HX One FAQ
What’s HX One?
HX One is a compact stereo stompbox with a massive library of effects. If HX Effects is the spiritual successor to M9 and M13, HX One is the spiritual successor to M5.
How many effects can HX One run at once?
Ahem… one. It's a stompbox for pedalboard-based guitarists and bassists. It is decidedly not a micro Helix.
How many different effects does it include?
Every* effect from our Helix, HX, and M-Class product lines, including all the crazy cool stuff like Poly Pitch, Poly Sustain, Retro Reel, ADT, Dynamic reverbs, Shimmer, Tesselator, Shuffling Looper, etc. Over 260 total. HX One ships with firmware 3.60, and when 3.70 drops, you may see even more effects.
Ugh, I hate screens on pedals. Is it easy to use?
Very. Push-turn the EFFECT knob to quickly select the effect category, turn EFFECT to select the effect, and then turn the three knobs to adjust parameters. Press < or > to see more parameters. That’s 90% of it, so congrats! Reading this one paragraph has made you an expert.
What’s up with that TAP | FLUX switch?
Hold TAP and it changes to Flux, which acts like a Heel/Toe expression switch, where any (or all) parameters transition to a different value over X seconds/beats with a selectable curve. It’s a ton of fun, especially with tape delay squeals, octave divebombs, distortion swells into the chorus, blooming reverbs, and countless more tricks that are difficult or impossible to pull off live. Or if you set Flux Time to zero, you can seamlessly toggle between two states of the same effect, just like snapshots in Helix.
Any other cool things lurking in there?
- Variable analog impedance circuits on the inputs
- Always-available input noise gate available from the Setup menu, per preset
- Every effect can be stored as a user default so it always calls up the way you want (and it even remembers your Flux settings), independent of presets
- 128 preset locations, selectable from the footswitches or MIDI. All 128 factory presets include one or more parameters preassigned to Flux
- If you’re willing to sacrifice stereo operation, HX One can be switched into one of two different locations on your pedalboard (or in 4-cable method), per preset—say up front for distortions and pitch effects and toward the end for delays and reverbs
- High-contrast 128x32-pixel OLED display
- Switchable instrument or line operation. Sounds great on keyboards and synths too
- EXP | FS3/4 jack, letting you connect one expression pedal, a pedal and footswitch, or two footswitches. An expression pedal and Flux echo each other’s settings
- Robust MIDI implementation, including triggering bypass, Flux, and looper functions from synth keys or sequencers
- It only really works when HX One is the first pedal in your chain, but there’s a tuner lurking in there too
So could HX One cover all the effects I wouldn’t necessarily buy a dedicated pedal for?
Perhaps, but it also shines for many effects you would buy a dedicated pedal for. Just because HX One has 250+ effects doesn’t mean it can’t rival (or surpass) many dedicated pedals.
Why didn’t you make a green delay version, a blue mod version, an orange reverb version, etc.?
Because it costs almost nothing to include every effect and we’re not greedy. If you want to dedicate an HX One to just delays, that’s fine—put green stickers on it or something.
What’s the USB port for?
Connecting to the HX One Librarian for backing up/restoring/importing/exporting/renaming/reordering the 128 presets and for firmware updates via the new Line 6 Central app. As there’s only one effect at a time (and it’s running on an ARM processor, not a SHARC), HX One is unfortunately not compatible with HX Edit software.
Can I power this from my pedalboard power distribution?
Most likely. HX One requires just under 400mA of clean DC. It also includes a new compact DC-1h power supply.
I fancy myself a thegearforum.com grumpopotamus. <snorts> Who would buy this thing?
HX One is clearly designed for traditional pedalboard guitarists and bassists, but it could also be ideal for the following customers:
- Keyboardists/synthesists/tabletop producers
- People who love Line 6 effects but for whatever reason prefer a competitive modeler or preamp pedal
- HX Stomp users who want more DSP (for Poly Pitch, etc.)
- Beginners—HX One is perfect for learning what types of FX you might like before building a pedalboard
*Ha! You said it had every effect from Helix, but it clearly doesn’t have the 6 Switch Looper or the Volume/Pan stuff!
With a MIDI controller, the 1 Switch and Shuffling loopers can be controlled from 6 switches (or keys on your MIDI keyboard).
When is HX One shipping? How much?
Mid-December 2023, $299.99 US street. You may be able to afford more than one for your pedalboard and unlike HX Effects, this one’ll fit in your stocking.
