What's preventing you from getting a Helix Stadium (if you really want to buy it eventually)?

[bucephalus]

At the rate we’re going $2,200/lb grocery bills aren’t unfathomable.

Hehe, Taft you old dog.

 

[OneEng]

I had a Helix for about a month and borrowed the Stadium for a few days. Mostly their stuff is just not for me. YMMV. Many other better options out there. I did not like the Stadium much at all.

I think that this is fair criticism. Just out of curiosity, what options do you consider better and why.

TOP's new terms of service sent a bunch of people looking for another forum and it seems a few of them ended up here. As you said, there is a big difference between "I am waiting for this feature/amp/whatever" vs the vendor slogging seen in a few threads lately.

Which new terms are we addressing?

Well I wouldn't call disliking or not wanting to buy something "vitriol"...I don't see tons of negativity around Stadium or Line 6. It's more like mild enthusiasm, indifference, or mild disappointment.

Agree. I believe that of all the digital guitar amps out there, Stadium has the most future promise. The arguments against purchasing it NOW I think are valid as are the arguments that it is worth it even now.

Completely agree. The fact is they’ve released a new modeller that at it’s very best sounds at least as good as competition that’s been out for years, and even then that’s debatable for certain sounds. The effects haven’t been updated at all and for a new flagship device it just feels really half baked. That’s a fair view.

The effects are really where I believe the biggest differences lie for me. While Stadium currently does a great deal more and better that my MK1 Kemper does, this doesn't extend to the reverb and delay effects .... yet.

Fractal w AM4 and now Icons
As Well as QC mini has probably also not helped the cause IMO

Price! Competition! Agree.

Honestly price may be a much bigger factor than we realize.

Not saying Stadium is overpriced but a $2k modeler may be a much harder sell than a $1k modeler. Curious how the Floor does here.

I think that this is very true. It's tough to shell out 2K for something new when you can buy 2 used units of something else that does the same thing. Still, I think they are selling everything they can build, so it isn't exactly a failed launch.

And for those who are staying away from Stadium with actual good faith critiques and things missing for their personal use case, I just quote @Digital Igloo: It'll get better.

This is where I am currently. I DEFINATELY won't be purchasing an MK2 Kemper; however, since I am in no way hurting in either tone or gig workflow, I am also not in the "let's do a 2K experiment here" mode.

 

[EOengineer]

AxeFx III: $2500 without a foot controller
FM9: $1800
QC: $1800
Helix Stadium XL: $2200
Helix Stadium: $1800

Out of anything folks could bitch about, cost makes the least sense when comparing against the competition.

 

[ian_dissonance]

AxeFx III: $2500 without a foot controller
FM9: $1800
QC: $1800
Helix Stadium XL: $2200
Helix Stadium: $1800

Out of anything folks could bitch about, cost makes the least sense when comparing against the competition.

There are a lot of people out there that actually consider Nux/Hotone/Amazon OEM competitors, as foolish as that is.

 

[Sedaxel]

Europe:

Helix Stadium XL: 2338€
Helix Stadium: 1830€
QC: 1599€
FM9: 2149€
Axe III: 3049€

 

[mikah912]

AxeFx III: $2500 without a foot controller
FM9: $1800
QC: $1800
Helix Stadium XL: $2200
Helix Stadium: $1800

Out of anything folks could bitch about, cost makes the least sense when comparing against the competition.

Why would anyone consider the AxeFX III or FM9 when you can get a free - no, that's not a typo - FREE Eminence IR pack when you order a QC or Stadium XL/Floor from Sweetwater?

GAMECHANGER.

 

[EOengineer]

Europe:

Helix Stadium XL: 2338€
Helix Stadium: 1830€
QC: 1599€
FM9: 2149€
Axe III: 3049€

Nobody cares about Europe. Do people still live there?

 

[Chocol8]

Nobody cares about Europe. Do people still live there?

I care about Europe, but I also laugh at the prices they have to pay for Fractal.

 

[Axe]

I'm not sure it would a significant enough upgrade over my Helix Rack unit to justify the cost.

 

[GTR37]

The fact this thread is 26 pages long and it basically Why isn’t Stadium good enough now “
Is pretty concerning in of itself IMO
Yes there are jokers and derails
But where there is smoke there is usually fire and 26 freaking pages of many not so shining comments obviously there are enough people pausing at the moment

 

[dbfretz]

The fact this thread is 26 pages long and it basically Why isn’t Stadium good enough now “
Is pretty concerning in of itself IMO
Yes there are jokers and derails
But where there is smoke there is usually fire and 26 freaking pages of many not so shining comments obviously there are enough people pausing at the moment

Correct. It just ain’t it right now. It’s half baked.

 

[mikah912]

The fact this thread is 26 pages long and it basically Why isn’t Stadium good enough now “
Is pretty concerning in of itself IMO
Yes there are jokers and derails
But where there is smoke there is usually fire and 26 freaking pages of many not so shining comments obviously there are enough people pausing at the moment

Really?

Everything that Line 6 can ostensibly work on in the near term - Proxy, bug fixes - is coming in the very next firmware in just a few weeks.

Other than that, it basically boils down "we want more new amps/FX/whatever". That takes time. Meanwhile, they're selling pretty much whatever they make. The XL is sold out at Sweetwater.

Put another way, for all of the "Well, I tried it for four hours and it sucked and I already shipped it back!" comments, there don't seem to be any "open-box" returns available I write this at Sweetwater, Guitar Center or Zzounds.

Looking at Reverb and the Sweetwater used gear exchange, there is exactly one used unit available on each.

Looks like they're doing ok to me...

 

[Chocol8]

Correct. It just ain’t it right now. It’s half baked.

Which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. It's been how the industry has worked for over a decade and they couldn't have been more upfront about what it would and would not have at launch and shortly after.

It's a new hardware platform that you can expect will get 8-10 years worth of software updates. Just like Helix, Kemper, QC, Fractal etc. Thinking the next gen hardware from anyone is going to arrive fully fleshed out is just plain stupid. Bitching about it even when they warned you 6 months in advance is moronic.

 

[dbfretz]

Which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. It's been how the industry has worked for over a decade and they couldn't have been more upfront about what it would and would not have at launch and shortly after.

It's a new hardware platform that you can expect will get 8-10 years worth of software updates. Just like Helix, Kemper, QC, Fractal etc. Thinking the next gen hardware from anyone is going to arrive fully fleshed out is just plain stupid. Bitching about it even when they warned you 6 months in advance is moronic.

Selling a new product that’s barely an improvement on the previous generation and charging premium prices is not ideal. It’s next gen but at best literally equals the current gen of products from other companies? Weird.

 

[mikah912]

Selling a new product that’s barely an improvement on the previous generation and charging premium prices is not ideal. It’s next gen but at best literally equals the current gen of products from other companies? Weird.

So you think the Axe-FX III at launch was worlds beyond the Axe-FX at the end of its lifespan?

 

[sashimi]

Dbfretz is clearly just here to shit on Line 6.

 

[Chocol8]

Selling a new product that’s barely an improvement on the previous generation and charging premium prices is not ideal. It’s next gen but at best literally equals the current gen of products from other companies? Weird.

Good grief. You hate Line6 and the product is way over your head we get it. Maybe it's time for you to return to The Gear Page.

 

[dbfretz]

Dbfretz is clearly just here to shit on Line 6.

Not at all actually, I want them to make a product that is able to compete at the top level, as that’s better for everyone. The Helix is great, I have an LT and it’s a solid product, but when you plug into a QC or an FM9 you notice a huge difference.

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[mikah912]

Not at all actually, I want them to make a product that is able to compete at the top level, as that’s better for everyone. The Helix is great, I have an LT and it’s a solid product, but when you plug into a QC or an FM9 you notice a huge difference.