After having spent some time with it here are my thoughts ( Not that they matter much)
The updated takes on the amps do sound great.
The first thing I noticed when creating a preset is that the default positions for the amps, cabs, and FX sound great from jump. If you used the prior versions of Helix, it took a little more work to get from A to Z with a tone—lots of tweaking and time spent. As a person who enjoys adjusting and tweaking to make a worthy tone, it didn’t bother me too much, but when it comes to the general user, no one wants to spend time that way. They want to plug in and play.
Anyway, returning to the Stadium.
Getting a fresh, good tone is easier now; this is a big leap, honestly.
From there, I will say most of the items are the same from the prior versions. There are some pluses in that there are some cool backing track and jam-along options present, creating an all-in-one solution for folks who want to play to tracks and have their presets change in an automated fashion.
Wonderful MIDI integration too that is fairly easy to get up and moving, which is a noticeable thing Line 6 has nailed better than their competitors.
The touchscreen…. “Clunky” is the word that comes to mind first, but I don’t think that’s fair. It’s not quite clunky, but it’s not as smooth as one would imagine. It is still easier to use the desktop editor.
Look, I am a Line 6 fan. I still use an HX Stomp and Helix Native regularly. I started with a Pod XT Pro many years ago and have been a loyal customer. After taking many years off with real amps and pedals, the pandemic brought me to the Helix LT, and it was a true game changer.
I used it at dozens of shows and even spoke highly enough of them to get other people to use them too! Love the Helix family, but the Stadium simply isn’t a worthy jump forward.
You would be better off buying a used Floor, LT, or Rack unit over the Stadium. You won’t have the “FEW” new amp takes or the backing track options, but you’d have nearly everything else exactly as it is in the new one for a fraction of the price. Helix Floors are going for as low as $700 used now—less than half the cost of the full-size Stadium, and the smaller of the two in the Stadium line.
Getting back to being a fan of Line 6, I do believe it will eventually become a monster in the game, but it just isn’t there yet. That happens with these items. I presently use the Neural Quad Cortex, and if you followed that when it was released, it seriously dropped the ball on features and promises that made it a less useful tool to many people.
I got a QC in the early era, sent it back, and stuck with the Helix LT because it simply was not there yet. Was it good? Yeah! If you were someone who had never used another modeling option, it might have been the best thing for you out of the gate, but initially, it lacked features and tools that worked for most folks, not to mention the whole plugin compatibility bullshit.
Adding to that, I DO NOT like that Neural DSP has turned a portion of it into a paid platform to get more features with basically micro-transactions that are bullshit. They rarely add new amps and FX to the flagship unit, and that sucks and is one thing that Line 6 slays all of their competition with. I still miss the reverb and delay options that Line 6 offers—so much so I might get an HX One just to keep those as an option, but I digress.
For me, “Snapshots” were the thing that brought me back to the Helix LT when the first round of QCs came out, as well as a lack of a desktop editor. Once QC added “Scenes,” which is the equivalent, and added a desktop editor, I went back to the QC. The footprint and power are undeniable. I am able to get what, in my opinion, are the best guitar tones I have ever used from the QC.
It has made me excited to play guitar again, and I would rather have it than any amp out there at this point.
In conclusion I would assume that in time the product will be updated to rival its competition and provide features that are unmatched in this current generation of modeling options. For now in my personal opinion it is not a worthy investment or upgrade from he prior models unless again you want those backing track features.
Cheers…
Stephen