cruisinon2

Gator cases are decent, and in that price range. I've got 2. Not a "road case" by any stretch of the imagination, but fine for local gigs. Just don't hand it off to the schmucks at the airport.

Gig bags are accidents waiting to happen anyway. They're ok for around the house, leaning it in a corner, etc. But gigging, in and out of cars...no thanks. Get a hardshell case, or it'll be pieces of the guitar that are falling off.

Scale length is another thing to consider...I can't find it here on the site anywhere, but I think the 59 has a shorter scale length than the Strat that you're used to. That may or may not matter to you, but it's the reason I don't own a LP. I could never get comfy on the shorter scale. If you're a Strat guy, I'd look seriously at the 69 instead. The modeling is all the same. Comfort is everything if you're gonna like any guitar.

This is 'Murica, folks! Who needs money when you've got credit? SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!!! ;)

A compressor normalizes the dynamic range of the signal, in other words it brings the all the notes that you play closer in amplitude. So with a heavily compressed signal, the dynamics are alerted. Notes that are picked very softly will seem almost as loud as those played when you're really digging in. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on the kind of tones you're after. If sustain is an issue for you on leads, then a little compression can give you a bit more by helping the note to hang around a little longer, even as the signal from the guitar begins to fade. Finding the right balance is mostly about experimentation. If you squish the signal too much, you'll lose dynamics altogether, and end up with a very muddy, dead tone that will tend to get lost in the mix. For clean patches, especially those that have trouble competing for volume with a crunch tone, a comp is a great way to provide a boost. As for overdriven tones, less is often more. Insane amounts of gain quickly becomes a mess...try dialing it back. Some of the amp models work very well with one of the distortion FX in front (I use the tube drive a lot), others not so much. Most, if not all of the distortions modeled in the POD have their own tone controls which allows a little "pre-EQing" before the amp model. I find this to be a good thing, many of the POD'S amp models tend to be a little bass-happy, so you can dial it back a bit. But no matter which distortion effect you use, you'll need to roll off the drive on the amp itself (sometimes a lot), if they're gonna play nice together. Mix and match, trial and error...you never know what's gonna end up sounding good.

Life will get much simpler if you invest in a powered FRFR speaker. There are some very modestly priced ones out there that guys are getting very good results with.

Lots of guitars have a square heel, 4 bolt neck pocket...but the precise dimensions of both the heel and pockets vary. It's not a given that any old neck will fit just because it looks "basically" the same as another guitar. The JTV 69's neck pocket is exactly the same as a Strat, so anything that fits a Strat is a drop-in replacement...the bolts are off-set, but that's easily dealt with, I've done it. It's the dimensions that matter. May or may not work with the Standards....until somebody posts some pics and says "this one fits", we're all just guessing.

Nothing that you hear in a demo video is going to sound identical when you get your hands on it...factory preset, or otherwise. I don't care how they claim it was recorded, or what other gear besides Helix was involved...there are simply too many variables to expect anything that even vaguely resembles continuity between a demo video and what you hear in your living room, rehearsal space, etc. As for your ears...yes, perception of tone can absolutely change from one day to the next. Ear fatigue is very real...especially if you're playing through headphones. Play long enough, even at modest volumes, and your ears start to get "numb", for lack of a better term. Tweak too much for too long, and the next day that patch is very likely to sound a bit "off".

Problem solved then...next! ;)

This one's on our set list too...I do exactly what you're looking for on the 500X, with a dual amp patch. One path with your acoustic model, and the other for the dirt, using the Variax mags instead of the LP model. Input 1 set to Variax, input 2 set to Variax Mags. Assign them to the expression pedal, and morph seamlessly...no patch switching. Does Helix not allow for that yet? If not, it's kinda pathetic. I find that I can get a crunch tone with the 69's humbucker that's quite similar to the LP model.

DING DING DING!!!! Just because the strap buttons come with their own screws, doesn't mean you have to use them...I won't tell Dunlop.

There's no way for L6 to answer that, because they don't sell directly to customers. So you're left with whatever fairy tales the retailers are peddling...and we all know how trustworthy that business is. Stuff gets repackaged and sold as "new" all the time. Why lose money when they can pawn it off on somebody else, hoping they won't notice?

Rule #1: They all come unhappy. It's standard issue. Rule#2: It's easier to get forgiveness than permission. Unless you sit on the couch all day while she goes out and works, then go buy your toy...otherwise, next time she wants a new handbag, tell her she has to sell 3 pairs of shoes first.

Good luck. I'm 10 minutes from a large GC, and 2 Sam Ash locations...never seen a Variax at any of them.

Personally, I wouldn't part with a good Strat to get a Variax...and I like my JTV. Some folks don't take to the Variax all that well...no way to know until you've messed with it for a while. If you decide is not for you, then you're out a Strat too. Save up the $700, then experiment.

Well its several orders of magnitude better than "just raise the action by an ameoba's nose hair, and see if that helps"... Still waiting on an explanation as to why the plink can be assigned to any string you want, merely be swapping wires. Kinda shoots the "improperly seated piezo crystals" theory in the foot.

Most of my patches are not overly complicated either. I see no point in routing everything to Hell and back, just because I can. I do use dual amps a lot, but for the smooth transitions between tones without the drop out of switching patches. I don't really bother with trying to merge 2 amps for one tone. For FX, it's pretty sparse. A delay, reverb, sometimes a little chorus for the clean tones, and either the tube drive or the screamer in front of the amp model for crunchy rhythm tones. I want it to sound like a guitar, not a spaceship.

I stopped watching this masterbatory nonsense after I heard : "...but learning to play takes time and commitment. Can we focus on the music instead of the aching fingers?" NO. YOU CAN'T. That's part of the commitment. There's no substitute. End of story. Instant gratification is a disease. Let's get Pfizer working on a cure for that instead of elephant-strength painkillers and crazy pills....

Wow. Obviously a Rhodes Scholar. The 68 IQ in its native environment is a thing to behold...

Amen.

The "line" will never be reasonably defined because it's not in their best interest to do so. They will just continue to warn of the dangers of failing to go to an "authorized service center"...no matter how simple or mundane the issue. This will never end. Want a set of 9's on it instead? Well now you need an appointment...and maybe FedEx, depending on your proximity to the place. Boggles the mind. What should cost $5 for strings, and a half hour of your time, is now days to weeks, plus shipping costs for some folks. It's the musical equivalent of taking your car back to the dealer for a $75 oil change. Don't cut it in half with a hack saw. That'll be hard to hide. Don't run it over with a truck. Other than that, have at it. It's yours. You bought it. Want different strap buttons? Go bananas...no one cares, and no one will ever know. If you're still losing sleep over it, save the old ones. Put them back on in the highly unlikely event that you ever need to camouflage your "alteration"...if you can even call it that. You're obsessing over nothing. I had a new neck on mine after about six weeks...the sun was still there the next morning. Only required turning 2 more screws than a strap button job (I did that too), and just as easy to undo if the Warranty Police show up with a warrant. Then came the pick guard. Bunch of screws that time. It was touch and go...almost called for backup on that one. ;)

No switching string gauge without sanctioned intervention from an "authorized service center"...right. Because the month that you'll be waiting to get the guitar back is really necessary. Time and money well spent. Unreal. Toe the line folks. Toe the line...

Does your drummer play to a click track? If not, fixed delay times can ugly if it's a U2-ish kinda tune that relies on the repeat landing at a specific time. Drummers, being the...ahem..."fallible" creatures that they are. ;)

For God's sake, it's your guitar. Change the strap buttons if you want to...and should it need a warranty repair, put the old ones back on. No one will ever know the difference if you quit advertising that you did it...

Either way, harmless info in the wild...but I know it's beating a dead horse, as it shan't be forthcoming. On the count of three, everyone approximate! Whew...that was close.