cruisinon2

Amen...THIS is where you should spend your money if you're looking for genuine craftsmanship and attention to detail. It's a labor of love for those guys, not an assembly line. I've known only one personally and professionally for about 20 yrs now, and he estimates that he spends about 150-200 hours per instrument. I waited almost 2 years for mine. For me it was likely a once in a lifetime purchase. It wasn't cheap in '99 when I got it, and I can't afford today's price...but I'd rather have that one guitar than any 10 Gibsons or Fenders on the planet.

Well if that's the only yardstick used to designate one as a "pop" artist, then everything is pop music, making it a truly meaningless designation. Mozart had lots of fans, and so does Metallica...therefore, they're both "pop" music?

A rule it is indeed, and a simple one at that. It's called "this is what we think people are gonna buy". Doesn't much matter if it makes sense or not.

Yup, everybody likes what they like. Best way to guarantee that a kid will have no interest in music (or anything else for that matter) is to force it on them....

Lol...this is going to replace "fantabulous" as my new favorite word. ;)

As far as I'm concerned, neither of those acts fall into the "pop" category. Now we can argue over what the definition of "pop" is if you want, but that seems rather pointless...so much so, I've already lost interest.

Mainstream pop never really had any guitars to speak of though...from Boy Bands, to Britney Spears, to any of today's interchangeable pop singers. None of that crap ever had much in the way of guitars. It's the rock genre (and it's myriad sub-genres) that have taken a beating. If kids aren't learning to play, then there's nobody to shove us old farts off the stage. ;)

Don't hold your breath, they've already got 3 other tremolo models...soiling the 59 with a trem would just pi$$ off the stop-tail crowd. ;)

L2T live, and a pair of JBL LSR305's in the "studio" at home.

Good question. I also have to wonder if pricing is driving away some customers. So much of what's offered by Gibson and Fender is comically over-valued, imho... and I hesitate to even mention the pre-ruined "relic" instruments that they're hawking for thousands of dollars. Plus, it's tough to make your brand attractive to a younger generation when your entire marketing strategy all along has been to relentlessly monetize the word "tradition"...that only works when you're pandering to an older demographic nostalgic for the "good old days". Kids read that as "we've been making the exact same thing for 70 years". For the most part it's true, and it doesn't resonate with them. My first guitar at 13 was an ultra-cheapo Strat clone...the body wasn't even solid wood, it was some kind of painted and lacquered press-board...you could see the individual layers inside the cavity, lol. But all of the players I idolized at the time were playing Ibanez, Jacksons, Charvels, and Kramers in every hideous, seizure-inducing neon color of the rainbow...what did I want with a Strat? Buddy Holly played a Strat, was already dead for decades, and my mother still listened to him on vinyl.;) Gotta know your market...

Lol...yup. Sad, but that's how the cookie crumbles more often than not. There are only so many "rock star" positions available. And forget about your chops...most of us aren't pretty enough anyway. ;)

Don't give our benevolent despots any ideas. Just imagine how Judas Priest's asinine "subliminal messages" trial might end today, with a jury of "words hurt" millennials Tweeting themselves into a frenzy of phony outrage from the courtroom...

Nothing in that article surprises me. Smartphones and social media have gifted the averaged person with the attention span of a gnat. Kids no longer make eye contact with anything but little 3"x 5" screens. Band practice? That would require going outside...plus it's hard to take selfies whilst playing an instrument.

Ahh, music retail clerks...well at the very least take comfort in the knowledge that there's a reserved seat in Hell for that guy, right between a used car salesman and a personal injury attorney. ;) Return it and get one that hasn't been abused. At least have the pleasure of dinging it up yourself...

The only output mode I've ever had success with is "studio direct"...regardless of whether I'm playing through an amp and cab, or my current FRFR rig. The other output modes are beyond awful, imho. No amount of tweaking could get rid of the shrill, go-cart meets rusty chainsaw sound they produce. I tried to make them useful, to no avail.

Gee, that's clever. My most humble apologies for exaggerating a bit to make a point...and congratulations on your experience. However that doesn't change the fact that ours is a disposable economy. Replacing defective merchandise is quite often cheaper than repairing it, and hardly anything is made to last anymore. Once "we" collectively decided that this is how we wanted the world to work, the demand for independent repair shops, and the knowledgeable folks who used to work there, plummeted. They're used to be places like that everywhere...now they hardly exist at all. Now, for most things... and especially musical gear, you're "authorized service center" is the retailer you bought it from. If you want the 19 yr old "technician" at GC, with his minutes of experience fixing your gear for you, more power to you.

If I were you, I'd demand a replacement altogether...it's brand new. It should function as advertised. Stuff that's busted right out of the box has a nasty tendency of staying that way, even after "repairs". And in my experience, most of the world's "authorized service centers" leave much to be desired...

Unlikely. If the bridge is anything like the ones on the JTV 69, then the piezo leads run through a hole in the sustain block, and are connected to a small circuit board fixed to the opposite side.

Lol 😂 I have several questions about quality pruning shears...

You can try re-flashing the firmware, but this doesn't sound like a software problem. More likely a dead piezo. If it's brand new, just get out while you can and get a guitar that works...this one is gonna be an albatross.

There will be no universal answer to this question. My lousy early-design VDI lasted me barely 2 years, though with orders of magnitude more than 2 hours of weekly use. The jack itself, who knows? But unless there's visible damage on one or the other, without a second VDI cable to test, it will be basically impossible to tell whether it's the cable or the jack that's giving you the trouble. Get a second cable... if you're gigging, you need a spare anyway.

Yup... when in doubt re-load the firmware, and/or do a factory reset on the POD. Back up your patches first...

Technically speaking yes, you are correct. As far as which direction to turn it to produce more or less relief, though...it's always the same, no matter what the design...clockwise for less relief, counter-clockwise for more relief. That's all I meant, though I should have been more precise. The cloak and dagger nonsense baffles me too...I'm reasonably certain that saying "yes it's a dual action truss rod" won't cause the earth's magnetic field to reverse itself, but it will likely be treated as a State secret nonetheless...

Not really sure what that means...you can load a preset into any slot, in any set list. They're all just folders in a big digital filling cabinet...doesn't matter what's already in there. You're overwriting the existing patch when you drag and drop a new one in. Put stuff wherever you want. After dragging the patch to whatever slot you want it in, you have to either double-tap "save" on the unit, or highlight the patch in HD Edit and click "send selected", otherwise it will not be stored permanently. Then modeling may not be for you...and that's OK. It's not an amp, and doesn't behave like one...some guys take to it, some don't. Yes, you can create and edit patches on the POD itself, but it's a tiny little screen, and combing through all the menu options with knobs and arrow keys gets old real quick. Everything is infinitely easier and quicker with a computer and HD Edit. It's almost a necessity... You're also gonna find yourself at a significant disadvantage if you rely on Customtone for your sounds. Frankly, it sucks...99% of what's on there is garbage. Eventually you'll have to get used to creating your own tones if you want to be anything close to happy with the POD. Most stuff is in the manual. Not everything of course, most manuals leave something to be desired, but this one covers the bases fairly well...it's a free download.

Don't be surprised if you don't get an answer. The powers that be have a peculiar aversion to divulging innocuous info... particularly anything that even vaguely relates to setting up a Variax.