Dazzer40 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I have some questions about using the helix lt with my 802 xenyx mixer , My first question is Should I use 1/4 or lxr ? my mixer only have 2 xlr inputs and there for mic so I guess I will have to use 1/4 or I could get a cross cable from 1/4 to xlr ,also I will be using stereo so I will be using 2 channels on the mixer . so if anyone has experience in using a mixer with the helix LT I would like to hear any tips . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I’ve always had good live sound results using mono XLR out to a mixer at mic level. I also use the mono 1/4” straight into my powered monitor at line level and it works fine as well. I set the volume control to affect only 1/4”, which allows me to change the volume on my monitor without changing the level going to the mixer (a great tip I learned in this forum!) Advantage of XLR would be the balanced config, which could eliminate some noise over a long cable run. I don’t notice a big increase in noise with 1/4” over a 15’ run, so you would probably be OK saving your XLR inputs for mics. I don’t run stereo since I only go into a mixer when playing gigs and we run mono for FOH, but it should work fine if you have enough input channels. You will probably get a more focused answer to your question if you state your end use, i.e. are you using the mixer to record, run live sound or monitor Helix in your practice room? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzer40 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 4 hours ago, ric1966 said: I’ve always had good live sound results using mono XLR out to a mixer at mic level. I also use the mono 1/4” straight into my powered monitor at line level and it works fine as well. I set the volume control to affect only 1/4”, which allows me to change the volume on my monitor without changing the level going to the mixer (a great tip I learned in this forum!) Advantage of XLR would be the balanced config, which could eliminate some noise over a long cable run. I don’t notice a big increase in noise with 1/4” over a 15’ run, so you would probably be OK saving your XLR inputs for mics. I don’t run stereo since I only go into a mixer when playing gigs and we run mono for FOH, but it should work fine if you have enough input channels. You will probably get a more focused answer to your question if you state your end use, i.e. are you using the mixer to record, run live sound or monitor Helix in your practice room? Hi! thanks for your help , I just wanted to know why you run at mic level and not line to your the mixer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Probably because most XLR inputs on a mixer are expecting a microphone (mic level signal) as the input device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzer40 Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 4 hours ago, silverhead said: Probably because most XLR inputs on a mixer are expecting a microphone (mic level signal) as the input device. yes but he could easy change it from inside the helix for XLR to be line level so I thought they might have been a reason for him to stay at mic level with XLR . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Yes, like Silverhead said. Sending line level to the mic inputs makes it easy to overload the mixer’s preamp. You can always trim it down on the mixer, but most sound men are expecting a mic level signal and have their controls set accordingly. It just makes things easier to send the level they are used to. The Helix gives you flexibility to set the XLR outs to either mic or line level, so you can choose the approach that best suits your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzer40 Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 5 hours ago, ric1966 said: Yes, like Silverhead said. Sending line level to the mic inputs makes it easy to overload the mixer’s preamp. You can always trim it down on the mixer, but most sound men are expecting a mic level signal and have their controls set accordingly. It just makes things easier to send the level they are used to. The Helix gives you flexibility to set the XLR outs to either mic or line level, so you can choose the approach that best suits your needs. I have ordered my helix LT so I will get to test that soon so thanks for clearing that up , At the moment I am basically the sound man , I would like to know if I was to create a patch at line level and I was to then change it to mic level would I have to re tweak the patch for the change or would the patch sound the same minus the volume change . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Theoretically, no tweaking should be required. That said, I suppose it would depend on how transparent the mixer’s preamp circuitry is. Sending mic level will require the preamp to boost the signal and therefore might expose it to some coloration of the tone. I’ve never had to do any tweaking myself, but you should try both methods and compare. BTW, I played an outdoor gig this past Saturday with my LT. The FOH was a single Bose tower/sub and a Mackie mixer. Sounded amazing on my Lonestar patch without any tweaking or global EQ. Truly plug’n’play. Since the Bose was behind us, I just placed my powered monitor in front of me facing back (as you would normally) and let the sound man set my guitar volume on the Bose system. I then adjusted my monitor volume using the LT’s knob to get a good balance of sound from both directions. We got quite a few comments after the show about how clean and professional the sound was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LutherDeLorme Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 I have a Helix LT and use a Xenyx mixer. LT > Line out > Mixer Line in under the mic inputs > Main out to Yamaha powered studio monitors. I pan the signal (see picture). I use a 2 x jack to 1 mini stereo jack cable to connect my iPad for jamming (this cable isn’t in the picture). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzer40 Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 3 hours ago, LutherDeLorme said: I have a Helix LT and use a Xenyx mixer. LT > Line out > Mixer Line in under the mic inputs > Main out to Yamaha powered studio monitors. I pan the signal (see picture). I use a 2 x jack to 1 mini stereo jack cable to connect my iPad for jamming (this cable isn’t in the picture). I haven't used a mixer before but I will mostly set mine up the same way and use my laptop for backing tracks , Just wondering if you are using mic level or line and how are you finding the sound? , I found this helix video they say to set both 1/4 and lrx to line and the mixer if you can . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LutherDeLorme Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 To answer your questions. The sound of my setup is great! And I use Line level out in Helix LT. There isn’t an option to set the Line Out 1/4” to mic level, and if there was I wouldn’t choose it cause my mixer expects LINE level, as does the 802 model in the jack inputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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