Edit your Helix from an Android phone or tablet
Put the tablet on the mic stand and plug it into your Helix or HX. Helrig opens the preset the pedal is playing. Turn a knob on the glass and you hear it from the pedal. No laptop, no crawling down to the pedal.
On an iPad or iPhone? Helrig for iPad and iPhone →
What you need
- An Android phone or tablet with Android 7.0 or newer and USB OTG
- A USB cable that carries data (charge-only cables don’t work), with an adapter if the plugs don’t match
- A Helix Floor, LT or Rack, or an HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL or HX Effects
- No USB OTG? A Helrig Box connects over Wi-Fi instead. About the Helrig Box →
Your first session
- Install Helrig for Android from Google Play. It’s free.
- Sign in and plug in your pedal. Helrig says “Pedal found” and what the account needs. With Helrig Connect or Helrig Pro, Android asks whether Helrig may use the USB device. Allow it.
- Helrig opens the preset the pedal is playing, with the whole signal chain on screen.
- Switch Live on, tap a block and change a parameter. You hear it from the pedal as you move it. Live is off every time you connect.
- Save it to a slot. Helrig keeps a copy of what was in that slot first, so you can undo the save.
What’s free, what needs a license
Editing, converting and exporting presets is free, with no account. Connecting to the pedal needs Helrig Connect, a one-time purchase that works in every Helrig app, or Helrig Pro, which includes it.
If your pedal doesn’t show up
- The cable is charge-only. Try one that carries data.
- Helrig says “Pedal found” and nothing connects: sign in with an account that has Helrig Connect, Helrig Pro or a running trial.
- You tapped “Deny” on Android’s USB prompt. Unplug the pedal, plug it in again and allow access.
Made for a touch screen
It is the same editor, not the desktop layout shrunk down. Helrig changes shape when you are working on a touch screen:
- Controls are sized for a fingertip rather than a mouse pointer, so you can change a parameter without pinching in first or aiming carefully at something tiny.
- Tapping a value to type a new one does not make the page lurch and zoom, the way mobile web forms usually do.
- On a phone you see a useful run of the signal chain at once, instead of one block filling the whole screen.
- One tap zooms out to the entire preset. Even on a long chain you can still tell blocks apart by colour and see where the signal splits and comes back together.
- Nothing you need to reach hides behind the notch or the home bar.
Everything else is the full editor: blocks and parameters, snapshots, footswitch and MIDI assignments, parallel routing, per-path DSP, undo and redo, conversion between devices, and export.
Where it helps
On stage. The tablet on the mic stand, the preset readable at a glance, a tweak between songs without a laptop.
In the rehearsal room. Fix the level of a lead sound with the band playing, on the pedal, from the tablet.
On the couch. Go through your presets and tidy them without sitting at the desk.
Helrig for Android does exactly what you hope it would do. Super easy to use interface, zero delays and works a dream. Thank you Yashar for delivering an awesome bit of kit!
Helrig is a fresh and modern way of controlling our HX devices (and especially the Android app is giving us the possibility for quick changes on the spot without having to carry laptops or menu diving in the device).
Helrig has added a much needed Android editing option for the Helix range. Being able to just reach for my tablet to build a new preset in seconds has sped up my workflow massively.
From players who tested Helrig before release. Testers received a free license for that; a quote was never required.
Questions
Is there an HX Edit app for Android?
No. Line 6 makes HX Edit for Windows and macOS only. Helrig for Android is an independent editor: plug in your Helix or HX, edit it live and save presets to it.
Can I connect my HX Stomp to my phone?
Yes, on a phone with Android 7.0 or newer and USB OTG, with a cable that carries data.
My phone has no USB OTG. Can I still connect?
Yes, through a Helrig Box, over Wi-Fi.
Phone or tablet?
Both work. A phone is enough to edit a preset. A tablet gives the signal chain more room and is easier to read on stage.
Can Helrig damage my pedal?
Helrig backs up the slot before it saves, reads the preset back to check it, and can put the old one back. It won’t save a preset it can’t write faithfully, or one over the DSP limit. Before your first connection, make a full backup in HX Edit, the same as before a firmware update.
Do I need HX Edit?
Not to edit presets. Firmware updates and the pedal’s global settings stay with HX Edit.
Get it
Disclaimer
Line 6, Helix and HX are trademarks of their respective owners. Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC. iPad, iPhone and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc. Helrig is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.