pwhittles

Thanks. I mentioned the Strymon also as the industry standard great Tape Echo emulator. I've 2 HD500's - a Desktop and a HD500X. Might be time to sell both and get a Helix. I'm just thinking the price will drop a bit after the early adopter phase is over

I'm a longtime user of the HD500x and I love it However, The tape delay is worthless Tape delay pedals are expensive An emulator like the Strymon El Capistan is about $300 A REAL tape delay like the SSTE is over 1k How is the tape delay in the Helix? Is it credible? I own several Gretsches and a REAL SOLID tape delay is essential, not just for playing Mystery Train The HD500x tape delay is SO bad. It makes my teeth hurt It's the only 'bad' effect IMO I'm quite impressed by the Leslie emulation btw

Check out my post from 3 May, the first sound cloud file Especially near the end of that file, they swirly keyboard sound? That's an Ibanez hollow body guitar. Line in to the computer from the POD HD no DAW effects POD can give you some GREAT keyboard sounds Check it out Also the bass guitar in that track is the same guitar using the POD for Octaving Heck, everything except for the drums is s guitar through a POD NO AMP no effects in the DAW imo, some of that digitally sounding stuff, like the keyboard is awesome Love my POD I think the crunchy guitar sounds pretty organic and the POD is nice for that, but it's awesome to be able to fill in for a bass guitar and a keyboard with a guitar using POD Instead of sounding like somebody else, there are so many sounds that have never been created or heard, just some button clicks and knob turns away!!!

It is personal preference. I've played wide/thin for DECADES - PRS and Ibanez but I adore the 69 neck. I'm not a stray fan at all. Give me a Tyler 69!

In addition to seeking out a 'real' (old fashioned) sound, the hd500 excels at getting a solid intentionally digital tone. Nothing wrong with that. Check out my recordings. I love getting new, sounds in a digital realm. My influences reflect that eg Adrian Belew A lot of people want to sound like Hendrix WTC but IMO if he was alive, he'd be taking advantage of new stuff just like he did back in the day and you'd heard some very DIGITAL tones If you embrace the digital , POD's gain a whole new awesome utility

i believe the POD is an awesome multi-effects unit It was my first line 6 product. I now also own a Tyler Variax 69s SSS configuration with maple fretboard Anyway, here's links to a couple of recordings I made The only equipment used was a POD and my 1980 Ibanez AS200 The 'bass' line and swirly keyboard (the latter prominent in the last minute or so of first link) were in fact my guitar into the POD all gussied up with effects There is no amp, POD was direct into my PC via USB and I used Reaper as my DAW I didn't know jack about mastering or mixing when I did this stuff so it's not polished, but I think it does a good job of demonstrating the diversity of tone (and even instrumentation simulation) possible with a POD now of course with my Variax, I have even more flexibility Comments, questions, ridicule, scorn etc. -fire away (The other stuff on my sound cloud page are a few live recordings of my colleg band done 25 yrs ago on to a CASSETTE tape during a live gig, so very low-fi and one surf instrumental laid down into my 4 track . These are all circa 1988 or so I hadn't played the cassette in over a decade and it actually held up 'ok' . I simply recorded right onto a VHS camera and then played the audio and recorded to a cassette, so it is what it is I have seen gear snobs pummel the POD but I ignore them It's awesome! https://soundcloud.com/whittles-1/beats https://soundcloud.com/whittles-1/da-theme-remixed

I don't get the neck or the headstock hate Imnsho it's all 'stray disease' If the 'strat look' is how you define how a guitar is SUPPOSED TO LOOK (at least one with similar dimensions), then I grok it, but I personally don't WANT a strat copy. I'd way rather have something different Sure, the 69 is inspired by the strat but its its own beast and IMO that's a darn good thing Granted, I could own a dozen guitars and I could easily think of that many or more I'd rather have than a strat They just leave me cold

Stock neck is AWESOME IMO (maple fretboard) but yea I can slip It off really easily if I try. I think it's no biggie to adapt to it, certainly less effort for me than adapting to jumbo frets when I got a guitar with those, or adjusting from my Ibanez neck to my Tele neck but YMMV it definitely is a 'thing' but I LOVE the 69 neck

I don't buy this concept that digital sounding = 'bad' It depends. There is certainly a time and a place to sound digital and NOT organic I want equipment that can give me whatever sound I want for the project I am doing Oftentimes , the last thing I want to sound like is the Sam cliched sounds/tones we've been hearing for decades to the point where people think 'thats what a guitar is supposed to sound like' So when the OP says as close to the real thing, I would say WHAT real thing? Some of the first guys to employ distortion took a knife to a speaker. There was NO 'real thing' that Link Wray was trying to sound like It was a new thing. I got into effects right off the bat and one of the reasons I got a POD and a Variax is to forge my own way. Sure on a tune I might want an effect that sounds like a Leslie for instance, but in general I want equipment that will allow me to express the way I feel; what I want to say, and the sound I hear inside when I conceptualise a song Variax with workbench is AWESOME because we can create guitars that not only gave never existed before, but that CANNOT exist in the real world THAT is awesome Don't get me wrong. I appreciate for instance (in addition to his brilliant playing), the tone that Hendrix achieved.... And given the equipment available at the time, he definitely squeezed the {##}##}#*%{\%# out of an upside down start. A few pedals and an amp (and a lighter and his teeth!) and certainly a lot of guitarists seek that sound of a 'real' vintage strat and a real Marshall and bla bla bla and would be stoked to have that tone (and of course those CHOPS!) But what I find ironic is that imo if Hendrix were alive today, I don't think he would sound ANYTHING like 'classic Hendrix' Heck I think he'd give Adrian Belew a run for his money I'm way more concerned with my equipment allowing me to make sounds where the word 'real' has no meaning since they are new and unique to me We have such an embarrassment of riches, so much technology that will help us make new music and sound UNREAL that's what excites me Analog 'warmth' is cool but so is digital I embrace it!!!!

I have a 69s (s s s) maple fretboard LOVE IT fwiw, it's obviously strat inspired and I am not a strat fan I LOVE the neck and the mag pups

Maple neck andor fretboard sound EXACTLY the same as Rosewood Any differences come sbout because they feel different, thus the player attacks playing them in a different manner and ...boom... Tonal differences Over and over, it has been proven body 'Tonewoods', neck wood, fingerboard wood (note the string vibrates against the FRET not the fretboard) have zero effect on tone

I've been using my HD500X with my guitars and LOVE IT I also own a POD HD bean I need to get fixed I'm considering selling or trading it, however I'm also considering adding it to my chain, most likely connected serially Certainly won't BE lacking in DSP! Any thoughts on running two Pod's? I was also considering running the bean through the effects loop of the Hd500x Apart from the HD500x, I also use an old Rat II distortion pedal, and effects in my DAW

I'll give my contrary opinion about the 69s neck. LOVE it and my main guitar before this has a wide thin neck 1980 Ibanez AS200 i chose the maple fretboard fwiw Lobe the width and thickness

Not to bag, but a sound file on sound cloud is way easier than using filedropper, downloading etc

My amp doesn't have an effects loop so I have never been able to try this method :(