patgiff

Thanks a lot!

Hi I just got my HD500X yesterday. I got a free full Model Pack which I just installed. Unfortunately I cannot tell which amp model is "referring" to which real amp. Then I realized this is true in general, not just for the Model Packs. For example, how do I know which one is a Roland JC-120... I guess that is called "Jazz Rivet"??? There must be a list that shows all the mapping between model and real, and I hope somebody here can tell me where it is. Thanks!

I may need to come back and ask you exactly how to do that. I just decided NOT to buy a slightly used DT25 for a really good price, because it does not help me with my desire for a complete solution for acoustic and electric with the Variax/Pod combination. So getting a good acoustic sound with the Variax and the Pod is a priority for me. I already have a good electric sound from my H&K tube amp, which, if I move to Pod/L2T, I will not be using any more. The upside has got to be in getting an acoustic sound on stage with me.

I could not understand how a Variax could work without piezos, that's why I asked the question. How I got the idea...I saw a comparison of the JTV to the Standard in (I think) Thomann.de (I live in Germany) and it said the JTV had piezos and the Standard did not.

This thread helped me a lot. I just got a new HD500X yesterday. Got a JTV69 last week. My goal is to have electric, acoustic, and virtual capo all in one guitar in an integrated system. (I have been carrying a 2nd guitar with me just for one song, this is nuts.) Now I have the chance to buy a like-new DT25 for about $550 (I live in Germany) to go with my brand new 500X. For a purely electric rig this would be excellent. But after doing a lot of reading I came to the conclusion that my acoustic needs would still not be met. So I will have to go for FRFR, maybe the L2T. This thread confirmed that I have to let that DT25 go...sadly. I already have a very nice tube amp so no worries :-) But I agree, there is no point in having a Pod running into the mixer and having my tube amp with me on stage (unless a DT)- the sounds would be very different. Therefore the "Stage amp" will need to be FRFR.

I got your point, but my point was that even somebody who reviews guitar rigs for a living did not understand that a modeler should run into a FRFR for best results. I personally concluded a while ago that it didn't make a lot of sense to run a modeler whether a Pod or a RP1000 etc into the input of a guitar amp. And if you run it into the power amp only, why bother to have a guitar amp with a preamp section. Yes the logical conclusion is to get a FRFR. Looks like I may also be headed in the L2T direction as soon as I sell a few more of my guitars :-) Then I will see the look on the face of my lead guitar player who has been playing a 1979 Strat... since 1981.

I am just curious, if the Standard Variax has no piezo, how does the modeling work? Or maybe I misunderstood. Thinking of getting a Standard in addition to the JTV69 I just bought. To go with the HD500X I just ordered :-) These guitars are so much fun.

Thanks for the clarification, I was also wondering what is the difference between the two since they look identical and are almost the same price. For a little extra money I will buy the L2T because I just sold my Fishman acoustic guitar amp- since I sold all my acoustic guitars... bought a JTV, just ordered a HD500X... and hoping to "get it all" from a JTV/HD500X/L2T. "Hope springs eternal." But if I ever need a standalone "acoustic guitar amp" I can use the L2T. Very important: The advice about switching to PA/Reference mode when using a modeler. I just (an hour ago) read a review of the L2T (in German, I live here) where the guy tested the L2T using a Kemper Profiler, but he switched the L2T to "Electric Guitar" mode... and then he said the L2T is great, but not really suitable as a replacement for a guitar amp with 12" cab. And that was from a guy who reviews gear for a living.

The only thing I may be giving up is my (beloved) wireless capability. But that also has a benefit- another set of batteries to forget about :-)

Thanks, that #3 sounds fantastic. I never would have thought of that. Also possible just with the Variax cable?

OK guys I bit the bullet. I ordered the HD500X and will test it out for 30 days. With the Variax it seems to make a lot of sense. Of course this throws my current rig into question, but so be it.

I hear you. My back does too. A modelling preamp pretty much demands an FRFR, anything else does not really make logical sense. I just still wonder if the POD/FRFR combination is a convincing replacement for a tube amp. I am not religious about this. I had Spider Valve MKII's, then I had Digitech RP1000 running into an Engl Screamer, and I tried the RP1000 straight into the PA as well. I used a Tech21 FlyRig 5 into the PA. But today I have a Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister 36 head that I can carry with one hand. It has 128 presets and 4 built in channels. A basic set of effects. Nothing as grand as a Pod or Helix. But it sounds like a tube amp cause it is. But still, ff there was a Firehawk 750 weighing half as much, I would give it a try with a Pod HD!

Thanks, I will try going through pure DI pedal into the mixer and see how that works out. I think the ParaDriver may add cab emulation so I will turn it off. So you raise another question in my mind, as you say the DT 25 is not an acoustic amp and you should have FRFR or a mixer/PA ... so if you are playing a Variax through a Pod HD, and you are using a DT25 for your electric guitar sound, how do you bypass the DT25 and get to the mixer for the acoustic sounds? I had been seriously looking at that Firehawk 1500 but that thing is just too big and heavy for me.

I just got a JTV69 and probably for the same reasons as man others - so I can go to a gig with only 1 guitar. No more capo, no more 2nd guitar, no more separate rig for acoustic guitar... sounds like Nirvana (not the band :-)). Anyway I was checking out the acoustic sounds today and I was not really impressed. I was playing through a pretty high quality "Tech21 Paradriver DI" preamp into my powermixer (as I would with a real acoustic) but the sounds were not realistic. Sometimes sounded more like listening to a synthesizer than a guitar. Any advice? Please don't say I need to get a Pod HD and DT25 just for good acoustic sounds, I have a wonderful tube amp that I love already for my electric sounds. I have been compromising on the songs where I wanted to play acoustic, by playing very clean electric with some chorus etc. but I was hoping to get a realistic acoustic sound out of the JTV... one big reason for buying it. Next gig in 11 days! Thanks Pat

Agreed. But perhaps as a high-end option on the Helix. Look what people are willing to pay for a Kemper Profiling rig including the foot controller, it's around $2100. And that is not wireless either.

Maybe they should build wireless capability into the Helix? That is where a higher price point does not seem to be a problem.

Hi Napynap, thanks for the info, this is exactly what I needed to know! Keep on rockin'!

I guess I was very lucky indeed. A friend told me about the SV line (now that I think of it, another friend warned me that it was no good, but HE then spent a few grand on a 1-channel, hand-wired Suhr amp) and so I bought 2 of them within the last 6 months or so- first a HD100 brand new. Then, from the same dealer (I live in Germany) a 112 that was "B Stock" for an amazing price of 322 Euros, when if you can find them at all now they sell for over 500 Euros for a 112. I am just getting into all this amp can do, in fact I am in this forum because I want to try out the "Direct Out" feature to reduce the jet blast in our tiny rehearsal room with full drum set, bass, keyboard, lead guitarist with a Diezel 100W and 412 stack, and me with the HD100 and 412 stack. I already took the HD out and brought the 112 in, but it is still so loud. I figured it is worth a try to use the Direct Out feature and go directly into the mixer (a Behringer X.32) and then listen with a monitor or with the powered L&R boxes from the mixer. Anybody have experience with the Direct Out? Can somebody explain when to use it in "Studio" and when to use it in "Performance" mode, and why?