Line 6 HX Stomp

The Line 6 HX Stomp is a compact digital amp and effects processor that puts the company's HX modeling engine, the same DSP and modeling technology as its larger Helix units, into a stompbox roughly the size of a BOSS Space Echo¹. Line 6 says it delivers the same professional-grade sound quality and authentic HX Modeling found in its Helix processors, with over 300 amps, cabs and effects drawn from Helix, M-Series and legacy Line 6 products². Released in 2018³, it can serve as a "super stompbox," a backup or travel rig, an add-on tone expander, an audio interface, or a complete guitar or bass rig⁴.

What the HX Stomp does

The HX Stomp is a multi-effects unit and amp modeler in one. Its model count breaks down as 80-plus amps, 200-plus effects, 37 speaker cab models and 16 microphone types, with 128 IR slots for third-party impulse responses⁸¹⁰. GuitarPlayer's 2026 buying guide counts 41 guitar amp models and 7 bass amp models among a 300-plus effects total¹¹. Presets number 126, latency is 2.0 ms, and the unit weighs 1.8 lbs¹². Editing from a computer is done through the HX Edit desktop app¹².

The controls: three footswitches, six knobs and a color display

Three capacitive-sensing footswitches with color-coded LED rings handle preset selection and editing². The knobs are five soft knobs plus a master volume⁸, and the window into the unit is a 2.4-inch (6cm) color LCD². The display runs at 320x240px and is not touch-operable¹³. An expression pedal can be connected to the EXP 1/2, FS 4/5 jack and assigned to control nearly any parameter, and a "Y" cable connects two expression pedals or two footswitches².

The footswitches cycle through four modes: Snapshot, Preset, Stomp and Scroll¹⁴. Each preset holds three snapshots⁹.

Power and connections

The Stomp runs on a 9V DC power supply, included, connected at the DC In jack²¹⁰. CIOKS notes it requires 900mA for full operation⁷, which rules out most small daisy-chain supplies. Inputs are L/Mono for mono instruments or pedals, with both inputs taking stereo pedals, keyboards, synths or modelers; outputs take unbalanced TS cables to pedals, amps or FRFR speakers, or balanced TRS cables to mixers and studio monitors². There is a single effects loop, a dedicated headphone output on the side, and a USB-B port for computer connection⁸. Send and return jacks sit on one side, with the headphone and MIDI jacks on the other⁹. The current owner's manual is version 3.80¹⁵.

Using it with a MIDI controller or amp switcher

The HX Stomp sends and receives MIDI, with DIN5 MIDI In and Out/Thru jacks¹⁶. Morningstar has demonstrated how its MC6 MIDI controller can be used with the HX Stomp¹⁷. On the Sweetwater demo, Mitch Gallagher noted that when using the HX Stomp as a looper, pretty much all the control has to be accessed via MIDI⁹.

A detailed example from KHE Audio Electronics shows the Stomp working as a mono multi-effect unit in a four-cable-method setup with an amp switcher: Send feeds the switcher's guitar input with the post-stompbox signal, Return L/Mono receives the amp's master FX send, and Output L/Mono returns the signal after the effect section to the master FX return and power amp. In that setup only stompbox and effect blocks are active, with all amp and speaker modeling blocks disabled, and the Stomp's Ground Lift switch is there to tame hum or digital noise¹⁸.

HX Stomp vs HX Stomp XL

The HX Stomp XL is the same engine in a bigger control surface. MusicRadar describes it as "just imagine the HX Stomp with an extra five footswitches"¹⁹: eight capacitive-touch switches with color LED rings to the Stomp's three, 128 preset locations in 32 banks of 4, and all sockets moved to the rear panel, where the smaller Stomp had jackery on the sides as well as the rear¹⁹²⁰. On Sweetwater's demo, Mitch Gallagher found the two units sonically identical, with exactly the same processing power and the same array of models, effects and connections⁹. Guitar World's review put the XL's price around $149 more than its smaller sibling²⁰. There have also been limited finishes: a "Stomptrooper White" HX Stomp at $649 in 2020²¹, and Silver and White XL variants²¹²².

What reviewers said

Early coverage at gearnews.com found that, at almost half the cost of a Line 6 Helix, the mini modeler still had all the power and sound despite its limitations¹³. Morningstar's 2018 review called the build quality a step up from the LT and HX Effects, though not quite as good as the original Helix, and noted the sparkly black glitter-painted enclosure as an interesting touch²³. When the XL launched, Line 6's Chief Product Design Architect Eric Klein said:

Guitar World's 2026 verdict on the compact modeler field was that the HX Stomp is "still arguably the best-value compact modeler out there," while noting it does not capture gear and has no touchscreen²⁵.

Sweetwater's demo video covers the Stomp and XL side by side, including the snapshot system, the looper's MIDI-only control, and the shared connections⁹:

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