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

[burningyen]

Non-musical life has been dominating my time lately. I still gig with my Radiohead and Floyd tributes, but other than learning a new-to-me tune every couple of months my guitar playing has been locked in autopilot for many months now. I'm not moving off the OG Floor anytime soon, if ever. The Floor+Variax combo is especially key for my Floyd gigging.

 

[EOengineer]

I must not be enough a mod snob, then. I have to give @2112 a lot of cresdit here, tho, because the way he dialed in the Trinity Chorus, 122 rotary, and Courtesan Flange just do everything I want those effects to sound like. For trem, the Harmonic trem is great too.

I’m not sure if I fall into the snob category but I’ve found the Fractal models of the effects I own to perform and stack more like the real deal. The fractal bf-2, mxr-117 flange, and univibe models crush what I’m getting from Stadium. L6 has the absolute worst phase 90 I’ve ever heard too. I’ve bitched about that abomination from day one.

That’s not to say you cant get some usable or inspiring stuff.

Also, Focus View on some of the alternative options in each of those categories is really helping me discover more variety.

I’ve actually been surprised at how unuseful focus view has been for me. I really thought it would be useful as a discovery tool but more often then not I find it’s adjustment of multiple parameters to be distracting. It almost obfuscates my ability to learn the effect of single parameters because the behavior is all over the place. I’ve really only found it useful when working with an effect I don’t know well where I need results fast…but it turns out that isn’t a common use case I run into.

 

[EOengineer]

Can we make the language-checker sub "somersault" for "samurai"?

Shitzuki.

 

[OneEng]

My wife's still driving her 2004 CR-V. And I'd probably still be driving our 1999 Civic if a deer hadn't jumped on it. Still, my Civic Si is already 12 years old.

I'm a little bit more fickle when it comes to modelers.

Sold my sons 2005 CR-V last summer. Bought it used in 2007. My Kemper was purchased in 2013. So far I am keeping cars longer than modelers .

I think where some of us disagree is whether it’s realistic for that paradigm to hold as these incremental improvements become less and less noticeable. I think L6 is leaning into a new approach that we will see others follow eventually where new hardware releases are setting up runways for future development, and we’re less likely to see huge revamps in the entire digital platform.

Which is where I think Stadium has made MAJOR progress. They have moved the bar away from strictly amps, effects, feel, etc, and moved it on to UI experience, ease of use, practice tool, band control interface territory.

I say this with all the love in the world to people who are hyped up over the gear - I'm not saying any of this stuff is too expensive at all but I do think there's an economic storm on the horizon that is going to be brutal. Jobs are drying up, prices have been rising quite a bit, and consumer debt is at an all time high. There's going to be a brutal tidal wave that hits and the fun times consumer products like musical gear is going to be hit really hard.

I sadly agree with you. I have been very seriously looking at my 401K and thinking about just retiring if things really fall apart for me. It's very liberating finally having the option to tell any company I want that "I'm done". After all, it would give me lots more time to play in the band :). Seriously though, this could be very very bad for lots of people. I hope you and I are all wrong on this one.

Agree with regards to that impending economic storm, but I think it's going to be so much of a cluster that whether or not you bought a $2K modeler will have no bearing whatsoever. More of a "laying strips of venison on the empty carpool lane of some abandoned superhighway" kind of scene. Start filling up your bathtubs, etc. In the meantime, hug your kids and have whatever fun you can.

Yea, but I can buy a lot of food for 2K. It's more than lots of people bring home in a month.

I think my main problem is I just feel priced out of any flagship modeler or capture device.
I am probably an outlier, but I have been extremely happy with my Tonex as amp and cab
and using overdrives in front and delays and verbs after.

My needs are very basic. Showcase is totally lost on me. Even when the Stadium gets Proxy,
I can't see it being better sounding than Tonex to me. If it is, I will wait for that to trickle down
to a Stadium stomp or something.

If I ever get tired of the capture world, I would honestly be in the market for something like
the Fractal AM4.

I don't think you are an outlier. I think you are the norm.

 

[Iron1]

I put other cause my Helix Rack does everything I need it to do and the Stadium doesn’t fit in my rack, nor do I have room for it elsewhere.

Can’t believe I haven’t talked myself into buying one anyway… must be losing my touch.

 

[OneEng]

I’m not sure if I fall into the snob category but I’ve found the Fractal models of the effects I own to perform and stack more like the real deal. The fractal bf-2, mxr-117 flange, and univibe models crush what I’m getting from Stadium. L6 has the absolute worst phase 90 I’ve ever heard too. I’ve bitched about that abomination from day one.

That’s not to say you cant get some usable or inspiring stuff.

The phase 90 was the first stomp I ever bought. It was amazing back in the day. Still love the effect.

I’ve actually been surprised at how unuseful focus view has been for me. I really thought it would be useful as a discovery tool but more often then not I find it’s adjustment of multiple parameters to be distracting. It almost obfuscates my ability to learn the effect of single parameters because the behavior is all over the place. I’ve really only found it useful when working with an effect I don’t know well where I need results fast…but it turns out that isn’t a common use case I run into.

I think that lots of people (the majority) will love it because they specifically don't want to have to learn what it all does. I could be mistaken, but I think that Line 6 got it right for the lions share of new users.

 

[OneEng]

I put other cause my Helix Rack does everything I need it to do and the Stadium doesn’t fit in my rack, nor do I have room for it elsewhere.

Can’t believe I haven’t talked myself into buying one anyway… must be losing my touch.

Kemper Rack here. Same thing. I love the form factor of a rack and only having a single POE cable going out to my performance position. Makes gigging setup and tear down a snap.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Stadium Rack in the future.

 

[mbenigni]

I have been very seriously looking at my 401K and thinking about just retiring if things really fall apart for me. It's very liberating finally having the option to tell any company I want that "I'm done". After all, it would give me lots more time to play in the band :)

I almost did this very thing in December. It turns out telling your company "I'm done" is the easy part. You also have to tell your wife.

Yea, but I can buy a lot of food for 2K. It's more than lots of people bring home in a month.

That's true, of course. But if the shit really hits the fan, as in worst case scenario... it might become a moot point.

 

[EOengineer]

I have been very seriously looking at my 401K and thinking about just retiring if things really fall apart for me. It's very liberating finally having the option to tell any company I want that "I'm done". After all, it would give me lots more time to play in the band :). Seriously though, this could be very very bad for lots of people. I hope you and I are all wrong on this one.

I’m in software engineering and estimate about half of the folks I’ve worked with directly in my career have been unemployed for at least 6 months now.

In our current environment of unlimited corporate power and crumbling if not decimated worker protections…the wheels are coming off this thing in the next couple years regardless of who is running the show.

That genie is not going back in the bottle.

 

[mikah912]

I’m in software engineering and estimate about half of the folks I’ve worked with directly in my career have been unemployed for at least 6 months now.

In our current environment of unlimited corporate power and crumbling if not decimated worker protections…the wheels are coming off this thing in the next couple years regardless of who is running the show.

That genie is not going back in the bottle.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't see some similar decimation in my field - marketing - but here in ATL, there is still hiring. Lots of SaaS companies, and the usual city giants - Coke, Home Depot, Delta.

I have a poo commute and I have to be in office 5 days a week, but the trade-off is that I'm well compensated with very good benefits and the company I work for is stable as can be and actually growing in both market presence and headcount.

 

[EOengineer]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't see some similar decimation in my field - marketing - but here in ATL, there is still hiring. Lots of SaaS companies, and the usual city giants - Coke, Home Depot, Delta.

I have a poo commute and I have to be in office 5 days a week, but the trade-off is that I'm well compensated with very good benefits and the company I work for is stable as can be and actually growing in both market presence and headcount.

We aren’t quite there yet. There’s an interesting canary in the coal mine if you start looking into the number and rate of recruiting and staffing firm insolvencies over the last year or so though. That’s going to escalate dramatically as the rate of iteration increases on these newer LLM models.

 

[OneEng]

I almost did this very thing in December. It turns out telling your company "I'm done" is the easy part. You also have to tell your wife.

LMFAO! Thanks. Needed a good laugh.

I think my poor wife has put up with so much BS from my job over the years that she might not be that tough a sell . I'm the idiot that keeps heaping the responsibility and hours on my back for some sick reason.

I’m in software engineering and estimate about half of the folks I’ve worked with directly in my career have been unemployed for at least 6 months now.

In our current environment of unlimited corporate power and crumbling if not decimated worker protections…the wheels are coming off this thing in the next couple years regardless of who is running the show.

That genie is not going back in the bottle.

It's really bad. I know. Embedded still seems safe, but I don't know how long that will last either. It's a very sad and depressing time indeed. Hard to imagine that just a few years ago software engineers were blowing off interviews because they had multiple requests for an interview on the same day (not enough days in the week). How fast that pendulum swung.

 

[MIJLOVER]

I must not be enough a mod snob, then. I have to give @2112 a lot of credit here, tho, because the way he dialed in the Trinity Chorus, 122 rotary, and Courtesan Flange just do everything I want those effects to sound like. For trem, the Harmonic trem is great too.

Also, Focus View on some of the alternative options in each of those categories is really helping me discover more variety.

But yes, with the smaller Line 6 selection, you have less chances to find one that really vibes with you personally. The wealth of Fractal algos skirts that.

I love the sound of the MXR in Helix. Always been my go to. I sometimes try others just to return. It’s exactly how I want a flanger to sound. Also love the tape and Re-202 delay.

The plate reverb is my favorite but mostly when noodling at home.

Never used much reverb in band settings.

I’m sure they’ll keep adding stuff in that department too. Let them Proxy and a couple more Agoura amps out first!

 

[timbuck3]

One could argue (as you are) that AM4 being a really great product does not mean that others are "less" of a good product.

My personal opinion is that this is exactly true. As a consumer, I have a specific set of needs. There are a range of products at different prices that will meet those needs to varying degrees. As an example (my checklist)

• Minimum 4 buttons for live configuration within a song
• Good low, mid, and high gain amp tone (the latter being the least important)
• Great verbs and delays
• Easy to get to a tone that works within a specific song (mostly covers)
• MIDI compatible with CME MIDI WiDi (or equivelent) allowing setlist control from BandHelper on an Android tablet over BT
• Solid performance and stability (no glitches ever) for live performance
• Decent compressor and noise gate
• Easy to setup, tear down, and carry.
• Seamless switching within a song

While other things are "cool" .... and Lord knows Stadium is full of "cool", they don't land in the "need" category for gigging at least. I will say that "cool" definately puts the Stadium into the GAS catagory big time.

AM4 (unlike Kemper Player) just hits lots of these points and does it at $700 vs >$1000. That's going to be a market disruptor IMO.

So does the boss gx10 or nux mg50li

 

[timbuck3]

I think my main problem is I just feel priced out of any flagship modeler or capture device.
I am probably an outlier, but I have been extremely happy with my Tonex as amp and cab
and using overdrives in front and delays and verbs after.

My needs are very basic. Showcase is totally lost on me. Even when the Stadium gets Proxy,
I can't see it being better sounding than Tonex to me. If it is, I will wait for that to trickle down
to a Stadium stomp or something.

If I ever get tired of the capture world, I would honestly be in the market for something like
the Fractal AM4.

Mg50li? Gx10?

 

[timbuck3]

Sold my sons 2005 CR-V last summer. Bought it used in 2007. My Kemper was purchased in 2013. So far I am keeping cars longer than modelers .

Which is where I think Stadium has made MAJOR progress. They have moved the bar away from strictly amps, effects, feel, etc, and moved it on to UI experience, ease of use, practice tool, band control interface territory.

I sadly agree with you. I have been very seriously looking at my 401K and thinking about just retiring if things really fall apart for me. It's very liberating finally having the option to tell any company I want that "I'm done". After all, it would give me lots more time to play in the band :). Seriously though, this could be very very bad for lots of people. I hope you and I are all wrong on this one.

Yea, but I can buy a lot of food for 2K. It's more than lots of people bring home in a month.

I don't think you are an outlier. I think you are the norm.

Just spent 350$ at costco

 

[Axe]

Does this unit have an editor? For my use that would be a must.. I haven't found one or the talked about app

 

[Mongillo19]

Does this unit have an editor? For my use that would be a must.. I haven't found one or the talked about app

It does!

 

[Axe]

Where would one find it? I've searched, found the drivers and new firmware. I have one sitting here in a box that I want to A/B against my QC, Helix Rack, and AM4.. Thanks for any help

 

[Mongillo19]

Where would one find it? I've searched, found the drivers and new firmware. I have one sitting here in a box that I want to A/B against my QC, Helix Rack, and AM4.. Thanks for any help

Line 6

Create, record and perform with guitar in new ways.

line6.com

It's under software and not hardware. So you have to look up Helix Stadium software.