HX Stomp: 2 guitars in, 2 guitars out (with separate sounds)?

[davepat76]

Hi all,

 

I don't own this device yet, but I have a very specific question about it: Could you input two separate instruments, have them run through separate processing, and output them separately? (Example: guitar in -> guitar effects -> output to guitar amp, AND bass in -> bass effects -> output to bass amp). I understand from my reading that this would at the very least leave less blocks for each instrument, but that wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me.

 

Thanks in advance!

[silverhead]

Yes, depending on the Helix device you get. The Helix Floor, Rack, and LT are all dual path, dual processor devices and can easily do what you want. Both paths are plenty powerful enough for an amp and numerous blocks.

[davepat76]

It was specifically the HX stomp I was looking at. I know it has something called "parallel routing", but not sure about dual processors.

 

[PierM]

With the HX Stomp isnt possible because you can only have a single stereo path, as you only have a single DSP. As Silverhead said, you could with the big brothers, LT and Floor/Rack.

 

(you could split the input and re-merge at the output, but DSP isnt powerful enough, so all you can do is a bunch of FX)

[Schmalle]

Yes this can be done on the Stomp.

 

You use L and R inputs for the two instruments - lets call those instruments Ren and Stimpy.

In the patch you use Split Y (panned hard L/R) to separate Ren and Stimpy: Ren on path A, Stimpy on path B.

You can now process both instruments individually. You can then merge both paths again (using the Merge block panned hard L/R) and output Ren on out L and Stimpy on out R.

Alternatively you use the Send as a stereo out for Stimpy and outs L/R for Ren. 

[PierM]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:55 PM, davepat76 said:

It was specifically the HX stomp I was looking at. I know it has something called "parallel routing", but not sure about dual processors.

 

 

If you need just few effects per channel you could try this

 

 

[davepat76]

Thanks PierM and Silverhead,

 

I understand that the HX stomp only has a single DSP, but the manual itself does state that 2 stereo paths can be used, with Parallel routing. From the HX Stomp 3.0 manual (p. 18):

 

Serial vs. Parallel Routing

For many guitar tones, a serial (a single, stereo path) signal flow is more than adequate. For example, the preset below includes a Pitch/Synth block (violet) > Amp block (red) > IR block (pink) > Modulation block (blue) > Delay block (green) > and Reverb block (dark orange):

For more sophisticated tones, a parallel (two stereo paths) signal flow can be created. This lets one split the signal into two stereo paths, process them separately, and mix the two paths back together.

 

 

...it's that last sentence that has me most confused: you can split the paths, but do they HAVE to be mixed back together, or can they be sent out separately?

 

[Schmalle]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:56 PM, PierM said:

With the HX Stomp isnt possible because you can only have a single stereo path, as you only have a single DSP. As Silverhead said, you could with the big brothers, LT and Floor/Rack.

No, the Stomp has Path A and B which are both stereo paths.

If you use a Stereo Return block as the first block in Path B and route it to Send you can have two fully stereo paths from input to output

[davepat76]

Thanks Schmalle! That's very helpful.

[davepat76]

Thanks PierM, that video is great!

[Schmalle]

On 2/9/2024 at 7:25 PM, davepat76 said:

Thanks Schmalle! That's very helpful.

There is another way, too. You can use only Path A and a FX Loop block as a separator between instrument processing:

In -> processing for Instr 1 -> FX Loop (100% mix) -> processing for Instr 2 -> Out

Instr 1 plugged into Input 1, processed signal from Send.

Instr 2 plugged into Return, processed signal from Out.

 

This requires using an FX Loop block (and therefore unnecessary DSP usage) but it frees you to use Path B for parallel FX in the patch.

 

[davepat76]

On 2/9/2024 at 1:48 PM, Schmalle said:

There is another way, too. You can use only Path A and a FX Loop block as a separator between instrument processing:

In -> processing for Instr 1 -> FX Loop (100% mix) -> processing for Instr 2 -> Out

Instr 1 plugged into Input 1, processed signal from Send.

Instr 2 plugged into Return, processed signal from Out.

 

This requires using an FX Loop block (and therefore unnecessary DSP usage) but it frees you to use Path B for parallel FX in the patch.

 

Perfect, thanks again!

[lou-kash]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:55 PM, davepat76 said:

It was specifically the HX stomp I was looking at.

 

I've been already using the Stomp as a 4-channel mixer with two vocal mics and two acoustic guitars. It was a bit tricky to set up because technically it's two parallel signal pairs, each then processing two signals in series, but it worked just fine.

 

Other than that, for one of my projects I'm using one path for acoustic bass guitar, the other path for my "electrified plank bass drum", the Stomp going either into my small stage combo or additionally straight into PA. It just works, be it in small pubs or in concert halls.

 

However, when setting up two parallel paths for guitar and bass, each with its own amp and cab, you may run into DSP limits on the Stomp if you choose amps that are DSP hungry.
Here you can look up how much DSP each block requires:

benvesco.com/store/helix-dsp-allocations

Del Sol 300 (bass) and US Small Tweed (guitar) are the best options if you want to have enough headroom for a few nifty effects as well.