Digital Igloo (Eric Klein, YGG)

Digital Igloo said:
QA asked me: What's the digital amp? Is it S/PDIF or TOSLINK with an adapter? Is there a ticket number to reference?
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Hi @Digital Igloo , I think I have this solved. The audio drop in S/PDIF is any time I connect or disconnect the USB cable with my laptop, the USB cable is 5 meters long and the laptop gets moved around so there might be the odd drop and reconnect occasionally. Sorry if I sent you in a wild goose chase here.
 
Something I wish existed in the "FRFR" world was a way of ensuring the neutrality of the amplified tone. A “control” tone that could be fed back to the modeller and then it could apply an eq offset automatically to bring everything back to zero. This could be used in a sound check or something to make sure that the model sounds like it did when it was created. Or even to make presets sound the same as the person who created it intended.
Line 6 have already done better than the others in this regard.
 
Hi @Digital Igloo, asking for a friend here (for real!).

My friend had a broken detent encoder on his HXFX, brought it to the official repair center here in Italy and the unit came back with an encoder that sounds/acts/feels really different (makes loud hi pitched clicks when turned instead of being almost silent like the usual HX line encoders) and might skip some steps when turned fast (he's not sure about that because is difficult to tell)

Opened a ticked with line6 and customer service gave him the exact part numbers and he will take care of it

Before going back to the repair center and take part with his HXFX for a couple of weeks again, he'd like to know if replacement parts are the same parts found on the device.

In other words he'd like to understand if might be that the new part is what is supposed to be and no mistakes have being made by the repair center.

Thank you!
 
Eagle said:
Something I wish existed in the ""FRFR"" world was a way of ensuring the neutrality of the amplified tone. A “control” tone that could be fed back to the modeller and then it could apply an eq offset automatically to bring everything back to zero. This could be used in a sound check or something to make sure that the model sounds like it did when it was created. Or even to make presets sound the same as the person who created it intended.
Line 6 have already done better than the others in this regard.
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Yep, it's tricky. The playback system is one component, but where it is in relation to your ears, the room, anyone else playing with you, etc. makes a big difference as well. Companies like Trinnov, Sonarworks, Dirac, IK, and others have long made tools for compensating for studio monitors and their environment's inadequacies, and technically, the same systems could be used for making an F R F R (Hahaa! Someone here scripted quotes around every instance of ""FRFR"") as flat as possible from your listening/playing position.

But do we really want our playback systems to be perfectly flat? Unless we're mixing records on them, maybe not? Flat is rarely the most satisfying experience.
HotRats said:
My friend had a broken detent encoder on his HXFX, brought it to the official repair center here in Italy and the unit came back with an encoder that sounds/acts/feels really different (makes loud hi pitched clicks when turned instead of being almost silent like the usual HX line encoders) and might skip some steps when turned fast (he's not sure about that because is difficult to tell)

Opened a ticked with line6 and customer service gave him the exact part numbers and he will take care of it

Before going back to the repair center and take part with his HXFX for a couple of weeks again, he'd like to know if replacement parts are the same parts found on the device.

In other words he'd like to understand if might be that the new part is what is supposed to be and no mistakes have being made by the repair center.
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If it's an authorized Line 6 repair center, they should definitely be using the proper parts. Unfortunately, I don't have much purview in repair-land—especially overseas—but if a center is using non-approved parts, we'd definitely like to know about it.
 
Digital Igloo said:
Yep, it's tricky. The playback system is one component, but where it is in relation to your ears, the room, anyone else playing with you, etc. makes a big difference as well. Companies like Trinnov, Sonarworks, Dirac, IK, and others have long made tools for compensating for studio monitors and their environment's inadequacies, and technically, the same systems could be used for making an F R F R (Hahaa! Someone here scripted quotes around every instance of """FRFR""") as flat as possible from your listening/playing position.

But do we really want our playback systems to be perfectly flat? Unless we're mixing records on them, maybe not? Flat is rarely the most satisfying experience.

If it's an authorized Line 6 repair center, they should definitely be using the proper parts. Unfortunately, I don't have much purview in repair-land—especially overseas—but if a center is using non-approved parts, we'd definitely like to know about it.
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ok thank you. The repair center is an authorized one, he found it via line6 website.
 
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@Digital Igloo there’s been a lot of discussion about how some manufactures release firmware updates for their flagship hardware, which eventually trickles down to their more affordable models. This sometimes takes weeks, if not months. Occasionally, these firmware releases get delayed even further because the flagship model has already gone through additional revisions before it’s ported to the more affordable models.

This tends to create disruption amongst owners in the public forums, often causing people to experience FOMO or an attitude that priority is given only to those willing to fork out money for the flagship product.

Line 6 seems to release firmware for their Helix line all at once. Is this done on purpose to alleviate potential negative discourse or is it simply a result of the entire line sharing similar architecture?
 
norminal said:
@Digital Igloo there’s been a lot of discussion about how some manufactures release firmware updates for their flagship hardware, which eventually trickles down to their more affordable models. This sometimes takes weeks, if not months. Occasionally, these firmware releases get delayed even further because the flagship model has already gone through additional revisions before it’s ported to the more affordable models.

This tends to create disruption amongst owners in the public forums, often causing people to experience FOMO or an attitude that priority is given only to those willing to fork out money for the flagship product.

Line 6 seems to release firmware for their Helix line all at once. Is this done on purpose to alleviate potential negative discourse or is it simply a result of the entire line sharing similar architecture?
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(Not an engineer, so I reserve the right to change this if Brandon pings me on Teams with an "actually...")

It's both. All Helix and HX SKUs (except for HX One) use pretty much identical architectures and DSP libraries; HX Effects, HX Stomp, and HX Stomp XL simply have one DSP instead of two. If a change is compiled for one, it's compiled for all of them.

HX One runs the same DSP blocks as the other Helix/HX SKUs, except everything's compiled for ARM instead of SHARC. There very well may be cases where Helix/HX gets an update and HX One lags behind, but so far, the stars have aligned.

The sheer number of SKUs we have now (The Taco Bell of Multieffects Manufacturers!) requires a ton of testing—remember, every box has an editor and their presets need to import/export into each other and Helix Native—that's at least an order of magnitude more complicated. And if a bug is found in one, it's very likely to be found in one or more of the others. So we wait until they're all solid before releasing to the public.

POD Go and POD Go Wireless are on a different trajectory. Yes, they lag a bit behind their bigger cousins, but not because we feel they're less important:
  • Helix/HX code is more complicated than POD Go's. You want to make sure something works in the craziest box before disseminating into the simpler ones.
  • We have way more Helix/HX SKUs in the field. There's customer value in sustaining updates, and we get the biggest return on our investment by affecting the highest number of boxes.
 
norminal said:
@Digital Igloo there’s been a lot of discussion about how some manufactures release firmware updates for their flagship hardware, which eventually trickles down to their more affordable models. This sometimes takes weeks, if not months. Occasionally, these firmware releases get delayed even further because the flagship model has already gone through additional revisions before it’s ported to the more affordable models.

This tends to create disruption amongst owners in the public forums, often causing people to experience FOMO or an attitude that priority is given only to those willing to fork out money for the flagship product.

Line 6 seems to release firmware for their Helix line all at once. Is this done on purpose to alleviate potential negative discourse or is it simply a result of the entire line sharing similar architecture?
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Digital Igloo said:
All Helix and HX SKUs (except for HX One) use pretty much identical architectures and DSP libraries; HX Effects, HX Stomp, and HX Stomp XL simply have one DSP instead of two. If a change is compiled for one, it's compiled for all of them.
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As I thought.
 
Stratzrus said:
As I thought.
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I'm not suggesting it's the best way to develop a product line, nor am I suggesting we'll stay the course in the future. It's just what we've done with Helix/HX boxes so far. It absolutely, positively wouldn't work for most other multieffects companies.

It's not really my place to say, but screw it. This line of questioning appears to have come from a Fractal thread, and from my perspective, given the type of customers who gravitate toward Fractal products (and this includes a not-working-at-Line-6 alternate universe me), I'd argue they're doing exactly what they should be doing to be successful. In no way shape or form would I suggest our way of doing things is better; in fact, I truly wish Line 6 was in a position where we could crank out updates—we just have so many other things we're working on, and administration can sometimes be a bottleneck.
 
Digital Igloo said:
I'm not suggesting it's the best way to develop a product line, nor am I suggesting we'll stay the course in the future. It's just what we've done with Helix/HX boxes so far. It absolutely, positively wouldn't work for most other multieffects companies.

It's not really my place to say, but screw it. This line of questioning appears to have come from a Fractal thread, and from my perspective, given the type of customers who gravitate toward Fractal products (and this includes a not-working-at-Line-6 alternate universe me), I'd argue they're doing exactly what they should be doing to be successful. In no way shape or form would I suggest our way of doing things is better; in fact, I truly wish Line 6 was in a position where we could crank out updates—we just have so many other things we're working on, and administration can sometimes be a bottleneck.
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Of course, and I think you guys are doing a great job.

My post was in response to a post by nominal ("It works for Line6. I haven’t seen any Helix or Helix Rack owners complaining about firmware being held up due to focus on say, the HX Stomp.", in effect, that if Line 6 can release updates for multiple models at once, why can't Fractal?

I responded "It's possible that Helix firmware development doesn't require significant time between models."

He responded "Perhaps. But I think it’s more likely that they just wait to release them all together to prevent the FOMO and drama. Maybe @Digital Igloo could shed some light on their practices."

Your post confirmed my suspicion, thus my "As I thought." reply.

I was trying to keep it brief and succinct in order to just move on.
 
Stratzrus said:
Of course, and I think you guys are doing a great job.

My post was in response to a post by nominal ("It works for Line6. I haven’t seen any Helix or Helix Rack owners complaining about firmware being held up due to focus on say, the HX Stomp.", in effect, that if Line 6 can release updates for multiple models at once, why can't Fractal?

I responded "It's possible that Helix firmware development doesn't require significant time between models."

He responded "Perhaps. But I think it’s more likely that they just wait to release them all together to prevent the FOMO and drama. Maybe @Digital Igloo could shed some light on their practices."

Your post confirmed my suspicion, thus my "As I thought." reply.

I was trying to keep it brief and succinct in order to just move on.
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Gotcha. My response was more for the collective group anyway. :giggle:

Yeah, there will always be people upset that the particular box they bought isn't getting all the new toys first, for whatever reason.
 
zib said:
Hi Digital Igloo, someone asked on tgp "Anyone know if the FLUX feature will come to Helix floor ?".
I know everything written in this room is top secret but maybe...
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Can't talk about what may or may not be coming to Helix, but no one should ever assume Flux is coming to other Helix/HX SKUs.

Probably shouldn't admit this, but there was a long lost firmware for POD HD that included three additional controllers—LFO, step sequencer, and envelope follower. Any of them could be assigned to any parameter(s). It was pretty slow to use; you had to remember yet another press-hold (or double-press?) shortcut to access the page. IIRC, it never made it to the public because POD HD didn't have enough firmware storage to accommodate both these new controllers and existing features, se we'd need to rip out other stuff to get them to fit. No one's seen this firmware since last decade (nor does it currently exist on any hardware AFAIK) and it might take Brandon a while to even track it down. (The whole thing reminds me of the old Roland VS-880 from the late 90s, where there were two variations of the same firmware rev—one for backing up to DAT tape and another for backing up to Iomega Zip/Jaz drives—as the hardware's firmware storage couldn't accommodate both.)

We wouldn't make that mistake again.

So Helix of course has plenty of room for Flux, and the UI/user-facing implementation of both it and dozens of other cool features that may or may not ever make it have been fully designed since, like... 2012, 2013? The big question is how much these things might impact development of the other stuff we're feverishly working on. Answer: Sadly, likely quite a bit.
Edit: Just a link for fun, in case Line6 Helix fan missed it (commercial presets) : Crazy bass sound with HX stomp (thanks to René Flächsenhaar)
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That link is great! Sharing internally now...
 
Digital Igloo said:
. (The whole thing reminds me of the old Roland VS-880 from the late 90s, where there were two variations of the same firmware rev—one for backing up to DAT tape and another for backing up to Iomega Zip/Jaz drives—as the hardware's firmware storage couldn't accommodate both.)

We wouldn't make that mistake again.
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I recorded an album with my friend’s and my VS-880s midi’ed together. I sank so much money into those Iomega Zip drives.They’re etched into my mind as a symbol of the late 90’s.
 
ragingplatypi said:
I recorded an album with my friend’s and my VS-880s midi’ed together. I sank so much money into those Iomega Zip drives.They’re etched into my mind as a symbol of the late 90’s.
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Roland sold so many VS-880s back in the day that they threw one particular Christmas party on a big yacht. This was before my time there, however.

I remember it being a complete bear to use, but man, that box did everything. Probably would've gotten one myself but by that time, I was neck deep in Akai DR4d and later, DR16.
 
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