Line 6 Helix Stadium Pre-Launch Discussion

[GLiDE-BPM]

Thanks for sharing - I’ve never had a Fractal but I’m really enjoying it so far compared to what I’m used to. However, I need to RTFM as I ran out of DSP with a very modest setup.

This is 100% user error on my part - I can see factory presets that are considerably more complex that the thing I did so I’m confident it’s me being a new guy. I’m not used to the Helix ecosystem yet so I’m not clear the elegant approaches to sharing DSP between paths / are there downsides etc. I’m sure the ethos of the approach is the same as Helix although obviously the DSP headroom is far greater here. If anyone knows a decent video that can help someone new to the ecosystem get the gist of it quickly that’d be great. If not, me and the manual will figure it out.

Definitely need to make sure and connect the end of row 1A to the beginning of row 2A to split your stuff up!!!

 

[Chocol8]

Real men use 25

You can get away with 12 and a Prince if you run them on 18 volts. Can the Stadium do this?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

In HX, we have DSP elements that can change the sound; filters, gain, tube simulators, power supply sag, etc. All of these start at a neutral point, like the DSP is zeroed out. When making HX models, we measure the change of sound in a small bit of analog circuit, and then we set the DSP elements to make those same changes. All of the sonic changes have to be matched manually or semi-manually. Anything that is "feel" related comes along with matching the measurements. If it's not quite there, we can tune it manually. It's a long process, but everyone liked the results. In addition, this type of modeling easily allows original models to be made.

Agoura modeling is different. Like I said, I can't get into it, but it doesn't start with DSP set at a zero point that we then manually configure.

I’ve noticed like for like amps seem to have quite a noticeably different tone to them from HX to Agoura.

Assuming the original reference amp, HX Legacy, Agoura were all set up like for like (matching cab load, measured pot values, constant wall voltage+bias), shouldn’t the models yield quite a similar result? I’d expect Agoura to have advantages in dynamic behaviours, fidelity, feel etc, but that the underlying modelling on either platform would still be aiming for a similar voicing and general tone.

I spent a good bit of time with the HX Legacy amp models and found the overwhelming majority of amps I tested to behave very realistically. L6 knocked it out of the park time and time again. Agoura is sounding so drastically different that I’m having a hard time making sense of how it can be at least as accurate.

Around 15-16 minutes here you can hear the Agoura 2203 side by side with Helix:



and 3 minutes here:



Are the differences down to something coming up during R&D that allowed to measure and model things that weren’t possible before?

 

[FuzzyAce]

I’ve noticed like for like amps seem to have quite a noticeably different tone to them from HX to Agoura.

Assuming the original reference amp, HX Legacy, Agoura were all set up like for like (matching cab load, measured pot values, constant wall voltage+bias), shouldn’t the models yield quite a similar result? I’d expect Agoura to have advantages in dynamic behaviours, fidelity, feel etc, but that the underlying modelling on either platform would still be aiming for a similar voicing and general tone.

I spent a good bit of time with the HX Legacy amp models and found the overwhelming majority of amps I tested to behave very realistically. L6 knocked it out of the park time and time again. Agoura is sounding so drastically different that I’m having a hard time making sense of how it can be at least as accurate.

Around 15-16 minutes here you can hear the Agoura 2203 side by side with Helix:



and 3 minutes here:



Are the differences down to something coming up during R&D that allowed to measure and model things that weren’t possible before?

The Agoura version comes across better for sure. Less scooped/hyped, nice mids. But to me it's like the differences you might find with moving mic placement a bit.

 

[mbenigni]

klon but it has a mid cut instead

Notanotch.

 

[StarF666]

Stadium inbound from Thomann. I'll finally ascend!

 

[Velvet Skin Underarm]

Anyone getting this error when they try to update their Stadium?

 

[ccc118]

Anyone getting this error when they try to update their Stadium? View attachment 56571

Mine went through ok, but someone else that had trouble said to try it through the editor via USB. See if that works.

 

[AlbertA]

Anyone getting this error when they try to update their Stadium? View attachment 56571

Yes, I'm just attempting again - at 90% now it's pretty slow download here - if this fails again I'll just try USB instead