Can I monitor Helix USB tracks OUTSIDE of DAW in Windows?

[thedudeabides79]

So I want to know if it is possible to monitor the USB tracks sent by helix without using a DAW. I feel like, i need to connect a usb cable to use hx edit, and those tracks are on the cable, somewhere.

 

I typically use the native plugin when im in the daw anyway, but if im jamming out of the daw, id love to connect the foot controller to helix rack and actually use like a live rig.

 

Is this something that anyone has tried or knows anything about?

 

Thanks.

[rd2rk]

I'm sure I'm misunderstanding your question, because it makes no sense whatsoever.

 

The Foot Controller controls the Rack. The audio outputs to your speakers ARE a live rig.

The only difference between that signal and plugging your guitar straight into an amp is the 2.5ms or so that the AD (guitar into Rack) and DA (Rack to speakers) conversion takes.

Not even Steve Vai can hear/feel that, no matter what he says.

 

The tracks are not "on the cable". You need a DAW to receive whatever is "on the cable".

Whatever is "on the cable" is a digital duplicate of what's coming out of your speakers (no DA conversion).

If you activate the "Input Echo/Track Monitor" (or whatever your DAW calls it) switch on the track, then the signal comes back out from the DAW to whatever audio output your DAW outputs to, and at that point there's a DA conversion.

If you're listening to the sound from the Rack, and also monitoring from the DAW, there'll be a delay on the DAW signal due to that conversion and the additional time it takes to go from the Rack to the DAW and back out to whatever speakers the DAW outputs to compared to the direct signal from the Rack to the speakers. It'll sound like an echo.

 

So, I must be misunderstanding your question, because there's no reason in the world to do that (that I can see).

 

Maybe you can explain what you're trying to accomplish, and why you think it would be useful?

[thedudeabides79]

Hahaha yes this is very very complicated. Or hard to explain, 

 

First of all, this has nothing to do with sound quality. Im not trying to do this to achieve some sound boost or improvement. Thats not it. 

 

My goal, is to do 

 

Play through the helix rack into the computer and hear the output through computer speakers while only being connected with usb cable and without launching the daw.

 

Im sorry for bringing up the foot controller i see how that was confusing. I mentioned it because the reason i want to do this is to just jam and change channels with the foot switch out of the daw, which i cant really do with the helix native plugin IN the daw.

 

So the purpose to really streamline the connection. and my ON THE CABLE remark was just to say that, if they are there for the daw to use and sent from the helix, could i not use them and monitor them outside of the daw?

 

Thanks.

[datacommando]

39 minutes ago, thedudeabides79 said:

Play through the helix rack into the computer and hear the output through computer speakers while only being connected with usb cable and without launching the daw.

 
That’s perfectly normal - I don’t understand why you might think it is complicated. 
 

You don’t mention what computer you are using, but it doesn’t particularly matter, because you could load up YouTube, find a backing track and play along. On a Mac with iTunes I can jam along with any track that I choose to playback.

 

You managed to totally confuse me, also “rd2rk” and yourself.Too many White Russians?

 

Just do it.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[thedudeabides79]

Its only complicated to explain all of the ins and the outs. Thanks for the condescension. 

 

Again, as I said in previous post, I cannot play along with a jam track WITHOUT LOADING A SONG FROM DAW. That is what I am trying to figure out.

 

Here is what I am trying to do:

 

Monitor Helix through computer speakers (windows 10) by only connecting usb cable

Not loading song through daw

 

Please dont comment to just tell everyone how confused you are. 

 

Thanks.

 

[Klaim]

If I understand correctly, I think the only way to make it work is to make the OS use the Helix as it's audio interface (same as DAW but for the OS by default) via the usb cable, in which case:
 - you would need to have the speakers plugged to the output of the Helix to be able to hear OS+Helix directly;
 - all the sounds of the OS would go out fo the Helix to the speakers (because Helix is an audio interface);
 - all the sounds of the Helix would go out to the speakers too (because directly out of it);
 - the performance of the audio interface would be the one of the Helix (it's good, though not as good as some other audio interfaces);

I do it in a different way, which might not help you if you only want to use the usb cable:
I have a Focusrite Clareette 4Pre (so recent Focusrite audio interface) and they provide an audio routing software which helps me set it up this way:
 - the OS (Windows in my case) uses the Focusrite always;

 - the Helix outputs ==XLR==> inputs of Focusrite;
 - output of Focusrite ==> Speakers (actually I have several speaker sets and I also use headphones but let's focus on a case similar then yours)
 - Helix ==USB==> Windows (because I still want to use HXEdit) and sometime I use the Helix as an audio interface too;
The routing software allows me to output anything coming from the Helix to any other output (speakers by default, but sometime I shut them up and only have the headphones). I can also route the audio from Windows through the same output when I want to play with the Helix over a track. That's all without a DAW.
When I use a DAW, I can either hear the Helix directly and deactivate monitoring, OR activate monitoring and route the output of Windows+DAW to the speakers/headphones, after shutting the Helix output from the speakers). 

 

Basically, I find far more flexible to plug everything I have in my audio interface, and then route inputs to outputs as I need, because I can do that without the DAW.
 

[rd2rk]

1 hour ago, thedudeabides79 said:

Play through the helix rack into the computer and hear the output through computer speakers while only being connected with usb cable and without launching the daw.

 

17 minutes ago, thedudeabides79 said:

Monitor Helix through computer speakers (windows 10) by only connecting usb cable

Not loading song through daw

 

The computer needs to know two things:

Where the audio is coming from

Where the audio should go

 

You either need a DAW or some sort of "Audio Pipe" utility to send the "Recording" source to the "Playback" destination.

 

This link MIGHT help:

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/364369/how-to-record-your-pcs-audio-with-vb-cable/

[datacommando]

14 hours ago, thedudeabides79 said:

Please dont comment to just tell everyone how confused you are. 

Dude, you really could do with getting your attitude readjusted.
 

You obviously didn’t read what I posted.

 

I said, that you do not need to load a song in a DAW, use YouTube or whatever.

 

But, hey - I can expect nothing better from someone who wants to listen to the sound from computer speakers.

 

Ye gods - I despair!

 

https://line6.com/support/topic/33493-usb-audio-question/

 

 

[PierM]

You should connect those speakers to the Helix, and use the PC Host to stream the songs through the Helix, via USB cable. Just set the Helix as speakers/soundcard in Windows, and you are good. 

If you dont need a DAW setup, but just a backing track, cant see the point to force the system working backward....