HX fx loop vs send/routine

[thomasw88]

I've been using the HX for a few weeks now.  I;m not entirely convinced it will replace my pedal board so far tbh, but I 'm going to gve it 2-3 months of gigs before flipping it.

 

One thing I haven't got my head round is why you would use the send/return blocks as opposed to the Fx loop?

 

 

[phil_m]

The utility of having the separate send and return blocks is that you can use them as standalone ins and outs anywhere in the signal chain. If you're actually using the FX loop as a loop, there's really no reason to not use the FX Loop block. But there might be reasons to use them individually for other things.

[thomasw88]

1 hour ago, phil_m said:

The utility of having the separate send and return blocks is that you can use them as standalone ins and outs anywhere in the signal chain. If you're actually using the FX loop as a loop, there's really no reason to not use the FX Loop block. But there might be reasons to use them individually for other things.

 

Have you any examples of what you'd use them for in a gig situation cos I'm struggling to think of any.

[phil_m]

1 hour ago, thomasw88 said:

 

Have you any examples of what you'd use them for in a gig situation cos I'm struggling to think of any.

 

One thing the most common scenarios that comes to mind is using one of the Returns as an input for an acoustic and Sends as an output. I do something like this with my Helix.

[codamedia]

3 hours ago, thomasw88 said:

Have you any examples of what you'd use them for in a gig situation cos I'm struggling to think of any.

 

You can think of sends as additional outputs, and returns as additional inputs. This allows you to route multiple instruments to different locations, or different tones to different locations. Assign a switch to them and you can think of them as A/B/Y boxes. 

 

Anybody that is juggling multiple instruments, has multiple amps, or needs to send a different signal to PA than they do to their amp will find these options very beneficial. With a little imagination they can solve problems you don't even know you have yet :) 

 

OK - I know that doesn't really answer your question - LOL! Here are a couple real world examples that barely scratchy the surface of possibilities. 

 

1: If you run an IR Cab sim you will want to send that to the PA.... but if you are using a guitar amp on stage you will not want that IR directed to the amp. Assign a SEND in block 8, and send that to the guitar amp. In block 9 can be the IR - send the output to the PA.

 

2: I have an acoustic patch that also work well with my mandolin. I keep my mandolin plugged into a "Return". When I need to play my mandolin I turn down my acoustic, grab the mandolin and hit 1 switch. That switch un-mutes the mandolin and turns on an EQ to help tweak the tone a little. 

 

[tywebb]

I've been getting great results using my Helix as a processor/switcher for several instruments in a live rig (electric guitars, acoustic guitar, pedal steel and an electric mandolin). 

 

My two electric guitars fire into the standard guitar input via a Radial Big Shot I/O and each of the other instruments mentioned use a unique separate FX return for each (Acoustic Guitar=Return 1, Pedal Steel=Return 2, Mandolin = Return=3).  In a preset I place a return block at the front of my signal path and routed for that particular return/instrument, and then I've got the ability to quickly and simply change instruments live by selecting different presets. 

 

Awesome flexibility and to date, this has been my best solution to integrate all of the above instruments. The one shortcoming that I'm trying to resolve is I can't access the tuner function on any of these particular "return ins" without manually having to switch the tuner to receive on that specific return channel.  Unfortunately the tuner receive settings appears to be global to all presets and does not include the return channels in the basic tuner setting called "Multi" which includes Guitar, Aux & Variax only.  As it stands, I can only have tuner function for my electrics connected to the guitar input jack.

 

I really want to be able to use the internal tuner for all of these instruments whenever I switch to their presets...   Maybe I'm missing something?  If not, perhaps Line 6 might address this in a future update.  Although I would imagine this would be a fairly low priority since I doubt that many users are attempting using the Helix with multiple instruments like this.

[Nobulusprime]

Sorry if this thread is a bit old!

 

Quick question, can the regular stereo input and stereo return be used in the same patch and be blended together or sent out though outs and sends respectively? The reason I’m asking is that I use Midi Guitar (Jam Origin) 2 with mainstage and I’d like to send the mainstage output from my Mac via the Helix at the same time (and patch) as my regular guitar input...

thanks in advance!