amsdenj

I too have had trouble with my old Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 interfaces in recent macOS versions. But what I have found is that the simple Firewire to Thunderbolt adapter Apple sells works fine even in Big Sur. I did have trouble getting the Saffire kernel extension to load. But that was because of other old kernel extensions that wouldn't load and needed to be deleted. I cleaned these all up and now its working fine. I have two of them and they are the heart of my studio. Its great that they keep on working. Regarding using Helix as an audio interface vs. something like the Saffire or Scarlett interfaces, it depends a bit on your workflow. I like having everything into Logic Pro X setup the same from project to project so there's no changing audio devices. This allows me to leave a lot of things setup and ready to record vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin, etc. without having to do anything but move mics and pick up instruments. One easy option with Helix floor is to use the SPD/IF output connected to the SPD/IF input on your audio interface if you have one. This allows you to use your audio interface, but go all digital from Helix, avoiding unnecessary conversions.

If you use HX Stomp with a preset containing no blocks as your audio I/O device into Helix Native, then the input/output meters in Helix Native should closely represent the actual input and output to HX Stomp. So if your guitar is pushing HX Stomp too hard, you should see high input levels into Helix Native. Then any patch you create using Helix Native should work the same in HX Stomp. That is, if the input into Helix Native isn't clipping, and after going through all your blocks, the output in Helix Native isn't clipping, then you shouldn't get any clipping with the same patch loaded into HX Stomp.

You can also leave Snapshot Bypass on for a particular block bypass if you run out of stomp switches and want to use a snapshot just to run on an effect. This actually takes two snapshots, one to turn the effect on and another to turn it off. But that’s ok. I use this for my Leslie block as I have already used the 10 stomp switches for other purposes.

Get the stereo out from Helix, not Powercab in this case. But generally stereo isn’t that useful in live gigging situations unless you’re a solo artist.

There have been a few pretty significant and useful updates to Logic Pro X recently, and some of the newer ones require features in the newer macOS. Updating can be a pain. My old MOTU FastTrack Pro MIDI hub no longer works in Big Sur. There's no kernel extension update from MOTU yet for MIDI devices. It's kind of the price of progress. I generally don't mind and prefer to keep things updated.

I have experienced some strange issues with Helix Native 3.10 on macOS Big Sur with Logic Pro X. In one plugin, the setlists were all blank while another plugin in the same project looked correct. Blocks that had bypass assigned to automation switches couldn't be controlled from the Helix Native plugin API. Automation switches were controlling bypass on the wrong blocks or multiple blocks. I was able to resolve all these issues by removing the plugin and adding it back. That indicates there may have been some state saved in the Logic Pro X plugin that became inconsistent with Helix Native. If you have any problems with Helix Native, try removing the plugin and adding it back.

The input 1/2 and returns probably have different impedance.

If you're monitoring through software monitoring in Logic, and you have certain plugins added to the track or the master track, you could be getting a lot of latency through the plugins. Try using Logic's low latency mode and see if that helps.

I just replaced the USB jack in my Apogee GiO. It wasn't that difficult. But I still think I'd prefer to have Line6 repair HX Stomp because of how compact it is.

Helix guitar input seems to have been designed to handle a typical double coil pickup played pretty hard. You can test this by using a Helix patch with no blocks and the output level set to 0dB. You'll see that the guitar played hard will push the output pretty close to 0dB. If you put a pedal between your guitar and Helix input, and crank that pedal level up well above the guitar level, you're going to clip the input and that's not going to sound good. However the same is not true for the same pedal block in Helix. Once you're into the digital domain, you can push the level of a distortion block pretty much any way you want and not worry about digital clipping as long as the total output stays under 0dB.

Maybe consider a Pod Go for this application - it has mostly the same effects and amp models but is much simpler. The other way around complexity is to provide a bunch of starter patches for typical Fender, Vox and Marshall amp setups. HX Stomp has the power, but with limited knobs, switches and blocks, it requires a lot more knowledge to use effectively.

@sounddog, the video you referenced does indeed work. But it has a few problems as I noted in the 2nd to last paragraph in the original approach. Controller assignments in Logic Pro aren't localized to the project - they are essentially user preferences that apply to all projects. So what works for one track in one project might not be appropriate for another track or another project. This is both a limitation and feature of Logic Pro depending on your perspective. Its a limitation if you want to use MIDI controllers for very different things in different projects. Its a feature if you want your MIDI controller to work the same way in all projects. You can do most anything you might want by editing the Logic Pro MIDI Environment, but it isn't easy. The second problem is that the when recording the audio track with parameter automation controlled by a controller assignment, often the automation parameter is not properly initialized at the start of the track. The automated parameter may pickup the value from the first MIDI message it receives and apply this change way back to the beginning of the track - usually not what you want. And of course there are the limits of 16 knobs and switches for parameter automation. As I pointed out above, there are ways to work around this, but it tends to be a bit complicated and unreliable.

You might also consider a Variax if pitch shifting is something you want to do a lot. Variax has a separate pickup for each string, so the pitch shift algorithm doesn’t have to detect the individual notes from the played chord. Also limit the effects you have going into the poly capo. The less complex the tone the easier it is for the algorithm to detect the individual notes. Keep the input into poly effects close to the dry guitar and put the effects after the poly block.

Well, I've learned a little I hope since writing the post quoted above. First the difference between symmetric and asymmetric clipping. I had assumed that symmetric clipping with its odd order harmonics would be harsher than asymmetric clipping with its mix of even and odd order harmonics. But this is not actually the case. Since asymmetric still has the odd order harmonics, its just as harsh. But the even order harmonics add more complexity to the tone that can make it sound richer and even more aggressive. The second thing I think I've learned is the relative positioning of drive vs overdrive in stacked pedal configurations. There's two basic approaches. The traditional, "SRV" approach is to put a mid hump low drive, high volume pedal like Scream808 or Minotaur in front of a more transparent pedal like Teemah! that is providing the edge of breakup amp tone. The mid hump and extra volume push the more transparent overdrive to give more saturation. The other approach, say the "Mayer" approach is to do the opposite. Put the Tube Screamer/mid hump directly into the clean amp, and drive it harder with a transparent boost or overdrive to control the saturation. But key here is where you get your saturation, and whether there is a pronounced mid hump or not. Fender amps tend to be pretty scooped and can benefit from a mid hump pedal to fill in the mids and cut through the mix on leads. Marshall, AC30, Trainwreck amps are already pretty mid present and a mid hump overdrive can make them sound honky or harsh. You have to match the pedal to the amp.

If you don't plug anything into the return of the Mesa, then you may not get any sound out of the amp. That might be what you want. You'd still need to keep a speaker connected, but wouldn't need to worry about the master volume. Otherwise this should work: guitar > Mesa input > Mesa FX send > HX Effects input >> post amp blocks: IR, chorus, delay, reverb, etc. >> audio interface line input > DAW. You'd be getting the preamp sound and distortion of the Mesa, not the whole amp. That might be ok. Try it and see.

Turning down the hum and ripple in the amp model might clean it up a little. Also try using less gain, i.e., the minimum amount of gain required for the song.

You can't using HX Stomp directly into an app like JamKazam. You could try SonoBus instead. Another option is to use a DAW as your digital mixer and capture the output of the DAW into the input of JamKazam. SonoBus is a lot easier for this because it can be used as a plugin directly in your DAW. I'd recommend using a different patch for jamming on-line. Or use a Dual Cab block in stead of two IR blocks above.

I have never tried a Kemper so I don't have any experience with profilers. I've seen the videos on how well Quad Cortex does profiling - its pretty impressive. I'm not sure I understand how profiling works. I suppose if I used a guitar amp as a clean or edge of breakup platform for a pedalboard, and I generally set the amp exactly the same way, then a profile with real or digital pedals in front of it makes sense. But a profile is a snapshot of a particular set of amp settings. Gain/drive and tone controls that are layered on top of a profile change the profile, but not necessarily the same way that similar changes on the amp would. The profile is a fixed snapshot. If you make any significant changes in the amp's settings, you'd need to create another profile. This is why I prefer inside out models like Helix vs. outside in profiles like Kemper. Quad Cortex of course provides both and that's an attractive feature. I'd be interested to hear what other's experiences on using profiles vs. modeled amps.

I've done it when traveling with just a guitar and needed something capture ideas or loops for practicing on my phone. But I don't think I'd ever do it live or in a recording except for maybe an odd effect.

It's likely no one but you will notice your stereo, unless you're playing mostly solo. But if it sounds better to you, and makes you feel better, its likely to make you play better. I use a Powercab 212 for exactly that purpose. There are other ways to stereo widen including using small amounts of pitch shifting and very short delays. But almost anything you do is likely to have some phase effect that you might or might not like. Stereo widening seems to sound nicer and have less apparently negative phasing effects when using headphones. This is probably because the sounds are mixing in your head, not the air. This can be useful with IEMs to give some space to your monitor mix.

Regarding gain staging, its useful to note that a typical double coil pickup into the Helix guitar input set at 1M impedance with no blocks in Helix, and the output set to 0dB will pretty closely drive the output level to 0dB. I suspect this was an intentional design point. This means that anything that creates additional accumulation of gain may drive Helix output into clipping. Gain staging is most critical at the inputs and outputs where the analog to digital conversions are taking place since that's where the headroom limits exist. You don't need to worry as much about clipping within the Helix signal path, of course depending on the model (some are designed to clip). There's likely plenty of headroom in the algorithms. Its the starting level (guitar) and accumulation through the blocks to the output that matters. Keeping blocks at close to unity gain is one simple, possibly convenient, way of avoiding gain buildup that you have to correct at the output to avoid clipping. There are lots of other ways that can achieve the same result. Just make sure you're not clipping the input with an overly active guitar or pedal, and not pushing the output over 0dB. What goes on in-between is whatever sounds good to you.

Note that the Variax magnetic pickup signals are digitized in the guitar and sent as digital signals on the VDI cable. What this means is that the Helix auto impedance for the guitar input has no effect on Variax. There's a few models, like the Arbitrator Fuzz doesn't work well with Variax and VDI.

Start by using Helix like you would a traditional pedalboard and amp. Then start exploring Google and youtube to find other options.

I think you mean TRS - Tip Ring Sleeve. The manual explains what the expression pedal/foot switch options are.

Don't give up playing live too quick. I'm going to keep doing it until I drop. I just need a lighter guitar and amp, and JTV-69S and Helix provide that. Life's a process, not an end result. Music and the gear that goes with it has contributed a lot of joy in my life. I've had to give up a lot in the last few years. Running was the big one in 2020 - had to get hip replacement and they say no running. I'm not in any hurry to give up playing live with the band.