rd2rk

Put the UR12 in a drawer. Steinberg interfaces suck. Use the Helix as your interface, it's better.

And what amsdenjj said. If that's the way you're using it, you don't need an external soundcard. Connect your speakers to the Helix and in Windows Sound Panel select Helix as your default device.

If you are using the computer's built in sound card, that is NOT the way to go. Even the best of them are not made for this application. Get a real external Audio Interface. There are many out there. If your needs are minimal I'd recommend the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, a little over $100. Using the Scarlett specs as a base, it's hard to go wrong with most available AIs. You could also spend a lot more for high end pro AIs but for casual use these specs are perfectly acceptable.

Some people will claim that ASIO4ALL is good. I disagree. Use the ASIO driver that is designed for your soundcard, which is a....?

CC#32 is used to tell a MIDI device that a Bank Change is coming, and the associated Value (0-7 on the Helix) tells the device what bank to switch to. CC#69 tells the Helix that a Snapshot change is coming, and the associated Value (0-7) tells the Helix what Snapshot to switch to. EDIT: Removed inaccurate info. See later posts.

The lower range speakers (Alto, Headrush, etc) also use bi-amping, but the crossover frequency is fixed. That means that they'll have a "sweet spot" in terms of volume and listener position, and are best used vertically on poles. Speakers with DSP adjust crossover frequency and/or relative power levels between low and high frequency components based on volume levels. The higher range do that and have presets for different situations and placements. As DD said, you get what you pay for. However, keeping the above feature differences in mind, the relative quality in terms of construction and durability on the low end has increased considerably in recent years. Yamaha's warranty is hard to beat though!

Yep, that's the known bug. L6 is aware of it. HOPEFULLY, it'll be fixed in the 2.8 update. If it isn't then create a new ticket and remind them that you're not the first. BTW - you really should update your HX Edit. It should be the same version as the FW.

For your needs, either will do. The Yamaha are lower powered, but higher quality and more flexible (DSP). I've never compared them. I use a single HR FRFR112 and it sounds great. A pair, plus stands, will cost about $650. The main difference between the FRFR112 and the TS312 is that the TS312 has mic preamps. Inmusic claims that the FRFR112 is "voiced for guitar", but the only difference that they'll admit to is the lack of mic preamps. Again, Yamaha quality/flexibility (and 10" vs 12") vs Alto price. LOTS of people use the Yamaha and are very happy. If you get the Yamaha, I'd get the stands anyway. Higher up means closer to ear level and that always sounds better to me. YMMV.

A pair of short speaker stands will cost about $50: https://www.guitarcenter.com/On-Stage/SSAS7000B-Mini-Adjustable-Speaker-Stand-1500000023557.gc A pair of DBR10s will cost about $800 vs $500 for the Altos. Your call.

This being a Helix forum, between the AXE and the Helix, guess which one we'll recommend? As for speakers, the JBLs are near field monitors, intended for mixing. They'll sound best standing at the apex of the equilateral triangle between the speakers. The Altos are PA speakers, and have a much wider dispersion. They should also go on (short) speaker stands to prevent bass coupling with the floor, and because they don't have the DSP that more expensive speakers have to cope with that.

There's a known problem relating to this, about which, unfortunately, I can't recall the details. I set up a preset with four switches set to send notes - C3/D3/E3/F3. Then I changed snapshots and pressed the Note buttons randomly, but couldn't make the settings change as described. What version of the FW and editor are you on? Can you attach a copy of your preset so I can test it?

If you have the stock FCB1010, your options are somewhat limited. If you have the UNO chip, that adds options. The stock FCB chip allows you to select PRESETS on the Helix. You can send a PROGRAM CHANGE message to up to 5 devices on separate MIDI Channels (you only use 1 if the Helix is your only device, but if you have MIDI controllable devices like Strymons in the Helix FX loop, these can be controlled too). In addition, you can send 2 CONTROL CHANGE messages on separate channels, and 1 NOTE message. How these capabilities are used in a given user's rig is rig and goal dependent. Ask a specific "HOW TO" question and I'll try to help. The functions available with the UNO chip as described below can be mimicked with the stock chip, but it severely limits your options and is more difficult to configure. You also cannot sync the LEDs as you can with UNO. The UNO chip adds the ability to have 5 of the 10 footswitches act as "TOGGLING CC" (STOMP) switches, with the other 5 footswitches used to select PRESETS on the Helix (FCB PRESET switches). This configuration applies to all of the FCB's banks.That means that you can turn ON/OFF up to 5 effects per preset, and the LEDs on the FCB can reflect the ON/OFF status of the effect (see NOTE below). Two additional effects can be toggled on subsequent presses of the FCB PRESET button, but the LEDs will not reflect status. Again, I'll try to help with specific questions on how to use these capabilities. NOTE: Communication between the FCB and the Helix is ONE WAY ONLY! The FCB can tell the Helix what to do, but has no way to tell what the Helix is doing. In order to have the FCB's LEDs reflect the ON/OFF status of an effect, you need to configure the FCB preset to send the ON/OFF message required for the Helix preset. IOW - if you want effect 1 to be ON and effect 2 to be off, the FCB preset has to be configured to send (on FCB/Helix preset load) the ON message to effect 1, and the OFF message to effect 2. The effect in Helix will then be ON or OFF as required and the FCB's LEDs will reflect that, and know that on next press of the corresponding FCB STOMP button it should send the opposite message. I know that this sounds very complicated. It is. That's why you should buy the proper Helix controller. It can, however be done, and I use the FCB to control Native on my office rig (my Floor is in the studio. If you'd like, I can send you a sample FCB sysex (configuration) file to demonstrate how to do it. Let me know which chip (stock or UNO) you have, and I'll put one together for you. If you want to try this, regardless of which chip you have, you'll need to buy the UNO_ControlCenter Editor (about $22).

What Kilrahi said. Also be aware that unbalanced cables are OK up to about 20', after which they are a possible noise source. For LONG cable runs use balanced/XLR.

I knew you meant the jargon, same here. I just forgot the smiley! :-) Think that's bad? I just checked out the link provided by Honest Opinion. Buncha geeks over there, tell ya what! My takeaway is that if what Zolko said is true, that the BIG KNOB is a "Digital Master Attenuator" (not an analog volume control like I thought), then it comes before the DA converters, and that's where all that bit loss stuff comes into play. So, the BEST way to use the BIG KNOB would be to keep it maxed (raising the question of what purpose DOES it serve?), and place an analog volume control device (like a small mixing board or?) between the Helix and our monitors. But wouldn't that then possibly add another potential noise source in the signal chain? And then there's this (from the Head Hi-Fi link): "It might not be a real audible issue, but 100% digital volume can cause clipping in the digital reconstruction filters of some DAC chips, because the peaks in the analog signal can exceed 0 dBFS by 1-2 dB with "loud" music." Does a cranked virtual Marshall Stack count as "loud" in the digital domain? -2 +2 -2 = -2 that I can't hear anyway, so do I care? I should care. Why don't I care? I must be defective. NO I'M NOT! I'm perfect, like everybody else! I'm going to eat a donut and go to bed now......

It's possible that what Zolko is attempting to describe in what is obviously not his native language (kudos for trying!) is a subtlety that's more important to a recording engineer than to a performing artist. FWIW, I use the BIG KNOB the same way, for final output control to my amp/monitor, and I can't hear a difference either.

NONSENSE! (which means makes no sense) First, to avoid messing with the signal to FOH (if your're sending it via XLR), you simply ASSIGN the master (BIG KNOB) to control the 1/4" (your stage monitor, if you're using one). That leaves the XLR sending Unity Gain to FOH regardless of the BIG KNOB setting . Second, the whole concept of GAIN STAGING is that if you change the gain at block 1, that affects block 2, which needs be adjusted to compensate and that affects block 3, etc on down the line. Therefore, you should ONLY mess with the amp's level controls (gain, master) to get the TONE you want from the amp. The CHANNEL control (and additional gain blocks) are then used to control the level sent to the blocks downstream from the amp. Leveling the final output between presets should be done at the END of the chain, using either the Output Block or a final Gain Block, compressor, or whatever.

Aren't you glad Helix lets you do that? And, you can use snapshots to change exactly what your expression pedals control within a given preset. BRILLIANT! :-)

Assuming the rack is like the floor - GLOBAL-FOOTSWITCHES-PRESET MODE SWITCHES=Preset/Snap STOMP MODE SWITCHES=8 Switches SNAPSHOT MODE SWITCHES=Manual Return UP/DOWN SWITCHES=Banks Pressing MODE toggles between 8 Stomps and 4Presets/4Snaps.

If you search for "4cm hum" you'll get 68 listings. They're not all specific to "4cm" or HX Effects, but if you look through them you may find an answer. The most common answer I've seen you've already discovered - hum eliminator.

The fun thing about these comparison videos is that they ALWAYS confirm my personal bias, which is that the best is what sounds best TO ME, whatever that is! I CAN'T EVER GUESS WHICH IS THE REAL AMP! This video was probably the worst for me because, IMHO, the only guitarist who ever sounded good thru Vox amps was Brian May, and he used a WALL of them and a weird homemade guitar to get his sound. I don't think I've played more than 5 minutes through the Vox amps in the Helix or in any of the many sims I own. Just not my thing I guess. The reveal really was funny though!

Thank you. There must be a technical problem with doing that, as I KNOW I'm not smarter than the tech wizards at L6!

If they implemented it in such a way as that any block that was clipping would flash, or change color or something, that might prevent the OC types amongst us from going insane, and might even satisfy the 300 people who've posted separate requests for it on Ideascale!

And another view - Ever notice that the Channel Volume default is different on every amp? I THINK (never seen it documented) that the reason is that the Channel Volume, while it doesn't affect the amp's tone, does affect the level sent to the effects that FOLLOW the amp, and the default levels are intended to not clip anything following the amp. Of course, as soon as you start messing with the other amp level settings (gain, master) that's out the window. Until we get some sort of level indicators we're guessing at that point. Instead of using the Channel Volume to balance presets, I use the final Output block's level. The Big Knob is most useful as a monitor level control. Whether you're using it in the bedroom with 5" monitors or on stage with a real amp/FRFR stage monitor. On stage, you'd run the 1/4" outs (line level) to your monitor and set the big knob to control those outs. The XLR outs would then always send a (mic level) Unity Gain signal to the FOH board. Then there's the way that I use it at home. I have two configurations. In the office I use Helix as my interface. I run the 1/4" outs to a small Behringer board ((XYNEX502) and keep the Big Knob maxed (unity gain) because the Helix is under my desk. I then run a stereo cable from my laptop's headphone out to the board. The main outs from the board go to a decent quality Sony bookshelf system (2x6+10 sub). I can then jam along to YT, Spotify etc and mix the levels from the board on the desktop. In the studio I use a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 as interface. I take the 1/4" out from my G10 wireless to the Helix Input, and take the XLR from the G10 to the 18i20. Then I take the XLR outs (mic level) from the Helix to a pair of inputs on the 18i20. The Helix (line level) 1/4" mono out goes to my FRFR112 for zero latency performance monitoring, with the Big Knob assigned to the 1/4" outs. This setup is essentially the same as the stage setup described above with the 18i20 taking the place of the FOH board, and allows me to record the Helix signal AND a clean guitar signal in Reaper, which I can then "re-amp" with Native. The recorded output from Reaper goes to my Rokit 6 monitors which also carry drum and keyboard tracks while recording guitar. As with the office setup, I run a stereo cable from the laptop headphone out to the 18i20 for streaming purposes. The difference here is that since the streaming signal goes thru the 18i20, I can play along and record it in Reaper, which also becomes the output "mixer" portion of the equation. So you see, there's lots of ways to do this, thus the varying opinions on how.

I think what he was hoping was that the analog to midi conversion was a function within the Stomp. So "That is beyond the capability of the STOMP'S MIDI" would have been quite correct! Or, it could be ME that totally has no idea what he's after!

This: http://midisolutions.com/prodped.htm Plug your expression pedal in, midi cable to HX Stomp, Global set to MIDI THRU=ON EDIT: I'm assuming you want to do this to record the exp pedal movements in a DAW. To control the STOMP at the same time you'll need to assign the parameter to be controlled to MIDI. See the manual for specifics.