What's preventing you from getting a Helix Stadium?

[Sascha Franck]

Now, if Line 6 could deliver effective guitar-to-MIDI or wide-ranging polyphonic synthesis of real-world instruments (i.e. sample or physical modeling-based), that would be a value add I couldn't ignore.

Genuine, MIDI-free polyphonic synthesis (hence SY style) would possibly make it an instant buy for me.

 

[mbenigni]

Still feels like the previous gen. I think they made a mistake with the naming...

Yeah, this may seem like a small thing, but when people are all over the internet calling your brand new product a "Helix", a ball has clearly been dropped by someone who ought to have expertise in exactly these sorts of balls.

That's before you even get into the emerging "non-XL" verbiage.

 

[mbenigni]

The more i browse forums, the more i realize most guitar players don't know what the fuck they want HXS ticks basically every box people have been complaining about Helix (and modelers in general) for years, only to be received with "eh, i guess we wanted... more?"

Yes, and the repeated complaints that feature X (e.g. Proxy) isn't ready are a little rich, considering Line 6 (via DI) asked outright whether folks wanted Stadium early, or whether they wanted to wait for a feature-complete firmware... and the vast majority said, "let's f***in go!!!"

 

[mbenigni]

Once these quality-of-life bugs are fully squared away, the Stadium Floor is fully launched and Proxy is made available in the next month or two, I see a pretty smooth runway for true takeoff for the platform.

I agree with this 100%, but at this price point it's good to secure those early sales, when most buyers have to be excited to the point of "slightly irrational" in order to pull the trigger.

Nevertheless, I'm sure it will do great over the long haul. I still expect to buy one sooner or later. (Probably sooner LOL.)

 

[Lysander]

Yes, and the repeated complaints that feature X (e.g. Proxy) isn't ready are a little rich, considering Line 6 (via DI) asked outright whether folks wanted Stadium early, or whether they wanted to wait for a feature-complete firmware... and the vast majority said, "let's f***in go!!!"

Yeah, i thought launching without Showcase nor Proxy was a mistake on L6's part. It doesn't matter if those two materialize within months - people were bound to whine anyway.

 

[JiveTurkey]

people were bound to whine anyway.

 

[mbenigni]

Genuine, MIDI-free polyphonic synthesis (hence SY style) would possibly make it an instant buy for me.

Doesn't SY polyphonic require a hex pickup, though?

In any case, that would certainly pull me in as well, but 9x out of 10 I want a piano, strings, or something else that's best realized with a sample-based engine.

 

[laxu]

I don’t think it’s necessarily a line 6 problem either, I think it’s a challenge every manufacturer will face. How do you differentiate when there’s so many choices and you already have very mature products that are readily available at much lower prices, especially in a down economy?

I've said before that the battle for next gen is almost entirely about usability improvements big and small. Past that, it starts to require actual innovation.

• The Fender TMP is a prime example of a product that on paper does a lot right, but doesn't really offer its own angle that would make it preferable to the others.
• Fractal is trusted for sound quality, but disliked for usability. A really easy to use next gen flagship is going to be great even if nothing else were to change. AM4 is a step in the right direction for both usability and form factor.
• Line6 is well liked as the good all-rounder. Helix Stadium improves the usability, but so far not that much else. Future is trustworthy progress, but unknown.
• QC has lost a lot of its initial selling points. Touchscreens are found on many other devices, Helix UI has been copied by others as well, and modeling + captures is not unique anymore. It's only advantages now are the ability to run multiple captures at once, and the very compact QC Mini form factor. Whether they can turn their slow progress into something that separates them from the pack remains to be seen.
• Kemper is dead in the water with nothing to show for MK2. Improved profiling is unlikely to change much when everything else is over a decade old.
• Boss doesn't have a new flagship to offer and is only competing in the lower price brackets and still leading the modeling combo market.
• Hotone has a good cheaper product, but that's still what it is. It doesn't compete with the top dogs, but it's pretty good anyway.
• IK Tonex One is the king of cheap captures in a small box, but that's about it. A bigger modeler that combines their plugin fx with Tonex amps would be interesting, but probably not "game changing".
• Universal Audio has been pretty quiet on the hardware front with no new pedals so far. Paradise Studio is a nice plugin and maybe they will put more focus on that going forward if the UAFX pedals aren't selling as well as they'd like.
• Blackstar tries to get in the game, but is a budget contender at best, with a poor reputation for support.
• BluGuitar Amp X is innovative with its analog modeling, but at the same time possibly too dated in usability to find huge success.

It seems like anyone's game to win at this point.

 

[EOengineer]

At the end of the day, we voted for the bugs. Blame the users, not L6.

In retrospect it wouldn’t have been the worst idea for them to hold this thing back a year or so to get some of the new stuff polished.

If L6 is guilty of anything it’s overestimating us.

 

[Mongillo19]

At the end of the day, we voted for the bugs. Blame the users, not L6.

In retrospect it wouldn’t have been the worst idea for them to hold this thing back a year or so to get some of the new stuff polished.

If L6 is guilty of anything it’s overestimating us.

Tbf we voted to get showcase later, not get more bugs

 

[Southpaw-DD]

Man, that Agoura Revv Red is fucking sick. No question.

This one definitely stood out for the brootalz using my PS-2A and 2x12 cab last night. I was struggling a bit with the other high gain Agoura amps - they don't sound as realistic to me. The IIC+ was pretty good.

I do have faith that Line6 will deliver a lot over the coming decade.

This is why I'm probably going to give this a chance even though it isn't blowing me away yet after a few hours of testing. Some of the other tangibles are great - form factor (non-XL here), touchscreen, noise level, wireless editor, etc.

 

[LP59]

Is there any reason the Kemper Stage could not get these features, for example?

What features?

 

[Whizzinby]

Tbf we voted to get showcase later, not get more bugs

Yeah seems like some revisionist history going on. The “poll” (which they 100% knew how people would answer to) was about whether to ship the device a month before Showcase was ready. Seems weird to use that as a deflection mechanism to blame users for anything beyond Showcase release timing.

 

[EOengineer]

Tbf we voted to get showcase later, not get more bugs

Perhaps I’m misremembering but I have a possible false memory of bugs and stability being a part of that ultimatum. I’m too lazy to go look it up.

 

[mbenigni]

Very likely.
And as you've also noted:



Now, in case anyone is like me and has switched to digital for a while already (I know plenty of folks who have done just that), these very specific problems are either not existing or have been solved already. And as far as the Stadium goes, I can't see much real problems being solved.
Yes, editing is easier (I'd actually love that a whole lot myself), amp models are sounding better (wouldn't mind, either), but none of these should be much of an issue for anyone serious about their existing digital rigs (it certainly isn't for me).
So why would any of these kinda folks switch to a Stadium?

And fwiw, in general, I'm pretty much *the* target customer for a device such as the non-XL Stadium. Compact to travel with me anywhere, capable enough to suit any kinda gig, sounding great to fantastic. And for the most gigs I play, an all-in-one unit would be a somewhat better solution than what I currently use, as it'd be easier to program, keep track of things and save dedicated patches per each situation. But as I've sorted things out already, that's just not much of an issue anymore (and I think it's pretty much the same for quite some others).
So, in a nutshell: Apart from some easier handling and curiousity, there's no reasons for me to buy something else. And these aren't worth €1.800.

Two take-aways from this:

1. Honestly, it sounds like you should buy a Stadium LOL.

2. OK, obviously, there will be people who already have their rigs sorted out, who therefore don't need a shiny new product, who therefore will not buy said shiny new product. But this has been true of every shiny new product of every kind since the invention of consumerism. It's easier to sell a car to a dude who needs a car, for instance. And I think we can reasonably assume that there are some players out there who are still gearing up, and who might need some of what the Stadium brings to the table. Along with the (probably larger) pool of players who just want one on account of QoL improvements, fun-factor, etc.

P.S. And actually a third take-away: not worth $1800... we heard the same thing back when Helix launched (adjusted for inflation). I didn't think this held up to scrutiny then, nor now. It's not worth $1800 if you don't need it. (See above re: selling cars to dudes who need cars.) But if you do, there's a lot of functionality on offer and more to come.

 

[Southpaw-DD]

In retrospect it wouldn’t have been the worst idea for them to hold this thing back a year or so to get some of the new stuff polished.

I used to work in R&D leadership and the amount of head count that I had to cut/add each year based on revenue actuals or forecast was crazy. If the revenue isn't coming in, the software developers are on the chopping block fast. Perhaps it was a balance of keeping the team together by getting the hardware revenue flowing.

Of course, this is a massive assumption and I'm not claiming any expertise about their business model.

 

[Dez]

 

[EOengineer]

Yeah seems like some revisionist history going on. The “poll” (which they 100% knew how people would answer to) was about whether to ship the device a month before Showcase was ready. Seems weird to use that as a deflection mechanism to blame users for anything beyond Showcase release timing.

This a dickish comment. I just misremembered is all. No malicious intent.

Here’s DI’s post on the issue for anyone trying to clarify. It does not mention bugs being part of the equation.

Post in thread 'Line 6 Helix Stadium Pre-Launch Discussion'

Sep 5, 2025

Just posted this on Chad and Chris' FB Group:

Hey, everyone! Apologies for the occasional all caps.

Here's an OFFICIAL update on Helix Stadium XL:

• 1.0 firmware has been complete for a while. This is the firmware that gets burned into brand new units at the factory.
• Because regression testing, distribution, integration, and validation takes months, 1.0 will clearly be out of date by the time Helix Stadium XL units find their way into users' hands. Therefore, 1.1 firmware will be available on day one; it adds a ton of missing features, bug fixes, sonic improvements, and DSP...

• Digital Igloo

• 
• 
• 

 

[Dez]

I don't think anyone really raves about the FX on the QC, which is a shame.

I love the FX on the QC and I’ve always said so. The new reverbs are stellar as well.

 

[Gary_W]

Within the forum bubble, Eric Klein asked opinions on ‘do you want it now and we’re still working on stuff or do you want to wait’? The vast majority wanted it ‘now’.

I think, with something as complex as the Stadium is, there are going to be bugs. The more you have in there the more weird uses people will find and fhe more there is to go wrong. Sad but true.

You’ve mentioned Kemper - I’ve owned one for many years and they are perceived as not releasing things until they are ‘right’. And mostly that’s true but if you look at every single software release they did over the years you’ll find bugs in there.

If you’re using the system for something mission critical, I think it’s wise to wait a year before jumping in. For the rest of us, I think it’s a case of being honest with your own use model and ask ‘is it enjoyable enough for me to forgive the glitches, knowing full well that this company will put them right and add lots more cool stuff for free’. In my case that’s a ‘yes’ but we all have different needs and expectations. In my case, the stadium is feeding my personal enjoyment, not feeding the kids so it’s much easier for me to shrug my shoulders and enjoy all the stuff they got right - which, imo, is lots!