away and then store the desired changes. Ditto for fine tuning your sounds on the fly on Sunday morning!
NEXUS, EXPAND D10, L6 LINK, & VDI Nexus is Line 6’ s next gen communication protocol. Replacing L6 Link, the Nexus port on the back of Helix Stadium( XL Floor and Floor) enables you to connect to the Expand D10 breakout box via a CAT 6 cable. Currently, this box will support L6 Link connectivity for Power Cab, VDI for Variax, as well as optical connections. Per my interview with Eric, it is not confirmed if changing DT Series amp topography is going to be part of the feature set for L6 Link. microSD port. As Eric Klein put it, Helix Stadium is“ extensible and updatable for a long time!”
PROXY Although it’ s not coming until winter of 2026, Proxy is Line 6’ s cloning engine. Although time-based effects like delay and reverb will most likely be excluded, being able to bring my amps, cabs, stomps and stamps into the Line 6 ecosystem is tremendously exciting. And since Proxy will used cloud-based processing for cloning, its learning power will continue to grow powerfully, since it’ s not tethered to onboard processing.
FORM FACTORS Helix Stadium XL Floor will ship this fall($ 2,199.99 MAP) followed by Helix Stadium Floor($ 1,799.00 MAP), winter 2025). While‘ XL’ is both larger in stature and I / O, they both feature the same amount of processing power, footswitches, controls, screen size, as well internal power supplies and IEC connector jacks. In addition to the built-in expression pedal and twelve OLED scribble strips,‘ XL’ also adds additional instrument inputs( 2), effects loops( 2), and control / expression jacks( 2). Both units also feature a built-in power supply and IEC receptacle. For me, the built-in expression pedal on‘ XL’ is a must have feature for swells and muting the output from my feet, be it for a guitar change or perhaps a faulty cable. That said, Line 6 will be offering the EX2 expression pedal, which of course could be used with either unit.
The Line 6 peeps also hinted that like‘ O. G.’ Helix, more models will be coming. Noting that HX Stomp XL is probably my favorite form factor thus far in the Helix family, I’ m eagerly awaiting to see what the future holds.
LOOKING BACK & FUTURE PROOFING If you think about what the sonic landscape looked like when Helix launched a decade ago, it should give one great confidence when purchasing Helix Stadium. The 64-bit floating architecture is a digital milky way of sonic fidelity. With the exception of the‘ old’ hybrid cabinets, existing Helix users will be able to import their presets with relative ease and improved fidelity. And, as I mentioned previously, Power Cab and Variax will be supported via the Nexus port and Expand D10 breakout box. Other notable tech tidbits include Wi-Fi compatibility, Bluetooth control, and a 32 GB card for loading for
SHOWCASE Having toured Europe and the U. S. playing with backing tracks, Showcase is a game changer for me. The multi-track playback system supports up to eight stereo pairs with independent mix functionality. Yamaha( Line 6’ s parent company) has technology that makes it easy to stem out your favorite songs into separate tracks, which can be mixed independently. You can also set Flags along the timeline for events like preset changes, and once your save your song, Helix Stadium will change them for you. External control for things like video playback puts a world of production at your feet!
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