Line6 HX Stomp

Hi, first of all i want to say that i fought over having digital stuff in my rig. I was a tube amp guy, expensive boutique pedals, expensive pedalboard, good cables, stereo routing, etc etc. But the truth was that i was always afraid of the amount things that could fail in a live situation. Unfortunately that happened and it was really frustrating. So after years i finnally decided to give a try and i bought the Stomp. The goal was to have a reliable pedalboard, with great sound, no more tons of cables, something almost plug and play. The first impression when i got the Stomp was how tiny but sturdy and weel built it was. Also very good looking. i tried some factory presets trough the PA system and i knew instantly that it would soung as good as my analog rig. Of course that some tweaking had to be made but he sound was there. At the present moment and after some rehearsals done and exploring the Stomp i have to say that my rig chanved completely. Now it?s Guitar into STOMP, midi switcher that i had already and an expression pedal (very needed in order to have flexibility, options and to take advantage of the full optential of the Stomp) straight into de mixer and PA systems. No more Amp, cabinet, pedalboard, mics and spare tool kit. It?s my guitar and my case with the Stomp in it. Simple, light, reliable and with a 3D sound as i?ve never had!
Also the software is really really user friendly. One of the best if not the best.
Don?t compare this with Helix floor. Their purposes are different. The only downside is that right now you only have 6 blocks. i can manage with that perfectly. Line 6 has confirmed that is going to release an update which allows 8 blocks. It?s going to be awesome and enough for 98% of players.
And the price for this little and powerfull tool is a must. So much money spent in boutique...not worthy.

I have been using HX Stomp for the past 6 months and have some remarks.
1). It's really well-built, has tons of features & the sound quality is really professional - really nothing to complain about.
2). It has some added uses - about which you might have not known:
- it is a great practice tool - on its own - you can just plug-in your headphones to it and have a good time practicing while using the simulation of whatever amp you like
- it is a really good recording interface (via USB) with ASIO/midi etc.

2). It has some minor flaws which I would like you to be aware of:
- the quality of effects is not even:
- time-based effects (reverbs, delays, vibratos, choruses etc.) are simply superb;
- amp simulations - are really great - but require lots of effort to sound right - they just don't work like real tube amps which tend to sound ok at all the settings. These simulated amps CAN sound great - provided you found the settings which suit your guitar, pickups and playstyle. And believe me there are a lot of settings that can be set wrong.
- noise gate - it' simply is there - but it's really nothing sophisticated or special
- looper - it's there but the buffer is really short
- overdrives/distortions - I still prefer the real counterparts. Maybe I still did not find the correct settings? For me they do not sound ok - they do not clean up as they should and the tone/texture is simply is not there

- you really cannot use a standard power source from your pedalboard - you have to use the one provided with the unit - it is a 3000mA source. Not a big problem, but adds some mess to your pedalboard.
- you have to be good at word puzzles to use this one - due to copyright issues - example? What is "$$ for nada" preset?
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing :-) What is "2/3 beards"? - ZZ Top
Sometimes you will guess sometimes you will not - but this does not make the life easier.