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Line 6 HX Stomp
- Thread starter been_effected
- Start date
I am quite familiar with modular synthesis, but I still find it very annoying to use. I have no problem dialing in a sound with Arturia Modular, Pigments, Serum or Diva, but the C4 had me confused.
Maybe someone has asked this before? I’m trying to get the bass sound from Muse’s “Uprising.” Anyone have any luck?
I'm not really sure what to say to that, I guess its subjective. Again, I can't really imagine a pedal capable of everything it does that could be much more intuitive though. The Future Impact I will say is probably a more intuitive take on a similar thing, but is also only dealing with a mono path and so much less versatile routing/mixing options. The Routing options (and related adjustment controls within different menus) to me are probably the most confusing aspect of the C4 but aren't detrimentally so to me making the sounds I want to make.
Here's a quick attempt adapted from my main gig preset.
It's not exact, but it should get you through a cover gig no problem:
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Edit: Listening back, it's probably too dark. Play around with the tone controls on the Clawthorn Drive, and the EQ on the amp and you'll probably get significantly closer.
Effects chain: Bass Octaver -> Clawthorn Drive -> Cali 400 Ch 1 -> Shiftline Mesa RR215 IR
Exact settings:
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As confusing as the C4 interface can be to learn, I would think having all of the C4 controls in a Helix style interface would be even more annoying to use.
I have one with the octave delay and everything, however I run a comp and an Octabvre before the Stomp.
I made a duplicate with an octave block that’s pretty close. DM if you want it and I’ll download the preset to my laptop later and send it over
In addition to @Naigewron great post, I've found several good starting points for Muse tunes on the Line 6 CustomTone site.
Do most people find they had to build complicated patches to get a good bass sound? Part of why I fell in love with the Helix was that it took me five minutes and two blocks to get a killer tone: tube mic preamp with HPF / LPF engaged, LA2A, done. And now that the Noble is out sticking that in front is even better.
Less is more. And it's hard to hold back - I'm the kind of person that if you give me 8 slots, I'm gonna come up with 8 effects I "need" to have. End result: a strangled, dead-ish tone.
The light bulb moment for me was when I forgot my entire pedalboard at practice (including HX Stomp), it was just straight to amp, and my favorite backup singer goes, "Wow, your bass sounds great tonight!" Oops...
I mostly use it in stomp mode, I don’t generally put in amp or cab sims. Always ends up sounding better switching those blocks off. Except the noble, that added just the right minimal extra flavor.
I’ve found it to be fairly simple to dial in just the right effect. It’s the full preset building for specific songs like Muse that’s time-consuming, but I don’t need those very often.
That happened to me once as well. My Stomp and power supply weren't working so I went tuner to passive DI (Radial Pro, nothing special but not the worst) to FOH. We are silent stage and IEM only. Everyone thought I sounded great.
It did make me consider going stupid simple.That's one reason I dumped my expensive, high end analog/tube pedal board and DI and went Stomp. No one really notices. I like my Stomp because it sounds good and I also use it for synth bass stuff. I don't want to haul a synth around and the Stomp make for an easy and light weight load in/out. Shure GLXD+ and the Stomp, a Radial Pro DI on a Nano+ board with a CIOKS DC7 underneath. Pretty simple and powerful little board.
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It depends on the use case. For my purposes I have 5 of the 8 processing blocks dedicated to delivering an intended tone to FOH and IEMs. None of them are doing a lot, but they all add up to something greater than I could achieve with just a couple blocks. The remaining 3 processing blocks are dedicated to effects that get footswitched in and out as needed. This all goes out the window if I'm building a synth preset, or trying to emulate a particular tone.
I think I fall somewhere in the middle. Most of my presets derive their base tone from two or three blocks – preamp, sometimes compressor, and a tone enhancer like the regal DI or retro Reel. Then the rest of the blocks are dedicated to switchable effects or an FX loop.
I can't find it: there is a competing product directly aimed at the HX One. Mono, Joyo, something cheap and 4-lettered maybe. Anybody?
EDIT: FOUND IT: Ampero Mini
EDIT: FOUND IT: Ampero Mini
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Yeah, if you're doing anything "special" with your Stomp (like using it for IEM's, which I thought about doing) it'd be pretty tough to use someone else's presets.
To me, something like the Zoom MS-60B is close, except that it will do up to four effects at once.
I personally can't think of anything quite like the Stomp except the Eventide H9 and they've been around for quite a few years now. Most multis do multiple effects at once. Like Lee just said, the Zoom MS series is the closest I'm aware of.
As @BassikLee mentioned, the Zoom MS line is a decent contender at around the $130-150 new, and about $50 cheaper if buying used. It also happens to be a 4-lettered name brand
I'd also suggest checking out the 70CDR since it allows for more effects in the chain (up to 6) and has stereo input in addition to the stereo output. Either of these pedals will allow you to use any effect in the MS lineup via Zoom Effects Manager or the G200KG Zoom MS Utility.
As @BassikLee mentioned, the Zoom MS line is a decent contender at around the $130-150 new, and about $50 cheaper if buying used. It also happens to be a 4-lettered name brand
Another effects board provided the answer: Ampero Mini
