I’ve had an HX Stomp on my bass pedalboard for a couple of years now, and I believe it’s been some of the best money I’ve spent on gear. I play bass maybe 80% of my gigging time, but when I do other things, my Stomp finds its way to my electric and acoustic boards too. It’s so versatile as a pedal and amp platform, but it’s also a solid Audio Interface for recording. Plus it also offers so many options for routing and being creative with one’s signal path. It’s been well worth the money spent. For Presets, I have and love all of Ian Martin Allison’s presets. Big +1 for him. But, for me and my .02, if you need a short list, he absolutely shines on the Synth-centered presets. Check him out over at Scott’s Bass Lessons, if you are unfamiliar. Also check out David Curran’s presets. He’s in the worship music space, but his presets are killer (if a bit expensive).
Awesome video. I love how you have grown into your channel! I've had a love/hate relationship with the Stomp. I've bought and sold it the little Stomp couple of times now, because I wasn't getting on with it, but I kept coming back to considering it as a part of my set up. I have just bought a Stomp XL, and love the extra footswitches. I think it is here to stay this time. I can say that you are spot on about the learning curve and it is all about how you choose to use it in crafting your sound. My relationship with the Stomp has changed since I first had it because I now know what I am looking for from it, and am having fun on that trip of exploration! Keep the vids coming!
I have a stomp xl and I'm in a cover band. Once of the best things about putting *everything* on the stomp is if we go from song A to song B, I can simply press "go to the next song in the setlist" and signal chain is now set for song B. No need to turn some effects on and off and twiddle settings for every song. Zero downtime.
They used to be. Now guitarists are slaves of the bassists ; ),. Or at least they should be. Bassists are stepping out of the shadow. Shredding on a strat is sooo 20th century. It's all about nice bass lines and miraculously good bass playing these days. I am old school, I admit, so like to be at the bottom end of the song, but there is so much room for bass players to take the lead, that the old paradigm of being servant really needs reconsideration. And, yeah, welcome in the digital age! Multi effect pedals are sounding just as good as a big bag of expensive analogue gear, and save you a lot of money in the long run, and save space and is less dependent on all kinds of electrical interference and buzzing and cable management.
I think the idea of a “true” bass player isn’t limited these days. There are loads of bass-lead tunes in lots of genres, and lots of tunes where the bass sits back. Our job is to know how and when to do both.
Every instrumentalist should serve the music. This idea that the bass is there to make everyone else sound good and in order to do that, they must somehow ’sacrifice themselves’ for the good of the MAIN instruments, and blah blah blah… It’s all BS. It’s a dumb kind of instrument patriarchy.
I started with the stomp in 2019 due to neighbor complaints about loud noises when I got it I was lost and was about to return it because it was way to much for me. After 3 years of owning it at the time I mastered it and was really happy with it. I moved on to the quad cortex late last year. Because of the capturing features I really love a good sans amp rbi pre amp for recording and live and have used one for years with the cortex I capture the pre amp in many ways and have been sold since. I’m at the point where I wanna just plug and play with out extra pedals when not needed and that was the answer. I haven’t looked back or added any new pedals since it’s been the best tool I use every day. I also capture everyone’s amps and drive pedals I meet so it’s been awesome.
I've had a Stomp XL for a couple of years now. My initial intent was to put it on my main "live" board to get it down to a smaller, you know, not an "aircraft carrier". I sill have yet to gig with it. It's been a studio tool for me. As you said, definitely a learning curve and takes some work. Eventually I'll step up and gig with it. Having said all that, it's an amazing tool and I am glad that I made the move to add it to the palette!
I'm right now on the fence with the Stomp... I want to reduce my pedalboard to a more smaller, "gigable" board -using the Stomp as a sound modeler/effect unit with the basic chorus, filters, and octave plus amp models but keeping the compressor, tuner and a Source Audio C4 on the pedalboard - and the run it thru a Demeter VTBP-1 to the board, and then to my IEM's. My worries reside that I'm not very good at programming these kind of equipment, and I don't want to find myself trapped with a piece of gear that just stays there collecting dust, as it happened with the Bass POD I had when they launch it and everybody was super excited about it.
Oh hey! I got some of the IMA presets as well, they’ve been super helpful. I got the hx stomp to have a compact fly out/travel rig and have been feeling sort of 50/50 on it, so this is an especially interesting watch for me
I’ve used a Stomp for live bass for about 3 years now. Some gigs I go through an amp but a majority of the gigs I’ve played have gone directly to FOH. I spent a lot of time dialing in the amp sims and have received quite a few compliments from sound people on my tone. For me, the Stomp is indispensable
Longtime HX Stomp user, I've now graduated to the full-size Helix. Absolutely stellar units; I love the interface, the tones and the extreme versatility. I can use the same rig for bass, electric guitar and acoustic guitar, so no more maintaining several different rigs, which is great for my wallet and for easing my previously endless GAS-triggered watching of gear demos and scrolling used market web sites for that one magic pedal that I definitely need right now. There are of course various very specific tones that the Helix units won't be able to cover, but I can always find perfectly usable alternatives, and sometimes find tones and approaches that would never have occured to me otherwise.
I think more guitarists have jumped to the Stomp as opposed to bassists because of the fact that bassists have been going direct much longer than guitarists. Things like the Sansamp, Noble (both of which are modeled within the Stomp) etc... have been around for a long time and they do a lot of what the function of the Stomp could be for a bassist if that was the only pedal they used. It took IMA's presets for me to really appreciate the sounds that can be achieved in the Stomp, and as of late I've used a lot of his settings within my own presets to achieve the sounds I need for live performance, especially when I don't have an amp with me (which is about 90% of the time nowadays). A lot of guitar players have certainly posted the necessary tutorials to keep me from purchasing a boatload of other pedals, and I've found myself selling every modulation pedal I've owned because the Stomp's modeling is pretty spot on and in a lot of ways more flexible than an analog pedal.
The Stomp straight to FOH is such a massive sound. I run a lead from the DI thru jack to an amp or power amp on stage unmiced for stage volume and reference for the band. I LOVE the WhoWatt. Best amp in the Helix platform.
For me the biggest advantage to these digital effects is the ability to change any number of settings with a single tap on one of the footswitches using presets. That beats bending down and turning knobs between songs any day. Love my Stomp paired with a great analog compressor.
@@pimcramer2569 The Stomp Can definitely do compression but it is missing some key features like a gain reduction indicator that for example the Cali76 V2 have.
I’ve had mine for about 6 months and love it. It has replaced a Origin Effects BassRig Super Vintage and a few other pedals. It can be a time suck especially at first trying to dial in the tone you are after. I kept my Darkglass HyperLuminol compressor on the board running into the Stomp. Being in a few different bands it is very nice to have a preset for each, and then use snapshots within the preset for specific songs or parts. It is a very powerful tool, but does require a learning curve.
As a beginner/intermediate player on a budget, I've really liked my B1 Four Zoom. It's a great all-in-one device for practicing when you're starting out. Between the drum machine, the headphone plug-in and just having a variety of sounds it allows you to explore and establish what you like, even if the presets aren't perfect. Plus, like you said, it's a good way to dip your toes into how to layer everything effectively and make you're own sounds. Just my experience and thoughts coming from a more beginner's perspective.
Totally agree - I throw it in my guitar case and can use it on bass or e guitar! Great practice tool that you can actually gig with. I need to mod it to be easier to toggle with your foot but it’s exceptional!
Thanks for the honest thoughts! Been hearing some rumblings from my guitar player buddies at church who both use Helix line products that the next iteration of the stomp is due soon. If that'a the case I'm thinking of waiting till the Stomp is yesterday's toy (and therefore more in my price range) before I snag one. Great stuff as always!
I've had an HX Stomp now for about 4 years. Bought just before the XL came out. It would be the last item to leave my board if we were stripping down for the smallest possible board on a mission to mars. That said, I do also employ a couple of pre-amps and compression along with it. The Stomp is the hub of my board and very much my swiss army knife.
Another great video Philip! I appreciate your honesty and open mindedness when it comes to stuff like this. I’m also pretty traditional in my gear choices and playing, but the HX Stomp is just such a valuable tool that it’s hard to deny its usefulness. I think good tones are a direct correlation to how much time you spend getting to know the pedal. Unrelated to the Stomp, but as a person with ADHD I do sometimes struggle when you have background music going while you’re also speaking. It does add to the production value and story-telling nature of your videos for sure, but it is also harder for me to focus in on what you’re saying. If the music was at a lower level (or better yet don’t have both going simultaneously) it would be helpful for me personally. Love everything you do so far and your ethos when it comes to education and creativity!
Some of your reasoning in this video lines up well with why I just bought an HX one. On my bass board of analog pedals, it comes in handy when you suddenly need a random effect that doesn't get used very much. Keep up the good work!
Glad to have seen this vid. I'm still in the stage where I am wondering if the stomp isn't for me. Seeing this has helped me decide to give it some more time. In addition to getting the stomp I got HX Effects to use in Logic & just last night I spent some time tweaking a bass sound on something I recorded. Its pretty much the same as using HX Edit but i get to change the settings & hear what the controls are doing in real time. I'm pretty adept at that but still need to figure out the controls of the pedal itself. I wasn't expecting the learning curve to be as steep as it is & a lot of the tutorials on RUclips seem to move too quickly, at least at 1st. & for me. As a hobby musician I don't have a ton of time & if I'm spending too much time learning tech then I'm not playing music. At any rate your video has convinced me to give it some more time. As always your content is great. Thanks!
Great video dude! I have owned a stomp for 5 or 6 years now and have rarely used it for bass. My filter pedal just died so I threw it on my board for a rehearsal and ended up using it for a few different effects that night. I will probably need to sit down with it for a few days and do a deep dive so I understand how to use it best for my situation.
6 месяцев назад+1
did not looked back since I got one back in 2022. Love the stomp!
I use the podgo for guitarsound and it took me two years to be able to use it properly. The good thing about this is that I now know a lot about guitarsound and how it is created, and I discovered that it is a complicated thing. What I really learned is to stop dialing in tones and just play. I now have 5 or 6 tones I really like and it is time for me now to start writing songs and use these sounds, let them serve their purpose. I love the honesty in your chanel, it takes courage to do it this way.
I was an early stomp adopter. Used an hx effects for a while and pre ordered as soon as it was announced. I’ve used it as an all in one rig but have landed in the same place, a hybrid analog/digital rig with the stomp being all the digital. The tuner, noise gate, global eq are sometimes all I use but if inspiration strikes it’s nice to know it’s there. Also, the teemah is possibly my all time favorite drive I’ve ever used.
Love mine! I totally agree with your earlier points, digital amps and sims are a huge source of analysis paralysis. I think presets are a great way to keep you playing and not spending so much time building from scratch. Love to see fellow bassist's repping it!
I recently took the plunge and bought the stomp. Put it on my pedal board after an external tuner and analogue compressor, then use a separate preamp/DI for live. I love the flexibility of the stomp for effects i wouldn't use a lot of ( and hence wouldn't buy as outboard gear) but to have them on tap for creating...priceless!! The form factor and sheer volume of possibilities is incredible, powering it though if you don't want to use the supplied plug/cable could be easier (hint Line6, please make this easier as part of a power brick and board setup)😊. Great video style and content 👍. Subbed
I started to use the HX Stomp (pre-XL) about a month ago. I like it better for bass than I do for guitar. The tones are more natural sounding. Like you, I've found that time spent tweaking is needed to make it sound its best. It works well with two small bass amps. It's nice to have the same Amp and cab with different effects switched on. The Ampeg amp with the 8x10 cab is impressive but I usually stick to one or two 15 inch speaker cabinets. Thanks for this video!
Loved this video ! Still considering the stomp, all lights are green from many bassists (you, Ian, Adam Neely...), but the price still represents a big investement for a non pro bass player... But I think it's still a "cheaper" way to be able to play anything and have every sound, than to buy all the analog gear. Subbed :)
Kicking around an idea for a single pedalboard for both guitar and bass by using great pedals to warm up the HX Stomp. Thoughts? Tuner > empress bass compressor > sushibox More > hx stomp > Sushibox dreamcatcher.
me too. I use the stomp, into an analog pedals chain only for fx: chorus, Delay, Modulation, sometimes boost and particular comp ression setting. I prefer an external DI and as last pedals (Ampeg SGT). But yes.. it's a great "possibility tool" for many situations
Actually considered buying the stomp, but pulled trigger on 64 black panel! Have used the 64 on one show and loved it. Sits in mix so well! And cuts through if desired.
I have used a helix for a coupe of years. I have been happy with it. However Ian’s setup got me thinking about being able to use the Stomp with my other pedals. So now I use the Helix mostly for guitar and have a hybrid pedalboard with my old Aguilar Tone Hammer and compressor that I like. I use the Stomp for everything else. Like you, I love Ian’s presets and have learned a lot from them.
I used it with a couple pedals for live gigs and home recording. On top of all the cool sounds it can produce, I really like to fact that you can get a super clean old-school tone, like a classic preamp pedal as well. I run it in 'old school' mode about 75% of the time. Love that.
i was in a similar boat. dipped my toes in the water with the pod go and was blown away. it was also easy to use with the desktop app. thinking abut upgrading to the stomp.
Love my HX Stomp XL. My board is that, and an Origin Effects BassRig Super Vintage. I prefer the XL to the standard Stomp because of the additional foot switches. Feels like you can actually control all of the blocks you need, still have access to the tuner, and even change presets without needing a midi controller.
I bought a stomp about 4 years ago and I've been loving it ever since. I was still in music school studying recorded music and I'd just been sent home because of COVID. I went from access to almost limitless amounts of top end gear to the tiny home recording setup i'd left at my parents place before I'd gone to university. Over the next few months I accumulated more and more gear and eventually put together a pretty functional space. By far though the most useful piece of gear over that time to me was the stomp. It became the backbone of any guitar or bass tracking I had to do and stood up great considering the situation I was in. Since then it's lived on my board permanently as a working musician/ engineer either as standalone amp modeling, just supplementing with an effect that I may not have bought with me or a totally comprehensive rig on some jobs. Sure it's not the highest peak of modeling technology but as a tool for a working musician/ engineer I wouldn't be without it now
I've had a couple of multifx units and have really disliked them. Affordability was a big factor. Eventually I saved up and got the Boss OC5 and the difference was astounding. So I started to invest in a bunch of individual pedals. The problem was that I had spent a significant amount of money and the idea of spending more for a pedal I might want to use every now and then was unthinkable. That's when Ian came in. I saw that he uses the HX Stomp and started to wonder if it might be different. I dreamed and saved for a while and finally jumped on it. The first couple of weeks were disappointing but then I found my always on tone which included setting the input impedance to 1MOhm and I was off to the races. I'm still using my OC5 in a loop and a tuner pedal. It's exciting to have so much available and with some effort the sounds are perfectly usable. Some are inspiring.
I got turned on to the Eventide H9 love it so much bought a second one. I use the amazing compression presets then flange or a ring mod etc if im doing some dub or Floyd
love my (small version - not XL) stomp, use it for creative stuff (delays, etc.), amp modeling and also clean sounds. additionally, (in a normal setting) i use a(n optional) compressor in front, and a preamp/di afterwards. on its own, the stomp is the best value for money and size imo, perfect for traveling and actually every setting (use it as a tuner as well).
I had an hx stomp xl...didn't find myself in it mostly because I didn't know how to approach it. Wound up buying both Bassrigs from Origin Effects (LOVE THEM), but I am back to considering a DSP setup as well and for the price, the HX stomp XL is the best value in gear. Looks like I am heading over to reverb.
My first multi effect pedal was a Zoom 504 I bought 1996-ish. 50 sounds, 2 or 3 usable. I've stuck with single effects since. I also play bad guitar, so my board is built for both without having a bunch of settings changes. I did just buy an HX One and like a lot of the tones it has
I play bass for one year after a twelve years brake. During these years I played guitar a lot and I tried a lot of guitar pedals and multi-effects. When l had the opportunity to play bass in a band last year, I sold all my guitar pedals and multi-effects and bought a HX Stomp (the small one) I wanted something good for bass and guitar. I use it for quite one year now, plugged in a DI box with the band or plugged in my computer at home for both guitar and bass. I just add a midi footswitch from ampero to get more switches. It's a really great tool with great sound (for my needs) and as we are playing rock/pop covers the presets are really useful to switch from one song to another. I actually use 3-4 presets for a 15 songs set. But now I need an amp to play in little bars, clubs (I saw your great video about bass amps rigs 👍).
Per usual, you make listening and watching a pleasure. Love everything you do, sonically and visually, you’re just an unbelievable talent my friend 🙌. Hope alls well on your end; much love!!! -Aaron
I got the helix initially as a guitar player doing musical theater and teaching, so I need a lot of sounds, flexible I/O, and reliability, so for me using it for bass as well just makes sense. For bass I just keep it on an SVT with a little compression and EQ and just kinda "set it and forget it."
For me, the stomp is replacing a meat and potatoes, mostly analog bass pedalboard and, at minimum, the time/mod effects in the loop of my guitar board. Used, finding a good deal, it made good sense, especially since I'm now jamming with a band playing covers and wanted easy access to more diverse sounds/effects.
I have the Line6 Helix LT (the bigger version of the stomp i guess) that i use when playing ampless. I think it does its job pretty well. But true it takes a bit of time to understand the process & signal chain. I must admit it's rather intuitive & easy to tweak it on the spot if necessary.
As a predominantly bedroom, with the occasional jam with mates bass player, the hx stomp is my only pedal. I don't play with a tonne of effects, mainly just a few drive sounds. So the stomp is more than enough for my needs.
I bought one of IMA's preset packs for the same reason: IMA is Fabulous, Seeing how he set up his presets helped me tremendously as I continue to learn programming for my own sounds
6 месяцев назад
Main selling point for me was the poly pitch effects - specifically, how well they track and sound for complex chords. Helix stuff is really nice, although I do use an analog oc2 clone, an envelope filter and a tech21 blonde type of thing (fender amp). The latter just to save some DSP and shut snobs up haha.
Recently considering the Stomp and even the POD Express as an option to a noisy pedalboard while giving me lots of options. What is your take on the noise level and using the nee POD Express for recording? -Thank you for all you do!
The HX Stomp is an amazing tool and I agree with you on many points! Same experience with the guitar presets! I still use a separate compressor though, because the small version doesn't have a gain reduction meter, unfortunately. In the end I still struggle to replicate the sounds from home at the rehearsal space, because of the amp and cabinets. My guess on why so few bassist use this tool is, that we're used to also feel the bass in the room and you don't get that so much, when you use this unit at home, especially with headphones :) Thanks for the suggestion to try Ian's presets! I should give them a try, because he's a HX Stomp wizard!
Good points! I wonder if you used a different monitoring solution with EQ settings on the stomp that more closely emulate a bass cab if it would recreate the "bass amp in the room" sensation.
I got a GT1b from Boss about a year ago and my guitar friend got a HX Stomp, a couple months later. Trying to compare the 2, other than the obvious price difference I would say the biggest differences are build quality, the number of features and the user interface. Both are better/more usable(imo) on the stomp. But, as I've gotten used to the boss it gives me everything I want. And effects that I want to adjust quickly, I get in extra pedals(comp,drive,reverb). That being said, I did make a couple presets on the stomp that felt more wholesome. Tried the katana-go headphone amp and noticed every bass tone I can get on the GT1-b is in there. So maybe get that one for the start(much cheaper) and save for a stomp.
@philipconradmusic how does the HX’s B-15 model compare to the real deal? Which effect (HX, Capo, Ampeg, Origin 64, etc) does the best B-15 tone? Love your videos!
Love your videos Phil! Do you have/would you ever make videos about your process of shooting and editing videos? I love the look and I'm a musician just getting into the videography world and would find it really interesting.
I've been avoiding digital pedals from a fear of latency. Mostly because when playing live there are digital mixers being used. So i dont want to add to the latency. I've recently realised that for delays, reverbs and modulation its not a big deal. From recent searching I've found the Boss digital pedals have a really low latency so I'm going to give one of them a go. See if it can replace reverb and modulation pedals on my board.
Really like the UI and features of the stomp, but I just can't get behind the line 6 amp modeling (even with 3rd party IRs). Kemper, fractal, and QC are far ahead in that regard. I personally use the kemper player (amp modeling only + pedals for electric, all in one for bass). Digital stuff is always improving, and it's cool to have so many options and at a very reasonable price point too.
I got an HX Stomp for guitar over 3.5 years ago, and tried to do too much with it right away. I spent way too much time trying to dial in dozens of Presets using the software. What I should have done was to focus on dialing in 2 or 3 Presets really well, and learning what all the Blocks and Parameters did on just those Presets. That would have given me a clearer foundation on how the Stomp works. Fortunately, through a lot of perseverance, I can now easily and quickly dial in the sounds I like. I think switching to dialing in the Presets on the Stomp hardware itself, instead of the HX Edit software, made the biggest and most satisfying difference. Highly recommended. I exclusively use my HX Stomp every day. 😎
Thanks for the great content as always! For anyone looking for free HX Stomp bass presets I have links to the free preset bundles I’ve made on my channel. Just look in the description for each the demo videos I’ve made for them. Hopefully they might be of use to some people. I’m always learning! I still use an external compressor (Cali76 Compact Bass) and preamp/DI (Jad Freer CAPO) with the occasional drive pedal but use the HX stomp for everything else. I think it sounds fantastic and helps me creatively as I find new sounds inspiring.
Hey Philip, thanks for the insights on the Stomp. You seem to have a pretty good ear so I was wondering what your thoughts are on the effects loop in the Stomp. I've encountered a dullness and coloration (lack of clarity?) when I use it that bothers me and was wondering if you or Rhett or others had noticed this. Thanks!
I'm largely in the "anti multi-effects" camp based on bad experiences in the 90's - early 2000's, and a general disdain for menus and screens instead of knobs. The HX Stomp may eventually win me over though. The demos by Ian Martin Allison are impressive and he makes it look way easier to live with than multi-effects of the past.
I feel the same about the experience of turning the knobs, as funny as it might sound. The sliders in the menus all look the same and a big part of the pedal experience is the design and the manual feedback!
If you don't find any amps that you like, try a distortion block Zero Bass DI, gain 3.5 ish, blend treble bass 5, presence 3.5 ish. It's a model of Sansamp bddi and it's my fav amp, (cuz it doesn't get boomy, like almost every cab model does)
Where Multi-Effects really shine on bass for me is recreating complex signature sounds from the likes of Justin Chancellor (Tool), Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) or my favourite Mike Kerr (Royal Blood) in a small, cost effective footprint. Of course I love my big analog pedalboard where I can just turn physical knobs on a whim, but it starts getting old really quick when you have to add another pedal just for one or two sections of a song, plus theres the logistical and financial side of it. You are saving on money, weight and signal routing-headache, especially with parallel effect chains like those of Royal Blood and Muse. Will I keep that one good bass overdrive for simple sounds and that one expensive octaver, whose tracking cant be beat? Sure. But I cant wait for the moment where I just whip out that small black brick and still have almost every sound that I want in it without carrying all the weight and cables.
To compete with DJ's, you gotta play a lot of synth/electronic based material nowadays if you want to keep working and the Stomp has been invaluable for that on bass. 80% of the time I'm using a nearly dry signal, but then there's the songs where I actually NEED a lot of effects to recreate certain songs that feature synth-bass tracks or distortion or a drastically different bass EQ than what I am using. It's a swiss army knife that gets better with each update. Discovering how to use MIDI and just have my presets change over bluetooth has been a game changer. Add an expression pedal and you will literally triple the usefulness of your Stomp. I run a compressor in front of the stomp and a preamp/DI after the stomp to send to FOH and don't really use any of the amp models or any IR's. I just use my tone pot to roll off the nasty clicky highs.
Philip - I think bass players run a little leaner on gear than a guitarist does, so maybe the push for a multi-effect unit like the Stomp is less for a bassist. Great video and great sounds! I'm a guitar player and have had the original Stomp for about 5 years, it is fun and there is no way that I could afford even 10% of the gear stuffed into that beast.
I come from the same generation of musician as you and I completely agree with everything you’ve said here. I flipped between bass and rhythm guitar (grew up in a small town) to fill out what was needed at the time playing in high school. My first multi effects petal was the digitech rp100 and boy if that isn’t what bases my opinion that all multi effects to this day are hot garbage. I’m glad the technology has caught up because I still hold the same ol “do more with less” mentality as was required back in the day. Ill have to revisit multi effects someday
I'm graduating from the HX Effects to the Stomp XL soon. I'm a bassist and started with a very analogue purist mindset but I'm beyond that. I don't find the architecture that intimidating - excepting the whole mic placement thing. I don't use the pre-loaded presets, only use my own.
I started playing bass in 1990. Wasn't really much for bass effects then (and I was in a low population area as well). I never really ever got into any effects or even active basses until the last 5 or 6 years really when I got back into it. I've got a B1X four zoom multi effect and a Joyo Monomyth. I could get along without any pedals again like I used to, but they give me more options to get the sounds I want for a song, so why not use them? Only reason I don't have an HX Stomp after all the stuff I've seen (especially from Ian) is the cost of it, I'm on a very limited budget at this point and in Canada, so it's not a cheap thing here ;)
My problem with the stomp is I only have one. The versatility of the send/return are great. Drum machines & synths are fun thru it too. I haven’t even gotten in to it’s crazy midi capabilities yet 🤓
I am a beginner bassist, but as I improve and learn songs I am really getting interested in effect pedals. Thinking the stomp xl and the patches you recommended might be the best bet for someone like me. Assuming it will also be cheaper than a pedal board full of effects. Am I way off thinking this is a good tool for the beginner to start and grow with? Thanks for the review!
I got an HX Stomp 3-4 years ago or so, but for my guitars. Bought a bass 2 years ago now I think because I was interested in it and did so because the HX Stomp has bass amps, so no need for new equipment. Glad I did because I still can’t really play so the investment wasn’t too big 😅.
I have a day gig doing all sorts of computer stuff, programming, cloud stuff. When I go to my bass playing, I use it as an escape from digital technology. This is why I can't bring myself to use a stomp and opted for the simplifier bass station and some key (fuzz, tuner, conmpressor) pedals. My friend loves his stomp but I just don't want to be moving through endless LED screens of choices :)
In my opinion most of bass players dont like to explore sounds, so they arent willing to spend any more money on hardware / software and they like to just plug their bass on the amp and go. I was one of those many years ago, but when I Get my hands on a digitech bp355 all that change, and it wasnt even the best around. Now I use a pod go and I will buy one stomp or stomp xl in the hear future. For me its just like you said, there are some great Analog effects and with and some new line 6 you can Get pretty much any sound that you like. Also I've seen many videos from Ian and what can I say, that guy its a God with a stomp
Love you Philip! Great vid and thanks for the shout.
I’ve had an HX Stomp on my bass pedalboard for a couple of years now, and I believe it’s been some of the best money I’ve spent on gear. I play bass maybe 80% of my gigging time, but when I do other things, my Stomp finds its way to my electric and acoustic boards too. It’s so versatile as a pedal and amp platform, but it’s also a solid Audio Interface for recording. Plus it also offers so many options for routing and being creative with one’s signal path. It’s been well worth the money spent.
For Presets, I have and love all of Ian Martin Allison’s presets. Big +1 for him. But, for me and my .02, if you need a short list, he absolutely shines on the Synth-centered presets. Check him out over at Scott’s Bass Lessons, if you are unfamiliar.
Also check out David Curran’s presets. He’s in the worship music space, but his presets are killer (if a bit expensive).
Awesome video. I love how you have grown into your channel!
I've had a love/hate relationship with the Stomp. I've bought and sold it the little Stomp couple of times now, because I wasn't getting on with it, but I kept coming back to considering it as a part of my set up. I have just bought a Stomp XL, and love the extra footswitches. I think it is here to stay this time.
I can say that you are spot on about the learning curve and it is all about how you choose to use it in crafting your sound. My relationship with the Stomp has changed since I first had it because I now know what I am looking for from it, and am having fun on that trip of exploration!
Keep the vids coming!
Excellent review of the HX Stomp, you nailed all the questions I had , and I'm getting it for the same reasons you mentioned. Thx
I have a stomp xl and I'm in a cover band. Once of the best things about putting *everything* on the stomp is if we go from song A to song B, I can simply press "go to the next song in the setlist" and signal chain is now set for song B. No need to turn some effects on and off and twiddle settings for every song. Zero downtime.
“True bass players are servants. They serve the music and they serve the band and the arrangement.” Soooo important to understand!
They used to be. Now guitarists are slaves of the bassists ; ),. Or at least they should be. Bassists are stepping out of the shadow. Shredding on a strat is sooo 20th century. It's all about nice bass lines and miraculously good bass playing these days. I am old school, I admit, so like to be at the bottom end of the song, but there is so much room for bass players to take the lead, that the old paradigm of being servant really needs reconsideration. And, yeah, welcome in the digital age! Multi effect pedals are sounding just as good as a big bag of expensive analogue gear, and save you a lot of money in the long run, and save space and is less dependent on all kinds of electrical interference and buzzing and cable management.
I think the idea of a “true” bass player isn’t limited these days. There are loads of bass-lead tunes in lots of genres, and lots of tunes where the bass sits back. Our job is to know how and when to do both.
Yep, this is a pretty old skool definitionthat can actually stifle you creatively, many bassists are much more ‘ forwards’ in bands these days
Oh now I understand, I'm a "sub"
Every instrumentalist should serve the music.
This idea that the bass is there to make everyone else sound good and in order to do that, they must somehow ’sacrifice themselves’ for the good of the MAIN instruments, and blah blah blah…
It’s all BS.
It’s a dumb kind of instrument patriarchy.
I started with the stomp in 2019 due to neighbor complaints about loud noises when I got it I was lost and was about to return it because it was way to much for me. After 3 years of owning it at the time I mastered it and was really happy with it. I moved on to the quad cortex late last year. Because of the capturing features I really love a good sans amp rbi pre amp for recording and live and have used one for years with the cortex I capture the pre amp in many ways and have been sold since. I’m at the point where I wanna just plug and play with out extra pedals when not needed and that was the answer. I haven’t looked back or added any new pedals since it’s been the best tool I use every day. I also capture everyone’s amps and drive pedals I meet so it’s been awesome.
I've had a Stomp XL for a couple of years now. My initial intent was to put it on my main "live" board to get it down to a smaller, you know, not an "aircraft carrier". I sill have yet to gig with it. It's been a studio tool for me. As you said, definitely a learning curve and takes some work. Eventually I'll step up and gig with it. Having said all that, it's an amazing tool and I am glad that I made the move to add it to the palette!
I'm right now on the fence with the Stomp... I want to reduce my pedalboard to a more smaller, "gigable" board -using the Stomp as a sound modeler/effect unit with the basic chorus, filters, and octave plus amp models but keeping the compressor, tuner and a Source Audio C4 on the pedalboard - and the run it thru a Demeter VTBP-1 to the board, and then to my IEM's. My worries reside that I'm not very good at programming these kind of equipment, and I don't want to find myself trapped with a piece of gear that just stays there collecting dust, as it happened with the Bass POD I had when they launch it and everybody was super excited about it.
Oh hey! I got some of the IMA presets as well, they’ve been super helpful. I got the hx stomp to have a compact fly out/travel rig and have been feeling sort of 50/50 on it, so this is an especially interesting watch for me
I’ve used a Stomp for live bass for about 3 years now. Some gigs I go through an amp but a majority of the gigs I’ve played have gone directly to FOH. I spent a lot of time dialing in the amp sims and have received quite a few compliments from sound people on my tone. For me, the Stomp is indispensable
Longtime HX Stomp user, I've now graduated to the full-size Helix. Absolutely stellar units; I love the interface, the tones and the extreme versatility. I can use the same rig for bass, electric guitar and acoustic guitar, so no more maintaining several different rigs, which is great for my wallet and for easing my previously endless GAS-triggered watching of gear demos and scrolling used market web sites for that one magic pedal that I definitely need right now.
There are of course various very specific tones that the Helix units won't be able to cover, but I can always find perfectly usable alternatives, and sometimes find tones and approaches that would never have occured to me otherwise.
I think more guitarists have jumped to the Stomp as opposed to bassists because of the fact that bassists have been going direct much longer than guitarists. Things like the Sansamp, Noble (both of which are modeled within the Stomp) etc... have been around for a long time and they do a lot of what the function of the Stomp could be for a bassist if that was the only pedal they used. It took IMA's presets for me to really appreciate the sounds that can be achieved in the Stomp, and as of late I've used a lot of his settings within my own presets to achieve the sounds I need for live performance, especially when I don't have an amp with me (which is about 90% of the time nowadays). A lot of guitar players have certainly posted the necessary tutorials to keep me from purchasing a boatload of other pedals, and I've found myself selling every modulation pedal I've owned because the Stomp's modeling is pretty spot on and in a lot of ways more flexible than an analog pedal.
The Stomp straight to FOH is such a massive sound. I run a lead from the DI thru jack to an amp or power amp on stage unmiced for stage volume and reference for the band. I LOVE the WhoWatt. Best amp in the Helix platform.
@@Place_to_keep_videos I’ve yet to run that amp, I typically just use the Regal DI when going to FOH.
For me the biggest advantage to these digital effects is the ability to change any number of settings with a single tap on one of the footswitches using presets. That beats bending down and turning knobs between songs any day. Love my Stomp paired with a great analog compressor.
Hey, why the additional analog comp? Can't the hx not do a comp?
@@pimcramer2569 The Stomp Can definitely do compression but it is missing some key features like a gain reduction indicator that for example the Cali76 V2 have.
I’ve had mine for about 6 months and love it. It has replaced a Origin Effects BassRig Super Vintage and a few other pedals. It can be a time suck especially at first trying to dial in the tone you are after. I kept my Darkglass HyperLuminol compressor on the board running into the Stomp. Being in a few different bands it is very nice to have a preset for each, and then use snapshots within the preset for specific songs or parts. It is a very powerful tool, but does require a learning curve.
As a beginner/intermediate player on a budget, I've really liked my B1 Four Zoom. It's a great all-in-one device for practicing when you're starting out. Between the drum machine, the headphone plug-in and just having a variety of sounds it allows you to explore and establish what you like, even if the presets aren't perfect. Plus, like you said, it's a good way to dip your toes into how to layer everything effectively and make you're own sounds. Just my experience and thoughts coming from a more beginner's perspective.
Totally agree - I throw it in my guitar case and can use it on bass or e guitar! Great practice tool that you can actually gig with. I need to mod it to be easier to toggle with your foot but it’s exceptional!
Thanks for the honest thoughts! Been hearing some rumblings from my guitar player buddies at church who both use Helix line products that the next iteration of the stomp is due soon. If that'a the case I'm thinking of waiting till the Stomp is yesterday's toy (and therefore more in my price range) before I snag one.
Great stuff as always!
I've had an HX Stomp now for about 4 years. Bought just before the XL came out. It would be the last item to leave my board if we were stripping down for the smallest possible board on a mission to mars. That said, I do also employ a couple of pre-amps and compression along with it. The Stomp is the hub of my board and very much my swiss army knife.
I love your intro playing. Can't get enough of that.
Another great video Philip! I appreciate your honesty and open mindedness when it comes to stuff like this. I’m also pretty traditional in my gear choices and playing, but the HX Stomp is just such a valuable tool that it’s hard to deny its usefulness. I think good tones are a direct correlation to how much time you spend getting to know the pedal.
Unrelated to the Stomp, but as a person with ADHD I do sometimes struggle when you have background music going while you’re also speaking. It does add to the production value and story-telling nature of your videos for sure, but it is also harder for me to focus in on what you’re saying. If the music was at a lower level (or better yet don’t have both going simultaneously) it would be helpful for me personally. Love everything you do so far and your ethos when it comes to education and creativity!
Wow I wanted to know your thoughts on the Helix stuff for ages! Since I know you’re so big on analogue gear, very keen to watch this
Some of your reasoning in this video lines up well with why I just bought an HX one.
On my bass board of analog pedals, it comes in handy when you suddenly need a random effect that doesn't get used very much.
Keep up the good work!
Glad to have seen this vid. I'm still in the stage where I am wondering if the stomp isn't for me. Seeing this has helped me decide to give it some more time. In addition to getting the stomp I got HX Effects to use in Logic & just last night I spent some time tweaking a bass sound on something I recorded. Its pretty much the same as using HX Edit but i get to change the settings & hear what the controls are doing in real time. I'm pretty adept at that but still need to figure out the controls of the pedal itself. I wasn't expecting the learning curve to be as steep as it is & a lot of the tutorials on RUclips seem to move too quickly, at least at 1st. & for me. As a hobby musician I don't have a ton of time & if I'm spending too much time learning tech then I'm not playing music. At any rate your video has convinced me to give it some more time. As always your content is great. Thanks!
Great video dude! I have owned a stomp for 5 or 6 years now and have rarely used it for bass. My filter pedal just died so I threw it on my board for a rehearsal and ended up using it for a few different effects that night. I will probably need to sit down with it for a few days and do a deep dive so I understand how to use it best for my situation.
did not looked back since I got one back in 2022. Love the stomp!
1000% agree. I had a very similar experience. Ian's presents are gold and helped me learn how to use the stomp better as well. Great thoughts!
I’d love to see some more gig vlogs if you’re still gigging! That’s my favorite
I use the podgo for guitarsound and it took me two years to be able to use it properly. The good thing about this is that I now know a lot about guitarsound and how it is created, and I discovered that it is a complicated thing.
What I really learned is to stop dialing in tones and just play. I now have 5 or 6 tones I really like and it is time for me now to start writing songs and use these sounds, let them serve their purpose.
I love the honesty in your chanel, it takes courage to do it this way.
Like you I was intimated at first. But I finally sat down with it and dug into it. IMA’s presets are great and great templates.
ive been considering getting one for base for a while, realy looking forward to the video
I was an early stomp adopter. Used an hx effects for a while and pre ordered as soon as it was announced. I’ve used it as an all in one rig but have landed in the same place, a hybrid analog/digital rig with the stomp being all the digital. The tuner, noise gate, global eq are sometimes all I use but if inspiration strikes it’s nice to know it’s there. Also, the teemah is possibly my all time favorite drive I’ve ever used.
Dude, you are killing' the Magnum PI look! Killing' It!!! The bass sounds are great too.
I hate auto correct.😂
Love mine! I totally agree with your earlier points, digital amps and sims are a huge source of analysis paralysis. I think presets are a great way to keep you playing and not spending so much time building from scratch. Love to see fellow bassist's repping it!
I recently took the plunge and bought the stomp. Put it on my pedal board after an external tuner and analogue compressor, then use a separate preamp/DI for live. I love the flexibility of the stomp for effects i wouldn't use a lot of ( and hence wouldn't buy as outboard gear) but to have them on tap for creating...priceless!! The form factor and sheer volume of possibilities is incredible, powering it though if you don't want to use the supplied plug/cable could be easier (hint Line6, please make this easier as part of a power brick and board setup)😊.
Great video style and content 👍.
Subbed
I started to use the HX Stomp (pre-XL) about a month ago. I like it better for bass than I do for guitar. The tones are more natural sounding. Like you, I've found that time spent tweaking is needed to make it sound its best. It works well with two small bass amps. It's nice to have the same Amp and cab with different effects switched on. The Ampeg amp with the 8x10 cab is impressive but I usually stick to one or two 15 inch speaker cabinets. Thanks for this video!
I've had my Stomp since 2018 and in my opinion, as a working musician, it is the best bit of kit that I have ever spent money on!
Loved this video ! Still considering the stomp, all lights are green from many bassists (you, Ian, Adam Neely...), but the price still represents a big investement for a non pro bass player... But I think it's still a "cheaper" way to be able to play anything and have every sound, than to buy all the analog gear. Subbed :)
Kicking around an idea for a single pedalboard for both guitar and bass by using great pedals to warm up the HX Stomp. Thoughts?
Tuner > empress bass compressor > sushibox More > hx stomp > Sushibox dreamcatcher.
me too. I use the stomp, into an analog pedals chain only for fx: chorus, Delay, Modulation, sometimes boost and particular comp ression setting. I prefer an external DI and as last pedals (Ampeg SGT). But yes.. it's a great "possibility tool" for many situations
Actually considered buying the stomp, but pulled trigger on 64 black panel! Have used the 64 on one show and loved it. Sits in mix so well! And cuts through if desired.
I have used a helix for a coupe of years. I have been happy with it. However Ian’s setup got me thinking about being able to use the Stomp with my other pedals. So now I use the Helix mostly for guitar and have a hybrid pedalboard with my old Aguilar Tone Hammer and compressor that I like. I use the Stomp for everything else. Like you, I love Ian’s presets and have learned a lot from them.
I still use the Helix for bass. I just like the size of my hybrid setup and having the availability of that in a small package. Great video Philip!
I used it with a couple pedals for live gigs and home recording. On top of all the cool sounds it can produce, I really like to fact that you can get a super clean old-school tone, like a classic preamp pedal as well. I run it in 'old school' mode about 75% of the time. Love that.
i was in a similar boat. dipped my toes in the water with the pod go and was blown away. it was also easy to use with the desktop app. thinking abut upgrading to the stomp.
Love my HX Stomp XL. My board is that, and an Origin Effects BassRig Super Vintage. I prefer the XL to the standard Stomp because of the additional foot switches. Feels like you can actually control all of the blocks you need, still have access to the tuner, and even change presets without needing a midi controller.
I bought a stomp about 4 years ago and I've been loving it ever since.
I was still in music school studying recorded music and I'd just been sent home because of COVID.
I went from access to almost limitless amounts of top end gear to the tiny home recording setup i'd left at my parents place before I'd gone to university.
Over the next few months I accumulated more and more gear and eventually put together a pretty functional space. By far though the most useful piece of gear over that time to me was the stomp. It became the backbone of any guitar or bass tracking I had to do and stood up great considering the situation I was in.
Since then it's lived on my board permanently as a working musician/ engineer either as standalone amp modeling, just supplementing with an effect that I may not have bought with me or a totally comprehensive rig on some jobs.
Sure it's not the highest peak of modeling technology but as a tool for a working musician/ engineer I wouldn't be without it now
Great vibe! I think effects on bass are wonderful tools for inspiration and the Stomp is amazing
I've had a couple of multifx units and have really disliked them. Affordability was a big factor. Eventually I saved up and got the Boss OC5 and the difference was astounding. So I started to invest in a bunch of individual pedals. The problem was that I had spent a significant amount of money and the idea of spending more for a pedal I might want to use every now and then was unthinkable.
That's when Ian came in. I saw that he uses the HX Stomp and started to wonder if it might be different. I dreamed and saved for a while and finally jumped on it. The first couple of weeks were disappointing but then I found my always on tone which included setting the input impedance to 1MOhm and I was off to the races. I'm still using my OC5 in a loop and a tuner pedal. It's exciting to have so much available and with some effort the sounds are perfectly usable. Some are inspiring.
Great vid! Even though I do not use a Stomp or HX products, multi-effects (QuadCortex in my case) has made my life on the road MUCH easier
I got turned on to the Eventide H9 love it so much bought a second one. I use the amazing compression presets then flange or a ring mod etc if im doing some dub or Floyd
love my (small version - not XL) stomp, use it for creative stuff (delays, etc.), amp modeling and also clean sounds. additionally, (in a normal setting) i use a(n optional) compressor in front, and a preamp/di afterwards. on its own, the stomp is the best value for money and size imo, perfect for traveling and actually every setting (use it as a tuner as well).
I had an hx stomp xl...didn't find myself in it mostly because I didn't know how to approach it. Wound up buying both Bassrigs from Origin Effects (LOVE THEM), but I am back to considering a DSP setup as well and for the price, the HX stomp XL is the best value in gear. Looks like I am heading over to reverb.
My first multi effect pedal was a Zoom 504 I bought 1996-ish. 50 sounds, 2 or 3 usable. I've stuck with single effects since. I also play bad guitar, so my board is built for both without having a bunch of settings changes. I did just buy an HX One and like a lot of the tones it has
I had thought bassists had generally accepted the stomp in the past few years.
Great to hear your thoughts as always
I play bass for one year after a twelve years brake. During these years I played guitar a lot and I tried a lot of guitar pedals and multi-effects. When l had the opportunity to play bass in a band last year, I sold all my guitar pedals and multi-effects and bought a HX Stomp (the small one) I wanted something good for bass and guitar. I use it for quite one year now, plugged in a DI box with the band or plugged in my computer at home for both guitar and bass. I just add a midi footswitch from ampero to get more switches. It's a really great tool with great sound (for my needs) and as we are playing rock/pop covers the presets are really useful to switch from one song to another. I actually use 3-4 presets for a 15 songs set. But now I need an amp to play in little bars, clubs (I saw your great video about bass amps rigs 👍).
Per usual, you make listening and watching a pleasure. Love everything you do, sonically and visually, you’re just an unbelievable talent my friend 🙌. Hope alls well on your end; much love!!!
-Aaron
I enjoyed the example of use in the band setting would have liked to see a few of those.
I got the helix initially as a guitar player doing musical theater and teaching, so I need a lot of sounds, flexible I/O, and reliability, so for me using it for bass as well just makes sense. For bass I just keep it on an SVT with a little compression and EQ and just kinda "set it and forget it."
Just recently switched to the hx stomp myself. Works great for my current gig.
Picked up an HX Stomp recently - the learning curve is no joke but boy is it fun. Slimmed down my pedal board needs pretty dramatically too
For me, the stomp is replacing a meat and potatoes, mostly analog bass pedalboard and, at minimum, the time/mod effects in the loop of my guitar board. Used, finding a good deal, it made good sense, especially since I'm now jamming with a band playing covers and wanted easy access to more diverse sounds/effects.
I have the Line6 Helix LT (the bigger version of the stomp i guess) that i use when playing ampless. I think it does its job pretty well.
But true it takes a bit of time to understand the process & signal chain.
I must admit it's rather intuitive & easy to tweak it on the spot if necessary.
As a predominantly bedroom, with the occasional jam with mates bass player, the hx stomp is my only pedal. I don't play with a tonne of effects, mainly just a few drive sounds. So the stomp is more than enough for my needs.
I bought one of IMA's preset packs for the same reason: IMA is Fabulous, Seeing how he set up his presets helped me tremendously as I continue to learn programming for my own sounds
Main selling point for me was the poly pitch effects - specifically, how well they track and sound for complex chords.
Helix stuff is really nice, although I do use an analog oc2 clone, an envelope filter and a tech21 blonde type of thing (fender amp). The latter just to save some DSP and shut snobs up haha.
Party shirt 🎉
Magnum PI FTW!
Recently considering the Stomp and even the POD Express as an option to a noisy pedalboard while giving me lots of options. What is your take on the noise level and using the nee POD Express for recording? -Thank you for all you do!
The HX Stomp is an amazing tool and I agree with you on many points! Same experience with the guitar presets! I still use a separate compressor though, because the small version doesn't have a gain reduction meter, unfortunately. In the end I still struggle to replicate the sounds from home at the rehearsal space, because of the amp and cabinets.
My guess on why so few bassist use this tool is, that we're used to also feel the bass in the room and you don't get that so much, when you use this unit at home, especially with headphones :)
Thanks for the suggestion to try Ian's presets! I should give them a try, because he's a HX Stomp wizard!
Good points! I wonder if you used a different monitoring solution with EQ settings on the stomp that more closely emulate a bass cab if it would recreate the "bass amp in the room" sensation.
I got a GT1b from Boss about a year ago and my guitar friend got a HX Stomp, a couple months later.
Trying to compare the 2, other than the obvious price difference I would say the biggest differences are build quality, the number of features and the user interface. Both are better/more usable(imo) on the stomp.
But, as I've gotten used to the boss it gives me everything I want. And effects that I want to adjust quickly, I get in extra pedals(comp,drive,reverb).
That being said, I did make a couple presets on the stomp that felt more wholesome.
Tried the katana-go headphone amp and noticed every bass tone I can get on the GT1-b is in there. So maybe get that one for the start(much cheaper) and save for a stomp.
@philipconradmusic how does the HX’s B-15 model compare to the real deal? Which effect (HX, Capo, Ampeg, Origin 64, etc) does the best B-15 tone? Love your videos!
Love your videos Phil! Do you have/would you ever make videos about your process of shooting and editing videos? I love the look and I'm a musician just getting into the videography world and would find it really interesting.
Such a great video! Keep up the outstanding work, Philip! :)
I've been avoiding digital pedals from a fear of latency. Mostly because when playing live there are digital mixers being used. So i dont want to add to the latency. I've recently realised that for delays, reverbs and modulation its not a big deal. From recent searching I've found the Boss digital pedals have a really low latency so I'm going to give one of them a go. See if it can replace reverb and modulation pedals on my board.
Really like the UI and features of the stomp, but I just can't get behind the line 6 amp modeling (even with 3rd party IRs). Kemper, fractal, and QC are far ahead in that regard. I personally use the kemper player (amp modeling only + pedals for electric, all in one for bass). Digital stuff is always improving, and it's cool to have so many options and at a very reasonable price point too.
Stomp xl is the best value multi fx. I use one for my guitars stuff and one for synth. Easy to set up and the control centre is so incredibly useful
I really need to get my hands on an HX Stomp and try it out, fun and insightful video as always man!
I got an HX Stomp for guitar over 3.5 years ago, and tried to do too much with it right away. I spent way too much time trying to dial in dozens of Presets using the software.
What I should have done was to focus on dialing in 2 or 3 Presets really well, and learning what all the Blocks and Parameters did on just those Presets. That would have given me a clearer foundation on how the Stomp works.
Fortunately, through a lot of perseverance, I can now easily and quickly dial in the sounds I like. I think switching to dialing in the Presets on the Stomp hardware itself, instead of the HX Edit software, made the biggest and most satisfying difference. Highly recommended. I exclusively use my HX Stomp every day. 😎
I bought an HX One and it replaced so many pedals on my board. So many useful tools in it.
Thanks for the great content as always! For anyone looking for free HX Stomp bass presets I have links to the free preset bundles I’ve made on my channel. Just look in the description for each the demo videos I’ve made for them. Hopefully they might be of use to some people. I’m always learning! I still use an external compressor (Cali76 Compact Bass) and preamp/DI (Jad Freer CAPO) with the occasional drive pedal but use the HX stomp for everything else. I think it sounds fantastic and helps me creatively as I find new sounds inspiring.
Hey Philip, thanks for the insights on the Stomp. You seem to have a pretty good ear so I was wondering what your thoughts are on the effects loop in the Stomp. I've encountered a dullness and coloration (lack of clarity?) when I use it that bothers me and was wondering if you or Rhett or others had noticed this. Thanks!
I'm largely in the "anti multi-effects" camp based on bad experiences in the 90's - early 2000's, and a general disdain for menus and screens instead of knobs. The HX Stomp may eventually win me over though. The demos by Ian Martin Allison are impressive and he makes it look way easier to live with than multi-effects of the past.
I feel the same about the experience of turning the knobs, as funny as it might sound. The sliders in the menus all look the same and a big part of the pedal experience is the design and the manual feedback!
Always enjoy your vids and thoughts
If you don't find any amps that you like, try a distortion block Zero Bass DI, gain 3.5 ish, blend treble bass 5, presence 3.5 ish. It's a model of Sansamp bddi and it's my fav amp, (cuz it doesn't get boomy, like almost every cab model does)
Where Multi-Effects really shine on bass for me is recreating complex signature sounds from the likes of Justin Chancellor (Tool), Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) or my favourite Mike Kerr (Royal Blood) in a small, cost effective footprint. Of course I love my big analog pedalboard where I can just turn physical knobs on a whim, but it starts getting old really quick when you have to add another pedal just for one or two sections of a song, plus theres the logistical and financial side of it. You are saving on money, weight and signal routing-headache, especially with parallel effect chains like those of Royal Blood and Muse. Will I keep that one good bass overdrive for simple sounds and that one expensive octaver, whose tracking cant be beat? Sure. But I cant wait for the moment where I just whip out that small black brick and still have almost every sound that I want in it without carrying all the weight and cables.
I don't have an HX stomp, but Zoom B3n has served me well in terms of Digital Effects for Bass
To compete with DJ's, you gotta play a lot of synth/electronic based material nowadays if you want to keep working and the Stomp has been invaluable for that on bass. 80% of the time I'm using a nearly dry signal, but then there's the songs where I actually NEED a lot of effects to recreate certain songs that feature synth-bass tracks or distortion or a drastically different bass EQ than what I am using. It's a swiss army knife that gets better with each update. Discovering how to use MIDI and just have my presets change over bluetooth has been a game changer. Add an expression pedal and you will literally triple the usefulness of your Stomp. I run a compressor in front of the stomp and a preamp/DI after the stomp to send to FOH and don't really use any of the amp models or any IR's. I just use my tone pot to roll off the nasty clicky highs.
I love Ian man lol. Have you tried that line 6 Pod Express? I need an honest review on it
It’s fine for a quick headphone practice pedal but the controls aren’t ideally for anything more really.
Philip - I think bass players run a little leaner on gear than a guitarist does, so maybe the push for a multi-effect unit like the Stomp is less for a bassist. Great video and great sounds!
I'm a guitar player and have had the original Stomp for about 5 years, it is fun and there is no way that I could afford even 10% of the gear stuffed into that beast.
I come from the same generation of musician as you and I completely agree with everything you’ve said here. I flipped between bass and rhythm guitar (grew up in a small town) to fill out what was needed at the time playing in high school. My first multi effects petal was the digitech rp100 and boy if that isn’t what bases my opinion that all multi effects to this day are hot garbage. I’m glad the technology has caught up because I still hold the same ol “do more with less” mentality as was required back in the day. Ill have to revisit multi effects someday
I'm graduating from the HX Effects to the Stomp XL soon. I'm a bassist and started with a very analogue purist mindset but I'm beyond that. I don't find the architecture that intimidating - excepting the whole mic placement thing. I don't use the pre-loaded presets, only use my own.
I’ve had a similar path, but I went H90 instead of a STOMP- Starting to really like this Eventide
I started playing bass in 1990. Wasn't really much for bass effects then (and I was in a low population area as well). I never really ever got into any effects or even active basses until the last 5 or 6 years really when I got back into it. I've got a B1X four zoom multi effect and a Joyo Monomyth.
I could get along without any pedals again like I used to, but they give me more options to get the sounds I want for a song, so why not use them?
Only reason I don't have an HX Stomp after all the stuff I've seen (especially from Ian) is the cost of it, I'm on a very limited budget at this point and in Canada, so it's not a cheap thing here ;)
My problem with the stomp is I only have one. The versatility of the send/return are great. Drum machines & synths are fun thru it too. I haven’t even gotten in to it’s crazy midi capabilities yet 🤓
First thing i do with any bit of digital kit is erase presets, best way to learn a device your way and craft your own sounds
I am a beginner bassist, but as I improve and learn songs I am really getting interested in effect pedals. Thinking the stomp xl and the patches you recommended might be the best bet for someone like me. Assuming it will also be cheaper than a pedal board full of effects. Am I way off thinking this is a good tool for the beginner to start and grow with? Thanks for the review!
for bass players starting out I would suggest disabling cab sims when using headphones. It felt much more direct for me when I did
The Ampeg comp in the helix is fantastic.
Whats your best mustasch styling tips?
I have the HX stomp (3 years) Is a fantastic tool for bass and much more ...
I got an HX Stomp 3-4 years ago or so, but for my guitars. Bought a bass 2 years ago now I think because I was interested in it and did so because the HX Stomp has bass amps, so no need for new equipment. Glad I did because I still can’t really play so the investment wasn’t too big 😅.
I have a day gig doing all sorts of computer stuff, programming, cloud stuff. When I go to my bass playing, I use it as an escape from digital technology. This is why I can't bring myself to use a stomp and opted for the simplifier bass station and some key (fuzz, tuner, conmpressor) pedals. My friend loves his stomp but I just don't want to be moving through endless LED screens of choices :)
In my opinion most of bass players dont like to explore sounds, so they arent willing to spend any more money on hardware / software and they like to just plug their bass on the amp and go. I was one of those many years ago, but when I Get my hands on a digitech bp355 all that change, and it wasnt even the best around. Now I use a pod go and I will buy one stomp or stomp xl in the hear future. For me its just like you said, there are some great Analog effects and with and some new line 6 you can Get pretty much any sound that you like. Also I've seen many videos from Ian and what can I say, that guy its a God with a stomp