FXL8 Pro : Terrific, but has non-defeatable input buffers

2 years ago

For me, this is the perfect combination of form factor, functionality, and price. On that basis, I can't give it less than 5 stars. However, I would have paid more for some nice to haves and there are a few things worth mentioning: 1. Two MIDI messages per preset is a little restrictive, but not critical so far. 2. I do find that I miss a stompbox mode. 3. It's not the easiest to mentally map the A B C D stomp switches to L1 L2 L3 L4 of LOOP1 (low bank) and LOOP2 (high bank). I think I'm going to end up covering this thing with a load of tape and writing! 4. Programming the unit is not intuitive at all, but everything is explained in the following video manual. Essential and worthwhile 1 hour viewing if you want to deep dive, particularly with MIDI. of presets seems really over the top and a potential waste of preset memory which could have been used for other things (i.e. additional MIDI messages). 6. Final important point. There are two non-defeatable buffers in this unit. One is between the main IN and LOOP1 L1; the other (on my unit with PXL-LIVE-V4 motherboard) appears to be between the LOOP2 L1 (i.e. loop 5). If you want to use a vintage fuzz in either L1 then it's probably not going to play nicely. You may be perfectly happy with these buffers, but I'm a tone purist and I have already voided my warranty and permanently bypassed them.

Image Harley Benton FXL8 Pro

Technical Data

  • Manufactured by Harley Benton
  • Released in 2014
  • Average price : $182
  • Dimensions (Wmm x Hmm x D): 54mm x 6.7mm x 5.3 cm
  • Weight : 1.68kg
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