Purchasing the hx stomp. Is 6 blocks enough for me?

[willyjacksonjs22]

I know a few songs on guitar that I like that I think that won’t require more than 6 blocks. I also like to record ideas in my computer. 

Is there really songs out there that have more blocks/effects on the single chain? Or is good to experiment with more than 6 blocks?

[Kevin-M]

That’s a question only you can answer. Six blocks gets you quite a bit, or not nearly enough depending on what sound you’re trying to create

[rd2rk]

If all you're doing is going into the computer and your studio monitors are connected to the Stomp, 6 blocks can get you some nice sounds.

If you're going all Pink Floyd ambient craziness, maybe not.

If you're using 4cm with an amp and need a second output with an IR to send to FOH, you've already used two blocks before you even start setting up the main sound.

If you buy Helix hardware, you get the Native plugin for $99 (vs what, $399?). That means you can record an effected track and a clean track, then add effects or create whole new sounds ITB. Remember, with the hardware you're no longer constrained by latency or samplerate/buffer issues with your old PC, you're just recording.

OTOH, a step up to an LT won't be much used (under $1000), and people are getting full on Helix Floor units for <>$1000. Up to 32 blocks, expression/volume pedal.......

[willyjacksonjs22]

13 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

If all you're doing is going into the computer and your studio monitors are connected to the Stomp, 6 blocks can get you some nice sounds.

If you're going all Pink Floyd ambient craziness, maybe not.

If you're using 4cm with an amp and need a second output with an IR to send to FOH, you've already used two blocks before you even start setting up the main sound.

If you buy Helix hardware, you get the Native plugin for $99 (vs what, $399?). That means you can record an effected track and a clean track, then add effects or create whole new sounds ITB. Remember, with the hardware you're no longer constrained by latency or samplerate/buffer issues with your old PC, you're just recording.

OTOH, a step up to an LT won't be much used (under $1000), and people are getting full on Helix Floor units for <>$1000. Up to 32 blocks, expression/volume pedal.......

oh thats right! i forgot about native. ok that will do it till a save for a floor. honestly i dont like to buy used digital gear. i prefer new with a warranty. for me amps, speakers

and used guitars are worth it.

 

Im getting a bundle, same price with an expression pedal. :) 

[rd2rk]

16 minutes ago, jorgealberto25 said:

oh thats right! i forgot about native. ok that will do it till a save for a floor. honestly i dont like to buy used digital gear. i prefer new with a warranty. for me amps, speakers

and used guitars are worth it.

 

Im getting a bundle, same price with an expression pedal. :) 

 

Sounds like a good choice! I feel the same way about used gear, especially if it's more than a couple hundred bucks!

A bit under a year after I got my Helix Floor it started having serious wackadoodle problems. I opened a support ticket, L6 emailed me a label, I had it back in under a week with all new circuit boards. If it had been used.......

[willyjacksonjs22]

1 hour ago, rd2rk said:

 

Sounds like a good choice! I feel the same way about used gear, especially if it's more than a couple hundred bucks!

A bit under a year after I got my Helix Floor it started having serious wackadoodle problems. I opened a support ticket, L6 emailed me a label, I had it back in under a week with all new circuit boards. If it had been used.......

I wonder how much is gonna cost to fix it if my unit breaks or something (after the warranty ends). That’s the only thing that I don’t like about digital but on the other hand is awesome!

my old fender solid state amp its still working ( not the mustang digital stuff). 

[rd2rk]

The upside is the problem occurred 2 years ago, and it's been A1 since. The warranty is one year, and when you register you get an additional year. L6 also sells extensions which I consider cheap insurance. I never win the lottery but I always buy my ticket.....:-)

[willyjacksonjs22]

8 hours ago, rd2rk said:

The upside is the problem occurred 2 years ago, and it's been A1 since. The warranty is one year, and when you register you get an additional year. L6 also sells extensions which I consider cheap insurance. I never win the lottery but I always buy my ticket.....:-)

oh cool! thanks for the info! :) 

[willyjacksonjs22]

23 hours ago, rd2rk said:

The upside is the problem occurred 2 years ago, and it's been A1 since. The warranty is one year, and when you register you get an additional year. L6 also sells extensions which I consider cheap insurance. I never win the lottery but I always buy my ticket.....:-)

Just got the hx stomp limited edition. Good tones and great dynamics! Better than using my interface. Some people prefer s-gear over helix ( better amps) but honestly I tried it and I think helix has a better response. Could be placebo because I’m using the hardware lol or because the latency is better. 

[PZ456789]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTcdjrUO530

Look how many blocks are necessary to get a nice tone! :-)

[codamedia]

4 hours ago, PZ456789 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTcdjrUO530

Look how many blocks are necessary to get a nice tone! :-)

 

It's a little misleading... He talks about how to get the raw tone that he likes to record with (no effects) and such.... but that guitar we hear is WET - there i no shortage of reverb on it, and probably a little delay as well. Somewhere along the path (DAW or Video Editing) he added some effects to that tone. 

 

Great playing.... good video... but I can't imagine how many people are out there right now wondering why they can't get a tone like that with his settings :) 

[PZ456789]

You are completely right with the wet sound. Sorry if I confused someone.

That video was just too good to hide. Great player, nice guitar and just one block on the big Helix!

I saw the video and this thread right afterwards so I couldn't resist ...... 

.... sorry once more!

 

[willyjacksonjs22]

I don’t understand the outputs. (Left

mono and right unba/balance) I have allot of instruments cables and a dual cable trs to 2 ts pins.  I’m using the dual cable just dont know if I’m doing it right. 

So right now i have the trs end connected to right output of the stomp and ts connected to the interface. 

[rd2rk]

You can use two TS Cables - L/Mono Out to 6i6 Input 1 and Right Out to 6i6 Input 2. That'll give you the ability to record in stereo. Connection is unbalanced*.

OR

You can use one TS Cable - L/Mono to either 6i6 input for an unbalanced* connection for Mono recording.

OR

You can use two TRS Cables from L/Mono Out to 6i6 Input 1 and Right Out to 6i6 Input 2. That'll give you the ability to record in stereo. Connection is balanced*.

OR

You can use one TRS Cable from L/Mono Out to either 6i6 input for Mono recording. Connection is balanced*.

 

* BALANCED connections allow longer cable runs without added noise. If using TRS cables for that purpose they need to be shielded. XLR cables are balanced, but the Stomp doesn't have XLR outs.

 

The cable you are describing is called an "Insert" cable. It's generally used for an FX Loop where the output and or input is a single 1/4" stereo (TRS) jack, and the device being inserted has pairs of 1/4" TS jacks. There is NO advantage to using it on the Main Outputs/AI connection. It CAN, however, be used in the SEND jack to implement dual FX Loops.

 

[willyjacksonjs22]

23 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

You can use two TS Cables - L/Mono Out to 6i6 Input 1 and Right Out to 6i6 Input 2. That'll give you the ability to record in stereo. Connection is unbalanced*.

OR

You can use one TS Cable - L/Mono to either 6i6 input for an unbalanced* connection for Mono recording.

OR

You can use two TRS Cables from L/Mono Out to 6i6 Input 1 and Right Out to 6i6 Input 2. That'll give you the ability to record in stereo. Connection is balanced*.

OR

You can use one TRS Cable from L/Mono Out to either 6i6 input for Mono recording. Connection is balanced*.

 

* BALANCED connections allow longer cable runs without added noise. If using TRS cables for that purpose they need to be shielded. XLR cables are balanced, but the Stomp doesn't have XLR outs.

 

The cable you are describing is called an "Insert" cable. It's generally used for an FX Loop where the output and or input is a single 1/4" stereo (TRS) jack, and the device being inserted has pairs of 1/4" TS jacks. There is NO advantage to using it on the Main Outputs/AI connection. It CAN, however, be used in the SEND jack to implement dual FX Loops.

 

thanks again for the info!! :) 

So an instrument cable the same as a ts cable?

if they are why are they  located in different areas in a music store? Just curios 

[rd2rk]

5 minutes ago, jorgealberto25 said:

thanks again for the info!! :) 

So an instrument cable the same as a ts cable?

if they are why are they  located in different areas in a music store? Just curios 

 

An Instrument cable is a type of TS cable. It differs from a  TS "patch" cable in that it is shielded.

[willyjacksonjs22]

6 minutes ago, rd2rk said:

 

An Instrument cable is a type of TS cable. It differs from a  TS "patch" cable in that it is shielded.

But it can still be used on the outputs of the stomp? If not I’ll just go the store and get some cables.

 

one more question and I promise I’ll stop lol

adding a physical volume pedal and wha pedal will aid the stomp on not using more blocks? I think so right? 

[Kevin-M]

1 hour ago, jorgealberto25 said:

But it can still be used on the outputs of the stomp? If not I’ll just go the store and get some cables.

 

one more question and I promise I’ll stop lol

adding a physical volume pedal and wha pedal will aid the stomp on not using more blocks? I think so right? 

Absolutely will help in that regard. 

[rd2rk]

2 hours ago, jorgealberto25 said:

But it can still be used on the outputs of the stomp? If not I’ll just go the store and get some cables.

 

one more question and I promise I’ll stop lol

adding a physical volume pedal and wha pedal will aid the stomp on not using more blocks? I think so right? 

 

Yes, you can use an instrument cable vs a patch cable. If it's noisy, get a quality patch cable.

 

Yes, physical pedals will save on Blocks. You can also use physical effects in an FX Loop, of which you have two (MONO), with this caveat. Using an FX Loop requires a Block, not worth it on a 1 to 1 basis. But, say you have 2 or more Distortion boxes that you only ever use one at a time, or know you want stacked. Putting them in a loop before the amp means you have access to 2 or more devices for the price of one Block, and if you want them stacked, just turn them both ON before you hit the Loop Block enable switch. Same goes for Modulation/delay/reverb effects, you can put them in a second loop AFTER the amp, or wherever you want them in the chain.

[willyjacksonjs22]

1 hour ago, rd2rk said:

 

Yes, you can use an instrument cable vs a patch cable. If it's noisy, get a quality patch cable.

 

Yes, physical pedals will save on Blocks. You can also use physical effects in an FX Loop, of which you have two (MONO), with this caveat. Using an FX Loop requires a Block, not worth it on a 1 to 1 basis. But, say you have 2 or more Distortion boxes that you only ever use one at a time, or know you want stacked. Putting them in a loop before the amp means you have access to 2 or more devices for the price of one Block, and if you want them stacked, just turn them both ON before you hit the Loop Block enable switch. Same goes for Modulation/delay/reverb effects, you can put them in a second loop AFTER the amp, or wherever you want them in the chain.

thank you so much for all your help! this is the best peace of gear i have ever own and better tone! hopefully i get better at playing and one day i can start a band or join one. 

also, the helix floor will be waiting if not a new line 6 product :)