Line 6 Helix Stadium Talk

[FuzzyAce]

If you want to play fast don’t use a pick?

There's a lot of truth to that!

 

[laxu]

Interesting that his main distortion patch is an Hx model - the Brit Trem Jumped and not the new Stadium Plexi. He picked a legacy Marshall amp model with a bright cap over that garbage pile that is the Agoura Superlead.

Who could have predicted.

Did he use a Helix before? If yes, it might be just that he's using what he's used to.

 

[bucephalus]

There's a lot of truth to that!

I don't use a pick because it's just annoying trying to hit the right string

 

[dean701]

Did he use a Helix before? If yes, it might be just that he's using what he's used to.

He uses them all. QC, FM, Helix. Since he is endorsed by everyone, although Yamaha for a long time, he seems to hop back and forth. Many videos show him using an FM3 live prior to that the Helix. Nice to see him using the Stadium and it sounds like he just made those patches.

 

[EOengineer]

What’s wrong with the Plexi? The guys at Worship Tutorials love it? All the samples I’ve heard sound good too.

It doesn’t have a bright cap. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with it. They modelled the one they have. A lot of the snarl from a plexi comes from the cap, but also kinda makes it useless for anything other than running it cranked up when it is present.

I remember on the Marshall forum years ago there was a spec spreadsheet of maybe 100 vintage plexis and their specs. They were all over the place, and I’d say the majority had no bright cap. Can probably still find the list.

This gets very nuanced but the Plexi as we know it is really a very specific subset of the Marshall Superlead from the ~1968 period. Those tend to have no bright cap, or a less aggressive one, and smaller filtering caps that make the amp feel softer/spongier - a bit more JTM45ish. Think Hendrix.

Around 1969-1970 Marshall started transitioning to more aggressive bright caps and stiffer filtering which produces a brighter, more aggressive, rocky version of that sound. That trend continued through the late 70s.

The Agoura Plexi does a good job with the 60s Marshall sound. I shouldn’t bash it as much as I do, as I think it’s fairly accurate for that sound, it’s just not the version of the Superlead some of us prefer.

Fractal solves this by exposing deep parameters for bright cap and filter cap values.

Stadium is still young so I’m really hoping for a late 70s Superlead one day, or a path to adjust some of those parameters. If you’re looking for the 70s Superlead sound the Agoura Plexi just flat out can’t do it.