mstoffel Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Hi Line6 Community, hello to everybody, this is my fist post. At first let me tell you: I love the sound of the HX Stomp! No question. But coming from the BOSS MS-3 there is a lot Line6 could learn in terms of flexibility. And I really don't get it why everybody is praising the Helix Stomp as unbelievable easy to use and flexible..... I tried to configure the Stomp as standalone for a live backup rig. What I simply need is: Clean Crunch Lead Tuner Sounds simple right. But it's very difficult with the Stomp. Let us assume I'm using the MS-3 with only 3 buttons like the Stomp: Button One switches to Preset One -> Clean and press again to Crunch Button Two switches to Preset Two -> Rhythm and press again to Lead Button Three is dedicated to Tuner (long press) and switch to stomp mode. In addition I can assign the the knobs to several parameters that can be adjusted while in preset mode. With this setup I can do a lot with just three buttons including switching each Preset to stomp mode to and add additional FXs. Using the Helix: Stomp mode -> Switch between Clean/Rhythm needs two different amp models etc. not easy to get the setup In preset mode I can only switch between three presets and have no access to the tuner by a button In snapshot mode again I have no access to the tuner by a button Scroll mode to me is not very handy since you can easily switch to the wrong preset in a live situation.... In general I think the limitations come from the the heritage of the bigger Helix versions where you can have presets and stomp at the same time.... A great benefit for the helix stomp would be that you can press a preset again and activate/deactivate a block and configure the tuner by a long press. But maybe I'm just not on the right track and doing it completely wrong. If so, it would be great to have some suggestions form you experts :-) Regards, Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Well, the Boss MS-3 is quite a bit larger than the Stomp... It has five footswitches compared to the Stomp’s three. I had one for a little while. It made me want to pull my hair out programming it. Anyway, I think the Stomp isn’t primarily meant to be a rig replacement. You can do that, especially if you’re will to use external footswitches and/or MIDI controllers with it. Primarily, though, the Stomp is designed to live on a pedalboard with other pedals. It’s the ultimate wild card pedal in that it can basically be whatever you want it to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 I mean, really though what do you want them to do with three footswitches? I'd like it if functionality could meet my needs exactly. I'd like my big Helix just scroll through consecutive snapshots from one button so I don't have to worry about hitting a wrong switch live, but I don't imagine it's a commonly-requested thing. You could always add a small external pedal or MIDI controller to get back the functionality you're missing, but then you're no longer operating in just the "stomp" realm, but again, you can only do so much with three switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 7 minutes ago, gunpointmetal said: I'd like my big Helix just scroll through consecutive snapshots from one button so I don't have to worry about hitting a wrong switch live, but I don't imagine it's a commonly-requested thing. You can do that with the Helix if you change the function of FS1 and FS7 to Snapshot Up and Down... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Just now, phil_m said: You can do that with the Helix if you change the function of FS1 and FS7 to Snapshot Up and Down... No lollipop? Was that added the same time as Snapshots? I swear I tried to set this up and couldn't get it going. Learn something new every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 1 minute ago, gunpointmetal said: No lollipop? Was that added the same time as Snapshots? I swear I tried to set this up and couldn't get it going. Learn something new every day. Yes, I think it was added back when snapshots were added. Just hold both of the switches down for a few seconds, and you can scroll through their available functions - Bank, Preset, or Snapshot Up/Down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrahi Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 9 hours ago, mstoffel said: Hi Line6 Community, hello to everybody, this is my fist post. At first let me tell you: I love the sound of the HX Stomp! No question. But coming from the BOSS MS-3 there is a lot Line6 could learn in terms of flexibility. And I really don't get it why everybody is praising the Helix Stomp as unbelievable easy to use and flexible..... I tried to configure the Stomp as standalone for a live backup rig. What I simply need is: Clean Crunch Lead Tuner Sounds simple right. But it's very difficult with the Stomp. Let us assume I'm using the MS-3 with only 3 buttons like the Stomp: Button One switches to Preset One -> Clean and press again to Crunch Button Two switches to Preset Two -> Rhythm and press again to Lead Button Three is dedicated to Tuner (long press) and switch to stomp mode. In addition I can assign the the knobs to several parameters that can be adjusted while in preset mode. With this setup I can do a lot with just three buttons including switching each Preset to stomp mode to and add additional FXs. Using the Helix: Stomp mode -> Switch between Clean/Rhythm needs two different amp models etc. not easy to get the setup In preset mode I can only switch between three presets and have no access to the tuner by a button In snapshot mode again I have no access to the tuner by a button Scroll mode to me is not very handy since you can easily switch to the wrong preset in a live situation.... In general I think the limitations come from the the heritage of the bigger Helix versions where you can have presets and stomp at the same time.... A great benefit for the helix stomp would be that you can press a preset again and activate/deactivate a block and configure the tuner by a long press. But maybe I'm just not on the right track and doing it completely wrong. If so, it would be great to have some suggestions form you experts :-) Regards, Marco I think a lot of people just choose to bend over. However, to avoid bending over, I think the next best approach is to drop $20 on a dual foot switch and $10 on a TRS cable for it. Then you no longer have to bend over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilius Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 It's obviously limited, though in my opinion incredibly flexible by form factor. If you use it seriously live as a flyrig, as i do then a morningstar MC6 Mkii its well worth the money. My whole board has infinite switching options now and the rig fits in my suitcase. As someone who usually tours with an AxeFX this little unit does an incredible job for festivals and light, fast setup scenarios. If you want to expand it you can, or just stick it in your guitar bag as a standalone. You want more options, you certainly can have them. The only other thing i purchased was a set of TRS to Male XLR short cables so i could circumvent the need for Di boxes and its now perfectly usable in professional live environments. With the Strymon i now have one power cable to plug in and run everything + two balanced outputs = ready to go in seconds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstoffel Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 Thanks for your replies! I get everything you're saying and it is true, but a few improvements would make a huge difference like: Dedicate FS's to explicit presets (like in midi) Make tuner available in Preset and Snapshot mode Dedicate FS's to switch mode (stomp -> preset etc) Make use of click again/ long press in preset mode (add action like assign a block) Anyway I'll check on the additional switches.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smj7 Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Agree with tuner being available in preset or snapshot mode. An update so that a double tap on one of the switches would activate the tuner would be nice. Sean Meredith-Jones www.seanmeredithjones.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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