“It can be any single effect that you need at any time”: Line 6 debuts the HX One, a full-stereo digital stompbox that could be an overdrive, fuzz, chorus, delay... Or any one of over 250 effects

Line 6 welcomes a new addition to its HX family of guitar multi-effects pedals and amp modellers with the launch of the HX One. 

This is is the most compact of the series so far, and arguably the most intriguing concept as it strips the Helix-powered unit down to just effects. As described in the Line 6 demo video, “It can be any single effect that you need at any time.” 

What that effect is remains up to you. And there are a lot of effects to choose from. Tons of them. In total, you can choose from 250 effects, each created from Line 6’s Helix modelling tech. 

Think of it as your pedalboard chameleon, the one pedal you can switch around at the touch of a button. It could be a delay pedal on one setting, a modulation pedal in another. Simply program your effects, save them down as presets and the HX One presents you with options. 

Andy Paredes, product marketing manager at Line 6, easy is the watch word for the HX One. “The goal with HX One was to provide Helix-quality effects in an ultra-compact pedal that is easy to use,” he says. “It’s ideal for players who want a single pedal that takes up very little space on their pedalboards, yet can serve as their delay, chorus, overdrive, or any other single pedal they want it to be at any time.”

The unit is dominated by a bright OLED display that shows your effect/preset’s name, with parameters listed underneath, and a trio of dials for adjusting them. There are buttons for scrolling through the effects, with 128 user preset slots available for saving sounds down.

You can set tap tempo on time-based effects and automate parameter changes via the Tap/Flux footswitch, and there is an input for hooking up an expression pedal or external footswitch, and two 8-pin MIDI In/Out-Thru ports. You can also hook this up to Line 6’s online library and manage your effects via USB-C. The input jacks are mounted on the top of the unit. 

The HX One has adjustable input impedance for pairing with different instruments and you can set it up with true or buffered bypass. 

It takes 9V to make it work, and unlike some modellers, any pedalboard power supply will do the trick – though do note that it requires a high-current 500mA output.

The HX One is available to pre-order now, will ship November, and it is priced £290/$299 street. See Line 6 for more details.