cruisinon2

I still think the 500X is great. All indications are that Helix will be better, and I wish you luck in your quest. But personally I don't believe what you're asking for exists in a device that's designed to do 1000 different things...from L6, or any other company. I've used so many different pre-amp/modeler/multi-fx units over the years that I've forgotten half of them. What I do know is, I never achieved instant gratification with a single one of them. If any one had turned out to be instant tonal nirvana and tweak-free going forward, I'd probably still be using it. In my experience, the easiest way to quickly dial in clean, blues, crunch, and lead, is a 2 channel head and a couple of different stomp-box distortion pedals. More than that, and things get easily muddled. "The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to clog up the drain." -Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, USS Enterprise ;)

C'mon...you don't like the billboard...uh, I mean logo monopolizing every square inch of real estate on the headstock? ;) It is hideous isn't it? Like a toupee with a chin strap...

Even if it were possible, why would you want to? Helix is supposed to be a superior modeler. You'd effectively be paying $1500 for a device that would then proceed do an impression of the POD you already have.

If you just happen to stumble upon the exact same tone, immediately stop what you're doing and go buy a lotto ticket...;) Because it's far more likely that you'll be half-way through your next life before you accidentally run across exactly what you're looking for...if it ever happens at all. All kidding aside, there really is no "recipe" to follow, it's mostly gonna be trial and error. Listening to the tune, then nipping and tucking the patch until what you hear coming out of your amp is as close to the recording as you can get it. It can be a lengthy process. Unless there is a really obvious effect in use (big delay, flange, phaser, wha, etc), I'd concentrate on the basic dry tone first, and worry about the special sauce later. If you happen to know what amp(s) the player in question uses, you could start with that same model in the POD (or something similar if the exact amp model isn't in there). Or if you have a patch that's "in the ballpark", start with that and season to taste.

Ugh...If that's what you got out of my post, I don't know what to tell you. Then again, since I don't know if you're being deliberately obtuse or not, I'll give you then benefit of the doubt. At no point did I say it was impossible to get two patches at the same volume. What I said was, you need your ears to do it. If you want to use an external dB meter, fine...but even that can be misleading because of the way we perceive different frequency ranges. The meter might read 90dB for two patches, but that doesn't mean that one won't SEEM louder than the other, depending on how they're EQ'd. But either way you choose to go about it, it can only be reliably accomplished after a speaker starts moving air. Expecting the device to level everything internally, before any sound has made its way out into the room, will yield mixed results at best... for all the reasons I've already stated.

I figure most of them just get lost. ..either thrown out with the box because they don't know what it is, or think they won't need it, or just plain old misplaced. Then when it comes time to sell the axe, they claim it never came with the guitar so they don't look like a tool...all other things being equal, you can safely assume that the stranger trying to sell you something is lying. I'm also willing to bet that there are a bunch of owners who (even if they like the guitar and keep it for a while) are more casual players, take the guitar for what it is out of the box, and never even look at Workbench. It's easy to lose something you never use. Either that, or there's a serious QC issue with packaging at the factory, and L6 needs to fire Dongle Guy...;)

If the guy you're buying it from really never had the USB dongle, it's entirely possible that the firmware is years old at this point (unless he was connecting through another L6 device like the POD, and updating that way). If that's the case, then you're gonna be way behind the modeling curve at this point. So yes, you will definitely need the dongle, unless of course you've got a compatible L6 device yourself. The Workbench software is really essential to getting these guitars sounding the way you want. Once you've had a chance to mess with it for a while, there will be things that you're gonna want to tweak...that's pretty much a guarantee.

I've yet to meet the solid state guitar amp (obviously not talking about modelers) that sounded good.

LOL...hey, you like what you like. I have but one axe with gold tuning machines, and it's on a custom piece such as what I described above. Just happens to work for that particular instrument. I seriously doubt I'd ever put it on anything else...most of the time it really does end up looking like hubcaps on a tractor ;) ...especially gold bridge saddles. There's just no reason for that...and the plating is often so thin that it's gonna wear off anyway.

+1....I don't get the pricetag. Yes, they're pretty...but $4K for their Cadillac models? Two thousand of that is the PRS name. I suspect that most people have no idea how much guitar $4K can buy from a serious craftsman. One who presents you with a dozen blocks of cut and sanded figured woods from which to choose what will become the top of your guitar, has you come to the shop when he's ready to shape the neck so you end up with exactly what you want before the final finish is applied...these guys are out there. They have booths at your local guitar shows. They might not be famous, and Alex Lifeson hasn't been waving one of their instruments around onstage for the last 40 years, but dollar for dollar, when the guy building it knows who's hands it will end up in at the end, and his livelihood depends on your satisfaction, you will get a superior product.

Not sure what you're driving at. You don't think anyone will upgrade? I'm not planning on it at the moment, but there are a slew of ravenous, borderline obsessed guys already chomping at the bit, who pre-ordered 5 minutes after the initial press release. There are already 90+ threads on here discussing a product that nobody has yet... :lol:. I think there will be an upgrade or two...

Well they're not gonna be free, and it obviously won't happen overnight, but the sequence of events is always the same. Shiny new gadget is released, and there's suddenly less interest in the older stuff. The longer stock sits on warehouse shelves, the cheaper they get. Add in a bunch of guys upgrading their 500X to Helix, and the used ones will start popping up on ebay. The more there are the cheaper they get. Just how it works.

Equally disappointing, though not surprising. I'm only guessing, but I suspect that too many of us replaced necks on the 69's for their comfort level. It screams "problem", and "customers not happy". Not good for branding if there's a boatload of JTV's out there that no longer say "James Tyler" on the headstock 17 times.

The right color wood filler, and a little sanding and it will be almost unnoticeable. Shouldn't have to do any of that, but at least it's doable.

I could cut a 50 acre parcel of grass with an ancient mechanical push-mower if I wanted to...but it would take forever, I'd miss some spots (probably a lot), and I'd be tired and cranky. Point is, just because something is possible doesn't mean it's a swell idea, or that the results will be particularly satisfying. Good tools make good work. Time for a bass amp...

I want a tuna on rye with tomato, a little black pepper, and a bag of chips. I suspect we will both be disappointed... :P

On the bright side, for five bucks you can put a new string tree in the right place yourself...though I'm not sure why this sort of design issue continues to be a problem. String trees on Strat-style guitars are not exactly a new concept...

The 400 is kinda dated at this point. Unless you're getting it for a song (pun intended ;) ), I'd look at the 500X. They're pretty much guaranteed to plummet in price (especially used ones), once Helix drops in another month or so.

Well that's disappointing. I don't understand the fascination with these narrow nuts. Are everyone's hands shrinking? Next question is what are dimensions of the heel pocket? Wondering if a Strat neck replacement will fit...seems to be the only way to escape Narrow Nut Syndrome.

Lol...then why not just call it what it is? I guess "Weird USB Dongle" wasn't sexy enough ad copy... :P

Genuine, reproducible cold fusion would attract less attention and discussion than this thing has in the last month... :P

OK, I'm stumped. Workbench is useless without a Variax, so why anyone would pay $100 for the software by itself is beyond me...

I think that's it exactly...it's a '59 Strat that they modeled, no? Assuming that it was the original pickups, they are probably not as hot as whatever Fender is putting in there these days.

First come first serve...look for the camo L6 display at Bass Pro, ;)

The only things that are ever gonna help with that are on either side of your head. Most of this problem has to do with how the brain interprets sound. A patch that is EQ'd to be more mid-rangey will seem louder than one that's scooped...even with the same amp model and the volumes set to the same value. Then there's the Fletcher-Munson curves to deal with. If you level all your patches at bedroom volumes, you can't expect the relative levels to remain the same when your melting concrete at stage volume. Doesn't matter how fancy the devices get, you can't get around the biology...not to mention differences from one set of ears to the next. If I'm slightly more deaf than you, having blasted a particular range of frequencies to smithereens over the years, I'll likely perceive the levels differently than you will. Fancy algorithms can only do so much.