Do i need phantom power for to use my Helix? Will it damage it?

[gergoretvari]

I'm running through my helix lt to my focusrite scarlet solo via XLR and using phantom power, because otherwise the guitar sounds like it's "not enabled".  I always used this method for almost a year now.

 

Some guy told me that this will damage my unit. Is this true? Should i be concerned or i'm fine on how i use it? 

[rd2rk]

On 9/21/2023 at 5:00 PM, gergoretvari said:

I'm running through my helix lt to my focusrite scarlet solo via XLR and using phantom power, because otherwise the guitar sounds like it's "not enabled".  I always used this method for almost a year now.

 

Some guy told me that this will damage my unit. Is this true? Should i be concerned or i'm fine on how i use it? 

 

"sounds like it's not enabled"??? What does that mean?

 

My Helix XLR Outs are set to MIC and connected to a MIC input on my Scarlett with the GAIN knob full counterclockwise (OFF/0db) and it sounds great.

Has been connected like that for years.

 

As posted on the TGP big Helix thread by @Digital_Iglooaka Eric Klein, head high engineering mucky-muck (I forget his actual title) at L6:

 

"Helix should never be connected to mic preamps whose phantom power may be on. If one's mixer is cheap and has global phantom power, run into the balanced line inputs instead."

 

If your XLRs sound like whatever you're trying to describe as "not enabled" then there's something else going on.

 

Check your Scarlett manual to make sure you've got it configured right - the Solo has changed over the generations and the preamps on the 1st gen were weak - or set your 1/4" Outs to INST and use a proper guitar cable to connect to the Scarlett's instrument input with the INST button ON and the GAIN knob set per the manual.

 

Make sure that your LT's INPUT PAD (Global Settings>Ins/Outs) is set to OFF for SC pups, ON for high output HB's.

In "Global Settings>Preferences" set "Auto Impedance" to FIRST ENABLED and in the Input Block of your presets set "Guitar In-Z" to AUTO.

Turn OFF the "INPUT GATE" unless you need it for really noisy SC's.

The VOLUME KNOB is not a boost, it's a cut. Dimed is 0db. I usually disable mine so that the default is 0db.

In your presets, leave the Output Block at 0db.

 

That's the best I can offer without knowing better what you mean by "sounds like it's "not enabled".

[gsmanon]

The manual for the helix does explicitly say "IMPORTANT! Never connect the Helix device's XLR outputs to a device whose XLR inputs have 48V phantom power enabled!". It does not, however, tell us what negative consequences we could expect if we do this. Could be a degradation in sound, or could be that they think it's at least possible that doing so could damage the unit. 

 

In my opinion, since there's absolutely no benefit or need to plug a Helix into an XLR with Phantom Power, it would be wise to heed the instructions.

 

If you want to use the XLR outputs on your Helix, I recommend buying cables which are XLR on one end and 1/4" jack on the other. Although we normally associate XLR cables with mic-level signals, the XLR outputs on the Helix can be configured to be line-level, so it makes more sense to convert to 1/4" and input it into the line-input of your interface. That way, your Helix is never exposed to phantom power if you need to have it on to power another device into your interface (like a condenser microphone).
 

[Schmalle]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:00 AM, gergoretvari said:

Some guy told me that this will damage my unit. Is this true?

No. Older Helix's had problems with noise introduced by phantom power though.

 

On 9/22/2023 at 1:00 AM, gergoretvari said:

I'm running through my helix lt to my focusrite scarlet solo via XLR and using phantom power, because otherwise the guitar sounds like it's "not enabled".

How does a guitar sound like that's "not enabled"? 

[gergoretvari]

On 9/22/2023 at 5:27 AM, rd2rk said:

"sounds like it's not enabled"??? What does that mean?

 

it wounds weak, like the if there was no gain on it.

 

On 9/22/2023 at 9:25 AM, Schmalle said:

How does a guitar sound like that's "not enabled"?

see above

 

On 9/22/2023 at 5:27 AM, rd2rk said:

If your XLRs sound like whatever you're trying to describe as "not enabled" then there's something else going on.

 

Check your Scarlett manual to make sure you've got it configured right - the Solo has changed over the generations and the preamps on the 1st gen were weak - or set your 1/4" Outs to INST and use a proper guitar cable to connect to the Scarlett's instrument input with the INST button ON and the GAIN knob set per the manual.

 

Make sure that your LT's INPUT PAD (Global Settings>Ins/Outs) is set to OFF for SC pups, ON for high output HB's.

In "Global Settings>Preferences" set "Auto Impedance" to FIRST ENABLED and in the Input Block of your presets set "Guitar In-Z" to AUTO.

Turn OFF the "INPUT GATE" unless you need it for really noisy SC's.

The VOLUME KNOB is not a boost, it's a cut. Dimed is 0db. I usually disable mine so that the default is 0db.

In your presets, leave the Output Block at 0db

Thx for the info, i will check it out and report back as soon as i tried this

 

 

Btw, is there a difference i would to use the jack input of my interface? I only use my xlr one because that's what everyone said online

[gsmanon]

On 9/22/2023 at 12:08 PM, gergoretvari said:

it wounds weak, like the if there was no gain on it.

 

see above

 

Thx for the info, i will check it out and report back as soon as i tried this

 

 

Btw, is there a difference i would to use the jack input of my interface? I only use my xlr one because that's what everyone said online

Yes, there is a difference. The XLR inputs of your interface expect a mic-level signal, and the signal is passed through the inbuilt microphone pre-amplifier of your interface, and the XLR inputs are subject to phantom power when it's turned on.

The jack input expects a line-level signal, does not pass it through a pre-amp and simply converts the signal directly from analogue to digital, and phantom power is never applied.

 

So, if you have a budget-level interface that might not have the best mic-preamps in the world, and has global phantom power that you can't turn on/off for individual inputs, it makes more sense imo to use the jack and not the XLR inputs. That way the signal is not affected by the quality of the interface's preamps and more closely resembles what was supposed to come out of the Helix, and you avoid applying phantom power to your helix.

You can configure the helix so that its XLR outputs give out EITHER line-level or mic level, so if you're going XLR-XLR, make sure your helix is set for mic level, if you're going jack to jack, or XLR to jack, then make sure your helix is set for line-level. Maybe you have this set incorrectly at the moment which is the cause of your "not enabled" guitar sound.

If you're only using two outputs from the helix, I recommend using the 1/4" outputs instead of the XLRs. If you are using more than 2 and therefore need to use the XLRs in addition, I recommend configuring them for line-level and getting an XLR-jack cable, so you can bypass the preamps and avoid phantom. Try to use balanced TRS cables, especially if you're doing long cable runs.

 

 

[rd2rk]

On 9/22/2023 at 5:08 AM, gergoretvari said:

Btw, is there a difference i would to use the jack input of my interface? I only use my xlr one because that's what everyone said online

 

As I mentioned, the 1st gen Scarletts had weak preamps. The main problem there was distortion with hotter signals.

 

Whichever input you're using, make sure that the LT's Outputs are set to match - XLR = MIC;1/4" set to INST = INST.

48v Phantom = OFF!

 

Don't disregard the other settings I mentioned.