1527nick1527 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Hi All Long time helix user here. I am about to record an album and I want to use my real amps as well as some helix tones. I want to record DI tracks via helix and then send these from logic out to a real amp via a Radial JCR ramp box. The amp will be connected to a Fryette PS2A which is then connected back to the Helix. When I do this I get really horrible choppy sounding audio that has a pretty weak signal as well. I have reamped before using an audient interface so I know what I'm doing in terms of signal chain. What I can't find the answer to is, is there something in the helix sends I am unaware of that is causing this issue? When I plug the amp into the fryette and then directly into the helix and just play through the amp it sounds great so the only difference in signal chain is the fact its the di being sent from helix instead of the guitar. Anyone have any ideas? Any help appreciated. If I can't resolve this I will likely just buy an interface again but it seems like the Helix should be able to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwandering Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 You may want to be more explicit about your signal chain. I record DI and have reamped into the Helix and out to an amp without any issues (though it has been some years since I did that). You need to be sure that the Helix to the amp has the right level. In my experience, though, the Helix DI signal (coming in through USB) is low. Simply sending it back to the Helix didn't cut it. I recall it needed to be boosted first. This seemed antithetical to me since I figured the whole point was to record it and be able to reamp it with the exact levels. (And maybe my helix is defective), but I changed it so I record the DI from a Helix send, and then more recently I get it off of a DI box. And since then I no longer use the Helix as an interface . . . but the point is that the recorded DI signal goes back to the Helix at the right level and everything works as expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1527nick1527 Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 My signal chain is Guitar to helix Recording from usb 7 to track a di Di sent to mono usb3 Usb 3 as start of path one on helix Xlr out set at line level as end of path one Xlr cable to radial jcr Radial jcr to amp input Amp speaker out to fryette ps2a Fryette ps2a xlr out to helix mic on or fryette line out to helix aux in (tried both) That's it What levels do I need to be adjusting? I tried boosting the level of the di going back out to helix as well and it didn't seem to work any better Ive actually done this before except I sent the di to the amp using an interface not the helix and it worked perfectly. It was otherwise the same signal path (di was still tracked by helix). So it seems the issue is in the send from helix to amp part of the chain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 On 5/21/2025 at 2:10 AM, 1527nick1527 said: …. Xlr out set at line level as end of path one Xlr cable to radial jcr Radial jcr to amp input … I would check the levels in this segment of your chain. Is the Radial expecting a line level input? Are the levels of the Radial output to amp input compatible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1527nick1527 Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 On 5/21/2025 at 2:22 PM, silverhead said: I would check the levels in this segment of your chain. Is the Radial expecting a line level input? Are the levels of the Radial output to amp input compatible? Yeah the radial exists to convert line level signal to instrument level for the purpose of reamping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwandering Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 The level I was referring to is that I believe the level of the DI into the DAW from USB 7 is low. Regardless of that, I would use a send block from the Helix to send the DI signal directly to the amp without the reamp box (and of course, make sure the send is at instrument level). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaschaFranck Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 You don't need the Radial in this setup. Just use a send of the Helix to feed your amp. You can set them to instrument level and they're pretty much as if they were made for this purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1527nick1527 Posted May 27 Author Share Posted May 27 On 5/21/2025 at 11:54 PM, rwandering said: The level I was referring to is that I believe the level of the DI into the DAW from USB 7 is low. Regardless of that, I would use a send block from the Helix to send the DI signal directly to the amp without the reamp box (and of course, make sure the send is at instrument level). Yeah this turned out to be it. usb7 tracks di's at a level that is not great for analogue gear. ive now tracked a di using Lane 2 with no blocks and the output set to +6db and to usb5. this gives a di that's comparable to plugging into my audient interface directly. Solved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaschaFranck Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 On 5/28/2025 at 1:15 AM, 1527nick1527 said: Yeah this turned out to be it. usb7 tracks di's at a level that is not great for analogue gear. That's not exactly true. The levels on USB 7/8 are exactly the same levels used by the Helix internally. And when you use a Helix send at instrument level, they're perfectly fine to feed an analogue amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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