Line 6 Helix Stadium Talk

[OneEng]

I haven't had both a real amp and a modeler+FR at the same time in the rehearsal place (had to sell the amp to buy stuff) but I certainly haven't missed a thing since I switched. Neither had any of my bandmates. Maybe a thorough test with both playback systems would have risen certain differences, but sticking to the basics, it felt just as good.

Actually, it felt a GREAT deal better when carrying it up the stairs .

 

[dean701]

considering Alex Lifeson just used his Tonex pedals for their debut Rush gig with Anika, I think you are safe to use modelers live :)

 

[EOengineer]

Added a couple posts with a large pile of Proxy clones of my various drive and fuzz pedals. This is less of a "HEY THESE TONES ARE AMAZING" and more of a study of how Proxy is handling different types of drives. The fuzz faces arent great. The drives are better.

E

Post in thread 'Fractal and Helix Stadium presets'

Today at 4:25 PM

Here are some caps of my Bogner Blue, Lovepedal BoneTender, MIJ DS-1, and Barber Burn Unit.

• EOengineer

 

[Richard_G]

Is current modeling and capture technology good enough for both live use and recording? Yes, of course. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for further improvement.

I believe that people who say or think they don’t care about accuracy actually do - at least implicitly. They may be perfectly satisfied with their digital tools in their current state and may not want to, or be able to, compare them with the analog gear they emulate. Nevertheless, they would still benefit from further improvements in digital technology driven by the pursuit of accuracy, just as they have in the past.

 

[Richard_G]

The fuzz faces arent great.

As expected, perhaps? Have you tried making captures of these with NAM, Tonex or NDSP tech - and if so, how do they compare?

 

[Sascha Franck]

Nevertheless, they would still benefit from further improvements in digital technology driven by the pursuit of accuracy, just as they have in the past.

Maybe. Maybe not.
But one thing is 100% for certain: I would benefit *much, much* more from improvements in all sorts of other areas. And when I'm saying "much, much" I'm really talking magnitudes more.

 

[EOengineer]

As expected, perhaps? Have you tried making captures of these with NAM, Tonex or NDSP tech - and if so, how do they compare?

Definitely as expected. The Stadium sends are definitely active so the fuzz doesn’t see the pickup like it would if you were plugged in, so the characteristic behavior isn’t there. Normal ODs and distortion does better.

 

[Richard_G]

Maybe. Maybe not.
But one thing is 100% for certain: I would benefit *much, much* more from improvements in all sorts of other areas. And when I'm saying "much, much" I'm really talking magnitudes more.

I of course agree that there are many other aspects and areas that deserve improvement as well - UI/UX issues, for example, and exploring new possibilities like Line 6 is doing with Stadium. That doesn’t mean improving accuracy is only of interest to “nerds”.

I remember how blown away I was by the Axe-FX Ultra about 15 years ago. It was the first time I considered modeling to be a real alternative to my tube amps. It could recreate almost anything - and go beyond it. Then I got the Axe-FX II… oh my! Then further progress happened, driven by Cliff’s pursuit of accuracy. And now my AM4 is on another level!

My point is that people have always claimed that the current level of accuracy is “good enough”, and that the “nerds” should stop complaining. But the continued pursuit of accuracy has been fruitful, and the technology has advanced to a level where everyone seems to agree that the new tech is far better than the old in every way. You find very few arguing that going back to older tech would be acceptable - even though that was considered to be as-good-as-it-will-get at the time. And yet, the “nerds” are again told to stop pushing for further improvements, because there are supposedly more important issues at hand.