Line 6 Helix Stadium

[EOengineer]

If the stadium had scribble strips, I’d have seriously considered it. The dual super special magical instrument inputs on the XL helped the decision too.

 

[banned]

If the stadium had scribble strips, I’d have seriously considered it. The dual super special magical instrument inputs on the XL helped the decision too.

What super duper magical input?

 

[dean701]

scribble strips, 2 inputs, 2 extra footswitches and 2 extra loops. I think the 3 inch difference is worth it. That's what she said.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Btw, how comes even the OG Stomp has two inputs but the vanilla Stadium only comes with one? That's pretty dissapointing.

 

[EOengineer]

What super duper magical input?

The XL has 2 of the super high dynamic range variable impedance instrument inputs so you can run multiple guitars through a single device and utilize the old fuzz models and all that jazz.

 

[Sleezy E]

I think people will see the appeal once the first hands-on videos start pouring and we can get a good sense of their relative sizes. The non-XL is just a tad smaller than an AX8 - a great compact form factor, without cramped footswitches.

View attachment 53608

wow

first time I've seen a Stadium next to a QC

 

[dbagchee]

I’m thinking I’ll still do a regular Stadium, even if I do end up with an expression pedal later. I had the EV-2 for over a year for my FM9, and didn’t use it, even once.

That’s the thing, when it’s built in, you are more inclined to use it since it’s right there.

 

[Fireproof]

I think people will see the appeal once the first hands-on videos start pouring and we can get a good sense of their relative sizes. The non-XL is just a tad smaller than an AX8 - a great compact form factor, without cramped footswitches.

View attachment 53608

Indeed it’s an awesome form factor. Goldilocks size.

And while I don’t use an expression pedal much - I can’t help my desire for instant gratification, plus the scribble strips are awesome, plus I can always use the expression pedal as a default volume pedal or boost or something.

 

[Frodebro]

I’m thinking I’ll still do a regular Stadium, even if I do end up with an expression pedal later. I had the EV-2 for over a year for my FM9, and didn’t use it, even once.

I'm at the other end of the spectrum. I run three expression pedals with my FM9, and use them constantly. One is always a master volume, one is 90% of the time a 'pre volume' that is just after the compressor, but before the drive blocks. This allows me to essentially "roll back the volume knob" to get cleaner sounds, but without any loss of high end (which I prefer for guitars without a treble bleed circuit, such as my McCarty 594), and the third one is a preset specific expression pedal. Sometimes a wah, sometimes a delay/reverb mix, sometimes other song specific stuff.

 

[EOengineer]

I'm at the other end of the spectrum. I run three expression pedals with my FM9, and use them constantly. One is always a master volume, one is 90% of the time a 'pre volume' that is just after the compressor, but before the drive blocks. This allows me to essentially "roll back the volume knob" to get cleaner sounds, but without any loss of high end (which I prefer for guitars without a treble bleed circuit, such as my McCarty 594), and the third one is a preset specific expression pedal. Sometimes a wah, sometimes a delay/reverb mix, sometimes other song specific stuff.

As someone who has only ever touched the Hx expression pedal to dust it off, this was an interesting read. In particular that little pre gain volume rollback trick seems neat.

I work my guitar volume a lot. How closely does what you’re describing mimic rolling down the guitar volume?

 

[HotRats]

I use 3 exp pedals with my helix floor.

Most of the time is one for the wah, a second one for controlling mix & feedback of delays and the third (actually a pedal that toggles between two values) is used for modulation speed.

So it will be the full featured Stadium for me if I ever buy one (I will, I know I will sooner or later).

 

[Desertdweller]

I think people will see the appeal once the first hands-on videos start pouring and we can get a good sense of their relative sizes. The non-XL is just a tad smaller than an AX8 - a great compact form factor, without cramped footswitches.

Because I'm old and thought it was funny, let's also include the Mesa/Boogie Abacus for no reason at all.

 

[Sascha Franck]

That’s the thing, when it’s built in, you are more inclined to use it since it’s right there.

For me, I always wanted an internal EXP pedal because I just didn't want to waste any space on my pedalboard estate. But with the Stadium it'd different.
In case I'd get one, I possibly wouldn't use it on a pedalboard most often and without the EXP pedal built in it'd be significantly easier to transport. There's also some gigs where I just don't need any EXP pedal.
But the main reason actually would be that I'm in fact using EXP pedals very often - but at the same time, I would want to do all my editing on the unit, hence place it next to me on some stand. An external pedal is perfect for that.

 

[Orvillain]

I can't read the stribble strips on stage without my glasses anyway, so I don't rely on them. Just good old memory.

 

[laxu]

I do like the Helix scribble strips a lot so it's a shame the non-XL model does not have them, even though it's understandable for cost and size.

I really want to see what the non-XL Stadium equivalent of the scribble strips looks like in action.

I assume it's going to be something similar to Helix LT with its grid of boxes in the home view that present the same info as the scribble strips.

 

[Sedaxel]

Because I'm old and thought it was funny, let's also include the Mesa/Boogie Abacus for no reason at all.

View attachment 53625

Are the dimensions in this pic reliable? Are the footswitches in the Stadium similarly separated as in the QC?

 

[laxu]

Are the dimensions in this pic reliable? Are the footswitches in the Stadium similarly separated as in the QC?

The spacing seems identical to the HX Stomp/XL which afaik is wider than the QC.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Personally, while I obviously find the idea of scribble strips appealing, in daily life I just don't really need them. I keep my patch layouts consistent all the time to accomodate live playing "logistics", even trying to do so throughout different setups. So an LT-style info screen is just fine for me.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Btw, looking at the various pictures available, I fear that the switch LED rings have stayed the same. Does anyone remember whether there was any info about them anywhere?

 

[Lysander]

Are the dimensions in this pic reliable? Are the footswitches in the Stadium similarly separated as in the QC?

No, they're farther apart in the HXS - horizontally but, most importantly, vertically as well. I hit the wrong row many times back when i had my QC, it drove me a bit crazy.