Recording effects on a Phonic Helix mk2

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DaWeave

New member
Hi, new to posting on these boards so be nice!

i just bought a phonic helix mark2 for my studio- i have it set up as an aggregate device with an FA101 on my mac. i got it because i want to use some external compressors etc to warm up the sound. i've got it all working, apart from i cant record any external processors (or the internal effects) via firewire. i have the post switches set up, and can record faders/ eq etc but no effects units get recorded. is there any way to do this? if not i guess i just wasted a ton of cash!
ta
 
Also record the aux3 (fx). The fx aux is a bus, it's not specific to the channel. You could have all channels using the fx bus simultaneously, and the aux3 output will have ONLY the reverb (no dry signal) for ALL tracks that are using it. If you want to record fx for only one channel, make sure you turn the aux3/fx pots off for all the other channels. Yeah you have to record an extra track, but that's how busses work.... You can always bounce them into one track after you get em into the daw. Plus, it's good for if you [over|under]-fx a track, because you can re-mix the reverb and dry signals back together. Too much reverb? No prob, just turn it down in the mix!

Oh, and if the aux3 doesnt come across the firewire, just run it back into one of the mono tracks with a patch cable. Just make sure you have the aux3 pot OFF for that channel or you'll end up with a feedback loop.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. so you think the only way i can record external (or internal) effects is by routing the signal back into the FA101 soundcard using a patch cable? Thats a shame, i had hoped to be able to record all the effected tracks individually into my DAW using the firewire on the Phonic. without that i guess I'll have to just use its analogue capacity..
 
Did you try recording the Main channel? It will stream whatever you have going to the Mains. Albeit, if you are recording multiple tracks at once, it will stream them as one stereo track. But if you're recording just one track at a time, then it will do what you want.
 
DaWeave said:
Hi, thanks for the reply. so you think the only way i can record external (or internal) effects is by routing the signal back into the FA101 soundcard using a patch cable? Thats a shame, i had hoped to be able to record all the effected tracks individually into my DAW using the firewire on the Phonic. without that i guess I'll have to just use its analogue capacity..
Click to expand...

yeah, but the aux3 fx isn't specific to ONE track, the aux3 return is automatically routed to the mains, not back to the channel strip. That's why it's impossible to record it with the track. That's a good thing tho: your free plugins are better than the phonic's fx anyway, so let the singer track it while hearing the phonic fx, and record the dry signal. Use free plugins to add fx in the mix. If you want a dryer signal and you recorded it wet, you're screwed.
 
hi
thanks for your replies. yes, i can record the main outs effected, just no groups or individual channels. shame, i thought it would make things versatile to be able to use the firewire capabilities to get everything back in my DAW. my old analogue mixer is better than this one too, so i guess i'll have to put the phonic on the 'bay!
ta
 
Does teh Phonic even have a compressor in the onboard effects. I have an older model and it doesn't have a compressor effect, just reverbs and delays.

If you have an outboard compressor, run it as an insert on your channel, then it will get recorded with that channel.

However, unless you have wild or extreme dynamics, common wisdom says it is better not to have any compression on your incoming signal. Just record your audio raw to your computer then put compression on your track, as needed, during mixdown. If you're using it to "sweeten" the sound, then it will work just as nicely after it's recorded as it would before it is recorded. But whatever you record is permanent (or you have to retrack) and you won't know how much compression or other effects you're going to need until you mixdown to 2-channel mix. If you've got compression on your audio going in, it's permanent and maybe not the right thing to do. You won't know until you mix down and then it's too late.

So, record raw with no processing or effects and add that when you mix all the tracks down.
 
Hey chili! There is no phonic helix mixer that has onboard compression. I had the helix18 mkii, and now a helix 18 universal (has usb AND fw, otherwise identical to the mkii) Remember when I was whining about my helix puking? Well it was 2.8 years into a 3-year warranty, but since they don't make em anymore, they sent me a brand new 18U. saahweeeeet :D AND I still have an original helix 18 with the eq....

Anyway, if you wanna record outboard fx: send it to an aux (1 or 2). Run the aux send into your fx. Run the fx output back into some channel, use the stereo 9/10 11/12 or 13/14 if your fx come out stereo.. Whaddya mean "ebay", you have 16 channels, USE EM! These phonics kick ass, haters be damned.. What else you got plugged into all those inputs! If you can, set the fx to return a completely 100% wet signal back, with NO dry signal included. Then you can mix your original dry track and the pure fx track any way you want, it's too smooth..
 
Cool Suprstar. Yeah, I've been having a lot of problems with mine lately. Very frustrating because it has been solid all these years. Turns out, my model is too old and they didn't update the driver for Win7, which I recently upgraded to. I'm going to do a little rewiring and run this thing through my Lavry's as a regular mixer. I consider my investment in this unit fully returned because I've had it for quite a long time and it has worked so well.

I still say if the OP needs to use an outboard compressor, he should go through the inserts. But, ya know... inserts, Aux, it all gets there one way or the other.
 
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