well.  if  you have   another line  6  product  that  you can connect    to your  computer.   and  it  has  the vdi  connector   in it  and  the  cable  tothe  guitar   then all you need  is the  software.  so  what it  is   is this.   the  software  has  been upgraded   a few  times..

if you buy the   guitar and  have  no  connector to the  computer   what your  really paying  for  is the   workbench   connectivity  hardware  consisting of  two cables  and  a  connector/ adapter  box.   thats  what i use  and it  works  fine.     when you buy this  package   the  software  will be the  old  software  and  youll have to download the  upgrade  anyhow.

  but   without   a connection from the guitar to the  computer.. the   free  software  is  useless.

me  id  get the  jtv  first..  you may   like it   just as it  is.    then if you need  the   software/hardware  package   go from there.  .

i had  a 300   and   it  was  good  as it came.  i did make  a couple  of tweaks   but  nothing    substantial.

and the  jtv  is  far beyond  that  300.