Horrothia Effects XYXO review – “way more fun than the words ‘utility pedal’ suggest”

£275, horrothia.com

Pedals like this are a tough sell. The Horrothia Effects XYXO doesn’t create any sounds of its own, and it’s not doing anything that’s obviously essential… but if it enables you to do things with your existing effects pedals that you couldn’t do before, hasn’t that got to be worth investigating?

• READ MORE: ADDAC System Mixology review: “it really can breathe new life and modern utility into old pedals”

What you’re being offered here is a way to expand your mind without the use of illicit substances, by moving beyond the standard linear routing of guitar > pedals > amp. You’re going to need more cables, but the reward is a whole new level of control over how different effects interact – not to mention the potential for some radical stereo soundscaping.

Horrothia Effects XYXO – what is it?

At the heart of the XYXO are two effects loops, which can be run in parallel or one into the other. Each has its own controls for send and return levels, plus adjustable high-pass and low-pass filters, and a phase switch.

So, for example, you could put a fuzz pedal in one loop and an overdrive in the other, balance up their relative levels, then maybe cut a little bass from the fuzz to stop it getting flubby, or trim off both highs and lows on the drive for more of a midrange focus. Then you might dial in some dry signal for extra clarity, turn up the master treble to zing things up, and even crank the output to give the whole concoction a boost on the way out.

Now imagine doing all of the above with a delay pedal in one loop and a phaser in the other… or plugging straight into two amps instead of using the return sockets, thus creating an ultra-tweakable stereo rig. You could even take another cable from the XYXO’s output to a third amp for a wet/dry/wet setup of such hugeness that icebergs would flee from its path.

Horrothia Effects XYXO – how is it in use?

The XYXO is both easy and difficult to use – which is to say, easy for the brain to navigate but difficult for the fingers. It might look intimidating – 11 knobs, three switches, six jack sockets – but the layout is clear and logical, with no surprises or head-scratching moments where you’re left wondering where all the sound went. Set up one loop at a time, and it’s simply a matter of exploring where different pedal combinations can take you.

This is, however, about the most closely packed stompbox control array I’ve ever seen. The big black footswitch is a work of art in itself but it is perilously close to the knobs, while I found the phase-flipping toggle switches literally impossible to reach with my fingers – which are, for the record, the boniest digits this side of a Halloween decoration.

In practical terms, what this probably means is that the XYXO is going to be more at home in the studio than on the stage – but that’s no great shame, because it feels more like a recording tool anyway. How it actually sounds is, of course, dependent on the other pedals you plug into it, but it’s worth noting that there’s plenty of clean boosting on tap – and the ‘high’ control, while presumably included to let you compensate for the dulling effect of cable capacitance, can also be used as a potent treble booster.

Horrothia Effects XYXO – should I buy it?

This feels like the kind of device that every pro recording studio should have in a cupboard, ready to be deployed as soon as someone wants to put down some guitar tracks with an extra dimension of tone-shaping freedom. And as every musician’s spare room is practically a pro recording studio these days, its appeal could be surprisingly broad.

The only question is whether Horrothia can persuade you to drop a fair chunk of cash on something you might regard as a bit of an indulgence. Anyway, it’s a smartly designed piece of kit, robustly built, and way more fun than those dreaded words ‘utility pedal’ suggest.

Horrothia Effects XYXO alternatives

The Great Eastern FX Co XO Variable Crossover (£229) is a strong alternative, packing at least some of the XYXO’s tone-blending functionality into a smaller and simpler enclosure. The ADDAC System Mixology (€220) adds more complications, including controllable feedback loops, while the Electro-Harmonix Switchblade Pro ($143/£120) keeps it strictly utilitarian with just three knobs.