krispn

I’m just wondering if the better the chipset and a second loop outweighs all those flaws that were listed by the migration initially. There was a discussion on here where some of the migration to HXFX was driven by the larger footprint the HXFX being able to provide users with banks of 4 effects and EQ settings separately set up which they felt would make the HXFX a breeze to use live over and above the more limited layout of the stomp which the Core doesn’t address (but it may use a similar multiple effects assigned to a footswitch type set up like the stomp. This ease of access / layout of the HX Effects was given as a reason folks switched from the stomp to HXFX going from the multiple reasons I’ve read. It was suggested that not needing to connect up an additional foot switch, midi or otherwise was a bonus on the hxfx as were the scribble strips. Ironically folks talked about using no more than the 6 main effects such as comp eq drive delay/modulation so 20+ banks does feel like overkill for a vast majority of users but it’s good to have the DSP - ikely explains the price. Ultimately the form factor of the hxfx with the additional footswitches and the ability to have a bank of patches on the scribble display was a big plus over the smaller stomp. Basically using the hxfx like a stand alone pedal board was the big win for those who migrated. Any potential Core customers/users feel like they might be losing out if the went ‘back’ to a small stomp sized unit with only three buttons?

The low cut works well on the Hudson for tone shaping but if the Tx isn’t a must for home recording a QStrip from Tech 21 might be a better home recording option. Lots of ‘studio preamp’ features and it’ll give you all the versatility you need for many instrument types. I really like the broadcast but if I were after a unit primarily for recording I’d be checking the QStrip. I don’t have a QStrip but I do use an interface which has studio preamp emulators some of which are similar to the QStrip - think Neve preamps -and they’re much more flexible for recording.

An older version of my Broadcast pedal board

I used one in conjunction with my Cali76CB to ‘recreate’ the big box Cali76TX which I ultimately ended up buying. The Hudson adds a great quality to the tone making it a bit more strident and enhancing the overall sound which I believe was down to the transformer. I didn’t have it doing a heap of drive instead it was making everything sound ‘more’. I was adding in some more gain from the BassSoul Food so I suppose I was doing some gain staging - a little bit off added signal boost from the Broadcast than bumping in a little bit more gain from the BSF.Could I have turned up the the amp a bit to get the same effect? I’m sure it would have been ok but having tried it it wasn’t as satisfying to my ear. If you have the means to add the Broadcast (the internal bump to 24v model would be my suggestion) then do it. It’s a great pedal and that’s even before you get into the dirt tones. I personally used it to enhance the tone not for the dirt. I really liked the idea of the transformer doing the heavy lifting and I’d happily have another should I ever sell my Cali 76TX.

Heston Blumenthal’s* review seems to imply that the limited bass amp options and 35 bass specific presets are a god send because he likes to sculpt, tweak and create (the same) massive tones from scratch. For £600 I’d want him round my gaff programming it and cooking my dinner! *Sorry it was Patrick Hunter he must have had his hair cut...probably from all that “compensated for his time” money boss gave him! “Compensated for his time” Is that how YT influencers describe getting paid now? FFS

It strikes me that all the ‘complaints’ folk had with the stomp and the reasons cited for migrating to the HXFX have not been remedied by the GT Core - not having enough foot switches, an inability to select individual effects like a ‘real pedal board’/ finding they would have to tap dance during a song going up and down patches with said three foot switches or indeed needing to buy an additional fs to maximise switching options etc. It looks like good unit theres no doubt and having the bigger screen and more control knobs is never a bad thing. I’m sure it will find its way onto many pedal boards or replace many folks existing pedals but I’d not be expecting it to ‘fix’ whatever issues people felt the stomp had and which were the reasons they jumped ship to the hxfx... which can also load IR’s if so desired... in the first place. Having so many improvements over the older tech of the stomp is a bonus too - a faster processor and more processing power should translate to better emulations of classics like the DS1, the DD3, a Flanger or the venerable TR2 tremolo and and a whole heap of other pedals no bassist really needs. Joking aside the midi integration is always handy in a multi pedal, pedal board set up, it looks like it has a good large screen with intuitive UI and the pc editing and amp/cab sims are always handy on for both recording, headphone use and of course out at gigs if they ever return. I guess it comes down to what features are really important and if the new Boss provides those essentials like three footswitches (a Boss FS 7 for instance can be added for an additional cost), 24 fx on at once, PC Editing, a killer tuner, amp switching then it’ll be a Stomp killer which we know has been ‘plagued’ with failures and issues but mostly related to brand new first run models -I’m sure Boss won’t have any such teething issues!

Truth!

I think a lot of the time sound men get some ‘all the gear’ types show up with the latest invention box which they simply don’t trust and they know that their old trusty DI box “10 years and never let me down yet!” will simply work. It’s a pain when a noise or buzz creeps in - for many it’s one less unknown and it makes their life easier. I agree with DB5 though that these modern invention boxes are pretty solid in the quality of the signal they pump out.

This might tick some ‘boxes too but spendy...

Yup we can’t really see how we’ll be gigging for a long time to come (based mainly in around Edinburgh). We’ve resorted to getting us all in a rehearsal room and just trying out lots of new songs from a wide range of styles... all those ideas we had considered but never got round to so we’re gonna embrace it and hopefully the other side of this we’ll have honed another bunch of great cover tunes which has our stamp on them!

That wouldn't be ideal at a gig!

@AlphaK had a whole thread/poll on who was using what HX model but there wasn't much chat about death on a gig or reliability as opposed to folk just gravitating to a particular layout or need for more fx blocks. I know the units can get hot with prolonged use. Any HX variant users (including the newer Pod Go and the new Helix LT) noticed heat build to the point of failure or ongoing QC issues? I wonder if the issues had been mainly on early units/teething issues or continue to be a persistent issue? It might be useful to cross post to that other topic too?

There’s no questioning the versatility of the trusty stomp. It’s sometimes easy to forget just how much it can do!

Have you actually tried to do what you need on the stomp first? If you can dial the stomp in to do what you need with global eq and a para eq you have a solid staring block on which to judge a single pedal solution (to a problem you will no longer have by the sounds of it if the stomp works)! I get that single pedals are often preferable for some applications but the stomp couldn’t be much bigger than the Empress for instance. It sounds like you know what you’re after and how to achieve it so worth a punt on existing gear unless you’re planning on selling the stomp once you get your new EQ!

some chat about dug v darkglass on here

I know the dug can be set up to be more even across its switchable sounds but the TH will automatically add in a certain amount of boost with the AGS engaged so it’s not really possible to balance the two sounds especially if the AGS side is needed for a much heavier sound. I used the TH pre more as low gain always on option rather than relying on it as both clean and dirty - it just wasn’t really usable in that capacity.

Only thing with the TH preamp is the volume jump when engaging the AGS and while it's a great unit I found you can't really use it as a clean and dirty preamp as effectively as some other units - it kinda needed to be clean or 'dirty' depending on how much of a change in tones/volume you want.

Why is the font all different?

That scratch plate looks very clean and crisp. Nice wee touch!

QStrip?

I had an amp die on a gig - (It fell from on top of a speaker in the back of the van and the drop caused an issue - I've learned to never let the singer load the van) so used the stomp as my iem/out front sounds - it was a great back up for me but I can relate to your dilemma on a gig if your stomp died! The AO is a great pedal and should tick a lot of boxes -it can load cab sims which are great for direct to desk, I'm guessing you can load 3rd party sims now too but you'd have to consult a current owner (who employs this feature) as I used the DG suite cab sims during my tenure. I used it for heavy sounds but it can do lower gain too but all depends if its the correct type of gain for an always on type sound if that's what you're aiming for. The EQ is good and can be used independently of the dirt so that's handy. I totally get the theory behind the decision - get a solid box that shouldn't fail - I thing AK had a usb issue with his pedal way back too so they're not impervious to the odd issue! @Al Krow A short scale has generally got about 8lbs less tension per string than on a regular bass. This lower tension can translate as more fundamental and fewer overtones and can be described as woolly/phat/thick/muddy depending on what one gravitates to in their bass sound. This can often explain why some eq options are useful especially in relation to drive on a short scale. I know I prefer using fuzz/octave down on the short scale as it just seems to work well for those tones. There's a Zeus Fuzz/Octave in the FS which looks great and does a really nice gated/glitchy fuzz for that exact tones but that wil be no use to the op.

I love that you’re playing 5’s exclusively but using an octave down pedal so you don’t have to physically play the low B string. I do get the point and I always think of octave down bass parts played up the neck to get the best octave results. I can see little if any point playing an octave down below A on the E string but that’s just me.