I've been happily using a POD Express for a couple of years now. While experimenting is fun, I found I really wanted access to presets made by professional that have much more experience in amps, pedals and signal chains than I. The HX Stomp XL had them. In addition, the number of foot switches and rear unit cable access were pluses. I already had a Line 6 EX1 expression pedal so there's that. What is missing is a written reference document that details what is in and how each FX and DIR preset is configured. (Not talking about the pedal, etc lists in the manual) I've searched the Internet and can't find one anywhere. After all the time the HX Stomp has been available it's puzzling. So, I've had to resort to attaching via HX Edit and going through each preset one-by-one and creating my own document. Ugh.... Other than that I am pleased with the HX Stomp XL , sounds great in stereo, and would recommend it all while chalking up my documenting activity to an in-depth learning experience

Its small, it has all the effects anyone could ever need, it has footswitches that was lacking in the smaller version and easy to edit on the unit and on the computer. The only con I would point out is the "low" DSP, but it's not an issue in my books.

As a former gigging musician returning to the craft after four decades, I initially looked for simple modeling solutions like the Boss Katana. However, the HX Stomp XL has taken my setup to a completely different level. The interface makes it much easier to find the specific sounds I'm looking for without investing in a massive pedalboard.
I still own an old Fender Twin Reverb, and using it as a reference point, I'm shocked at how accurately the Stomp captures that soul. To save my back and my ears, I've paired the Stomp with a Line 6 CL Powercab. It's the perfect modern solution for someone who wants vintage tone with 21st-century convenience. From Fender to Marshall and everything in between, this can get you that sound! With a little time invested you'll absolutely love this gear and become a pro.. A shout-out to Paul Eckert my sales Engineer! He's simply awesome!

There is a little learning curve, but you can quickly put together a virtual pedalboard with up to eight pedals very quickly, then tweak away at your leisure. You can control up to six of those blocks with the switches on board so you could set up and always-on amp and cabinet, or a compressor and control the other six virtual pedals. And the expression pedal inputs allow to you have two expression pedals, on pedal and one switch, or two swithces allowing you to control all eight virtual devices, or even control a parameter. I use a two switch unit that, when added to the six existing swithes, lets me have a seventh device bein a reverb and the eighth switch controlling two different delay times (I leave a compressor always on). And with snapshots, you can set that virtual pedalboard in up to four different settings, so you could have your general setting for snapshot one, have your lead setting on snapshot two, and have two specialty settings on snapshots three and four, all at with two simple fout moves, rather than fiddling with the settings between songs. With 128 possible virtual pedalboards (including a load of presets you can fiddle with and make your own) and tjos pne unit lets you have a huge assortment of pedalboards preset and ready to roll out on a gig - all in one box! I'm playing a bass through it, but you can do guitars, keyboards set up virtual amp/cabinet combos or setups for direct input. I like to keep a compressor in front and a virtual compressor at the other end, and as I have a fretless and a fretted, I have a switcher for when I need to work with both. But my board is neat and tidy AND SMALL!

Way back in 2000 I played the Line 6 Pod and was not impressed. In 2008 I was in a band with a guy who played a Line 6 Spider and I was not impressed. But, about 18 months ago I needed something that could do everything and also be portable and reliable, so I bought an HX Stomp XL completely planning to use it for three months and then sell it.

Well, I was and still am pretty impressed, and so I've held onto it. Now I'm a huge tone snob, and when I watch YouTube shootouts, I ALWAYS know which sound is the Line 6 model. That said, these days their models are like 99% real (back in 2000 I might have said 70%-80%) and having all the great-sounding effects and signal routing and mixing and USB interface and so on and so on for such a low price and in such a small package is excellent.

This has NOT replaced any of my tube amps or pedals - not even my digital pedals. But it HAS been extremely useful in many situations. I was in an ensemble using this and another guitar player showed up without a rig, just a guitar, and I was able to mix them into my amp using the HX Stomp. Later I was in a synth ensemble and I ran two different analog synths through it so I could pre-mix my sound and add effects before going to the mixer. I needed to record a 90-second piece of music in about two hours and I just grabbed a guitar and the HX Stomp, used the Stomp as the entire signal chain including interface, and created percussion, bassline, chords, and melody with just a guitar, HX Stomp, and my computer.

Is it boutique? No. Is it vintage-sounding? No. Is it my favorite signal chain in my home studio? No. Is it much more affordable and portable than any of those things and a really, REALLY handy tool to have when I need it? HECK YES.

I use this as a modler for church strait into the PA and in 4 cable method with my amp for gigs. It suits most situations extremely well. Small an light weight too.

After years of using the Line 6 HD500 for live gigging, I bought the HX Stomp XL a few weeks ago, mainly for its improved amp models and other effects. I also liked its more compact size.

I took some time at home to get familiar with its interface, which took (and is still taking) some time to get used to. For one, with the old HD500, you could select a preset with just one footswitch (after selecting a bank) and then all of the footswitches for overdrive, effects, etc. were immediately ready to go. But with the HX Stomp, you always have to switch between "preset" and "stomp" modes. So if you're in "stomp" mode at the end of one song, you have to hit a "mode" footswitch to go into "preset" mode, find and select the preset you want, and then hit the "mode" footswitch again to get back to "stomp" mode so that you have access to the individual effects. That's three footswitch activations vs. just one for the HD500. I realize you can set up "snapshots", but I'm not ready to create an appropriate preset with snapshots for each of the 150-odd songs that we play.

Compounding the above issue, the footswitches are significantly closer together than they were on HDF500, and the rear row isn't elevated. So with size 10.5 shoes, you really have to concentrate and carefully poke the edge of your toe between the other footswitches to get the one that you want. That's not easy when you're in the middle of playing and need, say, chorus, for just one 2-bar passage, or when trying to transition smoothly and quickly from one song to the next During my first gig using it two nights ago, I hit the wrong footswitch by accident multiple times, sometimes to comical effect (e.g. inadvertently selecting a ZZ top-like preset for the start of a twangy, early-60s number).

WORST OF ALL, unless you have 20/20 vision (and even then I'm not sure), it can be impossible to read the very small preset and effects labels on the LCD display while standing and playing. This is especially true, I think, for older folks like me who wear progressive lenses (the lower half of my field of vision isn't intended for distance). Many times during the gig, I had to crouch down very low and select presets by hand, because I simply couldn't see even which preset bank was displayed. It was awkward and sometimes cost me significant time between songs. This was never a problem with the HD500. Had I expected this difference, I'm not sure that I would have bought the Stomp XL at all.

That all said, I do like some of the amp models a lot, and I like the editing interface, which is pretty easy once you're familiar with it. Unfortunately, I don't think that these positives entirely offset the negatives already discussed, which is why I'm only giving three stars.

I can't overstate my love for the HX Stomp XL. This has been my workhouse for just about a year know and has seen many gigs and sessions. The sheer flexibility offered is incredible between instruments. Gigging on bass, acoustic, and electric frequently, having a single unit to process all of those is mindblowing to me. The amp modeling and effects are top notch especially once you learn more about the unit (YouTube is a fantastic resource for all things Helix), and it's very quick to dial in a patch for any use case. Additionally, all the built in effects, models, and build in tuner allows this to be an entire rig in one unit. I run my Stomp direct to FOH when the stage has to be silent or when direct is more sensical, but also got a second hand Line 6 Powercab 112 to bring when I want some air moving behind me or need a monitor. I can't recommend that combo enough!

Overall, with its size and power, this unit is all I need for any gig and fits perfectly on a small board like the Mono Lite. I highly recommend Ian Martin Allison's presets for bass (the IMA sig blew my producers mind over the winter), and John Cordy to get you started on presets for guitar. I do strongly believe that you can dial in great tones just by yourself and your ears, though, and actually haven't been too satisfied with pre-made presets from content creators on guitar. Use it in any mode you like, but I find that using it in a stompbox mode with all my effects at my feet is the best -- snapshots and presets per song are cool in theory but leave you focused on that rather than the music. My personal favorite model for all genres is the US Princess (Princeton Reverb) that blows the other Fender models out of the water. Pair that with some classic effect models, and you'll fool a tube snob. I also can't post this review without noting the capabilities for processing acoustic. Being the swiss army knife of a band, I needed an acoustic solution, and this unit covers it. An acoustic patch tends to be set up differently than an electric one, though, but some research will help you build that. My acoustic sound has developed to be sweet and full with the use of some amazing Line 6 effects and EQing.

Ownor have-owned a number of different of modelers/floor processors and while they all work well I really needed something bullet-proof with great sounds. This unit fits that bill exactly! Amazing Helix sounds, but you do need to be a little cognizant of the effects used to stay within your DSP budget. But I just needed 4 or so patches that i could turn on/off effects with and keep it very simple for live play. I have only used the stomp mode - the scene mode has a lot of promise but i'm really happy on stomp! One of my requisites was a decent computer editor because i find that wayyy easier that on-device editing. A little old-school graphics but definitely effective and usable. I mentioned I wasn't using scene mode because I don't like either/or (stomp/scene) I mentioned I wasn't using scene mode but i did find a hybrid option... in the control center (on device or in editor) you can appropriate one or multiple buttons for either scene or stomp functions. I setup my working patches with 5 stomp switches and one scene switch that cycles thru the scenes on a continuous loop. Nice compromise. I really like this unit and even though I purchased it in 2024, Line6 is still supporting the unit with software updates and I believe it' still got a long product lifecycle ahead of it!

I am convinced the HX Stomp provides an unrivaled bang for the buck option to build a powerful and versatile rig. It can function as an all-in-one option or the nexus a multiple pedal rig, utilizing the FX loop and MIDI. It is currently the core of my 11x16 compact custom board that I would put up against anyone's larger rig in terms of tone and versatility. I've had this for close to a year and am still learning how to utilize all it has to offer – truly amazing. With updated cabinet options you can do so much with mic selection and position, don't waste your time and money on IR's. I am using its MIDI sends to access the cloudburst presents and it works great. I almost exclusively use Snapshot mode, with a song per preset and 4 snapshots per song. This works fantastic for live play at my church. If you are a guitarist, I highly recommend paying the extra $ and getting the XL because you will want extra footswitches. For bassists, using limited presets, you probably don't need it. I have so much more positive things to say but don't want to scare off potential review readers. Summary: Yes, you want this.

I am new to modular amplifiers typically played Marshall or mesa boogie amplifiers. I bought an FRFR amplifier and added the stomp XL right out of box plugging it into the amplifier had many many sounds presets to explore and watched videos to become more familiar with it. software for the computer is friendly Seems to connect easily to the unit. Tried to start with my Windows 7 computer, but did not give me the downloader. When i loaded on windows 10 worked fine for me anyways and was able to do firmware upgrade. I think all the sounds are really good and even more sounds after firmware update. I learned early to do a back up to my computer because on later day played with it and settings forgot how to get back original sound. Lol My opinion of the unit is very good and worth the money.

I've tried to write this review a few times but it always got too long, so I'll keep it short.
This piece of gear is great at pretty much anything I've dreamed up. If you're curious and looking into it, just get one, and take the time to get to know it. There's nothing it can't do.

I got this as a B-Stock item while they were on sale. I am learning about the unit still, but can say that it does have some good features and sounds. I got this to go with my Tonex pedal since I could control the it through the midi on both units. I haven't created presets yet or snapshots. I have found quite a few presets to build off of for snapshots and presets though. There wasn't a scuff, mark, or anything visible on this unit for a B-stock item. I purchased this as a recommendation from Cory Medina. I have never had bad advice from him on anything I purchased since he became my sales engineer. There are so many choices out there for multi fx units, ( this isn't my 1st by any means ) and I am very pleased so far with the Line 6 HX Stomp XL. It is very well built, there's plenty of space between foot switches, very easy to navigate and understand. I'm glad I went with the bigger version and also have an external footswitch to use with the Tonex and Line 6.

Ah, what can I say about this into that hasn't already been said? Good tones and flexible routing options. This thing lives on my coffee table.

I'm using it for bass guitar. This is the most versatile pedal ever invented. Sounds great! Learning it is a bit of a challenge, but there are so many helpful YouTube videos. I watched a bunch of them before buying it, so I was ready to go when it arrived. It's the best purchase I have ever made. Sweetwater customer service is also the best there is.

As a Kemper and Headrush owner, I was pretty skeptical about the HX…until my buddy at church played his. Is it a Kemper? Nope. But that's the beauty of it. Super small and easy to make sound fantastic. As a 'Tone Chaser', I thoroughly enjoy it.
I recommend it!

Thank for your support. Mario is excelent manager.

I bought this unit to have a backup to my Helix LT and for a lighter unit to take with an amp to jam sessions. It amazes me the amount of power and versatility packed into that small a unit. I have presets using just effects and 4 cable method into an amp and some which use amp modeling straight into the power section of the amp.

I've had a number of modelers over the last few decades, including several modeling amps from Fender and Vox. All were good, but when I got my first Helix LT I finally felt like I had a tool I could use for anything. The amps, modulations, and distortions were fantastic. The reverbs left a little to be desired but, the Line 6 team didn't produce the product and stop. They kept adding to it with firmware updates and a system for taking requests from users.

Line 6 is constantly updating and adding features, amps, and effects. Support was always available. They were so interested in knowing what we, the musicians, wanted from them, that at one point they set up a call with me to answer any questions. I'm a nobody musically, and they set an hour aside to help answer any questions I had. That's freaking amazing.

If there was one negative for me on the Helix LT it was that it was too much in several ways. It was a substantial chunk of weight to carry around. Also, I worried that one mishap (or property rights challenged person) could cost me an expensive setup. Eventually I downgraded to the Pod Go, which I still have. I love the Pod Go, but I missed some of the Helix features and finally gave in and got the HX Stomp XL.

While the Pod Go is wonderful and has most of what anyone would need, the HX Stomp has about 20% more DSP, split paths, and the Midi Command Center. There's more, but those are the ones that are important to me. The HX Stomp also has more free blocks. Less blocks overall, but more free to use for any effect. Midi is the biggest reason for me to move to the HX Stomp XL. The Midi Command Center allows you to trigger other Midi devices. I use it most for triggering cab and IR changes on the Powercab 212+ when I change presets. I also have several presets set up to control video playback on my computer for when I'm learning a song online. I can play through the HX Stomp while using its footswitches to pause/reverse/play video.

I have all the amps and effects from the Helix floor units, and though the HX Stomp doesn't have and AES out like the Helix LT and Floor, the switching functions of AES can be replaces with Midi. The HX Stomp XL is small and portable. It acts as an interface when I travel, and gives me all the functionality that I need. An interesting side effect of the transition from Helix LT to the Pod Go then the Stomp, is that of the three, the HX Stomp has the fewest places for presets. That may sound like a negative, but it's forced me to clean up and condense. I now spend more time playing, and less trying to find the right preset.

Saw that the HX Stomp XL was on sale and got it earlier than I planned and boy was that the right choice. This device expanded my options for sound far beyond what I thought was possible. I could spend months just exploring all the amps/cabs/pedals that are contained on this device without even touching IRs. It is incredibly powerful and versatile but that also means you have to spend some time learning about how it functions. I recommend reading the manual and watching some instructional videos, but once you're up to speed it makes playing music 10x better.

Everything you need in one compact pedal. The amount of effects, amp and cabinet combinations is inspiring. And if you don't have time to experiment you can get patches ready made for you. This is truly an amazing piece of gear.
Thanks Line 6 and thank you a Sweetwater for being awesome and so helpful!

I purchased this used on Sweetwater Gear Exchange. It came loaded with a worship bundle. while I definitely love to play worship music the worship bundle was pretty much useless to me. I needed guitar sounds. good cleans solid overdrive and great distortions. After downloading the latest firmware and presets (line 6 has this set up well on line, and it was fairly easy to do) I had something to work with. I went through the presets and found 4 favorites that I could begin to work with: models of: Matchless clean, Matchless OD, a Friedman, and a dual rectifier. these were good start pints for me. setup EQs the way I liked added effects i liked, removed those i did not like. n the end i would say I really do like this unit, it is compact and has alot of great tones. I sold a Kemper to go to this and it worked out for me. it is easier to program and work with online software. The Kemper sounds were some of the best I had heard but this is very good as well. plus the compact size and ability to use a USB battery supply which was important to me to play on the street's made me decide to go tonthis one and I am happy with my choice.

No pedal is perfect, but this thing is a game changer. The flexibility for live gigs or home recording use is outstanding. Does it replace your real amp? Why even compare. They are different things entirely and in the world of pure sound creation there is so much you can do with a modeling pedal like this. And sure you can use it on gigs, in the studio with totally pro results if you know what you're doing. As others have mentioned, and for me also, the stock presets are kind of a disappointment. But once you start making your own, that all changes and the sound potential is amazing. Of course, when creating presets it doesn't take long to run up against processing limits and block limits. But there is so much you can do within those limits, and you can always the fx loop to add other pedals. The bonus looper sounds great at best quality, but it's limited. You can't save loops, and you only have 60 sec. at best quality. But I find myself using it alot anyway. Huge shout out to Austin Zachrich! He's been a big help, totally pro, great advice.

I bough this really trying to like it but it fell short. First of all, many pre-built patches and IRs advertised for this unit do not work or have glitches so to the limited library and routing compared to the standard helix. In addition, there is a break in sound when switching between patches, so playing into a different section of a song is not possible. There are snapshots that allow transitions but those can only affect parameters for the pedals on the selected patch. If you want a different type of reverb or something then it would require a different patch. This was not very clearly stated in any of the advertisements for this product. I unfortunately missed the return window so I'm stuck with this, but I would recommend a different route for anyone wanting to be able to switch sounds like you would be able to do with multiple pedals. It is not worth the savings from buying something more robust.

Great tool, uploaded both with a wide range of tones and fun. I'm a Electric Bass Player and I found it easy to understand and it is lightweight to carry on instead a bunch of other sound processor devices. Thank You Sweetwater. Perfect as always.

So I researched these things and received numerous recommendations from friends to go with a Line 6 product. This thing is so cool. It took me about 20 minutes to be playing through it. I spent another hour and updated the firmware and presets. I can't imagine a bass player needing anything else. You can easily configure this to do almost anything a bass player would need and then some. This would work very well for a guitarist. The sound quality if excellent.

I've never been shy of digital pedals and modelers over the past 20 years of playing having had various early Digitech stuff and most recently a Pod Go. After utilizing the Pod Go as a portable rig and maximizing nearly every part of it, I figured I should try to integrate a Helix/HX device to my larger pedal board. Love the added features from the PodGo and utilizing two separate FX loops, additional DSP, and parallel paths opened up a lot more possibility with the larger pedal board. The PodGo is still great for portability and still plan on keeping it but I wish I bought this earlier instead of other pedals that this ended up replacing (amp sim, modulation, delay, reverb). Definitely recommend and also recommend taking the time to learn everything and set it all up.

This thing is incredible. I love messing around creating tones. I really appreciate Kyle Baker is awesome helping me decide what to purchase. I bought a Fender FMT and Marshall DSL from him a few months ago. Thank you Kyle. You rock!!!!

I've been a tube amp snob for years. Blackface fenders, Bogner Ecstasy and Shiva, Boogie MKVs, and a hand wired 5e3 clone heavily modded. I play country, Blues, Classic Rock, a little Jazz, and Acoustic music. I still own at least 10 amps (9 going up for sale) and probably 60 effects pedals. I mostly play live gigs. The HX stomp Xl has changed my life. There was a learning curve, and I've invested a lot of time getting it figured out, but it was worth every minute. Be aware that your speaker system greatly affects your sound for live performance. I use a Powercab 1-12 plus or a QSC CP8 for rehearsal or smaller gigs. With a good speaker system, stomp is capable of replicating any tone I will ever need. It's basically half a helix, so you don't have the same amount of DSP, but it can cover pretty much anything you will need with a little forethought. I love it. I also want to give a shout out to AJ Becerra. I worked in music retail for nearly 30 years. AJ is the Sales Engineer I wish I could have been. Sweetwater has the best customer service of any company I've ever dealt with. Including my own. AJ rocks!

Title says it all.
I love my Mesa Express and my Marshall TSL100, playing them with my ridiculous array of boutique pedals - through my stereo, closed back-front loaded cab with it's Celestion g12h in one side and a v30 in the other is always a thrill…
However(!), trimming down to this Line6 HX Stomp XL as the center of a fly rig has opened up so many more opportunities.
Being able to have digital variations of my studio rig + fit in my guitar's case or a backpack has allowed me to be able to confidently take gigs way outside my former tourable area.
Sounds are all there if you are patient enough to dial them in.
I paired mine with a Dunlop (x) mini, which is all you really need if you are going direct, and also have an Orange Terror Stamp in 4 cable set up on the board for if there is a cab available at the venue.

So.....it takes up barely any floorspace, sounds incredible, easily replaces dozens of my little battery sucking boxes and cables, plugs into my PC, turns my amps into a stereo rig onstage, has more flexibility than I'll ever need and at the moment comes with free software to play with. Why are you still reading and how come you haven't called and bought it yet? Call my sales engineer Henry Moore (especially if you're looking for someone that really knows their way around a studio and professional recording). Henry rocks and showed me more patience than I probably deserved.

I couldn't say enough about how well my order went from sweet water to getting my hx stomp xl. It's all that I read about and more. It may not be the complete package for a guitarist but it's close as you will get for a single rig setup. I really like this with my acoustic set up as well. For an acoustic player it's all you will ever need.

The sounds and configuration options of the HX Stomp XL are really quite good and flexible. I can set it up as a standalone or to also route to both a tube amp and front-of-house or DAW simultaneously by setting up which affects/amps go through which output of the Stomp. And the form factor is about perfect with the right number of buttons and a nice, legible screen.

My friend has a Helix floor model, which is certainly nice, but I prefer the size and form factor of the Stomp XL, and it doesn't seem like I'm giving up much in the way of sound and routing flexibility either, at least not for my practicing and gigging purposes. I do most of the programming directly on the unit so don't need to break out the software editor much at all.

I'm using the On-Stage GPB2000 Compact Pedalboard for mounting the Stomp XL with a couple of outboard pedals (ODR-1 overdrive and Polytune 3 tuner) and it's the perfect size. That also comes with a gig bag so is perfect for transporting the setup.

The only real negatives I've discovered is that there is a ground loop hum when I'm driving both a tube amp (through the AUX send) and a DAW (through one of the output jacks) even when they're all on the same filtered power source, so I end up using a DI box with ground lift on the DAW side to deal with that. It would be nice if there were a ground lift option on the Stomp XL, although I'm not sure exactly how that could/would be implemented.

Also, the power supply for the Stomp XL is a a bit big for my taste, and the unit draws enough power that I really can't effectively replace it with something else without affecting reliability (I'm using a 1 Spot Slim to power the other pedals). But, that's not a particularly big deal and is certainly manageable.

I've been a long time Tube amp, a gear nerd. But never seemed to find the "RIGHT" sound of pedals that would make that sound come to life until I gave a shot to the HX Stomp XL, it blew me away, snapshots are the "WOW factor!!!!! Spillovers from Snapshot to Snapshot, and the flexibility to move and remove pedals is a breeze, my fave amps are the Litigator, the PRS Archon (Clean and Lead). It does so much in such a little pedal format. Love it!!! Thanks Nate for the suggesting this amazing piece of Gear…finally, this also led me to sell my Boss GT-1000 Core (not a bad piece of gear by any means) but for me and for what I needed it is everything and than some more!!!!

As a long-time tube amp snob I was hoping the Stomp XL could 'approximate' the sounds I wanted in a more convenient package. Line 6 has blown my mind with what they've got here - my extensive collection of pedals & amps has been gathering dust since I got this in January. As a bonus, recording direct from the Stomp has improved my recorded guitar sounds - plus they're savable, so there's no "what the heck were my settings?" kind of thing anymore. Bravo!

At first, I was pretty frustrated with my purchase. I was seriously debating sending it back or selling it because it sounded so bad and I was overwhelmed with all the videos on how to "properly" set up the HX stomp. Instead of watching hours of videos on how to set up the stock cabs, I purchased a Celestion greenback IR pack from York Audio for $15. This was definitely worth it. The IR pack made the HX stomp come alive and gave the amp model a great tonal character. I do not regret my purchase at all. It can be overwhelming at first so I would just recommend buying an IR pack of your favorite speakers and running a compressor behind your amp model and IR in the HX stomp. I was really torn between this and the Strymon Iridium, but after purchasing the IR pack I don't think there would be much of a difference between the two. This offers way more usable features than the Iridium such as an effects loop, does not require an audio interface, a built-in looper, and a tuner. Another benefit of the HX stomp is Line 6 has actively supported this device and is constantly working on firmware updates to make it better. The only reason I rated it as 4.5/5 is due to the crappy stock cabs loaded into the HX stomp. I hope Line 6 eventually comes out with software similar to Line 6 Metallurgy for the HX stomp that allows you to mic up virtual guitar cabinets.

I had expectations… and it's better than what I thought

This little beast shocked me. It's only got half the processing power of the full Helix, but for most guitarists, it's all you'd ever need. If you paired it with a PowerCab 112+, you'd have the ultimate compact rig. Used it direct to PA with a TRS to XLR cable, and it sounded great. I actually bought it as a hold-over while my full Helix Floor was being fixed (I was a dufus and didn't use HX Edit for 4 years and finally wore out the Helix joystick). For a moment, I actually considered selling my full Helix when I got it back and getting a PowerCab, but I like all the routing options of the full Helix. I'm gifting the HX Stomp XL to my nephew for him to use with a Bogner Red pedal, Tube Screemer, and Wampler Euphoria, through a Fender HRD3. It's an awesome effects unit for that purpose also. Just can't say enough good things about it. It's would also make a killer bass rig. Also, I bought the Mission Expression pedal that has the toe switch, with it, and that just competes the package! Using it also reminded me how much power the Helix Floor actually has, once I got it back.

Wow! This thing is crazy cool. So many options it will make you dizzy. Maybe be good, maybe not?? The drive oedals are very accurate representations of what they are modeling. Reverbs are out of this world good!! Strymon or better quality for sure. The delays lime 6 has out together are nuts You get all the major repros of tape, BBD, digital, analong etc of delays. Then, they got delays that have built in modulation. Like chorus and reverbs. Slapback and reverse delays as well.

A little bit of a learning curve as building a preset can be daunting at first.YouTube has a ton of vids about this modal and all things helix family. Sweetwater has a PDA for Helix family processors (stomp and xl included). This book is like having a conversation with someone about this product and how to use it. A must. A few groups om Facebook have been helpful too!

Service from sweetwater is too notch as usual. They even loaded up the new 3.15 update a week after it was released!!

If your on the fence, not be. The XL version is great with all the extra pedals making it more like a conventional pedalboard. My only complaint so far is the looper. You cant save a few loops. Like the ditto plus. Can save only the one you just laid down. Keep you on your toes at a gig. XLR outs and the L6 link would be nice.

I bought one of these to add to my nephew's pedal board as his effects unit, as he's already got Bogner Ecstasy Red, driven by a TS9, and Wampler Euphoria for his lower gain tones into a Hot Rod Deluxe III. I'm a Helix floor user myself (running direct to my band's PA) and was always curious about how pedals stacked up against it. I also bought a Friedman BE-OD Deluxe to see how running analog stacked up. Conclusion? I think I'm seriously going to recommend my nephew sell all his pedals and just use the Stomp XL as a stand alone unit. The Stomp matches the BE-OD Deluxe and then some. Put a TS9 into the BE-OD too, matched it with the stomp in minutes. If my nephew didn't have a really sweet green and blonde Fender amp, I'd probably advise he just buy a PowerCab and be done with it. Thinking about maybe swapping the speaker in his amp for a Celestion Triple Cone FRLR, as I used a Celestion Creamback IR into my band's PA as I do with my Helix, as a flat test. The end point being, if I had to do it all over again (the Stomp didn't exist when I bought my Helix 4 years ago) I would have a Stomp XL, Mission Expression pedal, and a PowerCab+ and be done with it. After 4 years, a LOT of trial and error, and hours on YouTube, I think Line 6 has created the ultimate rig. Light, powerful, and versatile. Pretty amazing stuff.

It is so good that I sold all of my pedals.

The pros are : I like the unit, even though it has limitations to my application it's very useable. And definitely would be a great back up unit in case your analog pedal or pedals fail. The overdrives are definitely usable. The Cons as far as the effects go many of the distortion effects aren't that great sounding. The reverbs are okay and the delays can't compare to something like a Strymon Timeline. The Mod effects sound pretty good. The reason I gave it the rating that I did has more to do with the compatibility with a computer to further tweak effects. Upon trying to download drivers my computer won't download it and recognizes the download as a possible danger to my computer. When trying to read further into what may be the issue I'm redirected to the general FAQ and have to sift through many pages making it very difficult to find the proper information that applies. I've never had these issues in the past with line 6 products

Have had unit for 2 weeks now. Quite nice, So many ways to customize, but that creates a learning curve. I used to use a Zoom B3n. This is better than that at 3 times the cost of course. Very even and level sounding. Records very well. Haven't written a song with it yet. I will soon.
Some of the presets are good, not all, many need personalized to your sound system, amp, etc etc. I can not imagine having less buttons than this.
Overall- very happy with purchase.

The more I use this HX Stomp XL the more I like it. I'm coming from an old Line 6 M9. The M9's main advantage is that it's simpler to operate. The HX Stomp XL has a much steeper learning curve in comparison, but that's because it's packed with way way more features. So expect to spend a fair amount of time learning about it's capabilities if you're not familiar with the HX family. Anyway, the sounds in it are excellent, even the drive, with fantastic computer control and programming via USB. If anything, there are too many options, so you risk getting distracted tinkering rather than making music or practicing. I also think that compared to the regular HX Stomp, this XL form factor makes much more sense for live performance. Far less tap dancing required. And having a 6-button looper (with reverse/half/undo) ready to go is great. And I also think that it's nicer than the HX Effects pedal since it's lighter weight and shallower - so fits better on a pedal board. I have one small complaint and that's that the foot switches make more acoustic noise than I think they should. I wish they were completely soft click switches since I like to use looper and the freeze function, constantly manipulating sounds. In a quiet/medium setting the footswitch noise can get a bit much.

This thing is great!!! Sold my hd 500x and got one of these for a portable rig option for gigging. Don't let the small size fool you! Exactly what I needed! Very happy!

I have played for over 40 years and with many amps, guitars, and pedals...singles, boards and multis. I have been a Zoom G5 user for almost 10 years and it was time to upgrade. I did not really want to sink a grand on a multi board, so I settled for the Stomp, and found it sounded super good, but lacked the functionality I was looking for. Then 2 weeks after getting the Stomp, the Stomp XL was announced. So I exchanged the Stomp for the Stomp XL and I couldn't be happier. The modeling is phenomenal, and the programing gives me just enough tinkering ability to make me smile. It appears to be built like a tank. I love having enough switches to turn on and off 6 blocks, and to be able to easily change modes. Great job Line 6, and of course Sweetwater and Nick T., who is super good and always treats me right.