Is the Line 6 HX ONE Too Expensive? Comparison to Strymon, Meris and Digitech

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The HX ONE. One of the thoughts that I (and others) have had is - compared to an HX Stomp - this is kind of expensive for what you get? But - I think the idea is that maybe Line 6 are expecting it to be used in a bit of a different way...So here is a comparison with a Strymon El Capistan, a Meris Mercury X, a Digitech Whammy DT and a Keeley Modded Tubescreamer....
00:00 Intro in front of a Fender Pro Reverb 1965
2:26 The HX One - expensive compared to an HX Stomp
4:43 Explanation for the clips
21:58 REVEAL which unit(s) you're hearing first
5:30 Device A Tape Delay
6:16 Device B Tape Delay
7:00 Tape Delay Differences
8:10 Device A Tape Delay
8:25 Device B Tape Delay
8:50 Tape Delay Conclusions
10:26 REVERB Meris Mercury X
10:37 Device A Plate Reverb
11:24 Device B Plate Reverb
12:15 Reverb conclusions
13:25 Tubescreamer
13:30 Device A Tubescreamer
14:05 Device B Tubescreamer
14:40 Tubescreamer conclusions
15:49 Pitch Shifting
17:33 Device A -3 steps Pitch Shift
17:54 Device B -3 steps Pitch Shift
18:25 Device A Pitch Detune
18:45 Device B Pitch Detune
19:05 Conclusions
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[@mtguitar5150]

I can list half a dozen reverb pedals that cost more. And those don't come with delays mods and 200 other effects

[@pb25193]

The customers of those pedals do not care about helix, and the customers of helix do not hold such low bars for satisfaction. It's a gamble by l6 and we will see how it plays out. Personally I want a hx Amp, which is the inverse of this thing.

[@willrayment9544]

My go to guitar channel. Amazing original playing, with excellent gear info. Good work.

[@logangrzesiek8749]

Perfect sweet spot in price to value to footprint ratios for me. Will be using it with my h9 in the fx loop of my simplifier mk2 mostly - but the flexibility of being able to move it in front of the simplifier if i wanted is really great. And the flux feature sounds like an excellent way to spice up some stereo soundage. Plus i can just power it off of my one spot? Very cool.

[@keithbolves278]

Some of us don't like the HX stomp. Why is that so hard for some to understand? The H9 Max is much more expensive than this, and has far fewer algorithms. If I want HX effects on my pedalboard, I don't want to go menu diving with the HX stomp. My strymon big sky was more expensive than this. Also, my Mobius and timeline are both more expensive than this and all of those only play one effect at a time. I if this product does not meet their specific use scenario, some bash it as though it should not exist at all.

[@user-xk8xr8gs4f]

Great video with all the stuff we like to see and hear!!

[@kevinlong4657]

I wish all these digital units had a digital interconnection standard rather than so much A/D and D/A conversions if you have several digital pedals / modelers etc..

[@keithb5612]

Thabks for the review. Conparisons are always really appreciated. The HX ONE pedal is just under £1 per effect algorithm with just over 250 effects available. I have x2 Zoom MS-50G MultiStomp pedals and made up sone really interesting and unique patches over 50 preset slots. I can run one pedal into the other giving 100 preset slots or 50 x50=2500 effects. Not bad for a £100 pedal or £200 for two pedals in my case. There is no dedicated Glitch Delay effect but I am pretty close with my user made patches. I may wait for a second hand HX ONE however and see how that adds to my board. Cheers

[@TheG7thcapo]

Zoom ms-50g+ has just been released!! Its not the same quality but for people on budget its a great option.

[@hermespadilla]

Would be interesting to see you compare it to the new Zoom multistomp that came out some weeks ago. Zoom kept the price at $129 but it has some cool updates and new features that makes you wonder if this HX pedal is worth it

[@ToneDeth.]

What do you think of tonejunkie show where they say like 6 should do an HX amps pedal in same form factor as one

[@BrizzleRocker]

Some interesting sounds. A comparison with the Eventide H9 would be good.

[@rossedwards73]

Came here to say exactly this… I’m very tempted (hope you’re well, BTW - haven’t seen you in years!)

[@thomaschilds8781]

Is it a good amp in a box? I want to keep the same pedalboard setup for playing live with an amp and silent stage. This wouldn't feel like a wasted slot when playing with an amp. Alternatively, I'm thinking of something like UAFX Ruby. These options would replace my Victory Copper pedal and 2 Notes Cab M.

[@rafaelikenaga]

how’s the H90 going?

[@kevinp_25]

HX One comes out and people say it's too expensive because it only does one effect at a time. RV-200, Cloudburst, Brig, etc. comes out and people can't wait to get a bunch of them. This is more aimed at the M5 users. I almost never need a phaser, flanger, tremolo, POG, rotary, chorus, etc. but the M5 (back in the day) allowed me to have all of those IF needed. This is the same concept but with much better effects in addition to the M5 effects (legacy effects are still in there).

[@herroglop7411]

I am looking for a Freeze pedal and the Line 6 One has that effect but I caanot find a comparison with the EHX freeze. If it is as good as the EHX I would go for the Line 6 since it has much more effects. Do you have a Freeze pedal to compare it? Thanks

[@Impractical_Engineer]

I see line 6 coming out with an amp cature model similar to ToneX and this will be the way you can add effects. Its pretty good if you like a few effects on the unit. Essentially gets you a ton of options. Wish the layout was a bit better and IO was more functional.

[@kannonprice3521]

Does anyone know how to save preset with the effect turned off?? Every time I change a preset the effect is always already on, and I can’t find any setting where allows me to do otherwise. WHY lol What if I wanna change a sound mid song while playing and load a big delay for the outro but not have it on already until I actually press on

[@tastysalad114]

I would buy new Line 6 HX ONE immediately if you coud use 3 effects at once (for this price). But I still have my old Line 6 M5 in my smaller pedalboard for chorus/phaser/synth/another delay. And yeah, the M5 was and is still much cheaper...

[@scottmartin5492]

Adjusted for inflation, the M5 at launch was about $275, so not *that* much cheaper.

[@TheActressAndBishop]

I agree with your conclusion .. exactly why I'm looking at it .. but is it worth getting instead of the HX Stomp (especially second hand) .. cos that will do several FX at once ..

[@kevinp_25]

No, imo. If you're willing to get a stomp, get a stomp. This is more aimed at people who *aren't* willing to get a stomp and thus have to navigate it's layout and menus.

[@TheActressAndBishop]

@@kevinp_25 I see .. so if you're brave enough to look a menu in it's face and still plug in .. 🤣.. nice to have a clear answer!!!

[@joehynes2964]

I see this pedal as a Wampler Terraform on steroids. It's a perfect all-in-one placed after your last drive pedal but before your delay and reverb pedals. It can do 'dirt' if you need it. It can also do delay and reverb as well. But it does a ton of work as a flanger, phaser, uvibe, chorus, etc. The Wampler Terraform is $299. The HX One is $299.

[@Kaisermb1]

Bought and returned. It does sound like the line 6 stuff in that’s it’s good and very tweakable but just one effect at a time makes it a bit restrictive for me. I’d much rather see less than 200 effects and have it be just a few effects that people actually use a lot that can be used together, like reverb and delay and some modulation. That would kill.

[@woodygranger2126]

Interesting thoughts on this, but I am still not a buyer. Though it may sound close to several of these real-world pedals, you would need another HX One if you want to have both on at the same time. If you need to do just one pedal of one type, then I guess it would work. But then I think, wouldn't it be better to just use that actual pedal if you only want that one sound. You would have the real thing instead of an emulation of it. Unless you already have one and just want to emulate just one that you could cha ge out to something else that you dont have. Just my two cents. An amp modeler only version of this would be more valuable to me. It would be way cooler to change out great virtual amps with pedals than pedals with amps imo. Thanks for the video! Always great commentary and extremely great playing! You add value to companies like Line 6 by being honest. It helps with future r and d and therefore sales. The stomp is my favorite modeler at this time. I also have an Axe Fx 2 and a Kemper Powerhead but I use the stomp more. I did like the spdif connection on the Kemper. I think it sounded way better that way.

[@picksalot1]

Does the HX One give you access to Helix Native at a discounted price? If it does, it's a steel. If it doesn't, then having access to about 200 Effects at that price is still pretty hard to beat. The Pitch Shifting capability alone is pretty valuable. You don't have to purchase a Baritone Guitar or Fender Bass VI, etc. for them. 😉

[@arc11honist]

would an HX One + friedman IR-X be better than a tone master or quad cortex?

[@georgesabitpol]

Good point. If you just use amp/reverbs etc, this would definitely be enough. If you want more complex layout then one modeller is probably better.

[@arc11honist]

@@georgesabitpol then an eventide H90 +IR-X? cost-wise it's still below the top of the line modelers

[@kevinp_25]

HX One and an IR-X would be waaaay better than those IF the person in question absolutely hates menus.

[@strattonsound789]

I happen to be very partial to the chorus effects in the Helix, this pedal might appeal to someone just for the chorus alone…plus it will do so much more and eliminate so many other mod pedals…

[@crsantin]

How does it eliminate all your other pedals if it only does one thing at a time?

[@PudWud1]

@@crsantin Use case will differ from person to person, but if I get it as a modulation pedal I never ever run two modulations at the same time. Its either chorus or tremolo or phaser etc.

[@basiltiffani8850]

Far too many people think anything that's not a steal is a ripoff.

[@yksityinenoma7821]

It’s not about people being unable to offer it but it’s not worth the money.

[@basiltiffani8850]

@@yksityinenoma7821 I didn't say anything about affordability. I said steal and ripoff.

[@illgottengains1314]

It’s too expensive. It’s an afterthought by Line 6, just a quickly thrown together item that will be heavily discounted before long.

[@ogmakefirefiregood]

Me with my Eventide H90 Um, no. Edit: I use it with the Boss GX100 I absolutely LOVE the Space Echo from Boss

[@kierenmoore3236]

Agreed. It beat the DT soundly. Not a bad overdrive, tho’ I still actually much preferred the actual TS. Preferred the El Cap and the Meris, but they all sound digital/have some trebly clangy stuff going on, so not as big a deal. In order of things it could best knock-off for me … the DT; then the El Cap & Meris; last, the TS (so, yes - I still think an analog drive is the last thing I’d use the HX for … whilst the pitch stuff was very good).

[@luis_14jn]

Don’t you think the HX one is competing with the Eventide H9? Maybe they should be compared between them

[@dejct]

I saw a video about Headrush Core today, which seems pretty awesome to be honest. In the past they seemed kind of meh but the interface looks pretty sweet and it can do a crap tonne of stuff. You think you'd demo one or try one given the chance?

[@Mr.D34]

No it isn't expensive however it's a bit senseless that you can only use one effect at time from a pedal that has 200 options. I don't own a digital modeler but even i was tempted to buy this pedal (mostly for time and modulation effects). It sounds great and it's the perfect size for small pedalboards.

[@dneuens]

Not really senseless when you consider how much Line 6 has diversified its line. If you want all the effects, there's the HX Effects or the HX Stomp (or just the full on Helix). This pedal is good for a person with a board who wants a few of the Line 6 effects but only needs one at a time. Better yet, the pedal will work with about any power supply as a standard pedal, something the others will not. It's a nice addition to the line and why I'll be purchasing one.

[@Dan-of-NJ]

Biggest problem is where to put it in on the pedal board. Obviously if you're going to use as an overdrive...or modulation...or delay/reverb with other pedals you basically have to decide where it will live. It's not practical in the real world to move it back and forth depending on the effect you're looking for. For that reason, it can only substitute for one type of effect at a time. Ie: use it as a phaser-chorus-flanger and that's it etc. etc.

[@foxmeisteruk]

This isn't strictly true - the HX One has a moveable FX loop, so you can cable it up via the 4-cable method, and then for each preset, you can either have the HX One effect before the amp (i.e. drives etc), or in the loop of the amp (i.e. time-based FX such as delay, reverb etc).

[@lexist7]

This rivals the eventide unit. It is a great bang for buck

[@valendis]

Yes

[@ThePlanarchist]

Interesting as usual. Overall not surprised it couldn't quite beat the expensive specialist delay and reverb units and pleasantly surprised that it did clearly beat the industry standard pitch shifter. It does at first appear expensive but may still make it to my minimal board as an extension for the Stomp when it would otherwise run out of DSP or spots in the chain.

[@CSW82]

The thing is, to get the most out of it, I'd have to be constantly moving it around the pedalboard... Can't be arsed with that kinda business..

[@dscataglini]

I think I might have mentioned it elsewhere. The hotone xtomp is also a quite good swiss army knife pedal. I have many of the overdrives/boosts/delays/compressors that it models, and I can honestly say it does an amazing job at replicating the sound of them. Although sometimes the xstomp might be a bit noisier. The only downside of the xstomp is that you can load only 1 pedal at the time. So switching pedal means taking out your phone, and resynch it. Which can take up to 20-30 seconds.

[@DarthV506]

It's great for taking a single pedal's spot until you want 2 of those at once. Rather spend a little more on a used HX effects. Then again, one of the cheaper 'glitch' delays on the market.

[@pb25193]

Line 6 has been so consumer friendly over the years that people now think of them as "those cheap fx", it would have succeeded if they copied the uad style pedals which do one thing really well. Its hard for people to believe that something can be great at everything

[@davidcjupp]

The Apple pricing approach.

[@user-qd9mm5mt4i]

It is $400 in country and thats a bit too much. Used in a few months it'll be $250. At $250 its a deal.

[@archiewiles5512]

If it could have even just a few amp and cab models it would be an amazing safety net pedal that we could use as a chorus/flanger/drive or whatever as it is intended but then have the confidence that if the modeller packs up, you can limp through the gig with a basic amp sound to the FoH. Currently I have a Stomp XL as my gig amp and effects plus an iridium that just sits there incase anything goes wrong. An HX One with an amp/cab would be great as a dsp offloader/extra switches/effects plus that amp back-up!

[@bonafideguitar]

Find me the midi chorus pedal for sale under $300

[@jdelcolli]

Yes, it is

[@steved1099]

For an extra £100 could have a pod go.... with the new v2 update, expression pedal, more switches, looper and so on. I would probably look at that but do appreciate it wouldn't fit on a small pedal board

[@granap]

I don't understand why people struggle to understand this product. You've got a couple of drive pedals, a delay and reverb. You don't want to drag around a spaceship pedalboard, so you buy this and stick it in the middle of the chain instead of buying 4-5 pedals you use for just that one part. Of course all the algos aren't gonna sound as good as top-shelf specialized pedals for that price.

[@zeon137]

Zoom MS-50g still the king

[@TheG7thcapo]

I agree. 6 effects at a time for $150. The new version was just released. With extra buttons and stereo output.

[@zeon137]

@@TheG7thcapo I didn't know about the new version, it looks killer. I bought mine in 2014 and it's been going strong to this day. Love this little thing so much it's unreal

[@kevinlong4657]

been watching your videos a lot .. great content but either my eyes or going fast or your auto-focus is not working ;)

[@JarickL]

To me it's not far enough in either direction. I either want to see a lot more physical knobs to be able to interact with the pedal in real time (not scrolling through a tiny menu), or I want to see at least two simultaneous effects so it covers more ground. If the HX Stomp didn't exist it would be really awesome but it just seems unnecessary.

[@xdoctorblindx]

I think the conversation would be very different if it was even just £50 cheaper. At £250, it would undercut so many other options.

[@johnnathancordy]

It's £249?

[@poesybeat]

Nope.

[@abelinolopez1957]

Is way too expensive

[@johnnathancordy]

Relative to what though? It's priced the same as the Digitech Whammy DT, and can do a decent (or better) job? How many other jobs could the HX One do?

[@Genociv]

When my buddy told me the price of the unit, I almost fell to the floor. That's waaaaay too expensive imo

[@granap]

Strymon Mobius is 449

[@keithbolves278]

The H9 is $500.

[@kevinp_25]

Cloudburst is $279

[@nobodyimportant76467]

I think a lot of people might have been expecting Helix 2 or something. This thing feels completely out of place and disappointing. Very limited for the price

[@jakestewartmusic]

Limited for the price? Out of place? You realize that Strymon and Eventide have recently been taking their algorithms and putting them into single-space, single-algorithm pedals that cost around as much or more than this, right? This is only $20 more than Cloudburst, which is just a single reverb. You couldn't even buy an El Cap V2 for this price. It's half the cost of a new H9 Max. Line 6 could have easily done the same and made a "Criss Cross Delay" or a "Dynamic Hall Reverb" pedal for like $250 but instead, they chose to give us every Helix effect in one small box. This thing is likely gonna get updates as more effects are added into the Helix line, too. If you can name another pedal at this price point with as many effects, at this form factor, this level of quality, from a brand with the history/reputation of Line 6, that gets updates adding more effects, and has the same kind of Flux/morphing functionality, I'm all ears.

[@nobodyimportant76467]

@@jakestewartmusic Be combative if you like but I don’t tolerate bullying. Yes - very limited for the price especially considering that for less than twice the price of this I could pick up a Stomp that also sends midi. If this thing sent midi messages then maybe I could find a use for it. But as is it just plain isn’t flexible enough for me. But hey, thanks for letting me know that I’m stupid and it’s a good value compared to other overpriced stuff. Appreciate it.

[@jakestewartmusic]

@@nobodyimportant76467 I didn't attack your character/intelligence or make fun of you - I simply questioned your conclusions, provided examples of why I think this product has a place in the market and is worth the money, and challenged you to prove me wrong. In other words, a debate Honestly tho, if you need MIDI - this might not be the product for you and you probably are better suited with an HX Stomp. This is a relatively simple product by design, and is targeted more at players who specifically don't want modeling or lots of MIDI options, etc. This is like a supercharged M5 and is more of a catch-all for rigs that already have amps and other effects covered. Or extremely small, flexible rigs that don't need a ton of effects/processing at once. Or folks with intense digital MIDI rigs that want to offload some DSP and make use of this new Flux feature. That's the thing, this product suits a lot of players and will probably end up on tons of boards, but it's not for everyone and that's totally okay. But it is safe to say that even if it doesn't suit you, it's not overpriced for that it's capable of and there IS a place for it. You might think that the Strymon and Eventide products I compared it to are overpriced, but that's the level of quality that Line 6 is competing with and all of these products are moving units. When you compare what Line 6 is offering here to other single-space pedals from similar companies, that's when you see the value proposition. When you compare it to products designed for a completely different audience, that's when it's apples and oranges.

[@bueller8278]

Yes. A lot of pedals in general are getting too expensive

[@sebrura]

Buy once, cry once. Personally I’d go with the Strymons or other boutique pedals instead of one do it all.

[@89digits59]

If this was 99 Pounds / dollars or in that ball park, almost every existing Helix Stomp user would have bought one. Let me know who all agree.

[@TheCyberMantis]

Yes, it's too expensive. It only does ONE effect at a time. If this was meant to replace the M5, then stick a $149 pricetag on it.

[@dking4165]

KZbin is evil...