guitarbloke1980 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 I’m an HX Stomp user – well, owner at least. I haven’t used it live yet, but I’m getting close I think! So I’m wondering – is there any benefit to taking a DI from the Stomp and sending to the PA as an XLR? Or is it fine just to run an unbalanced jack to the desk? It’s not really my area of expertise so please excuse me if this is a basic question! I’m going to be running the following setup – Guitar --> OD pedal --> Stomp --> Left Mono Out going to an FRFR speaker on an amp stand behind me for foldback + Right Out going to the desk Or… is it better to just go Left Mono Out straight to the FRFR speaker and then take a feed from the FRFR directly to the desk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrahi Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Both work perfectly fine. So far the only issue I've felt you have to be aware of with the Stomp or Helix is if phantom power gets sent back to the HX. Particularly if it can't be shut off, sometimes that can diminish the Stomp's sound capabilities. If that happens you need a DI box or some adapter that stops phantom power. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Having found phantom power on once going to my Helix floor, my output signal was attenuated to almost zero volume. As soon as phantom power was lifted, it was back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 What Kilrahi said. Also be aware that unbalanced cables are OK up to about 20', after which they are a possible noise source. For LONG cable runs use balanced/XLR. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody_smith Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 The HX stomps 1/4" outs can be used with balanced or unbalanced cables, and are not affected by phantom power. You could use any trs to xlr cable or adapter and not worry about a di box if you don't want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrahi Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 43 minutes ago, Cody_smith said: The HX stomps 1/4" outs can be used with balanced or unbalanced cables, and are not affected by phantom power. You could use any trs to xlr cable or adapter and not worry about a di box if you don't want to. We've already seen a few posters on here who had phantom power kill their sound. We've had others it was fine . . . but it does seem to impact the Stomp just like it does the full size Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody_smith Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 42 minutes ago, Kilrahi said: We've already seen a few posters on here who had phantom power kill their sound. We've had others it was fine . . . but it does seem to impact the Stomp just like it does the full size Helix. If some people are having issues maybe use di box to be safe. I guess you never know what crazy stuff an old beat up mixer might be sending, I just know I read that DI (eric) said on TPG that phantom power shouldn't effect stomp. https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/foh-says-my-hx-stomp-is-clipping.2028299/page-2 I thought I had read it in the manual too, but maybe I'm thinking of something I read in the Powercab manual. Phantom power definitely effects Helix Floor though, took me too long to figure that out when it was an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsdenj Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 I have not noticed any problems with phantom power with the Powercab XLR out either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 4/5/2019 at 12:51 PM, Kilrahi said: Both work perfectly fine. So far the only issue I've felt you have to be aware of with the Stomp or Helix is if phantom power gets sent back to the HX. Particularly if it can't be shut off, sometimes that can diminish the Stomp's sound capabilities. If that happens you need a DI box or some adapter that stops phantom power. On 4/7/2019 at 6:17 PM, amsdenj said: I have not noticed any problems with phantom power with the Powercab XLR out either. This is an interesting observation by amsdenj. Does this mean that some or all of the Stomp devices are not as vulnerable as the Helix to phantom power issues on an XLR connection? Does this no longer apply to the Stomp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrahi Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 25 minutes ago, HonestOpinion said: This is an interesting observation by amsdenj. Does this mean that some or all of the Stomp devices are not as vulnerable as the Helix to phantom power issues on an XLR connection? Does this no longer apply to the Stomp? It's a good question. Nowhere in the Stomp manual does it warn about it. However, a few months ago a user indicated they were having sound issues with their HX Stomp and they couldn't pin it down (they said it sounded muted and dull). Eventually they realized their Stomp was receiving phantom power, so they addressed that issue and it went away. The assumption was then that just like the Helix, it was impacted by phantom power. I'd sure love it if it was NOT the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 24 minutes ago, Kilrahi said: It's a good question. Nowhere in the Stomp manual does it warn about it. However, a few months ago a user indicated they were having sound issues with their HX Stomp and they couldn't pin it down (they said it sounded muted and dull). Eventually they realized their Stomp was receiving phantom power, so they addressed that issue and it went away. The assumption was then that just like the Helix, it was impacted by phantom power. I'd sure love it if it was NOT the case. It just occurred to me that I may have misconstrued amsdenj's meaning. After looking at his post again it seems to be saying that using the Powercab's output is another option for getting around the phantom power issue without using a DI or resorting to using a TS output on your Stomp or Helix. It would also indicate that the Powercab is not vulnerable to phantom power interference which is good to know. Sorry if I introduced any confusion although it would be nice if they had addressed the issue when they released the Stomp. Stating the obvious but ultimately you just don't want to be phantom powering any device where it is not required. Too bad some mixing boards don't provide an independent phantom control for each input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpdennis Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 1 hour ago, HonestOpinion said: It just occurred to me that I may have misconstrued amsdenj's meaning. After looking at his post again it seems to be saying that using the Powercab's output is another option for getting around the phantom power issue without using a DI or resorting to using a TS output on your Stomp or Helix. It would also indicate that the Powercab is not vulnerable to phantom power interference which is good to know. Sorry if I introduced any confusion although it would be nice if they had addressed the issue when they released the Stomp. Stating the obvious but ultimately you just don't want to be phantom powering any device where it is not required. Too bad some mixing boards don't provide an independent phantom control for each input. I purchase the Triton Audio adaptor a few years ago because Phantom Power was global to the mixer we had been using. It is too bad all mixers don't have channel dependent Phantom Power controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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