billlorentzen

I don't think I could ever go back to playing just a single amp live. I've owned lots of great tube amps, of many types, but no amp can give me the real time control or variety I get with modeling. Since the main thing I care about is what goes to the audience or to "tape", why would I ever go back. When I'm playing on stage with in ears or floor monitors, I don't hear much of the amp output in the space anyway. Most pros have gotten past the need to feel the amp pushing air behind them on stage, just as keyboardists and vocalists have done for decades. I think modeling has the potential to actually surpass tube amps in sound quality, and I'm loving the technology ride!

Damn, after rereading my post, it does sound like I was name-dropping, but honestly, I'm almost embarrassed when I talk about being another musician's tech employee - even one like Chick. If I wanted to pump myself up, I have creds as a player that I'm much more proud of. And you're not wrong that a keyboard player's perspective on a company is going to be different than a guitar player's. The thing is, I was so blown away by Yamaha's service and products (partly the whole Japanese work ethic thing) that I have a ton of respect for them. You're correct that the standard could turn out to be a disappointment, but for various reasons, I don't expect that from these companies. I don't own a JTV. I've tried the 69 a few times at Sam Ash, and almost pulled the trigger, but I never felt 100% comfortable on the guitar itself - it felt clumsy and kind of clunky to me, a lot like most of the Fenders I have played over the years. I'm hoping the Standard has a more modern neck and better overall feel of quality. If I could love the instrument itself I would buy one immediately. It does bear remembering that there were a lot of production problems with the jtv at first, some of which might have been avoided had a really veteran manufacturer like Yamaha been involved from the get go. I'm hoping they get into the electronics eventually, and beef up the hardware for more professional durability. I was not particularly impressed with the feel of the pots and knobs in general.

I'm no engineer, but from what I do know, electronics costs are usually quite low after paying off the R&D (assuming adequate economy of scale). I think the reason the Standard is lower cost is simply that it's a very simple guitar. Little to no R&D costs, tried and true design and parts and no fee for big name designer. Strats are inexpensive to produce, which was part of the goal when Leo Fender designed it. My biggest concern is that I like the neck and it's not too baseball bat-ish and that the guitar is not dead feeling like many Fender Strats.

But since none of us has played or even inspected one in person, the only thing we are discussing is how it looks in a photograph. From that we can garner so little about its playability, build quality and sound that it's impossible to make evaluations about it. I would rather give Line6 and Yamaha (companies I have found to produce excellent and often brilliant products) the benefit of the doubt and not assume it's just a low level, poor quality instrument. If any assumptions should be made, based on their track records, it would be smart to assume they would produce something pretty f/ing awesome. I used to work as Chick Corea's studio manager and tech guy. For those who don't know Chick, he is regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianist of all time, as well as a brilliant composer, and winner of dozens of Grammys. For decades he has been one of Yamaha's highest profile endorsers. In my previous capacity, I used many Yamaha products and experienced the quality and integrity of Yamaha service and was never less than thoroughly impressed. They totally have their lollipop together. I would also add that as a long time Steinberg Cubase user, I have almost been disappointed by how little Yamaha seems to have impacted Steinberg products since their purchase of the company several years ago. My point is that from their past records, I would not worry about them making something crappy. If anything I am far more sanguine that the Standard will be a great instrument than I was about an American boutique builder mass producing instruments in Asia. Yamaha has 60 years of experience in the guitar making game. They are just about the best company that Line6 could have been joined with from my perspective. While the Standard does look like a no frills model, that certainly doesn't mean it won't be a high quality product. Let's wait and see.

You guys are aware that the jtv69s, the Pacifica and the standard all look like a million other strat clones?

Here is something that doesn't make sense to me: if tone wood does not make a difference, then why would a semi acoustic body make a difference? The pickup is not amplifying the acoustic aspect of the guitar, only the string, right? The body should not be a factor except in sustain, according to the physics video. I have a custom "super Strat" with EMG SA singles and an Ibanez as120 (more or less like a 335). I swapped pickups on the Ibanez to EMG 89s, which are a single and hum in the same case. The single is supposed to sound like an SA. I could not get a tone even remotely the same as the strat on that Ibanez. Obviously there are other factors such as scale length etc, but I thought I should be able to get something somewhat the same, but I assure you it was impossible (and I really wanted to get a similar tone, and tried hard to get it).

I wonder if there is space for a 9 volt for EMGs?

Yamaha makes guitars ranging from from budget to over $5K. I would love a variax in this $979 Pacifica 611. http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/el-guitars/pacifica/pacifica611vfm/?mode=model#tab=product_lineup&selected=346291_557421_346292_346293_193016_

For my first pro band, I had to learn 40 songs in two weeks, with note for note solos. I practiced 18 hours a day for a fortnight until I had horribly bleeding fingers. But it was worth it!

That should sound awesome, although honestly you don't need to run into a tube amp to get great tone.

I had a T5 for trial for a few weeks and had mixed results with my HD. The cleans were pretty good, and I liked the acoustic tones fairly well. However I did not get great crunchy sounds myself. I heard a demo video from Taylor in whic they got a really cool medium distortion sound, but they didn't show what the amp was. I was unable to get such a nice sound myself.

I totally agree that you have to spend time dialing in an amp before you can judge how effective it is for your needs. With so many amps to choose from, finding your winners in the HD is challenging. In future, I t might be useful for Line 6 to offer well tweaked workhorse examples of each amp in clean, medium and lead settings, instead of the rather useless patches they include with it.

I don't use any guitar preamp for an acoustic. Think about it like a mixer. You plug straight in to it. Then use compression like LA2A into an EQ then some verb.

Divided by 13 or deluxe, for my sound.

I'm hoping the neck is not as deep as the 69, which feels a little clumsy to me.

I have read that Nile's sound is simply a Strat straight into the board. Have you tried that? Most people find that dry and anemic, but with compression and EQ it can work.

Nice idea for installation. For my right hand technique a pick guard is necessary, but if you don't need it, I would skip.

JC 120 is a metal amp? Now I've heard everything.

Looks pretty good to me. I like the styling ok - it's alittle braver than the JTVs. I don't know much about Yammy guitars, but I like their pianos, audio, keyboard and PA gear a LOT and I've owned and used a ton of it.

Hmm. Link seem dead now and couldn't find it on namm.org or Google.

I'm afraid you're going to lose a block on the pedal, but if you're using the 4cm, you can use a regular analog vol pedal in that chain. I realize that's not what you're asking for.

I'm not sure of the exact dBs, but I raise mine quite a bit. Prolly over 5 dB. I like to mix my signal like a record. The rhythm level is right in the mix and the solo is at lead vox level. I use the pedal to change from whatever rhythm sound to the lead sound. I change a lot of parameters - maybe 50% for both amps and effects. The beauty of using the pedal is that you can keep your foot on it and switch instantly from rhythm to lead, or use an in between setting. Part of the reason I developed this method is because I am also a singer and I don't like looking down all the time to hit switches. But now that I use this, I would never switch back. It is so versatile and liberating.

I also use the Dimension as an alternative. Unfortunately, I can't spare the processing for an additional EQ. I'll try putting it before the amp. That might work out, since I rarely use it on heavily distorted patches. Suggestion for line 6: next time model the tc electronic analog chorus (the green one). It blows everything else away. And by the way, just because something is common doesn't make it the best of its type e.g. the Dynacomp (yuck). Suggestion 2: don't make effects boost volume for no reason!

I like the sound of the analog chorus, but it boosts volume like 3-4 dB which makes certain patches too loud. I have not been able to dial in a good sound with the trichorus. Anyone know some tricks or settings to get a nice smooth moderate chorus with the Tri?

IMHO the EX1 is pretty crappy. I can't get mine to consistently return to 0, although it does ok reaching 100. Circuitry is super cheap, as is the overall construction. I'm kinda surprised they made something so unprofessional. I own a few vol pedals and wah wahs, and all are 10x sturdier than this thing. Don't buy it. You will prolly be sorry.