I sure wish I did. I just upgraded to the 24 from the 18, but can't get the DAW(Producer 5) to recognize it. I've gone throught the set up and when I get to the 'connect' box, it waits for a few and then goes back to that box.
I had the same problem with the 18, but eventually got it to work, and recorded 3 complete band projects with it. Anyway, I needed to record another client, so I still had the 18 and decided I would hook it back up, but it wouldn't get recognized now, either.ARRGGHHH.I am still waiting for Phonic to get back with me to decide on a solution, possibly sending the 24 in for warranty. I've tried everything I can think of and sure wish the 24 was up and running. I really like the 16 XLR inputs and the subwoofer out. Should make the whole recording and mixing experience a lot better.I DO have some experience with recording on the Phonic/Sonar combo, so if you have any questions after you get started, please don't hesitate.Good Luck TK.
I've had the Phonic Helix 24 MK II since it came out and have been using it with Sonar 7 since that came out? What are your issues?
Feb 07, 2006 I just got a review unit of Phonic's new 18 channel (16 in / 2 out) Firewire mixing board. Very similar to the Alesis.
Maybe I can help. One thing is for sure - I've had driver problems with the Phonic since upgrading from S6 to S7. What I typically have to do when I have these problems is disconnect everything, uninstall all of the Phonic drivers and updates, then reinstall the drivers that came with the CD per the instructions, hook up the board, turn it on, and follow the instructions. Only then install the updated drivers. Also, MANY times lately, SPE7 won't detect the board and after plugging and unplugging and turning the board on and off, I just re-boot the PC, keeping the board plugged in and on (this is all post-driver installation), and let it fully fire up and all seems ok. For some reason the Phonic-S7PE combination seems to require re-booting a lot, but the good news is that it usually works and then will stay connected until at least the next time you turn the board off.
Hope this helps and let me know what specific issues I can help with. It's a great board for the money. They really are alone in offering such a board for well under $1000 and I'm surprised more people don't use it.
I also have a Mackie 1200f and I can't tell the difference. I just figured out what I did to get the 18 to work before and applied it to installing the 24. I hooked up the FW cable FIRST, then turned on the 24, then the PC. The PC's install wizard recognized the new hardware and I went from there.
All is good now and I am off and running again. I am sticking with SPE5 since I did 3 bands and no problems and have heard of these driver problems from others involving SPE7. I have to agree with Tree in saying that the Phonic, once installed, is the best bang for the buck, especially the 24 with 16 XLR's and Subwoofer out. I hooked up a Yamaha sub and this rig ROCKS!!! I can really get a handle on what's happening with the low end in the mixes. Good luck to all and happy recording. Mixed In Key Serial Mac there. I'm not new to Sonar but just upgraded to 7 and have a Quad Core Machine with 4g RAM running Vista.
I just purchased and received the Helix Board 24 Firewire MKII. Downloaded the most recent drivers, installed and everything seems okay except for one question.
When I choose the ASIO driver mode the only INPUT channels on the mixer that are available are Channels 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15. And it's only showing the left output channel??? When I choose the WDM/KS driver mode all the channels are available???? Anyone have an answer for this? I was under the assumption that ASIO drivers are better. Thanks, Joey Love.
I use ASIO drivers and all channels. Make sure you've downloaded the latest drivers from Phonic (they are pretty good about updating them), install, re-boot, and turn on the board (usually helps, but you may not need to re-boot), then open Sonar. Then under options/audio, switch driver type to asio (from WDM). Then close and re-open Sonar and you should have all of the channels - but you need to close out and re-open Sonar in order for the changes in the audio screen to take place. Also, make sure all of the drivers are checked in the audio screen/drivers tab.
Lastly, go to programs/Phonic/Helix 24 MKII control board/driver (or something like that), and there are only a few selections. Click on 'input channels' and make sure you see the 16 channels listed in the big grid in the middle of the screen.
In fact, maybe this should be the first thing you do - if you seen the channels, then the computer is detecting the board, but if you don't, it isn't, and you may need to turn the board off and back on and/or plug/unplug (with it off) and/or re-start until the computer sees the channels. Once it sees the channels and you have checked them all in the the drivers tab of Sonar/audio, and switched the drivers to Asio, and closed and re-opened Sonar (see a pattern here? Problems with the Phonic are often cured by closing and re-opening Sonar and/or turning the board off and back on), each channel, under 'input' should display, to the right, channels 1-15, each with a L, R, and Stereo choice. So, to answer your first question last, if you plug a cable into channel 2 of the board, you can set the input of a Sonar track to that physical input channel/cord by selecting Phonic Channel 1R in a track's Sonar input. So, as long as you find channels 1, 3, 5, 7. 15, with Asio, you are all set.
Even number channels on the board's physical inputs correlate to the channel minus one RIGHT. That's a weird way of saying it, but channel 4 is 3R, channel 16 is 15R, and channel 8 is 7R. All of the 'L' in Sonar correlate to the physical actual number, so channel 7 on the board is 7L in Sonar, channel 3 on the board is 3L in Sonar. Asio is much better than WDM. I can't tell you why, but there are a million people on this forum who can tell you if you really want to know. I hope this helps.
I have a small problem here. ( a little off topic maybee, but im using the helix board so. ) my sonar 7 makes a ticking noise when i play the tracks i have recorded, and wave tracks that i import aswell. (like the sample music from windows for an example). It ticks rapidly and constantly allmost like a crackeling kind of noise that repeats all the time, really loud.
( its not the metronome, im not that newbee ) anyone of you who knows what this might be? And how to solve the problem? And thanks for all your replys here.
It has been wery educational for one who is new to this computer recording. ORIGINAL: kjetilaasboe i have a small problem here. ( a little off topic maybee, but im using the helix board so.
) my sonar 7 makes a ticking noise when i play the tracks i have recorded, and wave tracks that i import aswell. (like the sample music from windows for an example). It ticks rapidly and constantly allmost like a crackeling kind of noise that repeats all the time, really loud. ( its not the metronome, im not that newbee ) anyone of you who knows what this might be? And how to solve the problem? And thanks for all your replys here. It has been wery educational for one who is new to this computer recording.
Like me Sounds like noise. I'll bet you have a inadequate 1394a card.
Digital audio requires a good IEEE 1394a card (what Apple calls Firewire), with a Texas Instruments chipset. Most laptops do not have this kind of hardware (if you're using a laptop). What are you using to connect to the audio box? Sounds like your Phonic latency setting is too low. Make sure your Phonic is set to ASIO drivers (Options/Audio - then second tab 'Driver Mode', there is a pull down menu to select ASIO) and then on the first Options/Audio tab make sure that on the ASIO Panel (press 'ASIO Panel' button) it's buffer size is set to, say 256 or 512 samples (assuming it's currenty set at 128 or lower). If you still get crackles at 512, try 1024, and so on.
NOTE: YOU NEED TO CLOSE OUT OF SONAR AND RESTART EACH TIME YOU RESET THE ASIO BUFFER SIZE TO A NEW SAMPLE SIZE for it to take effect. So, open the panel, reset to 1024, for example, close the panel, close Sonar, then re-open Sonar and try playback again. ALSO NOTE: the larger the sample size, the more latency you will have during recording (time between playing instrument and hearing it). But for just playback, ASIO sample size is irrelevant.
Hello people, I'm new here. I'm looking for a new mixer with computer interface options. This Helix 24 ( or rather the 18 version) is on top of my list (Others are ZED14; NRV10; Alesis Multimix; Onyx) Does anyone know if it is posible with the Helix 24/18 to send a channel through firewire to the computer, Use computer effects on it and return it to the mixer through firewire, and still be able to record the result of the mainmix through firewire? Zed14 does either the one or the other as far as I know. Or does this give endles latency problems?
(any other comment on my wishlist are also welcome). Kjetilaasboe i have a small problem here. ( a little off topic maybee, but im using the helix board so. ) my sonar 7 makes a ticking noise when i play the tracks i have recorded, and wave tracks that i import aswell. (like the sample music from windows for an example). It ticks rapidly and constantly allmost like a crackeling kind of noise that repeats all the time, really loud. ( its not the metronome, im not that newbee ) anyone of you who knows what this might be? Advent 4489 Webcam Drivers more.
And how to solve the problem? And thanks for all your replys here. It has been wery educational for one who is new to this computer recording. Like me It looks like im having the same problem as this. But iv ordered a firewire card with a TI chip.
So we'l see what happens when i stick that in. Its been so frustrating.
The Phonic Helix 18 is a 14 channel mixer that will work with Windows computers running XP service pack 1 and service pack 2 and even Vista computers in 32 and 64 bit. You will just need to have a faster processor for it to work perfectly. These specs are very important with this interface because there are some driver issues and compatibility issues that can come about. UTILIZATION Setting up this interface is quick and easy, it does come with a manual that is easy to follow and understand. This unit is not rackable and does require wall power. You can connect this to you computer via USB or Firewire, but I prefer Firewire because it was a faster and more reliable connection for me on my Windows computer. SOUNDS There are over 100 programs and internal effects processing in this mixer and you can even expand it with daisy chaining 2 of these together to expand.
You can use this with a Mac computer and form my personal experience it will work with just about any Mac running 10.0 or higher OS X. There are no MIDI ports on this unit but you can record up to 16 tracks at the same time. This interface is perfect for a larger set up, possibly to record live instruments with for a band or group. This mixer has never given us any problems out of the dozen or so times that we have used it.
OVERALL OPINION Being that this interface has great preamps and over all sound, the distortion is also very low. I recommend all home studio musicians who want to record a lot of tracks at the same time get this.
It is very affordable for the specs that it has. Even DJ’s will love this mixer and it is should cost more than what it does. It is very powerful and versatile.