devices · HX One · reference · levels
levels
A thin, quiet, harsh or fizzy sound usually comes down to two settings, and neither is a tone control. One is what you told the box your instrument is. The other is what you told it your speakers are. Get both right and the preset that sounded broken sounds like the demo. The HX One manual is the only one in the family that gives Instrument and Line in numbers.
HX One Owner's Manualfirst, tell it what you plugged the outputs into
These live in the Settings View, not Global Settings. Hold the EFFECT knob for a second, then page to page 3: Out Level. Instrument is −10 dB, for the input of another pedal or an amp. Line is +4 dB, for outboard gear.
- The instrument input on a guitar or bass amp
- Instrument
- The guitar input of a stompbox or another multi-effect
- Instrument
- The instrument-level effects return of an amp—four-cable method, or post effects
- Instrument
- The inputs of a studio rack effect, or a mixer
- Line
then tell it what you plugged in
Same screen, In Level. Instrument suits electric guitar and bass; Line suits anything already at line level.
- A guitar or bass with passive pickups
- Instrument
- A guitar or bass with very loud active pickups
- Instrument or Line, by ear
- A keyboard, synth, or drum machine
- Line
Distortion that appears on loud notes and disappears on quiet ones is clipping, not the effect model. Turn the input down before you reach for a tone control.
impedance is per preset here, on page 2
The Settings View carries an Input Z parameter, stored per preset, not globally. Line 6 suggest experimenting with it: it changes the tone and feel of your instrument, and it can be set to suit the particular effect model that preset is running.
the loop's position is a level decision too
I/O Config on the same screen sets whether the Send and Return jacks act as an insert. Insert Position places the HX One's own effect before or after that loop. With I/O Config on Insert, set Bypass Type to DSP, not True. On True bypass the Send and Return jacks stop carrying signal when the pedal is bypassed, which looks exactly like a dead loop.
no Global EQ on this one
The bigger Helix boxes carry a Global EQ for compensating on the day. The HX One does not. Fix a room in the preset or on whatever it is plugged into.
watch the block levels too
Every block has its own Level parameter, and Line 6's advice is to leave it at 0.0 dB on most of them. Nudge three or four in a row and the output can clip while each setting still looks reasonable.
Levels are half of it. The other half is the cab block: on into anything full-range, off into anything that ends in a real guitar speaker. With both right, little else can make it sound broken.