Rylan Woodall
Member
I am currently waiting for my FM3 invite but have had the HX Stomp since August 2019. I will say that I much prefer the Fractal stuff, I had an Axe Fx II for about a year and loved every minute of it. Had to sell it to pay rent, but those days are behind us. Now that the FM3 is coming out I considered selling the HX thinking I wouldn't use it much. Then Line 6 released FW 2.9 with the Revv Generator Purple channel modeled and boy is it glorious! Such an awesome model. I will now be keeping it until FAS models the Revv Generator Red and Purple Channels.
Pros about the HX:
· I think it sounds good.
· Effects are good, lots of popular amps to choose from, the legacy effects are nice.
· For how small and cheap it is it is worth every penny IMO.
· I have been using it in place of my PreSonus FireStudio as well just for easy of not having to plug and unplug things constantly and it works well.
Cons about the HX:
· I think it is hard to use. Both the UI on the unit itself and the one on the computer are sort of difficult to figure out IMO. YMMV.
· You also can't do everything on the PC editor, you have to change some things on the unit itself which can be tedious to figure out.
· You only get six blocks (8 when 3.0 FW is released rumored) which is a major limitation in my opinion. Running a drive, amp, IR, EQ and output to my power amp is 5 blocks right there. Almost no room for anything else.
· The master volume is just that. If you're jamming along to a song you have to turn your source volume up/down in the app you're using or turn on of your output levels up/down in one of your blocks.
· Not nearly as flexible as anything FAS has ever made. You can probably get any sound you want out of a Fractal product. The HX/Helix is very limited and the sounds they give you are the sounds you get. You can't tweak the tube type and all the super deep stuff Fractal gives you. The HX does have Bias adjust and a couple of other things but nowhere near what FAS provides.
There are more cons than pros for sure. But in my world the two will co-exist. HX is a great backup too if you play shows. Have your set setup on the unit and if something goes wrong with your rig, the HX will do the job.
Edit: worded cons than pros wrong
Pros about the HX:
· I think it sounds good.
· Effects are good, lots of popular amps to choose from, the legacy effects are nice.
· For how small and cheap it is it is worth every penny IMO.
· I have been using it in place of my PreSonus FireStudio as well just for easy of not having to plug and unplug things constantly and it works well.
Cons about the HX:
· I think it is hard to use. Both the UI on the unit itself and the one on the computer are sort of difficult to figure out IMO. YMMV.
· You also can't do everything on the PC editor, you have to change some things on the unit itself which can be tedious to figure out.
· You only get six blocks (8 when 3.0 FW is released rumored) which is a major limitation in my opinion. Running a drive, amp, IR, EQ and output to my power amp is 5 blocks right there. Almost no room for anything else.
· The master volume is just that. If you're jamming along to a song you have to turn your source volume up/down in the app you're using or turn on of your output levels up/down in one of your blocks.
· Not nearly as flexible as anything FAS has ever made. You can probably get any sound you want out of a Fractal product. The HX/Helix is very limited and the sounds they give you are the sounds you get. You can't tweak the tube type and all the super deep stuff Fractal gives you. The HX does have Bias adjust and a couple of other things but nowhere near what FAS provides.
There are more cons than pros for sure. But in my world the two will co-exist. HX is a great backup too if you play shows. Have your set setup on the unit and if something goes wrong with your rig, the HX will do the job.
Edit: worded cons than pros wrong
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