Midi CC question

[megadupe]

Hi All,

I received my Helix Rack and love it.  I didn't order the controller as I don' play out and only record. That said - is it possible to toggle bypasses, etc from my midi keyboard?  If so - would that keyboard need to be hooked directly to the Helix?  This keyboard is USB over mid and is connected to my mac, as is the Helix.  Is it possible to send midi from keyboard to mac to the Helix? 

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[roscoe5]

If by "bypasses" you mean effects/model blocks on & off, then yes.  Helix manual MIDI section on p.48 gives you the CC's.

 

Unless you have some sort of MIDI bridge/router on the Mac, then I think you will need to connect direct to the Helix.

[soundog]

the Helix is surprisingly flexible MIDI-wise. You can send and receive via usb or DIN/MIDI, and use the Out port as a MIDI Thru. You should be able to do what you want. Your keyboard will need to have assignable CC's to toggle "footswitches" though, as those CCs are fixed. Other stuff (like FX parameters) are flexible and use a MIDI Learn function, which is quite handy.

[megadupe]

Thanks for the replies.  I'm starting to wonder if I should have gotten the floor unit instead of the Rack. :)

[spikey]

Well, the rack won't get stepped on as much...  ;)

[megadupe]

I really like the Rack. I may just bite the bullet and order the floor controller to have for switching when needed. I can't seem to figure out how to switch with a midi controller.

[HonestOpinion]

I really like the Rack. I may just bite the bullet and order the floor controller to have for switching when needed. I can't seem to figure out how to switch with a midi controller.

 

As someone who used the Behringer FCB1010 to control a Fractal Ultra, I understand that sentiment well of finally just wanting to cave and get the Helix controller.  Especially to get proper bidirectional communication and have switches and displays accurately reflecting the states on the rack unit. However, if you are using a popular controller maybe someone can send you a config file for the editor for your MIDI controller that works with the Helix Rack. Don't know how likely that is yet however given how new the Helix Rack is. I am assuming you have already been up and back on pages 48-49 of the Helix manual.

[soundog]

I hacked an Akai MidiMix board ($99) so it has 4 footswitches wired up to it. I can use those for Helix switches just like the ones on the pedal, along with the onboard faders, pots and buttons for Helix FX parameters (amp controls, mix levels, gain, reverb level, etc). And, when I switch patches I use the "Send All" button on the MidiMix to send all current controller positions. It works great.

[ricksteruk]

Thanks for the replies.  I'm starting to wonder if I should have gotten the floor unit instead of the Rack. :)

 

I hear you!  The scribble strips and the visual representations of what buttons are on/off is one of the main things that attracted me to the Helix and away from my current MIDI footboard where I had to try to remember each setting for different presets.

[Digital_Igloo]

I really like the Rack. I may just bite the bullet and order the floor controller to have for switching when needed. I can't seem to figure out how to switch with a midi controller.

 

Helix can't currently map individual blocks to incoming CCs, but if you first assign a block to a footswitch (here's where Helix Control really shines, as assignment takes all of 3 seconds from the cap-sense switches), the footswitch's state can be enabled/bypassed via global CCs:

• CC49: FS1
• CC50: FS2
• CC51: FS3
• CC52: FS4
• CC53: FS5
• CC54: FS7
• CC55: FS8
• CC56: FS9
• CC57: FS10
• CC58: FS11
• CC59: Exp Toe Switch

Assign a block to a footswitch without Helix Control is still pretty easy:

1. Press MENU and then Knob 1 (Footswitch Assign).
2. Use the joystick to select the desired block and turn Knob 1 (Footswitch) to select the desired footswitch.
3. Repeat step 2 as necessary and press HOME to exit.

[megadupe]

Thanks for all the help and replies.  I ordered the Floor Control.  It kind of sucks as I've now paid quite a bit more for the Helix that I could have gotten as an all in one unit.  But oh well.  Love the Helix. Thanks again everyone.