Do I 'need' a Line 6 HX Effects?

markslade07

|'m currently playing through a fairly recently acquired Line 6 M13, and whilst I like a lot of the non-drive sounds, the overdrive ones aren't perhaps as great as they could be. I've recently sold a guitar so have a few £ burning a hole so is it worth the upgrade to a HX Effects? I haven't got enough dosh to get to a Helix LT so that's a non-starter...unless the wisdom is to save up and get one of those when I can?

Are the drives considerably better on the HX Effects than the M13 and is the dosh worth it? Is this just GAS talking?!

Jalapeno

(of course you do !)

Legionreturns

You get all the M series effects with the HXFX as well as a ton of new ones, and some seriously good I/O options. Plus 9 effects at a time. 

Definitely a step up. 

koss59

I bought one a few months ago. After being a snob of so long using a Klon and KOT etc etc I don’t miss real pedals. I sound just as good on a gig using the Timmy model as the KOT sounded.
Plus there is a KOT in th next update.
It all depends if you’re gonna gig with it or sit in a bedroom wondering if the drive sounds are as good as the latest boutique pedal that came out.

ftumch

I've got the hx and it's an amazing bit of kit. Superb usability, initially I was happy with the od tones but have found at live volume in a band mix they lack something so I'm using my drive pedals (OCD, pork loin, riot) in the hx loop. It's a great setup but my point is if your getting it specifically for the drives maybe try one in anger first. Low gain in the hx sounds much better to my ears. 

Teacherphil

I bought one a few weeks ago then sold it. It sounded OK but I wouldn't trust it in a gig situation. The buttons are too close together (I could press 4 at once) and if you rest your foot on them it goes into a different menu. I need pedals that I can stomp on without worrying about. I loved the different drive sounds but they just weren't quite the same thing when playing through a valve amp. Saying that, my pedal board only has a tuner, boost and 2 drives on it, all to push the slightly driven valve amp. If you run a clean amp with lots of effects you might like it.

markslade07

Jalapeno said:

(of course you do !)

This is kind of what I thought!

thecolourbox

I had an HX Effects but apart from the Fuzz Factory and Bit Crusher on the HX, I found I much preferred the legacy M Series drives to be honest

YMMV different strokes etc

markslade07

Legionreturns said:

You get all the M series effects with the HXFX as well as a ton of new ones, and some seriously good I/O options. Plus 9 effects at a time. 

Definitely a step up. 

9 effects at a time is certainly a step up...it's not often I need lots but the 4 at a time on the M13 can mean a bit more thought.

koss59 said:

I bought one a few months ago. After being a snob of so long using a Klon and KOT etc etc I don’t miss real pedals. I sound just as good on a gig using the Timmy model as the KOT sounded.
Plus there is a KOT in th next update.
It all depends if you’re gonna gig with it or sit in a bedroom wondering if the drive sounds are as good as the latest boutique pedal that came out.

Definitely gigging with it...I'm not a drive snob by any stretch of the imagination, but I was partial to my Klon Klone (stupidly sold!) so if it can get close, it's definitely worth more consideration

ftumch said:

I've got the hx and it's an amazing bit of kit. Superb usability, initially I was happy with the od tones but have found at live volume in a band mix they lack something so I'm using my drive pedals (OCD, pork loin, riot) in the hx loop. It's a great setup but my point is if your getting it specifically for the drives maybe try one in anger first. Low gain in the hx sounds much better to my ears. 

Yep, same with the M13, drives seem fine at home, but once at rehearsal it doesn't sound as good. But...if they are 'close enough'.......

Teacherphil said:

I bought one a few weeks ago then sold it. It sounded OK but I wouldn't trust it in a gig situation. The buttons are too close together (I could press 4 at once) and if you rest your foot on them it goes into a different menu. I need pedals that I can stomp on without worrying about. I loved the different drive sounds but they just weren't quite the same thing when playing through a valve amp. Saying that, my pedal board only has a tuner, boost and 2 drives on it, all to push the slightly driven valve amp. If you run a clean amp with lots of effects you might like it.

Interesting...wonder if anyone else has had that issue of steeping on a few at a time...I'm not the most careful player! I play ion a covers band so need to be able to do all sorts of things/ sounds

digitalscream

Teacherphil said:

...and if you rest your foot on them it goes into a different menu. 

Should've read the manual, or just taken a look at the setup page. You can change that behaviour, or remove it completely.

markslade07

Seems the positives are outweighing the negatives at the minute so think I’m going to keep an eye on the classifieds!

Beexter

koss59 said:

I bought one a few months ago. After being a snob of so long using a Klon and KOT etc etc I don’t miss real pedals. I sound just as good on a gig using the Timmy model as the KOT sounded.
Plus there is a KOT in th next update.
It all depends if you’re gonna gig with it or sit in a bedroom wondering if the drive sounds are as good as the latest boutique pedal that came out.

Definitely gigging with it...I'm not a drive snob by any stretch of the imagination, but I was partial to my Klon Klone (stupidly sold!) so if it can get close, it's definitely worth more consideration

ftumch said:

I've got the hx and it's an amazing bit of kit. Superb usability, initially I was happy with the od tones but have found at live volume in a band mix they lack something so I'm using my drive pedals (OCD, pork loin, riot) in the hx loop. It's a great setup but my point is if your getting it specifically for the drives maybe try one in anger first. Low gain in the hx sounds much better to my ears. 

Yep, same with the M13, drives seem fine at home, but once at rehearsal it doesn't sound as good. But...if they are 'close enough'.......

Teacherphil said:

I bought one a few weeks ago then sold it. It sounded OK but I wouldn't trust it in a gig situation. The buttons are too close together (I could press 4 at once) and if you rest your foot on them it goes into a different menu. I need pedals that I can stomp on without worrying about. I loved the different drive sounds but they just weren't quite the same thing when playing through a valve amp. Saying that, my pedal board only has a tuner, boost and 2 drives on it, all to push the slightly driven valve amp. If you run a clean amp with lots of effects you might like it.

Interesting...wonder if anyone else has had that issue of steeping on a few at a time...I'm not the most careful player! I play ion a covers band so need to be able to do all sorts of things/ sounds

I used to use a Wampler Tumnus as a lead boost in front of the HX FX but found the Klon model in the HX works just as well. I find the drives in the HX to be perfectly fine overall.
The flexibility of routing and choice of effects open up all sorts of possibilities. 

Jalapeno

markslade07 said:

Interesting...wonder if anyone else has had that issue of steeping on a few at a time...I'm not the most careful player! I play ion a covers band so need to be able to do all sorts of things/ sounds

sticking a load of 1590a pedals next to each other (eg. 7 on a PedalTrain Nano)  means it's really hard to hit just one, it can't be as hard as that !

markslade07

Jalapeno said:

markslade07 said:

Interesting...wonder if anyone else has had that issue of steeping on a few at a time...I'm not the most careful player! I play ion a covers band so need to be able to do all sorts of things/ sounds

sticking a load of 1590a pedals next to each other (eg. 7 on a PedalTrain Nano)  means it's really hard to hit just one, it can't be as hard as that !

Good point! 

SamCarnival

I've spoken very highly of the HX FX before, and it is fantastic. I had a board full of boutique and expensive stuff, got a HX FX at Christmas and promptly sold all the other stuff and now use the HX FX and a Hudson Dual Broadcast in it's loop. The drives in it really are great (I'm not a high gain user so can't really speak in regards to them) and delays and reverb knocked a BigSky and Timeline off my board. The modulation effects are outstanding as can be expected.. A lot of Nashville guys are now using these which speaks volumes really.

My favourite thing about it is that you can go as deep into it as you want. Set it up and have 6 stomp box type effects and be done with it, programme all the songs in your setlist into the banks, go down the midi route with channel switching etc, use it as a hub for a bigger board, the list goes on and on. Almost infinitely flexible 

I know a lot of people have doubts about the drives.. I tend to use a Broadcast (or any preamp/drive - Lightspeed, Timmy etc etc) in the loop (Low gain side always on, and then the high gain side is always there if I want fuzz or more gain), which I then put drives before or after to shape however I want. Need a solo tone to cut through, pop the Klon style drive before it, and a volume boost after! I was told by a friend and he made me very aware that the thing with HX FX is EQ, and I think that's why people struggle with it when they get to rehearsal or gig volumes. Book a rehearsal room for an hour or 2, take your set up, and play.. Also, if you don't like the drives, use 'real' ones and use the HX FX for everything else!?

I 100% recommend it!  

markslade07

SamCarnival said:

I've spoken very highly of the HX FX before, and it is fantastic. I had a board full of boutique and expensive stuff, got a HX FX at Christmas and promptly sold all the other stuff and now use the HX FX and a Hudson Dual Broadcast in it's loop. The drives in it really are great (I'm not a high gain user so can't really speak in regards to them) and delays and reverb knocked a BigSky and Timeline off my board. The modulation effects are outstanding as can be expected.. A lot of Nashville guys are now using these which speaks volumes really.

My favourite thing about it is that you can go as deep into it as you want. Set it up and have 6 stomp box type effects and be done with it, programme all the songs in your setlist into the banks, go down the midi route with channel switching etc, use it as a hub for a bigger board, the list goes on and on. Almost infinitely flexible 

I know a lot of people have doubts about the drives.. I tend to use a Broadcast (or any preamp/drive - Lightspeed, Timmy etc etc) in the loop (Low gain side always on, and then the high gain side is always there if I want fuzz or more gain), which I then put drives before or after to shape however I want. Need a solo tone to cut through, pop the Klon style drive before it, and a volume boost after! I was told by a friend and he made me very aware that the thing with HX FX is EQ, and I think that's why people struggle with it when they get to rehearsal or gig volumes. Book a rehearsal room for an hour or 2, take your set up, and play.. Also, if you don't like the drives, use 'real' ones and use the HX FX for everything else!?

I 100% recommend it!  

Great review...nice one! I think that's the thing, you need time to be able to set it all up and play, preferably at volume so it will work in a gig situation. Definitely tempted now!

Vaiai

I use a LT and gig most weekends - if it's covers (same here!) - grab the Michael Britt pack and use them as base sounds - they are set up for single sounds and through a PA so they work at volume nicely - he also gives you his IRs as well for less that £30 I think?

Before you do any of the IR stuff tho - just try it as you would pedals - I'm tempted to just use HX instead of LT now as I don't have too many sounds to jump between but as with most modelling stuff you have the option to do a LOT more.

@markslade07 covers it tho - I like mine best thru PA but in smaller gigs I use it in the FX return of a Katana (backup there if needed!) 

They are fantastic for gigging players and a lot less hassle for teardown etc - and you can just grab an HX and go to rehearsal with it in your guitar gig bag.

markslade07

Well, I decided to take the plunge....got one incoming today....

TheBigDipper

I've had an HX FX for a few months now. I'm not using any other pedals. I'm focused on making this work. At band/drummer volumes I'm using an AMP1, so there are several voices in the amp  for basic tones that I'm selecting from the HX using MIDI. The amp gives me crunch and edge of breakup sounds, not the HX. 

I'm using it with a conventional split between "in front of the amp" and "in the effects loop" 4CM setup and getting results I'm happy with. I'm using their versions of a Timmy and an OCD for drives. There's also an Obsidian preamp model that is very flexible. 

Something I really like is the way I can put a drive pedal and then an EQ pedal and gain staging into the chain and tie them to the one button in stomp mode. Having the drive at really high volumes to get the basic tone, then shaping the EQ and taming the gain so it isn't louder than everything else on just one button. With a real OCD, the best tones were just too loud. 

markslade07

Holy shit this thing is good! And really easy to get a new patch set up! 

ESBlonde

OK DHL have delivered a HX Effects to home, I can't wait to get home a fiddle with it.

Last weekend my old Boss RCL-10 comp/gate went crackly so I thought about just replacing it. A straight swap is not practical since they haven't made them for years and something flexible starts getting expensive. I toyed with using one of my redundant rack comps which are nice and flexible, but more stuff to carry and link up all the time.

So rather than spend £200+ on a comp pedal I invested in a complete FX solution.

I've got a family wedding this weekend, so no gig. That should give me enough time to iron out some bugs before the Gay Pride gig on the 29th.

Watch this space.