Helix Native and MIDI

[cchimi]

Does anyone have experience controlling Native using MIDI commands, particularly on a Mac using Mainstage, but really with any software that allows plugins.  I cannot get Native to respond in any way to MIDI.  I've tried Program Changes, Control Changes.  All I really want to do is change patches within Native, and for a few songs to change snapshots within the patch.  I've tried Native in MainStage, Logic Pro X, Reaper (Mac and Windows), and QLab (the program I really want to use for this), but have never seen Native show any sign it is receiving MIDI.  In MainStage, I can see that the MIDI is being received correctly by MainStage, but Native never responds to it, as far as I can see.  The MIDI IN area in Native never shows any activity.

 

I'm not a beginner, with over 20 years experience using MIDI, but I assume I'm doing something wrong.  I've read the Native manual, I've scoured the web, but I can't see what I could be doing wrong.  I keep thinking there should be someplace in Native where I can set the MIDI port and channel, but I'm not seeing it.

 

I'm on 1.81 Helix Native.  For test purposes, the MIDI commands are being sent from 2.81 Helix Floor.

 

Any help would be appreciated.  I'm hoping to use Native in place of the Floor at a gig in a week or so.  I know it's cutting it close, but honestly it never occurred to me that getting Native to respond to simple MIDI commands would be so hard for me to make happen.

[AndyCopeman]

Hi, I have tried Native in MainStage and couldn't get any joy from midi at all ... because i was new to MainStage I gave up and decided that MainStage is a complete waste of money.

 

I have successfully used Native in Ableton with midi control of block bypass and preset selection ... but it won't let me save any changes and so if I make and edit to a preset and then go to another preset my changes are lost.

 

There seems to be a large amount of silence on this issue in this forum ... it's frustrating!

 

All the best

 

Andy

[guitar1969]

Check out this video -https://youtu.be/hBltf-snJ8Q?t=737

 

It is my understanding that the midi capability is really dependant on your DAW capabilties.  I am running Native in Reaper DAWand I was now looking at getting a foot controller to send midi commands like snapshots, bypass etc.  I have a Helix floor for live but trying to set up a Native practice rig at my office.  Curious about getting Native control via a NI Rig Control 3, came here looking for midi info.

 

[soundog]

34 minutes ago, guitar1969 said:

It is my understanding that the midi capability is really dependant on your DAW capabilties.

 

 

Exactly! Native has plenty of MIDI hooks, but you have to figure out how to get the MIDI to it from within your DAW. In some cases, Native needs to be placed on an "instrument" MIDI channel; in other cases it can reside on an audio channel. Another factor to determine is .... do you need real-time MIDI control, or is automated control via DAW playback OK? 

 

Line 6 should do its customers a favor and explain achieve MIDI control (including preset changes) for the major DAWs, and distinguish between real-time "live" control vs. traditional DAW project automation control. Or, they should provide a standalone app with its own MIDI setup for those who want to play Native "live."

[cchimi]

Thanks to all who replied.  I finally  figured out what soundog says above: That in MainStage you have to assign Native in an Instrument channel strip.  Once I had that, Native worked as expected with MIDI.  That said, it felt unusable because every time I tried to use it I got the spinning wheel.  I guess it uses too many resources for my 2013 MacBook Pro.  It works, but it bogs the system down.  Oh well.

[soundog]

You could try the usual tricks .... like making sure nothing else is running on your Mac (even in the background ... use Activity Monitor to see). Also no bluetooth, no wi-fi. No nothin'. And make sure you aren't running up against memory constraints (also use Activity Monitor to check "memory pressure."). If none of that is helpful, it may be time for a different plug-in host, a different plug-in, or (I hope not) a different computer.

[cchimi]

Thanks, soundog.  Yeah, I've tried all those tricks, including other software hosts.  My MacBook has 16 gig RAM, so I'm guessing that's plenty.  My working hypothesis is that the computer is just too old (2013 IIRC).  Not gonna remedy that anytime soon.

[soundog]

Therein lies the dilemma. Home recording softwares (e.g. DAWs, virtual instruments, audio plug-ins, etc) are more powerful than ever and are always evolving .... but keep requiring more powerful CPUs, graphic processors, RAM, etc. Its always just a matter of time before we have to upgrade once again.

[stratmastersp]

I don't know if this will work, because I haven't tried it yet, but if you use your Helix floor unit as a midi controller on the Native track, as an overdub, it should send a midi control change to your DAW when you press one of the footswitches. I guess you'd have to have the same patch loaded on both the Helix and the Native track for it to work correctly. I have a song I'm working on that I would like to be able to switch the chorus on in one section on one of the guitars. It doesn't record the change when you turn it on in Native. So, I'm assuming there must be a way to send a midi control change to make that happen. Haven't seen any midi implementation charts online as far as Native is concerned. So, this may not work, but it's worth a try.