Line 6

The return of the
multi-effects
We’ve seen large multi-
effect units make a
comeback; is it time to
reassess compact ones?
F
or players of a certain age, if
you say ‘Zoom 505’, they’ll
be transported back to their
fi rst band, playing in a friend’s
garage. Somebody would have a
505, or 505 II, and would be
using it to create an absolute
crime of a guitar sound. Where
bigger digital modellers have for
many years had enough
processing power to produce
useful eff ects (if not amp
simulations) the smaller
multi-eff ects of the late-90s
and early 2000s were pushing
the envelope for ‘useful’. The
HX Stomp suff ers from none of
these drawbacks with fantastic
eff ects and, crucially, in
something of a fi rst for a pedal
of this size, decent amp models
as well.
adding a room reverb with short
decay and a low mix proved
surprisingly convincing. Even
breaking out our trusty seven-
string didn’t faze the HX Stomp,
and it handled hotter EMG active
pickups just fi ne.
In terms of the reverbs, the
newer reverb models didn’t
overly excite us apart from
the rich Ganymede patch, while
we found ourselves generally
tending back toward the granular
reverb of the Particle patch in the
‘legacy’ section.
Meanwhile, in delay-land, we’re
delighted to discover that there’s
more on off er here than you can
shake a stick at, with the Sweep,
Transistor Tape, Cosmos and
Harmony delays impressing
this reviewer.
Conversely, the HX Stomp is
almost a victim of its own
small-format success. When you
consider the sheer depth and
quality of the sounds on off er here,
you may fi nd yourself looking at
the Helix LT or Helix and
wondering to yourself what having
additional footswitches would
allow you to do. That said, just
setting up a basic rig, such the
excellent ping-pong delay in front
of a solid reverb, with a decent amp
sim at the end of the chain, might
well be worth the price of
admission alone, especially if
you’re playing a function gig or
going direct into a PA – and for
players utilising switching
systems, it’s most certainly a
worthy purchase.
Alex Lynham
LINE 6 HX EFFECTS
The HX effects doesn’t have the
screen or the amp models, but it’s
an intuitive and fantastic effects
processor that’s small enough to
grab-and-go for jamming or gigs.
BOSS GT-1000
It may not be as intuitive to use as
the Line 6 units, but the effects and
amps on the GT-1000 are fantastic,
with sounds from the DD-500,
RV-500 and MD-500.
LINE 6 HELIX LT
A slimmed-down version of the
larger Helix, the LT boasts all the
effects and cabs you could ever
need, as well as a best-in-class
user interface.
ALSO TRY...
The MIDI in and out allows
for integration with a pedal
switching rig
Loaded with 300 sounds, the HX Stomp is a
beefed-up version of the HX Effects
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
£849
£799
grab-and-go for jamming or gigs.
with sounds from the DD-500,
RV-500 and MD-500.
£799
£499
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TGR314.gear_lead.indd 92 12/5/18 12:05 PM