Edit your Helix on a phone or tablet
A tablet on the mic stand, the preset your pedal is playing on the screen, big enough to read from where you stand. Turn a knob on the glass and you hear it from the pedal. On Android, Helrig for Android does that over a USB cable. On an iPad or iPhone, the full editor runs in your browser today, and an iPad app is planned. Line 6’s HX Edit runs only on Windows and macOS.
Or open the editor in your browser →
There is a longer walkthrough on YouTube if eight seconds is not enough — it starts at the part about using Helrig from a phone.
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!
What works where
| What you can do | Helrig for Android | iPad / iPhone (browser) | Helrig for Mac, Windows and Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open, edit, convert and export presets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud library and Community (free account) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connect to your pedal over USB: read presets, live edit, save to a slot | Yes Helrig Connect | No An iPad app is planned. | Yes Helrig Connect |
| IR manager | Yes Helrig Connect | No | Yes Helrig Connect |
Editing is free everywhere, no account needed. Connecting to your pedal is Helrig Connect, a one-time purchase that works in every Helrig app; Helrig Pro includes it.
Helix editor for Android
Helrig for Android is the same editor as on the website, plus the USB connection to your pedal. Plug the phone or tablet into your Helix or HX and it opens the preset the pedal is playing.
What you need
An Android phone or tablet with Android 7.0 or newer and USB OTG. USB OTG lets the device’s USB port talk to other USB devices. A USB cable from the device to the pedal, with an adapter if the plugs don’t match. And a Helix Floor, Helix LT or Helix Rack, or an HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL or HX Effects.
Which cable?
A USB cable that fits both ends and carries data. Charge-only cables don’t work: they power a device but carry no data, so the pedal never shows up.
Your first session
- Install Helrig for Android from Google Play. It’s free.
- Plug in your pedal. Helrig uses the pedal once your account has Helrig Connect or Helrig Pro. Until then it says “Pedal found” and tells you what the account needs. When it can connect, Android asks whether Helrig may use the USB device. Allow it.
- Helrig opens the preset the pedal is playing. Its whole signal chain is on screen.
- Switch Live on, tap a block and change a parameter. You hear it from the pedal as you move it. Live editing is off every time you connect, so you switch it on when you want it. Connecting to your pedal over USB needs Helrig Connect, or Helrig Pro, which includes it.
- Save it to a slot. Before Helrig writes, it reads what is in that slot and keeps a copy; when the copy can be put back exactly, you can undo the save.
Buying Helrig Connect
One license works in every Helrig app, and Helrig Pro 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. It has seen the pedal and is waiting for an account with Helrig Connect or Helrig Pro. Sign in with that account.
- You tapped “Deny” on Android’s USB prompt. Helrig says Android didn’t give it access. Unplug the pedal, plug it in again and allow access when Android asks.
Helix editor for iPad and iPhone
On an iPad or iPhone, the full Helrig editor runs in Safari or any modern browser. Nothing to install, no account, and your preset stays on the device unless you save it to your library.
Getting a preset onto your iPad
Save the .hlx anywhere the Files app can reach it — iCloud Drive, a mail attachment, AirDrop from a Mac — then pick it in Helrig. A .hxb device backup or a .hls setlist works the same way, and you can pull a single preset out of either.
Your presets will not be greyed out when you go to pick one. iOS dims files whose type it does not recognise, and it does not recognise .hlx, .hxb or .hls — so Helrig asks for any file and works out what it is from what is inside it.
Getting it back onto the pedal
Export the edited .hlx and load it onto the pedal from a computer, the usual way. On an iPad, that’s the one step that still needs a computer.
The iPad app
An iPad app is next. It needs a USB permission from Apple, which we’re waiting on, so there’s no date yet.
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 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).
Questions
Is there a Helix app for Android?
Yes: Helrig for Android, on Google Play. It connects to Helix and HX pedals over USB, opens the preset the pedal is playing, edits it live and saves presets to the pedal. It’s free to install and to edit with; connecting needs Helrig Connect or Helrig Pro.
Can I connect my HX Stomp to my phone?
Yes, with Helrig for Android and a data-capable USB cable, on a phone with Android 7.0 or newer and USB OTG.
Is there HX Edit for iPad or Android?
No. HX Edit runs only on Windows and macOS. Helrig is an independent editor that runs in the browser on an iPad or iPhone, and as an app on Android.
Can I edit Helix presets on an iPad?
Yes, in the browser, with the full editor. Getting a preset onto the pedal still goes through a computer. An iPad app is planned; there’s no date yet.
Do I need HX Edit?
Not to edit presets. Firmware updates and the pedal’s global settings stay with Line 6’s HX Edit.
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.
Does my Helrig Connect license work on Android?
Yes. One license works in every Helrig app. Buy it on helrig.com and sign in in the app.
Is Helrig made by Line 6?
No. Helrig is unofficial, independent, and not affiliated with or endorsed by Line 6 or Yamaha.
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Disclaimer
Line 6, Helix and HX are trademarks of Yamaha Guitar Group. Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC. iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc. Helrig is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.