silverhead

The Helix USB connection provides 8 selectable channels for your DAW to record. Which channel are you selecting in the track being recorded? There is an option to record the dry signal, which by design is sent at a lower level than the wet signal.

I presume you are using HX Edit to do this? You could also try using Helix Native, which has a Hardware Compatibility mode. Set HX Native to HX Stomp mode and import the Helix LT a preset into Native, then export it as an HX Stomp preset and try importing it in HX Edit. I’m not saying the result will be any different, but it might be.

I don’t know. But there’s something in the manual that caught my eye. It talks about one of the rear panel items: MODE SWITCH – Controls the state of the FX Loop RETURN; When switched to the left, the FX Loop is engaged (as described above). When switched to the right, Power Amp In is engaged, sending the return signal directly to the power amp. This feature is great for use with external effects processors or pedals. Have you experimented with this switch?

I went on to mention it ….. FX blocks after the loop. That’s all I had in mind.

HX Edit. Use the mouse to drag presets to a new location.

The HX Edit installation package included a program called Line 6 Updater. Find it and run it while your Helix is in the ‘Update Mode’ you mention.

.... moved to the AMPLIFI forum.....

Each of the Metallurgy packs (Doom, Thrash, Modern) has its fixed set of pre and post FX. You can turn them on/off and change their parameters but you can’t swap anything in or out for other FX.

So, @blaine816.... your observation in your original post is quite accurate, and there's not much to be done about it except using FX blocks in the Helix preset to mask the audio gap.

So here is my test and results using a JTV-59 and a Helix Rack: Setup: Start with a New Preset. Add a Tube Preamp as the first block to provide some volume, and the Ganymede Reverb after it to provide some masking. Use the default settings for both. If you want more volume increase the Level of the Tube Preamp. Test #1: Turn the reverb block off. Hit an open chord hard. While it's ringing out rotate the Variax Model knob one position in either direction. There's a definite change in the tone. It was hard for me to tell whether there's an audio gap; I believe there is but it's very brief. Repeat the test using just the pickup selector switch. Use a finger to just gently nudge the switch in either direction; this also forces a model change and you will hear the tonal change. Again, the audio gap is nearly imperceptible to my (aging) ears. Test #2: Turn on the reverb block and repeat Test #1. May just be my ears (or bias based on theoretical prediction) but the audio gap seems less evident, being masked by the reflections of the original model during the gap produced by the Variax. Change Setup: Assign the Variax Model parameter to the Snapshot controller. Creates 3 snapshots, 2 of them with the same Variax Model and 1 with a change in the model. Doesn't matter what models you use. Save the preset with each Snapshot change. Arrange the Helix display to show the Snapshot footswitches. Test #3: Repeat Tests #1 and #2 using the Snapshot footswitches on Helix rather than manually changing Variax models. I hear the same audio gaps as above. However, the most important observation is that I hear an audio gap even when I switch between the 2 snapshots that use the same Variax model. It's very evident even with the masking Reverb block on. In this case I think the only possible cause for the audio gap is the time required for the Variax to reload the same model. Conclusion: The Variax guitar does, indeed, create an audio gap when it loads a new model, exactly analogous to a Helix preset change. This happens with Helix Snapshots when the Variax Model parameter is assigned to the Snapshot Controller. It occurs even when two snapshots share the same Variax model, meaning that the Variax receives and responds to the Change Model command in all cases.

Great Saturday morning entertainment…..

Yes, that would be normal. Seems like a pre-preamp FX Loop would be useless. It would be the same as just physically placing the external equipment in front of the amp. So, I can’t imagine that the Catalyst amp would place its FX loop in that manner. There’s likely some other explanation for what you’re hearing but I don’t have any suggestions other than the obvious. Any FX blocks that are positioned after the FX Loop in the signal chain will affect the playback of the recorded loop.

Yeah - I’m going to check it out too. Let’s make sure we don’t use any FX blocks that might mask any audio gap. I think that may be the reason that this hasn’t been pointed out before. Seems pretty easy to have a delay, chorus, reverb, or some other FX block masking the gap. In terms of the model being reloaded on each snapshot change, and thinking like a software designer, why would it be otherwise? If the model parameter is assigned to the snapshot controller then that would be the obvious action - send the Variax the command to load the specified model. In order to avoid that unnecessary action if the model is already loaded it seems to me that the designer would have to write some additional conditional logic. Either the Helix or the Variax firmware would have to check to determine what model is currently loaded and then not send or not act on the ‘change model’ command. Seems more efficient to just (re)load the model as commanded. Just a note…. The likelihood of a brief audio gap is all theoretical speculation on my part until we do the test and report the results.

Interesting. Are you absolutely sure there is zero delay? Is it possible that other FX in the preset are hiding a few ms of audio gap?

As a test, try this….. manually change the model on your Variax using the model knob while a chord is ringing out. Avoid using any delays, chorus, or reverb in the preset at the time to eliminate any confusing sustaining of the original sound. Do you experience the same hiccup? If so the situation is as I described and there’s nothing to be done. If not we can investigate further.

Hmmm. My first thought is that changing models in the Variax is akin to changing presets in Helix. There is bound to be a small audio lag as the Variax guitar loads the new model data, similar to when the Helix loads new preset data. Snapshots overcome that as far as the Helix is concerned, but remember that the Helix only sends the ‘change model’ command to the Variax when the snapshot changes. And it will send this command even if the model does not actually change in the snapshot. The actual change in the guitar sound is done within the Variax after it receives that command, even if it is commanded to reload the same model data, and that may indeed require a few milliseconds. So…. I’m not sure there’s anything to be done about it.

So your guitar is connected directly to the Boss Looper pedal at the very front of the signal chain, before the Pod? That means the Boss looper is recording the dry unprocessed signal directly from the guitar. As the recording is being made, what you are hearing at the end of the chain is the sound of the dry recorded signal being processed by the Pod preset. Changing presets does not affect the dry recorded signal in the Boss, but it does affect the processing of that signal by the Pod. In both cases, recording and playback, you are hearing the dry guitar signal being processed by two different Pod Go presets. If you want to record the sound of the POD processing you need to place the Boss pedal as grdGo33 described, either in the FX Loop of the POD where the FX Loop block is the last thing in the signal chain before the Output block, or after the Pod and before your speakers/amp.

Describe your cabling setup and the position of the FX Loop in your Pod Go presets. If you have FX blocks in the preset that are positioned after the external looper when it’s playing back, then the sound of the playback will be processed further by those blocks. And on the other side of that coin, the post-looper FX blocks will not be included in the looper while it’s recording.

Also, I expect you’ll need to set Return 1 to Instrument level in Global Settings.

I’m a bit confused because your title say ‘…. w/mic’ but in your message you say ‘…with a guitar’. I’m going to assume you want to know how to set up your Helix LT so that you process both your guitar and a mic for vocals separately. Connect your guitar to the Guitar Input. Set Path 1 Input to Guitar. Connect your mic (dynamic, not condenser) to the 1/4” Return 1 input. Use an adapter if necessary. Set Path 2 Input to Return 1. Set the Return 1 Level to get a proper input level from the mic. Edit: There is no Level setting when you use Return 1 as an Input block. Add your desired processing blocks to each path and route the output(s) to your destination device(s).

Great preparation. Hope your gig goes well!

It may not be sending the ‘correct’ tone information but it probably is doing what it’s being told to do. It’s just a computer. I suspect the settings are wrong. Please provide more details about what you’re trying to do, what settings you are using, and what you’re observing that’s not what you expect.

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Some reasons I can think of: - may be a need for more inputs/channels than Helix provides - may be a need for more routing options (e.g. multiple channels to the same Send) - may be a preference for (at least perceived) higher quality mic preamps

Also… you might be able to get this setup working and tested at home before the gig if you use a Looper block here and there and move it around as required. Don’t know for sure…. Never tried that.