Native purchase, yeah thinking about being lazy

[themetallikid]

So I have the Floor...love it, but its a pain to haul my full board out, hook things up under my desk, seperate headphone amp, headphones.....I know, 'real' problems right?  lol   

 

Thinking about grabbing Native for the $99.99.....obviously I can't just plug my guitar into my laptop, so what else do I need in order to make it work.  And should I expect anything different sound wise between what I create in Native vs. what I create on Floor?  Of course, already accounting for my monitoring preferences for at home vs live/practice use.  Those I have figured out already....Just meaning more of changes in tone due to a different input potentially?

 

[rd2rk]

Assuming that your computer has enough HP to run Native (which requires a DAW or VST Host) at low latency (which also requires you to optimize for Audio whatever OS you're running): AND assuming that all you need to do is play guitar (not also concurrently bass, synths, eDrums, etc), you need a simple Audio Interface.

A 2nd or 3rd gen Scarlett Solo is pretty cheap (<>$100) and works great - my 2nd gen 18i20 gets 7.6ms RTL in Reaper on an i7-7500/16gb at 48k/64spls.

There's lots of other possibilities, and I'm sure everyone who sees this post will jump on with THEIR favorite $500-1000 AI, but even a recent model Behringer will serve your purpose.

 

As far as TONE goes, just make sure the AI has a 1M impedance guitar input. The higher quality the preamps and converters the better it will sound (thus the price difference between a Behringer and a UA), but unless you're doing SERIOUS RECORDING, and have the MYTHICAL GOLDEN EARS, for practicing at your desk the ROI between $100 and $1000 will be negligible.

 

 

 

[themetallikid]

Yeah to be honest, It'd really only be for practicing songs and such without having to connect my whole pedalboard etc.  Sounds too pricey of a 'fix' for that, plus having to deal with potential issues between tech items. 

 

Was hoping to keep the tweaking uniform and just save backups and restore to my Floor when needed, but I might just be better off with a seperate unit for home jamming

[rd2rk]

I own every major amp sim. Just updated TH3 to THU, Amplitube 4 to AT5 MAX. Latest version of S-Gear.

They all sound great, and are lots of fun.

Know what I jam on at my desk?

My HX Stomp.

My Floor lives in my "Studio" (the living room) with my PC112+.

Sometimes I play those amp sims. They sound GREAT through my studio monitors (vs the bookshelf system in the "office" (kitchen/diningroom)).

Mostly I play through my Helix.

 

[datacommando]

35 minutes ago, themetallikid said:

but I might just be better off with a seperate unit for home jamming

Hi,

 

That’s exactly what you would be getting with HX Native, a Behringer U-Phoria UM2, a decent set of headphones and a free DAW such as Reaper. You probably don’t even really need the DAW for jamming, but if you had it, you could have software synths and drums in there if you want to experiment. The bonus being that HX Native is the the brain of a full hardware Helix, minus the Exp pedal and all the extra ins and outs.
 

I guess your other option is a HX Stomp for home jamming. Mmm. big decision - similar outlay.

[themetallikid]

yeah I love the Helix, and a smaller version may be in the cards when I free up enough money.  who knows....appreciate it. 

[HonestOpinion]

Another powerful and free DAW option.

 

https://www.tracktion.com/products/waveform-free

[MusicLaw]

@themetallikid, As a Helix owner, when Helix Native goes on 30% Discount Sale -- which it does several times a year --  you can get Helix Native for $69!!

 

The HX Stomp is a really great piece of gear! Not only is it compact, as rd2rk replied, it's great and easy to use on the desktop. Moreover, it provides a Helix grade AI! So consider allocating the approx $100 you'd spend on a Focusrite Solo (or other AI) towards an HX Stomp. And, the $30 savings on Helix Native, would offset, a bit, the cost for an HX Stomp. And, HX Stomp's headphone out easily drives BeyerDynamic DT770 Pro 250 ohm headsets to DSP levels far higher than my Dell XPS 15 Laptop. ;) YMMV.