Line 6 Helix Stadium

[Karl Houseknecht]

Apparently so...

Wonder when Line6 foot last changed/upgraded their PCB mounted foot switches, but if you Google "helix switch problems failures" you'll verify the saga continues...

10 years of playing helixes and controls and zero footswitch issues.

 

[EOengineer]

Sure, components fail, more so when they're stomped on

Which is why I generally buy mass-produced electronics *new* w/ warranty, because you never know how used & abused a piece of *used* gear is, unless there's damage & wear/tear clearly visible...

In reality there's always life expectancy ranges for components too ~ It would be interesting to know how many cycles Line6 switches are rated at, if any one knows the make/model it wouldn't be hard to figure out...

I know that Roland FC100 foot controller switches would fail somewhere after a couple of years of constant use, which is why I bought a bunch of replacement PCB switches & was skilled at fixing them when they went *bad* back in the 80s & 90s, when I had a GP8

There's also relays that can wear out, but usually those have a higher cycle life, but not always...

All I'm really saying is people that are not keen on repairing switches probably should stay away from *used* gear known to fail after a couple of years, which there is oodles of info across the net to confirm with Helix switches.

I believe you'd find a lot less corroborating to confirm the existence of Bigfoot, but I've never looked into that



Well, since Fractal controllers are separate from the main unit, they're probably easier/safer to repair then a workstation built into a floor unit, but no experience with that either

Sorry, I might have missed the larger context about used gear. I definitely agree with you there…I’m keen to avoid any used floor based multi effects for similar concerns.

Now that I think about it I’ve been pretty lucky though. My Helix Floor is a L6 factory refurb and it’s been flawless. They might replace the footswitch assembly as part of that process though.

I will say if I expect anything to fail on Helix, coming from a prior hardware tech support guy, it’s going to be the footswitches or the encoder thing. I’m shocked I haven’t broken that yet.

 

[Deleted member 1726]

 

[EOengineer]

Well, since Fractal controllers are separate from the main unit, they're probably easier/safer to repair then a workstation built into a floor unit, but no experience with that either

AX8, FX8, FM3, FM9?

Granted the FM stuff is all fairly new so we may not know how those are going to age long term, but they seem robust and I’ve not read much about failures.

 

[EOengineer]

 

[Deleted member 1726]

AX8, FX8, FM3, FM9?

Granted the FM stuff is all fairly new so we may not know how those are going to age long term, but they seem robust and I’ve not read much about failures.

You probably know that PCB mounted switches aren't the most robust design to begin with, but maybe/hopefully Fractal uses one with a higher cycle life?

 

[Chocol8]

Guess I just get tired of the hype in the BS that we see in every unit that’s released commercially they all say the same thing better than the last one sounds just like a real amp. It’s gonna do this this this and that and then they invite, select people that love their products to begin with no matter whatand they go out on their platform and they start pouting. That’s amazing and it’s like oh my God sounds so much better than the last version. It’s a whole new thing it’s amazing blah blah blah blah blah blah.

No offense but it seems to me like you are recycling the same old complaints without paying much attention or putting any thought into it.

The focus on this device and the launch wasn’t on sounding more real or even better. Yes they made some improvements and mentioned them, but the focus of the Stadium design and the launch marketing was all about user experience improvements.

I guess if you have never used digital devices that might not mean much to you, but user experience has been a bigger differentiator than raw tone for years now. It’s a big part of the reason the Helix ecosystem has outsold Kemper and Fractal, and why people buy the QC even though they know the company behind it is pure scum.

 

[Mooselake]

I play box valvetronix de and the box amps… katana artist gen2 and I have an old cyber twin combo and line6 combo with rube power section… and I just like playing at home.
I probably don’t need all the features of a stadium or fm9t but if I am gonna jump in to a modeler 2025/26 it’s gonna be the newest best sounding one TO ME that has what I need and has a gui I can get along with.

Essentially the same here. No reason anyone should spend their money unless it's for whatever works best for them. It's amusing, though at times tiring, to watch the back and forth between users of one brand versus another. I'll never understand why people feel compelled to hop into a thread to express cynicism or even disdain for a company/yet-to-be-released product they're under no obligation to use. We've all got to put our time and resources to use in a way that makes the most sense for us. For me, that means it's virtually certain I'll give Stadium a spin later this year or early next. For others the calculus is different, and I totally get why people might not be anxious to hop brands.

My main everyday rig is my Helix LT line out into an OG Yamaha THR 10c, or while I spend the summer at my hideout in the woods, a POD Express into the THR10c. I agree 100% with your general sentiment. I barely scratch the surface with the LT in terms of exploiting all its capability, and have no need for even more. I find high quality (to my ears) modeling/tone shaping capability inspires and motivates me to play, and to level up in that respect I'm willing to pay for some things I might not use on a daily basis. I suppose in a sense I'm always looking for that 10% moar betterer out of whatever I'm using to shape the sound, and the reason the LT lasted so long with me is that from the outset it has improved incrementally along the way. I don't know if they'll have the same room for growth with the Stadium platform in terms of making it aurally an ever more pleasing thing to dangle from the end of a guitar chord, but now they've started throwing in some auxiliary things that if implemented well will be a boon to me and my bedroom player use case. If they're clunky and not worth the effort without a compelling reason to go there, then I'll just enjoy the modeling the way I do with the LT. That all remains to be seen.

Before I put the ol' career in the rearview mirror I worked an extra year or so, in part to set aside some money for an Axe FX III, but in almost 4 years now I haven't felt the need to take the plunge with Fractal because Helix keeps growing. Maybe I will someday, but tbh I'm hoping I can just stick with the L6 trajectory. "Sound quality" is probably the most important thing, but not the only consideration. I appreciate good UI but it's not as important to me as it seems to be for many. I almost hate to admit it but what seems like it will be the difference maker for me with Stadium is the ability to drop in audio tracks to play along with, without having to power up and connect to my "DAW computer". Not like that's an onerous thing, lol, but the more all-in-one a set up is, the more time I'll spend using it.

 

[dk_ace]

Yep, and the GSG, the Vitriol, 2203, German Xtra channels, PV Panama Channels all came in the 3.6-3.8 window which possibly lines up with when Agoura was rounding into shape.

That GSG

I don’t have a lot of playing time anymore, so when I do I typically just fire up something and have fun with it if I don’t have a gig to get ready for. In other words, I don’t spent any time A/Bing stuff now. But I really want to compare the GSG to the dumble stuff in FM9. In memory, I prefer the GSG. I’d like to see if that holds up in an A/B.

Their modeling definitely got considerably better towards the end. The JCM is great, I just don’t love JCMs. There are a lot of the early models that I never could connect with.

D

 

[Mooselake]

While new Helix sales are going to slow considerably, they know that already and account for it. There hasn’t been a single bit of “Oh but not quite THAT great to ditch your Helix!” because they want people to eventually ‘ditch’ it in turn for the Stadium. And the Helix family will continue to sell on the used market in the same way old AxeFX/AX8/FX8 continue selling now.

While that’s not bringing new revenue to the company, it confirms value for the products still exists simply because they’re great products that people have enjoyed for years and know they can get what they want from them, which builds legitimacy and faith in the companies.

Not that there's anything wrong with it, but they are probably also looking at people like me and saying, "Hmm, how can we get ol' Mooselake to part with more of his money. He's clung to that LT for 8-9 years. I know, we'll offer him something that sounds even better and does even more than the LT ever could no matter how long we optimize and improve it. And lets hold off on putting the scribble strips in the SKU that best fits his needs, so we have something to offer him with the next iteration 10 years from now!"

 

[HomespunEffects]

Guess we'll need to wait until the 25th (or actual release date) for that. The current page is mostly a flashy placeholder, with no more information than we got from the announcement party.

It’s a good point.

 

[Mooselake]

I think if you look at Metallurgy it quite possible those amps might also be in the first 16 as they already had all the 3 d graphics seen in the new focus screens

Could be. I'm not at all familiar with Metallurgy though. I generally don't get a lot of satisfaction out of plugins, although I have done some occasional reamping with Native. I never "play through it" though. Maybe Metallurgy would resemble Stadium/Agoura with the hype knob dialed up. I may be way off base but I get the sense that full hype would result in a less computationally demanding model.

 

[molul]

One question about scribble strips (as I have a Helix LT and have never seem them in action): do they show the same that is being shown on screen (stomps or snapshots grid) or are they independent?

If they're in sync with the screen, being the screen quite bigger, I'm not sure how much one would need them, except for being better on sunlight.

I would have liked having them in the Stadium, but have never missed them in my LT.

 

[deadpool_25]

New Helix, Kemper + Fractal forthcoming...

This post took me on quite the emotional roller coaster.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

Guess we'll need to wait until the 25th (or actual release date) for that.

The 25th is the date when you can pre order from most sellers. The release / ship date is sometime Fall 2025.

 

[Lysander]

If they're in sync with the screen, being the screen quite bigger, I'm not sure how much one would need them, except for being better on sunlight.

That's the point. These new OLED scribble strips are basically infinite contrast, and behave much better in sunlight than the main display - or even the TFT LCD strips on the OG Helix.

Seems to be the same display they used for the HX One. I played with one at a local music store, briefly after launch, and was surprised by how clear it looked.

 

[bucephalus]

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

You see what he did there?

 

[AlbertA]

You probably know that PCB mounted switches aren't the most robust design to begin with, but maybe/hopefully Fractal uses one with a higher cycle life?

Fractal uses capacitive sensors so nothing to press (manual refers to them as SSS - solid state switching)

 

[molul]

I didn't see explicit info on this: does Stadium have 4 signal paths like QC or 2 like current Floor and LT?

 

[dbagchee]

I didn't see explicit info on this: does Stadium have 4 signal paths like QC or 2 like current Floor and LT?

Helix already supports 4 stereo paths, they are just assigned 2 to each DSP.