Also curious to see how many proxy models can be put in one preset to take advantage of gapless switching.
My QC preset I have 4 different captures of my amp and can switch seamlessly between which I love
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Maybe itās only me, but I am so far not convinced by the Stadium sounds. Their demo of their Aguora amps is not as good as I hoped.
And all of the tweaking options freaked me out on the old Helix.
Dialing in the QC is just like dialing an amp: gain, tone, done. And with the Helix (and Fractal) I felt like I need to solder my own amp, having to chose every diode and resister value and hope it sounds right.
And I feel itās the same for the Stadium. I am too stupid, too old or both for all this tweaking.
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He bought random plugins that werenāt even announced as QC compatible, and keeps posting about it. Unfortunately he bought them in hopes they would eventually be compatible with the QCā¦..
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But why come to a forum for a product you donāt own anymore and knowing the company couldnāt make you happy. I just donāt see the point
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Had the same discussion with a guy who always posts here, although he claims to have sold the QC a long time ago. But keeps coming back complaining. Donāt see the pointā¦
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Iām a touring guitar tech and have been using the QC for a while. Iām currently on a gig running the Helix floor, will likely switch over to the stadium next year.
My biggest takeaway from programming the Helix compared to the QC is simply that the devices on the Helix are way more interesting, although the QC sounds and feels better, and the QC interface and programming is more intuitive. I love the way you navigate the QC. However, I seriously wish neural would put some time into updating and expanding their device list, rather than plugins.
Captures are cool for snapshots if you have great amps and drives on hand to capture. The line 6 amp and effects models are way more interesting for clean and mid gain players, indie musicians, etc etc. The line 6 native devices when it comes to some of the more far out delays and reverbs, vintage fuzzes and drives, proper vintage amp models, and so on, just has a lot more flavors that I find interesting. QC has high gain stuff and the actual tone and feel of their models really dialed. I would be thrilled if they would release some competitive, creative devices that cover more bases when it comes to rare vintage gear, and new devices that are creative tools unique to the platform like line 6 has done.
Anybody have any insight on their plans or direction for this stuff going forward?
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you say the QC āsounds and feels betterā but the Helix devices are āmore interesting.ā How do you mean?
We donāt really know whatās coming next. In fact, weāve never been quite as much in the dark as this particular moment. The ONLY thing we really know is which plugins are next on the PCOM schedule. Hopefully when the Rabea and Mansoor plugins are ported, free versions of their exclusive fx may also arrive (theyāve done this with a few previously). They sort of backed themselves into a corner with the plugin promise- once theyāre all done (might be a while) that issue should resolve
The Helix Stadium XL should be available very soon (r) (Ā±18 November), it will inevitably be compared to its direct competitors (Fractal, Ndsp) , and the sound will probably be one of the most analyzed aspect of the productā¦ Weāll then see (or hear) if the Agoura thing is worth the hype.
Recently, I see more and more QC for sale, one guy even sell its QC with all his owned pluginsā¦
On the Fractal front, they announced that their next-gen product (no date, probably not before end of 2026 or 2027) will be able to run NAM profile natively.
Meanwhile, NDSP is dead silent. Petrucci and Rabea should be the next plugings ported to the QC, but thereās literally nothing announced outside of those pluginsā¦ The Synth block teased last year seems to have vanished (or they will reserve it for the Rabea Plugins owner ? 
).
3.2 was very light for non-plugins owners, letās hope that 3.3 will counter-balanced thisā¦
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I think its available now, but I think Ā£2000 is a bit steep for it, especially when fractal have got deals on their site for axe fx 3
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not just yet. A couple dozen people got shipment notifications from GC and musicians friend. Most units were re routed back but a couple. 2 confirmed units I believe got into the hands of customers who put out some pretty poor videos on a firmware that is already outdated. Its rumored dealers have the go ahead to ship on the 18th but it highly depends on if the 3.1 update servers are up and running. Eric Klein who is very involved in the development said 2-3 weeks out as of the 6th. Since the servers arent up for updates any units that are in the wild right now are now fully operational. With another update scheduled for right around christmas.
But yeah units are ready to ship and have been. But someone at MF/GC probably got their butt chewed off. But units should be shipping by the end of the month at the latest with any luck.
Oh also, its rumored fractal is working on a new unit to compete with the helix stadium. I dont know if that is true. But even with the price of the fractal being a bit lower its still 200 more than the xl and you still would need to drop $3k to get the axe III with the controller. Or get and fm9. I totally get what you are saying. But I kinda think the stadium is going for a whole new audience. It kinda does things nothing else can do. Of course its not going to be fully realized at launch. Like how they will do capture type stuff but Im not really into that. Im not worried too much about DSP limitations. I barely went over 30% on my most complicated presets on the quad when I had it. But if its not as good as the quad Im not really sure what Im going to do. To be honest Ive been using a touchscreen modeler since before the quad came out. So that I really got used to. What intrigues me is the UI with graphics. Something about that I know I will appreciate. Along with other features. But only if it sounds good. I shall see.
There will be ānext gen fractal devicesā. Thatās from Fractalās Cliff himself in the FM3 forum. The forum post was about NAM profiles, which the ānext genā will support. There is not much more information on this next generation, especially no arrival date.
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If they start reserving new effects for plugin buyers, well, thatās not something the the non-plugin crowd is going to like (me included). Then the Stadium becomes ā° š§šš£šŖ š„ššš”š„ššš ā° given the Line 6 quick and extensive release track record.
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Same here. I never cared about plugins on my GIGGING unit. I only got the 2i was entitled because they were free and donāt really use them. On the other hand, I would love some new and HI QUALITY effects (fix the damn rotary FFS) and some switching updates (like double stomp or long press dual function)
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Itās basically a repackaged Helix. With some QOL stuff. Effects are almost exactly the same. And this Agoura stuff? All marketing and hype. They should have a least redesigned it. Its ugly. The only thing cool about it is the touchscreen.
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Yeah Iām the same. Iām a producer and used the plugins before the quad, always loved them when working in a DAW, but had no desire to translate that into something Iād gig with. I think quad cortex is great if you gig and always have a FOH engineer mixing you, but itās definitely sloppy without FOH
The amps do seem different sounding from comparison videos Iāve seen. I wouldnāt say itās just marketing and hype.
Also the Helix has been pretty redesigned, but they did set the template for what Neural copied with the blocks/lanes, etc. That sort of setup has become what people are used to with modelers. Plus it will have multiple outputs for tracks, etc. something no other modelers have. Helix has way more inventive effects than the QC. Neural somehow still hasnāt released effects they promised five years ago and advertised on their website for a long time.
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They arenāt that different. Line 6 is good and talking and has a good social media presence. You can tweak the regular amp models to almost sound like the Agoura ones (or whatever they are called). Maybe down the road through updates, they gap will widen, and again maybe not. Who knows. It has launched with a lot of stuff missing and promised to be added later. The difference is Line 6 communicates well. NDSP does not, at all. That is a HUGE difference in building trust and respect with your paying customers that keep your doors open everyday.
Yes, the effects are better on the Helix than they are on the QC. Iām just saying that the effects on the Stadium are almost identical to the original Helix. Anyways, I have zero interest in the Stadium. Here;s hoping the QC gets some love from NDSP and gets some well deserved - OVERDUE development
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I had one. Bought it when I worked at Sam Ash. I upgraded it with a new chip when offered as well. I donāt really remember what that entailed at this point. I like that it was all in one and had an aux-in. I sand through it a couple of times. I previously had a Johnson Millenium. I returned that after a head to head with a real Mesa Dual Rec. Who knew! I had mixed experiences with a variety of low to mid tier tube amps up to that point. As for effects: various boss GT-3 and Gt-5 boards, Roland GR-55, a Mesa V-twin pre amp, Zoom bass modeler, Boss VF-1, H9s, basically flipping and switching my way through tone nirvana. Now I have a Jam pedals Pink Flow and a Quad Cortex and 5 or 6 single pedals that I keep telling myself Iāll sell. Oh, Iām in debt too!
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