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 :(

i have heard some awesome sounding acrylic guitars but here is what is funny play a person a sound file of an acrylic strat and TELL them it's a vintage strat and they will say how "warm" and "resonant" the wood sounds etc. Show them a video first and they see it's an acrylic strat and they will say it sounds lifeless tinny and dull heck, even though i KNOW it's pure psychology, I admit I can fall prey to this. I look at the acrylic guitar and it SOUNDS different to me. it is SO SO SO Subjective and we dont realize it years ago, I was remarking to a total blues guy (I am not a blues guy although I appreciate SRV Buddy Guy, BB King etc) how I though the version of Cat People on let's dance has the most awesome intro ever and is a near perfect tune. He said how soulless and lifeless that album was - pure pop crap, especially for bowie. I remarked on how awesome the solos are, for example on Let's Dance. He didn't agree (he had no idea SRV plays all the solos on the album... Nile Rogers, my guitar hero, produced and plays most of the rhythm) as soon as he found out it was SRV, he LISTENED and HEARD it differently and admitted he now thought it sounded awesome but he had never HEARD it that way if you have a preconceived notion BEFORE you hear something, it is impossible to hear it objectively when I was in High School (ok, 1984 I admit it), I had a 4 track and I recorded a very rudimentary cover of white wedding. I rented a microphone and since I didn't own any drums and was just recording in my living room (didnt feel like driving to our practice garage where my drummer had his stuff), I ended up using some cardboard boxes etc for the "drums" People I played it for asked me who was playing drums and that it sounded "good" i knew it was a cardboard box and it sounded thin to me, but they didn't and it sounded good there are few things more subjective in our experience than what enters through our ear drums and into our brain

There are a metric buttload of reasons to spend a lot on a guitar - iow where it is worth it 1) investment 2) aesthetics 3) piece of history 4) craftsmanship 5) tone etc.etc. But again, it's as simple as this. The physics suggest wood makes no difference. So, it's a pretty extraordinary claim but I am not even requiring extraordinary evidence Just this ONE PEER REVIEWED DOUBLE BLIND STUDY that shows tonewood makes a discernable difference TO ANYBODY (as long as they are blind - as is the person creating the tone) It's pretty telling with the MILLIONS of dollars profit made from tonewoods, they can't come up with ONE solid study to prove it makes any difference

My 69s was from Sweetwater as well. It has worked flawlessly and was setup great. Imo, they are a good choice to buy from

I would like to point out that this "Warmoth" etc. necks making a big improvement is VERY much subjective and dependant on your hand shape, finger size etc. A fair # of people have commented on being unhappy with the neck and/or seeing an improvement upon replacement. Again, people who are unhappy are much more likely to post than those that are happy with it stock Personally, I've played a LOT of guitar necks, and I own a PRS, an Ibanez, and I've played plenty of Fenders. I GREATLY prefer the stock (maple) 69S neck to many other necks I've played and yes that includes Warmoth. If the neck doesn't fit you, it doesn't fit you. But it is not true that a Warmoth or whatever neck is BETTER than the stock neck. For SOME yes, but not for others. Personally, I would NEVER change this neck. I love it So just keep that in mind when you read that "oh noes this neck on the JTV was so awful and the Warmoth is such an improvement" People tend to extrapolate from the individual to the aggregate. Iow, person X does not like the JTV neck and likes his replacement much better THEREFORE the replacement IS A MUCH BETTER NECK (implied: for everybody) that;s utter rubbish again, ymmv

I did own a stratocaster at one point. In high school, besides the punk stuff I was into (which you can play with any guitar as long as you jack up the distortion), I was WAY into the Police, the Jam (Weller played a Rickenbacker btw and I think the bassist did too), and especially U2 In every video I saw. the Edge was playing a strat Our band was practicing for a talent show, doing two U2 songs - I will follow and New Year's Day I had pretty minimal gear at that point, but I had a good digital delay, a good chorus, and Tremolo and Reverb in my amp. with that combo, the tone was pretty close to the Edge's (it helped to play in a big auditorium) and we won! yah! :l But over time, I turned out that the sound I admired in guitarists from the bands I listened to, despite how common Strats were - were rarely a strat. The Cult, the Who (imo, best tone ever and he played a Gretsch for that album and quadrophenia), Eddie Cochrane, The Cure, etc. btw, here is The Jam live (weller playing a Rickenbacker) 7:35 awesome and he plays more than one rickenbacker throughout the concert (Funeral Pyre shows off his bright rickenbacker vs,. his Black one) I love this performance of In the CIty (we covered it when I was in college) I am pretty sure that is a rickenbacker bass as well as guitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyF1se8528Q I *will* admit that now that I have a strat clone (to an extent) guitar - the 69s, it is fun to play and fun to get that ":strat quack" For giggles, I played a couple of clapton riffs and they sound perfect, whereas they sounded a little weird on my Ibanez hollowbody And maybe, to some extent I am just being iconoclastic for the sake of being iconoclastic iow, if "all the cool kids " play it, I want to paly somethimg different

I think a huge part of why people think X is inferior to a classic Strar into a tube amp is not because the latter is instrinsically "better" but because it;s tge sound we were weaned on and heard most of our life. It becomes the "default" good tone, because we are used to it, and the good players used it on (insert 10 trillion songs here) When you are surrounded by something. told it is the best, and it'S what you hear from the best artists, it naturally becomes the baseline by which you judge all others This is true in EVERYTHING, not just tone. Example: I've been a strength athlete for over a decade, trained with olympians etc. Before all this, my idea of the ultimate female beauty was TOTALLY different than it is now. Now, I consider a reasonably well muscled female weightlifter (note" WEIGHTLIFTER NOT BODYBUILDER - The sport of Olympic Style Weightlifting) to be the pinnacle of beauty. IOW, IT'S to a large extent - environment. The environment (moreso or less so depending on age) we grew up in, bombarded us with a trillion guitar geniuses playing a strat, with that "stratty quack" I imagine if you took a person who grew up listening only to classical music, with a baroque or whatever instrument set, and you denonstrated various guitar/amp tones, they would have a VERY different view of what sounds best vs. what we do. Probably, to them, it would be a guitar tone that sounds more like one of the instruments they were used to Granted, I will admit to being a guy who has never been impressed by strats, and who only owned one for a brief period of time, out of a lot of guitars. It wouldn't even break into my top 10 probably, so I admit that bias

Another thing about Niles I like is that he , like Miles Davis and the Edge, believes that it's not so much the notes you put in that makes it funky. It's the notes you leave out!!! It is the exact opposite philosophy to the 'shredder ethos' of 'how many notes can u fit in a 30 second solo

I think you are missing my point I'm not saying Niles Used a JC-120 He may have on a song or two but not that I am aware of You are correct in that a pretty dry strat is his bread and butter He may add a little reverb, compression , and even chorus My point is that the JC-120 is analogous to Niles Iow, they are both ubiquitous Song after song in modern pop and rock, you hear a certain tone/style/groove and ... You know it's Niles and it turns out to be true The same is true of JC-120. You hear a song abd it just screams JC120 to you and it turns out to be true Both are bedrock elements of many pop, funk, pop songs (not IN the same songs but just defining aspects of SO many songs) Niles has influenced countless guitarists and producers The JC120 has influence countless guitarists and producers Niles has inspired countless copycats The JC120 has inspired countless copycats Niles has gone against the CW in regards to 'what sounds good' using ghost notes and chord fragments to incorporate chords into pop that nobody would ever use because they sound weird - but not whn Niles plays them that way The JC120 has proved that solid state can sound warm and soulful, against CW Etc etc

Just to clarify here since I did mention it in another thread and it seems that some assumptions are being made... I bought a dented and scratched in other words it was either used as a demo or actually shipped and sold to somebody who shipped back. Presumably it's at least reasonable to suspect that the firmware version in place when I received the guitar was current at the time it was a demo or a purchased instrument but again that's just a reasonable assumption not a clear fact Prior to purchase I made sure that had the newer round tremolo opening versus the oval one based upon at least a dozen threads I had bread in this forum and others about the newer tremolo system being superior I was actually pleasantly surprised with its condition since in the pictures it look like there was a couple of couches in the pick guard but once I receive that I realize that they were in fact just tears in the thin plastic covering that covers the pick guard and pick ups and that you peel off upon receipt Again just speculating but this makes me suspect that it was a demo and not actually shipped out to a customer since tearing off the plastic over the Picard to pick ups would be the first thing you do when you get a guitar s although again I don't know if they would reapply that covering but probably not especially because there were those tears in it so again I think it's reasonable to assume that it was a demo and not shipped to a customer REGARDLESS of its provenance, it was setup flawlessly and LOOKS brand new. I am very pleased It was set up so perfectly that all I had to do was some very minor tuning peg adjustment and even after playing simple straight hours it was still in perfect tune and perfectly intonated The only thing I could fault the veriaxes for is the lack of a nylon string setting but based upon my understanding of how PAs those work and from what I've read here that would not be an easy thing to do I will be playing it today with the new firmware 2.1 and I'm happy that I already recorded some of the stuff I did with the preinstalled firmware so will be interesting to hear the difference although I used a pretty low-fi Tuy up just sticking my iPhone voice recorder app in front of my amp not exactly the kind of high tech set up I do use to make a real comparison

I will let you know. I am using Workbench to make some custom guitars, then I will go check out the difference! Good call, btw. I (wrongly) assumed Sweetwater would update the patches, although certainly not a big deal