DammKid Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Greetings All! I'm relatively new to modeling hardware and software in-general, but I recently decided to purchase Helix Native, and I found out shortly thereafter that its not a so-called 'stand-alone' product (i.e., that it would require a DAW to use or evaluate it), and then, when I tried to identify or purchase a DAW, I found that virtually all of the mainstream offerings (e.g., Cubase, Logic Pro, Ableton, Sonar, Cakewalk, etc.), were incompatible with my older (circa 2008) Mac Pro CPU, which is topped-out at OS (El Capitan 10.11.6). However, after some added research, I determined that PreSonus is one of very few manufacturers that actually offers a DAW (Studio One 4) that is fully compatible with my current OS (10.11.6), so I'm planning on purchasing it soon in hopes of using it with Helix Native, but my question for everyone is this . . . what make, model or type of digital audio interface would be best-suited for maximizing the utility of the Helix Native software, given my system limitations? Currently (and over the past few years), I've been using S-Gear and other standalone programs without issue, by connecting the guitar to a PRS (Paul Reed Smith) DI Box, then to a microphone input on a fairly old Mackie Onyx-1620 mixer (via XLR), then to my 64-bit Mac Pro (via Firewire). But is this 10-year old configuration still the best overall approach? Or are there now superior types and makes and models of digital interface out there that will offer me better performance with Helix Native? Thanks for listening and thanks to all who choose to respond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin-M Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I’ve had great luck with MOTU and RME interfaces. Not sure if you’re limited to FireWire, but I know older versions of these products fully supported FireWire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DammKid Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Kevin, Thanks for your response, but I'm afraid I just don't get something about this whole interface business. How is a $2,000-$3,000 USB 2.0 or 3.0 or thunderbolt 2 interface from RME or MOTU or anyone else, going to be superior to a Firewire 800 connection on my Mackie mixer? Neither of those connections passes data at a significantly faster rate than a Firewire 800, so what would I be obtaining for my added $2,000-$3,000 expenditure? I just don't get it? Are we talking superior pre-amps? Or something else that is superior about them? Again, I just don't get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zivdud Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 There is always going to be new technology that comes out but you should be solid with what you have unless you want the highest sound quality. I have been using presonus and studio live for years and I am a big fan of their products. Right now I am using a studio live 24 as my interface because I often record bands and need the extra channels and also once and awhile I play live shows and need a mixer. I also have a used rack mount version of my mixer which has a higher sample rate but I haven’t used it much. I have native as well and use it all the time. What I found is that because I am using a mixer that I need some DI boxes to convert impedance levels for my instruments some (both active and passive). My rack system has a z input but I haven’t tried it but it should be good enough not to have to use a D.I. box. I am also running a pc with 32 gigabytes of ram and a solid state drive to run my O.S. and studio one. Computer power would be a big factor for recording and running plugins like native. I hope this helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zivdud Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Oh, right! I use FireWire too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DammKid Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 1 hour ago, zivdud said: . . . but you should be solid with what you have unless you want the highest sound quality. My rack system has a z input but I haven’t tried it but it should be good enough not to have to use a D.I. box. I am also running a pc with 32 gigabytes of ram and a solid state drive to run my O.S. and studio one. Computer power would be a big factor for recording and running plugins like native. I hope this helped. Thanks zivdud, and yes indeed, it helps plenty. To be clear, I am NOT a professional sound or recording engineer. I'm just a simple, home-studio based, amateur guitarist/hobbyist, playing largely electric and acoustic/electric guitars (with some keyboards and/or synths), so I don't have a lot of demands in terms of multi-instrument inputs, or multi-tracking, or recording, etc., and consequently, I'm beginning to believe that I'll be perfectly fine with my present system, if I can get a decent DAW to work with it. I can purchase PreSonus Studio One 4, which will work on my present MacPro and OS without issue, and connect my guitars to the CPU via the PRS DI Box or High-Z inputs on the Mackie mixer, using a firewire 800 cable, and I should be fine to use Helix Native or any other such product. I just don't see how spending $2,000 or $3,000 on a USB 2.0/3.0 digital interface is going to improve things for me in any material way? I just don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Studio One 4x is a good DAW to use. And you don't need an expensive audio interface to do what you need to do, but at some point, you may want one once you see what they offer addon FX-wise. Go look at the UAD Apollo series add-ons if you care to know, as its pretty awesome sauce. It's a "great" time to be a musician guys!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DammKid Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 17 hours ago, spikey said: Studio One 4x is a good DAW to use. And you don't need an expensive audio interface to do what you need to do, but at some point, you may want one once you see what they offer addon FX-wise. Go look at the UAD Apollo series add-ons if you care to know, as its pretty awesome sauce. It's a "great" time to be a musician guys!!!! Spikey, Thanks for your reply. However, I'm curious . . . if a guy already has Helix Native (and all of the FX that it includes), why would add-on FX of the types you're referring to here, be of interest to him? Aren't the FX in Helix enough, in and of themselves, without having to buy a super expensive digital audio interface, just to get some added FX? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zivdud Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 True UAD Apollo makes the bees knees of recording equipment but it is total overkill for you. Even Presonus has up there game with there Quantum interface that uses Thunderbolt and records @ 192kz with ridiculous low latency but it is for the people who want the best sound quality possible and have the money to buy it. When I get a chance I will up load some of my tunes to give you an idea of the quality I got with my old gear. I make rock music and don’t need everything to be prestine just good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin-M Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 6 hours ago, DammKid said: Kevin, Thanks for your response, but I'm afraid I just don't get something about this whole interface business. How is a $2,000-$3,000 USB 2.0 or 3.0 or thunderbolt 2 interface from RME or MOTU or anyone else, going to be superior to a Firewire 800 connection on my Mackie mixer? Neither of those connections passes data at a significantly faster rate than a Firewire 800, so what would I be obtaining for my added $2,000-$3,000 expenditure? I just don't get it? Are we talking superior pre-amps? Or something else that is superior about them? Again, I just don't get it? I purchased my first MOTU used on eBay for a reasonable price and it lasted for years. I think with the higher end interfaces you’re getting better preamps and AD hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DammKid Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 O.K., so, I've since spoken with tech support folks both at Line-6 and Mackie, and they tell me that this whole business about whether I need a newer, faster, better (??) digital audio interface (DAI) to simply utilize Helix Native, with something as basic and relatively un-demanding as a single electric guitar signal input, in a small home studio, is a red herring. First off, my current connection between the DAI (a Mackie Onyx-1620 mixer with very decent Onyx pre-amps) and the CPU (or DAW), is a firewire-800 connection, and the connection between any purportedly "newer and better" DAI, would likely be USB 2.0, which isn't any faster than firewire. And more importantly, the "speed" of data transfer in this instance simply isn't an issue with a single input as simple as a lone guitar. Hence, it doesn't appear that I would benefit from any "newer and better" digital audio interface, regardless of its cost or features. And so, I think we can now close-out this thread. Many thanks to everyone who responded and contributed their insights to this topic. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayridge Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I use Helix native with GarageBand frequently. Works great and comes with 10.11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Quote why would add-on FX of the types you're referring to here, be of interest to him? The same reason I use Strymon pedals (Big-Sky, Time-Machine, Mobius, and Riverside) with Helix. And I'm not alone. They just sound KILLER. Not to state that Helix FX is bad, it is not. Far from it. But there's a difference in getting more FX, versus getting a full spread of differently arranged sounds with sometimes better FX. A bigger and more powerful pallet to use, so to speak. Tone and hearing can be subjective, so please keep reading. I bought Native when it was like $70 bucks on sale a couple of Christmas's ago. I already owned a Helix rack so I didn't need it then but knew that I might need/want it later. As far as using UAD FX in Apollo with Helix (or a Kemper for that matter) is just that they also sound excellent too, and are nicely packaged inside the UAD hardware so it takes some of the work load off your PC/Mac too. Just do yourself a favor and spend an hour on the UAD site (or Strymon site or Youtube) listening to the multitude of FX they offer, thru a good pair of studio monitors, and I'm betting you will really "really" like what you hear in most cases. ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DammKid Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 20 minutes ago, spikey said: The same reason I use Strymon pedals (Big-Sky, Time-Machine, Mobius, and Riverside) with Helix. And I'm not alone. They just sound KILLER. Not to state that Helix FX is bad, it is not. Far from it. But there's a difference in getting more FX, versus getting a full spread of differently arranged sounds with sometimes better FX. A bigger and more powerful pallet to use, so to speak. Tone and hearing can be subjective, so please keep reading. I bought Native when it was like $70 bucks on sale a couple of Christmas's ago. I already owned a Helix rack so I didn't need it then but knew that I might need/want it later. As far as using UAD FX in Apollo with Helix (or a Kemper for that matter) is just that they also sound excellent too, and are nicely packaged inside the UAD hardware so it takes some of the work load off your PC/Mac too. Just do yourself a favor and spend an hour on the UAD site (or Strymon site or Youtube) listening to the multitude of FX they offer, thru a good pair of studio monitors, and I'm betting you will really "really" like what you hear in most cases. ; ) Spikey, As always, I greatly appreciate your feedback on these topics, and I'm getting closer and closer to a decision on this, but do me big favor and watch for a PM that I just sent you regarding Helix Native vs. Helix Rack. Many thanx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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