Line 6 Helix Stadium

[Eagle]

Weren't you told not to do this?

https://thegearforum.com/threads/divisive-posting-just-to-stir-the-pot.8469/

No, I haven’t seen that.

 

[Chocol8]

About that...



So, yes, "Helix Stadium" is the name of the family of products, and these models are the Helix Stadium Floor and Helix Stadium XL Floor.

If that's the case, I am calling Sweetwater first thing in the morning to cancel my pre-order.

 

[timbuck3]

Major caveat - we clearly don't know how "Stadium" will sound or feel, but we know L6 (i) don't f*ck around when they under promise and over deliver and (ii) D.I went out of his way to point out that this new modeling engine is nothing to do with the old-Helix modeling engine.

So .... as a very happy FM3 owner, today I just now read that

=> the China / US I'm being a dipshit and starting a political thread deal is now done ... from initial readings " ... Chinese imports will not change from their current level of 55%. which is made up of the pre-existing %25 Duty + an additional %30 ... "

In a very rough quick calculation, that is going to add major $$ to each Fractal Unit for them to maintain current profitability margins whilst at the same time, hopefully, seeing no drop off in sales due to higher prices.

That then immediately got me to thinking how Fractal [might] view this new L6 release

=> my best guess is that given they are a [relatively] small company, and looking at this product and the whole ground up new engine and features, both software and hardware, etc... I just cant, i.m.h.o, imagine any way they could build anything with even remotely this feature set for anywhere near this price point .. of course though I could be wrong

I think this new Stadium will be seen as a watershed product in every aspect - its hard to even imagine where it will be in, 1,2 3, 5 , 7 etc... years time. Buy the box once, and get another ~10 years or so of updates ... who the f*ck else does this .... well Kemper, lets not go there :)

Interesting times ahead.

I’m sure fractal has something up their sleeve, but I don’t think they’re so interested in the whole fancy display touchscreen concept thing they never have been and I just don’t think they ever will be cause that will eat up a lot of resources so I just think they will continue on with massive amounts of Apps and effects and it’s possible their whole GUI system will become a little bit more user-friendly, but I wouldn’t expect anything near the TMP or the helix stadium

 

[timbuck3]

Fractal can't and they won't create something comparable. They know their lane and they'll stay in it. That lane is quality amp modeling and effects. User experience will never be a strong suit for them. Not only do they not have expertise in that area, they have no interest in it. There's a niche for what they do well and they'll be ok. But it will become just that, a niche.

I can understand and agree with that, but at a certain point it’s possible they won’t become the top dog with the majority of amps and effects high-quality in one unit I mean, we have line 6 users that already say that it’s comparable to the fractal and that could have a lot of debate, of course back-and-forth And for many I think the stadium offers a whole new agenda of flexibility and excitement for something new and are willing to take a chance, even if the amp and effect numbers are a lot smaller compared to a fractal

 

[ispunk]

I’m sure fractal has something up their sleeve, but I don’t think they’re so interested in the whole fancy display touchscreen concept thing they never have been and I just don’t think they ever will be cause that will eat up a lot of resources so I just think they will continue on with massive amounts of Apps and effects and it’s possible their whole GUI system will become a little bit more user-friendly, but I wouldn’t expect anything near the TMP or the helix stadium

Fractal could just issue a Mk III line using (by stealing or licensing) the Helix UI and I think people would be ok with it. For people who just want a guitar modeler I can see the Stadium with all the extra bells and whistles being a bit of a turnoff. A Stadium Stomp XL with just Agoura and Proxy added would be pretty damn tempting.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

I’m sure fractal has something up their sleeve, but I don’t think they’re so interested in the whole fancy display touchscreen concept thing they never have been and I just don’t think they ever will be

I'm going to authoritatively say that Fractal isn't working on a new unit right now and they'll never come out with an improved UI or touchscreen or whatever other features everyone wants.

I'm saying this with such confidence because the last time I said this about a certain company they lied through their teeth for years and completely floored (pun intended) the modeling community with a new unit.

 

[timbuck3]

That’s strange but I have no hype .
The axe 3 cover all my needs already
Yes it seems to have all the features but maybe their profiling won’t be that good, maybe the product will have bugs like the helix… I owned 2 helix (floor,lt) and the HX, and all 3 need to be repaired. (Jack output, firmware freeze the unit etc etc)

I don’t have faith in line 6 anymore after all of that.

Cliff, even if he is « rude » sometimes, listen to us, and try to do his best . Personally I stay on his side.

I get this… many people prefer fractal I remember when I bought the helix when it immediately came out I was one of the first people to have one. I think I got it at 20% off introduction by something was like 1399 or something which was a lot for me as you guys know
And I think I had it like two weeks and I sent it back just to me sounded crappy and of course they’re up to 4.0 on that and it’s changed immensely but I never re-bought it to see how it changed. I just kind of backed off buying modelers. I did buy the MX five but I didn’t think it sounded that great. I did like the display and the layout, but it was too small for my needs.
I was considering an F9 turbo, but never really went along with that either than the TMP came out and my interest was pretty high, but the price was too high to me for what it offered then they lowered the price fender and I still feel it too much money for what it offers even though it’s has a beautiful display and what not
Then there was the Quad core never interested me I’d rather buy something I can buy try locally and at least return after a good amount of time if I needed to so I think my interest in the stadium is back on track with line 6 at least if I bought it at guitar Center I’d have 45 days to play around with it and then 45 days I would expect like six will probably have a bunch of updates

 

[norminal]

I’m sure fractal has something up their sleeve

“But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but Cliff alone.”

Definitely not Matthew 24:36

 

[timbuck3]

Yeah. At first I was a bit annoyed about all the praise of the previous versions, but during those it already dawned on me that you'd only do this if you had something bigger to present. Kinda like a warm up.
Followed by what was indeed a very excellent product presentation. I also liked that it was merely fact-driven, nothing like "the bestest of the bestest" blurb. Which obviously also has to do with the fact that they actually *have* quite some stuff to present, so no hyperbole was required to pimp the presentation.

All in all, great product launch, @Digital Igloo!

When is hits the guitar Center floors? I think they’re still gonna keep the helix mark one around is that correct? But if they do come on anybody looking at both of those units and see one with the slick touchscreen is gonna prefer that one yeah, it’s more money, but they’ll probably dish it out if they want it

 

[timbuck3]

God I really hope Line 6 changed their approach to fixing and tweaking released/existing models. The old "we don't want to accidentaly change the sound or ruin presets" doesn't hold a candle and never did.
If the model is found to be less than accurate or missing features, bright caps, or whatever, for the love of god, fix it, no bs this time.

Clifford changes his models on a weekly basis, no one ever bitched about it for too long.

Isn’t that hype knob supposedly for the user to do his own tweak on the model apparently if you wanted to stay as authentic as possible, you don’t touch that knob but if it doesn’t sound right to you, then you start cranking that knob till it sounds right lol

 

[timbuck3]

I'm just going to say it, Stadium is not a very good sub-name for a modeler.
Who plays stadiums in the second quarter of the 21st century, Tailor Swift?

I still wonder why digital igloo specifically said the next generation will not be named helix maybe at the last minute I decided to keep the name helix I’m not sure

 

[norminal]

Isn’t that hype knob supposedly for the user to do his own tweak on the model apparently if you wanted to stay as authentic as possible, you don’t touch that knob but if it doesn’t sound right to you, then you start cranking that knob till it sounds right lol

It will basically “morph” between the model in its purest form and an “idealized” version. It lets you “deep dive” but automatically as you turn the knob. I think it’s brilliant.

Does the average player even know what “B+ Time Constant” is?

 

[ian_dissonance]

Just as I’m truly astonished that such a limited feature with little practical use is heralded as a selling point of the unit so much that people are willing to dismiss the sheer amount of possibilities available on other units that can be achieved in less time than it takes to setup said limited feature.

I HAVE TO MAKE MODEM NOISES OR ILL DIE

 

[timbuck3]

View attachment 46414

Is that supposed to be digital igloo like in the break room at line 6 talking to another worker

 

[norminal]

It will basically “morph” between the model in its purest form and an “idealized” version. It lets you “deep dive” but automatically as you turn the knob. I think it’s brilliant.

Does the average player even know what “B+ Time Constant” is?

Which reminded me…

I looovvveee the on-board “WTF DOES THIS PARAMETER DO?” Manual, Notepad, and “This Is How I Dialed In This Preset” Notes feature.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Switches seem to be closer to each other, though. As someone with EU size 46 (12.5/US) and pretty wide feet, this might be a kind of an issue.

Helix's switches (center to center) are 70mm apart. HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL, and Helix Stadium's are 67mm. Another popular box's are 62.5mm.

16 Agora versions of existing amps in the Line 6 library. From the promo materials thus far, looks like:

• Grammatico GSG
• Revv 120
• Brit Plexi
• Diezel VH4
• Panama 5150
• German Extra/Bogner Ecstasy
• HiWatt DR 103
• Fender Princeton
• Line 6 Aristocrat
• Fender Twin Reverb
• Fender Deluxe Reverb
• Fender Champ

.....plus four that they haven't pictured yet.

That list is wrong. We showed Focus view for both Agoura and HX amps. Amp list is not public yet.

I suspect Hype is 100% an inside joke

Hype is... let's see... 69.420% inside joke.

If I understood this correctly, and taking into account Helix has MIDI out, this Helix Stadium could potentially serve as the command center for automating a whole band live.

You can have backing tracks, which might include a click track only audible through one of the outputs, that would be sent to the mixer, separate from the guitar, and then sent to the whole band's in-ear monitors. If you could also automate sending midi signals to other instruments (maybe with the Nexus thing?), the whole band could play without caring about changing presets during a song.

That is, it would replace using a computer for this.

Showcase is not and never will replace something like Ableton Live, but that's the idea, yeah.

I just remember digital igloo saying the next unit was not gonna be called helix but he also said it wasn’t gonna be released this year

IIRC, I said the next thing we're working on might not even be called Helix.

Focus mode is a great idea too - @Digital Igloo I assume that will be customisable and saveable/shareable in a given preset?

Focus view was inspired by our Stagescape M20d's smart FX screen:

Zones will have fixed values in 1.0. User customizable zones hopefully shortly after launch.

And I'm full on fantasizing about solo gigs right now as a result of that Showcase feature. What I would REALLY like to see with that feature, if it's not already a thing, is the ability to tap tempo whatever songs you have stored in it without it changing the audio quality. I'm down with all the automation stuff, but would really love to be able to change song tempos within a few BPM on the fly to match the energy in the room. If I can automate all the presets, I won't have to worry about scribble strips or LEDs!

We wanted to support realtime timestretch, but stretching all 8 tracks and maintaining sync would eat up far too much horsepower that could be used for other things. Maybe if it's limited to a single stereo track? Not sure yet.

From Igor: Any input on the unit can be selected as a sidechain, including USB.

And perhaps even audio tracks, so your synthy bass patch could be ducked by the kick.

I thought it was a jab at Kemper “stage”.

Nah, we love Christoph.

...and a venti double decaf chai latte, with a twist.

Initially, I thought they'd dropped the "Helix" and called it the Line 6 Stadium. And I thought it was XL or Floor. This is... this is a lot.

(I notice it doesn't actually say Floor anywhere on the unit itself, though? There's only so much room, I guess.)

Sigh... First of all, naming stuff is the WORST PART OF OUR JOB. So those of you giving us crap about it can slurp turds in hell.

Second of all, for some reason Marketing insists we add the word "Floor" to any SKUs that could ever possibly end up with additional form factors, to ensure "Helix Stadium" can be used as an overall family name and doesn't pinpoint one particular SKU, which I guess can cause dealer inventory issues or something or other. I dunno. Our guidelines are that "Floor" has to be mentioned in official capacities and only the first time a product is mentioned in a manual or press release, but silkscreen never needs it (we didn't even silk "Rack" on Helix Rack's front panel), and in casual conversations, none of us in the building say "Floor" or even "Helix" any longer. Just "Stadium" and "Stadium XL."

 

[mikah912]

@Digital Igloo While the amp list isn't public, could you perhaps answer whether any amps currently not on Helix 3.80 will make the 16 Angoura launch amps?

 

[PBGas]

Congrats to Line 6 for the amazing work! Looks like an incredible unit!

 

[norminal]

That list is wrong. We showed Focus view for both Agoura and HX amps. Amp list is not public yet.

@James Freeman must be losing it right now.

 

[DLC86]

Second of all, for some reason Marketing insists we add the word "Floor" to any SKUs that could ever possibly end up with additional form factors, to ensure "Helix Stadium" can be used as an overall family name and doesn't pinpoint one particular SKU, which I guess can cause dealer inventory issues or something or other. I dunno. Our guidelines are that "Floor" has to be mentioned in official capacities and only the first time a product is mentioned in a manual or press release, but silkscreen never needs it (we didn't even silk "Rack" on Helix Rack's front panel), and in casual conversations, none of us in the building say "Floor" or even "Helix" any longer. Just "Stadium" and "Stadium XL."

Ok, so rack and/or desktop version confirmed