I used the HX Stomp on Bass for a Year: An Honest Review

I used the HX Stomp XL in my bass signal chain for a year. Here are my honest observations...

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[IanMartinAllison]

Love you Philip! Great vid and thanks for the shout.

[JETallacksen]

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).

[fudgesauce]

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.

[narenduffy]

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!

[sirfultonbishop]

“True bass players are servants. They serve the music and they serve the band and the arrangement.” Soooo important to understand!

[BRob-]

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

[trunks]

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.

[JeffsBassment]

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.

[eskilseter]

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.

[JonesHess]

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.

[Julesplaysbass]

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

[shannonmcmackin]

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.

[charleshale]

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.

[evanfriesen]

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.

[christophercheney]

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!

[contratoronto]

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!

[callumord]

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!

[jeansbass]

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

[MrSlacker]

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!

[Mitsch]

I love your intro playing. Can't get enough of that. <3