Helix as generic foot pedal?

[Kedhrin]

Hey guys

 

I'm not sure if this answered in the faq forum because I might not know the technical term. I just got my helix today and I'm trying to figure out my setup. I also have an axe fx 2 and I was wondering if I could use the helix as the foot switch when I want to use the axe fx, I'm sure all the fancy features wouldn't work and I'd only be able to use one or the other if it did work but just curious if anyone has any insight here :)

 

Thx

[mdmayfield]

Hi Kedhrin,

 

Yes this is possible, but it will be more like specialized programming (requiring a lot of research, preparation, and testing) than any kind of "just hook it up and it works."

 

You'd need to know (or look up) the messages in the MIDI language that the AxeFX expects (i.e. Continuous Controller, Note Ons, Program Changes, or other messages), and then manually assign those to footswitches of the Helix. Then you'd connect the MIDI Out of the Helix to the MIDI In of the AxeFX.

 

If you haven't done much work with MIDI, and don't have a lot of spare time to really dive into the details, it may not be worth the effort... but if you're a seasoned MIDI expert, it shouldn't be too much work.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Matt

[ozbadman]

Hey guys

 

I'm not sure if this answered in the faq forum because I might not know the technical term. I just got my helix today and I'm trying to figure out my setup. I also have an axe fx 2 and I was wondering if I could use the helix as the foot switch when I want to use the axe fx, I'm sure all the fancy features wouldn't work and I'd only be able to use one or the other if it did work but just curious if anyone has any insight here :)

 

Thx

 

You should be able to get pretty decent AxeFX control out of the HELIX I would think. I haven't done it, but you should be able to both choose patches and turn effects on/off using the HELIX as your controller without too much effort. And, you should be able to name the HELIX patch the same name as the AxeFX2 patch so you know what you're selecting. It's not too difficult to set up either on the HELIX or the AxeFX2.

[anason-records]

i will be on the same boat in 2 days. helix comes on wednesday and i hope i can get a decent way to control axe fx 2...i was also wondering if i could connect both devices via cat5 and if helix screen would show whats on axe's screen?

[PeterHamm]

i will be on the same boat in 2 days. helix comes on wednesday and i hope i can get a decent way to control axe fx 2...i was also wondering if i could connect both devices via cat5 and if helix screen would show whats on axe's screen?

 

Uh... no... won't happen.

 

Seriously, you guys are gonna use as Helix to control Axe FX? Wow.

[Kedhrin]

I don't see what's wrong with wanting to have a foot pedal use both systems so you don't have to have large foot switches in your play space. I'm not trying to combine them anymore than the foot switches can work for both, not screen or anything else like that.

[anason-records]

Uh... no... won't happen.

 

Seriously, you guys are gonna use as Helix to control Axe FX? Wow.

thx peter, ofcourse i wont use helix ONLY to control axe fx. i would use helix also at rehearsals, sessions...but most probably i wont be using it for recording or more important gigs (maybe for the FX but not for the core amp sound)

[PeterHamm]

I was just funnin' you guys...

I expect that the Helix would be unbeatable in combination with an Axe or Kemper. It's all I need by itself, but with one of those... DUDE!

[HonestOpinion]

It does seem just a wee bit of overkill but I can absolutely understand where an AxeFX owner might want to buy the Helix as an AxeFX controller for over the top massive processing capability. The Helix at a discount is a little less than twice the price of the AxeFX MFC-101 foot controller. But for a few hundred dollars more the Helix includes an expression pedal and is of course a full featured stand alone MFX. Of course, if you are savvy enough with MIDI programming to set this up the Behringer FCB1010 with an UNO chip is a far less expensive controller for the AxeFX but does not offer the scribble strips, processing power, flexibility, routing options, ability to use the Helix by itself, and all out fun that having the Helix and an AxeFX would. I will leave this option to those with much larger bank accounts than my own.

[anason-records]

It does seem just a wee bit of overkill but I can absolutely understand where an AxeFX owner might want to buy the Helix as an AxeFX controller for over the top massive processing capability. The Helix at a discount is a little less than twice the price of the AxeFX MFC-101 foot controller. But for a few hundred dollars more the Helix includes an expression pedal and is of course a full featured stand alone MFX. Of course, if you are savvy enough with MIDI programming to set this up the Behringer FCB1010 with an UNO chip is a far less expensive controller for the AxeFX but does not offer the processing power, flexibility, routing options, ability to use the Helix by itself, and all out fun that having the Helix and an AxeFX would. I will leave this option to those with much larger bank accounts than my own.

u nailed it, thats all whats about. i sold my pedalboard (mfc+case+expressions pedals) for exact same price what i paid for helix.

[aggravation]

I'm doing it now. It works great. I simply name any AxeFx presets with the prefix "Ax"...like "Ax Plexi"...."Ax Twin Reverb"...etc. So when I scroll through the banks and presets I know what is where.

 

I have tap tempo sending, the expression pedal sending, toggle scene 1&2 (I only use two scenes per preset right now due to programming limitations).... toggle individual effects blocks and of course it sends the Program Change number upon selecting the preset.

 

What would be great is if there was two way communication so the state of the effect blocks would update Helix led's when you change them from the front of the AxeFx or your DAW sends a change, etc..

Also, when switching to Looper Mode, it would be great if the stomp switches that are designated for looper control could have a separate cc#'s assigned when Helix is in that Looper mode than those switches are assigned when they aren't a part of that mode.

 

Also, if you could assign more than one cc# to a stomp so you could program 'scenes' properly without having to use the AxeFx scene paradigm. The AxeFx looks for cc#34 followed by a the scene number to specify which scene you want.

 

Over all it is working really well and has lots of flexibility. It isn't quite as good as the LiquidFoot+ controllers but then they can't provide great amp modeling, USB audio/midi interface and analogue and digital routing like Helix does.

 

I didn't buy Helix to 'be a controller' for the AxeFx. I bought it to see if it sounds good. It does. Since it also does these other things really well it is also the hub of my sound and controller for numerous devices....S Gear and Fishman Triple Play into MainStage 3....AmpliFIRE...AxeFxII. It has really cleaned up the rig and made more time for being creative instead of time spent swapping cables in and out of devices.