Line 6 Helix Stadium

[EOengineer]

I hope the new Mesa MKIV (and IIC+) is a single model with everything.
So far the only company that did a full Mark model is NDSP but I will never buy it, they don't deserve my money.

+1 for a IIC+, ideally an original and not the reissue. Not holding my breath there due to the ridiculous market.

There are objective things we can measure. Signal to noise ratio, intermodulation distortion, aliasing, etc.

Helix 1 didn't have much of an issue with any of this.

Helix 2 electric stadium edition will probably be miles better.

The subjective stuff I can't be knobbed even discussing.

I'm gonna push back a little bit here and suggest that there is actually some type of noise issue with the current Helix. There are persistent and intermittent issues all over the web with static white noise being generated from the effect loops when using certain drive and fuzz effects. I've experienced it with my HXFX using a Rat, Carcosa Fuzz, and some other pedals, and the issue persisted after L6 "repaired" it.

I'm not sure exactly what the issue is, or now widespread, but there is some sort of issue with the loop IO extending across at least the HXFX, LT, and Floor. I really hope its resolved with the new units.

Durability is a concern for m

This is my only other concern beyond the noise. When I bought my Helix as a L6 factory refurb, I took 3 in a row that all had broken footswitch LEDs. The switches worked fine mechanically. I know others have experienced switch failures though.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I didn't know every day was a Thursday

BenIfin possibly doesn't, either.

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

So @Dom Mcsweeney and @DrewJD82
On a laptop/PC; copy the url in the address bar and pasting in the MEDIA field shares the video. On the YouTube app on my phone; clicking 'Share' then 'Copy Link' and pasting the link in the MEDIA field does the same thing.

ah cool thanks!

testing now


Share link: https://www.youtube.com/live/DjAJM4hSYVQ?si=HLbxXxwPN061ePoU



Address bar link:

 

[Stone]

Focus mode is pretty badass, like fingerpainting your tone! Very clever

Hell yeah it's sort of like Dynacabs but for amps
This is insane and yes tone is in the Hype Button

 

[The Colonel]

ah cool thanks!

testing now


Share link: https://www.youtube.com/live/DjAJM4hSYVQ?si=HLbxXxwPN061ePoU



Address bar link:

Address bar link works. Share link from laptop/PC is a non-starter. Use that and 'Copy Link' to post from YouTube app on your mobile device.

 

[Jarick]

I don't think I mind the 3D models as just backgrounds. It's a little silly but it does look really good and might make it more fun. Maybe there could be an option to enable/disable that vs showing just the regular signal path?

 

[JiveTurkey]

Super shocked to see a few people at the dedicated manufacturer's forum preferring the device they bought from said manufacturer.

 

[GTR37]

This would be dealt with by the same legal methods, regardless of the device you used.

lol that’s more a joke
Are you him sorry man

 

[laxu]

I don't think I mind the 3D models as just backgrounds. It's a little silly but it does look really good and might make it more fun. Maybe there could be an option to enable/disable that vs showing just the regular signal path?

There's screenshots from the presentation where you see the familiar Helix signal path + block controls. I think you only get that view with the 3D model if you press the camera shutter (Focus) button in the corner.

That's an elegant approach really to keep things simple, or let you deep dive easily.

 

[ChordInversion]

Amps.

• Finally amp models where the channels are in the same model instead of separate ones! I hope they do this for old Helix models too.

Oh, nice. All the more reason to order when I'm ready.

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

lol that’s more a joke
Are you him sorry man

lol

I mean, it did read as if you were genuinely befuddled, like it was wrangling your brain cells too much.

 

[the swede]

Plenty!

Hardware:

• I'd prefer more compact, but I'm totally fine with it considering what you get in return.
  • It's much smaller than the Helix and the non-XL is a lot more desk friendly.
• Dedicated shortcuts to volumes and quick access to mixer for ins/outs is awesome!
• Dedicated controls for I think either backing tracks or looper controls on the left too. Great!
• Knob for choosing models surrounded by what I assume are page buttons?
  • Not too keen on that, might result in another "oops I bumped the knob and lost all my block settings" issue. It does seem like it might require a few more clicks to activate so maybe it's not a real problem.
• Dedicated Amp block button like Helix. Good!
• 8 encoders. Excellent!
• Capacitive footswitches were always awesome and with this amount will make moving between block editing very easy.

Software:

General:

• Global EQ for each output type is great.
  • I hope they allow for some presets to share between these for e.g headphone correction for different headphones. Atm it seems like you need to copy/paste to move them around.
• All the backing track management stuff seems great.
  • Pairing control functions with this is a great idea.
  • This will result in either being a super great feature, or one that is too complex for many guitarists.

Organization:

• Search with metadata that knows about e.g real amp names is great, so you don't have to think "which one was the Vox again?"
• Quick access to factory vs user default version of a block's settings is great.
• Preset descriptions = great.
• Preset clips = great.
• List and grid views for models is nice. Some prefer finding by name, others like a visual.
• IR and preset folders is nice, but nothing special.

Block editing:

• Concerns about parameter order and lack of grouping. I already talked more about this in the wishlist thread.
• Focus view is a really good idea.
  • Being user configurable is excellent!
  • If you can attach controllers to adjust the cursor position, it would immediately become the best morphing system you can get.
• Integrated manual is great.
• Undo/Redo buttons up top, fantastic!
  • I'd love to see an A/B button too like Helix Native has for easy comparisons.
• Based on a few sections of the Line6 promo video, encoders seem to have a good acceleration curve where params adjust in a natural way as you turn the knob. This was previously an issue with Helix and I never got to try it when they altered the behavior as I had sold mine before.
• I don't mind the 3D pics of amps and fx. Those are basically just wallpaper to give people something plugin-ish for the Focus view, and to give some idea about what they are based on.
• Cabs.
  • Not sure yet. Looks good but how it works with two cabs/mics remains to be seen.
  • Not seeing both mics at once might be a problem.
  • It seems you can do both Cab and IR in the same block at once if you want which is nice.
• Amps.
  • Finally amp models where the channels are in the same model instead of separate ones! I hope they do this for old Helix models too.
  • Hype knob is a good idea. Sometimes absolute realism is not desirable.
  • In case you didn't notice, it says which real amp it's based on in the corner of the Focus view. That's nice!

Overall, super impressed. Way more going on here than I ever expected.

Ehhh. Ok… where is the old Laxu??? I was expecting the short stuff in typical scandinavian old fart fashion… like

”hrm pfft, that UI sucks” end of story..

But ok…

Joking…

Anyway good points there!

 

[laxu]

Ehhh. Ok… where is the old Laxu??? I was expecting the short stuff in typical scandinavian old fart fashion… like

”hrm pfft, that UI sucks” end of story..

But ok…

Joking…

Anyway good points there!

Don't worry! I'm sure I'll find plenty to complain when it releases!

 

[the swede]

Bingo. We have a winner. The only reason I started playing guitar was because it made me happy and was fun. I'd posit that is the reason pretty much everyone here started playing.

For me, the happiest, most fun and best tones I ever got was for about 5 years from the age of 19 - 24 when I used a Fender Dual Showman Head into a 4 x 10 Box and 4 or 5 meat and potatoes Boss pedals ... live gigs and recording ... f*cking glorious ..... go figure.

If playing guitar isn't making you happy and is fun for you .... the Axe FX 8 or the Helix Stadium Ultra Plus Extreme Edition aint going to do shit for you.

Maybe Thursdays are my ranty day ?

Biggest lesson I learned is realizing I wasn’t using what makes me happy. I enjoy being here with you all and nerd out about modelers, but i don’t use one anymore. So whether it’s an amp and pedals, a fractal or a helix or whatever.

Nr 1 always is: use what makes you happy. Fuck everything else.

 

[Mongillo19]

Hell yeah it's sort of like Dynacabs but for amps
This is insane and yes tone is in the Hype Button

For sure! Honestly, this is going to be a life saver for effects for me.

I often get lost in the sauce when it comes to different effects parameters. Especially so with unique effects but even comps and some delays can be a bit much for my pea brain.

Being able to drag around and get a ballpark sound will do wonders.

 

[GTR37]

It’s very Apple which is cool to me but you can see it even in that corners or quadrants to dial in amps quickly by moving finger to left side darker going right brighter etc
Then just being able to go that’s great just a bit to bright and reach and turn down the treble knob to fine tune
That’s pretty damn fast
As someone said it’s almost like Dyna cabs for amps
A bunch of preset settings behind the scenes

 

[mbenigni]

+1 for a IIC+, ideally an original and not the reissue. Not holding my breath there due to the ridiculous market.

Surely Line 6 has access to - or sufficiently deep pockets to get access to - an original IIC+. Hell, Yamaha could probably buy Mesa Engineering without breaking a sweat.

 

[laxu]

Surely Line 6 has access to - or sufficiently deep pockets to get access to - an original IIC+. Hell, Yamaha could probably buy Mesa Engineering without breaking a sweat.

"So on this expense report we have this several million dollar thing that just says "Mesa/Boogie". Can you explain the purpose of this purchase?"

"Uhh...we just wanted an original Mesa Mark IIC+ to model for the Helix Stadium. So we bought the company!"

 

[Vic Winters]

Interview with DI.

 

[Rock Chalk]

I'd said before that Fractal Gen IV would be an insta buy for me. I'm not so sure about that now. Fractal's grid system and effects are still huge selling points for me but the feature set on the HXS is ridiculous. I'll have to think long and hard (....) about it when Fractal does release Gen IV. Especially so considering I could put the VP4 in the HXS loop and not even sacrifice the Fractal effects or the multiple parallel paths of their grid.

And then there's Proxy. One of the reasons I am digging the QC is that they've started adding PCOM stuff. I have a bunch of their plugins and really like them. But I'm thinking, I could just Proxy those plugin amps....

Shit, maybe I should go ahead and preorder.

Yep, the feature set of the Stadium looks impressive! That being said, I think for the time being I'll continue with my Axe 3, and see what the Fractal Gen IV has to offer before making any rash decisions.......it's the least I can do being a Fractal Fanboiand all.........