Questions for Line6 HX Effects users...

[Kluch]

Hey guys,
contemplating going the hx fx route. As a previous owner of the m13 and m9 I loved the old effects but wanted more pristine fx replacements. Questions I have for all of you who own or have played the unit...
-Has it kept up with your strymon,eventide,etc stuff?
-How are the modulation effects? Specifically the chorus and vibrato?
-Any standout effects? Stuff that makes the unit really shine?
-Any pedals you've kept in addition to using it? and why?

Thanks!

 

[guitarstar2005]

-Has it kept up with your strymon,eventide,etc stuff? Really close-but you could just Midi them together- each has their own sonic 'flavor'- but you could do 90+% with the HX.
-How are the modulation effects? Specifically the chorus and vibrato?- A+- again just a different flavor
-Any standout effects? Stuff that makes the unit really shine? - The new drives and Univibe are exceptional are some of the delays/ reverbs
-Any pedals you've kept in addition to using it? and why? Honestly I have being going without before adding back in... I think the Timmy ( Teemah) is an exceptional drive.

I also have been an m9 user for years... this is a huge step forward- however a steeper learning curve. Not as quick on the fly but you'll get use to it. Cost and performance- no competition to any other brand.

Seriously buy one and work with it and use it live... the footprint and quality is really nice. I should note I own Kemper's, Fractals and Atomic products- this would do well side/ side or in conjunction.

 

[Kluch]

bump for afternoon crew

 

[Pauly B]

Modulations are great. I think the delay/reverbs are 95% Strymon. I kept my El Cap, but I'll never get rid of that.

Also, the drives are outstanding. The OCD is dead on accurate. I sold my Fulltone and a bunch of other pedals. I'm loving it.

 

[-Empire]

-Has it kept up with your strymon,eventide,etc stuff?

The new reverbs do the huge ambient thing just great. They are very lush and big sounding. They are somewhat different sounding (not worse) than the Strymon reverbs, like the cloud, which generally have this bright high end thing by default that is not currently present on Helix's reverbs. You could get there by putting the reverb in a parallel path with an EQ after it if you really wanted, but I haven't found it necessary since the nuances of reverb don't come through in a FOH mix anyway and I actually don't particularly care for the bright strymon thing.

-How are the modulation effects? Specifically the chorus and vibrato?

Excellent. In this video, they toggle between a few different analog pedals and Helix's models, a couple of which are modulation pedals. To avoid confirmation bias, try putting the video in a tab in the background and see if you can hear when they switch between Helix's model and the real thing.

-Any standout effects? Stuff that makes the unit really shine?

Like most people I was very skeptical of digital distortion and such but I am totally blown away by the drives in Helix. They are shockingly accurate. I made this before selling my klon.

-Any pedals you've kept in addition to using it? and why?

Nope. I was able to duplicate all my old pedals close enough, since they were mostly just derivatives of vintage pedals anyway.

If you have a timeline or something like that which you switch between a ton of different presets, you might want to hang onto it just for live flexibility's sake.

 

[mabrooks]

Hey guys,
contemplating going the hx fx route. As a previous owner of the m13 and m9 I loved the old effects but wanted more pristine fx replacements. Questions I have for all of you who own or have played the unit...
-Has it kept up with your strymon,eventide,etc stuff?
-How are the modulation effects? Specifically the chorus and vibrato?
-Any standout effects? Stuff that makes the unit really shine?
-Any pedals you've kept in addition to using it? and why?

Thanks!

-Replaced my Boss 500 series. No ragerts here lol
-Chorus and Vibrato are great, although I'm no aficionado or heavy user of them
-New Reverbs are legit. One of my favorite moves is to out on a dark delay (lo-res from the m series) and a dark reverb (Ganymede-most similar to an RV-5/6 modulate) on the same switch for a great wash settings.
-I took the route of having a board that's half HX effects, half analog pedals. So I kept my Timmy, Honeybee, Micro Pog (which is one thing e HX lacks), volume, and eterna gold. Not because I couldn't get close using the HX, but because I just love those pedals and like adjusting them on the fly. But I replaced a compressor, tuner, boss 500 trio, midi controller, and IR loader with the HX. Selling all that stuff paid for the HX, an MJT body, with another $250 left over. Like I said, no regrets.

 

[reverendmaynard]

I bought mine thinking I could use the HX, H9, Hot Cake, and my Count to 5. It worked for a little while but I missed my other pedals so I have sort of a "super" board with 4 different drives/fuzzes, whammy, ct5, H9, and the HX will serve as my looper and controller. I'm waiting for the desktop editor which will help visually see everything and make things a little easier.

The effects are really amazing. I owned the M9 for years and these effects are wayyyyyy better. There's definitely a learning curve but if you're familiar with the M9 you'll be all set. I still have no idea about Snapshot mode. I've been busy and don't have a ton of time to sit down with it but can say it's a really amazing piece of gear.

 

[mabrooks]

I still have no idea about Snapshot mode. I've been busy and don't have a ton of time to sit down with it but can say it's a really amazing piece of gear.

Here’s the best way I can describe Snapshot mode.

You get your preset setup however you want. You have the effects, which ones are on/off, and their settings. Let’s call that “your pedalboard”.

Now you clone your pedalboard four times over. Same pedals and the same order, but you can toggle the on/off, AND change the settings on each pedal. So you can crank the mix and repeats on the delays, bring the gain down on an overdrive, etc. Each of those pedalboards is a “snapshot”. You can change as few or as many settings as you want from Snapshot to Snapshot, as long as you’re keeping the same board in the same order.

You do this for each of your four “pedalboards” and now you can jump from board to board live seamlessly.

I didn’t understand Snapshot mode at first, but it is the most useful thing I’ve encountered for live use. I set up songs where the four snapshots are Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, or Verse 1, Verse 2, Chorus, Solo, etc. it’s phenomenal.

 

[ShaunzNoiz]

Got mine yesterday. Sold my H9 and my Strymon Riverside for this thing. Took it straight to a sound check and set up 6 quick pedals that I could toggle through just for some cool sounds for the gig. Super easy and worth every penny I spent for it.

 

[xcc]

Digging mine.

The tape delays are close enough to replace the Timeline live, but the analog delays are good but a bit weak next to the real thing.

The verbs are pretty good but I’m keeping the BigSky. Every time I try the verbs I think wow that’s pretty good and then I turn the BigSky on and remember why I’ve kept it around. It depends on your taste though. If I didn’t know any better I’d be happy.

Modulations, including rotary are great compared to the Mobius and H9 that I had. I wish it had a tremolo as thick as the Flint, but it does the job well enough. I don’t use chorus a lot but they’re pretty great.

Some of th dirts are really really good, some are ok, some are either not my cup of tea or redundant. I haven’t liked any of the fuzzes really. The Big Muff is ok.

Standouts for me (don’t have the names memorized yet)

Effects:
Cosmic Delay (space echo)
Particle Verb (always a fave from the M9)
The Klone
Tube Screamer
Leslie 122 (nice grind to it)
Timmy
The Wahs are good
Tape echo is good
A lot of the delays are interesting like multi tap stuff

Functionally, the ability to reorder easily, save different setups and add loops anywhere in the chain are great. I’m looking forward to having a desktop editor soon as well. Also being able to assign a footswitch to control any parameter is awesome, like maxing out the feedback on a delay or switching speeds on the rotary or tremolo. You can also turn on more than one effect at once that way.

I’m keeping some dirt like my Fuzzes and Distortron, my Yellow Comp. I’ll be keeping the FreQout, Charlie Foxtrot and stuff like that. If Line 6 ever decide to add some granular glitchy effects I’ll be thrilled. I also have an Infinite Jets that I’m hoping will be handy in the loop.

 

[((TechnicolorSkyline))]

Digging mine.

The tape delays are close enough to replace the Timeline live, but the analog delays are good but a bit weak next to the real thing.

The verbs are pretty good but I’m keeping the BigSky. Every time I try the verbs I think wow that’s pretty good and then I turn the BigSky on and remember why I’ve kept it around. It depends on your taste though. If I didn’t know any better I’d be happy.

Modulations, including rotary are great compared to the Mobius and H9 that I had. I wish it had a tremolo as thick as the Flint, but it does the job well enough. I don’t use chorus a lot but they’re pretty great.

Some of th dirts are really really good, some are ok, some are either not my cup of tea or redundant. I haven’t liked any of the fuzzes really. The Big Muff is ok.

Standouts for me (don’t have the names memorized yet)

Effects:
Cosmic Delay (space echo)
Particle Verb (always a fave from the M9)
The Klone
Tube Screamer
Leslie 122 (nice grind to it)
Timmy
The Wahs are good
Tape echo is good
A lot of the delays are interesting like multi tap stuff

Functionally, the ability to reorder easily, save different setups and add loops anywhere in the chain are great. I’m looking forward to having a desktop editor soon as well. Also being able to assign a footswitch to control any parameter is awesome, like maxing out the feedback on a delay or switching speeds on the rotary or tremolo. You can also turn on more than one effect at once that way.

I’m keeping some dirt like my Fuzzes and Distortron, my Yellow Comp. I’ll be keeping the FreQout, Charlie Foxtrot and stuff like that. If Line 6 ever decide to add some granular glitchy effects I’ll be thrilled. I also have an Infinite Jets that I’m hoping will be handy in the loop.

My thoughts exactly. I’d like to add too that the looper is phenomenal. My dirt isn’t going anywhere, neither is my El Cap.

 

[xcc]

My thoughts exactly. I’d like to add too that the looper is phenomenal. My dirt isn’t going anywhere, neither is my El Cap.

Oh yeah, forgot about the looper. I love having all the controls laid out and labeled.

 

[theGhost]

Instead of starting a new thread, I thought I would bump this one.

Specifically, I'm wondering if there are any updates from folks in the last couple of months, especially in regards to dirt pedals. The thing seems really impressive in youtube clips, and I think I'll end up replacing the M9 for the added functionality of the HX effects alone (loops, mostly).

But has anyone booted off long-loved dirt pedals since they've gotten the HX?

 

[((TechnicolorSkyline))]

I ended up ditching my HX. I just like my individual pedals better. It really can’t do the Strymon thing, I heavily preferred both the El Cap and DIG over its delays. Same with Reverb, Ventris is just way better although the Line 6 reverbs have come a long way on the HX. Dirt was pretty damn good on the HX, but side by side with the Riverside and Sunset it’s no contest, the Strymon killed the HX when A/B’d together. The noise was the deciding factor for me ditching the HX. I may revisit it down the road when they’ve had a few revisions and/or updates. I do miss that looper!

It really is a fine unit on its own, I’m just a bit of a tone snob and prefer my individual pedals.

 

[theGhost]

I ended up ditching my HX. I just like my individual pedals better. It really can’t do the Strymon thing, I heavily preferred both the El Cap and DIG over its delays. Same with Reverb, Ventris is just way better although the Line 6 reverbs have come a long way on the HX. Dirt was pretty damn good on the HX, but side by side with the Riverside and Sunset it’s no contest, the Strymon killed the HX when A/B’d together. The noise was the deciding factor for me ditching the HX. I may revisit it down the road when they’ve had a few revisions and/or updates. I do miss that looper!

It really is a fine unit on its own, I’m just a bit of a tone snob and prefer my individual pedals.

That makes sense to me... ... AND I do wonder for myself if I care about those things as much. Been rocking the M9 for some 8 years (though a few years in grad school meant I really didn't play much), and I'm mostly just a hobbyist. However, I do appreciate the perspective.

 

[ChipOnly]

I didn't reply before, guess I didn't see it. But I have had an HX for a few months now and I think it's great. I was also a big m9 fan.

I don't have any strymon stuff so can't answer that, but the mods I think are quite good, much better than the m9. The univibe is great. I think the memory man is a standout model too. Dirt is better than m9 too, but not as good as analog tho - my real Timmy isn't going anywhere.

The pedals it didn't replace are overdrives and fuzz, and things I don't want to tie up HX effects with on every patch (like compressor, tho the HX compressors are quite nice) and things HX can't do (polyphonic pitch shift, polyohonic synth9 pedal).

 

[theGhost]

The pedals it didn't replace are overdrives and fuzz, and things I don't want to tie up HX effects with on every patch (like compressor, tho the HX compressors are quite nice) and things HX can't do (polyphonic pitch shift, polyohonic synth9 pedal).

Can you expand on these two points? Have you compared the OD's on the HX to other analog drives?

And I was wondering if, with the fx loops, I could replace my Wampler Ego Comp (I actually quite like the comps on the M9 for what I do, but I don't like putting it after my drives) and a wah when needed. Yet you seem to be saying you don't want a comp on every patch? Are we just different in our needs or is there a deeper reason for not wanting it? (And I figure that, if I keep my dirt pedals in the loop, I wouldn't ever need more than the footswitch-access effects on the HX, which is six, right?)

 

[mitchallhappening]

I've been supremely impressed.

-I anticipated that I would hate the drives, they're actually fantastic. There are several great sounding options that I now use regularly in my set.

-The only thing I've kept on my board other than a tuner is my Fuzzrocious Demon King, which is similar to an OCD. I have a drive in the HX effects (the OCD clone) that I've set up and honestly can't tell a difference. Admittedly, it's staying on the board because I just feel weird about ONLY having the HX. Fashion?

-The modulation effects are outstanding and numerous. My personal fav is the 70's Chorus, which is a pretty accurate replication of the Boss CE-1, to my ears.

-The reverbs are outstanding, I wish there were more of them, though. Coming from the Empress Reverb has me a little spoiled with their abundance of options. The audio quality is every bit as good, and I was pleased to see that Line 6 has added a few more ethereal options in the latest firmware update. I hope there's more wacky settings to come, just because it's fun and I miss the wild stuff that was in the Empress a little bit. From a utilitarian standpoint, I don't use any of those "out there" reverbs for my set, I just enjoy messing with them.

-I hate the tuner, I hate having to hold down a footswitch to access it. So I still have a tuner on my board that I put before the HX. I wish Line 6 put a tuner out on the HX.

FUNNEST effect I'll never use in a serious manner, but spend a lot of time toying with: the GROWLER effect. Super fun.

 

[valvestate]

Can you put this in front of a regular amp like a regular EFX?

My VOX does not have an EFX loop.

 

[david henman]

...my big question is this: can i set up a scene, or pedalboard, using the six switches like this - compressor, overdrive, distortion and three separate delays?