I finally unplugged from my HX Effects and went straight in to my amp.....

[michael.e]

3 minutes and I plugged it back in. We have gotten to the point with tech that if you want the variety and different flavors and tones, the unit you plug in to before the amp is irrelevant.

I get the "purity" of the tone. It makes no difference when plugging in to this HX unit. I have had more suck from my 2k pedalboard of the past.

Anyway, get with the program. There is nothing more noble with only plugging straight in.

 

[DeadLazy]

Not subscribing to any concept of nobility, the idea is not that it was about noise or hum. The idea is just you playing your guitar and not using any FX. Your purity as a player.

I don’t care what you do. Just saying noise was never the sentiment behind that idea.

 

[michael.e]

Not subscribing to any concept of nobility, the idea is not that it was about noise or hum. The idea is just you playing your guitar and not using any FX. Your purity as a player.

I don’t care what you do. Just saying noise was never the sentiment behind that idea.

Hmm, not talking about noise. Not at all.

 

[Platevolt]

3 minutes and I plugged it back in. We have gotten to the point with tech that if you want the variety and different flavors and tones, the unit you plug in to before the amp is irrelevant.

I get the "purity" of the tone. It makes no difference when plugging in to this HX unit. I have had more suck from my 2k pedalboard of the past.

Anyway, get with the program. There is nothing more noble with only plugging straight in.

Only you can prevent forest fires!

 

[Slooper29]

I agree that current digital gear is great. However, I think playing guitar > amp will help you develop volume control, dynamics, more conscious playing, etc. More so if you play with other people. There’s a time and place for both.

 

[DeadLazy]

Hmm, not talking about noise. Not at all.

Tone suck or whatever, you missed the point.

To some it’s the idea of “not needing them” and view it like a climber that doesn’t use a rope. Some people view FX as a crutch; A safety net to disguise poor technique.

You’ll get over it.

 

[BrownNote71]

Tone suck is only one possible downside.
Latency with digital can be hard to overcome - and guitarists have different levels of preference around that.

 

[dronerstone]

Dude, clickbait much? Hahaha!

Anyway, I fully agree. The HX FX sounds stellar.

 

[Mac70]

Better late than never.

 

[LaXu]

Tone suck is only one possible downside.
Latency with digital can be hard to overcome - and guitarists have different levels of preference around that.

The latency at least on the Helix Floor was so negligible that even running it in 4CM was a total non-issue. If you really wanted to be a stickler about it you could tell a difference but compared to getting a whole pile of fx to play with it just becomes irrelevant.

Similarly tone suck is only a thing if you have ****** cables or you set up loop levels wrong. A decibel meter is useful so you are comparing the same volume because even a 3dB drop (about the smallest difference you can perceive as "that's less/more loud") is perceived as "worse sounding" just because it's quieter.

While there are pedals out there that do change the output sound even with the effect disabled, modern modelers are not those.

 

[MKB]

And of course if anyone objects to latency or tone suck in the HX Effects, it has a hard bypass mode that uses a relay.

I'm beginning to think that the HX Effects is maybe the best thing Line 6 has ever made. It does so much so right.

 

[michael.e]

Tone suck or whatever, you missed the point.

To some it’s the idea of “not needing them” and view it like a climber that doesn’t use a rope. Some people view FX as a crutch; A safety net to disguise poor technique.

You’ll get over it.

I was actually a free soloist for a good number of years. Old and fat now.

 

[DeadLazy]

I’ve gotten more latency running even a modest pedalboard that will need buffered. I haven’t had any latency issues with recent digital gear.

 

[madmarcus1960]

Not everyone that use a good amount of effect has poor technique. Sometimes you need to develop techniques to use the capability of your effect. Example, The Edge. Legato players need sustain, sometime a amp/guitar combo on its own cannot provide the amount needed, so light fuzz, compressor, etc. helps get the performance done. Not exactly a cut and dry opinion, I'm afraid.
Do some people use a lot of effects to covers limited abilities, sure. The concept is as old as.....modern FXs.

 

[DeadLazy]

I was actually a free soloist for a good number of years. Old and fat now.

I like climbers and their mentality, rope or not. I love movies about Alpinism, too.

But I’ll just chill out and play my guitar and watch from a distance, thank you very much.

And camping sucks….

 

[mbenigni]

I read the OP three times and I still can't tell whether it's pro- or anti-HXFX, or pro- or anti- guitar->cable->amp. But it did manage to generate a page of replies (including this one), and counting.

Man, we're bored. I think we could all use a hobby. Maybe I'll take up the accordian...

 

[DeadLazy]

I read the OP three times and I still can't tell whether it's pro- or anti-HXFX, or pro- or anti- guitar->cable->amp. But it did manage to generate a page of replies (including this one), and counting.

Man, we're bored. I think we could all use a hobby. Maybe I'll take up the accordian...

Climbers don’t need to make sense, they just be.

 

[Antipodes]

Similarly tone suck is only a thing if you have ****** cables or you set up loop levels wrong. A decibel meter is useful so you are comparing the same volume because even a 3dB drop (about the smallest difference you can perceive as "that's less/more loud") is perceived as "worse sounding" just because it's quieter.

Whoa there. 3db down is half power. If you have a stereo playing and you pull the lead out of one speaker, the volume drop you hear is 3dB. That is much more than the lowest volume change people can perceive.

 

[creative360]

Other than price why an HX vs Stomp or Stomp XL? Or good old M13?

Back when those M's were ubiquitous, it was its own kind of anti-elitist purism. No finicky vintage pedals or dodgy board wiring and they sounded really good.

But that said, for years and years my home / studio rig was old strat > old Tube Screamer boost > 50s Valco amp on like three. Holy grail .. And since nothing ever really changed or needed to be adjusted .. the playing mindset not just the tone was a whole other kind of zen purism that .. must impact the music making experience. Plus playing with zero wet and still finding nuance and grace is a beautiful thing.

I fully agree with Deadlazy’s point (that I'm probably missing), that guitar to amp or as minimal as possible is a route to a different kind of mojo. Anyone with access to a special amp knows it. But with digital, slathering on effects has became so automatic that .. you don’t hear too much about going without. Maybe Buddy Guy and Jimmy Vaughn ..

 

[LaXu]

Whoa there. 3db down is half power. If you have a stereo playing and you pull the lead out of one speaker, the volume drop you hear is 3dB. That is much more than the lowest volume change people can perceive.

Try with a decibel meter and you will have a tough time hearing a difference in 1-2 dB change.