Did you pre-order the Helix Stadium?

[ccc118]

I got the same mea culpa of sorts from GC that timbuck3 did. Looks like they are saying it'll ship the 18th. I also noticed the charge on my card is still in the pending state. GC could stand hiring someone with some grammar chops too.

I had a pending charge yesterday from MF, but when I looked today it was gone and I figured they must have canceled it since they're not shipping yet. I just checked and now the charge showed up (no longer pending).

 

[sashimi]

View attachment 54165

Rest assured, you have not lost your place in line to be among the first to get a Helix Stadium XL but the units will be not ship until 11/18. Your order holds your unit and place in the queue, but if you wish to be refunded and if you are Timbuck3 please contact our Customer Service immediately and good luck waiting on fractal and we can
assist in cancelling your order and issuing a refund.

 

[timbuck3]

I had a pending charge yesterday from MF, but when I looked today it was gone and I figured they must have canceled it since they're not shipping yet. I just checked and now the charge showed up (no longer pending).

Wow gc charged my card.. is that even legal when it won’t be shipped. ?

 

[Mongillo19]

Wrong. I get most supplements free to try and most do nothing so no cost. The hotub was a big purchase but doc wrote a script so less then anticipated.
Yes my acoustic guitar collection has grown but never pay full price
No pharmacy as I explained… and protein powder is like 50$ every 2 months or so.

Honestly Tim, this helps me understand your mindset

Kudos to you for being bargain hunter but not everything is going to be discounted/given out for free. That's just an unrealistic expectation that you shouldn't force on every purchase.

 

[banned]

I had a picture of Tim as this genteel older individual who was just careful with his money. Now, I see him as maybe an older bald, stocky dude but one that is super muscle bound taking protein shakes, supplements etc.

It's interesting how Tim's style is the exact opposite of Gasp100s -

* Gasp100 purchases gear non-stop 24/7. He has not had a single week off from buying gear in years. For every post he makes, he's made 10 real-world purchases already. He's gone through so much gear he's probably had 5 iterations of many pieces.
* Tim on the other hand is the polar opposite. He goes a lot based on online reading and specs - he wants to make sure that what he gets is absolutely perfect....in the process, never buying anything....because something even better could be right around the corner.

It takes all kinds but these two are at two extremes of what I've seen in all my years on forums. Most folks are in the middle.

Of the two, I'd take Tim - he's being careful with his money and that's wise! (don't worry Tim - we love you - now go get that gear!)

 

[EOengineer]

My conspiracy theory is that GC/MF have cash flow problems and needed to cover their bets on the first of the month. I swear I have like 5 15% off coupons from them over the last week. EVERYONES SAYING IT.

 

[timbuck3]

I had a picture of Tim as this genteel older individual who was just careful with his money. Now, I see him as maybe an older bald, stocky dude but one that is super muscle bound taking protein shakes, supplements etc.

It's interesting how Tim's style is the exact opposite of Gasp100s -

* Gasp100 purchases gear non-stop 24/7. He has not had a single week off from buying gear in years. For every post he makes, he's made 10 real-world purchases already. He's gone through so much gear he's probably had 5 iterations of many pieces.
* Tim on the other hand is the polar opposite. He goes a lot based on online reading and specs - he wants to make sure that what he gets is absolutely perfect....in the process, never buying anything....because something even better could be right around the corner.

It takes all kinds but these two are at two extremes of what I've seen in all my years on forums. Most folks are in the middle.

Of the two, I'd take Tim - he's being careful with his money and that's wise! (don't worry Tim - we love you - now go get that gear!)

I know some guys here buy the same units over like 2-3-4-5+ times and that’s really silly to me. And I just can’t do that. Even though I could I wouldn’t. It’s like going back to an old gf from college after a divorce. Lol

 

[paisleywookiee]

I know some guys here buy the same units over like 2-3-4-5+ times and that’s really silly to me. And I just can’t do that. Even though I could I wouldn’t. It’s like going back to an old gf from college after a divorce. Lol

Well, the rest of us have to make up for you, by buying things over and over again. It brings balance to the universe.

 

[timbuck3]

Well, the rest of us have to make up for you, by buying things over and over again. It brings balance to the universe.

That’s very zen…

 

[laxu]

It's interesting how Tim's style is the exact opposite of Gasp100s -

* Gasp100 purchases gear non-stop 24/7. He has not had a single week off from buying gear in years. For every post he makes, he's made 10 real-world purchases already. He's gone through so much gear he's probably had 5 iterations of many pieces.
* Tim on the other hand is the polar opposite. He goes a lot based on online reading and specs - he wants to make sure that what he gets is absolutely perfect....in the process, never buying anything....because something even better could be right around the corner.

It takes all kinds but these two are at two extremes of what I've seen in all my years on forums. Most folks are in the middle.

Of the two, I'd take Tim - he's being careful with his money and that's wise! (don't worry Tim - we love you - now go get that gear!)

Yeah Gasp is something else. Dude has admitted that he loses a lot of money buying, selling and rebuying yet doesn't see any reason to course correct.

While I kinda see what Tim is going for...I agree that never buying anything because something even better might come out is not going to work well. They could literally pick any current or upcoming platform, get years of enjoyment out of it, then when that "perfect" thing finally comes out, sell their current gear and buy the new one.

I'm probably the guy in the middle. I've had a lot of modelers over the years because I like to try them out for myself. I can't think of a single one that I felt was actually bad. All of them had their own pros and cons, and sometimes those cons are enough for me to move on.

• Fractal: I love their amps, cabs, fx and features...but hate working with their hardware without the computer editor.
• Line6 Helix: Love for similar reasons, but the HX Stomp is too gimped in UI and the Helix Floor was way too large physically, and adjusting things on the floor is no go for me. Plus I don't care for rack units so nowhere to go with Line6.
• Quad Cortex: Excellent form factor, really easy to operate, good tones. But felt it best to wait and see with that one, and I'm glad I did because the progress was not what I hoped for. Still today it's probably a great box for many users.
• Hotone Ampero 2 Stomp: The HX Stomp or "Dual Cortex" I always wanted - even if it's not quite as good as Line6's offering in various ways.
• Tonex One: Annoying to work with in many ways, but it's hard to argue against the form factor and tones once you get it all set up with captures that you like. I've currently got it parked on captures of a Mark IIC+ and one of the EVH collection captures for a driven Marshall sound, and the "Stomp" option is set to a clean Mesa Lonestar sound with a bit of reverb. I'll probably eventually capture my own big amp rigs for it.

There's never a goldilocks product that is everything you ever wanted, so you just need to pick one, learn to use it and make the most of it.

 

[Gary_W]

Regarding waiting - ok, fair enough but nothing is ever ‘the perfect unit’. Just what’s best for you personally right now.

We have no current evidence whether Agoura or Fractal’s modelling will be superior. What is clear is that they will both be exceptional in this regard and they’re now both committing to capture tech too. Whichever one comes out on top (sound wise), I think we’ll be hair-splittingly close. The new fractal and new Stadium should be top of the class in a very close run battle.

So for me it’s down to the ‘other stuff’ besides the sounds as, at this end of the market, they’ll all be awesome enough to make me happy. Amongst the other stuff, I’m looking forward to focus helping me dial in what I want more quickly (and hopefully helping me to understand an unfamiliar amp quicker). I’m looking forward to be able to load a backing track into this thing and setup at the dining room table to play alongside my daughter’s boyfriend when he’s over. I’m looking forward to having a mic input and being able to play with a looper in that regard.

My current modelling solution is 12-13 years old and it doesn’t do half of what Stadium XL does. I’m happily buying this now and, unless I’ve wildly misjudged the platform at launch and what it’s likely to become, I’m hopeful of sticking with it for many years based on my usual buying habits :)

 

[mbenigni]

Next gen Fractal may be one year from now. I had the same thought, quickly followed by another thought ("Fuck it!").

Yeah, I don't see how the NAM announcement suggests there will be a next gen FAS product any time in the near future. Stadium XL, by contrast is imminent.

More importantly, I don't see any reason to assume that FAS' next gen product will bring the UI improvements or features that Stadium will. If those had any bearing on one's Stadium order in the first place, canceling because Fractal might eventually support NAM seems a little arbitrary.

 

[Mongillo19]

Yeah, I don't see how the NAM announcement suggests there will be a next gen any time in the near future. Stadium XL, by contrast is imminent.

Not sure if you also saw Cliff mentioned next gen having a touchscreen, SSD, and maybe something else?

Certainly doesn't mean anything is imminent. If anything, I believe it is still very much in the conceptual/planning phase. Also, slapping a touchscreen on a unit doesn't automatically make it easy to use. I imagine they took that into account

 

[mbenigni]

Not sure if you also saw Cliff mentioned next gen having a touchscreen, SSD, and maybe something else?

Certainly doesn't mean anything is imminent. If anything, I believe it is still very much in the conceptual/planning phase. Also, slapping a touchscreen on a unit doesn't automatically make it easy to use. I imagine they took that into account

I hadn't seen that. I hope they've got a good UI/UX team lined up for their next product. I would definitely revisit FAS if ease of use were improved.

In either case, respective timelines still warrant having some fun with the Stadium, IMO. :)

 

[mbenigni]

Of course, plenty of guys here I’ll just buy both. I mean I could, but I really don’t want to. I really only want one and I want one that’s gonna be superior so in terms of tones effects it’s gonna be fractal in terms of gui and screen ease it’s line 6
And quite honestly all you guys you guys have plenty of stuff to play for the next six months anyways that you own and I really don’t foresee the stadium or stadium XL taking off like gangbusters within six months of release. In fact this regular stadium is gonna be out till next yearso I understand a lot of people are just gonna wait because it’s not like it’s gonna be sold out in six months to a year every store will have plenty of them and those 15% coupons come around three times a year anyways.

A lot of what you say makes sense (except for the part about Stadium not taking off "like gangbusters"... gangs will very much be busted. Whatever that means.)

However, hesitating to buy X because you might eventually want Y, and you know you don't want both (which is reasonable...) overlooks the option of selling one for the other if you so choose when the time comes. These flagship products tend to hold their value pretty well, if you're willing to deal with a personal sale. You're not necessarily committing to an FX processor for life. Meanwhile, none of these products will be the superior one forever.

 

[banned]

Not sure if you also saw Cliff mentioned next gen having a touchscreen, SSD, and maybe something else?

Certainly doesn't mean anything is imminent. If anything, I believe it is still very much in the conceptual/planning phase. Also, slapping a touchscreen on a unit doesn't automatically make it easy to use. I imagine they took that into account

He also said mentioned that he didn't understand why people were making such a big deal about the existing UI

 

[mbenigni]

He also said mentioned that he didn't understand why people were making such a big deal about the existing UI

That... does not bode well. (IMHO.)

(But again, hopefully he'll hire a UX team that understands why it is a big deal.)

 

[mbenigni]

All this talk sure seems like its all leading to TB3 not buying anything or at least returning whatever he has ordered

Legitimately trying it and returning it if he's not thrilled: perfectly kosher.

Canceling his pre-order because deadpool cleared the way: release the (wise)kraken!

 

[mbenigni]

One of the initial goals of Helix Stadium was to notably improve absolutely everything, kinda like how we improved everything from POD HD500X to Helix. A ton of minor features, UI tweaks, shortcuts, and QOL improvements don't exactly make for compelling marketing bullets to the masses; they're more like "I got you, fam" items for geeks who nit-pick everything on gear forums instead of actually playing guitar. Y'know, my kind of people, for better or worse.

/okay, probably worse

I feel seen. And maybe a little sad.

 

[mbenigni]

Cliff sounds like a pretty smart guy. I mean he knows that the stadium is being released soon and I’m sure he’s not lying when he says he’s working on his next fractal release and he sees what other people are releasing and of course he’s got a kind of one up it so to speak.
I mean anybody with a brain who doesn’t wanna buy both units. We just hold off on the stadium until next year and see what fractal releases. I mean I know there’s a lot of guys on both these forums that have unlimited funds and they just buy everything but most people are not like that they don’t want Two or four different modelers. They just want one that encompasses most of what they need.
Lotta guys use modelers and don’t want a paddleboard so of course they want tones any effects within the model or that give the most versatility and the most quality and that’s debatable between the units of course but it seems fractal is more ultra professional and ultra unique and maybe that’s because it’s not available at guitar centers and musicians friends But line 6 has always seemed to be more middle of the road because they release so many different products at different price points I mean they’ve done guitars they’ve done modeling amps they’ve done small modelers. They do wireless little plug-ins for the modelers which on one hand is cool and good Because they’re trying to garden our business from all different people and that have certain amount of money to spend, but at the same time, it could be a jack of all trades master of none situation.

A lot (too much) to unpack here.

I just want to say: I, for one, cannot live without my paddleboard.