Line 6 Helix Stadium Talk

[LP59]

Official discussion thread for the Line6 HX Stadium product line

The previous thread is so full of nonsense that it's best to start a new one. This should be for owners of the unit, or prospective owners. Talk about how to make the most of it etc.

THIS IS NOT THE THREAD FOR DISCUSSING SHIPPING, RELEASE OF THE NON-XL MODEL ETC.

If the discussions for a single modeler need to be grouped together like this, wouldn't it be better to put them in a subforum instead of one huge monolithic thread? I find discussions in those other huge threads impossible to follow.

 

[[Nathan]]

There's obviously a lot of variables involved, but using that video as an example, its quite a meat and potatoes setup (no boost, single 57 on a mesa cab) without anything too fancy going on.

That demo sounds fat and glorious. I wonder if running stadium through an amp or poweramp into a cab/recorded with a mic, would have any “more real” effect on the sound.

I know what you’re saying this wouldn’t really change the modelling but I wonder if it gets the stuff sounding more like that demo

 

[mikah912]

Still hearing the characteristics I don't like, unfortunately. It would be cool to hear what the advanced parameters do to the tone a bit more, and also Im curious how different it sounds to the old modelling tech. Revv120's aren't my favourite amp, but I quite like the tones in this video for example. The distortion just doesn't stick out, the low end blooms on palm mutes, the attack at the start of notes is nice. I haven't heard an Agoura example that sounds as convincing as this:



There's obviously a lot of variables involved, but using that video as an example, its quite a meat and potatoes setup (no boost, single 57 on a mesa cab) without anything too fancy going on.

I have no idea how you're hearing that here (I have it set to the exact clip):



That's as realistic as I've ever heard a model get that amp - including the Fractal REVV models that I played A LOT during my FM9 ownership. Palm mutes and attack are essentially perfect to my ears.

And that's not to bag on @GuitarJon's followup REVV demo. It sounds good. But the Sean Price and the Signal Theory/Worship Tutorial guys proved beyond a shadow of a doubt - for me - that Agoura is the real deal when it comes to high-gain. Hell, the REVV guys themselves told Line 6 as much when they heard the Agoura version.

 

[GuitarJon]

I'm hearing it too. But then I went and listened to a bunch of Fractal clips and now, for the first time, I'm hearing it there too. I have to wonder if I'm over-analyzing...hard to tell. This amp seems given to papery tones.

We need comparison clips to physical amp again. @GuitarJon, you're the master at this.

For me personally, I need the unit in my hands through my guitar cabs - that's always my gold standard test, as that eliminates the whole FRFR variable from the equation (which is a MASSIVE variable) and you're fully assessing just the amps. Of course, in this case, it doesn't matter because it's a recorded tone and not playback tone.

I'm up for it but I might wait until they add amps that I actually have the same revisions of. The Revv for example, I don't think they modeled the MKIII Rev B, unless I'm mistaken. But the one I have is voiced differently to the previous versions. Etc.

 

[Fireproof]

If the discussions for a single modeler need to be grouped together like this, wouldn't it be better to put them in a subforum instead of one huge monolithic thread? I find discussions in those other huge threads impossible to follow.

Anyone can start other Stadium related discussions to focus on whatever.

The purpose of this thread was to leave all the conjecture, ship status, and bafoonery that was inherent in the “other” thread from the other thread behind a bit, and start fresh with actual user-based discussions now that it will be in our hands…

 

[laxu]

If the discussions for a single modeler need to be grouped together like this, wouldn't it be better to put them in a subforum instead of one huge monolithic thread? I find discussions in those other huge threads impossible to follow.

There's definitely too many HX Stadium threads atm, but once the release hype dies down it usually consolidates to a single thread pretty well.

I think this place is a bit small userbase for modeler specific subforums.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I have no idea how you're hearing that here (I have it set to the exact clip):



That's as realistic as I've ever heard a model get that amp - including the Fractal REVV models that I played A LOT during my FM9 ownership. Palm mutes and attack are essentially perfect to my ears.

And that's not to bag on @GuitarJon's followup REVV demo. It sounds good. But the Sean Price and the Signal Theory/Worship Tutorial guys proved beyond a shadow of a doubt - for me - that Agoura is the real deal when it comes to high-gain. Hell, the REVV guys themselves told Line 6 as much when they heard the Agoura version.

Watched this video a few times. KILLER player but it still has all the characteristics I described above (that I don’t hear in the real amp video I posted which has a wide variety of settings).

My main concern isn’t just not vibing with one or two random tones online - it’s that they all so far have common characteristics that I don’t associate with real amps.

Time will tell I guess, but given I had really high hopes and assumed it was a given that I’d be blown away, I’m a bit disappointed with what I’ve heard. Stoked for everyone who’s loving it though, and I think the lower gain stuff has sounded fantastic,

 

[LP59]

There's definitely too many HX Stadium threads atm, but once the release hype dies down it usually consolidates to a single thread pretty well.

Right, but I'm saying that's the problem. This practice of consolidating all the discussions for a modeler into a single thread with hundreds of pages IMHO makes the discussions hard to follow.

 

[mikah912]

Watched this video a few times. KILLER player but it still has all the characteristics I described above (that I don’t hear in the real amp video I posted which has a wide variety of settings).

My main concern isn’t just not vibing with one or two random tones online - it’s that they all so far have common characteristics that I don’t associate with real amps.

Time will tell I guess, but given I had really high hopes and assumed it was a given that I’d be blown away, I’m a bit disappointed with what I’ve heard. Stoked for everyone who’s loving it though, and I think the lower gain stuff has sounded fantastic,

It's all good. You got cilantro ears. And just like that glorious herb that helps make so many foods so flavorful, I'm not sure if there's anything they can do to tame down the "soapy" or "acerbic" taste as you perceive it.

Me? I'm glad that my taste buds aren't as "developed".

 

[banned]

If the discussions for a single modeler need to be grouped together like this, wouldn't it be better to put them in a subforum instead of one huge monolithic thread? I find discussions in those other huge threads impossible to follow.

Great suggestion - that would probably be a great distinguisher for this forum from TOP. Pretty much lay it out like the Fractal forum except the divisions being along the line of manufacturers - can also have a general discussion like this one where everyone gathers. Really depends on the total number of users.

 

[EOengineer]

Still hearing the characteristics I don't like, unfortunately. It would be cool to hear what the advanced parameters do to the tone a bit more, and also Im curious how different it sounds to the old modelling tech. Revv120's aren't my favourite amp, but I quite like the tones in this video for example. The distortion just doesn't stick out, the low end blooms on palm mutes, the attack at the start of notes is nice. I haven't heard an Agoura example that sounds as convincing as this:



There's obviously a lot of variables involved, but using that video as an example, its quite a meat and potatoes setup (no boost, single 57 on a mesa cab) without anything too fancy going on.

Im reluctant to develop any strong Agoura opinions until I’ve spent at least the weekend with my XL, but I suspect we will see more scientific comparisons next week. To sort this out we’d really need comparisons through the same settings with the same IR. Otherwise we’re comparing apples and screwdrivers, which doesn’t move the conversation forward.

 

[mikah912]

Jon can you give some love to the XTC red drop D Cantrell stuff when time permits ?

@GuitarJon I have to cosign this one. We wanna hear some Alice in Chains-esque riffing with that German Red. The high gain stuff thus far has run the SLO, REVV and 5153 into the ground.

Reinhold's baby is the red-headed stepchild.....

 

[banned]

It's all good. You got cilantro ears. And just like that glorious herb that helps make so many foods so flavorful, I'm not sure if there's anything they can do to tame down the "soapy" or "acerbic" taste as you perceive it.

Me? I'm glad that my taste buds aren't as "developed".

It's pretty obvious really...there's a lack of heft, weight and density. So it sounds more like a modeled tone from an older generation (Zoom from several years ago is what comes to mind)

But again, we're entering the over-analysis phase and it's easy to get lost in the weeds here.

Personally, I'm not into super heavy tones. To me, this is a fantastic guitar tone that is harmonically rich, completely natural and well captured -



Also, always loved the tones from the Hook Wizard demo video a few years back -



The amp demos from the Signal Theory channel sounded fantastic to my ears - all the harmonic complexity I could desire - those were the best demos I've heard by far. But then on their high gain demo, again it started sounding a little fake to my ears.

I'll have to wait for the Michael Nielsen demos - those are the heaviest tones I care about.

 

[DISTORT6]

I have no idea how you're hearing that here (I have it set to the exact clip):



That's as realistic as I've ever heard a model get that amp - including the Fractal REVV models that I played A LOT during my FM9 ownership. Palm mutes and attack are essentially perfect to my ears.

And that's not to bag on @GuitarJon's followup REVV demo. It sounds good. But the Sean Price and the Signal Theory/Worship Tutorial guys proved beyond a shadow of a doubt - for me - that Agoura is the real deal when it comes to high-gain. Hell, the REVV guys themselves told Line 6 as much when they heard the Agoura version.

The SLO sounds like mine. Impressive, for sure

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Im reluctant to develop any strong Agoura opinions until I’ve spent at least the weekend with my XL, but I suspect we will see more scientific comparisons next week. To sort this out we’d really need comparisons through the same settings with the same IR. Otherwise we’re comparing apples and screwdrivers, which doesn’t move the conversation forward.

Very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and hopefully some tones too. There’s several people on this forum that I absolutely trust with what to expect and how to squeeze the most out of it. For all that the professional youtubers are great for, actual users getting stuck in is a different thing.

Many of the demos so far are simply showing off a variety of the features as the main priority. And it’s still early days. So I’m hopeful there are many killer tones to come

 

[EOengineer]

The SLO sounds like mine. Impressive, for sure

 

[EOengineer]

Very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and hopefully some tones too. There’s several people on this forum that I absolutely trust with what to expect and how to squeeze the most out of it. For all that the professional youtubers are great for, actual users getting stuck in is a different thing.

Many of the demos so far are simply showing off a variety of the features as the main priority. And it’s still early days. So I’m hopeful there are many killer tones to come

I’m tempted to try to throw together a comparison between the Agoura 2203 and my 2204 just to see what’s apparent at a glance. Unfortunately it’s also not apples to apples with the difference in power section (and probably speaker load) but we will see. If there had been some Mesa circuits in the initial launch I’d be in a much better spot to help compare.

I wish L6 had a donor program where we could send in amps they need to fill gaps. I assume getting the amps isn’t the hard part, though.

 

[mikah912]

It's pretty obvious really...there's a lack of heft, weight and density. So it sounds more like a modeled tone from an older generation (Zoom from several years ago is what comes to mind)

But again, we're entering the over-analysis phase and it's easy to get lost in the weeds here.

Personally, I'm not into super heavy tones. To me, this is a fantastic guitar tone that is harmonically rich, completely natural and well captured -



Also, always loved the tones from the Hook Wizard demo video a few years back -



The amp demos from the Signal Theory channel sounded fantastic to my ears - all the harmonic complexity I could desire - those were the best demos I've heard by far. But then on their high gain demo, again it started sounding a little fake to my ears.

I'll have to wait for the Michael Nielsen demos - those are the heaviest tones I care about.

Yeah, I hear weight and punch for days, but c'est la vie.

I fully anticipated every conversation occuring today even before the videos dropped. Line 6 tones are forensically picked over, and I kinda just shrug because they sounded great to me with Helix, and they sound even better to my ears now.

I used to wonder if I was missing something badly, but having tried every other competitor at length.....I'm not. At least not for my ears and my uses.

 

[mikah912]

I’m tempted to try to throw together a comparison between the Agoura 2203 and my 2204 just to see what’s apparent at a glance. Unfortunately it’s also not apples to apples with the difference in power section (and probably speaker load) but we will see. If there had been some Mesa circuits in the initial launch I’d be in a much better spot to help compare.

I wish L6 had a donor program where we could send in amps they need to fill gaps. I assume getting the amps isn’t the hard part, though.

Proxy is going to be that donor program.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Anyone fancy testing the poweramp impedance stuff? The cabs now affect the power amp response. Maybe some can tap the amp signal before the cab so we can hear just how the amp is changing in tone?

What poweramp response does each amp use with external IR’s? Might that be a factor in some of the demos? Similarly with the Pre/Post Z control, it would be cool to see how that affects things in more depth.

Has every amp been modelled connected to every cab in Line 6’s collection? or have they been modelled individually and then the result is predicted rather than measured? What about amps and cabs that have limited options for matching impedances?