Manual

45
DI Recording and Re-amplification
A common DAW recording technique is to record a dry DI (Direct Input) signal, such
as the unprocessed signal from your guitar, Variax or mic, along with your mic'ed or
processed tone. This allows you to process the DI track later with plug-ins (such as the
Line 6 POD
®
Farm Plug-In), and/or "re-amplify" the DI track through an amp or other
outboard gear. Helix has handy options built right in for recording DI tracks, as well as
for easy re-amplication of DI tracks back through your own Helix tones, all without
extra hardware or cabling!
Helix oers two special DI outputs, USB Outs 7 and 8, which appear as available op-
tions within your DAW software track input menus. These two dedicated USB Outs
are tapped directly from the Helix input sources of your choice. To congure the Helix
input source for each, go to Global Settings > Ins/Outs > Re-amp Src (USB 7) and
Re-amp Src (USB 8), where you can select Guitar, Aux, Variax, Variax Mags or Mic:
Ins/Out
s
MIDI/T
emp
o
D
i
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Footsw
i
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Inf
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Global Settings
Volume Knob
Controls
44.1kHzS/PDIFMultiMultiMic
Guitar
Sample
Rate
Digital
Output
Headphones
Monitor
Re-amp Src
(USB 7)
Re-amp Src
(USB 8)
Ins/Outs
Ins/Outs
Recording a Dry DI Track
For this example, we'll record guitar into two DAW tracks simultaneously, with one
capturing the Helix-processed tone and the other the unprocessed DI guitar.
1. In the Helix Global Settings>Ins/Outs>Page 3 screen, set
Re-amp Src (USB 7) to "Guitar" (as shown above).
2. Dial in your desired Helix tone, while keeping the Helix Input
and Output blocks both set to the default "Multi" setting.
3. Create two new audio tracks in your DAW software project:
Create one mono track to record the dry DI guitar, and set the track's input
to Helix USB 7.
Create one stereo track to record your full, stereo Helix-processed tone and
set the track's input to Helix USB 1/2.
GUITAR IN
USB
DRY DI GUITAR
PROCESSED GUITAR
TRACK 1 (Dry DI Guitar)
TRACK 2 (Processed Guitar)
16B Dream Rig Duet
FeedbackTime
[37%]
Delay Harmony Delay
LevelMixKeyScale
0.0 dB40%MinorD1/8
4. Set both tracks' outputs, as well as the DAW Master output,
to Helix USB 1/2 to allow all tracks to play back through Helix.
NOTE: Setting the stereo track's output to Helix USB 1/2 allows you to hear
your Helix-processed tone via the Helix hardware monitoring while record-
ing. For this conguration, disable software monitoring on all DAW tracks.
5. Arm both these DAW audio tracks, hit the Record button and
start laying down your guitar performance!
Now you have your Helix-processed track to hear with the project, and a separate DI
track with which you can further experiment at any time with DAW plug-ins and/or re-
amping (see the next section).
Re-amping Through Helix
If your DAW software provides options for routing individual audio tracks to outputs
other than just the main Helix USB Out 1/2, then you can use these steps for re-amp-
ing a dry recorded DI track back through Helix.
1. In your DAW software, set the DI track's Output setting to a
Helix stereo USB Out other than USB Out 1/2. For this example
we'll use Helix USB Out 3/4.
2. Create a new stereo track in your DAW project and set this
track's Input and Output both to USB 1/2 - Let's name this
track "Re-amped." Arm the track for recording.
NOTE: In some DAW software it may be necessary to also activate the
software monitoring feature on this "re-amped" track to monitor the Helix-
processed signal when playing back your project. See your software's docu-
mentation.