Line 6 Helix Stadium Pre-Launch Discussion

[banned]

Derailed Ingrid was one of my absolute fave models in the LT I had:

Sweet playing Blix! What reverb and delay are you using there?

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

That could and should be taken care of easily. Being it a risk, a global block parameter shouldn't automatically update on change. The user should do it manually. It could be done when saving the preset, and with a confirm dialog warning the user that global blocks will be updated

That's how it works in Fractal land.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

A feature not working for you personally doesn’t make it a bad feature.

I didn't say it was a bad feature for everyone. I was relating my experience with it. I found it not particularly useful and mostly harmful in "live" use. I was addressing the assertion that it was a must have for live playing.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I used to think that was the case because it looked that way on paper. But every time I've tried to implement it and then use it in even rehearsal conditions it was a giant liability. It's better with amp blocks than effects, but even then you can get yourself in trouble when you just want maybe a little more gain for on an amp for a particular preset, but oops! You forgot to unlink the global block and now ALL your presets have more gain. Or you tweaked a delay saved as global and forgot to unlink, etc.

This could be taken care of in some ways. Such as having global groups. No patch outside of any such a group would ever be affected and once you do a "save as" there had to be an option to de-globalize everything in that patch, even if you stay within the global group.
Really, it's all a matter of implementation.

I was addressing the assertion that it was a must have for live playing.

Of course not. Each to their own.

Being it a risk, a global block parameter shouldn't automatically update on change. The user should do it manually. It could be done when saving the preset, and with a confirm dialog warning the user that global blocks will be updated, with a big red text so you're aware of what you're doing.

This would be completely against what the main purpose of global blocks would be. Tweak, be done. No saving, no dialogs.

You don't expect your Marshall asking you to save anything when you dial in more gain. And you may use the same channel in other presets as well. Nobody has ever complained about that or asked Marshall to digitize all their controls for that reason.
As said, things should allow me to work as I work with a loopswitcher controlled rig.

 

[mbenigni]

This would be completely against what the main purpose of global blocks would be. Tweak, be done. No saving, no dialogs.

You don't expect your Marshall asking you to save anything when you dial in more gain. And you may use the same channel in other presets as well. Nobody has ever complained about that or asked Marshall to digitize all their controls for that reason.
As said, things should allow me to work as I work with a loopswitcher controlled rig.

I remember when Roland released the (short-lived) GA-112 amp, it was the first digital channel switcher that let you tweak your settings and switch between channels with everything just "sticking" as you'd expect from an analog amp. No hunting for a little "save" button in the middle of a song. That one feature alone was almost enough to make me run out and buy one LOL. (But then everyone started saying they sounded like ass, so I moved on...)

 

[Velvet Skin Underarm]

Maybe? We care less about checking all the boxes than we do continuing to focus on the amps people want us to make, whether they already exist as HX models or not.

I still think you guys missed an opportunity calling it the Double Helix! I'd love to put a vote in for the HD30 and the Dr. Z AC80.

 

[DanRad]

The Matrix mixer is currently global only; shortly after launch you'll be able to choose whether it's global or per song. No per preset because that'd be a total mess.

Curious what the distinction is between "per preset" and "per song." Is there a new type of user file called a song?

 

[Blix]

Sweet playing Blix! What reverb and delay are you using there?

Thanks! I have no idea what I used

 

[dk_ace]

I'm not people, just a person, but I would be not at all displeased if a Marshall 4140 appeared in an update. But I don't know if there is anyone else out there who does and would elevate it to "people want" status, lol.

And I'm sure I'm not alone in this one, but I'd really look forward to an Agoura Grammatico GSG showing up someday.

The lack of an agoura gsg is borderline criminal. I still think that’s one of the best amp models on any device, and I’ve never been a dumble fan. I’m gonna revisit it this weekend compared to fractal and see if it’s better in memory than it really is, maybe I’m wrong.

D

 

[HomespunEffects]

100%

Especially the Matchless is a long time Helix favorite.

I'd really like to know how they decided for the AC30CC. I don't think it's a bad amp and maybe theirs is one of those golden samples but for most of us it's not the first thing that comes to mind when you think AC30. I'm sure nonetheless it will sound very good.

If I were picking models to start with, I would pick ones that would cover all the general bases. The variations would come later.

 

[mikah912]

The lack of an agoura gsg is borderline criminal. I still think that’s one of the best amp models on any device, and I’ve never been a dumble fan. I’m gonna revisit it this weekend compared to fractal and see if it’s better in memory than it really is, maybe I’m wrong.

D

An interesting detail on the latest Worship Tutorials video on the Stadium is that - when given a chance to play HX models in the Helix, HX models in the Stadium and Agoura models in Stadium of the exact same amp at the same settings - they thought each sounded better than the last.

So even before you (hopefully) get an Agoura GSG, you may find the HX version to be a step up played through Stadium's improved headroom and horsepower.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I remember when Roland released the (short-lived) GA-112 amp

Never even heard about that one ever before. Need to have a look.

 

[dk_ace]

An interesting detail on the latest Worship Tutorials video on the Stadium is that - when given a chance to play HX models in the Helix, HX models in the Stadium and Agoura models in Stadium of the exact same amp at the same settings - they thought each sounded better than the last.

So even before you (hopefully) get an Agoura GSG, you may find the HX version to be a step up played through Stadium's improved headroom and horsepower.

No skin off my nose. I’m sticking with FM9 for now. When Stadium matures more it might pull me back in.

That’s the point of some of the stuff I want to mess with this weekend, seeing how disparate the platforms really are for me. I remember certain things as being better on one or the other, but I haven’t really compared them side by side since I’ve gotten really comfortable with FM9. I did a quick session of this a few nights ago with kinda surprising results, but I need to spend more time with it.

D

 

[ian_dissonance]

Never even heard about that one ever before. Need to have a look.

They were fine solid state amps that were double the price anyone wanted to pay for them at the time. I knew someone that had a 2x12 and it was like $1100 or something.

 

[HotRats]

Curious what the distinction is between "per preset" and "per song." Is there a new type of user file called a song?

I guess he's referring to showcase songs.

 

[mbenigni]

Never even heard about that one ever before. Need to have a look.

It's water well under the bridge now, but it had that one thing going for it. You would have approved, I think.

 

[Sascha Franck]

It's water well under the bridge now, but it had that one thing going for it. You would have approved, I think.

Reads more kinda like an autosave thing to me, though. Another thing I sometimes like (some Zoom units have it).

 

[Digital Igloo]

Hey @Digital Igloo I see the d-10 has an optical "output"

Would it be possible for the Stadium to slave an optical adat.. like an 8pre and effectively use Stadium as a dedicated studio interface?

Follow up question... can the d-10 also run a simultaneous Variax signal while its transmitting/receiving via optical?

Expand D10's TOSLINK connector is ADAT out only, so no, you can't add an external pre to get 8 more inputs, at least with Expand D10. If enough people demand it, we could consider a Nexus mic pre module. Also, a big reason we added ADAT out was to more easily integrate Stadium into existing audio interfaces, given that most $500+ interfaces have ADAT inputs.

Yes, VDI, L6 LINK/AES, and ADAT can be run simultaneously.

Love to hear that!

How are you determining which amps those are?

Here you go. Although we've deprecated IdeaScale since that was written; we're working on something new.

Curious what the distinction is between "per preset" and "per song." Is there a new type of user file called a song?

Yes. The Song List looks nearly identical to the Preset List. Each song saves up to 8 stereo tracks/stems, hundreds of flags, a handful of song-specific parameters, and if Matrix is set to "Per Song," three layers of the Matrix monitor mixer. Otherwise, the Matrix is global.

 

[mikah912]

No skin off my nose. I’m sticking with FM9 for now. When Stadium matures more it might pull me back in.

That’s the point of some of the stuff I want to mess with this weekend, seeing how disparate the platforms really are for me. I remember certain things as being better on one or the other, but I haven’t really compared them side by side since I’ve gotten really comfortable with FM9. I did a quick session of this a few nights ago with kinda surprising results, but I need to spend more time with it.

D

I get it. I absolutely rushed into making a Stadium XL preorder as soon as possible on after the 10th anniversary presentation, and I told myself once the initial glow wore off, I'd revisit the decision and cancel it if need be.

But I'm pretty much at the same place, even though I just had a great gig/recordingsession with my FM9 and will do several more before Sept./Oct./Nov. when it'll actually be in my hands.

The FM9 is an amazing piece of gear, but I want a bit more in terms of usability and fun than I think either it is capable of or than Cliff is willing to invest in his products.

 

[mikah912]

Here you go. Although we've deprecated IdeaScale since that was written; we're working on something new.

Makes sense to me. I don't think I can be but so squeaky a wheel, but I'm excited to see what's coming down the pike - especially Agoura-exclusive amps.