View and Download Line 6 Firehawk FX pilot's manual online. Firehawk FX Music Pedal pdf manual download. Line 6 looper user's guide (31 pages) Music Pedal LINE 6 FLOOR BOARD Operation Manual. Dedicated remote control pedal for line 6 digital guitar amplifier systems (2 pages). Summary of Contents for Line 6 Firehawk FX.

• Line 6 Firehawk Fx Owner's Manual
• Line 6 Firehawk 1500 Manual
• Line 6 Firehawk Manual Pdf

Summary

Line 6 FireHawk FX. Line 6's Firehawk has been around for a while now but seems to have established itself as a very popular choice as an affordable floor based multi FX box. One of its key features is that can be controlled by your phone or computer via Bluetooth connection and another is that Line 6 has made this very easy to use. GearBox 3.6 User Manual -GearBox 3.7 User Manual -POD Farm Recording Setup Guide -FBV MkII Series Controller Advanced User Guide POD Farm 2 Basic User Guide POD Farm 2 Advanced User Guide -POD Farm 2 Windows XP & Vista Audio Tips & Optimizations.

• Product Name: Firehawk FX Multi-Effects Pedal
• Manufacturer: Line 6
• Review Date:February 05, 2016 10:00
• MSRP: $699
• First Impression: Gotta Have It!

• 1/4' 1M-Ohm guitar input, VDI(Variax), Expression Pedal
• Stereo Balanced XLR Main Outs, Stereo1/4' Amp/Line Outputs, 1/4' TRS Headphone Output
• Stereo 1/4” FX Loop with stomp/linelevel switch
• 128 Onboard Presets
• 29 HD Amp Models
• 25 HD Effects Models
• 78 POD Farm Amp Models
• 95 POD Farm Effects Models
• 24 POD Farm Guitar Cabinet Models
• Single-switch looper
• iOS & Android Editor
• 5 FX on/off, channel and bankfootswitches with color-coded LED rings
• Built-in Volume/Wah pedal, AssignableFX Knob, Expression Pedal Input
• Bluetooth Audio Streaming
• Power Switch

Executive Overview

Saygoodbye to your guitar amp. If you’re atraveling musician who is tired of lugging around heavy equipment and spendingtime setting up pedal boards, then the Line 6 Firehawk FX Multi-Effects Pedalis an ideal affordable solution. Itpacks 200 amplifiers, speaker cabinets, and effects into a compact, sturdy, colorLED backlit, easy-to-use lightweight foot control pedal. From clean jazz tones to high-gain screamingtubes, there is an ideal tone for every style of music you play and likely analready-created program in the Line 6 Cloud to match any song you play andyou’ll never run out of effects to enhance your tones. Because of its incredible list of features,the Firehawk FX is the perfect device for a musician on stage, in the studiorecording, or at home practicing. Perhapsthe best feature of the Firehawk FX is the RemoteApp that enables you to control the pedal via Bluetooth from your phone ortablet. This user friendly app allowsyou to program your own tones, or access an ever-growing user library of tonesfrom the Line 6 Cloud, sorted by artists, song titles and nicknames. The Firehawk FX has balanced XLR and ¼”stereo outputs for direct connection to the house board, powered PA speakers ora non-modeling guitar amp. There’s alsoa USB output for connecting to your computer for recording. Given the stellar features and countlesscombinations of tones, the Firehawk FX is another revolutionary trend-settingproduct from Line 6 that will stimulate the creativity in any musician, whilealso making it infinitely easier to set up and play when compared to atraditional large, heavy amp with a ton of effects pedals and wires that goeverywhere and sometimes short out. Thedays of difficult set-ups and unwanted noise from excessive cables are gone aswell as constant tweaking once the knobs on your analog pedals have movedduring transporting. Instead, get readyto play through one of best modeling pedals on the market in this price range. It’seasy to use, and can be customized, configured, and rewired using yourfingertips and a Bluetooth app.

Understanding Modeling

Before delving into a full review of this amazing pedal, Ithought it’d be worth discussing the basic concepts behind digital modelingverses the actual tones being simulated. Line 6 has been developing modeling technology for many years. The most recent endevours include the AMPLIFi TT, FirehawkFX and Helix. These products show thatLine 6 has truly mastered the art of modeling. But what is modeling? In anutshell, modeling is the use of mathematical techniques,specialized hardware, and engineering judgment to create a representative stand-infor a real world environment, device, system, or behavior. In this case,most of the models were developed from recorded tones originally created by actualamplifiers, effects pedals, speaker cabinets, etc, and captured through varioustypes of microphones in multiple placements, or by the equipment beingconnected directly into computers. Thoserecordings are then modeled for playback using DSP technology. What a modeling product does, in effect, isattempt to simulate those original tones as accurately as possible. The Line 6 has painstakenly captured andaccurately modeled 200 amps, cabinets, effects and more for this Firehawk FXmulti-effects pedal. When using thispedal for guitar, you are essentially creating your own music through previouslyrecorded modeled tones. What you hearwill depend on your amplification method. If you keep in mind that all of the tone creation is coming from theFirehawk FX models, it’s easy to recognize that the best playback results willcome from a speaker system that is as flat as possible, so as not to color orenhance the intended soundstage. Thesoundstage through a pair of quality headphones will be different than what youhear through a powered PA speaker, or when plugged directly into your computerwhile using studio monitors.

The Line 6 Firehawk FX has 50 HD models. It’s important to note that HD (HighDefinition) with the Firehawk does not mean a higher bit rate or resolution. Instead, it means that Line 6 Engineers andTechnicians spent more time sampling these original tones, either throughadditional microphone placements and locations, or enhanced computermodeling. So, although the tones do notplay back at a higher rate, they were sampled and recorded with more reference points,thereby making them more accurate representations.

SMALLPACKAGE AMAZING FEATURES

TheFirehawk FX Multi-Effects Pedal is 20” wide x 10.25” deep x 2.25” high andweights just under 10 lbs. There’snothing backbreaking about carrying around this powerhouse. The top row of five LED color-codedpushbutton switches can be used to turn effects on and off. The LEDs are color coordinated to match the typeof effect as follows:

Green= Delay

Orange= Reverb

Yellow= Compressor and Stomp (including Distortion)

Blue= Modulation

Purple= Synth

White= Looper

Turquoise= FX Loop

Thenice thing about these LEDs is that they are dimmed, but still visible when theeffects are off, and when clicked to turn the effects on, they becomebright. This means that when using thepedal on a poorly lit stage, you won’t have to worry about being able to spotthe correct foot switch.

Thefoot switches to the far left show an arrow up and arrow down and are used tomove up and down the banks in the storage library. Once a bank is selected, the bottom fourswitches, also backlit with LEDs, are used to select from within thatbank.

There’salso a TAP switch that is used to tapin the tempo for the delay, as well as accessing the tuner. The foot pedal on the right is used as both avolume and Wah and the library ofeffects has options for both.

The Remote App is ideal for programming theFirehawk FX, but it’s not required. Forexample, once the pedal is programmed, you can control most of the typicalsettings from the foot switches and top row of knobs. The LCD display defines what tone you haveselected and also shows the notes while tuning. There are rotary knobs to directly control Drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, FX, and Reverb. There is also a volume knob that controls the overall amp volume, aswell as the guitar volume. This featureis useful when streaming audio since it allows you to blend the volume of themusic and guitar.

THE REMOTE APP

UnleashThe Power

TheFirehawk FX is powerful on its own, but to unleash its full potential, it’sbest to connect to the Remote App. The app allows access to the pedal viaBluetooth from devices that operate with iOS and Android.The mostlyeasy-to-use program enables you to assign switches, adjust parameters, selectnew tones, rewire your configuration, change effects, access libraries and ahost of other important features.

Reassigningswitches is easy, and what’s amazing is that the LEDs change to thecorresponding colors of the effect type. Rewiring effects is as easy as placinga finger on the desired effect and moving it to the desired location, eitherbefore or after the amplifier. If you likeyour Chorus before the Distortion, no problem. Just hold it down and move it. It’s that easy.

Set up for Let It Be(left pic); Set Up for Comfortably Numb (right pic)

Where to Store Information (left pic); My Tones (right pic)

Whereit becomes a bit tricky to use is with some of the more advanced features, suchas assigning multiple Modulation effects. Don’t count on any Internet searches for articles or videos to help youwith answers, since most only cover the very basics, which were obvious tobeing with. The user manual (named Pilot’s Guide) discusses how theFirehawk is organized in Blocks. There are StandardBlocks that include the amp, cabinet, compression and gate. These blocks cannot be moved orreassigned. The FX Blocks contain volume, wah and reverb and have somemovability. The Looper Blocks can be assigned and moved to before or after theamp. The Flex FX Blocks are what I use the most. These blocks contain Stomp, Mod, Delay, and Pitch/Synthand are assignable, movable to before or after the amp, and can be rearranged. These blocks are where you can assignmultiple Mod effects, such as Phaser and Chorus. The disadvantage isthat you must sacrifice one of the other effects. For me, though, having two Mod effects while sacrificing the Pitch/Synth is not a big deal. Besides, you can always copy your model toanother storage location, remove one of the Mods,and add back your other option. Thepedal is extremely flexible in that way and it has tons of storage space, soyou’ll likely never run out.

The Remote App also allows you to storeimportant information about your guitar settings for each tone you create. For example, when using a Let It Be Solo model, the settings showsme that I’m using a single coil neck pickup. This is a great feature when considering the number of settings I havein this Firehawk and my aging memory.

Justin case the 128 on-board presets aren’t enough for you, it’s never been easierto create your own custom tones, or download them from the ever-growing Line 6Cloud database. Any tone you create canbe shared to that Cloud for other users to enjoy. I use the Cloud all the time to find specificsettings by song titles, guitarists and musical genre. Many of these tones require little to notweaking, but depending on how you are amplifying the Firehawk, some parametersmay need adjusting. Once adjusted, youcan store them in your own library for easy recall.

Guitar Amplifiers

The Remote App provides you with easy accessto that massive list in a well-organized and structured way. There are 29 HD model amplifiers each having theirown signature killer tones. These andthe remaining 58 brilliantly modeled amps are categorized into Clean (9), American (35), British (28)and High Gain (35).

Speaker Cabinets

Someof the amplifier models have built in speakers. In those cases, the Remote Appautomatically selects the correct speaker cabinet, although you can change itat will. In the case where the guitaramps are heads only (no cabinets), there are 25 different models to choose fromranging from 1x6 Super O (Based on the Super O^® S6616) to several4x12 Marshall Stacks.

Reverbs

There are 28 differentReverb options, 12 of which are HD. Theyrange from the common to the out-of-the-ordinary. The basics include Hall, Spring, Plate, Echo…..and other commons names. The bizarre includes Ducking,which is an old broadcastterm for dropping (or ducking) the reverb signal while playing, and thenbringing it back up in between notes. Then there’s also Particle Verb, a Line 6 original that turns chords into a lushmodulating pad, or Octo which createsa rich ambient space with a harmonized decay.

Drives & Dynamics

The 13HD distortion pedals pretty much cover the bases of conceivable styles andmusical tastes. Fuzz, ClassicDistortion, Buzz Saw, Screamer arethe most common, but I really like the Octave Fuzz which is based on the legendaryTycobrahe Octavia. Under Drives andDynamics, there are 9 other classic and modern distortion pedals to choose fromas well as 4 compressors, a Boost + EQ,and an Auto Swell.

Modulation

Probablymy favorite part about this system is the 23 diverse modulation effects. Aside from the classic list of Flangers,Choruses, and Tremolos, there are also a number of surprising specialeffects. My favorites are the two rotarydrums, which include a classic Leslie 145 and Fender Vibrato. I would never have suspected that these wouldbe part of the package, and I absolutely love them. Especially when connecting to a stereospeaker system where you can really appreciate the rotary effect. Really good versions of stand-alone Rotary Pedalsretail for over $300 by themselves, yet they are in included with the FirehawkFX which sells for less than $450 and comes with everything else.

Delays

TheFirehawk FX has 14 delays, ranging from average to the “wow, holly cow.” BubbleEko has a sample and hold filter that takes a sweep, chops it up and randomlyreassembles it. Phaze Eko takes a tape delay and adds delays to the repeats. Some of these effects, just like the realones that they simulate, can quickly get out of hand depending onsettings. But with proper tweaking and imaginativeplaying, you can create some amazing tones.

Filters, Synths, and Pitch

Perhapsthe most exciting part of the Firehawk FX are the 23 Filters, Synths and Pitchselections. This section is where youwill find your basic Wah pedals (8 intotal plus an AutoWah) along with aseveral synthesizer effects, and a ring modulator. These effects give you access to adjustmentsfor low and high pass filters, oscillators, wave shapes, and more. The sky truly is the limit here as theseeffects can sound as good as your imagination if you’re willing to tweak theparameters. I recommend using headphonesso as not to scare the family and neighbors while you pass through some bizarreand sometimes grungy sounds as you hone in on that ideal tone. A Line 6 Engineer showed me a really cleverway of creating an octave up, down or harmonizing pitch shift for single noteplaying, which once again, shows the amazing diversity of this pedal. Here is his suggestion:

1. Make one of the Flex FX blocks “Bender.”

• Touch any Stomp, Mod, Delay, or Pitch/Synth block
• Touch the icon to the left of the model name (rightabove the sliders)
• Touch [< TYPE] and choose “Filters, Synths, andPitch”
• Swipe down, choose “Bender,” and touch Done

2. Set:

• Heel to the desired pitch (-12 for octave down, 5 fora fifth above, etc.)

• Set Position to 0%

PERFORMANCE

Mysystem is set-up as follows:

Playback: Line 6 StageSource L2m

Guitar: Guitar Factory Hybrid Electric with dualoutputs. Primary output to the electricside includes Bartolini active pickups, single coil neck and center with splitdouble coil at the bridge. Second outputincludes piezo electric, which I run into a separate acoustic amp to createrhythm loops.

Withoutusing the Remote App, the Line 6Firehawk FX out of the box is powerful multi-effects pedal that providesinstant gratification. The unit comesequipped with 128 presets; however, I was unable to find a list on-line or inthe Pilot’s Guide. Using the side switches, you can go up anddown the storage banks to get to a set of desired tones, and then switchbetween that bank by using the A, B, C, and D switches. Choices here include every genre of musicincluding rock and roll, blues, country, jazz and more. There are some wonderful tones that can be easilyaccessed without any programming or Bluetooth connections. But where the pedal really woke up for me waswhen I went through my set list of songs and attempted to model the guitar tonesfor each to match the original recording. In some cases, I knew what the guitarist used on the recording and wasable to create my own tones based on the specific amp, effects, and soforth. In cases where that informationwas not available, I used the Remote AppSearch Tone to find what I wantedfrom the Cloud. That’s what led me to finding the tones for Pink Floyd’s Mother, and Comfortably Numb, as well as the tone for the lead to Let it Be. Once loaded, I stored them in my library foreasy access and recall.

Afterlaying down the rhythms to these songs on my Digitech JamMan looper through myacoustic side, I switched to the electric side to play leads. My first experience was with Mother, and I was floored when I heardhow good the tone was and how closely it matched that of David Gilmore. Having the tone so closely matched made iteasier for me to work on my technique in order to recreate the nuances from thebends and vibrator customary in Gilmore’s playing. It became even easier to practice when Istreamed the actual song through the Bluetooth. The Remote App allows you toplay back music from nearly all streaming sources, while also playing yourguitar through the selected tone. Thevolume of the playback music and the guitar can be blended by simply pushingdown on the dual-function volume knob. In doing so, I was able to match the song volume perfectly to myplaying. It was so incredibly matched infact that there were times where I could not tell if it was Gilmore or meplaying the lead. Because the Firehawkhas that capability, it was much easier for me to learn every part of thatsong. The next time I played it live, Ireceived numerous compliments about how dead on my lead was. The same was true with Comfortably Number where once again, the model I downloaded fromthe Line 6 Cloud pretty much nailed it.

That’swhat makes this Firehawk FX so incredible. It’s great for practicing and amazing for playing live gigs. During live gigs, it eliminates the need fora heavy guitar amp since it can plug directly into the house mixing boardand/or PA speakers. The colorcoordinated back lighting on the switches make it easy to see even on a dimlylight stage, and because of the endless modeling capabilities, it sounds likeyou brought along an entourage of equipment, when all you really have is asmall, all-inclusive, lightweight, rugged, stage-worthy pedal. During live performances, you can use yourBluetooth device with the Remote App;however, there are certain risks involved in doing so. For example, you can lose your connectionwith the pedal due to interference with other phones, or if your phone goesdormant, not to mention if your battery dies. That’s why I wouldn’t totally rely on the Remote App when performing. Instead,it’s best to download your tones directly onto the pedal and not just storethem in the Remote App library. The pedal has enough onboard features thatyou really don’t need the app onstage anyway. But, if you run into a situation where you need to tweak some of theparameters on stage, perhaps due to acoustics or crowd noise, there’s a littleknown feature that becomes very useful. It’s called the Live Edit Modeand can be accessed by simultaneously pushing down on the Bank Up and Bank Downswitches. Once engaged, the two rows offoot switches will alternate flashing and the LCD display shows which block iscurrently assigned. By pressing any ofthe FS 1 – 5 footswitches, it selectsthe effect in that block which can then be adjusted or changed. There’s a helpful video guide that can befound using the following link: LiveEdit Mode

Creatingthe right tone is not just about picking the right speaker cabinet, amplifier,effect and so forth, for the configuration and tone you are trying tosimulate. It’s also depends on how theFirehawk is being amplified. Forexample, I have been amplifying it through a Line 6 StageSource L2m. This PA speaker has a single 10” extendedrange woofer and a 1” exit compression driver. It also has six settings including ReferencePA, Playback, Floor Monitor, Keyboard, Acoustic Guitar and Electric Guitar. My first instinct was to set this speaker to Electric Guitar, but in doing so, thesound was a bit harsh. The reason isthat all but one of these settings adjusts an internal EQ that colors thesound. When using the Firehawk FX, it isbetter to select Reference PA and ingeneral, it’s best to use a flat performing speaker system. Let the Firehawk create the tone, and not thespeaker you are using to amplify it. Ifyou want to truly understand how the tone you are creating sounds, try using agood pair of headphones plugged directly into the headphone output. There will be far less coloring and no roomacoustics to interfere. Then, once youconnect it to a PA speaker or non-modeling guitar amplifier, you will betterunderstand how to tweak the parameters to more accurately produce the intendedtones.

FEATURES NOT REVIEWED

TheFirehawk FX is also a powerful tool for studio recording. Admittedly, I didn’t use this feature;however, the Firehawk can be connected directly to a Mac, PC, or iOSdevice. Thispedal also works with Line 6’s Variax guitars where it opens up even moreamazing features.

WORTH NOTING

Line 6 Firehawk Fx Owner's Manual

Aswith any product we’ve reviewed, there’s always something. The question is if those “somethings” are adeal-breaker or just an annoyance that can be worked around or may not pose asignificant enough problem to completely discredit the product. The ones I’ve found with the Firehawk FX arenot deal-breakers, but are worth mentioning.

Volume

Forgood reasons, settings within the Firehawk FX are not global. This means that all parameters for thingslike Bass, Treble, Volume, Gain, etc., are stored with the specific tone. But when it comes to the volume pedal, it’s abit counter intuitive with its position when turning the unit on and off. I am accustomed to leaving my volume pedal inthe up position when turning off my rig. This way, I’m not slammed with unwanted noise when reconnecting myguitar and initially turning everything on. Unfortunately, when turning on the Firehawk FX with the volume pedal up,it starts up at full volume. It’s only afteryou cycle the pedal down and back up again that the volume is muted. A Line 6 engineer tried to explain this tome, but I didn’t quite understand why they couldn’t just simply make the ‘down’position full volume and ‘up’ no volume, especially when considering that thedefault tone it boots up on has the pedal programmed that way.

Line 6 Firehawk 1500 Manual

Theother issue with volume is a cautionary warning. If you fish tones off of the Cloud, there’spotential to pull one down that has the gain and/or volume cranked. You may be sitting there at a comfortablevolume with your current tone, only to change it to a new one and be blasted intothe next room with an instant volume increase. Know this in advance and if you’re fishing, keep the volume very low atfirst, or put your volume pedal up. Onceyou’ve pulled down the new tone, you can tweak parameters so that it moreclosely matches the volume settings of the rest of your library.

Tuning

Aswith the AMPLIFi TT, I found the tuning feature a bit jittery especially whencompared to the Line 6 POD HD500. I likethe fact that it shows the tuning on the Bluetooth device as well as on the LCDdisplay and volume LEDs (that turn from red to white). The issue comes with the speed at which itchanges. The slightest turns of thetuning keys on the guitar cause the displays to jump far out sharp orflat. I can’t wrap my head around why itgoes so quickly that far out other than the fact that they made the plus/minustuning range too narrow, therefore it displays a huge change when in reality,you’re only making slight adjustments. The work-around is to tune very, very slowly when you’re “close.” Furthermore, there are many times when itshows a completely different note on the LCD display and phone/tablet. For example, if I retune from a drop D to anE, Instead of seeing an Eb or an E on the display as I’m going back up, I oftensee G. I’ve also seen Ds as As. Even if I pause tuning, mute the strings, andpluck that string again, it sometimes displays an incorrect note. I’ve asked Line 6 about this and they werenot aware of any issues.

Line 6 Firehawk Manual Pdf

Computer Interface

Howevercumbersome the Line 6 POD HD 500 computer software is to use, it does provide avery useful interface that is lacking with the Firehawk FX. There are times when I’m sitting on the couchwatching TV and feel like fiddling with my programs. I’m not one for using a tablet and reallydon’t like using an iPhone because it’s all about using thumbs. Instead, as is the case with the POD HD 500, itwould be nice to be able to connect directly to my laptop, pull up a program,and have at it. It’d be great if Line 6 createda PC / Mac based software program for this pedal.

Remember to Store Your Changes

Thisis not a criticism of the Firehawk, but of modeling in general. If you’re not accustomed to working with amodeling system, it’s easy to forget to store your work. There were times where I tweaked parametersand honed in on the perfect tone but forgot to save it. The good news was that it was easier for meto do it again the second time, provided I was able to remember what I createdprior. Always remember to store yourwork. You can store your settings in theRemote App library and/or directlyonto the Firehawk FX. It just depends onwhere you want to access what you created.

CONCLUSION

I’vehad an incredible time reviewing this amazing product. It is extremely flexible when it comes toprogramming, has so many effects, amps, cabinets, and software driven wiringoptions that there’s no possible way you will ever get bored with tweaking this.It has definitely enhanced and improved my guitar playing. Having access to the Cloud library makes itthat much better. There are times whereI pull down a tone from the Cloud and find features, settings, effects andparameters that I would never have thought about using. I’m also a big fan about the size, weight,rugged build, back lighting, LCD display, options for connecting, USB interfacefor recording and nearly everything else this has to offer. And did I mention that it soundsincredible? As for value, you haveaccess to tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment for less than $450. Line 6 has made me ponder the necessity oflarge amps and huge pedals boards with this 21^st Century solution.

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