User Manual
37
Snapshots
WithHelixrmware2.0orhigher,you’llseeacameraiconintheupperrightcornerof
the screen. The number indicates the current snapshot.
1
Why should I care about snapshots?
To be honest, maybe you shouldn’t. Ask yourself these questions:
• Hey self, when performing live, does the small gap when switching tones drive
me nuts?
• If my delay repeats and reverb trails don’t seamlessly spill over when switching
tones, does it drive me nuts?
• Do I secretly wish I were an octopus, so I can constantly change amp and ef-
fects settings throughout a song?
If you answered “M’eh” or “Huh?,” stop reading this now, go play guitar, completely
ignore the camera icon, and you’ll never have to worry about snapshots again. Seri-
ously. However, if you answered “Yes!” to any of these questions, keep reading.
Okay, I’m still reading
There’s always going to be a small audible gap when switching presets in any box
with the Helix device’s level of dynamic model allocation and routing complexity; that’s
just how advanced DSP works. However, snapshots allow for a surprising amount of
tonal control from within the same preset, and every change happens instantly and
seamlessly.
Similar to the snapshots feature in some high end digital mixers, each of the Helix
device's eight snapshots stores and recalls the state of certain elements in the current
preset, including:
• Block Bypass—The bypass (on/o) state of all processing blocks (except
Looper), independent of any footswitch assignments. Also see "Snapshots >
Block Bypass"
• Parameter Control—The values of any parameters assigned to controllers
(up to 64 per preset). Also see "Snapshots > Parameter Control"
• Command Center—The values of any instant MIDI CC, Bank/Prog, MMC,
and CV Out messages, plus the state (dim or lit) of any CC Toggle, CV Toggle,
and Ext Amp messages. Also see "Command Center"
• Tempo—The current system tempo, if "Global Settings > MIDI/Tempo" >
Tempo Select is set to "Per Snapshot." (By default, it's set to "Per Preset")
Depending on how you set them up, snapshots can act as eight variations of the
same tone, eight drastically dierent tones, or any combination thereof—all
within the same preset. In many cases, a single preset's snapshots may accommo-
date all the various tones required for a song.
Snapshots > Block Bypass
Snapshotsstoreandrecallthecurrentbypass(on/o)stateforallprocessingblocks.
For example, Snapshot 1—INTRO could have Distortion 1, Amp 1, Cab, Mod 1, and
Delay 1 on:
Snapshot 2—VERSE could have Dynamics, Distortion 2, Filter, FX Loop 1, Amp 2,
Cab, Delay 2, and Reverb on:
Snapshot 3—BRIDGE could have Dynamics, FX Loop 2, Amp 2, IR, EQ, Mod 2, and
Delay 2 on:
Snapshot 4—CHORUS could have everything on:
And Snapshot 5—INTERLUDE could just be Amp 1 and the IR:
Note that all snapshots in a particular preset share the same models; you cannot, for
example, add a US Deluxe Amp block in Snapshot 1 and switch its model to Essex
A30 in Snapshot 2. However, if Helix has enough available DSP, you can load both
amps into the same preset and snapshots can enable neither, one, or both of them.
IMPORTANT! Snapshots make it easy for multiple blocks assigned to the same
footswitch to end up in unexpected states. For example, if FS2 toggles be-
tween Delay (ON) and Reverb (OFF) blocks and a snapshot turns the Reverb
on,FS2willsuddenlyturnbothblocksonandotogether.
See "Using Snapshots" for more information.