Using Helix Stomp with VSTs

[aday702480]

 I plugged in my newly bought Helix Stomp to my computer last night via USB and used HX Edit to change tweak my guitar tones (really digging the stomp so far). I've been a long time DAW user and there are a number of VSTs that I enjoy using and don't want to lose the ability to use them now that I have the HX Stomp. I opened up a new project in my DAW (Reaper) and set the HX Stomp as my sound card in Reaper. I then went to add VSTs to the new track I created. However, when the VSTs were added, they were mixed in very low to the audio that was coming through my speakers. For instance, a distortion VST wasn't fully affecting the clean guitar signal from the HX Stomp in the way a distortion pedal might. You could only hear a faint level of distortion underneath the clean guitar sound of the HX Stomp. 

 

 My questions are.. does anybody know why the VSTs don't affect the signal in the normal way I'm wanting them to? Also, does anybody know how I might be able to utilize VSTs with the HX Stomp in the way I'm hoping to? 

 

 I'm thinking one way to do it, is to connect the output of the HX Stomp into the input of my other interface (UA Apollo Twin). But, I'm really wanting to take the Apollo Twin out of the equation altogether and only use the HX Stomp as my only interface. 

 

Thank you for your help and ideas! 

[silverhead]

There must be something amiss in your setup. Standard VSTs should work the same with HX Stomp as they do with any other audio interface device.

 

I know you are an experienced DAW/VST user but I have no idea what your previous setup and recording practices were so please forgive me if the following is already obvious and understood.....

 

Much can depend on what you are recording, and what you mean by the 'clean' signal from the HX Stomp. Are you recording the dry (unprocessed) guitar signal sent directly to the DAW track from the HX Stomp input or are you recording the wet (processed) but perhaps clean tone sent from the HX Stomp output. or both? In other words, what is/are the Record Input to the track(s) you are recording in the DAW?

 

The difference here can make a significant difference to the resulting sound when using VSTs, especially a distortion VST. Normally an analog distortion pedal is placed between the guitar and the amp in a signal chain, meaning the distortion effect is applied to the signal before it hits the amp. The distortion effect is routed through the amp where the amp settings are greatly affected by the amount of incoming distortion gain/level. To replicate this in a DAW you would need to record the dry guitar signal on a separate track and apply the distortion VST to that track. If you apply the distortion VST to the wet track that recorded the HX Stomp-processed clean signal you will get a different result, the same as if you place an analog distortion pedal in your amp's FX Loop rather than before the amp. In the latter case the distortion pedal's settings have no impact on the preamp; it just affects the amp's output signal.

 

IMO the best way to use VSTs in a DAW is to ALWAYS record the dry track and optionally record the wet track simultaneously. This give you the most flexibility in post-processing using VSTs.  If you want to use a VST effect that corresponds to an analog pedal that you would normally place between your guitar and amp (e.g. distortion) then record the dry signal and apply ALL VSTs (including amp processing VSTs) to that track. Conversely, if you just want to use VST effects that correspond to analog pedals that you would normally place in your amp's FX Loop (e.g. delay) then you can use the recorded wet signal and apply these VSTs to that track. Of course, depending on the routing capabilities of your audio interface and DAW you may be able to send the dry/pre-amp-VST-processed track back to a hardware device for re-amping.

 

 

[rd2rk]

You're hearing the preset direct out to the Outputs, PLUS the signal from the DAW.

When you use the stomp as a sound card for VSTs, create a "VST" preset with the Output Block set to -120db. Then bring in the signal on USB 5 (Left/Mono input).

 

[silverhead]

4 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

You're hearing the preset direct out to the Outputs, PLUS the signal from the DAW.

When you use the stomp as a sound card for VSTs, create a "VST" preset with the Output Block set to -120db. Then bring in the signal on USB 5 (Left/Mono input).

 

Yes - he may be talking about hearing this while recording. It seemed, though, that he was talking about a VST applied to a pre-recorded track in which case the Record Monitoring setting would be irrelevant. I guess he will clarify for us.

[rd2rk]

Further to my previous post - Although what I said will fix the problem, if you find latency to be an issue, use the Apollo, it has better latency than the Stomp.

 

3 minutes ago, silverhead said:

Yes - he may be talking about hearing this while recording. It seemed, though, that he was talking about a VST applied to a pre-recorded track in which case the Record Monitoring setting would be irrelevant. I guess he will clarify for us.

 

I wasn't talking about the Monitor switch, that HAS to be ON to hear the VST. The Output block on the Stomp goes to the 1/2 HW outs, no matter what, no choice on the Stomp. That means that it's combined with the DAW output. The only way to prevent that is to set the Output Block Level to -120db (virtually silent). I think when he said that he applied the VST to a track he'd "created" he meant just that, not "recorded".

[aday702480]

rd2rk - I am trying to monitor and not record. I tried what you said about bringing down the Output Block Level to -120db and this did allow me to hear the VST levels in my DAW. But the sound of the HX Stomp guitar wasn't mixed in. How can I monitor the HX Stomp guitar signal out of my DAW, in addition to be able to place VSTs on that DAW track that will affect the HX Stomp signal in the normal functional way? It all worked when I was using Amplitube in my DAW. I could put a VST on the track and it would affect the signal in the correct manner. So, I just want to do the same thing with the HX Stomp signal instead of the Amplitube signal. 

 

 I ran the HX Stomp into my Apollo Twin interface, and this allows me to do exactly that I'm intending to do. However, I'm still wanting to get away from using the Apollo Twin altogether. Thank you. 

 

Edit: In another post, Silverhead gave an answer.. "In your Helix preset, try setting the Output block to USB 5&6. This will send the processed signal on 5/6 matching your DAW input selection". 

Perhaps this is the answer, I'm going to give this a shot. 

[rd2rk]

2 minutes ago, aday702480 said:

rd2rk - I am trying to monitor and not record. I tried what you said about bringing down the Output Block Level to -120db and this did allow me to hear the VST levels in my DAW. But the sound of the HX Stomp guitar wasn't mixed in. How can I monitor the HX Stomp guitar signal out of my DAW, in addition to be able to place VSTs on that DAW track that will affect the HX Stomp signal in the normal functional way? It all worked when I was using Amplitube in my DAW. I could put a VST on the track and it would affect the signal in the correct manner. So, I just want to do the same thing with the HX Stomp signal instead of the Amplitube signal. 

 

 I ran the HX Stomp into my Apollo Twin interface, and this allows me to do exactly that I'm intending to do. However, I'm still wanting to get away from using the Apollo Twin altogether. Thank you. 

 

Split the Path at both ends so that there's 2 Output Blocks. Path B will be USB 3/4. Take the DAW input from USB 3. USB 5 is UN-processed, USB 3 is PROCESSED.