Line 6 HX FX...experiences?

Littlejonny

I'm looking to move on from my Zoom G5, can't afford a big pedalboard and tbh don't want the hassle. I'd like something with similar functionality to the G5 in that it has a display for each pedal and a switch for each pedal. I don't want to use presets and I want to be able to edit very quickly on the fly. Basically a pedalboard in a multi FX. I think the Boss ones are too limited in that you have access to one drive, one modulation, one delay etc. at a time. As far as I can see the TC Plethora doesn't do drive pedals or fuzz and I want that built in too, so I'm guessing a second hand Line 6 HX FX is the way to go?

It kind of looks like a modern version of the old M9...What are the downsides? Can it be tricked into loading an amp sim through the IR function?

rossyamaha

The only downside I would say are that the interface (compared to other HX products) takes a minute to get used to. As soon you do though, you're good to go and you should get round it quickly. 

As far as loading in and amp sim, no you can't. However, you can do a get me out jail trick which is load an IR and use something like a Timmy model to be your amp. There is also the Carvin legacy preamp in there which also works. Otherwise, get yourself a Tone X mini and chuck it in a loop. 

Littlejonny

rossyamaha said:

The only downside I would say are that the interface (compared to other HX products) takes a minute to get used to. As soon you do though, you're good to go and you should get round it quickly. 

As far as loading in and amp sim, no you can't. However, you can do a get me out jail trick which is load an IR and use something like a Timmy model to be your amp. There is also the Carvin legacy preamp in there which also works. Otherwise, get yourself a Tone X mini and chuck it in a loop. 

Thanks @rossyamaha ; Does the Carvin Legacy preamp model do clean? I already have Tonex mini.

LionAquaLooper

Love my HX FX. I just put a Joyo American Sound in one of the loops (if I'm going ampless) and I'm good to go. Honestly the interface is very easy, and the touch switches make things even simpler. 

guitarmangler

Sounds like it will do everything you want. I use an hxfx live as I don’t really use many pedals. Also consider a helix lt as you get two more buttons and amp sim.

TheBigDipper

The HX FX sounds perfect for you. Sounds are decent and it's not too hard to navigate on the unit itself. I gigged one with an AMP1 for 18 months and it did the job. 

rossyamaha

Littlejonny said:

rossyamaha said:

The only downside I would say are that the interface (compared to other HX products) takes a minute to get used to. As soon you do though, you're good to go and you should get round it quickly. 

As far as loading in and amp sim, no you can't. However, you can do a get me out jail trick which is load an IR and use something like a Timmy model to be your amp. There is also the Carvin legacy preamp in there which also works. Otherwise, get yourself a Tone X mini and chuck it in a loop. 

Thanks @rossyamaha ; Does the Carvin Legacy preamp model do clean? I already have Tonex mini.

Ish. It helps if you use an eq or even better a compressor to lower the gain but still give you sustain. 

thomasw88

Save up and get an fractal vp4.  Its a big upgrade to the hx effects.  Alternatively,The boss gt1000 core or full fat effects are better than the line 6 to my ears.  When I had the hx stomp hx Effects and helix I spent an awful lot of time tweaking the sound.   The vp4 I spend very little and find the sounds much better. 

Littlejonny

thomasw88 said:

Save up and get an fractal vp4.  Its a big upgrade to the hx effects.  Alternatively,The boss gt1000 core or full fat effects are better than the line 6 to my ears.  When I had the hx stomp hx Effects and helix I spent an awful lot of time tweaking the sound.   The vp4 I spend very little and find the sounds much better. 

Thanks - I'll check it out.

drpbier

I've been using an HXFX for about a year now, similiar desire to avoid hassle. I've really enjoyed it - easy to use and transport, sounds good, lets me experiment with new kinds of drive, gain stacking and pedal orders etc. I actually settled on a pretty basic configuration that I haven't deviated from and am having JAM make for me in a custom (analogue) multi - but will keep the HXFX as my pedal laboratory.

Littlejonny

drpbier said:

I've been using an HXFX for about a year now, similiar desire to avoid hassle. I've really enjoyed it - easy to use and transport, sounds good, lets me experiment with new kinds of drive, gain stacking and pedal orders etc. I actually settled on a pretty basic configuration that I haven't deviated from and am having JAM make for me in a custom (analogue) multi - but will keep the HXFX as my pedal laboratory.

That’s a good idea! I'd be interested to hear an A/B comparison of HXFX vs JAM. 

Here's where I am with it - the Zoom G5 has perhaps the best user interface of anything I've tried - you can have 4 large screens and can clearly see what's on each one - not text, but a crude picture (it gives Legend of Zelda vibes) of the effect on each. You can have 9 effects at once, and you scroll between them left and right by hitting 2 of the foot switches. I leave it on one patch and simply switch effects on and off in this way. If it had all 9 visible it would be even better, but I arrange it so the four I use the most (trem, vib, drive, wah) are visible. It also has expression pedal that goes three directions - with a different parameter on each. And it also has a valve boost.

The Helix - better sounds / quality of effects. Text with silly names. No expression pedal. No valve boost. I like the idea of having more FX to explore.

Fractal FX8 - forget it...you can't see what you've got at your feet!

The TC plethora is close...but no drives for some reason, also I think the FX are quite conservative.

I've just remembered the Zoom G11...that could be an option. 

Or of course I could just keep what I have and buy extra pedals - what I really want is an octave reverb and come to think of it, a freeze pedal, which I don't think is on any multi FX anyway!

TheBigDipper

Littlejonny said:

drpbier said:

I've been using an HXFX for about a year now, similiar desire to avoid hassle. I've really enjoyed it - easy to use and transport, sounds good, lets me experiment with new kinds of drive, gain stacking and pedal orders etc. I actually settled on a pretty basic configuration that I haven't deviated from and am having JAM make for me in a custom (analogue) multi - but will keep the HXFX as my pedal laboratory.

That’s a good idea! I'd be interested to hear an A/B comparison of HXFX vs JAM. 

Here's where I am with it - the Zoom G5 has perhaps the best user interface of anything I've tried - you can have 4 large screens and can clearly see what's on each one - not text, but a crude picture (it gives Legend of Zelda vibes) of the effect on each. You can have 9 effects at once, and you scroll between them left and right by hitting 2 of the foot switches. I leave it on one patch and simply switch effects on and off in this way. If it had all 9 visible it would be even better, but I arrange it so the four I use the most (trem, vib, drive, wah) are visible. It also has expression pedal that goes three directions - with a different parameter on each. And it also has a valve boost.

The Helix - better sounds / quality of effects. Text with silly names. No expression pedal. No valve boost. I like the idea of having more FX to explore.

Fractal FX8 - forget it...you can't see what you've got at your feet!

The TC plethora is close...but no drives for some reason, also I think the FX are quite conservative.

I've just remembered the Zoom G11...that could be an option. 

Or of course I could just keep what I have and buy extra pedals - what I really want is an octave reverb and come to think of it, a freeze pedal, which I don't think is on any multi FX anyway!

The TC Plethora range is not meant to be a Line 6 style MFX. It's a convenient container for the existing range of TC Toneprint-enabled pedals that can be bought separately. There are no drives because TC doesn't make digital drives, just analogue ones. 

But, it does have a port of the TC Infinite Sustain pedal if you have the latest firmware loaded, so there's a freeze function. 

Schnozz

I'm looking for the same type of thing - Zoom G11 sounds bad unfortunately.

Littlejonny

Schnozz said:

I'm looking for the same type of thing - Zoom G11 sounds bad unfortunately.

I’m not sure whether it sounds bad - have you tried it or are you going off YouTube vids? However…the pedals only have scribble strips above them so from a practical pov it’s not better than the HXFX anyway. I think the HXFX might be the one to try.

Littlejonny

I’ve been thinking … I should get proper pedals and make a pedalboard …BUT… the real advantage of a multi fx is that it has MORE than you need…you don’t know what you’re going to discover and use. What you might not even consider as part of your sound you might discover and it can take you on a new path…

LionAquaLooper

Littlejonny said:

I’ve been thinking … I should get proper pedals and make a pedalboard …BUT… the real advantage of a multi fx is that it has MORE than you need…you don’t know what you’re going to discover and use. What you might not even consider as part of your sound you might discover and it can take you on a new path…

And don't forget Snapshots on Line 6 multi FX units   

Snags

My primary experience of an HXFX was spending all weekend setting up patches I was happy with, then coming back two days later and hating them. Or of spending a day setting up a new patch that sounded great, only to realise it's almost exactly like one I already had.

TheBigDipper

Littlejonny said:

I’ve been thinking … I should get proper pedals and make a pedalboard …BUT… the real advantage of a multi fx is that it has MORE than you need…you don’t know what you’re going to discover and use. What you might not even consider as part of your sound you might discover and it can take you on a new path…

Although I used an HX FX for 18 months in a band, and it did well in that context, I never found myself sitting down to experiment with it. I thought I would, but it didn't happen. It just wasn’t easy enough for me personally. It’s not the same as having all the knobs in front of you and twiddling. 

But that's just me and you might get more out of it than I did in that way.

Schnozz

It's a shame there isn't an 'old faithful' that everyone recommends like the Peavey Bandit amplifier.

Secret_Sam

Line 6 m9 plus one or two separate drive pedals 

Relatively small and light for a MFX, and a UI that takes less than an hour to get familiar with.  And you can absolutely tweak sounds on the fly as easily as tweaking separate pedals. 

You step on a footswitch and the controls for that pedal appear in a small window.  Tweak the controls.   That's it. No saving: the unit just keeps the most recent state of each pedal.  Genius.

Modulation,  filters, eq, compression, delay, looper and tuner are all good.  Also has weird stuff like ring mod and some interesting but not greatly usable synth sounds. Some pitch shift is OK, some less so. I prefer real drives/distortion,  hence the recommendation for external drives.   

Only drawback is you only get 3 concurrent fx on the m9. Which might or might not bother you. Your one hour of familiarization includes learning to set up 6 different pedal boards, which might help.  

TheBigDipper

Secret_Sam said:

Line 6 m9 plus one or two separate drive pedals 

Relatively small and light for a MFX, and a UI that takes less than an hour to get familiar with.  And you can absolutely tweak sounds on the fly as easily as tweaking separate pedals. 

You step on a footswitch and the controls for that pedal appear in a small window.  Tweak the controls.   That's it. No saving: the unit just keeps the most recent state of each pedal.  Genius.

Modulation,  filters, eq, compression, delay, looper and tuner are all good.  Also has weird stuff like ring mod and some interesting but not greatly usable synth sounds. Some pitch shift is OK, some less so. I prefer real drives/distortion,  hence the recommendation for external drives.   

Only drawback is you only get 3 concurrent fx on the m9. Which might or might not bother you. Your one hour of familiarization includes learning to set up 6 different pedal boards, which might help.  

I used to like my M5, so I'm sure the M9 (a bit big, maybe?) would be even better - albeit a bit old now. Anyone interested in this approach might find it brings them back into Plethora territory. Which is generally where I am, hence me posting!

The X5/X3 is so easy to use for the straightforward effects that most people are looking for. I haven't tried an X1, so can't comment on that. The algorithms inside it are ports of the same algos that made the HoF reverb and the Flashback/Alter Ego delays so popular. You don't have to edit your own Toneprints and everything most people want to do is done right there on the unit itself. 

- Pick an empty board
- Go into Edit mode using the switch
- Choose an effects slot using the footswitch for that slot
- Pick an effect using the rotary knob on the left
- Pick the toneprint you want for that effect using the rotary control on the right
- Twidde the three parameter knobs to find a sound that pleases you
- Go back to Play mode, it's saved automatically for next time, including the effect on/off state

The biggest problem the Plethora has is that many people judge it against a Line 6 style MFX, which is missing the point, because it was never meant to be that. If you want a Line 6 style product, the HX FX is a good choice. If you prefer pedals but want a bit more convenence - and are OK with the effect that TC Electronic make - then it's the Plethora for me.