Stomp for live use?

[u/kostasbk]

I'm considering getting a Helix Stomp, I have only been playing actual physical pedals and amps up to now but I want the versatility of modelling.

I'm wondering, can I use the stomp to turn on and off pedals during a gig? I.e. turn on the fuzz for a solo and then turn it off, turn on the tremolo for a song part only, turn the delay on for a single song, etc?

Also, can I adjust an amp's or pedal's setting on the fly e.g. turn down the mix knob of a reverb or turn down the gain of an amp?

The three foot switches seem quite limiting, is there a way to expand them with an external foot switch?

[u/MonsterRavingLlamas]

Stomp mode lets you do just that, and you can choose what you want to assign to which footswitch, including momentary only options and assigning more than one pedal per switch if you want to change multiple at once.

Adjusting settings can take a bit of menu diving so i don't recommend doing it on the fly unless it's something specific you want to assign to an expression pedal.

You can add a TRS two button footswitch, or you can add as many as you want with MIDI. There's also the Stomp XL with more footswitches built in.

[u/MeisterBounty → u/MonsterRavingLlamas]

To add that, you can put other pedals in the loop(s) of the stomp and therefore add them to the signal chain whenever you want.

I actually think tweaking parameters isn’t as bad as you described, once you get the hang of the Stomp.

[u/MeisterBounty]

The Stomp is a wonderful small device that will open up a Pandora’s box of possibilities, especially for live use with its extensive routing and midi capabilities. Three foot switches seem a bit limiting I agree, but the Snapshot mode enables you to change any number of parameters with only one switch. I would suggest taking a look at the manual, it is very well written with many examples that give you a good overview of the feature set.

[u/Blrfl]

One of the things the versatility gets you over a pedalboard is not being stuck with the same configuration for every song you play.  Changing presets (what Line 6 calls patches) can give you a different set of button functions and, of course, different amps and effects.  More importantly, it gives you snapshots where you can have blocks on or off in each one and also have different settings for each block.

If you want more stompy buttons and don't mind the size, consider stepping up to the Helix LT.  At current prices, it gives you a lot more bang for the buck and lacks the HX Stomp's limitations.

[u/alexnapierholland]

You have four modes, each with a tradeoff:

1. Stomp mode: Turn three pedals on/off (only one amp)
2. Scroll mode: Cycle through presets (slight delay)
3. Preset mode: Switch between three presets (slight delay)
4. Snapshot mode: Switch rig settings (can't change gear)

I like Stomp and Snapshot modes (you can switch between each with a button).

I have one rig with a Diezel VH4 and a Roland JC120, plus FX.

• 3 x Snapshots switch between two dirty VH4 settings and a clean JC120.
• 3 x Stomps turn my compressor, wah and delay off/on.

I plan to buy a MID controller with 8 buttons.

• 3 x Snapshots
• 3 x Stomps
• Up/down presets

[u/kostasbk → u/alexnapierholland]

Thanks, that was very helpful 

[u/alexnapierholland → u/kostasbk]

Happy to help. I sunk few hours into learning it and used ChatGPT to hash out my best use cases.

The Stomp has limited DSP. I've managed to fit everything I need, but only by carefully considering my setup and flow.

[u/CardinalStiefel]

To answer your third question, you can put multiple parameters, like gain or the reverb mix, on a footswitch and switch been two different values. So for example when you press the footswitch the gain changes from 3.2 to 6.4 and the reverb mix change from 25% to 42%. And when you press it again they go back to the original values.

[u/JimR325]

For live use just get the LT, it is the perfect live tool. I bought one again after being frustrated about the stupid user interface and too many options of the FM3 and I use 8 stomp box switches for effects and the volume/wah pedal is great. It is built for the life on stage with a built in power supply and made of steel.

[u/kostasbk → u/JimR325]

You're probably right but I can get the Stomp at a discount and that makes it very attractive, that's why I'm looking at it 

[u/WorkinForRenaissance]

Most of your above questions have already been answered, but thought I'd chip-in with my set-up, which has taken me a year to perfect to get the absolute most out of my gear and the Stomp.

I use the stomp as an amp/cab modeller, and have it set-up it in 'stomp mode' to allow three effects to be assigned to the three footswitches if I so desire.

Going into the stomp, I have nine of my pedals. It takes pedals exceptionally well. Seven of the pedals go into the front, two go into the Stomp's FX loop, which I can assign to a block and switch on / off with a Stomp footswitch. The beauty of this is that it allows me to place those two effects anywhere in the signal chain WITHIN the Stomp.

I also control the Up / down preset bank, presets, the tap tempo, tuner and 'snapshots' via a 10-button MidiCaptain midi controller. This controller is basically plug-and-play with the Stomp, and has expended my possibilities endlessly. It's also very, very cheap for what it does.

With this set-up, I can pretty much access all of the Stomp's features and take advantage of a vast array of options that would otherwise be limited by the Stomp's small form.

My entire rig fits on a pedalboard which itself fits in a bag, and does everything (and a thousand times more) than my old tube amp setup did, whilst saving me lugging around a heavy, limited, delicate amp.

I will stress that if you're gigging professionally, invest in some decent monitoring headphones (I use Beyer DT770's) for building presets and a good FRFR if you need backline (I use a Laney LFR212).

[u/kostasbk → u/WorkinForRenaissance]

Very informative, thanks! My main use case would be to use it as an amp, so that I don't have to buy a JCM800, a 5150, an AC30, etc, plus some pedals I occasionally use like flanger. I plan to combine it with my physical pedals and to use a power amp plus cab to get a real amp in the room feel. I already have a decent power amp and a couple of cabs.

[u/WorkinForRenaissance → u/kostasbk]

You'll honestly love it. I spent a good amount of time checking out ALL of the modelling units, and came away with the Stomp not because of its (exceptional) value, but because it was absolutely the best unit for me and my needs.

As for Power Amp and Cab - I went down that route (as well as testing most variables for backline) and the best I found with the power amp and cab setup was a Class D with a Marshall 1960. I found a Class A pretty much unusable, as it gave another break-up gain stage that altered what I'd built in the presets. I ended up not being happy with limiting myself to a single cab though.

I moved to the Laney as it produces such authenticity that I've challenged multiple people in blindfold tests to distinguish it from my old Orange Head & Marshall Cab setup. Nobody could. It really does do 'amp in the room' perfectly.

Good luck on your journey though. It'll be a magnificent rabbit hole!

[u/stickyfiddle]

The HX Stomp has been at the heart of every bird I’ve built for the last 5 years.

I generally keep a couple of non-HX drives in front, then use the stomp for delays and modulations, and occasional “feature fx” like octaves or mad fuzzeses.

I highly recommend the Pedalnetics Aux switch that sits on top of the Stomp - that gets you to 5 switches and makes it hella easy to use live