soundog

Essential reading.

Thank you!

Since you're just starting out with DAW recording, I wouldn't worry about your interface now. The UX1 will do just fine for now, and you can always upgrade to something better down the road. DAWs are pretty complicated beasts, but there are tons of useful tutorials online for any specific software. Read the manuals. Re: plug-ins .... less is usually better. Start out with just the essentials. Like Helix Native!

That L3T goes up to 19 kHz (!) and a typical guitar amp/cab maybe only around 5 kHz. Try rolling off the high end way down until it sounds good to yer ears. Boost a little between 300-500 Hz, but not so much it gets muddy. Try using just a bit of Teemah or Minotaur with some light gain early in your path. Have you tried some IRs, adjusting their treble and bass and mix?

Dunno. Not familiar with those Master Echo and Reverbs in the Track setup window (assuming they are turned down all the way) but to be sure uncheck them. Can you provide a sound file of what the recorded track sounds like? I'm especially interested in hearing how your raw guitar sounds, with all effects blocks turned off in HXN. You could compare this to what a guitar track sounds like recorded with NO plug-in in the track.

Awesome! You won't regret it... My personal favorite third-party preset pack ($, but affordable): https://fremenpresets.com/downloads/fremen-helix-2-30-2-50-update-pack/

Did you follow this basic setup?

Helix Native is really best at recording great guitar tracks in a DAW; playing guitar in your living room whenever you want is not its forte. You have to deal with the computer, the interface, the amplified speakers, etc. Helix Floor (and a PA or powered speaker) are all you need to plug in and get great tones immediately. And, of course, there are some folks selling presets that sound fantastic (on either the software or hardware) to keep you from having to learn how to design presets until you are ready for that. The Helix Floor can be pretty much plug in and turn on once you have it setup. It may look overwhelming and scary, but you don't need to use all the knobs and buttons and bells and whistles when starting out. Plus, you'll sound like a guitar god so will be inspired to keep playing and practicing. If you are only going to play acoustic guitar and you want to be amplified via a pickup, I personally would go with the HX Effects, since you don't need all the amp modeling and the ins/outs of the more expensive Floor. But .... if you think you might have fun with an electric and want to get your ya-yas out someday (and it sounds like you can afford it), the Helix Floor will let you grow into it and blow the walls out after a hard day. And the Helix Floor can also give you the same excellent acoustic guitar tones (assuming you have a good pickup installed in your guitar). My opinion: Helix Native, if focus is recording great sounding guitar tracks. Helix Floor (or LT), if focus is learning and playing guitar, and I think I might get into electric as well as acoustic. HX Effects, if focus is learning and playing only amplified acoustic guitar with effects. Nothing, if my focus is learning and playing only acoustic guitar.

Yes! Agreed!!

Yes. It was never designed to. [update: through a regular guitar cable. See @psarkassian comment below.]

When this happened to me I backed up my presets, reinstalled the firmware, and loaded my presets back in. Haven't had a problem since. I'm suspected something gets corrupted in a preset or somewhere else.

What?

Always take really weird.

Most acoustic performers I know (myself included) like small footprint stuff. Quick and easy setups for wineries and small venues. I used the Helix Floor at a few gigs and sold it after the HX Effects came out. Didn't need the amps and distortion. Didn't need the bulk and weight. Didn't need all the ins and outs. And .... I think the HX Effects is just as much fun to mess around with, especially for an acoustic player!

Hmmmm... if you mean using the HXFX looper to loop both acoustic and electric paths at the same time, that's another matter (I'm using external loopers via the FX Loop send/returns). Not sure if you can modify the preset to loop both paths at the same time. But you could certainly use the HXFX looper on either path. Or, there may be another preset that would work. Play around with my patch and see what you come up with for your needs.

Have you tried reinstalling the plugin? Or perhaps deauthorizing and then reauthorizing? When all else fails, open a support ticket.

@vescogma. Thanks, I hadn't heard of Element and just checked out the website .... looks pretty cool. How do you like it? Has it been stable and easy to use?

I’ll call your inputs GitL and GitR. Split Y sends GitL to Path A only, and GitR to Path B only. At the end of the paths, Git 1 is panned to go out the L Main Out only. Path B Mixer is panned to go out the “Left” Send, so Send 1 only. Not sure what you are ending up with the way you have it set up, I just looked at it and don't have time now to connect guitars and PA. Take a look at my attached Night Train 2 preset. Split Y splits the L and R mono inputs to Path A and B. I have various effects one each path, including an FX Loop on each path (for external mono loopers connected to my Send/Return 1 and 2)). The Mixer at the end is configured to send my L input out the L output, and the R output out the R output. You can use a MIDI controller or audio mixer to mix the output levels of Path A and B. Is that sort of what you're trying to achieve? NIGHT TRAIN 2.hlx

Happy to share....and have fun with Workbench, once you figure out how to get it all going. Look for forum tips if you get stuck.

True. They do differ in workflow and layout, so you need to find one that fits your style of working. Some are better for composition and arranging. Some at MIDI. Some have better bundles of plugins and virtual instruments. Once you commit to one, though, its hard to switch because you get so familiar with how to do all the little stuff you have to do during every session. Choose wisely.

The sound in those live recording videos were recorded direct from a Behringer XR18 digital mixer while performing. I've been happy with the XR18 for live performance mixing and recording. Its challenging to learn the ins and outs and routing, but has a deep and flexible feature set. The XR18 is overkill for the number of channels (18) that I need (just 5 in the video), but you can record all channels into independent DAW tracks. For the recording you heard, I recorded all of the tracks raw (pre EQ) from the XR18 into Logic Pro X (most any DAW will work). Afterwards, I tweaked and mixed the tracks using the usual EQ and compression and limiting in Logic. Its a pretty simple matter to sync up the video and polished audio (as long as you have video editing software that can do that sort of thing). There are cheaper digital mixing interfaces with fewer tracks that will also let you record your performances via USB, but it seems like most of those are 2-track stereo only (including the cheaper XR12 and XR16) . That may be good enough for your needs, but if you want control of more sound sources you should find something that will let you record all tracks independently via USB. Its amazing how good this sort of technology is getting for affordable prices.

On a Mac? Logic X. Not? Reaper. Interace? UA Apollo. Focusrite Scarlett. Apogee Duet.

Glad you liked it, thanks very much. I have some unfinished rough mixes on my website, including that song here. I didn't use the Variax acoustic for any home studio recordings (only use it for live stuff), but I did use a Variax Standard for slide stuff in special tunings here and there.

I didn't look at your preset file, but I've done a fair amount of parallel processing by using the "Split A/B" function at the front of my HXFX processing chain, and a "Mixer" function at the end. So you end up with two separate mono paths (A and B), with the outputs going out of the main L and R output. (Instead of the mixer going to the L/R main outs, you can also split the outputs so they go out the sends, but I don't do that.) You have to hard pan the mixer hard L on one path, and hard R on the other, and you can mix the levels as needed. I put whatever FX blocks I need in each path, and I usually am using one path A for acoustic guitar with an IR at the front of the path. I often place a send/return in each path at appropriate spots, to go through a dual mono looper.

...heres an older video of me playing mine. It starts with a setting that has a double-string "12 string" tuning on the E and A strings, with the double set an octave lower. Near the end of the song I play a slide lead on the Variax, changing the tuning to (I think) Am. There's some looping of the Variax also, with sax.