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Ok, here's how to make it work with Audacity: 1) Make sure your Helix is connected via USB first. Then open up the Windows sound settings. On the first tab, "Playback", select the entry for Speakers that says "Line 6 Helix" and then click the button make it default. It should say it is the default device after doing so. Then click the "Recording" tab, select "Digital Audio Interface Line 6 Helix", and again click the button to make that the default as well. Then with this same entry selected, click Properties. Go to the Advanced tab and make sure it is set to one of the 2-channel options (on my PC it defaulted to mono). It'll work fine as 2-channel 16bit 44.1khz, but you may want it higher. Just make sure it matches the settings you have in Audacity. Now click ok and close all those sound settings windows. 2) Open Audacity. In the dropdown box for Audio Host, pick Windows DirectSound. In the next dropdown for Recording Device, select Digital Audio Interface (Line 6 Helix). In the next dropdown, set it to 2 channels for stereo recording. For playback device select "Speakers (Line 6 Helix)". 3) Plug your headphones or speakers straight into the Helix. Don't use any audio ports built into your PC. You should be able to hear all of your computer audio as well as your guitar through the Helix headphone out now. In your Helix patches, just have the output set to "Multi", and keep monitoring turned off in Audacity or else you'll hear your guitar straight out of the Helix and also looped back through Audacity. You can make a new stereo track in Audacity, click record and it should all work fine. You can play backing tracks, external audio, etc either inside Audacity or with an external player -- seems to all work simultaneously for me, no problem.

I think ASIO4ALL shows up as an ASIO device to other software, so even with that you’d still have to compile Audacity to support it. That said, what @jodiug is asking to do in his original post should still be possible using the built-in Windows drivers, because I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how I was using Audacity when I tested it last week. I still don’t recommend using it for a number of reasons (the latency that shows up in recorded tracks is suuuuper annoying, as you have to re-align everything manually after recording!), but if I have time tonight I’ll see how I configured it to make it work.

rd2rk is correct. Your problem is Audacity, because unless you compile it yourself, it doesn’t support ASIO. I just tried recording with Audacity the other day as a test, to see how it would handle it, and I think you’d be a lot better off with a real DAW. You’re losing a lot of the benefit of a good hardware interface like the Helix when you have to use the built-in Windows sound protocols to record with. Also you get playback latency, and Audacity doesn’t compensate for that automatically, so tracks you record end up offset by a tiny amount compared to how you heard them when you played them. To answer your question about Windows and I/O devices, ASIO is a special protocol that is not built-in to Windows, and it’s the way that audio interfaces like the Helix work best over USB. So yes, you do need to use software that supports it. You will thank yourself later, though, because it is vastly superior to the built-in Windows audio drivers, and even though Audacity may seem simpler at first, your time is better spent learning a real tool. With just a small bit of experience, that simplicity quickly becomes a barrier to doing things efficiently and you’ll find the simplicity actually makes some things harder. When I use my Helix with a DAW, I record USB1-2 to a stereo track (that’s the wet/processed guitar, in stereo), and USB7 to another track (that’s the dry guitar, which can be used for re-amping later). I turn off monitoring on both of those tracks, so they get the signal in the background but I don’t hear the playback through them. I plug directly into the headphone out of Helix for monitoring, and through that you can hear your processed guitar with no latency, as well as any playback coming from your computer. If you want to use a backing track, you can load those right into your DAW too — no need for patching back into the Helix with extra cables. It will seem confusing at first, but once you get it figured out you’ll thank yourself for not staying with Audacity, and discover just how easily you can make great recordings with modern software.

Perfect! Sounds like you've solved your problem. Great solution! Now can we move on, eh? lol

Nope, I'm an adult and I'd like to be counted out of your 'we' too. Thanks!

The trick (well, for me anyway) with dual amps is using one that is much darker and one that is much brighter. By blending the two together with one mostly panned left and one mostly right, and careful use of a slapback delay or reverb, you end up with a really nice stereo image, and a full sound with tight bass and great treble articulation. You can also vary the amount of distortion on one amp vs. the other to tighten up certain frequencies change the breakup characteristics. That said, doing it this way is really only useful for recording or playing in small spaces with stereo monitors. If you had this setup live, in stereo, most of the audience would be hearing more of one vs. the other and it'd sound pretty craptastic. Also, I only really do this with crunchy, low-ish gain tones. I'm not sure if it translates very well to high-gain stuff.

Got it, noted. Thanks! *laughs* ;)

I think everyone should keep in mind that the L6 technical staff all have full-time jobs, which likely keep them 100% busy, and have nothing to do with this forum. Should L6 hire somebody to respond on this forum regularly as a L6 rep? Sure, maybe. But criticizing people like Digital Igloo for not posting here enough, when moderating these forums is 0% his actual job, is unfair. Imagine yourself in his shoes: your job is product design. You finish your work each day, probably tired and ready to relax at home like anybody else. You have daily job tasks that have to get done, which 0% involve helping people on a forum. How would you like people to suggest you'd 'be fired the next day' for occasionally posting on your own time, completely outside your job responsibilities, and not doing it enough, or not doing it where some nobody says you should? I understand your frustration if you think this forum is a place to get support directly from Line 6 reps, but Digital Igloo isn't that person, and he has no obligation to post here at all.

*whoooooosh*. Let's translate this into even simpler words: DI: 'Posting here is not part of my job. I do it on my own time.' lungho: 'How dare you speak of your job like this! You should be fired!' C'mon folks. Do better. The last thing I want is for Line 6 staff to stop posting entirely because of dumb personal opinions of how they should be doing their jobs, which you have ZERO SAY IN. Just stop. Grow up.

It's likely because of the authorization method the Trial Version uses. I had similar issues with it in FLStudio on Windows. The full version never does this, FWIW. As for the 'brand reliability', your first problem was user error...

I'm not sure what you mean here. The date on your screenshot is Sept of last year, and v1.82 of Native corresponds to firmware v2.82 of the Helix hardware. Regardless, the links from @Ilya-V are also a good resource. Also have a look at www.helixhelp.com

Even the world's best tools are no better than a simple hammer in the hands of people who don't know how (or take the time) to learn them. ;) Likewise, real amps and analog gear can also sound terrible, if you don't know how to set the knobs, dials, and sliders! Glad you're enjoying yours. I bought mine last year fully expecting to have buyer's remorse. But instead I still appreciate it every time I turn it on and play. Side note -- this is one of the downsides of making advanced technology and professional equipment so readily available to everyone. When the barrier to entry falls, it becomes hard to sort out human error from flawed products. You can give everyone on earth the best paints and canvas money can buy, but most of the example work you'll see from it will be a total mess :)

For now, I'm stuck playing through headphones most of the time, sadly. I use an old (but great!) set of Sennheiser HD580 headphones with the Helix, and they work very well together. For the occasions where I decide I'm going to be a bit of a jerk to my neighbors, I just use an old set of Logitech Z-2300 200W full-range speakers+subwoofer which sound surprisingly good from the Helix output. Not gigging with any of it currently. FWIW, I spend a lot of time tweaking patches and building tones with the Helix, and I think the biggest payoffs to be had come from that -- just my opinion. It's tweakable enough that feel, touch response, stereo imaging, frequency response, etc. -- all of those things can be finely-manipulated within the Helix itself. But I also very much understand those who just want to put a couple simple blocks in their patch, plug in to a monitor, and immediately have the sounds of a Marshall full-stack without any extra tweaking.

Yep, that was understood. I was just breaking it down to the basics because the wording of OP's post implied he/she might not have been familiar with the pre and power amp construction of a real amp circuit, which is necessary baseline knowledge to be able to understand your post. It definitely won't be exactly like a real amp without the interaction between those circuits, but some people still seem to like that setup, and some don't.

I'm afraid I've got no experience with any of them -- I use my Helix by itself because I currently live in an apartment :) So hopefully others here can give recommendations!

rd2rk's answer is good and worth the read, but I just wanted to clarify something in case it wasn't already understood: a real amplifier typically consists of a pre-amp (which provides a lot of the tone) and a power-amp, all inside the same amp head. When you use the Helix with a tube power amp, you set up your patches to just use a pre-amp block rather than the amp or amp+cab. They are their own category of effect in the Helix, and each amp modeled in the Helix also has just the pre-amp modeled by itself. Then you run the output of the Helix into your power amp, which completes the "pre-amp + power-amp" of a full amplifier. That said, I think I've read that some people have preferred the results of using a full amp block in Helix this way (without the cab, amp only!), rather than just a pre-amp block. So, it's worth some experimentation.

Hmmm. A headphone amp can only work with the signal it's provided, so unless it's coloring the sound itself, the only real difference should be whether or not its capable of driving the speakers (aka drivers) in the headphones to their full potential, and is properly matched to the headphone impedance. With my HD580s (very similar speakers inside to your HD650s, which are also 300 ohm impedance), there is definitely a big difference if you're plugging them straight into a headphone jack on a phone, vs driving them with a capable output. They sound terrible when plugged straight into my phone, for example. But, the headphone circuit in the Helix is designed for high-impedance studio headphones, and is plenty powerful to drive them properly. So any benefit you're getting with your HD650s via a headphone amp with your Helix headphone port is probably due to your headphone amp coloring the sound. If you're setting up patches in Helix to be used with other monitors, that's not necessarily a good thing, because the colored sound you hear in your headphones will *only* be heard that way through your headphones. Anyway, I did a bit of digging on this to confirm the capabilities of the Helix internal headphone amp and found this interesting post by Digital Igloo (Helix chief design architect): Those ATs are 38 Ω? That could explain it. Low impedance headphones are designed to provide ample volume when listening to devices with relatively wimpy headphone amps, like mobile phones and iPods. Another user elsewhere expressed concern with his Beyer DT990s (which come in three variants—32 Ω, 250 Ω, and 600 Ω) and I'm willing to bet his are 32 Ω. I'm actually surprised your Sonys sound any better, as they're even lower, at 24 Ω. Helix's headphone amp is LOUD; it's designed to drive high-impedance studio headphones to stage volumes. Low impedance headphones distort way faster, fatigue your ears, and at a high enough volume, can damage your hearing. With Helix you could conceivably split the headphone output to two pairs of 200-300 Ω cans/IEMs and drive both over the sound of a drummer (and adjust respective levels via MIDI CC control of path output blocks). My band does this now. Personally, I use Sennheiser HD600s (300 Ω), and before those, the HD580s (same). Also have a bunch of Sony 7506s around, but they're 63 Ω and harsh-sounding already, even with an iPod. I also keep a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pros (64 Ω) at work and they're pretty boxy sounding, but if I can get a mix to sound good on them, it'll sound good anywhere. I treat them like wearable Yamaha NS10s, if those NS10s were powered by an Alesis RA100 instead of a Bryston. Wouldn't want to construct tones with them. Eric Klein, Chief Product Design Architect, Yamaha Guitar Group / Line 6 / Ampeg Here's the link to the post: link @ thegearpage So, maybe @SteeBoon's problem is that the 80 Ohm DT770s are not high enough impedance...? The output impedance of the Helix headphone port is 12ohms, and by the 1:8 rule of thumb for output impedance vs. headphone impedance, you'd want headphones of at least 96 ohms. Also if he's turning the volume knob way up to drive those lower impedance headphones, they might be distorting and emphasizing harsh frequencies. @SteeBoon -- see if you can beg or borrow a high-impedance pair of headphones and try them. Also make sure global EQ is off on your Helix. Might be the fix you need. (Also, here's a page explaining the relationship between output impedance and headphone impedance, and how it can create audible distortion and harshness if not matched properly: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html )

Nope, the helix floor has a dedicated 'phones' output jack, as does the LT. There's no special headphone mode on either, just the ability to route your output through the headphone jack (that is where you're plugging into, correct?). Since you've tried multiple patches, I would look at other things in common: try a different cord, try a different set of headphones, maybe do a global reset on the unit just to put all the global settings back at default (did you check to make sure the global EQ isn't active?)

I doubt that a headphone amp is going to make much difference. I use my Helix floor with an old set of Sennheiser HD580 cans (300 ohm impedance) and the Helix drives them very well. If the LT has the same headphone output circuitry, it should have no problem driving 80 ohm headphones. Edit -- see my post below. Lower-impedance headphones might not be ideal for Helix's 12-ohm impedance headphone output.

I don't doubt your experience here. Just curious if you matched the ordering of the pedals the same as real-life. The reason being, if the HX Effects works like the Helix, it sets the input impedance of guitar input to the value of the first unit in your chain. Fuzzes in particular have low input impedance, which makes pickups sound darker. Also if you had a fuzz as the first model but bypassed, you'd still have that same low impedance loading the pickups. Not saying that was the issue, just tossing out ideas that would affect both how the fuzzes sound and cut out 'sparkle'.

I personally haven't A/B'd any of the real pedals to the helix models, but a number of YouTube videos doing so were part of why I bought the Helix. Here are a few good blind comparisons: There are more on YouTube if you search. For the most part, it seems the Helix gets very close to most. Some of the variation is probably in the model itself, while some might be hardware differences in the real pedal circuits.

I have faith that we *will* get 2.9, and we will all make it there with our sanity mostly intact! ;) But in all seriousness, just wanted to add that I've found this a very enjoyable and interesting discussion, from everyone who added to it. Thanks all! It's great to be able to talk about ideas, rather than everyone trying to prove theirs are better. I enjoy understanding how people think, and especially why they think what they do, because it gives me a better ability to relate to them and understand where they're coming from. This is probably too naive, but I like to think that the more we try to understand each other, the better we can all co-exist in peace, even if our beliefs don't necessarily match up all the time.

Heat tends to be what degrades most electronics over time, but on/off cycles can have in-rush current spikes that can also stress components, plus the mechanical wear of switches and such. In the end, it's probably a crapshoot, because failed electronics usually die from a single component that stopped working before it was supposed to (from latent manufacturing defects, poor QC, or a design that over-stressed it). The main thing I'd be concerned with leaving it on all day would be image retention on the display, but the screen on the Helix is LCD and probably LED-backlit, so even that's pretty unlikely to be an issue.

But on the bright side, if you're gigging in a place with a mosquito problem, the tuner doubles as an insect repellent!

I agree on this -- it's one of the main reasons I believe what I do now. For me, the provable truth is my top priority, and I stop forming beliefs when there is no more evidence. But in some religious and spiritual people, I've encountered what I *think* is indeed 'choosing' to believe, or at least that's how it appears to me. Maybe I just misunderstand what they mean, and the idea of faith probably varies a lot from one person to the next. I have a couple religious friends who can happily entertain all my ideas, but in the end they still believe in their faith because of the fulfillment & peace it brings them. And I know that some of them have doubts occasionally but they strive to not give those doubts power, for the same reason. In other words, it seems their approach is starting with a recognition that faith provides something positive and meaningful in their life, so they choose to find ways to support it and maintain it as a goal in itself. If life is so vague, undefined, and short, who am I to judge where people place their priorities, so long as they're providing a benefit to them and harming nobody else? (To be clear, I absolutely have a problem with some flavors of religion which try to impose their beliefs on others in an authoritarian and oppressive way. But there's a lot of spiritual folks out there who are not like that and don't deserve to be lumped into the same group.) Maybe @rzumwalt could give us some better insight into this. I don't want to assume or put any words into his mouth, but I'm curious if his beliefs come easily/freely from a place of genuine conviction, or if his faith is something he feels requires work but is a cause worthy of the effort for the benefit it provides.