I've had a Pod HD 500 for about 4 years. We get along quite well. But I've seen enough threads that digital modelers work for some and not for others. There is no way to know without explicitly trying it. Unfortunately the HD 500 X has a pretty steep learning curve and just playing around with it for a few hours isn't going to be sufficient. Be prepared to spend a good coup,e weeks getting to know the unit and getting comfortable to dial in a sound you might like. There are also some other units, usually pricier, like Amplifire or the newly arriving Helix that might be easier to use and get a tone/feel you like but are still cheaper than an Axe Fx unit. I think your best bet is to try to find a friend and borrow one for a couple weeks. Demoing in a store just won't suffice.
