Line 6 Helix Stadium Talk

[SillyOctpuss]

True. Such a shame as they have been superb up to this point.

I quit after finishing the second one, I didn't like his writing style.

 

[CakeEater]

Assuming that with helix stadium is still possible to build chains of snapshots like is possible on OG Helix, if you like to make things a bit more complicated more elegant, you can use snapshots in stomp A or B view and command center, if you are not already using snapshots for other things.

You need two snapshots, one that has reverb A on and B off, and one that has reverb B on and off A off.

Assign snapshot A to the footswitch you like via command center and set it to show snapshot B once is selected. Then set snapshot B to show snapshot A when selected.

You'll have a single footswitch that will toggle between snapshot A and B. Name the snapshots accordingly* and set to color rings as you wish.

* You can name them to show the reverb that is on or the reverb will be on if you press.

To avoid other blocks to be turned on and off by mistake set their snapshot bypass control to off. Do it at least for any block bypass assigned directly to a footswitch.

If you are using other footswitches or an expression pedal to control parameters in of the reverb blocks, to a avoid conflicts set the snapshot control of those parameters to off.

Thanks, that's a good idea! While I do have generic graduated snapshots set up, I actually almost never use them. So using snapshots via command centre for this would be a better use.

I suppose I could use Stomp B as well, but I'd like them to toggle inversely on a single foot switch for convenience. I'll give it a go today, and see what works!

 

[HotRats]

Thanks, that's a good idea! While I do have generic graduated snapshots set up, I actually almost never use them. So using snapshots via command centre for this would be a better use.

I suppose I could use Stomp B as well, but I'd like them to toggle inversely on a single foot switch for convenience. I'll give it a go today, and see what works!

I used this method on my kitchen sink pedalboard style presets with OG helix for toggling between clean and crunch sounds, being them models or my actual tube amp.

 

[Gary_W]

Happy New Year everyone :). A story for you (either inspiring or a cheese fest, you tell me).

When I saw the Stadium info come out last Summer, I must admit I was in a bit of a rut with my playing. I was hoping this thing might give me an inspiration nudge - although I’d acquired a couple of new guitars, I hadn’t updated my main noise making solution for years so I pre-ordered. I know you shouldn’t need gear to inspire you but I suppose I was bored and looking for something to kick me into practicing more / just playing in general as I was picking up guitar less frequently than ever.

Back in September whilst waiting for the XL launch, I snapped my fretting hand little finger badly enough to need surgery. When I told the initial surgeon I saw that my main aim was getting back to playing guitar normally, his poker face was dire and he told me it was a really bad break that would never be the same again. Although I’d been in a rut, the idea of never being able to play normally again was pretty horrific brain-wise - I was picturing selling guitars which might sound doom-mongering but (considering it’s just a little finger) it hit me hard and that’s where the less positive side of me went. First thing I considered was Timbucking my pre-order for the XL - no point spending money on the shiny new thing I wouldn’t be able to use. My wife told me I’d adapt and get back to playing - she persuaded me to keep the pre order on the books as something to look forward to. So I read about a few folks who adapted and kept the pre-order. Thankfully, the lady who actually did my surgery was awesome. For some time I couldn’t play at all (splint plus a wire physically sticking out the end of my finger) but I’m back to playing normally which I’d pretty much given up on. Tingles a bit and some pain but I will absolutely take that compared with where I thought I’d be with this right now. Both the surgeon and my wife did me an absolute solid with my recovery.

I think the concept of having my hobby removed from me (or at least made forever more difficult) has made me realise how much I actually get out of it. I’m playing more than ever. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do this fantastic hobby once more - I have never (and will never) make a living out of it. It’s my ‘me time’ that recharges my battery to make the day job a bit easier. I think, as Joni Mitchell said, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’.

So basically, the XL has caught me at exactly the right time - I’m grateful I can still play and have tons of cool sounds and features that are helping to keep my attention focussed on playing. I am like Jack Skellington in Christmas land. I bought another guitar (which I absolutely love) and my wife bought me one of these for Christmas.

https://www.backbeatleather.co.uk/products/gold-silver-dragon-guitar-strap which is every bit as fabulous as I’d hoped.

So with that message of (possibly toxic) positivity, where will Stadium go next? I know Eric mentioned a 1.2.x in January and 1.3 ‘around NAMM’. Any information on these upcoming things would be happily received :)

For me, I’d like to see an easier way to use focus mode to create snapshots (a simple toggle switch on screen to write / not write what you do with the focus slider to the current snapshot would do nicely), I’m excited to see what the stem splitting with Showcase does at first launch compared with Moises and I’m looking forward to see what traditional Helix amps (or entirely new amps) get the Agoura treatment next. Oh, and I love fuzz pedals - because some of the classic early effects had 10 components or so plus two knobs only, I’m hopeful they’ll be something on the Agoura remake radar that won’t take too much time vs an amp with three channels and eleventy billion parameters. But, as I know nothing about Agoura apart from the snippets out there in the public domain, I’m probably over simplifying. For new amps, I’m easily pleased as I’m enjoying most of them so far so bring it on……. One of the best Kemper profiles was a Morgan AC20 so it’d be great to try one of those as an Agoura amp.

 

[molul]

View attachment 57221

Oooh, I 'membah!

Happy New Year everyone :). A story for you (either inspiring or a cheese fest, you tell me).

When I saw the Stadium info come out last Summer, I must admit I was in a bit of a rut with my playing. I was hoping this thing might give me an inspiration nudge - although I’d acquired a couple of new guitars, I hadn’t updated my main noise making solution for years so I pre-ordered. I know you shouldn’t need gear to inspire you but I suppose I was bored and looking for something to kick me into practicing more / just playing in general as I was picking up guitar less frequently than ever.

Back in September whilst waiting for the XL launch, I snapped my fretting hand little finger badly enough to need surgery. When I told the initial surgeon I saw that my main aim was getting back to playing guitar normally, his poker face was dire and he told me it was a really bad break that would never be the same again. Although I’d been in a rut, the idea of never being able to play normally again was pretty horrific brain-wise - I was picturing selling guitars which might sound doom-mongering but (considering it’s just a little finger) it hit me hard and that’s where the less positive side of me went. First thing I considered was Timbucking my pre-order for the XL - no point spending money on the shiny new thing I wouldn’t be able to use. My wife told me I’d adapt and get back to playing - she persuaded me to keep the pre order on the books as something to look forward to. So I read about a few folks who adapted and kept the pre-order. Thankfully, the lady who actually did my surgery was awesome. For some time I couldn’t play at all (splint plus a wire physically sticking out the end of my finger) but I’m back to playing normally which I’d pretty much given up on. Tingles a bit and some pain but I will absolutely take that compared with where I thought I’d be with this right now. Both the surgeon and my wife did me an absolute solid with my recovery.

I think the concept of having my hobby removed from me (or at least made forever more difficult) has made me realise how much I actually get out of it. I’m playing more than ever. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do this fantastic hobby once more - I have never (and will never) make a living out of it. It’s my ‘me time’ that recharges my battery to make the day job a bit easier. I think, as Joni Mitchell said, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’.

So basically, the XL has caught me at exactly the right time - I’m grateful I can still play and have tons of cool sounds and features that are helping to keep my attention focussed on playing. I am like Jack Skellington in Christmas land. I bought another guitar (which I absolutely love) and my wife bought me one of these for Christmas.

https://www.backbeatleather.co.uk/products/gold-silver-dragon-guitar-strap which is every bit as fabulous as I’d hoped.

So with that message of (possibly toxic) positivity, where will Stadium go next? I know Eric mentioned a 1.2.x in January and 1.3 ‘around NAMM’. Any information on these upcoming things would be happily received :)

For me, I’d like to see an easier way to use focus mode to create snapshots (a simple toggle switch on screen to write / not write what you do with the focus slider to the current snapshot would do nicely), I’m excited to see what the stem splitting with Showcase does at first launch compared with Moises and I’m looking forward to see what traditional Helix amps (or entirely new amps) get the Agoura treatment next. Oh, and I love fuzz pedals - because some of the classic early effects had 10 components or so plus two knobs only, I’m hopeful they’ll be something on the Agoura remake radar that won’t take too much time vs an amp with three channels and eleventy billion parameters. But, as I know nothing about Agoura apart from the snippets out there in the public domain, I’m probably over simplifying. For new amps, I’m easily pleased as I’m enjoying most of them so far so bring it on……. One of the best Kemper profiles was a Morgan AC20 so it’d be great to try one of those as an Agoura amp.

Beautiful story to start the year. So glad the surgery went that good :)

Happy 2026 everyone! Looking forward to joining the Stadium bunch when the non-XL is released

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

I already have this.... and other amps... and four high dollar rockin' @$$ top of the line modelers!!!


View attachment 57237

Hey right on, that's a happy gear corner you have indeed! Whilst that's really cool and all, you are replying randomly to something I posted which was an in-joke, involving a DSL and a certain forum member here a few months past. It was subtle and meant for people who were paying attention and have a memory of stupid shit from a few months ago. =)

 

[MIJLOVER]

I had some fun with the Super Reverb, both the HX and Stadium. I'll keep my opinions and conclusions to myself for now.

Here's a simple A/B test of the models at identical settings. We're using the Vibrato channel on the Stadium and the Vibrato model of the Legacy amp. Only loaded the two amp models in Stadium and the Super's dual cab with two 57's. I've set the impedance to fixed 1M and turned the noise gate off. I kept the signal bone dry.

I've then matched through a VU meter in Logic to hit around -10, but of course, it differs from clip to clip because of playing dynamics.

There are six different clips, but the order is not guaranteed. Could be A-B or B-A for every single one (to prevent coin-flipping success.)


Stadium vs OG Helix Super Reverb - A/B test


I've re-amped a version with the bright switch engaged (and adjusted the EQ a bit too - but they remain identical). I'll share after the weekend if anyone cares.

I also intended to compare some of the higher gain models, maybe the Rev og Diezel, but ran out of time.

Let me know what you think

Edit: The file is a 24-bit wave file. It might take some time to load if you press play in the Drive folder. So be patient, or download it instead to make it easier.

 

[DanRad]

True. Such a shame as they have been superb up to this point.

So off topic, but what the hell — my take is they were good up to the third book, and then he and the publisher appear to have decided he didn't need an editor. The stories got bloated with too many characters, too many plotlines and little sense of direction. The first book showed he was willing to sacrifice THE major character, but then he became incapable of letting any character go without bringing them back somehow.

I read them up to the last one, but I can't say I enjoyed much of the story after the Red Wedding.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Time for some real talk. Or whatever.

Let's see what we have here. Some very vocal folks getting all in on amp accuracy. Fine.
But, as mentioned before: How comes this is pretty much the only thing that seems to be relevant, ending up in endless discussions, A/B comparisons and what not?
Last time I checked among folks I know (as in folks actually playing some music in one way or the other), there's been a truckload of things pretty much as important (or maybe even more important) than that last ounce of authenticity.

And no, for now I'm not going to talk about global blocks, modifiers, not bright enough LEDs or anything related to UI stuff. It'll be just about the audio side of things.

So, we have a brand new flagship guitar modeling and MFX processor from Line 6, featuring kinda noticeably improved amp modeling (which seems to be a general consensus).
What we however don't see is *any* other improvements on the sound shaping side of things. There's not one single new drive model, not one single new compressor, filter, pitch, modulation, delay, reverb or whatever models. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
In all of these categories, there's some pretty great, some good, some not so good and some pretty bad models - but I guess we can agree that there's room for improvement.

Now, on a brand new flagship unit, I actually do expect something to impress me with all of those, too.
Authentic amp sounds are all fine and dandy, but the true fun when building patches for me always comes from combining all elements. In most player's real playing life combining these things is actually a must. A truckload of typical guitar sounds aren't just plain dry amp sounds. Very often they're at least a combination of a drive pedal and an amp for the core sound plus some other stuff to spice things up or provide "sonic interest". And the most authentic amp sounds aren't worth anything in case the dirt pedal I add on the frontend isn't doing a great job. Or in case the rotary effect I might want to add sounds like a broken toy.

And as said, I want to be impressed, too. We could, say, talk delays. Sure, there's some fine delays in L6's portfolio - but let's have a look at the plugin world. We don't even need to look at parameter monsters such as UVI's Relayer or U-He's MFM2, no, just looking at Valhalla's Supermassive or Sixth Sample's Deelay is sufficient. They're both doing things the L6 delays could only dream of. And they're *super* inspiring to fool around with. Or look at modulations and, say, Valhalla's Space Modulator. Just incredible. We could as well proceed to reverbs. Check out NI's Raum and see how easy it is to get a whole plethora of very interesting (and usable) sounds out of it. And fwiw, all the mentioned plugins are freeware.
Needless to say, the same goes for pretty much any FX category.
And then there's that new flagship unit offering, well, nothing new at all.

I can't speak for others (well, partially I can, in case I know those folks), and all too apparently round these parts it's a lot more important to get all anal about one or the other dB in the trebly range, but for me these things are vastly more important to keep the fun going. Plus, they're absolutely relevant for whatever gigs I need to play. Much more relevant than the singlemost authentic JP-2C.

 

[Orvillain]

Time for some real talk. Or whatever.

Let's see what we have here. Some very vocal folks getting all in on amp accuracy. Fine.
But, as mentioned before: How comes this is pretty much the only thing that seems to be relevant, ending up in endless discussions, A/B comparisons and what not?
Last time I checked among folks I know (as in folks actually playing some music in one way or the other), there's been a truckload of things pretty much as important (or maybe even more important) than that last ounce of authenticity.

And no, for now I'm not going to talk about global blocks, modifiers, not bright enough LEDs or anything related to UI stuff. It'll be just about the audio side of things.

So, we have a brand new flagship guitar modeling and MFX processor from Line 6, featuring kinda noticeably improved amp modeling (which seems to be a general consensus).
What we however don't see is *any* other improvements on the sound shaping side of things. There's not one single new drive model, not one single new compressor, filter, pitch, modulation, delay, reverb or whatever models. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
In all of these categories, there's some pretty great, some good, some not so good and some pretty bad models - but I guess we can agree that there's room for improvement.

Now, on a brand new flagship unit, I actually do expect something to impress me with all of those, too.
Authentic amp sounds are all fine and dandy, but the true fun when building patches for me always comes from combining all elements. In most player's real playing life combining these things is actually a must. A truckload of typical guitar sounds aren't just plain dry amp sounds. Very often they're at least a combination of a drive pedal and an amp for the core sound plus some other stuff to spice things up or provide "sonic interest". And the most authentic amp sounds aren't worth anything in case the dirt pedal I add on the frontend isn't doing a great job. Or in case the rotary effect I might want to add sounds like a broken toy.

And as said, I wan't to be impressed, too. We could, say, talk delays. Sure, there's some fine delays in L6's portfolio - but let's have a look at the plugin world. We don't even need to look at parameter monsters such as UVI's Relayer or U-He's MFM2, no, just looking at Valhalla's Supermassive or Sixth Sample's Deelay is sufficient. They're both doing things the L6 delays could only dream of. And they're *super* inspiring to fool around with. Or look at modulations and, say, Valhalla's Space Modulator. Just incredible. We could as well proceed to reverbs. Check out NI's Raum and see how easy it is to get a whole plethora of very interesting (and usable) sounds out of it. And fwiw, all the mentioned plugins are freeware.
Needless to say, the same goes for pretty much any FX category.
And then there's that new flagship unit offering, well, nothing new at all.

I can't speak for others (well, partially I can, in case I know those folks), and all too apparently round these parts it's a lot more important to get all anal about one or the other dB in the trebly range, but for me these things are vastly more important to keep the fun going. Plus, they're absolutely relevant for whatever gigs I need to play. Much more relevant than the singlemost authentic JP-2C.

I actually agree with you entirely.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Time for some real talk. Or whatever.

Let's see what we have here. Some very vocal folks getting all in on amp accuracy. Fine.
But, as mentioned before: How comes this is pretty much the only thing that seems to be relevant, ending up in endless discussions, A/B comparisons and what not?
Last time I checked among folks I know (as in folks actually playing some music in one way or the other), there's been a truckload of things pretty much as important (or maybe even more important) than that last ounce of authenticity).

And no, for now I'm not going to talk about global blocks, modifiers, not bright enough LEDs or anything related to UI stuff. It'll be just about the audio side of things.

So, we have a brand new flagship guitar modeling and MFX processor from Line 6, featuring kinda noticeably improved amp modeling (which seems to be a general consensus).
What we however don't see is *any* other improvements on the sound shaping side of things. There's not one single new drive model, not one single new compressor, filter, pitch, modulation, delay, reverb or whatever models. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
In all of these categories, there's some pretty great, some good, some not so good and some pretty bad models - but I guess we can agree that there's room for improvement.

Now, on a brand new flagship unit, I actually do expect something to impress me with all of those, too.
Authentic amp sounds are all fine and dandy, but the true fun when building patches for me always comes from combining all elements. In most player's real playing life combining these things is actually a must. A truckload of typical guitar sounds aren't just plain dry amp sounds. Very often they're at least a combination of a drive pedal and an amp for the core sound plus some other stuff to spice things up or provide "sonic interest". And the most authentic amp sounds aren't worth anything in case the dirt pedal I add on the frontend isn't doing a great job. Or in case the rotary effect I might want to add sounds like a broken toy.

And as said, I wan't to be impressed, too. We could, say, talk delays. Sure, there's some fine delays in L6's portfolio - but let's have a look at the plugin world. We don't even need to look at parameter monsters such as UVI's Relayer or U-He's MFM2, no, just looking at Valhalla's Supermassive or Sixth Sample's Deelay is sufficient. They're both doing things the L6 delays could only dream of. And they're *super* inspiring to fool around with. Or look at modulations and, say, Valhalla's Space Modulator. Just incredible. We could as well proceed to reverbs. Check out NI's Raum and see how easy it is to get a whole plethora of very interesting (and usable) sounds out of it. And fwiw, all the mentioned plugins are freeware.
Needless to say, the same goes for pretty much any FX category.
And then there's that new flagship unit offering, well, nothing new at all.

I can't speak for others (well, partially I can, in case I know those folks), and all too apparently round these parts it's a lot more important to get all anal about one or the other dB in the trebly range, but for me these things are vastly more important to keep the fun going. Plus, they're absolutely relevant for whatever gigs I need to play. Much more relevant than the singlemost authentic JP-2C.

Aside from a few special features you and I tend to look for one thing that kind of stopped me from being interested in stadium right now was that as far as sounds go, amp accuracy or feel seemed to be the only concerns. I was kind of hoping they’d lean more into the “originals” end of things for amps and drives and EQs and general sound shaping stuff.
Also, I would LOVE Raum in my floorboard. Such an easy, fun reverb/delay. Im obviously quite interested in a Stadium development, but right now the “be everything” direction means I don’t really have anything in there I want or need. Showcase is cool, but only for me if I had it 10 years ago before I built out my live tracks/in-ears setups and backups. X/Y is cool but if I have to manually do it, it’s much less useful. “Better” amp modeling is cool, but I don’t care about digital amp collecting or having a ton of switchable channels in one amp model. A thing to like about digital for me is NOT having the same clean channel and dirty channel I’d have if I bought an amp. All cool features that don’t move the needle for me as far as moving gear around to buy one.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I was kind of hoping they’d lean more into the “originals” end of things for amps and drives and EQs and general sound shaping stuff.

Absolutely. And I even think it's about time.
I mean, while some people won't agree, regarding amp modeling quality, we're at least approaching the realm of diminishing returns.
So, what's there to set you apart from the competition? Right, some new(-ish) stuff, regardless whether it's UI (or general) usability or interesting ways to shape sounds.
But at Line 6 (at least so far) they thought the Stadium wasn't even worth the HX One's Flux feature - hence something they even already have in their codebase.

And fwiw, this is one of the reasons why I'm thinking about a laptop based rig, despite the potential issues. In the land of high quality modeling, out-of-the-box thinking seems to be pretty rare (with Boss and FAS possibly taking the lead, if for different aspects and results...).
But then, it's likely got to do a lot with the users, too. In case everybody and their mum are begging for yet another super authentic XYZ amp rendition, if you're running a business, you simply have to deliver.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Absolutely. And I even think it's about time.
I mean, while some people won't agree, regarding amp modeling quality, we're at least approaching the realm of diminishing returns.
So, what's there to set you apart from the competition? Right, some new(-ish) stuff, regardless whether it's UI (or general) usability or interesting ways to shape sounds.
But at Line 6 (at least so far) they thought the Stadium wasn't even worth the HX One's Flux feature - hence something they even already have in their codebase.

And fwiw, this is one of the reasons why I'm thinking about a laptop based rig, despite the potential issues. In the land of high quality modeling, out-of-the-box thinking seems to be pretty rare (with Boss and FAS possibly taking the lead, if for different aspects and results...).
But then, it's likely got to do a lot with the users, too. In case everybody and their mum are begging for yet another super authentic XYZ amp rendition, if you're running a business, you simply have to deliver.

Flux, anything comparable to the assign stuff Boss and Fractal have been doing for like 20 years. But I think the last bit is the real important part. Guitarists will just keep trying to get the same 5 sounds out of everything forever and companies have to sell them that.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Did Helix stadium get the flux feature from HX One?

 

[Sascha Franck]

Guitarists will just keep trying to get the same 5 sounds out of everything forever and companies have to sell them that.

Very defenitely. Typically, they're not even interested in "the other" famous sounds. You will barely ever find someone asking for, say, Robert Fripp's and Adrian Belew's sounds on King Crimson's "Discipline" - even if that's a production pretty famous for wicked guitar sounds.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Did Helix stadium get the flux feature from HX One?

No. At least not that I know of (and I'd likely caught it up if it was the case).

 

[SillyOctpuss]

No. At least not that I know of (and I'd likely caught it up if it was the case).

That seems odd their flagship wouldn't have it.

 

[DanRad]

That seems odd their flagship wouldn't have it.

Isn't the XY controller a similar idea?

 

[Sascha Franck]

That seems odd their flagship wouldn't have it.

Sure does. But I'd almost take a bet it's not in there. When you search the manual for "Flux", there's no hits.

 

[ian_dissonance]

That seems odd their flagship wouldn't have it.

It does seem odd, doesn’t it. I wonder if HX Ones are flying out the door because of that unique feature.