momentary setting
• Setting the Input block on Path 1A to S/PDIF could stop passing audio if a new Path 1B Input block had been created
• Connecting an expression pedal to Helix Control could sometimes cause the pedal position display to behave erratically
• Lots of other minor bug fixes

Known Issues in 2.90

• A slight thump can be heard when loading a Distortion > Kinky Boost, Arbitrator Fuzz, or Tycoctavia Fuzz model
• While backing up, the scribble strip on FS8 can sometimes flicker (Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control)
• In very rare cases, leaving the unit on for many hours can sometimes cause reverb models to cease outputting audio
• In a preset with two IRs blocks, moving one IR block to Path B can sometimes cause the other IR block to reset its Impulse Response to slot 1
• In rare cases, after exporting and then importing presets using HX Edit, the Split block’s bypass state can sometimes change (Helix Floor, Helix RackControl, Helix LT)/
• When using Blue Cat Audio’s PatchWork VST host software, resizing the Helix Native window may not scale smoothly (Helix Native)

Helix / HX 2.90 | Helix Native 1.90

“The Always Level Presets By Ear at Stage Volume with the Rest of the Band Playing Update”

Helix / HX 2.90 and Helix Native 1.90 include new amps, cabs, effects, features, and bug fixes, and is strongly recommended for all Helix and HX owners.

Updating to 2.90

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

STEP 1 — Updating HX Edit to 2.90

1. Log onto line6.com, download, and install HX Edit 2.90:

• Mac OS X: link
• Windows 7/8/10: link

STEP 2 — Updating Helix / HX Firmware to 2.90

1. If you have Helix Rack/Control, turn off Helix Control. Also, shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc.
2. Connect your Helix/HX device to a Mac or PC via USB (do not use any sort of USB hub, which may include the front USB ports on towers) and turn it on.
3. Launch the new version of HX Edit 2.90 you installed in Step 1 above. If you’re not signed in, click “Check for Updates” in the lower right corner and sign in. If you’re already signed in, a dialog panel appears, indicating an update is available.
4. Click “Update Now.” A window appears, asking you to back up your Helix/HX hardware. Click OK, optionally rename the backup and / or choose a different destination folder, and then click “Create Backup.”
5. Continue following the prompts. Once updated, the window reads “Update Complete” and your Helix / HX hardware begins rebuilding its presets; wait for this to complete and click “Back to HX Edit.”
6. If you have Helix Control connected to Helix Rack, turn on Helix Control. Helix Rack reads “Helix Control must be updated to work properly.” Press Knob 6 (OK).

New Amp Models in 2.90

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

• Revv Gen Purple, based on* the purple (Gain 1) channel of the Revv® Generator 120

New Cab Models in 2.90

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

• 1x12 Fullerton, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe
• 1x12 Grammatico, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange

New Effects Models in 2.90

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

• Distortion > Alpaca Rouge (Mono, Stereo), inspired by* the Way Huge® Red Llama (modded)
• Distortion > Legendary Drive (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Carvin VLD1 Legacy Drive (high gain channel)
• Distortion > Xenomorph Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), inspired by* the Subdecay Harmonic Antagonizer
• Dynamics > Rochester Comp (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Ashly® CLX-52 and created in conjunction with Billy Sheehan
• Modulation> Pebble Phaser (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Electro-Harmonix® Small Stone phaser
• Split > Dynamic, Line 6 original. This new Split block type lets you dynamically route signals to Path B, depending on how hard you play. For example, you could roll your guitar’s volume back a bit and play clean chords through a Grammatico on Path A and then roll it back up and dig in to blend in a searing Revv Gen Purple lead on Path B
  • Knob 1 (Threshold) — Signals below the Threshold are routed to Path A; signals above the Threshold are routed to Path B
  • Knob 2 (Attack) — Determines how fast the signal routes to Path B once reaching the Threshold
  • Knob 3 (Decay) — Determines how fast the signal returns to Path A once falling below the Threshold
  • Knob 4 (Reverse) — Swaps dynamic path routing. When set to “On”, signals below the Threshold are routed to Path B and signals above the Threshold are routed to Path A

NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.

New Features in Helix/HX Firmware 2.90

Output Meters

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT

The following block types display output meters in the inspector when selected:

• Output
• Send/Return > Send
• Send/Return > FX Loop

IMPORTANT! Meters (in any product, not just Helix) are never appropriate for ensuring consistent levels from preset to preset. The models you use, the preset's frequency and dynamic response, your guitar or bass, your pickups, your playback system, your environment, your location in front of (or behind!) your playback system, and especially your bandmates all radically affect the perceived loudness of various presets. It's very common for the meters of one preset to show it's louder than another, while what you hear is the exact opposite. ALWAYS trust your ears when leveling presets, and whenever possible, level presets at stage volume, with the rest of the band playing.

Gain Reduction Meters

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT

The following block types display a gain reduction meter in the inspector when selected:

• Dynamics > Compressor (the 3-Band Comp displays three meters)
• Dynamics > Gate

Signal Present/Clip Indicators

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Stomp

The following block types now display a pale green background when signal is present and a bright red background if the block clips:

• Input
• Output
• Send/Return > Send (clip indication only)
• Send/Return > Return (clip indication only)
• Send/Return > FX Loop (clip indication only)

Improved IR Referencing

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

Impulse Response blocks now reference each IR file by waveform instead of index number. This means that when presets are shared and the recipient has the same IRs, they'll appear in the right place without having to manually reorder all IRs to match.

IMPORTANT! For improved IR referencing to take place, all presets must be rebuilt. Presets should've automatically been rebuilt after updating to 2.90, but if they didn't, you can manually rebuild them:

• Helix, Helix LT: While holding FS10 and FS11 (bottom row), turn on Helix. Wait for "Will rebuild all Presets..." to appear and let go
• Helix Rack: While holding Knobs 1 and 3 below the screen, turn on Helix Rack. Wait for "Will rebuild all Presets..." to appear and let go
• HX Effects: No preset rebuild necessary
• HX Stomp: While holding both the Upper and Lower Knobs, turn on HX Stomp. Wait for "Will rebuild Presets..." to appear and let go
• Helix Native: The first time you open the plug-in, a dialog appears, reading "Your presets are being parsed to associate IR blocks intelligently with the IRs they reference." Click OK.

Command Center > HX Preset

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects

A new Command Center command type lets you assign any preset (or Next Preset or Previous Preset) to any stomp switch. Together with HX Snapshot and HX Looper commands, you can now customize Stomp footswitch mode to your liking.

1. From the Command Center, select a stomp switch and turn Knob 1 (Command) to select "HX Preset."
2. Turn Knob 2 (Preset) to choose Next Preset, Previous Preset, or any single preset within the current setlist.

IMPORTANT! Although stomp mode switches can be assigned to multiple functions, to avoid unintended behavior, we strongly recommend HX Preset commands be assigned to empty footswitches.

Command Center > HX Snapshot

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects

A new Command Center command type lets you assign any snapshot (or Snapshot Up or Snapshot Down) to any stomp switch. Together with HX Preset and HX Looper commands, you can now customize Stomp footswitch mode to your liking.

1. From the Command Center, select a stomp switch and turn Knob 1 (Command) to select "HX Snapshot."
2. Turn Knob 2 (Behavior) to set the behavior of the stomp switch:

• Press / Release — Pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; releasing the switch engages the Knob 4 (Release) function.
• Press / Hold — Briefly pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; pressing and holding the switch for 1 second engages the Knob 4 (Hold) function

IMPORTANT! Although stomp mode switches can be assigned to multiple functions, to avoid unintended behavior, we strongly recommend HX Snapshot commands be assigned to empty footswitches.

Command Center > HX Looper

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects

A new Command Center command type lets you assign any Looper function to any stomp mode switch or instant command. Together with HX Preset and HX Looper commands, you can now customize Stomp footswitch mode to your liking. Note that a 6 Switch Looper or 1 Switch Looper block must be present in your preset for HX Looper commands to function properly. Also, caution should be taken when assigning HX Looper commands, as only the Press function is displayed on the scribble strip (Performance View on Helix LT); Release and Hold functions are not displayed.

1. From the Command Center, select a stomp switch and turn Knob 1 (Command) to select "HX Looper."
2. Turn Knob 2 (Behavior) to set the behavior of the stomp switch:

• Press / Release — Pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; releasing the switch engages the Knob 4 (Release) function.
• Press / Hold—Briefly pressing the switch engages the Knob 3 (Press) function; pressing and holding the switch for 1 second engages the Knob 4 (Hold) function.

IMPORTANT! Although stomp mode switches can be assigned to multiple functions, to avoid unintended behavior, we strongly recommend HX Looper commands be assigned to empty footswitches.

Shortcut > Model Subcategory

Helix Floor, Helix Rack / Control, Helix LT, HX Effects, HX Stomp

You can now quickly skip through model subcategories without ever having to open the model list. Finding a specific amp or effect is now faster than ever.

• Helix / Helix Rack / Helix LT — From the Home screen, hold to jump to the the next subcategory. Hold PAGE> and press
• HX Effects — From Stomp view, press and turn the Big Knob to skip subcategories, then turn normally to select models within that subcategory
• HX Stomp — From Edit view, press and turnthe Lower Knob to skip subcategories, then turn normally to select models within that subcategory

Helix Native 1.82 Release Notes

Bug Fixes

• In some cases, an error message would appear when clicking redo after deleting a block
• After cutting or clearing a block, its bypass/controller assignments could be lost
• Stepping through presets in order could be redone reliably, but not undone
• When changing models, clicking Undo could inadvertently clear automation assignments of common parameters
• Helix Native could not instantiate in hardened runtime builds of Cubase 10.5
• When in Hardware Compatibility Mode for HX Stomp, a direct (dry) signal could be heard
• Undo/Redo was limited to 31 steps
• In rare cases, clicking Undo or Redo could change a Cab > Dual block into a Cab > Single block
• Other minor bug fixes
  Compatible OS: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10

  ( 30 MB ) Get Download

  
  

Helix Native 1.82 Release Notes

Bug Fixes

• In some cases, an error message would appear when clicking redo after deleting a block
• After cutting or clearing a block, its bypass/controller assignments could be lost
• Stepping through presets in order could be redone reliably, but not undone
• When changing models, clicking Undo could inadvertently clear automation assignments of common parameters
• Helix Native could not instantiate in hardened runtime builds of Cubase 10.5
• When in Hardware Compatibility Mode for HX Stomp, a direct (dry) signal could be heard
• Undo/Redo was limited to 31 steps
• In rare cases, clicking Undo or Redo could change a Cab > Dual block into a Cab > Single block
• Other minor bug fixes
  Compatible OS: Mac OS X, Mac OS Yosemite, Mac OS El Capitan, macOS Sierra, macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina

  ( 39 MB ) Get Download

  
  

Helix Native 1.81 Release Notes

Bug Fixes in 1.81

• After loading two presets in a row containing a Looper block on Path 1B or 2B, audio could sometimes drop out

• Changing IRs via controller or snapshot could sometimes result in an audible crossfade between IRs

• Performing an Undo/Redo function could sometimes cause a Cab > Dual block to change to a Cab > Single block

• Performing an Undo/Redo function could sometimes cause a stereo effect block to change to a mono effect block

• On Windows, the Win Defender pop-up could block installation of Helix Native or HX Edit

Known Issues in 1.81

• Pitch/Synth > 3 OSC Synth, 3 Note Generator, and 4 OSC Generator are louder than in 2.71

• In rare cases, the Dynamics > LA Studio Comp model can sometimes cause a drop in preset volume

• Helix Native will not open in hardened runtime builds of Cubase 10.5

• Logic Pro X is currently unable to write snapshot or switch automation data for Helix Native

• Performing an undo after a block cut or clear can delete the block’s footswitch and/or controller assignments

• Moving an effect, amp, cab, or IR block can sometimes inadvertently reposition a Split or Merge block

• Changing models can clear automation assignments of common parameters (such as Amp > Bass orDelay > Time)

Helix Native 1.81 Release Notes

Bug Fixes in 1.81

• After loading two presets in a row containing a Looper block on Path 1B or 2B, audio could sometimes drop out

• Changing IRs via controller or snapshot could sometimes result in an audible crossfade between IRs

• Performing an Undo/Redo function could sometimes cause a Cab > Dual block to change to a Cab > Single block

• Performing an Undo/Redo function could sometimes cause a stereo effect block to change to a mono effect block

• On Windows, the Win Defender pop-up could block installation of Helix Native or HX Edit

Known Issues in 1.81

• Pitch/Synth > 3 OSC Synth, 3 Note Generator, and 4 OSC Generator are louder than in 2.71

• In rare cases, the Dynamics > LA Studio Comp model can sometimes cause a drop in preset volume

• Helix Native will not open in hardened runtime builds of Cubase 10.5

• Logic Pro X is currently unable to write snapshot or switch automation data for Helix Native

• Performing an undo after a block cut or clear can delete the block’s footswitch and/or controller assignments

• Moving an effect, amp, cab, or IR block can sometimes inadvertently reposition a Split or Merge block

• Changing models can clear automation assignments of common parameters (such as Amp > Bass orDelay > Time)

NATIVE 1.80

IMPORTANT! 1.80 utilizes the new Helix Core engine, which unifies all Helix and HX products into the same ecosystem. Because there are tons of changes under the hood, presets created in 1.80 will not be compatible with earlier firmware, which means if you want to return to 1.71 for whatever reason, and you didn’t back up before updating to 1.80, your presets will NO LONGER WORK. Therefore, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND everyone back up everything BEFORE updating.

Instructions for backing up begin… now.

Updating to 1.80 (READ ME!)

1. Backing Up Helix Native.

1. Open any instance of YOUR CURRENT VERSION Helix Native (NOT the new Helix Native 1.80) within your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. From the Presets/IRs tab, click “Export Bundle.”
3. Choose the destination folder and click “Save.”

TIP: If you want to load the 1.80 factory presets, it’s better to manually back up individual setlists, so you can later import them into empty setlists. To do this, from the preset library along the left side, select the setlist you want to back up and click the small yellow “Export.” Choose a destination folder and click “Save.” Repeat for any other setlists you want to back up.

2. Loading the 1.80 Factory Presets / Templates

IMPORTANT! The following procedure will COMPLETELY ERASE ALL OF YOUR CUSTOM PRESETS! If you want to keep them, make sure you back them up First! (See “STEP 1: Backing Up Helix Native” above.)

1. Open any instance of Helix Nativewithin your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. From the Presets/IRs tab, click “Restore Factory Setlists”

3. Restoring Helix Native from a Backup

1. Open any instance of Helix Native within your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. From the Presets/IRs tab, click “Import Bundle.”
3. Browse to the location chosen in STEP 1 above and click “Open.”

Whew! That wasn’t too terrible, now was it? What’s that… it was? Sorry. Now that Helix Core is finished, hopefully future update procedures will be less… involved.

New Amp Models in 1.80

Fullerton Nrm, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe (normal channel)

Fullerton Brt, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe (bright channel)

Fullerton Jump, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe (jumped channels)

Grammatico Nrm, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange (normal channel)

Grammatico Brt, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange (bright channel)

Grammatico Jump, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange (jumped channels)

Revv Gen Red, based on* the red (gain 2) channel of the Revv® Generator 120

Ampeg SVT-4 PRO, based on* the Ampeg® SVT-4 PRO

NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development. That said, the teams at Revv and Grammatico are super cool (and patient!) and you should buy their awesome amps.

New Effects Models in 1.80

Distortion > Dhyana Drive (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Hermida Zendrive

Distortion > Heir Apparent (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Analogman Prince of Tone (basically half a King of Tone)

Distortion > Tone Sovereign (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Analogman King of Tone V4 (basically two Prince of Tones in one)

Distortion > ZeroAmp Bass DI (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Tech 21® SansAmp Bass Driver DI V1

Distortion > Ampeg Scrambler (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Ampeg® Scrambler Bass Overdrive

Filter > Asheville Pattrn (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Moog® Moogerfooger® MF-105M MIDI MuRF Filter (with both MuRF and Bass MuRF voicings)

EQ > Low/High Shelf (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original

EQ > Tilt (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original. Tilt is a subtle 6dB EQ that boosts high frequencies while simultaneously attenuating low frequencies (or vice versa). Great for quickly making tones a bit brighter or darker. The Center Freq parameter sets the frequency around which the boost and cut pivot

NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.

New Features in 1.80

NOTE: For additional information on Helix Native 1.80, check out the latest Helix Native Pilot’s Guides, which is automatically installed with the new 1.80 software.

Snapshot Bypass

There may be situations where you don’t want Helix’s snapshots to control a particular block’s bypass state; that is, you’d prefer to turn it on and off manually. For example, you may want manual control of a boost pedal at any time without worrying whether a particular snapshot might turn it on or off.

Right-click (Mac: control-click) on a processing block and uncheck “Snapshot Bypass.” Alternatively, right-click (Mac: control-click) the Bypass button to uncheck “Snapshot Bypass.”

Hardware Compatibility Mode

Helix Native can now reflect the signal flow and model set of all Helix and HX hardware devices, so transferring presets to and from your DAW is even easier. In addition, Hardware Compatibility can be disabled entirely, so the simultaneous model count is now limited only by the speed of your computer.

1. Open any instance of Helix Native within your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. Click the Hardware Compatibility tab.
3. From the “Current Hardware Compatibility Mode” pull-down menu, select one of the following options:

Off

Disables Hardware Compatibility and lets you add as many blocks (of any type) as your computer’s horsepower will allow. Choose this setting if you don’t own any Helix or HX hardware

Helix Floor /LT / Rack (the default)

Configures Helix Native such that any presets made can be easily loaded into Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, or Helix LT

HX Effects

Configures Helix Native such that any presets made can be easily loaded into HX Effects. In this mode, no Amp or Cab models will be available

HX Stomp

Configures Helix Native such that any presets made can be easily loaded into HX Stomp

4. Click OK. Depending on the current Hardware Compatibility Mode, Helix Native may repopulate the preset list to reflect that of the selected hardware. For example, if you choose “HX Stomp,” HX Stomp’s factory presets will appear and the signal flow will be limited to six blocks
5. Click “Set as Default” to ensure any new instances of Helix Native open in the selected mode.

IMPORTANT! Each Hardware Compatibility Mode incorporates its own, independent preset library. Therefore, you will see the Helix Native preset library automatically repopulate to reflect that of the selected hardware.

Helix / HX Preset Sharing

All Helix and HX hardware and software now live within the same ecosystem. Using multiple instances of Helix Native, both blocks and entire presets can be freely dragged and dropped or copied and pasted between units. Aside from the obvious caveats below, all Helix and HX products can now share the same content.

IMPORTANT! Due to the vast differences in how Helix/HX products manage controllers, snapshots, and Command Center messages, there is no guarantee that every single tiny detail of a preset will translate properly.

You can now drag / drop, copy / paste, or otherwise load:

HX Effects or HX Stomp presets into Helix Floor / Rack / LT and Helix Native. If an HX Effects preset has 9 blocks, the ninth block will be routed to Path 2

Helix Floor / Rack / LT, Helix Native, or HX Stomp presets into HX Effects. However, there are caveats.

To avoid an error message, the source preset must:

• Contain 9 or fewer blocks
• Not contain any Amp+Cab, Amp, Preamp, or Cab blocks
• Contain no more than one Split and Merge block
• Fit within one path worth of DSP processing

Helix Floor / Rack/LT, Helix Native, or HX Effects presets into HX Stomp. However, there are caveats. To avoid an error message, the source preset must:

• Contain 6 or fewer blocks
• Contain no more than one Split and Merge block Fit within one path worth of DSP processing

Helix Floor / Rack/LT, HX Effects, or HX Stomp presets into Helix Native

NOTE: A dialog box will appear if the source preset cannot be accommodated by the current Hardware Compatibility Mode (see above). At this point, you may choose to switch the current Hardware Compatibility Mode to that of the source preset, or attempt to translate the preset into the current Hardware Compatibility Mode, given the caveats above. See the Helix Native Pilot’s Guide for more information. Click the question mark icon in the lower left corner of the plug-in.

Undo/Redo

Helix Native now supports multiple levels of undo/redo.

1. Click the Undo button to undo the most recent edit.
2. Click the Redo button to redo the most recent undo.

MIDI Learn

Helix Native can now learn an incoming MIDI CC message and automatically assign it to a parameter.

1. Right-click on a parameter and select Controller > MIDI Learn. A small brain icon flashes. If you change your mind, click the icon to cancel.
2. Send Helix Native a MIDI CC message. The parameter is automatically assigned to it.

TIP: In Helix Native, right-click (Mac: control-click) on a processing block to open a pull-down that lets you manually assign a MIDI CC to block bypass. Right-click (Mac: control-click) on a parameter slider to open a pull-down menu that lets you manually assign a MIDI CC to parameter control.

NOTE: Not all DAW software automatically routes incoming MIDI data through to any plug-in, especially those instantiated as an insert on an audio track. See your DAW’s documentation for more information. The new MIDI In indicator in the lower right corner flashes if Helix Native receives MIDI data.

Other Changes and Improvements in 1.80

On a Cab > Dual block, changing the first cab no longer changes the second cab.

Impulse Response blocks now display as many IR file name characters as will fit in the inspector header

Additional values have been added to recall snapshots remotely via MIDI CC69 Value 8 will select the next snapshot and Value 9 will select the previous snapshot

A small indicator in the lower right corner of the plug-in window flashes whenever a MIDI message is received

Automation and MIDIcontroller assignments can now be managed together from the AutomationController Assign tab

Blocks assigned to controllers or automation now display their category name in brackets. Parameters assigned to controllers or automation display a small icon to the left of their parameter sliders. In addition, pop-up menus now display controller or automation assignments, if any

From the Automation/Controller Assign tab, right-click (Mac: control-click) an assignment to open a pull-down menu, letting you clear one or all assignments

A new “Restore Factory Settings” button has been added to the bottom of the Preferences window

Wow, you’re still reading this? Congratulations; you’re way cooler and better looking than other Helix/HX owners. Celebrate your superiority with some delicious tacos.

As Ampeg is now Line 6’s sister company, all pre-1.80 Ampeg models have been renamed:

Amp > Bass > Tuck n’ Go is now called “Ampeg B-15NF”

Amp > Bass > SV Beast Nrm is now called “Ampeg SVT Nrm”

Amp > Bass > SV Beast Brt is now called “Ampeg SVT Brt”

Cab > 1x15 Tuck n’ Go is now called “1x15 Ampeg B-15”

Cab > 4x10 Rhino is now called “4x10 Ampeg HLF”

Cab > 8x10 SV Beast is now called “8x10 Ampeg SVT E”

Numerous stability and performance improvements Lots of other little things

Known Issues in 1.80

Downgrading to 1.71 or older will erase ALL preset data.

A preset may load blank after dragging a looper block across a split, merge and another block two times. Simply load the preset again and it will load as expected.

Undo/Redo does not work when switching between time and note divisions.

Save to Library lists presets in “01A-32D” setlist format regardless of preferences.

NATIVE 1.80

IMPORTANT! 1.80 utilizes the new Helix Core engine, which unifies all Helix and HX products into the same ecosystem. Because there are tons of changes under the hood, presets created in 1.80 will not be compatible with earlier firmware, which means if you want to return to 1.71 for whatever reason, and you didn’t back up before updating to 1.80, your presets will NO LONGER WORK. Therefore, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND everyone back up everything BEFORE updating.

Instructions for backing up begin… now.

Updating to 1.80 (READ ME!)

1. Backing Up Helix Native.

1. Open any instance of YOUR CURRENT VERSION Helix Native (NOT the new Helix Native 1.80) within your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. From the Presets/IRs tab, click “Export Bundle.”
3. Choose the destination folder and click “Save.”

TIP: If you want to load the 1.80 factory presets, it’s better to manually back up individual setlists, so you can later import them into empty setlists. To do this, from the preset library along the left side, select the setlist you want to back up and click the small yellow “Export.” Choose a destination folder and click “Save.” Repeat for any other setlists you want to back up.

2. Loading the 1.80 Factory Presets / Templates

IMPORTANT! The following procedure will COMPLETELY ERASE ALL OF YOUR CUSTOM PRESETS! If you want to keep them, make sure you back them up First! (See “STEP 1: Backing Up Helix Native” above.)

1. Open any instance of Helix Nativewithin your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. From the Presets/IRs tab, click “Restore Factory Setlists”

3. Restoring Helix Native from a Backup

1. Open any instance of Helix Native within your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. From the Presets/IRs tab, click “Import Bundle.”
3. Browse to the location chosen in STEP 1 above and click “Open.”

Whew! That wasn’t too terrible, now was it? What’s that… it was? Sorry. Now that Helix Core is finished, hopefully future update procedures will be less… involved.

New Amp Models in 1.80

Fullerton Nrm, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe (normal channel)

Fullerton Brt, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe (bright channel)

Fullerton Jump, based on* the classic 1958 Fender® 5C3 Tweed Deluxe (jumped channels)

Grammatico Nrm, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange (normal channel)

Grammatico Brt, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange (bright channel)

Grammatico Jump, based on* the modern 2016 Grammatico LaGrange (jumped channels)

Revv Gen Red, based on* the red (gain 2) channel of the Revv® Generator 120

Ampeg SVT-4 PRO, based on* the Ampeg® SVT-4 PRO

NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development. That said, the teams at Revv and Grammatico are super cool (and patient!) and you should buy their awesome amps.

New Effects Models in 1.80

Distortion > Dhyana Drive (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Hermida Zendrive

Distortion > Heir Apparent (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Analogman Prince of Tone (basically half a King of Tone)

Distortion > Tone Sovereign (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Analogman King of Tone V4 (basically two Prince of Tones in one)

Distortion > ZeroAmp Bass DI (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Tech 21® SansAmp Bass Driver DI V1

Distortion > Ampeg Scrambler (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Ampeg® Scrambler Bass Overdrive

Filter > Asheville Pattrn (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Moog® Moogerfooger® MF-105M MIDI MuRF Filter (with both MuRF and Bass MuRF voicings)

EQ > Low/High Shelf (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original

EQ > Tilt (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original. Tilt is a subtle 6dB EQ that boosts high frequencies while simultaneously attenuating low frequencies (or vice versa). Great for quickly making tones a bit brighter or darker. The Center Freq parameter sets the frequency around which the boost and cut pivot

NOTE: All product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective owners and neither Yamaha Guitar Group nor Line 6 are associated or affiliated with them. These trademarks appear solely to identify products whose tones and sounds were studied by Line 6 during sound model development.

New Features in 1.80

NOTE: For additional information on Helix Native 1.80, check out the latest Helix Native Pilot’s Guides, which is automatically installed with the new 1.80 software.

Snapshot Bypass

There may be situations where you don’t want Helix’s snapshots to control a particular block’s bypass state; that is, you’d prefer to turn it on and off manually. For example, you may want manual control of a boost pedal at any time without worrying whether a particular snapshot might turn it on or off.

Right-click (Mac: control-click) on a processing block and uncheck “Snapshot Bypass.” Alternatively, right-click (Mac: control-click) the Bypass button to uncheck “Snapshot Bypass.”

Hardware Compatibility Mode

Helix Native can now reflect the signal flow and model set of all Helix and HX hardware devices, so transferring presets to and from your DAW is even easier. In addition, Hardware Compatibility can be disabled entirely, so the simultaneous model count is now limited only by the speed of your computer.

1. Open any instance of Helix Native within your DAW and click the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the Preferences window.
2. Click the Hardware Compatibility tab.
3. From the “Current Hardware Compatibility Mode” pull-down menu, select one of the following options:

Off

Disables Hardware Compatibility and lets you add as many blocks (of any type) as your computer’s horsepower will allow. Choose this setting if you don’t own any Helix or HX hardware

Helix Floor /LT / Rack (the default)

Configures Helix Native such that any presets made can be easily loaded into Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Control, or Helix LT

HX Effects

Configures Helix Native such that any presets made can be easily loaded into HX Effects. In this mode, no Amp or Cab models will be available

HX Stomp

Configures Helix Native such that any presets made can be easily loaded into HX Stomp

4. Click OK. Depending on the current Hardware Compatibility Mode, Helix Native may repopulate the preset list to reflect that of the selected hardware. For example, if you choose “HX Stomp,” HX Stomp’s factory presets will appear and the signal flow will be limited to six blocks
5. Click “Set as Default” to ensure any new instances of Helix Native open in the selected mode.

IMPORTANT! Each Hardware Compatibility Mode incorporates its own, independent preset library. Therefore, you will see the Helix Native preset library automatically repopulate to reflect that of the selected hardware.

Helix / HX Preset Sharing

All Helix and HX hardware and software now live within the same ecosystem. Using multiple instances of Helix Native, both blocks and entire presets can be freely dragged and dropped or copied and pasted between units. Aside from the obvious caveats below, all Helix and HX products can now share the same content.

IMPORTANT! Due to the vast differences in how Helix/HX products manage controllers, snapshots, and Command Center messages, there is no guarantee that every single tiny detail of a preset will translate properly.

You can now drag / drop, copy / paste, or otherwise load:

HX Effects or HX Stomp presets into Helix Floor / Rack / LT and Helix Native. If an HX Effects preset has 9 blocks, the ninth block will be routed to Path 2

Helix Floor / Rack / LT, Helix Native, or HX Stomp presets into HX Effects. However, there are caveats.

To avoid an error message, the source preset must:

• Contain 9 or fewer blocks
• Not contain any Amp+Cab, Amp, Preamp, or Cab blocks
• Contain no more than one Split and Merge block
• Fit within one path worth of DSP processing

Helix Floor / Rack/LT, Helix Native, or HX Effects presets into HX Stomp. However, there are caveats. To avoid an error message, the source preset must:

• Contain 6 or fewer blocks
• Contain no more than one Split and Merge block Fit within one path worth of DSP processing

Helix Floor / Rack/LT, HX Effects, or HX Stomp presets into Helix Native

NOTE: A dialog box will appear if the source preset cannot be accommodated by the current Hardware Compatibility Mode (see above). At this point, you may choose to switch the current Hardware Compatibility Mode to that of the source preset, or attempt to translate the preset into the current Hardware Compatibility Mode, given the caveats above. See the Helix Native Pilot’s Guide for more information. Click the question mark icon in the lower left corner of the plug-in.

Undo/Redo

Helix Native now supports multiple levels of undo/redo.

1. Click the Undo button to undo the most recent edit.
2. Click the Redo button to redo the most recent undo.

MIDI Learn

Helix Native can now learn an incoming MIDI CC message and automatically assign it to a parameter.

1. Right-click on a parameter and select Controller > MIDI Learn. A small brain icon flashes. If you change your mind, click the icon to cancel.
2. Send Helix Native a MIDI CC message. The parameter is automatically assigned to it.

TIP: In Helix Native, right-click (Mac: control-click) on a processing block to open a pull-down that lets you manually assign a MIDI CC to block bypass. Right-click (Mac: control-click) on a parameter slider to open a pull-down menu that lets you manually assign a MIDI CC to parameter control.

NOTE: Not all DAW software automatically routes incoming MIDI data through to any plug-in, especially those instantiated as an insert on an audio track. See your DAW’s documentation for more information. The new MIDI In indicator in the lower right corner flashes if Helix Native receives MIDI data.

Other Changes and Improvements in 1.80

On a Cab > Dual block, changing the first cab no longer changes the second cab.

Impulse Response blocks now display as many IR file name characters as will fit in the inspector header

Additional values have been added to recall snapshots remotely via MIDI CC69 Value 8 will select the next snapshot and Value 9 will select the previous snapshot

A small indicator in the lower right corner of the plug-in window flashes whenever a MIDI message is received

Automation and MIDIcontroller assignments can now be managed together from the AutomationController Assign tab

Blocks assigned to controllers or automation now display their category name in brackets. Parameters assigned to controllers or automation display a small icon to the left of their parameter sliders. In addition, pop-up menus now display controller or automation assignments, if any

From the Automation/Controller Assign tab, right-click (Mac: control-click) an assignment to open a pull-down menu, letting you clear one or all assignments

A new “Restore Factory Settings” button has been added to the bottom of the Preferences window

Wow, you’re still reading this? Congratulations; you’re way cooler and better looking than other Helix/HX owners. Celebrate your superiority with some delicious tacos.

As Ampeg is now Line 6’s sister company, all pre-1.80 Ampeg models have been renamed:

Amp > Bass > Tuck n’ Go is now called “Ampeg B-15NF”

Amp > Bass > SV Beast Nrm is now called “Ampeg SVT Nrm”

Amp > Bass > SV Beast Brt is now called “Ampeg SVT Brt”

Cab > 1x15 Tuck n’ Go is now called “1x15 Ampeg B-15”

Cab > 4x10 Rhino is now called “4x10 Ampeg HLF”

Cab > 8x10 SV Beast is now called “8x10 Ampeg SVT E”

Numerous stability and performance improvements Lots of other little things

Known Issues in 1.80

Downgrading to 1.71 or older will erase ALL preset data.

A preset may load blank after dragging a looper block across a split, merge and another block two times. Simply load the preset again and it will load as expected.

Undo/Redo does not work when switching between time and note divisions.

Save to Library lists presets in “01A-32D” setlist format regardless of preferences.

Helix Native 1.71 

New Features

• Block Drag and Drop—Individual blocks in Helix Native can now be dragged and dropped between it and HX Edit or another Helix Native instance/panel

• Paste Before and Paste After—Blocks copied to the clipboard can now be inserted before or after the selected block. Right-click a block and select "Paste Before" or "Paste After”

Improvements/Changes

• Quick Clear—Hovering your mouse over a block again displays a small “x” icon. Click the icon to clear the block 

Bug Fixes

• In Pro Tools, the compare function would load only the selected preset — FIXED

• In Logic Pro X, after moving an instance of Helix Native to another channel strip location, the compare state could sometimes reverse — FIXED

• In Final Cut Pro, the master input and output sliders could load at -120dB — FIXED

Helix Native 1.71 

New Features

• Block Drag and Drop—Individual blocks in Helix Native can now be dragged and dropped between it and HX Edit or another Helix Native instance/panel

• Paste Before and Paste After—Blocks copied to the clipboard can now be inserted before or after the selected block. Right-click a block and select "Paste Before" or "Paste After”

Improvements/Changes

• Quick Clear—Hovering your mouse over a block again displays a small “x” icon. Click the icon to clear the block 

Bug Fixes

• In Pro Tools, the compare function would load only the selected preset — FIXED

• In Logic Pro X, after moving an instance of Helix Native to another channel strip location, the compare state could sometimes reverse — FIXED

• In Final Cut Pro, the master input and output sliders could load at -120dB — FIXED

New Features (Helix Native 1.70)

• Marketplace support—Marketplace is a new online destination that lets users purchase presets and impulse responses created by select third-party content gurus. From the lower left-hand corner Helix Native, click "My Account" and then choose "Get More Presets..." or "Get More IRs..."

Bug Fixes

• Helix Native only—Control/Command-click on parameter slider would not always snap to the hardware's default value — FIXED

• Many other minor bug fixes and improvements

New Features (Helix Native 1.70)

• Marketplace support—Marketplace is a new online destination that lets users purchase presets and impulse responses created by select third-party content gurus. From the lower left-hand corner Helix Native, click "My Account" and then choose "Get More Presets..." or "Get More IRs..."

Bug Fixes

• Helix Native only—Control/Command-click on parameter slider would not always snap to the hardware's default value — FIXED

• Many other minor bug fixes and improvements

Helix Native 1.60 “The Spring Cleaning Update”

Helix Native delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in Line 6’s best-selling Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

New Amp Models (2)

• Cali Texas Ch1, based on* the clean channel of the MESA/Boogie® Lonestar
• Placater Clean, based on* the clean channel of the Friedman BE-100

New Effects Models (3)

• Distortion > Deranged Master (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster—WARNING! Like the real thing, this model will take your head off! Works best before a distorted amp
• Distortion > Deez One Vintage (Mono, Stereo), based on* the BOSS© DS-1 distortion pedal (classic Made-in-Japan version)
• Distortion > Deez One Mod (Mono, Stereo), based on* the BOSS© DS-1 distortion pedal (Keeley mod version)

* All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6.

New Features

• MIDI block bypass—Helix Native now lets you bypass individual blocks via MIDI. Right-click (or Control-click) the desired block and from the pull-down menu, select MIDI Bypass > MIDI In. Then click the Automation/Controller Assign tab and choose the desired CC#. Note that there are lots of CCs that Helix Native will ignore, as these are reserved for Helix hardware functionality. See the Helix Native Pilot’s Guide for more information
• MIDI parameter control—Helix Native now lets you control parameters via MIDI. In the inspector, right-click (or Control-click) the desired parameter and from the pull-down menu, select Controller Assign > MIDI CC. Then click the Automation/Controller Assign tab and choose the parameter from the list. Adjust the MIDI CC#, Min, and Max Values
• MIDI snapshot select—To select a snapshot in Helix Native, send it a MIDI CC#69 message. Value 0 will recall Snapshot 1, Value 1 will recall Snapshot 2, Value 2 will recall Snapshot 3, and so on
• Block Copypaste between Helix Native and HX Edit/—Helix Native now lets you copy and paste individual blocks between plugin multiple instances and HX Edit. Right-click (or Control-click) the desired block and select Copy. Then switch to HX Edit and on the Signal Flow view, right click on the destination block (or an empty block location) and select Paste
• Helix Native now lets you copy and paste individual blocks after closing and then reopening the plugin window
• Helix Native now lets you copy and paste individual blocks between multiple instances

Improvements/Changes

• The most recent new HX Reverb models have been tweaked to sound notably wetter (see Known Issues below)
• When changing the Time parameter, Legacy delay models now exhibit a more organic behavior (like DL4 and Echo Pro)
• Helix, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT only: Variax Shuriken bank names now appear in the Input > Multi and Input > Variax block without requiring connection to Variax Workbench
• Plug-in window now loads faster
• Many under-the-hood improvements

Bug Fixes

• DSP intensive presets with one or more Placater Amp+Cab, Amp, or Preamp blocks can sometimes generate an error message — FIXED
• The Filter > Legacy > Obi Wah model is mono (should be stereo) — FIXED
• Modulation > Legacy > Analog Chorus > Mode parameter was mislabeled “CH Vib” — FIXED
• PitchSynth > Legacy > Smart Harmony > Key parameter was mislabeled “V1 Key” — /FIXED
• Attempting to import a very long Impulse Response can sometimes result in Helix Native freezing — FIXED
• Clearing all setlists and presets does not clear preset names until the plugin window is closed and reopened — FIXED
• In some cases, tempo changes may not be properly recalled when Tempo is set to Per Snapshot — FIXED
• Moving the Merge > Mixer block to Path B and then moving it back to its original position on Path A can result in an error message — FIXED
• In some cases, Path 2B’s input cannot be set to Host — FIXED
• Many other minor bug fixes, optimizations, and stability improvements

Known Issues

• As the new HX Reverb models have been tweaked to sound notably “wetter”, any existing user presets that use these models will sound different. Although Helix and HX hardware has the ability to compensate for changes made to models when rebuilding presets (and one of our goals is to rarely if ever cause audible changes to existing user presets), the improvements made to the reverb blocks unfortunately cannot be compensated for.
• * In ProTools, the Compare function only loads the selected preset.
• In Logic 10.4.1, after moving an instance of Helix Native to another channel strip location, the Compare state can sometimes reverse.
• The DAW’s Compare function toggles between the two previously loaded presets, instead of toggling any edits made to the preset.
• A processing block cannot be moved between a Split or Mixer and another processing block.
• In Logic, switches 13-16, Master Input/Output, and Snapshot Index parameters are missing from the Automation lane list.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

If you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit *http://line6.ideascale.com* to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Helix Native 1.60 “The Spring Cleaning Update”

Helix Native delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in Line 6’s best-selling Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

New Amp Models (2)

• Cali Texas Ch1, based on* the clean channel of the MESA/Boogie® Lonestar
• Placater Clean, based on* the clean channel of the Friedman BE-100

New Effects Models (3)

• Distortion > Deranged Master (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster—WARNING! Like the real thing, this model will take your head off! Works best before a distorted amp
• Distortion > Deez One Vintage (Mono, Stereo), based on* the BOSS© DS-1 distortion pedal (classic Made-in-Japan version)
• Distortion > Deez One Mod (Mono, Stereo), based on* the BOSS© DS-1 distortion pedal (Keeley mod version)

* All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6.

New Features

• MIDI block bypass—Helix Native now lets you bypass individual blocks via MIDI. Right-click (or Control-click) the desired block and from the pull-down menu, select MIDI Bypass > MIDI In. Then click the Automation/Controller Assign tab and choose the desired CC#. Note that there are lots of CCs that Helix Native will ignore, as these are reserved for Helix hardware functionality. See the Helix Native Pilot’s Guide for more information
• MIDI parameter control—Helix Native now lets you control parameters via MIDI. In the inspector, right-click (or Control-click) the desired parameter and from the pull-down menu, select Controller Assign > MIDI CC. Then click the Automation/Controller Assign tab and choose the parameter from the list. Adjust the MIDI CC#, Min, and Max Values
• MIDI snapshot select—To select a snapshot in Helix Native, send it a MIDI CC#69 message. Value 0 will recall Snapshot 1, Value 1 will recall Snapshot 2, Value 2 will recall Snapshot 3, and so on
• Block Copypaste between Helix Native and HX Edit/—Helix Native now lets you copy and paste individual blocks between plugin multiple instances and HX Edit. Right-click (or Control-click) the desired block and select Copy. Then switch to HX Edit and on the Signal Flow view, right click on the destination block (or an empty block location) and select Paste
• Helix Native now lets you copy and paste individual blocks after closing and then reopening the plugin window
• Helix Native now lets you copy and paste individual blocks between multiple instances

Improvements/Changes

• The most recent new HX Reverb models have been tweaked to sound notably wetter (see Known Issues below)
• When changing the Time parameter, Legacy delay models now exhibit a more organic behavior (like DL4 and Echo Pro)
• Helix, Helix Rack/Control, Helix LT only: Variax Shuriken bank names now appear in the Input > Multi and Input > Variax block without requiring connection to Variax Workbench
• Plug-in window now loads faster
• Many under-the-hood improvements

Bug Fixes

• DSP intensive presets with one or more Placater Amp+Cab, Amp, or Preamp blocks can sometimes generate an error message — FIXED
• The Filter > Legacy > Obi Wah model is mono (should be stereo) — FIXED
• Modulation > Legacy > Analog Chorus > Mode parameter was mislabeled “CH Vib” — FIXED
• PitchSynth > Legacy > Smart Harmony > Key parameter was mislabeled “V1 Key” — /FIXED
• Attempting to import a very long Impulse Response can sometimes result in Helix Native freezing — FIXED
• Clearing all setlists and presets does not clear preset names until the plugin window is closed and reopened — FIXED
• In some cases, tempo changes may not be properly recalled when Tempo is set to Per Snapshot — FIXED
• Moving the Merge > Mixer block to Path B and then moving it back to its original position on Path A can result in an error message — FIXED
• In some cases, Path 2B’s input cannot be set to Host — FIXED
• Many other minor bug fixes, optimizations, and stability improvements

Known Issues

• As the new HX Reverb models have been tweaked to sound notably “wetter”, any existing user presets that use these models will sound different. Although Helix and HX hardware has the ability to compensate for changes made to models when rebuilding presets (and one of our goals is to rarely if ever cause audible changes to existing user presets), the improvements made to the reverb blocks unfortunately cannot be compensated for.
• * In ProTools, the Compare function only loads the selected preset.
• In Logic 10.4.1, after moving an instance of Helix Native to another channel strip location, the Compare state can sometimes reverse.
• The DAW’s Compare function toggles between the two previously loaded presets, instead of toggling any edits made to the preset.
• A processing block cannot be moved between a Split or Mixer and another processing block.
• In Logic, switches 13-16, Master Input/Output, and Snapshot Index parameters are missing from the Automation lane list.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

If you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit *http://line6.ideascale.com* to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Helix Native 1.50 Release Notes

Helix Native delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in Line 6’s best-selling Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

NEW AMP MODELS (2)

NEW HX EFFECTS MODELS (6)

Helix Native now includes a library of effects from M13, M9, M5, DL4, DM4, FM4, and MM4. These appear in a new "Legacy" subcategory in the model list.

NEW LEGACY MODELS (77)

* All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6.

NEW FEATURES

• Snapshots - Helix Native now supports up to eight Snapshots per preset.
• Drag block to clear - Click and drag a block out out of the signal flow view to clear it.
• Dragging an amp/effect block nudges neighboring blocks out of the way to allow insertion
• Dragging a split/join block reveals insertion points between amp/effect positions (basically the same as previous behavior).
• Split/join positions can be nudged from any direction at any point along path A.

IMPROVEMENTS/CHANGES

• 12 of Helix’s 17 reverbs originally appeared in M-Class processors and Verbzilla. As such, they’ve been moved into the new “Legacy” subcategory within the Reverb category.
• Helix's tempo no longer responds to pressing TAP at tempo lower than 40.0 BPM (Beats Per Minute). This is to ensure that multiple fast tap entries are recognized properly, as previously, they could be seen as one really slow tap entry. You may still manually select a tempo all the way down to 20.0 BPM and your presets can still be saved with tempi down to 20.0 BPM.

BUG FIXES

• If its Mid and Bass parameters are set to 0.0, the Cali IV Lead Amp/Amp+Cab model could sometimes exhibit a decrease in gain.
• The Tempo Host Sync would be lost when reloading a session.
• Pro Tools: Latency Compensation broken when Helix Native plugin is bypassed.

KNOWN ISSUES

• Recalling an effect or instrument rack in Ableton Live with Helix Native instantiated can mute the track.
  Workaround: Uninstantiate and re-instantiate the plug-in.
• When using two 1024 IR's in a preset, moving the upper IR block before or after a pre/post split block can change the sonic character of the IR block.
• The copy/paste clipboard may be cleared after closing and reopening Helix Native.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

If you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit http://line6.ideascale.com to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Helix Native 1.50 Release Notes

Helix Native delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in Line 6’s best-selling Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

NEW AMP MODELS (2)

NEW HX EFFECTS MODELS (6)

Helix Native now includes a library of effects from M13, M9, M5, DL4, DM4, FM4, and MM4. These appear in a new "Legacy" subcategory in the model list.

NEW LEGACY MODELS (77)

* All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6.

NEW FEATURES

• Snapshots - Helix Native now supports up to eight Snapshots per preset.
• Drag block to clear - Click and drag a block out out of the signal flow view to clear it.
• Dragging an amp/effect block nudges neighboring blocks out of the way to allow insertion
• Dragging a split/join block reveals insertion points between amp/effect positions (basically the same as previous behavior).
• Split/join positions can be nudged from any direction at any point along path A.

IMPROVEMENTS/CHANGES

• 12 of Helix’s 17 reverbs originally appeared in M-Class processors and Verbzilla. As such, they’ve been moved into the new “Legacy” subcategory within the Reverb category.
• Helix's tempo no longer responds to pressing TAP at tempo lower than 40.0 BPM (Beats Per Minute). This is to ensure that multiple fast tap entries are recognized properly, as previously, they could be seen as one really slow tap entry. You may still manually select a tempo all the way down to 20.0 BPM and your presets can still be saved with tempi down to 20.0 BPM.

BUG FIXES

• If its Mid and Bass parameters are set to 0.0, the Cali IV Lead Amp/Amp+Cab model could sometimes exhibit a decrease in gain.
• The Tempo Host Sync would be lost when reloading a session.
• Pro Tools: Latency Compensation broken when Helix Native plugin is bypassed.

KNOWN ISSUES

• Recalling an effect or instrument rack in Ableton Live with Helix Native instantiated can mute the track.
  Workaround: Uninstantiate and re-instantiate the plug-in.
• When using two 1024 IR's in a preset, moving the upper IR block before or after a pre/post split block can change the sonic character of the IR block.
• The copy/paste clipboard may be cleared after closing and reopening Helix Native.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

If you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit http://line6.ideascale.com to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Helix Native 1.10 Release Notes

New Amps (7)

- Voltage Queen, based on* the Victoria® Electro King

- Derailed Ingrid, based on* the Trainwreck Circuits® Express

- Brit Trem Nrm, based on* the normal channel of the Marshall® Plexi Tremolo 50

- Brit Trem Brt, based on* the bright channel of the Marshall® Plexi Tremolo 50

- Brit Trem Jump, based on* the normal and bright channel (jumped) of the Marshall® Plexi Tremolo 50

- Cartographer, based on* the Ben Adrian Cartographer

- Agua 51, based on* the Aguilar® DB751 bass amp

New Effects (7)

- Distortion > Kinky Boost (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Xotic® EP Booster

- Distortion > Thrifter Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original

- Dynamics > Kinky Comp (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Xotic® SP Compressor

- Modulation > Bleat Chop Trem (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Lightfoot Labs© Goatkeeper

- Modulation > Double Take (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original doubler

- Delay > Cosmos Echo (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Roland® RE-201 Space Echo

- Volume/Pan > Stereo Width (Stereo), Line 6 Original utility to collapse stereo paths

* All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6.

New Features

- Plug-in Window Resizing—Click and drag the lower right-hand corner of Helix Native to resize the window and view more or fewer parameters and model list items

Show/Hide PRESETS/IMPULSES List—Click the icon to the left of the preset name to show or hide the PRESETS/IMPULSES list

Bug Fixes

- In the rare case that all paths are full, it is possible to drag more blocks into them, which may result in the error “Failed to move item. (Unknown. [code -1])” -FIXED

- On rare occasions, a warning dialog may appear during AU Validation scan of other AudioUnit plug-ins -FIXED

- After updating from OS X 10.12 Sierra to OS X 10.13 High Sierra, Helix Native may not load properly in GarageBand -FIXED

- After importing an IR file in a certain instance of Helix Native, the same file may not automatically appear in subsequent instances -FIXED

- Many other minor bug fixes and optimizations

- General stability improvements

Known Issues

- Recalling an effect or instrument rack in Ableton Live with Helix Native instantiated can mute the track. Workaround: Uninstantiate and re-instantiate the plug-in

- In rare cases, clearing Helix Native’s preset library while the DAW is under high CPU loads can sometimes cause the plug-in to become unresponsive. Workaround: Close the Helix Native plug-in window and reopen

- EXP pedal assignments may not automatically be assigned

- The copy/paste clipboard may be cleared after closing and reopening Helix Native

Helix Native 1.10 Release Notes

New Amps (7)

- Voltage Queen, based on* the Victoria® Electro King

- Derailed Ingrid, based on* the Trainwreck Circuits® Express

- Brit Trem Nrm, based on* the normal channel of the Marshall® Plexi Tremolo 50

- Brit Trem Brt, based on* the bright channel of the Marshall® Plexi Tremolo 50

- Brit Trem Jump, based on* the normal and bright channel (jumped) of the Marshall® Plexi Tremolo 50

- Cartographer, based on* the Ben Adrian Cartographer

- Agua 51, based on* the Aguilar® DB751 bass amp

New Effects (7)

- Distortion > Kinky Boost (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Xotic® EP Booster

- Distortion > Thrifter Fuzz (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original

- Dynamics > Kinky Comp (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Xotic® SP Compressor

- Modulation > Bleat Chop Trem (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Lightfoot Labs© Goatkeeper

- Modulation > Double Take (Mono, Stereo), Line 6 Original doubler

- Delay > Cosmos Echo (Mono, Stereo), based on* the Roland® RE-201 Space Echo

- Volume/Pan > Stereo Width (Stereo), Line 6 Original utility to collapse stereo paths

* All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6.

New Features

- Plug-in Window Resizing—Click and drag the lower right-hand corner of Helix Native to resize the window and view more or fewer parameters and model list items

Show/Hide PRESETS/IMPULSES List—Click the icon to the left of the preset name to show or hide the PRESETS/IMPULSES list

Bug Fixes

- In the rare case that all paths are full, it is possible to drag more blocks into them, which may result in the error “Failed to move item. (Unknown. [code -1])” -FIXED

- On rare occasions, a warning dialog may appear during AU Validation scan of other AudioUnit plug-ins -FIXED

- After updating from OS X 10.12 Sierra to OS X 10.13 High Sierra, Helix Native may not load properly in GarageBand -FIXED

- After importing an IR file in a certain instance of Helix Native, the same file may not automatically appear in subsequent instances -FIXED

- Many other minor bug fixes and optimizations

- General stability improvements

Known Issues

- Recalling an effect or instrument rack in Ableton Live with Helix Native instantiated can mute the track. Workaround: Uninstantiate and re-instantiate the plug-in

- In rare cases, clearing Helix Native’s preset library while the DAW is under high CPU loads can sometimes cause the plug-in to become unresponsive. Workaround: Close the Helix Native plug-in window and reopen

- EXP pedal assignments may not automatically be assigned

- The copy/paste clipboard may be cleared after closing and reopening Helix Native

Helix Native Version 1.01

The new Helix® Native plug-in delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in the best-selling Line 6 Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

Download the user manual here.

GETTING STARTED

• Supports VST3, AAX, and AU, 64-bit only. 
• Try it for FREE for 15 days by clicking "start my 15-day free trial" on first launch (internet connection is required for the trial period)
• Check your Authorized Devices if you can't authorize Helix Native, you might have too many authorized devices on your account
• Presets Compatible with Helix 2.21 firmware. Make sure your Helix hardware and editor software are up-to-date before transferring presets, setlists, etc.

WHAT'S NEW

• The Settings Window is accessed via a more easily discoverable gear icon in the bottom left of the window.
• Import and Export bundle has moved to the Settings Window
• CPU Optimizations under the hood to the stock cab models
• Note Sync now stays synced when changing delay and mod models 
• Block movement and placement has been improved

WHAT'S FIXED

KNOWN ISSUES

We're dedicated to being as transparent as possible, and here are the current known issues.

• Cali IV Lead Amp model will decrease in gain when Mid and Bass are set to 0. This is already known to occur on Helix hardware.
• Moving blocks while Automation is running may cause some errors during playback/record on Pro Tools.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

We've already received a ton of feature requests from beta users, but if you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit http://line6.ideascale.com to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you! 

Helix Native Version 1.01

The new Helix® Native plug-in delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in the best-selling Line 6 Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

Download the user manual here.

GETTING STARTED

• Supports VST3, AAX, and AU, 64-bit only. 
• Try it for FREE for 15 days by clicking "start my 15-day free trial" on first launch (internet connection is required for the trial period)
• Check your Authorized Devices if you can't authorize Helix Native, you might have too many authorized devices on your account
• Presets Compatible with Helix 2.21 firmware. Make sure your Helix hardware and editor software are up-to-date before transferring presets, setlists, etc.

WHAT'S NEW

• The Settings Window is accessed via a more easily discoverable gear icon in the bottom left of the window.
• Import and Export bundle has moved to the Settings Window
• CPU Optimizations under the hood to the stock cab models
• Note Sync now stays synced when changing delay and mod models 
• Block movement and placement has been improved

WHAT'S FIXED

KNOWN ISSUES

We're dedicated to being as transparent as possible, and here are the current known issues.

• Cali IV Lead Amp model will decrease in gain when Mid and Bass are set to 0. This is already known to occur on Helix hardware.
• Moving blocks while Automation is running may cause some errors during playback/record on Pro Tools.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

We've already received a ton of feature requests from beta users, but if you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit http://line6.ideascale.com to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you! 

Helix Native Version 1.00

The new Helix^® Native plug-in delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in Line 6’s best-selling Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

Download the user manual here.

THE WAIT IS OVER!

• At long last... We are very proud to announce that this is the first version of the Helix Native plug-in for VST3, AAX, and AU made available to the public!
• Try it for FREE for 15 days by clicking "start my 15-day free trial" on first launch.
• Check your Authorized Devices if you can't authorize Helix Native, you might have too many authorized devices on your account.
• Presets Compatible with Helix 2.21 firmware. Make sure your Helix hardware and editor software are up-to-date before transferring presets, setlists, etc.

KNOWN ISSUES

We're dedicated to being as transparent as possible, and here's some not-so-great stuff that you may encounter.

• Editing min/max for automation of a parameter slider can temporarily stop reading the automation lane.
• Editing parameters assigned to automation can can temporarily stop reading the automation lane during playback/record.
• Cali IV Lead Amp model will decrease in gain when Mid and Bass are set to 0. This is already known to occur on Helix hardware.
• Unfreezing Tracks in Logic Pro X will darken the plug-in UI, just close and reopen it in the meantime.
• Moving blocks while Automation is running may cause some errors during playback/record on Pro Tools.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

We've already received a ton of feature requests from beta users, but if you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit http://line6.ideascale.com to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you! 

Helix Native Version 1.00

The new Helix^® Native plug-in delivers the same award-winning HX amp and effects modeling found in Line 6’s best-selling Helix hardware guitar and effects processors, bringing authentic tone to your favorite DAW.

Helix Native is available as a fully functional 15-day free trial, which requires a Line 6 account.

Learn more at http://line6.com/helix/helixnative.html.

Download the user manual here.

THE WAIT IS OVER!

• At long last... We are very proud to announce that this is the first version of the Helix Native plug-in for VST3, AAX, and AU made available to the public!
• Try it for FREE for 15 days by clicking "start my 15-day free trial" on first launch.
• Where's VST2? If your DAW does not yet support the VST3 standard, like Ableton Live or Reason, be sure to check the "install VST2" checkbox during installation.
• Check your Authorized Devices if you can't authorize Helix Native, you might have too many authorized devices on your account.
• Presets Compatible with Helix 2.21 firmware. Make sure your Helix hardware and editor software are up-to-date before transferring presets, setlists, etc.

KNOWN ISSUES

We're dedicated to being as transparent as possible, and here's some not-so-great stuff that you may encounter.

• Please temporarily disable your antivirus during the installation as some users have had trouble downloading or authorizing and we don't want that to happen to you too.
• Editing min/max for automation of a parameter slider can temporarily stop reading the automation lane.
• Editing parameters assigned to automation can can temporarily stop reading the automation lane during playback/record.
• Cali IV Lead Amp model will decrease in gain when Mid and Bass are set to 0. This is already known to occur on Helix hardware.
• Unfreezing Tracks in Logic Pro X will darken the plug-in UI, just close and reopen it in the meantime.
• Moving blocks while Automation is running may cause some errors during playback/record on Pro Tools.

HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR HELIX NATIVE?

We've already received a ton of feature requests from beta users, but if you have a great idea for Helix Native, we want to hear about it! Please visit http://line6.ideascale.com to post your requests and suggestions, or vote for features. This is the most direct way for you to influence our updates, and we look forward to hearing from you!