some routing help please

[peaveyfan]

I want to use the Helix as an interface for fb live. Here's my setup:

 

Guitar

Mic

Backing tracks off an iPad.  Track are stereo with left being a Click track, and right the Loop (other instruments).

Headphone out will be used as my in ear monitor mix.

 

Path 1 is guitar.  I have the Input set as guitar and Output set as multi.  This works fine.

Path 2 is mic.  Input set as mic, Output set as multi.  This works fine.

 

I have a 1/8 stereo to 2 1/4 mono coming out of my iPad and gong into Return 1 and 2.

 

Path 3 is Loop.  Input set as Return 1, Output set to multi.  This works fine.

Path 4 is Click.  Input set as Return 2.  this is the only path not working for me.  Not matter how I set the Output, it always come through with all other paths.  I want this path to only come through the headphones.

 

Also, is there a way to adjust the mix in my headphones differently than what comes through to the audience.  I find that after I mix guitar, mic, and loop, for the listeners, I find that the mix is not as balanced in my headphones.

 

Thank you.

[qwerty42]

Hi, I’m not sure if this is the best way, but here’s one way. I’m assuming that your ‘audience mix’ is the 1/4 Outputs on the back of Helix. If it’s actually the 2 XLR ports, then just swap them in what follows:

 

• For each of your first 3 paths, set the output to 1/4”. For your 4th path, set the output to XLR.
• In global settings, make sure the option for ‘Headphones Monitor’ is set to ‘Multi.’

 

Now your headphones will hear everything, but the audio output on the 1/4” jacks will get everything except path 4. You can adjust your headphone level via the Phones knob, while the big Volume knob controls the level out of the 1/4” jacks.

I can’t think of any simple way to adjust the mix of all 4 in your headphones independently of the other output. If you weren’t using all 4 paths already, there might be some clever ways, but as-is I think you’ll have to take it as it is. I’ll think about it and reply again if I come up with something.

[peaveyfan]

I guess I should have stated this.  I am connecting to a pc using the usb.  So when I connect to fb live, i close Helix as my audio source.  So i believe the first 3 paths would need to go out of the usb to the pc, than all 4 paths come through the headphone mix. I apologize for not stating that earlier.

[qwerty42]

Gotcha. I think there are probably better ways to do this if you're hosting from your PC, which would make full use of all the USB I/O Helix has. But, if you want to stick with this routing setup, do the same thing I said above except change your outputs for paths 1-3 to 'USB 1/2' and set path 4 (your click) to either 1/4" or XLR. You will still hear the click through the headphone jack of your Helix, but the audio stream going into your PC via USB won't have it. Also I just checked this and it seems like the relative mix levels going in via USB match what I'm hearing in the headphones.

 

Also, make sure under the Windows Sound settings, under the Recording tab, your Helix is set as the default recording device, and also click Properties, go the the Advanced tab, and make sure "Default Format" is a 2-channel format (eg 2 Channel, 16bit, 48kHz).

 

One trick here is you may need to adjust your USB output level to match your headphone level: adjust the output gains on each of the paths that are going to USB1/2 so that the levels into your pc (& thus fb live) are good, then adjust the headphone volume knob on the Helix to get a good level in your monitoring headphones.

 

One downside to how you're doing this is that your backing track/loop will be mono... you might not care, but just an FYI if you didn't realize.

[peaveyfan]

So, a couple of questions.

 

1. There may be better ways to do this...

Such as? I would be very interested in hearing about that. 

 

2. I would very much like to run my loop stereo, and possibly my guitar as well, but all that is a little more for my knowledge of the routing options. 

 

I'm on a mac btw. 

 

Thank you for your help. 

 

 

[qwerty42]

I'm afraid I can't help much on the Mac side of things, except give some general advice that hopefully still applies.

 

In Windows, you could get rid of the iPad, and host your backing tracks and click track inside a DAW. From there, you can route those back into the Helix, have direct hardware monitoring for your guitar (avoiding latency), and then have everything except the click go back out on USB1/2, which would then be picked up by Windows as the audio source for FB Live. This would all be done on 1 computer.

 

More specifically, as an example:

• Your backing track (stereo) is loaded up inside your DAW. It sends out via USB3/4 to Helix via the track/channel send of your DAW. (Disconnect it from any master tracks, you only want it going out on USB3/4).
• Your click track also comes from your DAW. Could be a metronome; could be a pre-recorded audio file that syncs with your backing track. Send this one out on USB5/6.
• In Helix, set up your 4 paths:
  • 1. Guitar in > amps/effects > Multi Output
  • 2. Mic in > effects > Multi Output
  • 3. USB3/4 in (from DAW) > this is your backing track > Multi Output
  • 4. USB5/6 in (from DAW) > this is your click track > either 1/4" or XLR outputs. You will hear this through the headphones, but it WON'T go back to the computer.
• Now for FB live, you select the Helix as your mic source (in Windows, it will only let you use USB1/2 from the Helix, which is where 'Multi' sends it in the assignments above). Your audience hears your mix, with everything except the click track.

On Mac, I've got no experience with how it integrates audio devices into outputs for something like FB live. The same general idea should apply, though. If Mac lets you route channels from a DAW directly to a mic source for something like FB Live, it might be easier than Windows. There are probably better ways to do this in Windows, too -- this is just how you'd do it with only a DAW and no additional software.

[peaveyfan]

Ok, so here is what i this weekend.

 

I actually ran the tracks from an app called PRIME.  It gives you up to 8 channels to run your audio out of.  Meaning, if you have an audio interface, It will allow you to use at most 8 outputs.  You can run them as mono or stereo, or a combination of the 2.  If you use the headphone out, it can only use 2 outs, the left and the right, track on one, click on the other.

 

I ran headphone out of the mac into the Helix.  Streamed to fb live, everything worked great.

 

I really wanted to run my tracks as stereo, and my guitar for that matter, but that's for another time.  I essentially need 3 channels. 2 for stereo track, and 1 for click.  i tried running out of the back of my interface.  Channel 1-2 as track Helix path return 1-2, channel 3 as click, helix path return 3.  I needed to set my pc output to Interface.  When I did, I had no sound.  If I switched the output to Helix audio, I only got the track.  No click.  The only time I could get the click as well is if I set the click out to channel 1 or 2.  I then set

I then tried to use the Helix as the output.  The initial sound for the tracks is now coming through the usb from the pc to the helix.  Once again, I have the playback app set as Track 1-2 for stereo, click out 3.  I set up the helix for track Input 3/4, output multi, and click input 5/6, output 1/4.  What was weird was, on the output block for 3/4, when I turned the volume up and down, it controlled everything, track and click.  When I went to path 4, the click, input 5/6, I could not turn the click up or down.  I tried every input combination you could imagine, I had no volume control.  

 

I then went to try a fb live vid.  The only thing that was coming through was the click.  No track.

 

I don't know if I need to start over, but again, I would like to achieve stereo track, mono click, have all come through my personal monitor, and have track only go to the audience.  I'm kinda stumped here.

 

I appreciate your help.  Sorry if I'm repeating myself and/or beating a dead horse here.