LuniTunes

Have you looked at what other companies are doing with AI and matching tones in recordings? It’s pretty exciting.

I wonder what it would take to establish and maintain a small dust-free clean room in a residential setting. People have walk-in humidors and climate-controlled wine cellars; why not contaminant-controlled nerd rooms for dweebing around with sensitive electronics?

1.) Define and understand your requirements. Effects thingie that can run multiples and has a desktop editor. Must have MIDI, scribble strips, and lots of buttons, doohickeys, and entire I/O sections that I’ll never use. 2.) Search the marketplace for a device that currently meets all requirements. Check. 3.) Don’t buy something that may (or may not) meet one or more of those requirements sometime in the future. Check. I doubt Line6 will bother to remove the YouTube app in a subsequent firmware update just because they don’t want to patch it to run the latest ad service. 4.) Just because something is older doesn’t mean it doesn’t meet your requirements. I’ll say! Sitting out an entire product category for a couple of decades can really yield a makeover in the landscape. 5.) Every electronic device eventually fails, so age is a consideration but if it’s working when you buy it, it could continue to work for several years. . . If you buy it used make sure you have an adequate test/trial period or return policy. Buying new from a reputable merchant has its perks. 6.) [D]on’t expect the manufacturer to keep it up to date with evolving computer OSs.. . . . Don’t expect infinite product support from the manufacturer. I’m preparing myself for the sad day already. 7.) If you buy it used for cash from a stranger in a parking lot with no opportunity to test it … that might work out OK, but it might not. To make the most of our time together, I’ll ask the guy if he has any Pokemon booster packs while he’s rifling through the trunk of his 1989 Chevy Cavalier to see if he has the power supply. 8.) Good luck. God save the Queen.

After minutes of careful deliberation, I decided that this thread could only get more interesting if I had one of these things. And so it begins.

Buying the wrong item is exactly what I’m trying to avoid right now.

Is the HX Effects still worth it in 2026? It looks like the price has come down, but it’s not that $100 that’s going to haunt me — it’s missing out on what I should have bought instead. It’s pushing nine years old, doesn’t have Bluetooth, doesn’t have a mobile app, doesn’t have the very enticing selectable input impedance of the HX One… I don’t doubt that the HX Effects is a good product that will provide hours of wholesome fun, but how close are we to a successor? Can such things be known to mere mortals?