Helix Stomp XL leaked?

UnclePsychosis

digitalscream said:

Yeah...leaked from Zzounds. I would definitely have bought one of these if it came out a couple of months ago (no need, now that I have the MP-2 rack). Something half way between the Stomp and the LT is exactly the right form factor for me, without the expression pedal.

The only thing they screwed up, in my opinion, is the arrangement of the buttons. For optimal ergonomics, I'm pretty sure the bottom row should've been A, B, C, D, TAP and the top row should be UP, DOWN, MODE - on the simple principle that the buttons used most often should be easiest to get to.

I imagine the footswitches will all be reassignable anyway. 

I quite fancy another stomp, maybe there'll be more second hand ones now :-D

Gassage

Jetfire said:

It's official apparently

HX Stomp XL FAQ

So it’s just… HX Stomp, but with more touch footswitches and all the jacks on the back? For $150 more?

Yes.

…Why?

Because customers asked for more switches. Or kept finding clever—but way less elegant or integrated—ways to add more switches. And it was relatively easy. We’re not going to pretend it’s the most innovative product we’ve ever designed but for some customers, it’s the goldilocks form factor.

Thanks, but my personal needs require a Variax input, twice the DSP, and six switches, not eight. Why didn’t you give me exactly what I want?

<exasperated sigh>

So it’s like the size of two HX Stomps?

If you omit the space required for jacks on the side (even pancake jacks), more like 1-2/3 Stomps. It’s 12.5” wide (vs. HX Stomp’s 7” width). Depth and height are virtually identical.

Does it add anything else?

Hands-free Pedal Edit mode (tweak presets with your feet), 128 presets vs.126, four snapshots per preset vs. three, and you can access the 6 Switch Looper without needing a MIDI controller. Other than that, it is HX Stomp with 5 extra switches.

Does it have the Command Center?

Absolutely. In fact, a big reason HX Stomp got the Command Center in 3.0 is because we had already done the work for HX Stomp XL. It makes a killer master MIDI/QWERTY controller for your entire pedalboard.

 

Wait, what happened to the Volume knob?

We moved it to the back panel to save room. It’s spring loaded so you can recess it into the chassis to keep your cables from accidentally turning it.

Can I use third-party power supplies?

Yes. Any power supply that works with HX Stomp should work fine with HX Stomp XL.

Can it load HX Stomp presets?

Yep, just drag ‘em in via HX Edit. It can also load Helix, Helix Rack+Control, Helix LT, Helix Native, and HX Effects presets, as long as they contain 8 or fewer blocks on a single DSP path.

Why does it sound so shit?

It's Line6.

stonevibe

I hear Gilmour is using them 

Jetfire

Gassage said:

Why does it sound so shit?

It's Line6.

"Hur Hur hurrrrrrrrrrrrr I made a funny"

Its OK to let people enjoy things you don't. 

Gassage

stonevibe said:

I hear Gilmour is using them 

Ordered.

Musicman20

I prefer the Stomp as it is. It obviously has a market but it kinda looks off to me... Bizarre. The volume on the back is bizarre.

More DSP? I would have been interested. 

Jonathanthomas83

Musicman20 said:

I prefer the Stomp as it is. It obviously has a market but it kinda looks off to me... Bizarre. The volume on the back is bizarre.

More DSP? I would have been interested. 

I can hear them exasperatedly sighing as we speak.

meltedbuzzbox

They are really getting their monies worth from constantly selling the same product in a different size box

Cirrus

I agree with the criticism here, ergonomically it looks like the cheapest way they could redesign it to have a bigger footprint, and the layout of the footswitches isn't what most would pick. The obvious improvement to the HX stomps for me would be one extra jack so you can use an expression pedal and aux footswitch, and the obvious low-hanging fruit of putting that second dsp chip in (especially given the new poly stuff).

But... it's not actively hurting anyone, so it doesn't really matter. 

John_A

It’s exactly what I hoped the stomp would be, well I’d hoped for stomp in a HXFX case, but it’s close enough. I like it and will more than likely buy one

UnclePsychosis

meltedbuzzbox said:

They are really getting their monies worth from constantly selling the same product in a different size box

More companies should follow suit. It makes a huge amount of sense. 

eoinzy

-

menamestom

meltedbuzzbox said:

They are really getting their monies worth from constantly selling the same product in a different size box

Eventide have been selling the same product in the same box for bloody ages, with they would add a few more switches and the ability to have more than one effect, I’d be all over that.

meltedbuzzbox

menamestom said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

They are really getting their monies worth from constantly selling the same product in a different size box

Eventide have been selling the same product in the same box for bloody ages, with they would add a few more switches and the ability to have more than one effect, I’d be all over that.

Ox9 is what you want, or even something like a mc6

NelsonP

Now Fractal are going to have to release this
https://imgur.com/k3OmSYM

Jetfire

NelsonP said:

Now Fractal are going to have to release this
https://imgur.com/k3OmSYM

Isn't this already out? 

Jota

Jetfire said:

NelsonP said:

Now Fractal are going to have to release this
https://imgur.com/k3OmSYM

Isn't this already out? 

No. They have the FM3. Only three switches. 

Jetfire

Jota said:

Jetfire said:

NelsonP said:

Now Fractal are going to have to release this
https://imgur.com/k3OmSYM

Isn't this already out? 

No. They have the FM3. Only three switches. 

They all look the same to me... Bit like Les Paul's 

stevrossthepipe

I just got a HX stomp so had the inevitable oh no is it an upgrade however for me I don't need the extra foot switches. I am putting it on top of my cab next to my quilter for amp modelling, fx loop, compressor and to add more of something if missing it on the board. Also awesome for a bit of practice with headphones without pulling the board out, happily play like that for hours. Very impressed by the fuzzes and stacking a few gets you into some mad territory. Might get an MC6 to pair with it and to learn midi as that might be a good gateway then i can just run that up front I guess.

 I have also been using it with synths with the  looper and some glitch reverse days delays, great fun in a small package and very immediate and easy to use. Just have to put in a bit more time pairing it with my quilter and cab to see what works best but blown away overall.

Great they are listening to customers are adding the updates fairly frequently. Lots of different options for different musicians is great when the foundation is so solid. 

zimmi_b

Just watched Steve Sterlacci's review of this - wasn't easy given he doesn't actually have one yet!
If he's right its about the same footprint (area) as HX Effects but a different shape (if that makes sense). When I was buying, I was considering Stomp v HXFX and went with the latter. I couldn't deal with so few buttons and saw too many people finding ways to add them. If this had been out when I was looking would I have gone for it?  If the money was the same, probably but if its +£150 ish, no thanks (especially when there's no increase in DSP and same crappy power). I'd love some amps on my FX but not that much.  However, if this puts a few cheap Stomps on the 2nd hand market, well, we'll see. ...