Line6 Helix Stadium

Status
Not open for further replies.
Karl Houseknecht said:
Not that I'm defending the touchscreen, because I agree with you that I don't want one on guitar gear, but there are touch screen GUIs on most digital mixers these days. Maybe not on audio interfaces, but definitely on live sound "interfaces". It's getting hard to escape these things.
Click to expand...
Agreed - I have no interest in touchscreens, but a lot of people do, and the concept was pretty well proven by the devices that have them. It's not something I'm interested in, but also nothing that would keep me from buying something.

wnlively said:
The videos that I have watched are very interesting, but I see a lot of things that are great selling points, but doubt that I would ever use some of the things just don’t seem practical
Click to expand...
There are features of the fractal that don't interest me. I just don't use them. 😉
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
Not that I'm defending the touchscreen, because I agree with you that I don't want one on guitar gear, but there are touch screen GUIs on most digital mixers these days. Maybe not on audio interfaces, but definitely on live sound "interfaces". It's getting hard to escape these things.
Click to expand...

I am a convert after getting my Fender TMP. It is just SO COOL, and I particularly love Fender's radical skeumorphic GUI, where every pedal, amp, and cabinet look similar to their real-life counterparts...and more importantly, their controls are likewise represented on the display. Fender really raised the bar on the GUI. I also happen to love the tones and dynamics in the unit.

Currently, I own a FM9Turbo, a Kemper Power Rack, and the Fender TMP. I absolutely LOVE my FM9T. However, the TMP is getting played the most, lately. It is not only the easiest of the main devices to work with, it is the most fun.

I appears the new Helix Stadium may have just raised the bar, even over and above the Fender TMP.
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
Not that I'm defending the touchscreen, because I agree with you that I don't want one on guitar gear, but there are touch screen GUIs on most digital mixers these days. Maybe not on audio interfaces, but definitely on live sound "interfaces". It's getting hard to escape these things.
Click to expand...
Yeah definitely there are touch screens GUIs on some digital mixers, but I'm not sure they exist on most of them. I think whatever interface facilities the best workflow is the way to go if the costs justify it, but do most people want to spend $3000+ on an AxeFX with touchscreen? Or $2500 for an FM9? People are going mad over the price hikes coming from Line 6.
 
I think its a good thing that different companies are competing for guitarist's attention as that means there is enough of us that makes it worthwhile to create new products.

But I'm not sure I would need... or want, a touchscreen on a floor unit. I'm not a clean freak but I'd probably get cringed out touching a dirty screen that sits on the floor with crud from my shoes on it. ;)

I wonder who will be the first to try to operate the touchscreen with their big toe?
 
NY Guitarist said:
I think its a good thing that different companies are competing for guitarist's attention as that means there is enough of us that makes it worthwhile to create new products.

But I'm not sure I would need... or want, a touchscreen on a floor unit. I'm not a clean freak but I'd probably get cringed out touching a dirty screen that sits on the floor with crud from my shoes on it. ;)

I wonder who will be the first to try to operate the touchscreen with their big toe?
Click to expand...
Step on the switches, not the screen!
 
rog said:
Step on the switches, not the screen!
Click to expand...
But then what's the touchscreen for... lol!

Picture a smelly footsie trying to page through parameters !
foot GIF
 
nicolasrivera said:
And then, all of the sudden....Tube amps will once again be in vogue..... And we will start all over again, well, the next gen of us.
Click to expand...
I still use tube amps, for recording and small shows. And use Axe FX and Tonex for amps i don't have, and for big shows where PA system is better. Can't differentiate amps vs axe fx in the mix, do not really care as long as i'm happy with the tone but guess what..we will never be happy with our tone and always will chase after THE TONE and it's fun.
 
Much as Line6, I personally think that Fractal is also preparing the next gen for some time now. Line6 have been preparing the Stadium for what? 4 years maybe? Like I said before, not interested in a feature that sends MIDI to DMX to turn on the blue light for my guitar solo, but indeed interested in Agoura. My perception on this new modelling so far is:

  • If the audio on the teasers is recorded with an Agoura amp, it's not that much better from the OG Helix
  • I watched a couple videos from some of the people who tested the model on the event... and they stated "yeah, it's better" but not that "OMG it sounds amazing!!!" kind of vibe I get from people playing Fractal

Of course this my perception so far... only and when the unit is in the market, I'm sure we will get a ton of videos and can access TONE more properly.
 
Last edited:
I don't get all of the concern about the touchscreens on units. The FM3 and FM9 have screens. The Tonex has a screen. Boss pedals have screens. The OG Helix has a screen. Phones and tablets have screens. Adding touch doesn't make it flimsy, it just adds an additional capability.
When and if Fractal updates hardware, it will likely have some sort of enhanced display, just because better resolution is better, if nothing else. To say "I don't want it on mine..." seems almost like reverse psychology. Like, if I say I don't want it enough, maybe they will add it.

There are much more important things to consider, to me. I have NEVER liked the sound of Line6. I tried to like it, because so many people swear by it. But it has always been the worst sounding to my ears. It ALWAYS stands out in a negative way in blind comparison tests. If the new Agoura modeling isn't groundbreaking, then all they did was repackage the same tech inside of a new wrapper, and added a bunch of capabilities that have nothing to do with amps and cabs.

I remember when I first started with modelers. Its only been about 3 years for me. I build my own tube amps, so digital has always been a negative, always short of the real thing to my ears. But I had Amplitube running in my studio and I thought it was sounding "pretty good". One of my friends came over and hooked up his FM3 to my system. Same mixer, PA, speakers... it was like someone took a wet blanket off of my speakers. The sound was immediately crystal clear, present and dynamic. Been investing in modelers ever since. But Line6 was always like going back to before I heard the Fractal.

Not poo pooing on anyone that chooses Line6, but this is a Fractal forum, and I won't apologize for saying Line6, so far, is way down my list of natural sounding modelers, and would have to be a complete algorithm redesign to achieve the Fractal quality. Especially since that last update that Fractal released. It is crazy that my FM3 sounds so good. The only reason I have other units beside it, is that I am addicted to profiling/capturing. Since Cliff is committed to modeling, I don't expect to see that tech in this world, but if he went there, I probably could shed some gear.
 
DrJoelJr said:
THe jury is out on if they will include Neural Amp Modeling. Their capturing tech called Proxy is supposed to be added Next Year.
Click to expand...
I’m wondering if the proxy will not be an paid dlc.
It runs in the cloud in background, a data center ain’t cheap.
But this could be also a lot more powerful than nam.

As every other company relies on computer for nearly everything, Line6 is going to release a futuristic control center where absolutely everything can be done on the unit itself. Even controlling light shows.

That’s really amazing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rog
Joshua_L said:
I’m wondering if the proxy will not be an paid dlc.
It runs in the cloud in background, a data center ain’t cheap.
But this could be also a lot more powerful than nam.

As every other company relies on computer for nearly everything, Line6 is going to release a futuristic control center where absolutely everything can be done on the unit itself. Even controlling light shows.

That’s really amazing.
Click to expand...
The Worship Tutorial guys asked Eric straight up, he said that the cloud services for proxy are free and will remain so.
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
Not that I'm defending the touchscreen, because I agree with you that I don't want one on guitar gear, but there are touch screen GUIs on most digital mixers these days. Maybe not on audio interfaces, but definitely on live sound "interfaces". It's getting hard to escape these things.
Click to expand...
I’m not a tech guy at all but a touchscreen would be great if there was a option to disable it.
Touchscreen is great to tweak on the fly but really not when doing outdoor gigs.
 
DrJoelJr said:
Adding touch doesn't make it flimsy, it just adds an additional capability.
Click to expand...
Only if you make it so and can do everything with either the screen or buttons, etc.
It would be great to have in a gen that may be the last from Cliff himself -- have it "last forever" with endless options to tweak parameters (touch screen, buttons, BT, USB, midi, ESP, eye tracking, voice command, ... 😜 )

With Cliff's past, sonar should be easy to add too... -- esp. for underwater gigs! ;)
 
CrimsonKing said:
Not for me. I'd rather not have a touchscreen GUI on the device. There isn't a GUI on an audio interface, because we use Pro Tools, Cubase, Reaper. Maybe because of the age of cell phones and tablets there will be those who cry out for this, but I just think that money is better spent on other components.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I want my modeler to be built like a tank, not a tablet. I've already got my phone in my pocket to take pics on stage and to tweak my monitor mix; much rather have AxeEdit on a phone/tablet connected wirelessly than a touchscreen that could derail a show with one bad step or dropped mic.
 
I personally never liked the whole 'UI on a floorboard as primary means of programming unit' thing where you are hunched over the unit in the least ergonomic way possible. In the videos it seems that they have custom desktop stands for the Stadium that put it vertical. That seems like the best way to interact with the unit for an extended period of time. But how much better is that than a really well designed desktop or iPad app? I'd rather have an on-unit ui optimized for how use the unit it in performance - more durable and highly visible, and a separate desktop / tablet ui for how you use it when you're programming sounds.

-Aaron
 
It's a nice looking product. People should be aware that we haven't exactly been resting on our laurels. Our next-gen products have what would've been considered super-computing power just a few years ago. ;)

It will make all these other products look like a Game Boy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom