cruisinon2

As I don't have a Helix, perhaps this won't apply, but I'm assuming that there are multiple output modes, similar to the 500X, and that you would want "studio/direct" (or the Helix equivalent). Might it be something as simple as that?

The manufacturers generally have nothing to do with payment plans, unless they're selling directly to the customer. But here you go: http://www.sweetwater.com/financing/

Sort of...but unless you've got a 3rd arm for switching presets, after you buy your Kemper it's gonna cost you at least the price of Helix (possibly more), just for the foot controller.

To remind everyone...again...that Fractal is better, and most importantly, that he has one. Now hurry up and produce rapturous applause, damn it! Know your place! LOL ;)

I love the smell of troll pi$$ in the morning....smells like (pause, sniff) the Internet. ;) I liked your synopsis...for those of us who've never played with Helix, it's a nice overview. However, since I'm just as cash poor as I was five minutes ago, Helix shall have to wait, more is the pity. Oh well...;)

Well, one's individual experience is everything...and mine is just the opposite. I found a guy who makes his living building guitars, but is also a fine musician in his own right. And all any luthier need do in order to understand player's issues, is to shut up and listen...now whether or not they DO that, is another question entirely. Since most of the human race doesn't seem listen to anyone but themselves anymore, I'm sure most of these guys are no different. But once in a while you get lucky...though chances are, you will have to look around to find one. It's like finding a really amazing tattoo artist...chances are it's not the guy "down the block", but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Like everything else in life, you can spend almost nothing, or a small fortune. You can go solid state (generally cheaper), or buy a tube power amp which will be considerably more expensive, and require periodic maintenance that ain't cheap. Check out Rocktron, they make a number of power amps that don't cost a fortune. There's also Electroharmonix, they make a power amp called the "44 Magnum", the size of a stomp-box and 44 watts. Never used one, so I can't vouch for the sound or volume, but they're out there. As for monitoring the way you describe, yes you can...however, any given patch running full models into a DAW, and into a guitar cabinet at the same time, will yield 2 VERY different tones. What ends up getting recorded is not gonna sound anything like what's going on in the room.

Unfortunately, a lot of times all you're paying for is the look and the decal on the headstock. While I do own and play several big "name brand" guitars, and while they may hold their value, the build quality and playability out of the box are often suspect, even for an axe that costs you several thousand dollars. If you should decide that you're going to spend any significant amount of money on a guitar, I'd encourage you to seek out a luthier who will build you something from the ground up, exactly the way you want it. Dollar for dollar, you will get a WHOLE LOT more instrument than the products that are routinely churned out from anybody's assembly line "Custom Shop". Often this means little more than having a couple of extra finishes to choose from...but at twice the price. Let the flaming begin, lol...just my 2 cents.

I'd like to volunteer to receive a free Helix. I can be the 8,912,363rd customer (how much stuff have you guys sold in 20 years?) Just tell me to whom I should send my mailing address....;)

I told him to open the Fetzer valve, but did he listen? Nooooooooo....

Time to go power amp shopping...

Nahhhhhhhhhhhh...not in retail. It's the noblest profession on earth. They're like Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, and UNICEF, all rolled into one...or is it that they're universally full of $#!/, I forget.

Retailers are like politicians, just dumber, and with a much simpler end game...getting your money. They say whatever they think is necessary to get your money. Once they have it, the game is over. Any and all creativity or problem solving stops once the credit card goes through. After that, expect no more attempts to actually DO anything, because they've already won. "I don't know. The computer says we'll get the shipment next week. Anything else I can 'help' you with today?" And the "customer service representative" answering the phone cares even less about your problem than the guy who sold it to you.

Roughly translated, having a manager "get to the bottom of this" in Retail-Speak really means: "Uhhhh....I don't know anything, care even less, and it's time for lunch. So I'm dumping your problem on someone else who makes 75 cents more per hour than I do. Odds are he won't care either".

Ahh yes...the VAT tax. I hadn't considered that. And I was face to face with it in Scotland a couple of months ago...how quickly we forget, lol.

I'm surprised the new ones are still that much for you guys across the pond. With today's exchange rate, that's just under $1000...there have been a couple of places letting them go for $800 or less over here. There's just nothing inspiring about the Standards...it oozes "cheap", imho. If my JTV craps out, I'll either end up buying a used JTV, or a new Standard, consider it a $700 electronics purchase, canibalize it, and retrofit one of my Strats.

Doesn't make sense to continue to produce the 3 JTV models, plus the Standards. Now they may or may not be gone YET, but their days are definitely numbered. It's a niche product to begin with. 4 different models means 4x the production costs. Tool the factory for one thing, and crank them out...it's all about money.

From your detailed description, clearly the problem is the Fetzer valve. Turn counter-clockwise 3 full turns to open it, then the sound can get out.

Buying first generation anything is a crap shoot, now and forever. Better luck with your replacement...

I think you're gonna have to wait a bit. The 6 guys who've had them delivered so far just opened the boxes 11 minutes ago...

Not at all surprising. The real bummer is that you can't put a Strat neck on the Standards. I'd have to go to the guy who built my custom axe and have him build me a playable neck...it'll cost me considerably more than a Warmoth. Oh well...at least the axe itself is cheaper than the JTVs.

Oasis makes me angry...

Whenever the wife b1tches about the cost of gear, I just point to the nearest Coach purse, and remind her that she buys empty bags @ $300 a pop...

This is part of their new, cost saving "Hire-a-Hobo" initiative...;)

I swear people will be less interested in the trajectory of the asteroid that will eventually wipe out the planet, than they are with the whereabouts of a particular FedEx truck carrying a guitar amp...;)