metalkrapo Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Hi all! So I finally ordered a Helix. As I have a show planned very soon, I figured I wouldn't wait until I get it, and ask you right now instead. On a song I would like to record something on the looper, and play it back with additionnal effects. Is there a way to affect one or several effects to the "Play" switch as well as its primary function? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 You accomplish this by placing the looper at the front of the signal chain. The looper then records the dry incoming signal and on playback feeds the signal into the chain at the same point. During playback you exit Looper mode. All your processing blocks as well as their switch assignments are then used normally to affect the signal. There is no need to make additional assignments to the Play switch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 That's clever! I forgot the looper can be placed anywhere on the Helix. Thanks a lot, this was helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 Good. I find the setup with looper in front to be very useful for hands-free tone tweaking. You record a phrase, put the guitar down, start playback and start tweaking. You can concentrate fully on the subtleties of the tone adjustments and hear the immediate impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 I tried it and it's not producing the effect I was hoping for, I must have done it wrong or explained poorly what I'm trying to achieve. I would like to go into looper mode, record something with no effects, and as soon as I stop recording, which launches the playback, there should be additional effects. When I tried what you wrote the effects are heard when I record too, which is what I want to avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 If I understand, you want to hear the dry tone and not the FX while recording. The setup I described does record the dry tone, but you hear the final output including FX. You're correct that you do not hear the dry tone either while recording or on playback. You could use Snapshots to do what you want. Still place the looper at the front of the chain but create a snapshot that has all amps and FX turned off. Create other snapshots that have your preferred different combinations of amps and FX turned on. After recording the dry tone (and hearing it while recording) playback of the dry tone will start immediately. Switch to a different snapshot to then hear the FX being applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 Thanks for taking the time to answer. I don't know anything about snapshots yet, I'll look into it. But can I change snapshots at the same moment I stop recording, or will I need to press 2 different buttons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 You will still need to exit Looper mode (one switch) and then select a different snapshot (a 2nd switch action) to begin to apply FX to the recorded dry tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 Ok so I guess the exact thing I'm trying to achieve is impossible. Last night I managed to get close to it with a volume pedal, this will be my fallback solution if I can't find anything better. Thanks again for trying to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 Can the Helix control itself with MIDI? If this works, I believe I could create a snapshot with the different effects I want and also the "stop recording" signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurston9 Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Why do you need to do this? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Thurston9: I play videogames and cartoons music covers. I have an upcoming show where I'm going to play a theme from Life is Strange, a game in which the main character can "rewind" time. Two cosplayers dressed as her and her best friend are going to perform while I play. At one point I will miss a chord transition and fail miserably, look at the audience in shame and ask the her for help. She will rewind time, which is where the I will launch the reverse playback of the looper (with effects like echo etc for the weird time manipulation feel) and mimic the movements I just did in reverse, while the Pod replays my voice and guitar in reverse too. Then I pick the song back where I was before screwing up, as if nothing ever happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Video! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Yeah I'll try to capture this but it will be in a very small cafe, and it seems it will be very crowded, so I'm not sure what the result will be like. But if it turns out Ok I'll post it here, sure :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclement Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Thurston9: I play videogames and cartoons music covers. I have an upcoming show where I'm going to play a theme from Life is Strange, a game in which the main character can "rewind" time. Two cosplayers dressed as her and her best friend are going to perform while I play. At one point I will miss a chord transition and fail miserably, look at the audience in shame and ask the her for help. She will rewind time, which is where the I will launch the reverse playback of the looper (with effects like echo etc for the weird time manipulation feel) and mimic the movements I just did in reverse, while the Pod replays my voice and guitar in reverse too. Then I pick the song back where I was before screwing up, as if nothing ever happened. Can you "pre-record" the backwards part? Assuming you know - loosely - what you are going to play before you have your "mistake" ... why not just record something that sounds something like it ahead of time... and then just use the Play Once feature to play it backwards. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalkrapo Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 I would need to ask her for help before anything even happens, this would ruin the surprise effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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