Helix 1st gen family, new firmware and models?

[brunonz]

Hello,

 

Is there a new update on firmware and models form Helix family? I have Helix stomp XL and they are all great. But would be nice to have some new stuff on the horizon :)

 

Tks!

[brunonz]

Just rephrasing a little. I was asking if there´s a planned update on Helix in the near future.

 

Tks

[datacommando]

On 1/27/2026 at 12:10 PM, brunonz said:

I was asking if there´s a planned update on Helix in the near future.

 

This is a user to user forum. There are no Line 6 staff here and only very occasionally do they visit these forums - (See the “sticky comment” in the black banner stripe at the top of this page entitled “Welcome to the Line 6 forums”).

 

As the focus is now on developing the Stadium side of the product range, then “near future” is not really the best time frame to consider. How near, or how far, you will never know until it happens.

 

Furthermore, anyone else who maybe likely to have a clue, (Beta Testers for example) are under NDAs, but they seem to have deserted this forum and are more likely to be found over on The Gear Page - Digital and Modeling section. You may also find Eric Klein - (Digital_Igloo) Line 6 Chief Product Design Architect posting in there. Note: if you ask DI about Helix Firmware updates, his usual response is “Soon!”, so don’t hold your breath.

 

Hope this helps makes sense.

[cruisinon2]

On 1/27/2026 at 7:07 AM, brunonz said:

Hello,

 

Is there a new update on firmware and models form Helix family? I have Helix stomp XL and they are all great. But would be nice to have some new stuff on the horizon :)

 

Tks!

 

I have no inside knowledge to share, but if I were a betting man, I wouldn't count on much more new stuff for the OG Helix at this point. We might get the occasional crumb, but the new platform is gonna get most of the attention and priority going forward. It's the nature of the beast... product life cycles are what they are.

[theElevators]

There will be.  Because unlike Helix Stadium which replace the Helix, there is still the Stomp, Stomp XL, HX Effects.  There is no Stadium equivalent of those products yet, so there will be updates, albeit at a slower pace than before.  Most likely just bug fixes, and to alight with new MacOS, etc.  The Helix platform is already mature and does not need any esoteric things as far as I think.  The same could not be said about it 5 years ago or so. 

[brunonz]

I see.

 

I think the Agoura amps will have plenty of updates, but Line 6 stated that the rest of effects (drive, modulation..etc etc) will remain and will be compatible with all the Helix family. If that´s true, when they release new stuff for Stadium, these effects need to be compatible. Or am i wrong?

 

There´s a lot of room for new stuff, drives, modulation, etc.

 

Let me know what you all think

[stapani]

Digital Igloo (August 6.2025) :

Whatever we make for Stadium that works within the architecture and DSP considerations of Helix/HX could certainly be added in future firmware updates. So at the very least, new cabs, new effects, new quality of life improvements, certainly bug fixes

[datacommando]

On 1/27/2026 at 5:26 PM, brunonz said:

There´s a lot of room for new stuff, drives, modulation, etc.

 

Let me know what you all think

Hmm… yeah sure there is, for stuff that uses small amounts of processing power, but how many distortion pedal models do you need? Some interesting developments in the modulation, delay and reverb department would be fun, but at what price? We all know that the reason that Strymon reverbs sound the way they do is because of the huge amount of DSP they use to create those sounds, and that would consume, at a very minimum, one entire path of your Helix - so that’s not going to happen where the HX Stomps are already running a single processor.

 

No, as pointed out in the post above from @stapani, the comment from Eric doesn’t look that thrilling, especially this far down the tracks.
 

I bought my Helix floor way back in 2015, for what it could do then - which was 46 Amps, 30 Cabs, and 79 Effects. Since then we have had many FREE firmware updates, so that now at version 3.80, Helix is loaded with 103 amps, 41 cabs, and 241 effects. Yay! FREE.

 

You have to realise that Helix was not designed to be a solution for all situations - for example the great many people who complained about the onboard Looper. Those nice folks at Line 6 gave the Helix a whole bunch of in and out connections for third party options. In my case I actually have several different external Looper units for various uses. Similarly with external  delay and reverb functions, I have used third party options to do the job, especially prior to Helix adding a reverse reverb function which didn’t happen until v. 3.70 late in 2023.

 

Be happy with what you have, or buy a Stadium XL.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[cruisinon2]

On 1/27/2026 at 12:26 PM, brunonz said:

I see.

 

I think the Agoura amps will have plenty of updates, but Line 6 stated that the rest of effects (drive, modulation..etc etc) will remain and will be compatible with all the Helix family. If that´s true, when they release new stuff for Stadium, these effects need to be compatible. Or am i wrong?

 

There´s a lot of room for new stuff, drives, modulation, etc.

 

Let me know what you all think

 

What there's room for is largely irrelevant. What any of us think could, would, or should be done with the platform moving forward is likewise, irrelevant. The reality is simple...the Helix platform is more than a decade old. For a "high- tech" product, that's ancient. With the pace at which technology currently evolves, 10 years might as well be 100. People want new toys, and companies exist to make money. For proof I refer you to the poll L6 conducted, where the majority clearly indicated that they'd rather have an unfinished product in their hands today, than wait for something that's more polished, with fewer problems. Personally I think that's asinine, but I digress...

 

No company will keep devoting resources to pumping out free udates for units that were sold 10+ years ago, forever. There's no money in it...yesterday's sales don't help today's bottom line. Business is business.

[Fenderflame28]

I'm holding out for Helix Stadium LT. When that comes, I'll make the switch.

[jester700]

On 1/27/2026 at 8:36 PM, cruisinon2 said:

No company will keep devoting resources to pumping out free udates for units that were sold 10+ years ago, forever. There's no money in it...yesterday's sales don't help today's bottom line. Business is business.

...unless they still occupy a profitable segment of the line and keep selling at their price point. Just like Line6 supported Helix and PodGo, they can keep supporting Helix if they keep selling and Line6 perceives that more sales follow from that support.

 

I'm betting we'll see Helix firmware 3.9 and 4.0, and updates won't stop until a "half pint" Stadium unit is released.

[jpdennis]

On 1/27/2026 at 4:07 AM, brunonz said:

Hello,

 

Is there a new update on firmware and models form Helix family? I have Helix stomp XL and they are all great. But would be nice to have some new stuff on the horizon :)

 

Tks!

 

brunonz,

 

Not to beat a dead horse with all the information already shared in this thread as well as what is out there in the Line 6 world.  The simple answer is yes .. the unknown is for how much longer (a year, two years, ???)?

 

"Based on information available as of early 2026, Line 6 continues to support the original Helix Floor and Rack units, even following the release of the newer Helix Stadium series. The company has indicated that the "original" (OG) Helix line will remain in the lineup and continue to receive updates, although the focus for new, high-DSP amp modeling (Agoura engine) has shifted to the new Stadium platform." - deep dive quote

 

When older Line 6 gear was still being sold as new while the Helix came out, I did have a couple updates.  I still see new Helix Family (OG HX, etc.) being sold and the word is that any of the OG series will still have firmware updates as long as they are being produced.  The Stadium is the new flagship so a higher percentage of development and fixes will be focused on that family.  Any of the FX blocks that are non-Agoura and as stated earlier here, any new effects and optimizations that can be ported over from the Stadium Family development as well as glaring bug fixes will be available via firmware updates.  It logically follows that the HX Edit program will be upgraded out of necessity to support the firmware upgrades as well.

 

The Helix Floor and Rack as well as the HX series, have been deeply optimized over the past several years (11 for the Helix family).  They are still being sold new for a lower price point now.  They have been battle tested in the field, so to speak, and still have positive user feedback.  They still have support from users and an online following via these and other blogs and vlogs.  There are many YouTube videos out there to search for how-to as well as tips and tricks.

 

The only caveat will be the "how long" part.  I have not dug into this but you can check with Line 6 for current and add-on warranty programs just to check what is offered for new purchases.  That should give you more of an idea what Line 6 will be doing for the OG series.

 

If you get any updated information you can report back your findings to this thread as well.

 

jpd

[stapani]

And Yamaha owns Line 6, maybe they have a word or two for updates timetable

[datacommando]

On 1/28/2026 at 9:51 PM, stapani said:

And Yamaha owns Line 6, maybe they have a word or two for updates timetable

Hi,

 

Really?

 

Yamaha acquired Line 6 way back in December 2013, to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, with the internal management remaining the same. Since then, Line 6 launched the Helix in 2015, when I bought mine,

 

I don’t think that I have been aware of Yamaha having any involvement in how the Helix family evolved. For example if Yamaha had been taking notice of comments about Helix, they would have probably been aware of the stacks of requests to add some of the legendary effects from their 18” rack mounted SPX 90 unit - specifically the Symphonic effect (preset 15 in the SPX). I also hung on to my Yamaha Magic Stomp FX pedal (that Allan Holdsworth used) because Helix never added them - NOTE: Allan was an old mate from way back in the late 1960s, also, I still have my SPX90 gathering dust in the rack over in the corner.

 

Paging: - Call on Line 6 

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[jpdennis]

On 1/28/2026 at 5:01 PM, datacommando said:

... hung on to my Yamaha Magic Stomp FX pedal  ... I still have my SPX90 ...

 

datacommando,

 

I normally wouldn't chime in without a comment to the OP, but ... both of those are legendary in my realm.  The Yamaha Magic Stomp seems to be either unknown by most or just plain underrated.  I seem to remember a couple movies that I thought I heard something similar to the Magic Stomp being used.  If only ...

 

Thanks for the walk down memory lane

[stapani]

 Wikipedia stuff:

In December 2013, it was confirmed that Line 6 was to be bought by Yamaha Corporation

[datacommando]

On 1/29/2026 at 6:39 AM, stapani said:

 Wikipedia stuff:

In December 2013, it was confirmed that Line 6 was to be bought by Yamaha Corporation

Erm… yeah! That’s what I said in my last reply - I guess you didn’t bother to read it fully.

[Schmalle]

TLDR, I just wanted to contribute one little known fact to this:

 

Yamaha bought Line 6 in late 2013.

[stapani]

Maybe I should have said it more clearly, I meant coming updates and when to end them

[datacommando]

On 1/29/2026 at 1:21 PM, stapani said:

Maybe I should have said it more clearly, I meant coming updates and when to end them

Well, maybe I should have made my comment more clear.

 

Quote from an interview published on Reverb - Frank Ritchotte stated this regarding Yamaha’s involvement with Line 6 -

 

“Line 6 continues to maintain independent management and handle day-to-day operations in-house.”

 

So, NO, I don’t think that Yamaha will “have a word or two for updates timetable”

 

They don’t appear to have been very involved thus far!

 

It will most likely be Line 6 who decide when to quit support for a decade old technology.

[silverhead]

I've only noticed one impact from Yamaha on Line 6 product development. They discontinued Line 6 products that competed with existing Yamaha products, specifically mixers (Stagescape M20D), PA speakers (Stagesource L2/L3/LS), and guitars (Variax). There's been no Line 6 development of any new products in those domains since Yamaha's purchase of Line 6. Variax JTV, Standard and Shuriken were already in development, profitable, manufactured by Yamaha anyway (except for JTV), and allowed to proceed. Development of Variax ended in 2018 when next-gen Variax was on the drawing board.