Line 6 Helix Stadium Pre-Launch Discussion

[EOengineer]

Man, it's hard to keep you and OneEng sperate in my brain I know the usernames aren't that similar but....

I got here first and subscribe to Highlander rules. If I decapitate him I get his powers.

 

[GTR37]

Yeah from what I've gathered from Ben and Eric, the Helix Rack did not sell well at all compared to the other units

If I am betting the HX stadium Native and Stompium are probably next on the list in the 3 year plan

 

[HotRats]

The regular Helix Stadium is probably going to be their "rack model".

-Small enough to fit on a rack shelf if you want to tuck it away like people do with the QC
-No scribble strips or on-board expression which serve no purpose in a rack
-Nexus port I/O (as well as MIDI and USB ports) opens the possibility for controlling it with a peripheral devices (updated Helix Control maybe?)

you might be right here.

 

[HotRats]

The original POD (and ampfarm, same modeling) are on TONS of major label releases from that era.

ampfarm TDM plug in for pro tools was in the plug-in list of every studio.
People got quite upset when they announced the end of tdm version in 2008

 

[EOengineer]

If I am betting the HX stadium Native and Stompium are probably next on the list in the 3 year plan

This seems reasonable. DI did say they have no functional version of Native for Stadium at the moment, but a couple years is probably enough time for them to get it together if they are nearly release ready on their new hardware offerings.

 

[Tito83]

My suggestion is death to everything "legacy"

 

[spawnofthesith]

My suggestion is death to everything "legacy"

Hell no

 

[Dez]

I think that L6 has catered to the "I play around in my basement" crowd for most of its history. The only market for a rack version is live performance. Since this is my primary use, the lack of a rack + foot controller model would likely prevent me from changing my rig no matter how many other bells and whistles the Stadium had.

Still, the percentage of people that ACTUALLY gig their equipment is likely small, so this might make sense.

Racks are perfect for home studios and basement shredders - it's easy to rack or shelve or put somewhere that isn't offensive

 

[GTR37]

Honestly, I think they should just color-code the Agoura amps differently.

100%

 

[OneEng]

The idea is that the "brain" if the rig is tucked away and then controlled by a much less expensive remote.

With an all in one, if someone breaks on the floor unit, the whole operation needs replaced.

Both have their pros and cons

There is that, but I was generally thinking more about not having a power cord and two XLR's down at my feet. Just a single Ethercon connection to the foot controller. But you are correct. The random drunk person at 2:00am sloshing their drink onto your floor board is a REAL thing.

The original POD (and ampfarm, same modeling) are on TONS of major label releases from that era.

Indeed. It was the original digital preamp for all intents and purposes.

Yeah I don’t really get the point of the weird revisionism there. The POD was released in 1996. It’s almost universally known as the first widely successful digital modeling product. It has its limits and we can see them more clearly now because of the progress that has been made, as will be the case in 30 years when discussing current Helix or Fractal products.

Nothing is intended to be revisionism. I thought poorly of the entire Line 6 amp lineup back then. Compared to my VHT rig (or any other decent tube amp), it was a joke. That isn't to belittle the progress it represented, only to point out that Line 6 got associated with crap tone at that time from most serious gigging musicians (including me), but that their advantages bought them the loyalty of a completely different persona than the weekend warrior musician.

Racks are perfect for home studios and basement shredders - it's easy to rack or shelve or put somewhere that isn't offensive

Never thought of that. For a permanent install, a rack would be ideal.

 

[Digital Igloo]

That said, it would be nice if the convert process automatically changed those cabs to one of the new (if it's not yet been ported, to the closest one).

Totally doable, and the process is well understood, but likely not at launch. We're suggesting that early adopters choose new cabs before upgrading to Stadium. Oh, and I've mentioned this before, but due to the brand new file system, we won't be able to magically re-map one's IR library either, so you'll want to write down which IRs are used in your favorite presets. Eventually, we may be able to automate this too.

Once we get closer to launch, I'll write a white paper on best practices to ensure the smoothest transition for getting your Helix/HX presets into Stadium.

Honestly, I think they should just color-code the Agoura amps differently.

If you think way ahead, eventually, Agoura will replace most amps, so both the normal and Legacy categories will grow. In the meantime, we don't want to diminish our HX amps at all, because many still sound fantastic. Currently, there's just a faint gray line after Agoura models in the list, which are all at the top.

 

[Mongillo19]

If you think way ahead, eventually, Agoura will replace most amps,

Should we expect no new Agoura amp models until the old ones are revisited?

 

[mikah912]

Totally doable, and the process is well understood, but likely not at launch. We're suggesting that early adopters choose new cabs before upgrading to Stadium. Oh, and I've mentioned this before, but due to the brand new file system, we won't be able to magically re-map one's IR library either, so you'll want to write down which IRs are used in your favorite presets. Eventually, we may be able to automate this too.

Once we get closer to launch, I'll write a white paper on best practices to ensure the smoothest transition for getting your Helix/HX presets into Stadium.

If you think way ahead, eventually, Agoura will replace most amps, so both the normal and Legacy categories will grow. In the meantime, we don't want to diminish our HX amps at all, because many still sound fantastic. Currently, there's just a faint gray line after Agoura models in the list, which are all at the top.

When you say "most amps", I assume that to mean there is no plan to Agoura-ize the originals, correct? Because they're not directly based on physical components, there's no "real" interaction to update?

I'd also assume Agoura-caliber originals will show up at some point down the line, but I don't expect you to comment on that.

 

[deadpool_25]

Not saying no, but if it doesn't happen, there may eventually be another path forward.

So...upcoming tube amps? Is that what you guys have Howard working on?

 

[EOengineer]

So...upcoming tube amps? Is that what you guys have Howard working on?

I think it’s going to be a companion poweramp or next gen powercab with a different name.

 

[Mongillo19]

Preorders are officially live on SW

 

[StarF666]

Preorders are officially live on SW

Well, SW pre-orders seemed to be on since day one.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Should we expect no new Agoura amp models until the old ones are revisited?

Not at all. We have at least one post-launch Agoura amp finished that's never been modeled in a Line 6 product before. We'd include it in the launch firmware, but need to make sure the existing 22 models (40 channels) are drum tight first.

When you say "most amps", I assume that to mean there is no plan to Agoura-ize the originals, correct? Because they're not directly based on physical components, there's no "real" interaction to update?

I'd also assume Agoura-caliber originals will show up at some point down the line, but I don't expect you to comment on that.

Not sure how Ben wants to approach future Agoura Line 6 Original amps. They're already sort of idealized as is, so if I had to guess, I'd say they might prefer to make all new Originals, to take advantage of Agoura's strengths. But if enough people start clamoring for an even newer Ventoux or something, Ben might not say no.

So...upcoming tube amps? Is that what you guys have Howard working on?

This confused me for a second because Stadium's Project Manager is a different Howard.

 

[molul]

No preorder of any kind in Europe yet. I hope they say stock is limited but then this actually happens:

 

[laxu]

Not sure how Ben wants to approach future Agoura Line 6 Original amps. They're already sort of idealized as is, so if I had to guess, I'd say they might prefer to make all new Originals, to take advantage of Agoura's strengths. But if enough people start clamoring for an even newer Ventoux or something, Ben might not say no.

Are the existing original Line6 models going to benefit from anything on the Stadium, or will they simply sound the same as on Helix? Will they benefit from e.g speaker impedance stuff?

I get the original models were done with the idea that you don't need to waste time replicating some "bad" parts that make up the tone of real amps but can create kinda idealized models not beholden to any real world circuits.