Helix Firmware 2.0 Adds "Snapshots"

jamn4jc

jamn4jc

Experienced
It's been fun showing Scenes to all my Helix friends. Today, Line 6 added "Snapshots" to the Helix (firmware 2.0). I must admit that they look very cool. My understanding is that EVERY value for every parameter is captured in a snapshot. If that's the case, it is a very powerful feature. We can control on/off, X/Y, volume and we have two Scene Controllers. That is powerful stuff. Being able to easily capture a multitude of settings is very very slick.

Feature request???
 
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jamn4jc said:
It's been fun showing Scenes to all my Helix fans. Today, Line 6 added "Snapshots" to the Helix (firmware 2.0). I must admit that they look very cool. My understanding is that EVERY value for every parameter is captured in a snapshot. If that's the case, it is a very powerful feature. We can control on/off, X/Y, volume and we have two Scene Controllers. That is powerful stuff. Being able to easily capture a multitude of settings is slick.

Feature request???
Click to expand...

I would imagine it already would have been done if it were possible since it's a hell of a lot easier to just turn a knob and save instead of have to assign (1 of 2) controllers and then go to a controller page to set the level. And lord help you if you have multiple things assigned to one controller! Not that I find myself using scenes or scene controllers all that much at the moment anyway. :)
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Austin
 
I love Scenes to death and the controllers were a welcome add. Having to convert to %'s can get tricky. Accidentally set a "amp level" way too high and about gave myself a heart attack when I kicked on that scene.
 
RB_Guitar said:
Isn't that called a preset?
Click to expand...

No, because presets don't have spillover and gapless sound changes, but scenes/snapshots do. The difference with snapshots is that, since it captures more parameters, you can do more drastic changes between snapshots without needing to use X/Y states or different blocks. If you want a solo boost on an amp you could just go to snapshot 2, dial in things for that sound, and then save it. That is way more powerful than scenes in the Fractal world. I'm not sure why Fractal can't do the same thing, but I would imagine that there are too many parameters in the Fractal world that would have to be monitored?
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Austin
 
Clarification from a Line 6 developer... not "every" setting can be captured in a snapshot, quote... "Well, not quite any parameters; up to 64 per preset." I would equate this to having 64 "scene controllers". The implementation seems to be a bit easier to navigate than the panel we are used to. However, I wonder if that leads to an issue where it's near impossible to determine what settings are under control and where. I imagine the setup can get pretty involved, quickly.
 
That comes down to the UI design, which, in my opinion, Line6 does a pretty decent job at. One of the guys that comes to my bi-monthly Modeler Day event up here in Seattle has updated his Helix and played with it. So, I'll get a few hours with it later this month. Apparently they added some new amps as well.
 
I set them up every other month. We meet at a studio, which this particular one also has a big-ish room for shows (can fit about 200 people, ish). We just all show up with our gear, and talk shop. We do gear demos (showing features, shooting IRs, A/B'ing things and so on). It's a very relaxed atmosphere overall. I encourage people who aren't on board with modelers to come, so they can hear these and get sucked in, too.

Attendance varies. It usually drops off during the summer because of vacations, gigs and so on. But, each one so far has had more people than the last. It's something I just started hosting this year. I host an annual event for bass players as well, and that has about 125 bass players plus vendors etc. show up (and is growing year over year). I'm hoping to have between 30 and 40 people at this next Modeler day, but we'll see.
 
I have to say that if the Helix had the Snapshot feature from the get-go, I'd likely have pulled the trigger on it. I've currently got no use for a Helix, but the ability to be able to freely change values for any available parameter in a preset and assign different snapshots to footswitches really is a strong feature, and IMO superior to Scenes. The fact that Bass/Mid/Treble are exposed to this is something AxeFx users have been begging to have implemented for years, to no avail. I never thought I'd say it, but this may totally change my mind about considering the Helix. DAMMIT!
 
Scene controllers are a neat feature in the Fractal.

But I like the idea of just having a broad list of block parameters that can be different per scene, i.e. more of a "snapshot" concept.
 
I differ. I've always treated scenes mainly as virtual pedalboard states with different On/Off states of the effects.

X/Y and scene controllers are a welcome bonus.

The fact that I know that my effects parameters are the same across all scenes eases my mind. I know what I have.
If I really need a different Phaser setting, which can't be accomplished with X/Y or a scene controller, I use a 2nd Phaser block.

When the options would be expanded to as much as 64 values per preset, control would be lost and preset maintenance would get a lot more involved.

Sometimes "simplicity" is a pre. IMHO.
 
yek said:
I differ. I've always treated scenes mainly as virtual pedalboard states with different On/Off states of the effects.

X/Y and scene controllers are a welcome bonus.

The fact that I know that my effects parameters are the same across all scenes eases my mind. I know what I have.
If I really need a different Phaser setting, which can't be accomplished with X/Y or a scene controller, I use a 2nd Phaser block.

When the options would be expanded to as much as 64 values per preset, control would be lost and preset maintenance would get a lot more involved.

Sometimes "simplicity" is a pre. IMHO.
Click to expand...

If you don't use the feature though, and keep your settings the same in different scenes like you are doing now, I don't see how it would affect your approach?

And I don't see scene scene controllers as simple.
 
Because we often deal with other people's presets. Axe-Change, etc.

To implement this feature additional block parameters would have to be turned into being modifiable.
Then, if I wanted to verify that all parameters in two scenes of a preset are the same, I would have to go through all blocks to check those parameters for scene-based differences.

Indeed, I'd welcome some simplification of scene controllers. Mainly because the scene controller vales are located in the Controllers menu. Which is logical but not that practical.
 
yek said:
I differ. I've always treated scenes mainly as virtual pedalboard states with different On/Off states of the effects.

X/Y and scene controllers are a welcome bonus.

The fact that I know that my effects parameters are the same across all scenes eases my mind. I know what I have.
If I really need a different Phaser setting, which can't be accomplished with X/Y or a scene controller, I use a 2nd Phaser block.

When the options would be expanded to as much as 64 values per preset, control would be lost and preset maintenance would get a lot more involved.

Sometimes "simplicity" is a pre. IMHO.
Click to expand...
I approach scenes in the same way - but I wish scenes were more like snapshots.
X/Y is OK, though it can add how long it takes a scene to load. The controllers are a nice feature, even if not "simple".

With snapshots, I imagine you still know exactly what values each parameter has that you set. Just like scene X/Y and on/off state, you establish that and build your workflow into or around it. If you don't want a parameter to change, just don't change it.

What do you do when you run out of things? CPU limit may preclude you from running that second phaser pedal, or you may want even more options available to you.

I don't think I can say with as much certainty that "control would be lost". The end users are given more control. I do agree that preset maintenance may increase.
 
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