Mini Helix - HX Stomp...

[Owen]

I have nothing to add. Just subscribing. 

[intime-nick]

5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

On a more serious note, I'm kinda thinking I might just hold on to my MS-60B and B3n for a few months, rather than move them on straight away (not least in that I've already suffered the value drop with them!).

I've always been kinda interested in whether spending a whole bunch of extra cash on gear actually buys us much in terms of a better sound? Here it's whether extra processing power in the Helix is actually going to be the significant step up in capability and sound and live usability as compared to the B3n, given that the Helix Stomp is literally > 3.5 x more expensive (!) and look to  A/B various patches starting with the easy stuff that multis do well e.g. modulation effects (tremolo, delay, chorus, flange and phase) and then move onto to the more challenging stuff for multi's such as bit-crush, dirt, envelope filter and perhaps the most challenging of the lot: synth. 

I suspect that my view that the MS-60B and the B3N are two of the best value multis available for us bassists today ain't gonna change.

From a Helix LT and MS-60B / B3 / B9.1UT  etc etc owner - my own opinion is that if you’re happy with your existing sound, the new L6 stomp (or ‘latest shiny thing’) won’t make a jot of difference to you or the punters down the dog n duck.  It’s down to how many new things and flashing lights you like 😀. I should add, I now DI straight into our XR18 and use the onboard EQ, compression and Sansamp guitar effect on my channels (one for IEMs and one for FOH) and am happy with the tone and lack of faffing around but that’s just me.  

[CameronJ]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Yeh, I saw it stated 3A on the power input. But what it's actual current draw is will be helpful to know. Hopefully there'll be some indication with the manual supplied with the pedal. 

I guess too early days for the online manual to he available. 

If it said 3A on the PSU brick/cable I’d agree with you but it’s written on the pedal itself in this instance. In truth, the constant draw while booted may well be a fair bit lower, only requiring the full 3A at initial boot up. It’s a thirsty little guy regardless. That DSP chip is a hog.

There were plenty of folk complaining about the current draw of HX Effects, though some reported that it worked on high end power supplies when multiple outlets were bridged to deliver more juice to the pedal...but this method will obviously produce mixed results.

Still, look at the Helix Stomp’s closest competition - the recently released Headrush Gig Board - which is a very similar form factor. The Gig Board runs at 19V (yes, nineteen) and draws 3.42A on a centre-positive connector. By comparison we should count ourselves lucky with the Helix Stomp’s power requirements!

 

[ordep]

use a gigrig generator then isolate all other pedals. problem solved. 🙂

[CameronJ]

I have to correct my own comments re: the Helix Stomp being a similar form factor to the Headrush Gig Board - having looked at some videos, it seems the Gig Board is significantly larger than the Helix Stomp and closer to the dimensions of HX Effects. The HX Stomp is considerably more pedalboard friendly in terms of size.

Edited October 5, 2018 by CameronJ

[CameronJ]

Yes, I’m still awake...

From 11:00 onwards in the video below one of the Line 6 guys talks about the power requirements and says they’ve managed to get the HX Stomp working with a few popular pedalboard power supplies. Things are looking up!

This vid actually covers a lot of really useful specifics. Definitely worth a watch.

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by CameronJ

[CameronJ]

WHY AM I STILL HERE?

Very rough size comparison between HX Effects and HX Stomp. His hand is obviously obscuring one of the footwitches on the Stomp but it gives a good idea of the sheer difference in overall dimensions.

[Al Krow]

8 hours ago, intime-nick said:

From a Helix LT and MS-60B / B3 / B9.1UT  etc etc owner - my own opinion is that if you’re happy with your existing sound, the new L6 stomp (or ‘latest shiny thing’) won’t make a jot of difference to you or the punters down the dog n duck.  It’s down to how many new things and flashing lights you like 😀. I should add, I now DI straight into our XR18 and use the onboard EQ, compression and Sansamp guitar effect on my channels (one for IEMs and one for FOH) and am happy with the tone and lack of faffing around but that’s just me.  

So you got me thinking: as far as the punters at the dog n duck are concerned, IMO they're only going to notice the following about the bass player:

i) is he or she at the right volume and balanced with the rest of the band? [Sound check, making sure the bass cuts through in the mids]

ii) is the bass tone harsh / crap / boomy? [EQ settings right]

iii) does he or she play tight with the drums, with groove & 'feel'? [Just get a Squier bass and crack on!]

iv) does he or she play interesting bass lines? [IMO there are two parts to this. The first is the actual notes and style you play; the second part is where tonal variety of effects can play their part (from tremolo, octave, through dirt to filter and synth)]

v) is there a lot of dead air time between numbers or does the set flow? [Actually a decent multi where each song can be set up as a patch and you can just sequentially scroll through your 30-song, 2 hour set can make a difference here. Massive difference between our main guitarist who only uses dedicated pedals ('cos they're 'better') but can easily spend a full minute between songs dancing over his pedal board, and our dep who has a full-fat Helix and just "flows". Perhaps less of an issue at the dog n duck but certainly a BIG point if you're playing a party or function where folk are up and dancing]

vi) what colour bass are they playing? [White if you want to get noticed, right? 😂]

They're not going to notice:

• what kind of bass I'm playing (other than it's NOT a Fender) 
• whether my modulation e.g. tremolo or flange is from a MS-60B / L6H-Stomp / Eventide H9
• they probably won't even notice whether I'm playing 4 or 5 strings (!)
• and they certainly won't notice if I kick off my compression part way through the set!

But they will very likely notice that I'm using a Future Impact for Synth sounds rather than a MS-60B. And there will be some (but not many) of the trickier effects where the processing power of the better multis can make a difference, compared to their more budget brethren, even at the dog n duck: I loved the way that our dep guitarist built up a layered effect sound to emulate the horn section on his full-fat Helix, so that we're not quite sounding as crap as we might have expected to do on something like Beyoncé's Crazy in love.

And despite everything you still went and got a Helix LT?  

Edited October 5, 2018 by Al Krow

[BigRedX]

9 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Yeh, I saw it stated 3A on the power input. But what it's actual current draw is will be helpful to know. Hopefully there'll be some indication with the manual supplied with the pedal. 

I guess too early days for the online manual to he available. 

Manual is already available on-line. Nothing specific about the power requirements other than they recommend that you use the supplied PSU.

[basskit_case]

So is a Helix HX still a worthwhile investment?  Asking for a friend! 😙

Edited October 5, 2018 by basskit_case

[GisserD]

2 minutes ago, basskit_case said:

So is a Helix HX still a worthwhile investment?  Asking for a friend! 😙

Yes. The lack of fx loops on the stomp is a dealbreaker for me. As would be the lack of scenes which has become a staple in my work flow now. 

Other than the color screen which is nice, i can't see any advantages for my rig as I wouldn't use the amps/cabs. 

My hxfx I'd the controller/hub for my whole pedal board... The stomp just can't do that. 

 

[MarshallBTB]

7 minutes ago, basskit_case said:

So is a Helix HX still a worthwhile investment?  Asking for a friend! 😙

That depends what you want the unit for. The HX is great for stomps/controlling a bigger pedalboard, and the extra switchesand effects loops add to to that use. If you're like me, and just need something for a pre / cab SIM and a couple of presets for a direct to board live rig... Then this looks like the better option . 

[Al Krow]

5 hours ago, CameronJ said:

WHY AM I STILL HERE?

Cam - do you find yourself getting asked that question a lot when you're out in public?

Have you considered counselling?

[Al Krow]

My weekend reading, in case this is also of interest to fellow BCers...

L6HX Stomp - Manual (2.65).pdf

[fretmeister]

11 hours ago, CameronJ said:

Cannot wait to get home and watch the videos posted here. Looks like Line 6 may have once again nailed it. Only downside is that by the looks of things there isn’t an isolated power supply in the land with enough juice to drive the thing on a single output 😩 but I’m sure I’ll be able to conjure up a workaround for that somehow...

Gigrig Power Generator

Will do 5A from the distributor units (but not the isolator units)

 

[fretmeister]

I've been looking at the specs.

 

So it has all the models / cabs / fx etc - BUT it only has 6 blocks in the chain (only 1 processor)

 

But looking at 99% of my live patches, I haven't got more than 6 blocks in most of them anyway.

[CameronJ]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Cam - do you find yourself getting asked that question a lot when you're out in public?

Have you considered counselling?

Yes. And yes.

[Dood]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Cam - do you find yourself getting asked that question a lot when you're out in public?

Have you considered counselling?

 

I certainly do, but when I look around there wasn't anybody there. Probably need a bit more than counselling here lol..

 

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by Dood

[Dood]

@charic This is what I meant. Everyone else, ignore this post. 

[Musicman20]

Well, I sold the original floor Helix I owned because it was simply too large, and too expensive for my needs. I wasn't going to use a lot of it. 

Then I considered the HX effects. But, I held back. 

I have a boatload of effects pedals for guitar and bass, and I'm constantly changing what fuzz I use....and I also have a Boss ES-8 so I can use the midi side.

For me, this is the perfect little box for guitar and bass. I don't have hugely complex signal chains....I just like having choice as to different sounds....

So, after sending back an expensive Gibson guitar, this is a relatively cheap addition to my gear. I've pre-ordered one....it ticks all the boxes!

Basically, a high end version of the Zoom B3/G3 all in one box, with extra features and constant updates.

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by Musicman20

[Dood]

1 hour ago, GisserD said:

Yes. The lack of fx loops on the stomp is a dealbreaker for me. As would be the lack of scenes which has become a staple in my work flow now. 

Other than the color screen which is nice, i can't see any advantages for my rig as I wouldn't use the amps/cabs. 

My hxfx I'd the controller/hub for my whole pedal board... The stomp just can't do that. 

 

HX Stomp does have a stereo loop (Stereo Send) Ok, only one loop but it does appear the returns can be configured as AUX Ins etc too. I believe the stomp does also do scenes as well according to the Andertons video.

That aside, I am still asking myself which would be better, HX Effects or HX Stomp ..... I really don't NEED either as I have LT.. but having a super small fly rig does have it's advantages!

[BigRedX]

20 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I've been looking at the specs.

 

So it has all the models / cabs / fx etc - BUT it only has 6 blocks in the chain (only 1 processor)

 

But looking at 99% of my live patches, I haven't got more than 6 blocks in most of them anyway.

I only need to use more than 6 blocks if I have snapshots with very different sounds in them that I get by turning on and off blocks.

Without snapshots and without having dedicated footswitches to turn blocks off and on, I doubt that only having 6 blocks is going to be a massive problem to most people.

However I personally couldn't live without the snapshot function as there is too much latency when switching between very different sounds without using snapshots.

[CameronJ]

Good news for those with others in the Helix family wishing to get the Stomp in addition to what they already own.

 

...and the last sentence in the image below has just sealed the deal for me. This one pedal will render so many things redundant!

[Bridgehouse]

24 minutes ago, Dood said:

@charic This is what I meant. Everyone else, ignore this post. 

But I can’t unsee it!!

[Dood]

Just now, CameronJ said:

Good news for those with others in the Helix family wishing to get the Stomp in addition to what they already own.

 

...and the last sentence in the image below has just sealed the deal for me. This one pedal will render so many things redundant!

😍🤩