Line 6 HX Stomp XL Helix Effects Processor Pedal Overview
The latest addition to the Line 6 HX family is the HX Stomp XL. To put it simply, it’s more or less the same as the HX Stomp but with 5 more touch foot switches (8 total), and all the jacks are on the back. Line 6 took into account what customers wanted, which was more switches, so they added them to create the HX Stomp XL to provide a more functional and versatile experience.
Other upgrades and additional features include a hands-free Pedal Edit mode, letting you adjust presets with your feet, 128 presets (compared to 126 on the HX Stomp), 4 Snapshots per preset (versus 3), and you can access the 6 switch loop without needing a MIDI controller. Aside from these, it has the same high-quality components, sounds, and features you come to expect from Line 6.
The Line 6 HX Stomp LX has a SHARC DSP chip found in flagship Helix products, accurately recreating the sounds of classic and modern amps and effects in high quality, and the chip also lets you run up to 8 processing blocks at the same time on two parallel stereo paths.
The 8 footswitches have 5 different modes available - Stomp, which makes it feel more like a traditional pedalboard, as well as Preset, Snapshot, Looper, which has a 6 switch looper option, and the hands-free Pedal Edit, so the HX Stomp XL gives you more immediate control of your tones without the need for external footswitches. Simply touch a footswitch to jump to any blocks and quickly adjust a parameter or assign controllers, and the colour-coded LED rings allow you to easily see which footswitch is in use, as well as any assignments. The TRS expression pedal/footswitch jack lets you connect up to 2 external footswitches or expression pedals for real-time control.
Snapshots let you create multiple versions of a single preset and you can easily switch between them without any audio dropouts. You can also you can send up to 6 commands per Preset or Snapshot, and if you have an expression pedal, MIDI, or computer hotkeys, these can be used as the command centre for any rig.
The HX Edit software lets you easily create complex signal chains, adjust settings and parameters using dedicated sliders, customize footswitch labels, and edit and move tones between different devices, making it ideal as a travel rig.
HX Stomp XL comes with more than 300 amps, cabs, and effects, with 128 factory presets, including a range of vintage and modern sounds, and it’s ideal for bass players as it includes official ampeg amps and cab models. You also have the ability to load third-party impulse responses (IRs) and can use up to 2 external pedals in your preset. The switchable analogue bypass routes the signal at the input directly to the output without the A/D/A conversion. It allows 4-cable amp integration, which provides a pre-routed template from which you can create custom patches.
The HX Stomp XL could be used as a ‘super stompbox’, a backup or travel rig, an add-on tone expander with other modellers, as an audio interface with 8-ins and 6-outs with re-amping, or a complete guitar/bass rig.
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- DSP Processor: (1) SHARP ADSP-21469 @ 450 MHz
- A/D/A Converters: 24-bit/192kHz
- Chassis: Cast Aluminium
- Colour Main Display LCD: 2.4"/6cm
- Footswitch “Scribble Strip” LCDs: N/A
- Capacitive-Touch Footswitches: 8
- Bypass: Relay or DSP
- Power: DC-3
- 1/4” Inputs: 4 (Main L/R, Return L/R)
- 1/4” Outputs: 3 (Main L/R, Stereo TRS Send)
- Headphone Output: 1/4" Stereo
- Effect Loop(s): TRS Stereo Send, 2x Return
- Expression Pedal In: EXP 1/2 (TRS; Shared with Footswitch 7/8)
- External Amp Control Outputs: N/A
- MIDI Controls In, Out/Thru
- USB Audio Interface: 8-In, 6-Out with Re-Amping (4 Physical Ins/Outs)
- Input Pad: Line/Inst(rument)
- Variable Impedance: Input L (Mono), Right
- Dynamic Range: 123dB
- Preset Locations: 128 (32 Banks x 4 Presets)
- Snapshots: 4 Per Preset
- Custom Snapshot Names/Colors: N/A
- Signal Flow Paths: 1 or 2 Stereo
- Third-Party Impulse Responses (IRs): 128x 1024 or 2048-Point Mono
- Looper Type: 6 Switch, 1 Switch, Shuffling
- Looper Memory (Full-Speed): 60 Sec Mono, 30 Sec Stereo
- Looper Memory (Half-Speed): 120 Sec Mono, 60 Sec Stereo
- Global EQ: 3 Fully Parametric Bands + Variable Low/High Cut Filters
- Footswitch Modes: Stomp, Preset, Snapshot, Looper, Pedal Edit
- Custom Stomp Names/Colors: N/A
- Pedal Edit Mode: Hands-Free
- Number of Controllers: 102 (8 + 94 via MIDI CC)
- Command Center: Yes
- Remote Control of External Amp: N/A
- MacOS/Windows Editor/Librarian/IR Loader Software: HX Edit
- Dedicated Dry USB Out Channels (for Reamping): 4
- Country of Origin: China
- Product Height (in/mm): 2.7/68
- Product Width (in/mm): 12.4/316
- Product Depth (in/mm): 4.7/120
- Product Weight (lb/kg): 3.3/1.5
- Display Box Height (in/mm): 4.5/115
- Display Box Width (in/mm): 18.3/464
- Display Box Depth (in/mm): 7/177
- Display Box Weight (lb/kg): 5.1/2.3
- Master Pack Quantity: 2
- Shipping Carton Height (in/mm): 5.3/135
- Shipping Carton Width (in/mm): 18.7/476
- Shipping Carton Depth (in/mm): 14.6/372
- Shipping Carton Weight (lb/kg): 12/5.4
