Someone talk me out of getting a HX Stomp

randerson

Buy it.

chrisj1602

UnclePsychosis said:

Given the mental second hand prices I'd buy new, myself. 

I think what’s happened here is that everywhere has recently reduced them to £399, they were £500+ new a few weeks back.

Woodandwires

I am selling a mint condition HXFX for £280

Jota

I want to say that my comment about it changing too much the sound was particulary noticeable with a Deluxe Reveb that was my main amp.

I've been using a different amp (1964 Epiphone Pathfinder) and I actually like what the Stomp does to the sound on this amp.

tone1

Ok.... Well I’ve taken the plunge on a used one from the lovely @chrisj1602 so expect lots of swearing by the end of the week when I can’t fly the bloody thing.....and then get fed up and go back to looking at various pedals in classifieds again...I did love my M5/9 so I’m hopeful, and it will fit my very small (and only) board....

chrisj1602

tone1 said:

Ok.... Well I’ve taken the plunge on a used one from the lovely @chrisj1602 so expect lots of swearing by the end of the week when I can’t fly the bloody thing.....and then get fed up and go back to looking at various pedals in classifieds again...I did love my M5/9 so I’m hopeful, and it will fit my very small (and only) board....

Hope it you enjoy it! Editing on the pedal is fine, but HX Edit is really easy, it’s brilliant.

cgumtree

I also took the plunge and bought an HX Stomp. Finding it fairly easy to use after a couple of hours play, but haven't tried HX Edit, yet. Would rather avoid adding yet more cables to the setup if possible! I found watching a couple of the Line 6 tutorial videos on Youtube were enough to get me going.

One limitation I wasn't expecting was the fact that I ran out of DSP in some cases. When I went to add certain blocks into the chain, some of the effects weren't available (greyed out in the list). Googling told me the other Helix's have 2 DSPs vs. the Stomp's 1. So the problem for me hasn't been the lack of blocks, but the number of DSPs.

Not going to be an issue for me in practice as I'm happy with amp + delay + reverb + cab for the most part. 

@tone1 the next question you're going to be asking is what do I run it through. I've tried into the fx return loop of an amp, which wasn't that great. For now I'm using headphones - Bose Quietcomfort, which are sounding ok to me, but obviously not designed for this purpose. I'm now going down the rabbit hole of studio monitors, studio headphones and frfr cabs. It's a rabbit hole!

Overall, though, no regrets with the purchase. It's a very good bit of kit, and I've been through most of the Pod stuff over the last 20 years.

tone1

@cgumtree you sound just like me. I’ll use mine probably just for the odd effect... and not use the computer for editing. But I’m thinking mmm..studio monitors...

cgumtree

tone1 said:

@cgumtree you sound just like me. I’ll use mine probably just for the odd effect... and not use the computer for editing. But I’m thinking mmm..studio monitors...

Yeah, I bought it with the intention of running it into the fx loop of an amp for reverb and delay only, but seems a shame not to see what else it's capable of. You'll have fun with it I'm sure!

tone1

So, can I use an expression pedal and an additional foot switch with the stomp or is it one or the other? There are gonna be lots of questions so prepare yourselves 

Jota

tone1 said:

So, can I use an expression pedal and an additional foot switch with the stomp or is it one or the other? There are gonna be lots of questions so prepare yourselves 

You can use 1 expression and one additional footswitch or 2 additional footswitches or 2 expression pedals.

tone1

So, I’ve worked out how to build a patch so far. I’m loving the Hedgehog drive which is based on a maxon  SD9 and the red squeeze compressor is great.... I’m never going to use 1/100,000,000 of what it can do, and I’ve had to move it to desktop level as the bending down ain’t good for my back....

DaiB

Whilst not an HX Stomp, I’ve got a Headrush Gigboard that I was running into the fx return of my Marshall DSL1 head and then into my cab with a Celestion Greenback. I wasn’t loving it and considered getting rid and I was also wondering about monitors, FRFR, maybe getting a new Katana with the power amp in. However a couple of weeks ago I bought a relatively cheap set of studio monitors (Presonus 4.5) and, for me, it has made a massive difference. I only play at home and you can get a great tone at low volume. Added bonus is that my Tech 21 Liverpool sounds amazing plugged straight in to them.

TheBigDipper

DaiB said:

Whilst not an HX Stomp, I’ve got a Headrush Gigboard that I was running into the fx return of my Marshall DSL1 head and then into my cab with a Celestion Greenback. I wasn’t loving it and considered getting rid and I was also wondering about monitors, FRFR, maybe getting a new Katana with the power amp in. However a couple of weeks ago I bought a relatively cheap set of studio monitors (Presonus 4.5) and, for me, it has made a massive difference. I only play at home and you can get a great tone at low volume. Added bonus is that my Tech 21 Liverpool sounds amazing plugged straight in to them.

I sold my Gigboard recently. Nothing wrong with it, just that I bought it for a specific amp-free project that never got started and I didn't need it sitting on a shelf taking up space. I prefer amps into guitar cabs. In my case, with an HX FX. 

If you don't need the small size of a Stomp, but like the idea of one, then I'd suggest giving the Gigboard a try. The workflow of a Headrush is far easier (IMHO) than Line 6. It doesn't have an editor on a computer because you really don't need one. The sounds you can get through an FRFR setup are very good indeed. If I'd been looking for a home-only solution, or been happy to gig with an FRFR or similar, I'd have kept it. 

There's a thread I started earlier this year with more info if anyone's interested...

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/172510/nmfxd-headrush-gigboard-from-an-hx-fx-perspective#latest

tone1

Jota said:

tone1 said:

So, can I use an expression pedal and an additional foot switch with the stomp or is it one or the other? There are gonna be lots of questions so prepare yourselves 

You can use 1 expression and one additional footswitch or 2 additional footswitches or 2 expression pedals.

Thanks @Jota ;

I think they missed a trick here... I’d like additional foot switches x2 or more and an expression pedal 

tone1

I’ve just also worked out how to assign an additional switch to completely bypass it altogether....

russpm

Don’t do it man! 

Jota

tone1 said:

Jota said:

tone1 said:

So, can I use an expression pedal and an additional foot switch with the stomp or is it one or the other? There are gonna be lots of questions so prepare yourselves 

You can use 1 expression and one additional footswitch or 2 additional footswitches or 2 expression pedals.

Thanks @Jota ;

I think they missed a trick here... I’d like additional foot switches x2 or more and an expression pedal 

Only way to do it is adding a Disaster Area Midi Baby. That's what I use.

You can have the 2 button aux switch, 3 extra functions with the Midi Baby (short click, long click and longer click) and an expression input.

tone1

Mmm. I think Midi maybe a bit much for me to get my head around at the moment... perhaps I’ll try and get to grips with the stomp first....

LightB4sound

I did my HX stomp. Was a great unit but it has to go. I made a video explaining why if anyone is interested