Gain Staging

[cacibi]

Experiencing the same thing with Stadium that I did with Helix Floor with regard to gain staging.

 

I am strictly using vintage output pickups, usually single coils, but every drive pedal or amp sounds WAY too aggressive unless I engage the global or preset pad. Also was running into clipping issues.

 

I honestly don't know how anyone hits the front end of this thing with hot output pickups, our without the pad engaged.

[TimAndSmith]

I have experienced the same thing and have just learned to live with it.  I always have a pad on these days and I think it makes everything sound more natural. I'm not playing with particularly high output pickups either - Jazzmasters, Gretsches with filtertrons, and a low output hum bucker guitar. So many folks play Strats with really low output pickups and like the amp driving a bit so maybe that's what they had in mind. While the output seems to have that same issue, the high end response is much improved and the new Agora amps seem way more dynamic and touch sensitive than the older HX models. I also like that you have an "input trim" that's adjustable rather than the set pad value in the OG Helix. That way you can dial input gain down to whatever you want to even out guitars when you need it. 

[cacibi]

On 2/11/2026 at 11:31 AM, TimAndSmith said:

I have experienced the same thing and have just learned to live with it.  I always have a pad on these days and I think it makes everything sound more natural. I'm not playing with particularly high output pickups either - Jazzmasters, Gretsches with filtertrons, and a low output hum bucker guitar. So many folks play Strats with really low output pickups and like the amp driving a bit so maybe that's what they had in mind. While the output seems to have that same issue, the high end response is much improved and the new Agora amps seem way more dynamic and touch sensitive than the older HX models. I also like that you have an "input trim" that's adjustable rather than the set pad value in the OG Helix. That way you can dial input gain down to whatever you want to even out guitars when you need it. 

I do think it's a nice feature to have the input trim/pad available per preset. I usually turn on the pad then set my output block to +6db to compensate and the signal going into my amp at that point seems fine. I just wonder how many people get a Helix product and find the drives to be so over the top and amp gain to be so over the top.
 

If anything you would expect to encounter the reverse situation needing to boost at the input or early blocks to really get the drives and amps into crazy gain territory.

[theElevators]

Yes, I have been using the "volume cut" approach in various parts of the signal chain to achieve acceptable results.  In my experience, the envelope filters are pretty much unusable, unless I significantly lower the volume of the signal .... using a volume pedal block that is fixed at a very very low percentage.

 

For example:

 

I needed to do a simple funky clean auto-wah sound, and that took me many many iterations.  I wound up achieving the needed results by using the volume cut and adding... reverb BEFORE the envelope filter.  Only then it started behaving as auto-wah should!

 

Also, every preset that I build nowadays has another fixed volume pedal block in the very beginning of the chain, again to be able to dial in exactly the right level so my preset works with that specific guitar.  I have figured out how much to cut the signal, and if I need to use a different guitar, just go and adjust that first volume cut as needed.

 

So in summary, I can confirm that the Helix is EXTREMELY sensitive to the output levels.  In the real guitar pedal/tube amp world, it's not the same.  When I had my pedalboard, I was frequently swapping guitars with minimal adjustment.  Also I had a Boss MS-3 little processor for effects only, and a lot of effects were a lot easier to dial in.  The same envelope filter sound was set up in one go!   

 

Some people solve these sensitivities by using a compressor/limiter in the beginning of the chain on the Helix, so it behaves more like the real world gear...

 

 

[Mystic368]

 

Thank you to the OP and contributors for a very useful discussion!

[PaulTBaker]

Elevator, I know you have a lot of experience so you have probably tried this... instead of using a volume block, can't you adjust the level of the input block?  I don't do this, but I am interested in knowing your thoughts.  Thanks.

 

[bbehrens]

I have wrestled with the Stadium and I have not had a good experience with it Live on Stage so far as it is a different beast than the O.G. Helix. I have learned a few things though. Due to the 64-bit on board digital processing, ALL blocks are clearer (thus the reason even old Helix presets sound a bit better) but they are also a touch MORE aggressive. If you run SPAN Voxengo through your DAW on each block, they can be pretty close to OG Helix. However, you will notice a little more. For instance, the Legacy Amps in the Stadium (Same as the stock Amps in the Helix, once you adjust for input volume), are quite close but the Stadium is able to get a little lower below 60-80 Hz and a little higher above 6 to 8 kHz. I have also noticed that the 2 - 6 kHz range is a little fuller. So your perceived volume might be a little louder too. I have NOT tested all blocks in the Stadium but I think that all of the blocks should benefit from this additional detail in the digital realm. So I suspect that the effect is cumulative! CUMULATIVE! This would explain the clipping I see in the output blocks in the Stadium when I have everything set as I would in the OG Helix. So this post is mainly for folks coming from the OG Helix. I used to put EQ blocks and a touch of compression at the end of my signal chains just to shape the tone. However, I am having to re-think this strategy and go back through the entire signal chain, STARTING with the AMP AND CABS, and re-build the tone that I used to LOVE on the Helix. There are some GREAT tones in the Factory presets on the Stadium but they are all focused on the new Agoura Amp models. I can tell you that the Essex TB30CC is a different Amp than the old Legacy Essex A30 in the Helix. So the Agoura Amps should probably be treated as NEW Amp models. Don't use your old, or in my case MY OLD, approach.

 

I would be very interested to know what others are doing to shape and craft their tones that is different on the Stadium than the approach they used to use, if any.

[theElevators]

On 2/13/2026 at 2:37 PM, PaulTBaker said:

Elevator, I know you have a lot of experience so you have probably tried this... instead of using a volume block, can't you adjust the level of the input block?  I don't do this, but I am interested in knowing your thoughts.  Thanks.

 

It's all the same to dial down your hot guitar.  I just like the separate volume block, because it's easier to see what it's doing.  And easy to copy/paste it.  Guitar pad = input level = using a volume block.  But guitar pad is fixed of course, so you can't adjust it. 

 

Also my point is that I have used volume cut not just in the very beginning (input), but also right before the envelope filter, for example.... and other parts of the chain. 

 

Helix in my experience was VERY difficult to dial in for my needs in the beginning.  So much so, that I was getting very frustrated!  Took me several weeks to recreate my "signature" sound.  And then I was tweaking still....  The feel was also very "hard", like I needed to be very articulate, and the notes would not come out as easy as on a tube amp.  Then I added a compressor after some time, and that solved that issue!

 

Now of course, it's been years since I figured out all the tricky sounds.  It took me many iterations of reviewing concert board mixes, etc.  Now I can say that I'm very happy how my presets sound and most importantly feel.

 

 

[PaulTBaker]

On 2/14/2026 at 8:32 AM, bbehrens said:

I have wrestled with the Stadium and I have not had a good experience with it Live on Stage so far as it is a different beast than the O.G. Helix. I have learned a few things though. Due to the 64-bit on board digital processing, ALL blocks are clearer (thus the reason even old Helix presets sound a bit better) but they are also a touch MORE aggressive. If you run SPAN Voxengo through your DAW on each block, they can be pretty close to OG Helix. However, you will notice a little more. For instance, the Legacy Amps in the Stadium (Same as the stock Amps in the Helix, once you adjust for input volume), are quite close but the Stadium is able to get a little lower below 60-80 Hz and a little higher above 6 to 8 kHz. I have also noticed that the 2 - 6 kHz range is a little fuller. So your perceived volume might be a little louder too. I have NOT tested all blocks in the Stadium but I think that all of the blocks should benefit from this additional detail in the digital realm. So I suspect that the effect is cumulative! CUMULATIVE! This would explain the clipping I see in the output blocks in the Stadium when I have everything set as I would in the OG Helix. So this post is mainly for folks coming from the OG Helix. I used to put EQ blocks and a touch of compression at the end of my signal chains just to shape the tone. However, I am having to re-think this strategy and go back through the entire signal chain, STARTING with the AMP AND CABS, and re-build the tone that I used to LOVE on the Helix. There are some GREAT tones in the Factory presets on the Stadium but they are all focused on the new Agoura Amp models. I can tell you that the Essex TB30CC is a different Amp than the old Legacy Essex A30 in the Helix. So the Agoura Amps should probably be treated as NEW Amp models. Don't use your old, or in my case MY OLD, approach.

 

I would be very interested to know what others are doing to shape and craft their tones that is different on the Stadium than the approach they used to use, if any.

Question, I also put an eq and compressor at the end of each preset.  I got it from Jason S. years ago and never left it :)   From your statement about things being cumulative, are you saying that those two at the end could add to the clipping?  Really want to understand.

 

When I first got the stadium, I wanted to try presets without the eq/compressor, so I made some.  I found that I could not change the eq on the amp (Lux Blk) enough to bring out the slight brightness I needed that I get from the eq, so I added it back.  I also am using the la2 compressor at the end as a help to tweak the volume level for the patches.  The settings are much different from the helix though.  The mix is down from 100 to 40 and the gain is down from 5 to 3.5 to 4.2.

 

I did find that the presets I pulled in from the OG helix and swapped out the amps with the agora amps, were clipping at the output block (after leveling for same loudness).