Line 6 has announced the arrival of the latest member of the Helix family of floor processors — the Line 6 HX Stomp XL. Building on the wildly popular Line 6 HX Stomp, the HX Stomp XL boasts the same SHARC-powered DSP, inspiring effects, lifelike amp and cab sims, and exhaustive I/O as its little older brother, but it includes more footswitches, a handful of extra features, and heightened MIDI capability. Let’s check out what the HX Stomp XL has to offer!
Expanded Footswitches
Like the HX Stomp, the HX Stomp XL is equipped with capacitive-touch footswitches. However, the HX Stomp XL ups the footswitch count from three switches to eight, increasing access to its numerous factory presets and your custom-made sounds. The additional switches also open up the HX Stomp XL to provide a 6-switch looper — ideal for loop-centric guitarists.
Robust MIDI Capability
Another advantage of the HX Stomp XL’s additional switches is heightened MIDI capabilities. While the HX Stomp XL is a formidable standalone floor processor, it can also function as a Command Center for complex, MIDI-enabled rigs. Featuring 102 customizable controllers via MIDI CC, the HX Stomp XL makes it simple to engage external pedal stacks, to recall settings, and to change performance parameters during the gig. Plus, its built-in tap tempo can sync multiple time-based effects simultaneously. The HX Stomp XL is an invaluable production and performance tool that helps you harness the full power of all of your MIDI-enabled hardware processors and effects.
Four Snapshots per Preset and Pedal Edit
Snapshots are one of the coolest aspects of the Helix family of processors, allowing you to save variations of presets and seamlessly switch between them. The HX Stomp XL provides four snapshots per preset (the HX Stomp provides three). Snapshots are a great way to add dynamics and energy to a performance by changing the intensity and character of an effects chain to follow the dynamic shifts in a song. Crank on a crunchy distortion when the chorus hits; slather on some modulation effects during the bridge; soak your outro in bucket-brigade-style delay — all while maintaining the core tone you’ve created in your preset. Additionally, HX Stomp XL borrows the pedal edit concept from the Helix to make it easier than ever to create and alter presets on the fly!
Sonic Flexibility and Ease of Use
Merging modern multi-effects flexibility with a sleek, intuitive interface, the Line 6 HX Stomp XL has certainly captured the attention of guitarists at Sweetwater. Want to know if this powerful and compact floor processor is right for you? Hit up your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 — they will gladly fill you in on all the finer points!
