Helix as a foot controller for FXII ??

[Dealmaker]

So I had a Helix - sent it back as I didn't like the tones at all and struggled with the interface.

The screen and "scribble strips" however were good.

I think there will be lots of cheap used Helix's around in the mid-term - and I was wondering whether at some point the Helix could be "hacked" - and used as a foot controller for the AXE FXII ??........

Just a thought?

 

[randombastage]

I'm doing it now.
For pure controller it isn't everything a Liquidfoot+ would be but it is close.
In addition to the expected selecting presets and toggling on/off effects blocks within the preset so far I have been able to get it so I can toggle between any two scenes with a single switch, tap tempo sends, Expression pedal sends, I haven't tried this yet but I think if I use a Variax I can get cc control from the controls on the guitar sent to the AxeFx....so 'rolling off' volume on the guitar could include simultaneously rolling up or down tone stack or drive on the amp for example...or whammy...or delay mix....etc.etc.etc.

The programming of the midi commands on Helix are pretty good. If it had two way communication with the Axe and if it had more than one CC per switch it would be all there. Thanks to Scenes on the AxeFx you can still have multiple blocks controlled with a single switch so that helps a lot.

I plug the guitar into the AxeFx and send an echo of the Axe Fx input out to Helix via S/PDIF so presets on Helix can be AxeFx or Helix or both. I have each device sent on its own stereo pair to a pair of CLR's
Some really nice stuff is possible, I haven't explored it all yet.

 

[Solarfire]

So I had a Helix - sent it back as I didn't like the tones at all and struggled with the interface.

The screen and "scribble strips" however were good.

I think there will be lots of cheap used Helix's around in the mid-term - and I was wondering whether at some point the Helix could be "hacked" - and used as a foot controller for the AXE FXII ??........

Just a thought?

That's hilarious...

 

[RandyInNashua]

I have been using the Helix for a few months now and IMO it's a great unit. I picked up the FxII XL+ earlier this week and within a few hours I built a template in the Helix that maps 8 of the Helix footswitches to Modifiers 1-8. The two Expression Pedals of the Helix are mapped to Modifiers 11 and 12 and the Expression Pedal toeswitch to Modifier 10. I also mapped the Helix Snapshots to the Scenes. I also found a way to link presets in the Helix to Presets in the FxII. In the next few weeks, I plan to build a library of Helix presets that are mapped to my favorite FxII presets with the Helix's wonderful Scribble strips so that I know what is what. IMO these two devices work fantastic together. I can't upload the preset for some reason. It might be because I am new.

 

[Mattcannen76]

I have been using the Helix for a few months now and IMO it's a great unit. I picked up the FxII XL+ earlier this week and within a few hours I built a template in the Helix that maps 8 of the Helix footswitches to Modifiers 1-8. The two Expression Pedals of the Helix are mapped to Modifiers 11 and 12 and the Expression Pedal toeswitch to Modifier 10. I also mapped the Helix Snapshots to the Scenes. I also found a way to link presets in the Helix to Presets in the FxII. In the next few weeks, I plan to build a library of Helix presets that are mapped to my favorite FxII presets with the Helix's wonderful Scribble strips so that I know what is what. IMO these two devices work fantastic together. I can't upload the preset for some reason. It might be because I am new.

I’m new to both the helix and axe 3 is there a guide somewhere to help learn this? I really want to use my helix as controller for axe 3.

 

[RandyInNashua]

I’m new to both the helix and axe 3 is there a guide somewhere to help learn this? I really want to use my helix as controller for axe 3.

Not that I know of. It was not that difficult. Cable from Helix midi out to Axe midi In. Program the foot switches on the helix to send midi CC commands. The commands are listed in the Axe manual midi section. Use the command center on the helix editor to program the helix foot switches. You can also program the expression pedal. I will send my Helix patch to you later today.

 

[RandyInNashua]

Here is the helix file with the cc commands for the AxeFX. The moderators of this blog decided that helix files could not be uploaded here, so I had to change the extension to ".pdf". To import this into your helix, you will need to change the extension back to ".hlx".

The best way to see the mapping is to use the Command Center in HX Edit. I have mapped 8 of the External Controls to 8 of the helix foot switches and I also mapped both of the expression pedals and the toe switch. There is also an instant command that I believe loads a specific patch on the Axe when you load the patch on the Helix. You will probably need to delete that or modify it so that it will load the patch you want on the Axe.

 

[Mattcannen76]

Here is the helix file with the cc commands for the AxeFX. The moderators of this blog decided that helix files could not be uploaded here, so I had to change the extension to ".pdf". To import this into your helix, you will need to change the extension back to ".hlx".

The best way to see the mapping is to use the Command Center in HX Edit. I have mapped 8 of the External Controls to 8 of the helix foot switches and I also mapped both of the expression pedals and the toe switch. There is also an instant command that I believe loads a specific patch on the Axe when you load the patch on the Helix. You will probably need to delete that or modify it so that it will load the patch you want on the Axe.

Thank you so much for helping! I will be checking this out as soon as I get back to my pc on Monday. I really do appreciate this!