TheTrueZoltan!
Shredder
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Disembodied distortion… isn‘t that what modern metal bass players like so much?
Line 6 Helix Stadium
- Thread starter Lysander
- Start date
When you say "you're very experienced with Helix", does that mean you don't have a current hardware one and you're going off of sonic memory?
That's not to undercut what you're saying....I'm just asking as a point of clarification.
Bottom line, I can't ever tell anyone what they're hearing. So if you say you hear something in the high frequencies of every Helix amp model across all gain ranges, onboard cabs and IRs....I arch an eyebrow, but take you at your word.
I don't hear any sort of systemwide inherent thing of the sort, and I've not seen it measured objectively with the current firmware versus Fractal. But that doesn't mean you're wrong.
I know you've heard or experienced it every time you try to give Helix a whirl as well. I did too some time back, and let it fade into the background right around the time I got my first FM3. With fresh ears - and having spent a lot of time in the FM3/Quad Cortex/FM9 woods - I don't feel that way anymore.
Ultimately, I think they know there's a squirrel-sized elephant in the room and they're going to have to prove that they've conquered it to win over sceptics.
Lysander
Rock Star
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^^^ This. The non-XL is pretty much the perfect footprint for me, and i need one like i need oxygen at this point. No launch (or preorder!) date available for Europe thou
EOengineer
Rock Star
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DI has mentioned Stadium having improved dynamic range and improved SNR over Helix in multiple marketing videos and interviews. If we’re talking in comparison with Fractal hardware then I can’t speak to that.
Cliff himself said at TOP that "The [FM3] A/D converters have 114 dB of dynamic range and are probably the same converters used in the Stomp. The instrument input on the FM-3 uses a dynamic range enhancement technique which boosts the dynamic range to 123 dB [which is exactly where Helix is]."
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No, I have one right here next to me, alongside my Axe 3. I've used a Helix since 2016.
Los-D
Shredder
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“Always boil in milk”
Then I'm rooting right alongside you.
I love that gadflies in these here forum streets hold them accountable - as long as it's in good faith - for sonic minutiae that a lot of the masses may miss out on entirely. That's how we got the so-much-better 2203, oversampling and probably more than a few Stadium features.
GTR37
Rock Star
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I noticed a pretty good difference after the oversampling update and the new cab block implementation as far as noise floor and artifacts
There was a recent post @MirrorProfiles that was posted where he found noise related to perhaps DC hum and he listed off a bunch of side effects of that including higher noise floor
I believe it was not in every model but the XTC for sure and about half a dozen others
DI took it to Ben to look at
There was a recent post @MirrorProfiles that was posted where he found noise related to perhaps DC hum and he listed off a bunch of side effects of that including higher noise floor
I believe it was not in every model but the XTC for sure and about half a dozen others
DI took it to Ben to look at
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
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I'm with Orvillian here. I really like Helix's modelling but it always has a characteristic that is quite easy to pick out in blind tests, especially in the top end. I've done quite a lot blind tests publicly involving them and Im always surprised how many people seem to be able to identify Helix. I think the modelling is still impressive but I would like to see the new platform step things up (I think they will). Also I think the new Bogner sounds totally broken and not correct. It does not sound or behave like Fractal, Neural DSP, or Mercuriall's Ecstasy, all of which sound and behave a lot more similar to each other.
Fractal's is based upon a 20th Anniversary, which I think is a higher-regarded iteration than the 101B that Line 6 modeled. I know it has voicing and gain differences. Quad Cortex only has a handful of captures of a 100B.
I've played a 101B, and the Ecstasy doesn't sound "totally broken" or broken at all to me (that characteristic Biogner "THICC mid" character is there in spades. Even with the switches engaged on the real thing, it never got "modern" tight) but I'm definitely going off sonic memory from some years back.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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I'm not skeptical necessarily. This thing will sell like ABSOLUTE gangbusters. I think there is a large crowd of fans of amps that might exhibit those spitty/unsmooth kinds of sounds that love the Helix. FAS is all about Marshalls and Mesas in my mind and the HX stuff is Fender/Fender-derived stuff. Whether that actually is how it is or not? My last go round before (gasp) selling the Stomp was solid! I liked the effects I used for gigging but going back to the FAS stuff was just my modeling home base comparatively.
Fractal most certainly gives the various shades of Marshall and Mesa waaaaaaaaaaaay more love, both in terms of diversity of models and in refining component behavior.
I've never agreed with Helix having just one Recto configuration channel, along with just a Mark IV without switches and a Lonestar. Same with only just a Plexi and JCM800.
That being said, the newer 2203 JCM800 is damn good and scratches a lot of itches, especially when you put an SD1 in front. I expect similar magic from the Agoura Plexi. And Helix more than delivers on the amps that basically a "Hype knob" version of a Recto - Revv Generator 120, PRS Archon, etc.
But I get it. The Fractal amp family is immense, unmatched and easy to get lost in.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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I am 100% sure it'll be a banger, regardless of whether people "jump ship" or not
Fireproof
Shredder
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Well, I'm super intrigued. In fact - based on my latest gear usage (or lack thereof), and planned usage for the foreseeable future - I think the Helix Stadium is a perfect answer for me. I've always enjoyed a lot of things about the Helix gear I've had.
I've had my FM9 Turbo for a while, and haven't edited with it enough to build muscle memory. So every time I try to go do something, I feel like I'm having to crack open the manual and re-learn, lol. Or it just takes me a lot longer than it could/should. Combine that with the fact that I'm just not needing the advanced tweaking and a lot of what makes it so good.
Having a bit of WYSIWYG and touchscreen goodness, with more than decent tones, etc., plus the other things like "hype" and such - seems like the Stadium might be a better fit for me as a casual hobbyist, vs. a professional or power user. (Not that you have to be a professional or power user to use a Fractal of course, but hopefully you see what i'm saying...)
Wonder when we'll actually see it in stores. I've read "rumors" about the Stadium XL being mid-winter, but the Stadium being January?? Is that just speculation or do we know by now? (I'm just trying to catch up...so apologies if this has already been covered a ton).
I've had my FM9 Turbo for a while, and haven't edited with it enough to build muscle memory. So every time I try to go do something, I feel like I'm having to crack open the manual and re-learn, lol. Or it just takes me a lot longer than it could/should. Combine that with the fact that I'm just not needing the advanced tweaking and a lot of what makes it so good.
Having a bit of WYSIWYG and touchscreen goodness, with more than decent tones, etc., plus the other things like "hype" and such - seems like the Stadium might be a better fit for me as a casual hobbyist, vs. a professional or power user. (Not that you have to be a professional or power user to use a Fractal of course, but hopefully you see what i'm saying...)
Wonder when we'll actually see it in stores. I've read "rumors" about the Stadium XL being mid-winter, but the Stadium being January?? Is that just speculation or do we know by now? (I'm just trying to catch up...so apologies if this has already been covered a ton).
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
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The Helix model sounds like the power amp is overloading (at any settings) and is weirdly farty and fuzzy. Lowering the MV or bias doesn’t help. I can hear it on every clip I’ve heard of the Line 6 model and it’s not a sound I associate with the real thing, 20th Anniversary or otherwise. I get that some people like that sound, but to me it sounds broken and not how I associate that amp. Merrcuriall (for instance) sounds and behaves as Id expect, as does Fractal. I don’t think the circuit revisions are responsible for that but maybe it’s just how Line 6’s amp sounds. Either way, I found it disappointing, especially because the EVH and 2203 were much better.
All you folks constantly comparing and jumping platforms, I feel sorry for you. You’re not doing yourselves any favors by constantly worrying about whether you’re on the right ship. Unless you’re one of those people who enjoys trying out each platform, just stop and play what you’ve got.
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
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Got ya, I'll play the models I don't like.
I really don't worry about this, Im not tied to any one platform and I use whichever suits any particular tone. I could just as easily say "stop shooting in your foot by forcing yourself to use one modeller and just go with whatever gives you the most inspiring tone".
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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- 20,209
It's a gear forum. What did you expect 
