Line 6 Helix Stadium Pre-Launch Discussion

[dk_ace]

Oh, not at all. Showcase doesn't even exist in 1.0. Boot a brand new Helix Stadium XL on day one, press the Song button, and a dialog pops up asking you to update the Firmware to 1.1 (which should be available by that time).

My bad, I thought that was the big new thing out of the box. I got lost somewhere in all the threads and videos. Now that I think about it, Agoura was the big new thing I guess. Showcase was the thing that really grabbed my attention more than anything, seemed like a really cool idea.

D

 

[dk_ace]

Ain't naan wrong with that. I get avoiding the early adopter thing too. I would only do it anymore for a company I implicitly trust because of lots of great personal experiences.

Both Fractal and Line 6 meet that criteria. I don't think one can go wrong with either one.

I’m an early adopter in other places, and used to be for modelers, but not anymore. The current crop is good enough that I don’t feel a need to be early with a new one. Of course something could always be mind blowing enough to change that.

For now, the stuff I care most about (dsp, routing, quality of certain effects) is done best by fractal. Stadium appears to address some of that already. If it crosses the other items off my list, I’ll probably end up with stadium as the helix is my favorite so far with regard to using the hardware. With the fractal, unless something is busted and I have to fix it right then at a gig or rehearsal, I don’t even try to use the hardware.

There’s also something to be said for getting maximum life out of a product by getting in early.

D

 

[timbuck3]

I think people are just wondering exactly what this thing is gonna have in it
I mean, I think that’s totally acceptable to think that and wonder
The boxes of checks for me are the interface touchscreen ease of use hopefully and an in depth, possibly very unique looper system
I do wish they had more of whatever it’s gonna be like in there upon release but I understand and I think I’m just gonna go with it and see what happens

 

[timbuck3]

I think people are just wondering exactly what this thing is gonna have in it
I mean, I think that’s totally acceptable to think that and wonder
The boxes of checks for me are the interface touchscreen ease of use hopefully and an in depth, possibly very unique looper system
I do wish they had more of whatever it’s gonna be like in there upon release but I understand and I think I’m just gonna go with it and see what happens

No, I will be 100% honest the first helix as I said I bought when it first came out. I think I got a really good deal again like 20% off or something but I tried it for my 45 days and I just was not impressed with it and I know that was what 10 years ago And honestly, I haven’t tried it again since those 10 years which I know things seem to have changed a lot in the helix, but my question two guys out there is if you don’t like the helix sound 10 years ago is it possible you may not like it now no matter what they do to it? Or release? I am unsure.
I haven’t really followed the helix updates in the last 10 years, but I do notice a lot of guys having to put a lot of different EQ‘s on amps pre-and post to get it to sound the way they wanna get it to sound and I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really wanna fiddle with that kind of stuffThat’s why I do like amps a lot where you just plug-in you turn the knobs you have there and you get a sound that’s enjoyable to you if not, you just tweak the few knobs you have and go with it.

 

[AlbertA]

I think people are just wondering exactly what this thing is gonna have in it
I mean, I think that’s totally acceptable to think that and wonder
The boxes of checks for me are the interface touchscreen ease of use hopefully and an in depth, possibly very unique looper system
I do wish they had more of whatever it’s gonna be like in there upon release but I understand and I think I’m just gonna go with it and see what happens

You'll know closer to shipping date.

 

[timbuck3]

You'll know closer to shipping date.

I know it’s a waiting game. I wonder if they’re putting all the old helix stuff in here because they really don’t have the new agora system fully implemented and they won’t at launch so they gotta fill it up with something right? Like I wonder if eventually it’ll be 100% agora amps and effectsor will you be able to remove all the helix stuff that you don’t really want or need in there or like

 

[GTR37]

Presets aren't embedded into the song, no, but each song's Start flag recalls the desired preset and snapshot, subsequent Marker flags can change the preset and/or snapshot, and you can also add dedicated Preset/Snap flags to recall specific presets and/or snapshots during the song (which are really only useful if you want a change but don't want a marker at the same location).

So technically showcase could do something that a momentary switch does now right ?
Like turn a flanger on and off
Or engage the poly shift on certain spots in the solo
As long as you know where those specific parts are you would put a start flag there and end flag after the solo?

 

[timbuck3]

 

[Digital Igloo]

I know it’s a waiting game. I wonder if they’re putting all the old helix stuff in here because they really don’t have the new agora system fully implemented and they won’t at launch so they gotta fill it up with something right? Like I wonder if eventually it’ll be 100% agora amps and effectsor will you be able to remove all the helix stuff that you don’t really want or need in there or like

40 channels of Agoura amps are *fully implemented* in that the amps we've chosen include all the tools required to do them (and many additional amps) justice. As with HX, there may be amps in the future that require additional Agoura DSP tools to describe their behavior, and as those tools come online, those amps can be modeled as well.

There is no plan to let the user remove HX amps and effects from Stadium.

So technically showcase could do something that a momentary switch does now right ?
Like turn a flanger on and off
Or engage the poly shift on certain spots in the solo
As long as you know where those specific parts are you would put a start flag there and end flag after the solo?

At least to start, no, individual stomp switch presses are not represented as Showcase flags (because a stomp can do up to 16 things at once and there's no notion of a stomp being off or on—the assigned items simply change states). But if your preset's 8 snapshots can accomplish the sounds you're looking for, Start, Marker, and Preset/Snap flags can all recall snapshot changes.

Showcase will be getting more sophisticated as time goes on, but we're purposely keeping things simple at first.

 

[molul]

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

Gotta disagree. The purpose of having global blocks is to share a block between presets, not necessarily that any modification is instantly saved (that would be against your preferences only, not the feature itself).

Imagine that you tweak 8 parameters of a global block during an hour, you don't like the final result and you don't remember the previous values. How to restore? You can write down the values before starting, but the software should provide a way to go back. That's UX 101.

But this would be easily solvable with a preference in settings to choose whether save instantly or ask for confirmation.

 

[HomespunEffects]

Boy here we go a newborn Unit and people are already asking for every amp on the globe and under the sun, We want the next 20-30 Firmware Updates Now or at least at release time!!!

My first amp was an Ampeg accordion amplifier. If Helix Stadium comes with that, I’m cancelling my preorder.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Gotta disagree. The purpose of having global blocks is to share a block between presets, not necessarily that any modification is instantly saved (that would be against your preferences only, not the feature itself).

What would you need that for? Any implementation of global blocks would be there to merely help live performances. Sure, there's some other thinkable scenarios, but global blocks very likely wouldn't make much sense there.

Imagine that you tweak 8 parameters of a global block during an hour, you don't like the final result and you don't remember the previous values. How to restore? You can write down the values before starting, but the software should provide a way to go back. That's UX 101.

Again: What if you tweaked your analog amp for an hour? How to get back to the pre-tweaked settings?
And if you really spend an hour tweaking things, that's most certainly nothing one should ever use a globalized block for. So you'd de-globalize it and tweak and then possibly globalize it again. That's UX 101.
Apart from that, there's an undo function.

But this would be easily solvable with a preference in settings to choose whether save instantly or ask for confirmation.

Sure.

 

[Mooselake]

... but my question two guys out there is if you don’t like the helix sound 10 years ago is it possible you may not like it now no matter what they do to it? Or release? I am unsure.
I haven’t really followed the helix updates in the last 10 years, but I do notice a lot of guys having to put a lot of different EQ‘s on amps pre-and post to get it to sound the way they wanna get it to sound and I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really wanna fiddle with that kind of stuffThat’s why I do like amps a lot where you just plug-in you turn the knobs you have there and you get a sound that’s enjoyable to you if not, you just tweak the few knobs you have and go with it.

Yes, it certainly possible a person wouldn't like the sound they can get out of Stadium. Helix-2025 IMO sounds different than Helix-2016/17 (when I got mine), not long after the LT came out, iirc, but not at the very beginning), and to my taste it generally sounds better. I liked the way it sounded for the most part from the beginning. IMO the last 2-3 years seemed like a blossoming of the OG Helix. Especially the amp models, several really good modeled ones as well some real good L6 originals. I think the Line 6 Elmsley might qualify as my favorite of the bunch. But that I like Helix OG stuff doesn't mean you should or would like it too,

I don't know what standard practice is nowadays but I never use any kind of filter blocks or compression. My tone requirements aren't precise so that level of shaping isn't required. It might be psychological, but I feel like adding a bunch of that stuff makes me feel a little more detached from what I'm hearing, so it would have to add something critical for me to deem it worth the cost.

 

[AlbertA]

It’s been posted twice already, we’ll 3 with yours

 

[timbuck3]

It’s been posted twice already, we’ll 3 with yours

Sorry please delete as I cannot

 

[Blix]

Sorry please delete as I cannot

Yes you can, hit the three dots to the right of "report" if you're on a phone, it will give you the option to edit or delete a post.

 

[timbuck3]

Yes you can, hit the three dots to the right of "report" if you're on a phone, it will give you the option to edit or delete a post.

Sorry I can’t for some reason mods don’t allow me the 3 dots to edit or delete after 1 minute of being posted

 

[molul]

What would you need that for? Any implementation of global blocks would be there to merely help live performances. Sure, there's some other thinkable scenarios, but global blocks very likely wouldn't make much sense there.

Oh, I thought that was obvious: to save precious time when editing a bunch of presets.

Imagine I have 27 presets in a setlist, and one day, at home or the rehearsal place (not live), I try a different mic in a cab, and I realize I like it more than the one I had. With a global block, once I'm happy and I decide I want that for "my sound", I can easily spread the change to the other 26 presets just by saving. Otherwise, I would have to go over the 26 presets to repeat the operation. It's like having a variable in programming.

Again: What if you tweaked your analog amp for an hour? How to get back to the pre-tweaked settings?
And if you really spend an hour tweaking things, that's most certainly nothing one should ever use a globalized block for. So you'd de-globalize it and tweak and then possibly globalize it again. That's UX 101.
Apart from that, there's an undo function.

Hey, you stole the "that's UX 101" from me. Not fair!

The good thing of digital is that you can do things you couldn't in the analog world. For instance, in current Helix, you could be tweaking your amp block for an hour and then cancel the update if you didn't like it.

Your approach of de-globalize and then globalize again would work, sure, but would be miles away in QoL to just tweaking the global block and then save it once you're happy. It saves you many clicks.

On the other hand, have you ever used Undo to undo dozens of actions? Not the coolest thing to do.

But I understand you need immediacy for your use case, so a flag in Settings for that would make sense.

 

[gearJunkie]

Here's a blast from the past. Do you think it's time for an upgrade?

 

[Velvet Skin Underarm]

40 channels of Agoura amps are *fully implemented* in that the amps we've chosen include all the tools required to do them (and many additional amps) justice.

I have a question about the original amps like the Litigator. Will they (or at some of the most popular) be remade in Agora, or can they be made in Agora? I know they're not real life amps, but I was wondering if they have some kind of digital topology similar to how a real amp works.