johnnyayyy

I agree - without trying it there is no way to know if it is loud enough for you. If the AMPLIFi 150 is not as loud as a 150 watt Vetta combo then maybe it is a case of 150 solid state watts not always being 150 solid state watts, but I do think it is kind of silly to automatically judge a solid state amp unfit fit for live use just because it has a power output of 150 watts or less - I have seen literally hundreds of guitar players using SS amps with 60 to 150 watts live over the years playing every kind of music imaginable. Jeez, one of the hottest setups to amplify the HD500 for live use is a pair of Tech 21 60 watt power engines... and lest we forget, thee most popular solid state amp of all time was only 120 watts, and I don't recall anyone ever saying it was a toy that was only for bedrrom players:

Wait, has Line6 discontinued support for the POD HD series? Hadn't heard about this - I thought they just released an update a couple of months ago... and as I recall they said another is coming "soon"...

Erm... http://line6.com/legacy/vettaii Vetta II Combo Features 150-watts stereo My vetta II combo was 150 watts, same wattage as the AMPLIFI. As I recall, the Vetta head was higher wattage than the combo. The combo was plenty loud, I toured with it and played to audiences of more than 1000 people - never had any volume problems. If I were playing metal in stadiums or hockey arenas or something I would have probably opted for the head with 2 4X12 cabinets, for most other kinds of music and venues the 150 watt combo was fine. Of course if you are an arena rocker the AMPLIFi would be a silly choice for an amplifier and you are clearly not the target consumer. For most other players in most venues up to medium sized clubs I believe the 150 watt AMPLIFi (if it is as loud as my Vetta combo was) would likely provide plenty of volume. 150 watts is a lot for a solid state guitar amp - not many have more than 150 and most have around 1/3 to 1/2 of that. I understand it is not for you and due to the lack of HD modeling it is also not for me (after spending 2 years with my HD500 the AMPLIFi would be a major step back in tone IMO), but just because it doesn't suit my needs or your needs does not make it a "toy". It is essentially a PodX3 with cool wifi control , a fairly high power amp and FRFR speakers added - and a PODX3, though not the best modeler available at this point, is still IMO a fairly serious and powerful piece of gear. No matter how much nay-saying anyone does here people are still going to buy it and gig with it and enjoy it. Buy it or don't, then move on and enjoy life!

Sounds like Rock 'n' Roll to me!

1. My 150 watt Vetta never had any trouble keeping up with a hard hitting drummer and a 2 cab bass rig with 4X10s and 1x15 - I doubt the 150 watt AMPLIFi would be much different. 2. Little amps work on even the largest stage if you use enough of 'em: I do not doubt we will see an AMPLIFi style head/4X12 cab setup soon enough for those competing with 8X10 bass stacks.

I have done the GraphTech cut /strip/solder thing on two Variax transplants, it was quick and easy both times - the easiest part of the project, really. Maybe because I didn't know about the Teflon, I just jumped in and did it. As I recall the wire was too small for the strippers I had on hand and I had to use a razor blade to scrape off the insulation. It is quite possible I nicked some or all of the wiring with the blade, don't know, but it works perfectly so that doesn't seem to have had any effect. The GraphTech leads are much easier to work with than the original Variax piezo wires were, and they are super long so if you do screw up you get lots of chances to try, try again. Had I read your post here prior to installing my GraphTechs I might have been too intimidated to try to do it myself :D I agree it would be nice if the GraphTechs plugged in the same way the Tyler piezos do, I would prefer that to cutting and soldering - but if cutting and soldering is the only option I have no problem with doing it once my warranty runs out. Those Tyler piezos gotta go!

:D

I don't have an AMPLIFi and will not be buying one. I did have a Vetta II for a few years... similar to the $500 AMPLIFi it was 150 watts solid-state. I can assure you the Vetta was quite loud. Loud enough to gig. I gigged and toured with it for a few years and played some fairly large places to crowds of more than 1000 people at some shows, never had any problem with the amp not being loud enough. Is the AMPLIFi loud enough to gig? I don't know as I have never tried it, and I would bet anyone here saying it is not loud enough has also never tried it. I do know a different amp from the same manufacturer of the same wattage and power amp type as the AMPLIFi was quite loud, so I would bet the 150 watt AMPLIFi will get quite loud as well when you want it to, and still sound good at bedroom levels. Well, as good as an amp based on X3 modeling can sound - I would bet it sounds a lot like the Vetta sounded, and most likely much better than the Vetta due to the FRFR speakers, but for around 1/3 the price I paid for my Vetta II. If and when there is ever a version of AMPLIFi with HD modeling I will be very interested. For now I will pass but I do find AMPLIFi quite interesting and I would bet a bunch of people are going to buy it and love it.

:)

:D Happy to hear the HD500 is working out for you, IMO the HD is a great piece of gear that does what it is supposed to do very well. Come to think of it, after all the free updates Line 6 has given us my HD500 does WAAAAAAYYYYY more than it was advertised to do when I bought it... Thanks Line 6, my satisfaction with the HD500 almost makes up for all the disappointments I have experienced with my JTV. :)

You can do whatever you like, it's a free internet. Did the store say "ANY eight items in the store will fit on the conveyor belt"? Or did they say "UP TO eight items simutaneously"? Or did you just misunderstand them? When you bring 8 sailboats up the the register at Walmart do you demand they rebuild the conveyor belt so that it can hold your eight sailboats? Sheesh, I get stuck in line behind people like that all the time... and my response is always the same... "Who needs eight sailboats...?" My van is advertised as holding up to 15 passengers, but capacity is greatly reduced if all the passengers look like this: I know you want Line 6 to have meant "any 8 effects in any combination with any 2 amps" but if that is what they meant that is probably what they would have said.

Mkay... but... "soft and flexible" compared to...? I am comparing them to the wires I see coming from the PC board on the JTV... the leads on my GraphTechs are the softest, most flexible wires I have ever worked with... like angel hair...

Quote Wait... so there is a JTV 2.2 firmware...? :unsure: Where can we download it?

At first I thought this was a typo, then thought maybe not and started looking for the JTV2.2 FW... I think he meant he has 2.2 FW installed on his HD500. Whew, that was exciting for a second...

3) Line 6 teaches all potential customers English language/ proper usage so that ad copy can not possibly be misunderstood. Or they could OVERSTATE everything to make it much more difficult to misunderstand, but I doubt you will see any bullet points saying " X amount of DSP, and X number of effects and X number of amps all requiring different amounts of DSP, that can be arranged and used in any combination you like until DSP is exhausted" along with a listing of the DSP requirements of every effect and amp model any time soon. That would probably confuse many more people than the few who understood "Up to 8 simultaneously" to mean the same thing as "any combination of any 8 effects always available with any combination of amp models" I do like the idea of being able to add DSP the same way I add ram to my computer, this is not entirely without precedent as L6 made replacement/upgrade prom chips available for the old PODS, but I do not expect to see this DSP feature in my lifetime. Come on, surprise me Line 6! :)

:D

It already "does what it says it does". To do what you believe it should be able to do would take many times the current available processing power. If you reread my post you will find it to say "I would expect (it) to cost around $2500". My numbers are based on this: Use the most DSP intensive effect with the most DSP intensive amps and you will be limited to, what, 1 or 2 effects in the patch? To fill all 8 effects slots with the most DSP intensive effects I estimated you would need around 5X the DSP. I then multiplied the price of the HD500 by 5 and came up with "around $2500". Close to what an Axe/FX costs, yes? This is what I would expect it to cost, it was a rough estimate, maybe my math sucks, maybe it would only need 3X the power, maybe it would need 8X the DSP, maybe it would only cost $2000, maybe it would be $3000, but $2500 is, as I stated, what I would EXPECT it to cost. if you have more accurate numbers please feel free to post them here and tell us how you came up with them. Or if you have a guesstimate, feel free to post that too and tell us why your numbers are different than mine. Maybe I am way off, though I doubt it I would love to read about anyone else's wild speculation and reasoning process. Either way I am open minded to the possibility I am wrong... and that's one to grow on! :)

1. You CAN put 8 effects in a chain. If you can't figure that out please look at the "Getting Started" online guide or one of the countless guides on Youtube showing how to create a chain and add effects. If you still can't figure it out maybe get a friend to help. Or just scroll through the factory presets, some of them already 8 effects in a chain. 2. So if "Up to 8" to me means I should be able to put 9 effects in a chain, the POD should let me put 9 effects there? The problem seems to be a misunderstanding of English language/ common usage. You misunderstood the language in the L6 advertising. I get it, you want "up to 8 simultaneously" to mean the same thing as "Any 8 available at any time and with any combination of amps" but look at the difference between those two phrases... If you choose to refuse to see the light no one can help you, but the problem is yours, not Line 6's All of this is understandable if English is not your first language, otherwise I fear you may be reinforcing a negative stereotype involving metal musicians (full disclosure:I love metal)... "Why can't you just get it, man...?" Eh, get it or or don't. Good talk.

Uh, I think I was joking... but really, how many of the people buying the HD PRO are "professionals"? Any piece of gear is "PRO" if someone is using it professionally, and no amount of DSP or added features are going to make a person or a piece of gear "PRO". Many "PRO" guitarists (people who make their living playing guitar) would have no use for most of the features on the POD PRO and some bedroom players might need it to do things only gear costing 10X the price would do. Which is to say, I agree, putting "PRO" on a piece of gear means next to nothing - tho I wish it did. I think the "PRO" designation made sense on the PODS at some point because, in general, for most bedroom players a bean would be fine and not many bedroom guys have their gear mounted in racks but many "PROS" do - there were probably more rack guys back when the original POD PRO was introduced. TL;DR: in Line6 land "PRO" means "rackmount", any additional features are a bonus.

Starting with "0", list the number of effects one might include in a patch on a POD HD. Your list might look like this: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Or like this: 5,2,7,8,1,4,3,6,0 "Up to 8 effects simultaneously" could mean 0 effects. Or it could mean 1 effect. Or 2. Or 3. Or 4. Or 5. Or 6. Or 7. Or 8. Counting from 0 "up to" 8, zero is a number of effects one might choose to include in a patch on a POD HD. The other possibilities are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8. Any number of effects from 0 to 8 are "Up to 8". Yes, you are right, 0-8 effects is "not more than 8 at a time". Well, let's find out... do you agree that 1 effect is "not more than 8"? Would two effects be "not more than 8"? Based on what I learned as a child, any number of effects from zero to eight would be "not more than 8". Nine effects would definitely be more than eight. Eight effects would be the same as eight, neither more nor less than eight. If you change one word in your question... change it from "about 8, but sometimes less" to "SOMETIMES 8, but sometimes less", then yes that would be the same as "up to eight". All of the possible numbers of effects one might include in a patch on a POD HD from zero to 8 would definitely be "sometimes 8, but sometimes less" and " up to 8" and for sure "not more than 8" The advertising says you can use up to 8 simultaneous effects, you CAN use up to 8 simultaneous effects, there are factory patches that use 8 simultaneous effects. I wish someone would try to sue over this, take Line 6 onto one of those TV courtroom shows, it would be quite entertaining. Judge Joe Brown: "So you are suing because you didn't understand what the words "up to" meant...? Plaintiff: "Yes your honor..." Judge Joe Brown: "My ruling is in favor of the defendant. Court is adjourned. Go to commercial..." or whatever they say on those shows. Hmm, that would be a pretty short episode... he would probably have to do some character attacks and make fun of both parties or ask for lots of inconsequential information about how modeling works or something to pad out the segment. Still would be fun to watch! Erm... :mellow:

You CAN definitely put 8 effects in ANY of your patches. Simply start with a blank patch, put in 8 effects, and go from there. What you cannot do is put "ANY 8 effects you choose in combination with any amp or combination of amps" into ANY of your patches. It sounds like this is what you are asking for... unlimited combinations... until Line 6 builds a POD HD with enough DSP to run a patch with the most DSP intensive effect (was it the Harmonizer or one of the reverbs?) in all 8 effects slots in combination with 2 instances of the most DSP intensive amp there are still going to be people here maxing the thing out and complaining about it. I would expect a POD HD with this much DSP (call it the POD HD MEGA!) to cost around $2500... not likely to be many takers at that price when most users could get a POD that works perfectly well for them for 1/5 the price, or a POD HD 500 combined with a POD PRO that would do more than 99% of all guitarists could ever ask for around $1000. If you choose to use 8 effects in a patch your choice of which 8 effects you will be able to use will be limited. Your choice of which amps and how many amps you can use in that patch will also be limited, the limitations will be increased or decreased depending on which 8 effects you have chosen for the patch.

Perhaps the "PRO" designation refers to: 1. a prefix, having anti- as its opposite, used to form adjectives that have the general sense “favoring†the group, interests, course of action, etc., denoted by the headword: pro-choice; pro-American; prowar; pro-digital amp modeling. 2. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin, with the meanings “forward,†forming esp. verbs denoting forward movement or location (proceed; progress), advancement (promote; propose), or bringing into existence (procreate; produce); “before, outside of†(profane); “in place of†(pronoun). [< Latin prÅ-, pro-, comb. form representing prÅ pro1] pro-2 , a prefix, occurring orig. in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “before, beforehand, in front of†(prognosis; prophylactic; prothesis), “front part, extremity†(proboscis), “primitive or embryonic form,†“precursor†(prodrug; pronephros; prosimian, proamplification). 3. a prostitute

Maybe those guys are adding the inserts after they stripped/damaged the screw holes in the wood...? I have had the necks on and off of my two main guitars for travel maybe 20 times each, I don't have machine screw inserts and have never had a problem.

Couldn't I just bypass that small PCB at the bridge, cut and strip the wires that connect the bridge PCB to the motherboard, cut and strip the GraphTech piezo leads, join solder and shrink wrap? This would void the warranty, but changing the piezos will void the warranty anyway. Depending on where the connection was made you might gain some advantage on the JTV69 - the GraphTech piezo leads are very soft and flexible, and the wiring coming from the JTV bridge board looks pretty thick heavy and inflexible... as I recall some people here were having troubles with that wiring causing their trem to fail to return to position putting the guitar out of tune when the trem was used. The added flexibility of the GraphTech leads might solve this problem for some users.

1. The only difference is the bridge - but OH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE. The bridge on the JTV89 is crap and should be replaced IMO. The bridge on the JTV89F is high quality. If you bought the non-trem JTV89 and added the GraphTech bridge you would spend around $500 for the bridge and installation, plus you would void your warranty. Because of all this the JTV89F is well worth the extra $750 IMO. 2. The 89F will stay in tune better and longer (but is more of a PITA when changing strings), also I have seen reports here of broken strings on the 69 falling into the electronics control cavity and creating a dangerous situation. That said, I have the non-trem 89 and if I could turn back time (Oh, Cher... :wub: ) I would change it to a 69, not an 89F. The neck on my 89 is even crappier than the bridge and at least with the 69 I would have a wide variety of replacement necks to choose from, on the 89 replacement neck selection is extremely limited unless I have something custom made. 3. You can usually save some money when flying by removing the guitar neck and packing it in your luggage - I regularly travel with two guitars this way, I put the bodies in my carry on and store them in the overhead and carefully pack the necks in my checked suitcase with my clothing. If you transport the guitar in this manner you could buy a case when you get home, as I recall a standard Strat style case will fit the JTV69.