FWIW I can’t imagine Stadium being a fractal killer…certainly not right out of the gate, if ever. It likely depends on your needs though. If you want to try different tubes or bright caps, fractal is probably still the king of that castle.
Is that something people really consider when buying a modeler? I mean, it sounds fun or curious, but I hardly find it more important than audio quality or UX.
For the types of users I specifically called out in my post, yes.
I’d imagine the normal people don’t need or want something like that.
AKA never played a real amp crew
I disagree with this. From an effect standpoint I think Fractal holds it's own. From an amp perspective, I think Tonex and NAM are better, and many are on par (in fact Helix has some great amp models already) . From a UI perspective, almost everything beats Fractal and I do own an AXE3. Like @Jarick , if Stadium can reach Tonex/NAM levels, and improve some of its effects, my AXE3 will be departing. There's a lot to be said for a great UI and a company that you really want to support.
Mine was one of the GC oopses. It's been statused as shipped since 11/1. I hope Line 6 putting the brakes on things didn't cause it to get lost. GC took my money, FedEx is saying they never received it. I'll keep checking it as the week goes on.
We can debate Tonex and NAM and its merits vs white box modeling, but that doesn’t change the fact that Stadium won’t have capture tech at launch. I qualified my original statement that way for a reason.
I’ve played and owned lots of real and never once thought that I should change tubes or mod the amp. That group is a niche within a niche.AKA never played a real amp crew
Legacy effects from XX4 and MXX are still in Helix Stadium.
Same. It’s just a big flex.
Here's the thing. We don't expect—nor would we want—Helix Stadium to be a Fractal killer. We want Fractal to do well because they're a good company who designs and develops on their own terms. They're good for the digital market.
I don't separate modeling vs profiling/capturing. If a modeler or capture specifies an amp model and it sounds and feels true to form then its fine to me.
Mine is the same, but is MF/UPS. While having the status stuck like that does make me a little nervous, I wouldn't worry about it yet. I'm sure all the ones from the early mistake shipping batch are like that.
It's not. There would be no amp modeling if there weren't, you know; amps in the real world to model.
It's All A Niche™
I’ve rolled tubes in every amp I’ve owned. I’ve also changed bright cap values and in several cases installed switches to allow alternate bright cap values. My 1959 and 2204 both have several bright cap values available.
