How to get good sound recordings on PC?

[Borgelin79]

Hi!

 

I use the USB connection between my Helix and PC for sound-recording, but the quality is horrible.

When I listen through my headphones which is hooked directly into the Helix, the sound quality is outstanding.

 

What is the optimal way? An external sound-card?

 

Appreciate any help you professionals can provide. :)

[SaschaFranck]

Please describe your exact setup. Which program used for recording? Which Ins are you selecting there? And which outs? And what are the USB return settings on your Helix? And do other sounds played back from your PC sound fine through the Helix?

You should defenitely not need another interface (aka soundcard) for recording what's coming out of the Helix, it's doing a most excellent job for that purpose.

[datacommando]

On 11/26/2022 at 8:19 AM, Borgelin79 said:

Hi!

 

I use the USB connection between my Helix and PC for sound-recording, but the quality is horrible.

When I listen through my headphones which is hooked directly into the Helix, the sound quality is outstanding.

 

What is the optimal way? An external sound-card?

 

Appreciate any help you professionals can provide. :)

Hi,

 

As noted by @SaschaFranckin the post above - you really need to supply a full description of how you have things set to record. For example - computer and OS, DAW, USB setting, monitoring setup etc., (other than headphones, which as you state - work perfectly).

 

I have a Helix floor connected via USB to Logic Pro running on my Mac. It I has been in use almost everyday for the past 6 years, and it functions perfectly, for recording and playback. I also have versions of GarageBand, Reaper, StudioOne, and Tracktion which I use for troubleshooting various issues. 
 

There is a section in the back of the Helix 3.0 Owner’s Manual that describes, with illustrations, the basics of setting up and using your DAW with the Helix, see pages 67 to 72

 

https://line6.com/data/6/0a020a3f041b611d61cac763b/application/pdf/Helix 3.0 Owner's Manual - Rev F - English .pdf

Please help us to help you.

 

Here’s an old video with Sean

 

 

 

Oh, here’s a video from Jason:-

 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

Edited November 26, 2022 by datacommando
Added videos

[PierM]

Also would help to know what that "sounds horrible" means. A little audio sample would help.

[Borgelin79]

On 11/26/2022 at 9:40 AM, SaschaFranck said:

Please describe your exact setup. Which program used for recording? Which Ins are you selecting there? And which outs? And what are the USB return settings on your Helix? And do other sounds played back from your PC sound fine through the Helix?

You should defenitely not need another interface (aka soundcard) for recording what's coming out of the Helix, it's doing a most excellent job for that purpose.

 

I am connected via the USB cable that came with the Helix to my Windows 11 computer using Audacity for recording. It's a Realtek-chip on my MB.

Sound played back from my PC (eg. when i use a backing track) sounds fine.

USB return setting (is this the 1/2 Destination-setting?) on Helix is set to Multi.

My piano is a Yamaha P255 connected with a L and R jack into the Helix's 1 and 2 Return channels (btw, should the R go into 2 and L into 1, or the other way around?)

My mic is a AT2020+ connected to the Mic XLR on the Helix.

I know this is not optimal as the cardio-nature of the AT2020 will also pick up the piano, but surely this is not why the sound is this much worse?

 

So this is how it sounds like through my headphones when I play which is plugged into my Helix (except I don't play as good as this guy):

 

and this is how it ends up when I've uploaded to Youtube (please excuse the poor singing and playing, I'm just an amateur :):
 

 

[PierM]

Nothing to do with Helix alone, you should just improve your mixing skills. Plenty of free resources on the web.

 

Also, you'd need a pair of decent studio monitors instead of just headphones.

[Borgelin79]

On 11/26/2022 at 12:26 PM, datacommando said:

Hi,

 

As noted by @SaschaFranckin the post above - you really need to supply a full description of how you have things set to record. For example - computer and OS, DAW, USB setting, monitoring setup etc., (other than headphones, which as you state - work perfectly).

 

<snip>

 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

Thank you, sir.

I'll have a look at those videos.

Please see above post for details.

Thank you all for the replies, let me know if I should provide more info.

[Borgelin79]

On 11/26/2022 at 3:38 PM, PierM said:

Nothing to do with Helix alone, you should just improve your mixing skills. Plenty of free resources on the web.

 

Also, you'd need a pair of decent studio monitors instead of just headphones.

 

I see. Do you think I should also switch to another recording-software?

[silverhead]

On 11/26/2022 at 9:44 AM, Borgelin79 said:

 

I see. Do you think I should also switch to another recording-software?

Personally I think you should switch from using Audacity. The main reason is that, by default I believe, Audacity uses a non-compliant pseudo-ASIO protocol called ASIO4ALL. It is known to cause problems with ASIO-compliant devices like Helix. Unless you can configure Audacity to use the Line 6 ASIO driver for Helix, switch recording programs.

[PierM]

On 11/26/2022 at 3:44 PM, Borgelin79 said:

 

I see. Do you think I should also switch to another recording-software?

 

Couple of basic concepts

 

• Use the Helix as audio interface, setting the ASIO HELIX drivers in the DAW audio settings.
• Again, record through the helix, and listen through the helix
• Ignore, or better, deactivate the realtek chip in the Device Manager. This is just throwing random DPC calls.
• Plug a pair of decent studio monitors to the helix L/R output
• Be sure to set the right line/instrument/mic level for each of your instruments, in the helix globals.
• Record each track separately, with a decent headroom (meters of each track around -16dB/0dB. Avoid the orange/red area on all tracks and main output meter
• In the DAW, Instead of adding different reverbs to each track, experiment with subtle reverbs in the main output send/return. Usually works better for this type of performance.
• Experiment with reamping so you dont have to record the same stuff over and over again...:)

 

Audacity isnt a pure DAW... but as soon as you know how to use it, it's fine for little projects. I would try other platforms if you really want proper control and driver support.

 

I do love Ableton Live as it's great for both Live and DAW, but there are plenty.

 

[datacommando]

On 11/26/2022 at 2:44 PM, Borgelin79 said:

 

Do you think I should also switch to another recording-software?

 

Hi,

 

My guess would be - Yes! 

 

As pointed out by others, Audacity is not doing any justice to the sound coming from your Helix. Go here and download the Latest version of Reaper (one of the DAWs shown in the video by Jason Sadites).

 

https://www.reaper.fm

 

Use your Helix as the audio interface and invest in some decent monitors to listen to your recordings. Hook them up to your Helix XLR or 1/4" outputs and enjoy.

 

EDIT:

Oh, yeah, the beauty of multi-track recording is that you can lay down your piano track in glorious stereo plus a dry unprocessed version, then add your vocal after to be treated separately - result - no bleed through from the piano track if you set it up correctly.

 

[Borgelin79]

Thank you all for the replies, I really appreciate it. :)

 

I'll download Reaper and experiment with all the tips you've provided me.