BucF16

Straight out of the box, maybe not quite. The "Marshall" emulation is actually a little lower gain that you might want for that particular sound. However, if you have some low level midi skills you can unlock some of the higher gain amps that are in the amp and that alone should do it. Add a POD HD and you definitely can. With Helix coming out used POD prices are coming down. You don't need a an "X" pod unless you use a LOT of effects or dual amps (things you probably don't need to capture Slash's sound) so that makes it even cheaper. The DT amps all take pedals well and have an effects loop so there's that also. My advice is keep an eye on Craigslist. I think you can get a DT50 or 25 pretty cheap if you're patient.

I use almost exclusively full models with my POD HD through a DT50. I tried the pre-only models for quite a while but switched back. It would make sense to use the pre-only models...the DT 50 shouldn't need cab emulations right?...but to me it sounds better and you have more control of volume changes between patches with the full models.

Don't over think it. Just listen. Remember that the default models in the amp with no POD, use cabinet modelling. How many threads do we have on this board where guys complain that the POD models don't sound the same as the DT models of the same amp? Usually it's because they don't realize that the DT amp model defaults use cabinet modelling. I tried the pre models for a while but have gone back to almost exclusively full models with the POD. You would think that's putting cabinet modelling on top of a cabinet, but I just know that I can make it sound better. I've asked on this board if there's a different cab model applied to DT cabs than there is when you go POD direct to the board. Haven't ever gotten an answer to that question.

From your post I'm guessing you're looking for a SSS strat then. My advice is play both an American Standard and an MIM UNPLUGGED and find the one that plays and resonates the best UNPLUGGED. Just about any guitar store should have a wide variety of both. Only when you've found a piece of wood that sings should you plug it in and see if you like the pickups. There are no pickups that are "better" or "worse". It's really more preference than anything. When buying a SSS strat it's always important to know how your tone knobs are wired. Does the bridge pickup go through tone 2? This has changed back and forth over the years. Does it have the delta tone 2 switch? The single coil bridge is so distinctive to that sound, it's very important to know what you're getting and I've been amazed at how many players I know who don't understand it. I tend towards mid gain or more psychedelic sounds with my strats and it's really nice to have a tone knob on bridge to tame that baby down if you need to when you apply some gain. There's a $5-600 in the instrument new. If you buy a MIM and you don't block the bridge, I would replace the string trees immediately. It's really cheap and easy.

I've had the DT/HD combo since the very beginning. On this board I have seen MANY people swear that the DT tones are different than the HD tones...but eventually they ALL realize they had something set wrong and the amps and PODs tones are identical when you get the setting identical. Frequently people are surprised that the DT tones have cabinet emulations ON and they're running pre-only models from the HD. Anyway, RNorth (OP) you're not the first to run into this problem. Rest assured there is no reason to look for a neutral amp model in the HD500 for use with the DT25/50.

I own 4 strats (and a JTV69) and used to play those exclusively. So I gotta lotta opinion on that. First of all, when you say "Strat", there's a HUGE tonal difference between strats, so right off the bat, it's tough to answer your question because we don't really know what you're going for. You looking for a SSS or HSS? Very different animals! In my mind, the MIM Fender strats are some of the best bang for the buck in the industry. Great instruments. Fender makes sure the hardware is a lower grade than their USA stuff because otherwise there would be no difference. The MIM strats feel great and the wood/finish/paint is outstanding. If you think that ANYONE in a blind listening test can tell the difference between a MIM and USA strat, you're kidding yourself. My advice, primarily because you sound like a younger/newer player, get a MIM strat, and for the $$ you save, you can upgrade or change out the pickups or change the wiring. I'd upgrade the string tree on the headstock to the "T" shape or to a graphtech (the greatest weakness of most strats is the string tree and what it does to tuning stability). I started out with a MIM, gigged with it for years. Upgraded to a USA Deluxe, and bought a second Deluxe, then bought a USA standard. The USA standard is my favorite of the 4. Surprisingly, if you're interested in a HSS, I think the JTV 69 is a fantastic representation of that (magnetics only). Really nicely balanced pickups and for my taste, just the right amount of output to be vintage without being anemic.

DSP issues? If running dual amp setups or a lot of effects. I rarely ran into it where it was actually an issue. Sometimes it forced me to create two different patches but I never thought it was that big of a deal. With the old POD using two amps it wasn't that hard to hit the DSP ceiling. With the X model I think I've only ran into it a couple of times, and it's always something that's easy to work around.

With the POD through L2's I really noticed the amp resonance function. For most hi gain amps I would start with the resonance at zero and then bring it up...usually VERY little and with many patches I just left it at zero. That seems to clean up the 3-4k range messiness that bothered me with the L2/POD combo. Or you can just work the EQ.

If you have the extra scratch, that's the best choice. I've owned the HD500 and the HD500X and tonal wise there was no difference. Only that the X rarely runs into DSP problems.

hmmm. Need it? I'm not gonna make this easy for you. When I was using the POD HD I found it a little difficult to dial in the L2's. I've used a single L2 with a POD in a 2 guitar classic rock format. It's certainly workable but I wasn't in love with it. It's a pretty loud little speaker though. I've used L3's and QSC K12's and found them both a little warmer than the L2's and just easier to dial in with the POD HD. You should NEVER have any problem keeping up in volume with either of those speakers. I've started using Helix, and would say that I'm on much better terms with my L2's using Helix than I was with the POD HD. Something to think about: If you're running direct to FOH why not put your speaker in front of you facing backwards like a monitor? Since your ears face forwards (for most of us!) it really does make a difference on how you sound. Hopefully the audience has their ears facing you too! This helps feed some of your signal back at the band/drummer and helps the sound guy running FOH.

I've had surprisingly fast turnaround from Line6 service with the M20D stuff. If you're sending it to the mothership I'd expect it to be back in less than two weeks. Honestly, for the American guys, if you have a problem, just call Line6. They're service dept is great.

There is another updater. Don't ask me why, I thought the Monkey idea was great.

gKorg: Ideascale might be a good place for that input

I've almost always used PA/Reference with the POD with the POD cabinet settings on. (If using an L2 with some other non-POD guitar pre-amp I found electric guitar sounded better. But for something with decent cabinet emulations, why turn off the tweeter?) I'm not sure what you're trying to do, but I think you can run the POD into L6 Link, simultaneously while running mic's into the two channel mixer. You can actually run another input through your POD via L6 Link. Not sure that I would ever perform like that unless I really had to though. The channels on the side of an L2/L3t I've only used when playing a small room with a 1 or 2 person group. That way you don't need to bring a mixer, everyone just plugs directly into a speaker. I've only ever used them on L2's in an acoustic type group. For anything else, I have an M20D.

So as I understand it, you have shipped it to Yorkville and they're working on it? I'm asking because I'm in the US and my problems were handled much more directly.

Specifically: Why run your 16 channel mixer, which I'm certain has a Main L/R out, to your speakers via the RCA jacks? OR Why run your mixer to the instrument Ins on the speakers? Again, your 16 channel mixer has a Main L/R out. Why not run that to the line level in's on the speakers LIKE IT's DESIGNED FOR. You say you've run your mixer into the instruments and it "colors" the sound...probably because those are instrument ins and not Line ins.

It looks to me like many other retailers have them in stock.

Why in the world would you do it that way? Why not run from your mixer to the Line level input?

Yeah, I'm thinking that some of your angst should be directed to guitarguitar.

Donald, who did you buy it from?

When mixing in the studio I almost always pan the backup vocals to split them out, But I've never tried that live.

I'm pretty convinced the input trim glitch is a hardware issue. I had it, read many of the forum posts here. Started a support ticked. Line6 took the mixer back to the factory and according to their tech, cleaned the grounding clips. Mixer has worked much better since. Some people much smarter than me have made some good posts here suggesting that it's a grounding issue. I found them pretty convincing. I've only had the screen freeze up maybe a total of 3-4 times, always fixed with a reboot and doesn't reoccur with any frequency. My mixer gets's Heavily used so I have a lot of data points.

Bobwooton, As a performing musician (doing an acoustic gig myself in a few hours) with several different groups and styles and instruments, I'm wondering if anyone would notice? I've had endless arguments about stereo vs mono with other musicians and while I use stereo in certain cases, the truth is it's frequently lost in the room or on the crowd. The subtle type of panning you're describing is only available on a system with a mixer...from any company at any pricepoint. I would only think it would be noticeable if you were playing on a stage in an auditorium and the listener was a musician sitting close to the middle of the room. Everywhere else in the room it might actually be a detriment to your sound. In any kind of coffee shop, bar, restaurant or outdoor space, I wouldn't even bother. That being said, if you're using a POD or Helix, you could run both guitars through the same processor and then send them to the L2's via line6 link and do the panning in the POD or Helix. This would still leave 4 mic inputs on the speakers for you to bring in two voices in stereo. But again, you would have to do the panning in the stereo signal BEFORE it gets to the speakers via some other kind of processing. So yes, you CAN do it. Please think about if it's necessary or really has an impact on your audiences perception of your performance.

One of the most amazing things about the M20D is how easy and painless it makes it to record your gigs at a really high quality level. For better or worse I record almost every live gig I do, and a lot of times we use it at practice to figure stuff out. Additionally, the recording helped me figure out what was going on with the inputs when I was having input issues. It was almost impossible to diagnose live in the heat of the moment, but when reviewing the wav files it was easy to see what was going on.

The POD patches remember what speaker mode they were in when you hit save so you need to make sure the speaker is in PA/Reference every time you hit save. Never had your specific issue but then I've never used your exact signal path.