Line 6 Helix Stadium

[jellodog]

I flirted with That Pedal Show for a bit, but it just got a bit boring.

I find it hard to watch. They just don't make sentences fast enough for my caffeinated brain!



And quite frequently, they don't even finish sentences.

 

[laxu]

XDD


Oh, I think I know what's happening: I'm guessing there are subcategories inside every block category, so for example instead of a Modulation block icon, we're having Flanger icon, Tape reel icon, Phaser icon, etc.

Same with the "shred" block. There might be separate icons for fuzz, overdrive and distortions.

Cabs might have different icons for bass and guitar.

And the one you point as stereo widener, I'd bet it's a chorus. So the fourth icon at the top must be a tremolo.

In the second path, below the Pitch block, that looks like a room reverb.

Neat.

Very likely. One of the issues with Helix is that it makes no distinction if you have multiple blocks of the same type, so you just have to remember what Drive 1 vs Drive 2 are. Maybe these icons are meant to differentiate them a bit.

In that case the "Shred" block would likely be a boost. Could the block preceding it be a different type of compressor?

 

[Mooselake]

Hmm

I can see two reasons not to wait around until they have a bow on the profiling stuff to send Stadium out into the wild:

1. I think a lot of potential users are like me and see the potential profiling feature as being somewhere between being irrelevant and being sort of an interesting curiosity, but not really something that exists in the heart of what we'd do on a regular basis.

2. I think most of us early adopters have a good reason to believe that there are other improvements and new features that are worth the price of admission.

I tend to agree with laxu above that if there is anything game changing among new features in Stadium that have been shared outside of Line 6 it's apt to be Showcase. What I find intriguing about it is how general it can be. By that I mean I can certainly see myself as a prototypical bedroom bluze guy with a budget that far outstrips aptitude using it on a regular basis assuming it's implemented in as user-friendly a way as I imagine it will. And I think the same core feature will be useful for many far more accomplished players to streamline preparation and performances. Even then, I imagine it's not something that every potential user will want or need.

Luckily I'm pretty decisive about this kind of stuff. I imagine if my temperament were such that what the typical Youtube pundit said counted in a material way, I'd be pretty miserable flip flopping around about what to do. As it is there's an expression I've heard that has roots somewhere in pop culture of days gone buy: "You pays your money and you takes your chances." There's never a guarantee the next piece of gear to come by is the perfect solution for everything forever.

 

[molul]

In that case the "Shred" block would likely be a boost. Could the block preceding it be a different type of compressor?

Yep, it fits a boost better.

I'd say the block preceding is a noise gate.

 

[laxu]

I'd say the block preceding is a noise gate.

Oh yeah, that makes a lot more sense. I had a really hard time figuring out what a linear line would represent here.

Icon design is difficult.

 

[molul]

So, my bets:

Volume pedal

Noise gate

Tape reel (and apparently Flanger too)

Boost

Tremolo

Bass amp? Proxy amp? HX/Agoura amp?

Who might you be?

Chorus

Room reverb

I'm so curious about how they might have addressed all subcategories.

EDIT: Same icon for Flanger and Retro Reel (can't post the screenshot for the retro reel because I reached the max attachments):

 

[molul]

Ok, these are too much

 

[DLC86]

Room reverb

By the proportions of that parallelepiped it looks more like a closet reverb
Or more realistically, a plate reverb.

 

[GTR37]

This comes from the Stadium announcement:
View attachment 47931

And these are current Helix blocks:
View attachment 47933

So who are these new guys in the neighborhood?
View attachment 47935

The first one looks like a volume pedal block. The block before the delay in the second row looks like a variant of the delay block. And the one right next to the delay might be a modulation variant too.


On the other hand, @Digital Igloo , it might be handy having an indicator on whether the block is stereo or not. Something like this (in the delay block):
View attachment 47937

Ok that clearly a steering wheel. no sheep though

 

[laxu]

View attachment 47948
Ok, these are too much

I'm gonna try:

Top:

1. Guitar
2. Volume
3. Boost
4. Split toggle!
   1. Amp: Marshall of some kind?
   2. Amp: Mesa Mark?
5. Merge
6. Dual cab
7. Tremolo
8. Crossover split
   1. Delay
   2. A different type of delay? Maybe analog because rounded corners?
      1. Parametric or low/high shelf EQ?
9. Merge
10. Mixer?
11. Some sort of multi-looper?
12. To bottom

Bottom:

In top:

1. Synth?
2. Multitap delay?
3. Distortion?
4. Room reverb?

In bottom:

1. Pitch
2. Stereo spread?
3. Digital delay? More angular...
4. Plate reverb?

Merge

1. Tape effect
2. Compressor
3. Fx loop?
4. Split with mixer?
   1. EQ
   2. Multiband compressor?
      1. Pan?
5. Merge
6. Output

 

[EOengineer]

At least one of those icons is a UFO and I’m here for it.

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

At least one of those icons is a UFO and I’m here for it.

 

[Los-D]

This comes from the Stadium announcement:
View attachment 47931

And these are current Helix blocks:
View attachment 47933

So who are these new guys in the neighborhood?
View attachment 47935

The first one looks like a volume pedal block. The block before the delay in the second row looks like a variant of the delay block. And the one right next to the delay might be a modulation variant too.


On the other hand, @Digital Igloo , it might be handy having an indicator on whether the block is stereo or not. Something like this (in the delay block):
View attachment 47937

@Digital Igloo, we are gonna need a new shirt.

 

[Vic Winters]

Multiplexer?
Side-chain?

 

[Aleksi]

View attachment 47952

Multiplexer?
Side-chain?

Clock block

 

[molul]

View attachment 47952

Multiplexer?
Side-chain?

This looks like it's moving. I wonder if it's a mixer that reacts to how strong you're playing.

 

[laxu]

View attachment 47952

Multiplexer?
Side-chain?

I think that's just the split routings from Helix.

This could be the dynamic split. In the same preset you can see the A/B and crossover splits too.

 

[Vic Winters]

I think that's just the split routings from Helix.

This could be the dynamic split. In the same preset you can see the A/B and crossover splits too.

You're probably right.

 

[Sleezy E]

Yeah the $250 backpack smarts, NGL. I guess it feels weird to bitch about it right after dropping $2k for a device, but $250? Ouch.

Imma wait till I figure out if mah OG helix backpack will fit the xl... I kinda figure it will...

 

[Digital Igloo]

No joke, "The Humpty Dance" is my karaoke jam. Old band in Tucson would do a metal version and I'd rap on it.

A potentially "game changing" feature in Helix Stadium is Showcase. We haven't seen anything like it on any other digital modeler. Are there other tools to do that? Absolutely, but having it easy and convenient goes a long way.

Man, watching all these Showcase-like iOS apps and boxes come out over the years has been brow-furrowing. Probably setting myself up here, but the circa-2012 touchscreen Helix design had a a scaled-down version of Showcase too:

And we haven't seen 80% of the features that Line6 already knows will be added to Stadium.

Not quite. 80% of the bullets had to be removed from the FAQ. Some represented entire features, yes, but some were simply extensions of existing features. But we also have a massive sustaining TRD going with 100+ items that aren't in any other official documentation, nor were they in the FAQ. So it's very squishy.

So who are these new guys in the neighborhood?

We have more granularity in our block icons now, so you have a better idea of what a preset might sound like at a glance. Here are all block types found in 1.0:

No, at no point did we consider showing real amp and pedal images on the home screen. With up to 48 block locations, all nuance would be lost, plus it'd look cartoony and amateurish. Fender does a really nice job with theirs but it just wouldn't work with our signal flow layout.

EDIT: Crap, I had to keep editing post-1.0 block types out.