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Help me choose a simple recording setup


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I'm looking for a simple Line6 recording setup. This will be my first ever recording setup, and I do not own any other equipment today. What I'm looking for is a setup that let me record dry DI, but also get the sound I want on my ear at the same time. The purpose is to record and mix a finished guitar and bass track (dry DI), with a good demo sound on a separate track. Sound engineering and master will always be sent to professionals. I do not have too much space in my office, so I'm looking for something minimalistic (as few units as possible, hopefully only one). The less units I need to my setup, the better. I was looking at the Helix Floor unit, but I'm not sure that will do the job alone – or if it's better alternatives out there.

 

Cost does not necessary need to be a hold back, as long as it fulfill my requirements. Multiple alternatives in the price range would be great tho.  

 

I use MacBook Pro with Catalina installed. 

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The advantage of using 'plug ins' when recording guitar, rather than external hardware, is that you can record a dry signal, listen to a processed signal - and record/change the processed signal at any point,  I'm not familiar with the Helix floor unit, but it would need to send both dry and processed signals to the DAW to do what you want.  I'd recommend going with a software option.  Any audio interface that accepts instrument input will work for you.

Any DAW (recording software) will work for you too.  The only real difference between different DAWs is work flow and user interface.

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2 hours ago, fflbrgst said:

The advantage of using 'plug ins' when recording guitar, rather than external hardware, is that you can record a dry signal, listen to a processed signal - and record/change the processed signal at any point,  I'm not familiar with the Helix floor unit, but it would need to send both dry and processed signals to the DAW to do what you want.  I'd recommend going with a software option.  Any audio interface that accepts instrument input will work for you.

Any DAW (recording software) will work for you too.  The only real difference between different DAWs is work flow and user interface.

 

Hi, thanks for your reply. So, anything in the Line6 lineup where I can plug my guitar in and hook up to my laptop will work? I'm not stuck with Helix Floor here, it just seemed nice to have a floor unit to quickly change between effects when not recording. If you have any other suggestions I'd be happy to check them out for consideration. 

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The Helix can definitely do what you want. You can also use the Helix to “reamp” your recorded dry signal. Also the purchase of a Helix floor will let you purchase Helix Native for $99.  Helix Native is a plug-in version of the Helix so you would be able to reamp without the Helix Hardware (or use the plug-in on any recorded signal).

One possible con beside price. The Helix is (IMHO) a pretty powerful and flexible piece of gear which results in somewhat of a learning curve for some users. Fortunately the Helix forum and the official Helix FB are very active with lots of helpful users.

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15 hours ago, Triryche said:

The Helix can definitely do what you want. You can also use the Helix to “reamp” your recorded dry signal. Also the purchase of a Helix floor will let you purchase Helix Native for $99.  Helix Native is a plug-in version of the Helix so you would be able to reamp without the Helix Hardware (or use the plug-in on any recorded signal).

One possible con beside price. The Helix is (IMHO) a pretty powerful and flexible piece of gear which results in somewhat of a learning curve for some users. Fortunately the Helix forum and the official Helix FB are very active with lots of helpful users.

 

Thanks for your reply. Looks like a good month with a new Helix Floor and Pro Tools in house. A lot new stuff to learn. I assume Helix and Helix Native is compatible with MacBook Pro (2018) with Catalina installed? To date I have and old Pod UX1 with Pod Farm 2, which has not worked at all since autumn 2018 due to the 32 bit issue.

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I run PodFarm2 on a (PC) 64 bit machine in 64 bit Reaper....  maybe Macs are not so friendly for this? 

 

The Helix is quite a useful tool for those playing live (electric) guitar.  I know people who have ditched their amp set ups, using a Helix to plug into the main PA system.  Of course this depends on your band's set-up, too.  For me, what is missing from a pure 'plugged in' stand point (i.e. no actual guitar amp) is the 'feedback' (not squeals!) that comes from the guitar body and pickups receiving the amplified sound from the speaker.  My personal preference is always to mic the amp (but I will often record a dry DIed track at he same time).  The one difference I do is when recording a 12 string electric - I've found the right combination of guitar tones in PF2 that really brings out the 12 string sound.

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I’m not a Mac guy, but it is my understanding that Helix is current partial compatible with Catalina. It will work a s a class compliant audio device but the custom driver is currently not supported. Seeing as Helix is their flagship processor I would assume a fix is a priority.

 

https://line6.com/support/announcement/98-macos-1015-catalina-compatibility/

 

 

 

 

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On 1/7/2020 at 2:46 PM, Triryche said:

I’m not a Mac guy, but it is my understanding that Helix is current partial compatible with Catalina. It will work a s a class compliant audio device but the custom driver is currently not supported. Seeing as Helix is their flagship processor I would assume a fix is a priority.

 

https://line6.com/support/announcement/98-macos-1015-catalina-compatibility/

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I see. One last question. Will the Stomp and/or HX Effects do the same job for studio purposes? I mean, I will anyway have to download Helix Native. I do not need as much i/o as the Floor or Rack provides, and Helix LT will do just fine in the higher price range when I need an entire pedal board. But if the Stomp and/or HX Effects will do the same job for recording as the floor alternatives (dry DI and the other benefits) I'd actually choose one of those to start with, and rather buy a Helix LT when I'm going to play live again. If so, which one would you recommend me to choose?

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You can accomplish this with the Helix Stomp. You can record a DI and processed signal simultaneously and also re-amp the DI with the Stomp (even without Helix Native).

But it does have less DSP and blocks compared to the floor units.

The Helix FX will not fit your needs, it is effects only and no USB recording. 

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