• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Line 6 HX Effects

#3,381
Are most of you using drives on the HX effects or outsourcing to standalone drives in the loop?
Outside of the teemah and obsidian, I'm struggling to find good overdrive and distortion sounds. Actually the Sansamp sim is not that bad either, but the Fuzz's are horrendous imo. I do honestly love my HXFX though. Being able to set up snapshots and having 6 effects ready to go with colour coded switches and light-up display and whammy/wah ready to go via expression is SO good. Just the gain effects kind of dissapointing me. I am just curious who is using them and who is outsourcing.
 
#3,382
keatz said:
Are most of you using drives on the HX effects or outsourcing to standalone drives in the loop?
Outside of the teemah and obsidian, I'm struggling to find good overdrive and distortion sounds. Actually the Sansamp sim is not that bad either, but the Fuzz's are horrendous imo. I do honestly love my HXFX though. Being able to set up snapshots and having 6 effects ready to go with colour coded switches and light-up display and whammy/wah ready to go via expression is SO good. Just the gain effects kind of dissapointing me. I am just curious who is using them and who is outsourcing.
Click to expand...
I outsource all my drives. Like you mentioned the preamp stuff is great but I find i still like to tweak analog drive pedals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: keatz
#3,383
keatz said:
Are most of you using drives on the HX effects or outsourcing to standalone drives in the loop?
Outside of the teemah and obsidian, I'm struggling to find good overdrive and distortion sounds. Actually the Sansamp sim is not that bad either, but the Fuzz's are horrendous imo. I do honestly love my HXFX though. Being able to set up snapshots and having 6 effects ready to go with colour coded switches and light-up display and whammy/wah ready to go via expression is SO good. Just the gain effects kind of dissapointing me. I am just curious who is using them and who is outsourcing.
Click to expand...

I love the Clawthorn drive with the octave fuzz engaged, for all-out fuzzed crazyness. I run it (and all my drives) on path B to keep some clean signal.

But in general I tend to agree; I'm not massively impressed by the drives for bass (they're great for guitar though). The Teemah and Obsidian have my main drive sounds covered, so I'm getting by without external pedals, but it would be cool to have some more bass-specific drives.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: RevGroove, MascisMan and keatz
#3,385
keatz said:
Are most of you using drives on the HX effects or outsourcing to standalone drives in the loop?
Outside of the teemah and obsidian, I'm struggling to find good overdrive and distortion sounds. Actually the Sansamp sim is not that bad either, but the Fuzz's are horrendous imo. I do honestly love my HXFX though. Being able to set up snapshots and having 6 effects ready to go with colour coded switches and light-up display and whammy/wah ready to go via expression is SO good. Just the gain effects kind of dissapointing me. I am just curious who is using them and who is outsourcing.
Click to expand...

Naigewron said:
I love the Clawthorn drive with the octave fuzz engaged, for all-out fuzzed crazyness. I run it (and all my drives) on path B to keep some clean signal.

But in general I tend to agree; I'm not massively impressed by the drives for bass (they're great for guitar though). The Teemah and Obsidian have my main drive sounds covered, so I'm getting by without external pedals, but it would be cool to have some more bass-specific drives.
Click to expand...

I mostly use standalone dirt boxes. But I have used the clawthorn one as well with good results. I use it as a fuzz mostly. But it can get a nice OD sound too. The timmy is the only other one I’d consider using as a main OD on the helix. Def a good one imo.
 
#3,387
keatz said:
Nice to see a few of you mention you also like the Timmy as an OD. Shows my ears must be somewhat working haha. Looks like I need to give the Clawthorn a go.
Click to expand...

LOVE the Teemah model, and use it almost exclusively. I've been able to get everything I've needed from from "just a little wool" to "killer 90's pick sound" to "heavy biting overdrive" with that model. It's my go-to drive in my main patch. Lemme see if I can dig up a previous post with some settings...

EDIT: Here you go, Teemah settings posted here

EDIT: I also found the Legendary Drive to be pretty killer as well, but I do feel it needs a noise gate to go along with it. Sound samples compared to the MXR Brown Acid posted here

5sg.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gregmon79
#3,388
fivestringgecko said:
LOVE the Teemah model, and use it almost exclusively. I've been able to get everything I've needed from from "just a little wool" to "killer 90's pick sound" to "heavy biting overdrive" with that model. It's my go-to drive in my main patch. Lemme see if I can dig up a previous post with some settings...

EDIT: Here you go, Teemah settings posted here

EDIT: I also found the Legendary Drive to be pretty killer as well, but I do feel it needs a noise gate to go along with it. Sound samples compared to the MXR Brown Acid posted here

5sg.
Click to expand...

the red llama model is pretty killer too @keatz imo. It’s pretty organize sounding to my ears.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Diegombass and keatz
#3,389
Yup, Obsidian, ZeroAmp, Clawthorn and Teemah are pretty much the top choices in my mind too.

KWB is another cool drive pedal that works pretty well on bass in some applications. Aside from that, you can add some meat to most drives by running them into a clean-ish Obsidian 7000 - does a good job taming the more fizzy pedals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: keatz
#3,390
I had a good play around yesterday and I kind of regret my initial post. Between those mentioned in the last few posts, there are plenty of good drive sounds. I actually dug the Clawthorn after giving it some special attention. Geez that Teemah really is fantastic.
But....
The biggest reason for my success with dialing in some excellent drive sounds yesterday was actually dialing my bass in a bit different. I have a G&L L2500, and as some of you might know, the bass and treble controls are cut only. I've never thought(in 15 months) to give these controls such a dramatic "cut" before, but in active, series, both pickups on and bass and treble cut to about 50-60% respectively was absolute magic
 
  • Like
Reactions: RevGroove, 4Mal, gregmon79 and 1 other person
#3,391
@keatz Yep. That is the sweet spot with an L2k/L2.5k. Preamp off of course. In my G&L days, I setup like you are and varied the position maybe 1/8th an inch for each tone control and there was a wide variety of useable tone there.

My default on passive basses has always been full up and back off just a bit for variation. Not with the L series. Not with my Marco either. It is another one that sounds better about half way up and then dial in more brightness when desired.
 
#3,393
Has anyone run the stomp into a BDDI V2 to act as either just a DI, or as cab sim / SVT gooeyness? I’m gassing hard for the stomp, but just picked up a BDDI V2 and love the tones I’m getting from it. But, a good portion of my need for the stomp is to get good amp models. Curious to hear how well the two units play together.
 
#3,396
Here a picture of what I’m using as a main board I love the hx effects I don’t use a lot for songs so I’m currently waiting on a midi cable so I can change the channels on the darkglass Adam which I use for a amp and drives I don’t like how the cab sim sounds with the pedal everything sounds like there’s a blanket on top of it even with a ir so I use the ir on the hx and a eq to shape more of what I want and go out with a di out and it’s amazing it’s everything I could ever ask for I was scared to use midi but from learning online how to use it. it’s super easy on the hx stuff. Now if the cable would get here sooner I’ll be back in action. I use this last night through a pa and it sounded awesome of course it was hard to turn the channels but that will change soon.
 

Attachments

  • 9A8E8850-0531-4834-8907-5F0DB4071603.jpeg
    9A8E8850-0531-4834-8907-5F0DB4071603.jpeg
    447.2 KB · Views: 109
  • Like
Reactions: gregmon79
#3,397
Starting to realize that all my pedal auditioning and flipping is starting to approach ye olde Pedal Fatigue and have recently had my interest piqued by the HXFX - especially in the latest updates including things like the "capo" for instant tuning changes. "Oh, that song is in Eb? *click* Done."

Anyways, I just kinda want to know a couple specifics about setting up the stompbox mode, before I can even decide whether I wanna try this machine out or not.

1. Like my QuadraPOG and Octron2 - can I route the dry signal through one footswitch for a Down octave and another footswitch for an Up octave at once? Both in parallel with each other, and having the dry kept at unity.

2. Can you turn off the always-flashing of the Tap light?

3. Can you add an effect as an always-on that doesn't take up a footswitch? (like an EQ or a Comp or something)

4. If you have an expression pedal on the Speed of a modulation, say, do you have to "reset" the position for the effect to pick up the right speed change when you turn it on/off? E.G. if you pull your board out of a case/bag and the exp pedal is pushed down flat, would the effect turn on at full speed or would it turn on at whatever speed you left it at?

Thanks
 
#3,400
promdates said:
Yes for 2 and 3. I'm not sure about the 1/4 ones. I think the answer to 1 is yes though? I'm not 100% sure about the hxfx.
Click to expand...

For #3: how would one do that in stompbox mode, since it looks like you can't assign an effect without touching the footswitch first?

Naigewron said:
4: Neither. The expression pedal setting will be where you saved it when setting up the preset.
Click to expand...

Oh, that was the second option I mentioned, "whatever speed you left it at". But, that said, it might illustrate the question more, though: if you left it at "slow" when you set up the effect, but then turn it on with the expression rocked forward, would it then go even slower as you rock it backward, or would it "catch up" to the exp position somehow?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back