Line 6 Helix Stadium Talk

[Lysander]

That looks good. Can you populate each square with any kind of ‘command/control’? Like mostly stomps on top but maybe have a midi command for external device in one of them….then mostly scenes on bottom but a one button looper down there as well?

You could do this on the OG Helix LT with command center, so i'm pretty certain it's supported in Stadium as well.

 

[Deadpan]

So, are all the companies measuring SIC with a solid state device or are the using the actual tube power amp in the amps?

Everytime I have measured for data is has been with a dats3. It seems the result could be pretty different based on the tube power amp design.

I know the interaction is most likely modeled but is there a sanity check to make sure this are working correctly?

 

[[Nathan]]

Take a listen and let me know what you think. After putting it under a microscope I know why it initially threw me off. At least all of this has paid dividends cause I know how to work with it now.



Legacy
View attachment 59118

Agoura
View attachment 59119

Same cab for both. Also a tubescreamer with the same settings for both.
View attachment 59120

I just dropped a video re-going through all this stuff with Stadium vs TMP (can link it but not my intention here)
I feel like I managed to dial in the TMP to be "identical" to the stadium but I had to ramp up the presence to get there (I show the settings in the video). But yeah once both were dialled in, actually playing through either felt "the same" imo.

Either way, Soldano conquered lol. Back onto the Revv's next week.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I just dropped a video re-going through all this stuff with Stadium vs TMP (can link it but not my intention here)
I feel like I managed to dial in the TMP to be "identical" to the stadium but I had to ramp up the presence to get there (I show the settings in the video). But yeah once both were dialled in, actually playing through either felt "the same" imo.

Either way, Soldano conquered lol. Back onto the Revv's next week.

Without stirring the pot too much again…. here’s the settings I used to make Helix Legacy and TMP to sound similar:

and they seem pretty in line with Fractal and Mercuriall, as I’d expect:

from here:

 

[mbenigni]

The quality has fallen off the cliff. MacOS Tahoe is a shitshow of bugs atm and probably one of their worst OS releases. The past few versions of iOS have also been a pile of crap without any features that make anything better.

I use a Mac everyday for work and there's plenty of things that bug me about it, but that's not for this thread.

Corrollary: try to use Windows 11 with OneDrive storage for five consecutive minutes without dropping a WTF bomb.

 

[mbenigni]

Hey, I play on drop L on a 9 string.

…on an FM9.

 

[ian_dissonance]

…on an FM9.

Ha! Boss GT-1K or GX-100.

 

[Amarok]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but is there a way to use IRs from the Line6 marketplace on the stadium? They're in the DRM ".hir" format and won't allow me to import them.

EDIT: nevermind, just saw this in the marketplace:

 

[AlbertA]

 

[paisleywookiee]

I’ll say this in Apple’s favor - I used to be a Mac admin for 3 years before I moved to Linux/Server shit and I was responsible for all of the Apple environment on campus. Out of the roughly 500 devices (talking iMacs, MacBooks, Mac Minis and Mac Pros) only TWO had a hardware issue - one MacBook that just randomly died and wouldn’t boot and an iMac that kept shutting down on its own.

I’ll say this about Mac; they don’t have botched patches on a nearly monthly basis.

 

[eggpl@nt]

I’m still figuring this thing out, but I’m having a good time with it. For all the shit I’ve said about L6’s stock presets, I found the Double Double and Revvolution presets to be good home bases for me. I immediately saved the cab from the Revvolution preset as a User Favorite. It’s nice being able to do that on the unit. Frankly, with the Revv figured out, I’m like 70% set on amp tones, so I’m content in the department.

Focus View with the “zonal presets” is really, really cool. Maybe my favorite feature. Again, for all the shit I’ve said about Helix’s default settings, having now five default settings and the ability to move between them linearly makes it easy to get a vibe for a pedal or amp. It makes some of the more “intimidating” options (eg Xenonorph Fuzz) much more accessible, if that makes sense.

I’m looking forward to Proxy because I still struggle with Helix Overdrives. Aside from the Pillars and Horizon Drive, I don’t love how Helix Overdrives sound/feel when boosting an amp like the Revv or 5153.

Resource management can be annoying. Here’s an example: I pulled up a factory preset that was described as being designed for a 7 or 8 string. With my 6 string in my lap, I figured this was a good time to try the Poly Capo. Well there isn’t enough DSP on the first path, so you’ve got to delete or move things. The block can fit in the preset, but you have to manually balance the two paths to make it happen.

The touch screen is very nice. Responsive and accurate. There are some workflows that I wish worked differently, but I totally understand why they’re implemented the way they are. I haven’t quite nailed down the most seamless way to dismiss “popup” windows.

The fit and finish is very nice - it feels premium. The knobs all have a bit of resistance which I personally like.

Boot time is really slow.

 

[ccc118]

I’m still figuring this thing out, but I’m having a good time with it. For all the shit I’ve said about L6’s stock presets, I found the Double Double and Revvolution presets to be good home bases for me. I immediately saved the cab from the Revvolution preset as a User Favorite. It’s nice being able to do that on the unit. Frankly, with the Revv figured out, I’m like 70% set on amp tones, so I’m content in the department.

Focus View with the “zonal presets” is really, really cool. Maybe my favorite feature. Again, for all the shit I’ve said about Helix’s default settings, having now five default settings and the ability to move between them linearly makes it easy to get a vibe for a pedal or amp. It makes some of the more “intimidating” options (eg Xenonorph Fuzz) much more accessible, if that makes sense.

I’m looking forward to Proxy because I still struggle with Helix Overdrives. Aside from the Pillars and Horizon Drive, I don’t love how Helix Overdrives sound/feel when boosting an amp like the Revv or 5153.

Resource management can be annoying. Here’s an example: I pulled up a factory preset that was described as being designed for a 7 or 8 string. With my 6 string in my lap, I figured this was a good time to try the Poly Capo. Well there isn’t enough DSP on the first path, so you’ve got to delete or move things. The block can fit in the preset, but you have to manually balance the two paths to make it happen.

The touch screen is very nice. Responsive and accurate. There are some workflows that I wish worked differently, but I totally understand why they’re implemented the way they are. I haven’t quite nailed down the most seamless way to dismiss “popup” windows.

The fit and finish is very nice - it feels premium. The knobs all have a bit of resistance which I personally like.

Boot time is really slow.

By popup windows, are you talking about how to get out of the parameter you're adjusting to go back to the block you were in? If that's the case, just click on the parameter name again to exit it.

 

[eggpl@nt]

By popup windows, are you talking about how to get out of the parameter you're adjusting to go back to the block you were in? If that's the case, just click on the parameter name again to exit it.

Maybe a better way to say this would be, I would like a “gesture” that imitates the Home button. Yes, yours is one example of what I meant when I said “popup windows,” but I was also thinking of screens like Clip or Information.

For the most part, I think my hand only leaves the touchscreen to hit the Home button. Being able to mimic that function on the touchscreen would be nice, I think.

 

[Gary_W]

When Proxy drops, I wonder if L6 will do a ‘standard one size fits all’ gain and tone stack to use with a capture or do a ‘Liquid Profiling’ thing like Kemper brought out a couple of years ago?

The limit on the Kemper version was the number of tone stacks available which they unfortunately didn’t add to after the initial release. Because of the modelled legacy amps within the Helix universe, there’s tons of tone stacks in there anyway that are ‘just that little bit different’ (such as the Matchless). I’m hoping they can go this was and have a closer match to the actual amps in more cases rather than a generic tone stack but time will tell.

If they could go this way, it would also be very cool with stomp boxes - I’m probably dreaming but it would be great to be able to capture a germanium fuzz with the tone and gain controls ‘as close to the original as possible’. I’m also wondering, when doing a proxy capture of a stomp box, if it’ll be possible to use the lower input impedance (like you can with the fuzz models in there now’)?

 

[DG80]

I think I'm slowly falling out of love with my stadium.

There are a LOT of usability things that are missing, and make using it (in my context) quite frustrating; things like not having global blocks, and the way the set lists work for example.

Here's hoping Line 6 will implement similar things in the future.

 

[Chocol8]

So, are all the companies measuring SIC with a solid state device or are the using the actual tube power amp in the amps?

Everytime I have measured for data is has been with a dats3. It seems the result could be pretty different based on the tube power amp design.

I know the interaction is most likely modeled but is there a sanity check to make sure this are working correctly?

The speaker impacts the behavior of the tube amp, but the amp doesn't change the impedance curve of the speaker. The cab and even room placement can change the SIC, but amp is not an issue.

 

[mikah912]

I think I'm slowly falling out of love with my stadium.

There are a LOT of usability things that are missing, and make using it (in my context) quite frustrating; things like not having global blocks, and the way the set lists work for example.

Here's hoping Line 6 will implement similar things in the future.

But.... they've never had global blocks even on the old Helix, nor have they promised to implement them on Stadium?

Why would you buy it if that's a huge feature where the lack of such would be a major problem?

 

[DG80]

But.... they've never had global blocks even on the old Helix, nor have they promised to implement them on Stadium?

Why would you buy it if that's a huge feature where the lack of such would be a major problem?

Firstly, I wasn't aware of that. Still doesn't mean it's not something they could add though, IMO.

I wouldn't return it due to the lack of this - they were just examples of some of the frustrations I'm having with the unit.

My point is, it's a frustration when it comes to usability - especially when competitive products do this (and have been doing so for many years). Especially given how we're locked in to using set lists in a certain way.

 

[mikah912]

Firstly, I wasn't aware of that. Still doesn't mean it's not something they could add though, IMO.

I wouldn't return it due to the lack of this - they were just examples of some of the frustrations I'm having with the unit.

My point is, it's a frustration when it comes to usability - especially when competitive products do this (and have been doing so for many years). Especially given how we're locked in to using set lists in a certain way.

Respectfully, I would think with a purchase of this magnitude.... you'd do extensive research into how they implement usability for all of your individual use cases.

And Digital Igloo was readily available here and elsewhere for questions from mid-June all the way to the late November launch.

That's not to say I don't have my own quibbles. Personally, I'd like them to implement channels on every block like Fractal does, but they do their best not to outright copy functionality competitors had first.

But it's not a disappointment to me that they don't have it. I knew well before buying. My advice to you is to specifically sketch out how you want setlists to be implemented differently, then tag him here. That's a feature request that'll go into a large backlog, and hopefully enough people echo it.

 

[sashimi]

That's not to say I don't have my own quibbles. Personally, I'd like them to implement channels on every block like Fractal does, but they do their best not to outright copy functionality competitors had first.

As much as I respect that approach, sometimes it is to their own detriment. Helix/stadium could really benefit from global blocks and channels, even if they have to come up with new names and unique ways to implement them.