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Two Months In...definitely Past The Honeymoon Phase.


smrybacki
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Ok, so I have had my JTV59 Variax for 2 months now.  It is connected to a POD HD500 and then out into a pair of Tech21 Power Engine 60s.  I also have the EX1 expression pedal. Here are some things I've learned:

 

  • EQ is your friend to tame low frequencies from the guitar into the POD
  • The extra expression pedal is WAY more handy than I would have expected initially
  • MEAMBOBOs guide is extremely helpful in explaining what needs explaining
  • I should NEVER play the Variax/POD/PE60 setup immediately after I've played my 50th Anniversary Strat into my Princeton Reverb.  You know why...
  • The Dr. Z amp model is a resource hungry biotch, but it sounds fabulous.
  • I've never heard a Park amps before, but I do like the models in the POD a bunch.
  • The metal models often sound like an angry wasp in a jar to me...no offence to the Devil Horns crowd.
  • Andy Paredes of Line6 can design the crap out of some classic artists tone in a POD HD500/x, and I am grateful for that
  • Sean Halley can play really good, and his videos are helpful -- could use more of them (Ditto Andy's)
  • Some of the effects in the POD are really, really good.  Others are gimmicky or just plain wierd.  Very cool.
  • When you nail a tone, it is a joyous moment and you can spend the next several hours playing the same song you designed it for :D

So yeah, not perfect by any stretch, but it is FUN -- and that my friends is the thing to know.

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I also find the deep edit cab parameters are overlooked as far as taming bottom end etc... alot more straightforward than the eq's and take no fx slots...

i suppose it depends on if those parameters are adjusting the frequency you want to tune out... but swapping cabs is another good path :)

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I also find the deep edit cab parameters are overlooked as far as taming bottom end etc... alot more straightforward than the eq's and take no fx slots...

i suppose it depends on if those parameters are adjusting the frequency you want to tune out... but swapping cabs is another good path :)

I'll give that a whirl sir...sometimes, the bottom is just wicked boomy, and others not.  Gotta sort through it all yet as to which models in which unit do that.

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can't disagree... i personally just try to stay away from EQ's... i primarily record and don't play live... would rather take care of the EQ stuff in the DAW, because how it sits in the mix is more important to me than how it comes out on it's own.

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can't disagree... i personally just try to stay away from EQ's... i primarily record and don't play live... would rather take care of the EQ stuff in the DAW, because how it sits in the mix is more important to me than how it comes out on it's own.

Affirmative, Master.  You make an excellent point in regards to recording wisdom...

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I should NEVER play the Variax/POD/PE60 setup immediately after I've played my 50th Anniversary Strat into my Princeton Reverb.  You know why...

 

Actually, I don't know why... :P

 

Seriously, I often switch between my Princeton Reverb and my DT25, and the DT25 holds its own pretty well. I also switch between my JTV-69 and "real" guitars quite a bit. I don't ever feel that I'm missing anything when I go to my JTV rig, to be honest with you. For rehearsals anymore, I've been going all Dream Rig for a while now, and I haven't missed my "real rig" singe doing it. Maybe you need to ditch the Power Engine and get a DT25... B)

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I have several rigs myself and switch alot...

for me certain gear just inspires differently....

i keep saying i'm going to trim it down.. but always end up getting a trade offer rather than a cash offer.. 

still fun for me! and i get to try all kinds of stuff... (just got a 12 string rick :) )

can't speak for Phil though...

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Actually, I don't know why... :P

 

Seriously, I often switch between my Princeton Reverb and my DT25, and the DT25 holds its own pretty well. I also switch between my JTV-69 and "real" guitars quite a bit. I don't ever feel that I'm missing anything when I go to my JTV rig, to be honest with you. For rehearsals anymore, I've been going all Dream Rig for a while now, and I haven't missed my "real rig" singe doing it. Maybe you need to ditch the Power Engine and get a DT25... B)

 

Well sir, due respect but opinions vary.  In my opinion, Leo Fender had it just right in the 1950s and 1960s, and everybody else has been scrambling to catch up ever since  ;)

 

But that isn't to say that my "digital rig" doesn't sound excellent.  If that were true, I'd sell it.  I am not at present a gigging musician and if I were, the digital rig is what I'd likely use now because it sounds pretty darn good and the convenience is, well, excellent.  But I play my Fender gear for ME alone really, even when I jam with buddies. That sound is one I have been in love with ever since the 1960s when I first heard it in the Surf music of that time.  I have a Deluxe Reverb RI, the aforementioned Princeton Reverb RI and a 1973 Vibro Champ that I play Strats and Teles into with some nice analog pedals (OD, delay, Univibe) and that sound is the absolute bomb in my head.

 

In other words, satisfied is one thing, but life altering is altogether another.  I see no need to give up my lifelong favorites just because I also play a digital rig.  Make sense?

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out of curiosity

 

why are you switching so often between your different type equipments?

 

it's not enough your Line6 stuff for your needs?

 

Well, there's needs, and then there's my guitar stuff... I have quite a bit more than I "need"... :)

 

I guess the thing is that when I play out with my band, I'm still used to using a more traditional pedalboard and amp setup. It's not I could replicate that with the HD500 and the DT25. I could. It's just that I'm so comfortable with what I've been using, I don't feel a great need to change. The M13 is still my main effects unit. I love it, and it's easy to adjust on the fly. As far as amps, I've found I really don't need more than one amp sound for a show typically. I can do everything I need to with OD and fuzz in front of a clean amp. The JTV69 is my main gigging guitar, though.

 

That being said, I do play in different groups, and sometimes I do just use the Dream Rig in its entirety. It's especially helpful when I know I won't have much room on stage or when I don't feel like carrying a lot of stuff with me.

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