soundog

I would contact Line 6 support directly (open a ticket). The trial seems to have some stuff built in (for copy protection, I assume) that makes it very finicky. Things may need to be reset on the Line 6 server end (I'm guessing). If you work with support and tell them what happened and that you are an interested, potential customer ... maybe they will even extend your trial period.

Yep, when something like that happens, ya got no choice but to upgrade!

If you have a DAW/computer setup with a decent audio interface, some folks have used a free trial of Helix Native to do some preliminary testing to see if the hardware unit might work out for them. But you need to be proficient and in/out routing and gain staging and that sort of stuff....

Thanks for clarifying, DI ... I worked in product development at HP for many years, so know about the tradeoffs that come into play with product intros. And the testing involved with feature adds. FYI, my solo singer/songwriter setup uses an HX Effects as my guitar processor and MIDI controller (controlling an external vocal FX unit and digital mixer routings). I normally only use one HX foot switch for the external MIDI control stuff. The Stomp would be a much better fit for my setup (smaller footprint + amp/cabs), so that's why I sometimes whine (gently, I hope) about the Stomp not having Command Center stuff. I'll keep my fingers crossed high.....

If you do a lot of computer recording in a DAW, Helix Native sure does come in handy because its always ready to go. If you just need Helix in your computer from time to time, the hardware route may suit you just fine. Another thought .... if your audio interface (for your computer) is not a real good one, the input electronics on the Stomp may be superior and sound a bit better for guitar input.

I love my iMac (Late 2015 27” Retina 5K, i7 4.0 GHz). Some day I'll probably need a new one, but so far so good!

Hmmmmm. I don't think Helix Floor/Rack/LT or HX Effects were ever intended to be a MIDI controller either. They are intended to be guitar-effects-stomp-boxes. However, the code needed to grant them MIDI controller powers were included in the firmware. Alas, the poor li'l old Stomp guitar-effects-stomp-box simply didn't get that chunk of code.

You can't. I think Phil meant to have both running at the same time (your DAW + Native) and HX Edit, then drag and drop from the separate windows.

Congrats on a new iMac! I've heard of a lot of issues with various plug-ins, drivers and apps with the new Catalina OS. I know Apple was trying to tighten up security, but I think they messed up the Catalina rollout royally.

The Helix is surprisingly versatile in terms of ins and outs. The manual is helpful to get a sense for the possible routing. I'm assuming you want to use it with an analogue mixer. If so, yeah, you could certainly use it as a robust external effects unit. For that, you would just use aux sends from your mixer (mono, or stereo if you have them .... usually sends are mono). You could even use preset changes for different songs to change the effect block chains in the Helix. If you have two aux sends/returns on your mixer, you could even set up two separate effect chains (using path A and B in the Helix).

I bought a set of AllParts locking tuners (Part No. TK-7591-010) for $35 online. They fit like a glove, swap out in minutes, and are working nicely. I used the original washers from the Variax because I like the bevel on them better than the ones provided. Sure, there are better locking tuners out there, but these are a nice match for my Standard.

This is the only thing I use to power my Variax's in the studio: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VariaxPwrKit--line-6-variax-cabled-power-kit Overpriced? Yes! Works? Every time and clean as a whistle.

Except here in Washington state (and I think Ohio too!) we are no longer allowed to be in a room together. But some people are still able to act like virtual A-holes.

Try this (assuming you're feeding a stereo instance of Native with either a dual guitar track with guitars panned hard L and R, or using two mono tracks into a stereo bus panned accordingly). Use a Split Y to keep the guitars panned hard L and R onto path A and B. Then put whatever amp/cab you want on Path A after the split, and same for Path B. Then put a Mixer right after the amps to rejoin them on Path A, with the same hard pan L an R. The add any stereo effects you want to your new stereo path. See screen shots here for Split Y and Mixer settings (whoops, Mixer A Pan should be 100, not 98). Let me know if that works for you.

I agree, some additional bass stuff would be appreciated. In the meantime .... yeah, I would experiment with the Darkglass (obsidian), even using a parallel path with the Darkglass really cranking and smashing and ripping.

Aardvark .... yes you can pan in any DAW. But if you play around with stereo and mono inputs into Native, and panning the resulting signal ... you will find that it's not all straightforward and as expected. It's so cosmic I won't even attempt to explain it. As mentioned here, this thread is useful if you are trying to pan a guitar within the stereo effects field created in Native: http://line6.com/support/topic/32305-panning-your-hxn-guitar-within-a-stereo-track/ Another method to experiment with is to use Helix Native as a mono guitar processor (amp and cabinet only), then bus the mono output to stereo effects, either using Native or other plug-ins. There are other ways, of course...but it usually does take some experimentation to get what you want during a stereo mix.

I would just focus on getting as good a vocal/microphone raw recording as possible into a Reaper track. Then use plug-ins (EQ, compression, effects) later during mixing. I imagine Reaper has some very usable free plug-ins for vocals.

Thanks for sharing. Not my style of playing (dent/metalish), but you cover all the bases from clean/light to nasty/heavy. The youtube reviewer did extensive testing on a lot of preset makers and concluded (as I and others on this forum have); your presets are not a rip-off and are, in fact, excellent.

Thanks for sharing. The stereo and split/merge stuff in Helix has caused grown men to cry. This thread may also prove useful:

See if this thread helps:

For me, this (Line 6 leaving out almost all of their MIDI Out control capabilities ) was one of the biggest shortcoming of the Stomp. Otherwise, I'd buy one! Line 6 has eluded that they might add it to maintain inter-device unity, but I haven't seen any signs of that happening. We can only wish....

Yes, there are a number to choose from .... some host VST plug-ins, others host AU plug-ins. Do some searches, read some reviews. There are probably free and paid, and maybe free trials for the paid versions.

Ah hah (I only looked at the rear-panel photo .... the DINs are on the side)! So that little host board would work. Worth noting, the nano doesn't send Program Changes .... just note values and CCs.

Usually through a DAW, yes, but you can use a "plug-in" host that runs on Mac or Windows. There are various options to choose from, although I haven't used any of them. Helix Native can be used for live, but that's not what its designed for.

Ah, I just re-read the OPs post and see that the Stomp doesn't have a 5-pin DIN MIDI input, so yeah, he can't use that little board. FYI, that host board actually is a great substitute for a computer if you need to use a USB controller with any hardware that has 5-pin MIDI in. I use mine all the time with Korg controllers.