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Seeing a stopwatch on a piece of musical equipment gives me agita.
Line 6 Helix Stadium
- Thread starter Lysander
- Start date
Seeing a stopwatch on a piece of musical equipment gives me agita.
EOengineer
Rock Star
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Definitely a limitation of the web UI and not the actual hardware.
Mooselake
Roadie
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In my N=1 simpletons world, some devices sound good enough to me to inspire me to play a little more, reach a little further, while some others don't. There's analog and digital devices on both sides of that fence. OG Helix turned out to be a big winner in that realm. With the Stadium, it'll come down to whether once I turn it on, will I want to keep playing longer, with the baseline for comparison being my OG LT, which I have zero intent to part with. Clips over the internet are fun little appetizers to pass the time until shipping. But I already know there's a world of guys and gals out there who will make Stadium sound way better than I ever will, so I don't get too spun up good or bad on clips.
I also have a quirk in that I go out of my way periodically to work with tones (i.e., presets in this context) that aren't what I would typically set out to achieve. The thought basically being that it's usually more my technical/expressive limitations that result in a crappy output than the signal chain in question. I like to think an exercise like that is helpful for my development. I'm old enough now that continuing to learn on guitar is part of my dementia prevention regimen (rather than pursuit of fame and fortune and such), and the more I can push myself in all possible dimensions in that realm, the better. So I actually enjoy the occasional clips where my reaction is: "That's not a tone I would dial up in a vacuum, but I wonder if I can learn to wrangle it passably well?"
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Dammit. Now I have to rewatch The Boys.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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The clock is actually a great add. My 15 year old Ipad doesn't exactly something I feel like I can trust to know how much time we have left before we can pack up for the night 
EOengineer
Rock Star
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The key is to take out the biggest member of the headliner as soon as you hit the venue. Then everyone leaves you alone. Like prison.
I didn't say workflows, interfaces, integrations, technical capabilities had reach perfection. I also didn't say the ease of dialing sounds had reach perfection. I said that when dialed in by people that know what they are doing, you won't be able to tell which is which. The point being that the modeling side has gotten to the point where it is not the biggest limiting factor to good products.
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
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Listening to the High Gain Agoura Tones:
- 1st one "Revv 120 Purple A". Kind of odd choice to have as the 1st one as these sort of tones (to me) are so associated with digital amps and purposefully sounding digital. I don't really like these sort of tones anyway so I don't have much of an opinion either way. Sounds fine
- Revv 120 A. Quite enjoying the low end bloom and the top end fizz sounds a lot less "Helix"y to me. Overall a bit dark/rolled off for my taste, but thats to do with the IR choice/mic placement.
- EV Panama Blue A. Another weird one. Are these baritone styles really that popular? How come 2 out of the first 3 tones are in this style. I really don't have a valid opinion one way or another. If I heard this without any context I wouldn't assume it's a demo for showing off amp modelling.
- EV Panama Red A. Reminds me of a red channel 5150 with that kind of scratchy attack that easily gets too much. Sounds fine, not really to my taste either though.
- Brit Plexi A. Nice dynamics, sounds less like previous gen Helix in the distortion and top end. Still dark sounding, which again is down to preference but I hope at least some other demos have a more open top end. Not really a fan of the stereo delay on there but whatever.
- Brit 2203MV A. Sounds good, besides the FX which I don't really like. Again it kind of shows the sounds I don't think current Helix's can quite do. And again, I'd like to hear more bite in the top end, but whoever's dialled it in has gone for a smoother ribbon sound.
- Solid 100. I don't like this. I think it's mostly down to the micing and amp settings. Lots of MV distortion or something weird from the pedal and amp blowing out. Kind of weird voicing from the cab. Lots of stuff I'd avoid but maybe for others, they'd dig this kind of tone.
- German Xtra Blue. Nice dynamics again. I don't like the cab/IR, but I think it's similar to the last one using the FET47 and ribbon. Sort of phasey and boxy sounding. Can hear potential in the low end weight of the amp but the tone here isn't something I'd go for.
- German Xtra Red. Sort of phasey and scooped in a weird way. Top end sounds kind of modeller-y to me here in a way that I wasn't hearing as much in the others. That reverb bothers me too, I don't think it's helping. The playing/tuning feels a bit disjointed too which Im struggling to look past.
- Brit 2203MV B. Not a tone I'd go for but it sounds pretty realistic in a good way.
- EV Panama Blue B. I can hear the potential here but I'd SOOOOOO MUCH rather hear a single sm57 than blending a FET47 and m160.
- EV Panama Red B. Very similar to the above, but just with the red channel. Kind of grind but overly blown out which doesn't flatter those palm mutes at the end. Not how I'd dial it in. Can hear the potential though.
- Revv 120 Red A. Sort of like a mix of what I'v said above. Boxy/phasey/overly blown out. I can hear the potential but I don't really like the mushiness, especially in the palm mutes. Why do so many clips have blends of mics/cabs and lots of additional processing? I think it's not helping things for the most part.
- Revv 120 Purple B. Again, sort of what I've said already above. Less poweramp mush in this one, so I like it better than most of the others. I'd way prefer this with a 57 and less processing on it.
- Brit Plexi B. Not really a fan of this but it sounds realistic enough. Probably the kind of tone that would do a solid job in a mix but in isolation isn't particularly nice. Phasey midrange and dull top again, which must be a preference for whoever dialled these in. Can imagine the phasiness is from the IR choices/blending. Surprisingly myself with how distracting the Helix reverbs are to me, again this tone would sound better dry with no reverb than having the reverb thats there applied.
I totally get why DI has reservations about posting clips, which sort of led me to believe they'd try and avoid the pitfalls of bad clips. These aren't terrible but if you don't typically like or use a U47 FET on guitars then you have to start mentally compensating for basically ALL of them. Great modelling sounds killer to me without any need for adding FX, additional EQ etc, and I don't think the FX are really doing anything thats justifying their presence on these clips. A handful of 57 on "dustcap meets the edge of cone" tones are a pretty solid reference point for high gain tones - even if its not someone's preferences its at least a familiar sound. I don't mind the FX so much on the cleaner tones, as often cleaner sounds are a bit of a canvas to stylise with FX.
Hopefully there's still time to get a range of audio demos from other people, so each persons own preferences get evened out.
- 1st one "Revv 120 Purple A". Kind of odd choice to have as the 1st one as these sort of tones (to me) are so associated with digital amps and purposefully sounding digital. I don't really like these sort of tones anyway so I don't have much of an opinion either way. Sounds fine
- Revv 120 A. Quite enjoying the low end bloom and the top end fizz sounds a lot less "Helix"y to me. Overall a bit dark/rolled off for my taste, but thats to do with the IR choice/mic placement.
- EV Panama Blue A. Another weird one. Are these baritone styles really that popular? How come 2 out of the first 3 tones are in this style. I really don't have a valid opinion one way or another. If I heard this without any context I wouldn't assume it's a demo for showing off amp modelling.
- EV Panama Red A. Reminds me of a red channel 5150 with that kind of scratchy attack that easily gets too much. Sounds fine, not really to my taste either though.
- Brit Plexi A. Nice dynamics, sounds less like previous gen Helix in the distortion and top end. Still dark sounding, which again is down to preference but I hope at least some other demos have a more open top end. Not really a fan of the stereo delay on there but whatever.
- Brit 2203MV A. Sounds good, besides the FX which I don't really like. Again it kind of shows the sounds I don't think current Helix's can quite do. And again, I'd like to hear more bite in the top end, but whoever's dialled it in has gone for a smoother ribbon sound.
- Solid 100. I don't like this. I think it's mostly down to the micing and amp settings. Lots of MV distortion or something weird from the pedal and amp blowing out. Kind of weird voicing from the cab. Lots of stuff I'd avoid but maybe for others, they'd dig this kind of tone.
- German Xtra Blue. Nice dynamics again. I don't like the cab/IR, but I think it's similar to the last one using the FET47 and ribbon. Sort of phasey and boxy sounding. Can hear potential in the low end weight of the amp but the tone here isn't something I'd go for.
- German Xtra Red. Sort of phasey and scooped in a weird way. Top end sounds kind of modeller-y to me here in a way that I wasn't hearing as much in the others. That reverb bothers me too, I don't think it's helping. The playing/tuning feels a bit disjointed too which Im struggling to look past.
- Brit 2203MV B. Not a tone I'd go for but it sounds pretty realistic in a good way.
- EV Panama Blue B. I can hear the potential here but I'd SOOOOOO MUCH rather hear a single sm57 than blending a FET47 and m160.
- EV Panama Red B. Very similar to the above, but just with the red channel. Kind of grind but overly blown out which doesn't flatter those palm mutes at the end. Not how I'd dial it in. Can hear the potential though.
- Revv 120 Red A. Sort of like a mix of what I'v said above. Boxy/phasey/overly blown out. I can hear the potential but I don't really like the mushiness, especially in the palm mutes. Why do so many clips have blends of mics/cabs and lots of additional processing? I think it's not helping things for the most part.
- Revv 120 Purple B. Again, sort of what I've said already above. Less poweramp mush in this one, so I like it better than most of the others. I'd way prefer this with a 57 and less processing on it.
- Brit Plexi B. Not really a fan of this but it sounds realistic enough. Probably the kind of tone that would do a solid job in a mix but in isolation isn't particularly nice. Phasey midrange and dull top again, which must be a preference for whoever dialled these in. Can imagine the phasiness is from the IR choices/blending. Surprisingly myself with how distracting the Helix reverbs are to me, again this tone would sound better dry with no reverb than having the reverb thats there applied.
I totally get why DI has reservations about posting clips, which sort of led me to believe they'd try and avoid the pitfalls of bad clips. These aren't terrible but if you don't typically like or use a U47 FET on guitars then you have to start mentally compensating for basically ALL of them. Great modelling sounds killer to me without any need for adding FX, additional EQ etc, and I don't think the FX are really doing anything thats justifying their presence on these clips. A handful of 57 on "dustcap meets the edge of cone" tones are a pretty solid reference point for high gain tones - even if its not someone's preferences its at least a familiar sound. I don't mind the FX so much on the cleaner tones, as often cleaner sounds are a bit of a canvas to stylise with FX.
Hopefully there's still time to get a range of audio demos from other people, so each persons own preferences get evened out.
The OLED scribble strips…. As they’re oled, how to they not burn in if you leave them sat there on the same preset for hours?
It must be the case that they don’t give because original helix floor had these and they’re doing it again. Just nervous from history because of an OLED tv back in the early days with that tech and also my (very nice) espresso machine display has an oled that does a screen saver thing.
It must be the case that they don’t give because original helix floor had these and they’re doing it again. Just nervous from history because of an OLED tv back in the early days with that tech and also my (very nice) espresso machine display has an oled that does a screen saver thing.
You definitely can on the unit. I just was hoping to hear it in action in the preview.
MirrorProfiles
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Checking the Hype demo now and trying to have an open mind....
On the EVH its not too bad, although I'm not really hearing any tweaks that couldn't be achieved in other ways.
On the Revv 120 Purple example, it's basically all my initial reservations summed up in audio form. Settings above 0 (for this tone at least) sound like something is broken or wrong to my ear.
On the Plexi, it's OK but mostly just sounds louder here. Again, I think just fiddling with the other parameters a bit could get you close enough.
The Vox actually sounds quite good to me, but when it's at 5 or 10 it doesn't really sound like a Vox. At that point, I think I'd just be looking for a different amp rather than firing up a Vox to make it sound like something else.
US Princess 76 sounds OK on 5, sort of like pre-emptive post processing. On 10 it sounds overcooked and too much. I'd rather dial it in myself again, just so the tweaks are context dependent rather than pot luck.
On the EVH its not too bad, although I'm not really hearing any tweaks that couldn't be achieved in other ways.
On the Revv 120 Purple example, it's basically all my initial reservations summed up in audio form. Settings above 0 (for this tone at least) sound like something is broken or wrong to my ear.
On the Plexi, it's OK but mostly just sounds louder here. Again, I think just fiddling with the other parameters a bit could get you close enough.
The Vox actually sounds quite good to me, but when it's at 5 or 10 it doesn't really sound like a Vox. At that point, I think I'd just be looking for a different amp rather than firing up a Vox to make it sound like something else.
US Princess 76 sounds OK on 5, sort of like pre-emptive post processing. On 10 it sounds overcooked and too much. I'd rather dial it in myself again, just so the tweaks are context dependent rather than pot luck.
I'd like to know
Just so you know, while three different players played those clips, all the tones were dialed in by Line 6's Igor Stolarsky.
And at the risk of falling back on the "tone is in the fingers" trope, the clips I enjoy the most came from the players I enjoyed the most (Pete Thorn).
But again, I already know I dial the HX versions of each of those amps differently and way more to my personal satisfaction, so I'm not worried about the Agoura versions.
When Line 6 opens up the pool of people allowed to dial in "official" clips, you'll see a more representative range of tones.
Vic Winters
Roadie
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- 272
We've gotten videos on the new modeling and features. Now we need a video on pure power. A multi instrument video? A high DSP chain with Poly Effects that OG Helix units could only dream about?
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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Why not use a 57?
Mooselake
Roadie
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The quote you attributed to me in the post I quoted was not one that I made. I don't think anything is the pinnacle of anything. I was agreeing that clips on the internet are largely irrelevant to me, and why.
MirrorProfiles
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why use a 57 when you can blend my favourite kick out mic with a ribbon, and then eq, and then hype knob, and then add some stereo delay and reverb for some reason.Why not use a 57?
With no shade intended to Igor who is a total dude and amazing at what he does. I just think the first demos on the site should probably come from a range of different people and show off more variety of cabs. Good demos are hard but not THAT hard
And if the brand new feature is the meat and potatoes amp modelling, then show us the tones with just meat and potatoes.
If you’re really proud of your new steak, you wouldn’t cover it in peppercorn sauce and popping candy before having a taste.
Better demos will come for sure, and I don’t think these will really put anyone off/blow anyone away. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that better demos are very possible and will happen.
Fireproof
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Yeah for me I got into guitar late (in college). And it was more of a hobby so I was slowly learning over the years - didn’t play with a band or anything. For years I just had a peavy amp and my Uncle’s Fender Princeton and a handful of pedals, lol.
So for me - devices like the Stadium are so I can experience amps and effects I never got to in the analog world. So while I’d like them to be reasonably close to accurate in order to appreciate all the different flavors and nuances - I don’t have the ears or experience to really compare it to anything. So they don’t have to be 100% perfect for me to get a ton of enjoyment out of them.
And since I don’t have favorites knob settings burns into my brain - they hype and focus view features will be great for me.
And I do still jam with others so being able to play and learn at home and then take it to a studio or friends house is a lot more attractive than lugging my Badlander or something. lol. (Even though I love that Baddie!!)
