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So recently purchased my AT2035 and Line 6 UX2. While I have some knowledge of audio interfaces, I find myself a bit lost when it comes to my microphone's specific issue. I have found that the microphone levels are very low and even with a volume boost it sounds rather low quality. I have tested my mic with no presets and it sounds very quiet reaching only roughly around -25 db. I have also tested various presets and have found using the default studio vocal preset to be the best; a bit louder, but still very quiet. It may also be important to note that the Mic 1/L Gain is in this position: Below I have posted screenshots of my UX2 audio interface and have given a small audio sample. The first half of the audio file is with no pre-amps or effects added and the second half contains the default studio vocal preset. I still believe the mic to be too quiet and am at a loss as to what is causing this. Any help is greatly appreciated! Mic.mp3

Question about levels... I have a Helix LT. The digital out goes to DT25 (big knob set to control only this). The xlr's (set a mic level and max output since the big knob is digital only) go left and right to a berhinger XR18. The XR18 is my interface to Reaper on a mac. I've had the helix over a year now and have spent hours upon glorious hours tweaking etc. I really love the results! I use the XR18 software to monitor my levels when when doing preset leveling to make sure things are close, then I play some music, play a lead over the same piece to finish the levels. This has worked great. I try to have my levels set so the XR18 software channel level meter hovers around -15. again this works great for getting the presets t match. It dawned on me the other day that the level in the XR18 is also going to be dependent on the trim I have set for that channel. Since once the trim is set, it doesn't change so all my presets will still be level matched, however, the level of my trim will have a direct correlation with the channel volume in the Helix. If the trim is set high, the helix channel volume will be set lower to get to -15. If the trim is set low, the helix channel volume will have to be set higher to get the XR18 channel level to -15. Several questions come to mind: 1) The helix channel volume is not supposed to change the tone, so it should not matter (tone wise) if it is set to 2 or 8. Is this thought correct? 2) would the sound be different (coming out of the XR18) if I had a higher channel volume and lower trim, or does that matter? 3) does anyone else have this scenario now and what do you do? 4) the trim now is around 12. should I change this to zero and redo my patches? Or am I (as usual) over thinking things? :) Would love to hear your comments. Thanks!

I have a problem with my helix that's been bugging me for weeks and which I can't seem to solve by myself. I use the helix for rehearsing with my band and have a patch for every song, with the snapshots being controlled via midi. My clean tone has a split in it, where I have a clean signal with only amp, ir etc. in path A and the reverb and delay on path B. The reason for that is that I like to heavily EQ those (I have a high cut set to 2.0khz because I like the effects to be rather mellow and dark and feel like that without EQ, they are way too bright), but don't want those EQ settings on my general guitar tone. Now, since I only need the split for the clean tone, I'm wondering about what to do with said split for the distorted tones. Even with all blocks on path B turned off, I still have two (identical) signals going into the merge block, which would make the tone more muddy I suppose? Correct me if I'm wrong. I could just turn down the volume down for path B, but that affects the volume of the tone in general (it is louder when I simply delete the split) and doesn't seem to be the ideal solution. Isn't there a way to decide for each snapshot if the split is active or ignored? There does seem to be a power button on the switch block, but when I turn it off, I still have two signals going into the merge block, so I guess all it does is deactivate all blocks on path B. Does anyone have a solution for this? Any help is very much appreciated (tldr: what I basically want is that when I have a clean snapshot, the split should be active and when it's a distorted snapshot, the signal should simply go from input to output, completey ignoring the split and path B). I attached a screenshot of the rhythm and clean tone for one of my patches.

I'm experiencing an issue where, whenever I place effects on a B path, my overall output volume becomes louder than other Presets, when those fx on the B path, are switched off. EG: 'Preset A' has all effects on a single 'Path'. This preset produces intended Output Level 'Preset B' has some effects on a 'B Path', that 'B Path' merges before the end of the Signal Chain. This preset produces an Output Level louder than 'Preset A' when effects on Path B are OFF Both presets have the same parameters for the 'Split' and 'Merge' blocks (that being Center/0dB) How do I easily ensure uniform levels across presets, when some are using a B Path? I don't understand why I have to fiddle around with A and B levels in the Merge parameter. It should Merge at the same level as a preset without a split/merge.

I just received my Helix, I haven't unboxed it yet. Does anyone have recommendations for running acoustic guitar and vocals at the same time? Also, is there a way to separate the 2 signals going out, so I can adjust the volumes individually with my mixer? Thank you,

Hi...when I bypass my HX Effects to just use my amp, there is drop off in volume. So, I need to bring down the overall output of the HX to match. Is there a way to do this through global settings? That would be much easier than having to go through and readjust individual block levels. Sometime, all you need is your amp! Thanks!

Hi there ! I'm considering to use the 4CM (4 cables method). That's for the 4CM and the switching capabilities that I bought the HX in the first place. I understand 4CM method very well. "Send" is used to send guitar signal to amp input. "Retrn1" is used to receive Preamp signal back from the amp. Out is used to send the effected signal to the POWER amp. This is clear and well documented but I have a concern with LEVEL settings : In the manual, it said that the Send/Retrn1 may be setup to accommodate either Instrument or Line level FxLoop. It's cool but in case of the 4CM, if your amp has a non-buffered loop, one part (send) should be setup to "Instrument" and the other should be setup to "Line". Of course this is not possible as send and return have to be setup together. What do you think of this problem ? Have you ever heard of a it ? Any workaround to suggest (except using a buffered loop!) ???

Does anyone have any tips on how to make sure levels/volume are consistent between different snapshots other than the obvious - using one's ears! Has anyone tried using a Decibel meter? Is there a way to do this within a DAW or another piece of software? Any advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Simon

I've asked in the Facebook group and read some threads over here about the topic but some things about it still confuses me, so here we go again. Is there any panning law by default in the Helix while using Y splits or AB splits followed by a merge block? At what dB? Is the signal lowered att the split or at the merge block? I'm using a patch for my bass that has a y split in the beginning with some distortion blocks on path 1b, and no blocks on path 1a, followed by a merge block, some comp, mod and lastly a single amp block and a cab. I use this setup to "blend" the distortions with my clean bass tone before hiting the amp block. But something sounds "off" while doing this compared to just putting all the blocks on a single path. I do understand how panning does work and that merging two mono signals results in a boost of 3db, two stereo signals in a 6 db boost, etc. Allthough i compensate by cutting the output block of the merge block I still end up by a signal that sounds either slightly boosted or with to little gain hitting the amp block. The settup that seem to be working the best is to use a Y split with L+R hard panned to either side and then both panned center at the merge block + a -3db compensation at the merge blocks output gain. Even by doing this you can clearly hear a difference when moving fxs like a comp block before or after the split+merge. Am I missing something? I do not have the dist blocks in path 1b on all the time and I want my blocks to get the same amount of signal after the split/merge as if I wasn't usinging parallel paths. Is this even possible?

So I am further down the rabbit hole with the Firehawk FX. Truth be told, I have been following alot of the Pod HD500x and Helix training videos on youtube due to the massive lack of presence the Firehawk seems to have out there in the wild. There is really nothing available on it compared to these other device. One helix video I came across was normalizing patch volumes using your computer DAW/interface. I found it very valuable. You can see that video here: Reading up around the Helix forums as well lead me to realize alot of people use their computer DAW to set patch volumes. The general consensus is, because this is a DIGITAL device (I still have a hard time realizing I have to treat this thing differently than a standard amp, because of digital clipping) is that your patch volumes should hit about -12DB on your input meter with your most authoritative strum - when you whack at your strings the hardest it should peak about -12 db. I run my Firehawk into my Yorkville YX10P with the following consistencies: Output volume (main red rings) = 50% Guitar volume (white red rings) = 54% (or the exact middle of the dial) This seems to be a common practise to keep things consistent across the board. With my guitar input volume right in the middle at 54%, I noticed that basically all my patches as they are currently set were clipping HARD. Amps' that I had set for Channel volume slider at 70% or sometimes 50% had to be brought down generally into the 20-25% channel volume range for the signal to hit that -12DB marker on my DAW. Theoretically then...with alot of the amp volumes down much lower, I can push my Firehawk master output volume (red ring) higher, which from what I am reading online would give me a better signal to noise ratio overall. So that leads me to the following questions regarding 'digital guitar' rigs. Is this normal? For whatever reason it seems like the channel volumes are SO low in this configuration. However there is an interplay here between the guitar input volume (white ring) and the channel volume. If I decrease the guitar input volume, then naturally there is less signal to the Firehawk and therefore the channel volumes would like come up higher to compensate. Would both of these situations sound the same ultimately? Is one better than the other? I assume that having the volumes lower like this WILL reduce digital clipping and probably make my guitar sound better overall. Also, with a much more higher powered FRFR like the Stagesource L2M or something, I would be able to push a louder cleaner signal into it by having the ability to run the overall master volume (red ring) higher. Anybody have any feedback on this? I am new to digital guitar rigs so please bare with me as I try to sort this out with a little help from my friends! Thanks crew :D

Hi all, I have questions around the optimal settings. Goal is to use the helix with my JVM 410h using the 4cm. I am also the singer in the band. So my goal is it to configure path 1a, 1b and 2 a in serial. Input is guitar in and output is 1/4 out. For 2 b input is mic in and outputs are xlr outputs. Let me compare this with my experience around the GT 10. 1. To align the different output levels of my guitars I would like to set different general input levels on the helix. So e.g. I would like to set the general input level to -5 db. How and where can I do this? In gt 10 3 general Input settings can be configured for input level and even eq. 2. Setting up the right path configuration as mentioned above, I have to configure this obviously using different splitters and mixers. Goal is to use 1a, 1b and 2 a for guitar completely in series. How do I have to do this? My experience is that 1a and 2a in series are working well. If I use also 1b the overall level gets quieter ?! I don't know why. 3. Level for send and return. On my Amp the setting is set to -10 DB, I set the send and return level to 100% to 0 DB. In comparison to the original level this seems to be the best setting. Your experience and recommendation? 4. Output Level: Setting the volume knob to max seems to be the best setting or better to configure the 1/4 output not to use the volume knob. In comparison to the original level this seems to be the best setting. On GT 10 I set the volume knob to 1 o'clock and the the general output level to -10 db according to the input level on the amp. Your experience and recommendation? 5. Foot switches: Snapshots are nice. In Some Cases it could make sense to enable e.g. a stomp box witch you will use in all snap shots from the moment you enable it. Is this possible ? So my main issues right know are 1 and 2. Hope you can help me. Thanks! George

I'm thinking of getting a Helix LT next week to use as a 4CM FX only board with my Orange Dual Dark 50. I've been led to believe the amp has a line level tube FX loop. Would the following configuration of I/O and level settings work to maintain correct gain structure through the rig?... Guitar > Helix In Loop 1 (Inst Lvl) Send > Amp In Amp Send > Loop 2 (Line Lvl) Return Helix (Line Lvl) Out > Amp Return Thanks.

Im using four cable method with my Fender Bassbreaker. Anything i need to know? Specifically...do I need to turn down the levels on the Return on the loop and should I set it as Instrument out or Line Out? In short, I don't want to overload anything. Thanks

I just picked up a Audio technica at-2020 condenser microphone for recording my classical guitar. But the levels are too quiet in podfarm, I have the microphone +48v boost on, and put a clean amp on podfarm full volume, it was still way too quiet. the levels only reached up to -30db in podfarm (the input was a bit lower around -40). When i added gain it destroyed the sound quality, but i got a bit more sound. I'm not sure what to try next. I really need some help. I have a Pod ux2 podfarm 2.5 AT 2020 condenser mic mixcraft 6 I added pictures of the levels and the amp i was using for reference.

Been a Helix user for almost 10 months but have only used it for guitar. I've been using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for my voiceover work and thought I'd give my Helix a shot. I'm confused about how to set levels and hoping you guys can help out. I've got my SM7 plugged into the Helix mic input and after going to the Global Settings page I was finally able to get a mic signal adjusting the input gain there. (I thought the input was dead for a while.) This is sounding good and I'm getting a good signal into Logic. But when I try to experiment with the "Studio Tube Pre" block I'm getting distortion. Am I missing something? Curious to hear how you guys are setting mic levels while also using other blocks like the Studio Tube Pre. Thanks.

Ok got two problems with the performance of my UX1, possibly they're related. The first problem I noticed a few years ago at the same time that I upgraded my Mac OS to Lion, though that might be a coincidence. The problem is this: sometimes when I launch Pod Farm either with or without Logic (ie. as a stand alone, or as a Logic plug-in audio unit) the sound of the guitar distorts and collapses so that there's absolutely no sustain. When I first observed this happening I thought there was something wrong with it, but discovered that if I took out the USB cable out of the UX1 unit and then put it back in again (i.e. turning it on and off again) it would correct the problem and I'd hear the tones as normal. This happens just about every time I use the UX1 and I'm almost prepared to live with the workaround to fix it. But I've since been doing a lot of recording with Logic X and I've noticed that there are sometimes input level differences between sessions. In other words, I record some guitar on one track on one day, then the next day, with all the same PodFarm amp and pedal settings selected, same Mixer settings and same guitar settings (always have volume knob up to full) - the sound levels recorded are considerably different, usually lower. You can see it in the size of the sound wave, it's a lot smaller on the second session. I've done lots of experimenting to see what could be causing it - changing amp settings, mixer settings, plus the input and output knobs in the PodFarm mixer - and can't replicate the problem manually. I've also checked the input level in the sound control panel in the mac for the UX1, and it remains the same at 75%. Could what I've described suggest the unit is faulty? Thanks in advance for your help.

So I was looking into buying the POD Studio UX1, but I was wondering if there was any to record certain tracks that go into the pod by themselves. So for example, could i have both my guitar and my ipod playing through the POD at the same time, but only record the guitar signal? If not, is there anyway to do this without UX2 or any other POD? Thanks.

Hi, I have had a POD XT Live for several years now but I have never gotten into using it live as I originally intended because I find that the volume levels from tone to tone are so inconsistent I am afraid of blowing people out or being too quiet when I switch from one factory-preset tone to another. I can't understand why, for example, if I go from the Treadplate tone to, say, the That's All Right Mama tone, it changes volume from blown-eardrum nuclear bomb level to whispering from two towns over level. What gives? is there something wrong with my device? Am I doing something wrong? I know I can go into each tone and save new levels but I can't believe they wouldn't just set them consistently in the first place. Does anyone else have this experience and problem, or is it just me?