cruisinon2

That's good to hear...at least they took care of you.

Well that leaves two possibilities: 1) There's something wrong with the amp, and not the Pod or 2) The combo of the Pod and your particular amp just isn't working, or might require a little extra work to nail down a set up that sounds good. I tend to think that this is the case. As much as I like the 500X, it's not the easiest thing to work with...almost too many options sometimes. I have also found it harder to get a goodsound through my amp, as compared to headphones. In fact, I have two totally separate banks of patches...one for the cans, and another for my rig.

That's not necessarily true. The "correct" output settings may or may not sound good, depending on what's in the rest of the rig, the guitar he's using, and his fingers. The combo/front, stack/front, stack/power amp output settings are just applying different EQ to the signal anyway...there's no way that these settings can be expected to work with every amp out there. More than a few of us on here use the studio/direct output, some with cab sims, some without...running into all sorts of amp set-ups (various combos, power amp/cab rigs, etc), with good results. It's been discussed in several other threads. As what sounds "good" is entirely subjective, there really is no "right" or "wrong" way to set things up. The 500X just isn't a "plug it in and play" amp. Needs work to get it to sound the way you want it.

Quality control sucks everywhere these days. Uniform mediocrity almost seems like it's a goal now...hope they make it right.

There's something to be said for simplicity...but I've really started to enjoy messing with all the deep edit parameters on the 500x...sag, bias, etc. Amps are like tattoos...you're never gonna have just one, lol.

I haven't done much of an A/B comparison, but even if it does sound better, I'd hate to lose the ability to change models on the jtv and the HD simultaneously...and I really hate batteries. I'm afraid to even give it much of a try now...lol

Let the experimenting begin...it' sucks, but it's the only thing that's gonna work in the long run. I'd love ready made patches that sound amazing through my rig, but there are just too many variables. What sounds great to me through my gear might be nails on a chalkboard to you. Just the nature of the beast.

Well, 128db is getting dangerously close to the pain threshold anyway...exactly how loud do we need to get anyway? :wacko:

The only thing I disagree with is people's desire for, and the industry's willingness to provide, a quality product. We (collectively) have an amazing tolerance for absolute crap in this country. And we seem to value convenience over quality in just about every way imaginable. Add to that the fact that the music industry is a dinosaur, in a lot of ways still desperately clinging to an ancient business model that continues to be WAY too slow to embrace new technology when it comes down to how they are going to sell you the final product. How many years did they waste trying to maintain their stranglehold on the CD market, with it's hilarious profit margins? All while completely ignoring the fact that people obviously wanted the a la carte iTunes model. It's the same thinking (or lack thereof) that killed Detroit. I agree that MP3s don't sound great...but I also think that the average person neither knows, cares, nor has an expensive enough stereo to hear the difference. They think that Britney Spears and Lady Gaga are actually singing as they twist themselves into pretzels, while galloping from one end of the stage to the other. And they're listening through 4 cent earbuds, or $300 everything-in-a-box surround sound setups with worse speakers than a bullhorn. Get it cheap, get it now is what matters to the average consumer. Musicians and (mostly) well-heeled audiophiles will never think that way...but that's a tiny percentage of the music buying public, and thus they will be ignored largely ignored by an industry where the only genuine interest is the bottom line. Just my $0.02...

Oh, would that this were the case for some of the players I've encountered over the years...how many cases of first degree ear-slaughter could be prevented? :D

Been using garden variety power strips for years on end (yeah, I know...maybe it'll protect from a power surge, maybe it won't). Might not be the best solution, but it's cheap, it works, and it keeps that silly 2 ft long adapter from standing at attention.

It's not a "defect"...it's a "feature", lol

Unfortunately, there are no magic bullets with the 500x...it takes a lot of work to get sounds that you like, and it can be frustrating at first. Folks will argue all day long about whether or not this is a good thing. Personally, I've learned a lot about what makes amps sound the way they do by playing with all the deep edit functions [sag, bias, ER [early reflection], etc]. Some of my favorite tones I sort of stumbled on by accident. I find clean tones easier to dial in than the dirt, by that's just me. I like the Hiway 100 amp...just a little reverb, and maybe a touch of chorus. There no way around the experimental phase, however. I've had the thing for a little more than 2 months, and I'm still working with it. Try 'em all...you 'll know when you hit the right formula. The very last amp you thought you would like might turn out to be your favorite. I LOVE the Soldano models...never played through a real one, and never would have guessed that I'd use them as much as I have been. For clean sounds especially, the guitar choice will of course factor in, too. And it's all subjective anyway...trial and error is the name of the game.

Yeah...I want one too. Maybe a month or two after the taxman finishes this year's rectal exam...

We can all thank the lawyers and the PC drones who've spearheaded this sort of lollipope in the name of "progress".

You're likely to need to tweak things anytime you change guitars. Even if you had just switched between two traditional guitars with mag pickups, they're never gonna sound identical. And the JTV with it's piezo pickups is an entirely different universe. You'll probably find that you'll need to fiddle with the individual guitar models in Workbench as well...almost everyone does eventually.

Thats interesting...I guess the MP3 input is sort of like an fx return. Wouldn't have occurred to me to try that.

Load up the patch you want to move, then press SAVE once. The next screen that comes up will have destination choices. The first of the 4 small knobs below the screen allows you to choose which bank(set list)it will be saved to, and the second knob selects the patch number...1A, 1B, etc. Then press SAVE a second time, and you're done.

Lol...post pics. :P

Only if the hat is rich in Vitamin A...and they'll only sell you those hats at the Hipster Lid Emporium if you're sporting at least 3 days' growth (comfirmed in house by striking a match on your face), and agree to surrender all razors and shaving creams/gels, etc. at the door. Then you have to sign a document asserting that everything that's ever been popular, in fact sucks. Otherwise, prepare to be silently judged, and it's off to the sporting goods store for a baseball cap. :D

The Spider Valve series might...and should for the price, but I don't think that any of the solid state ones do. I've got the HD150 head...it has no fx loop. But that stays at the rehearsal space in case anything else craps out. There's so much fx junk in there, at $250 (with the MKII floorboard...both used) for a spare amp, I didn't care.

Might sound stupid (and it is), but more than once on the 500x...and other devices throughout the ages...I've been guilty of simply not seating any one of several stupid 1/4" jacks all the way, leading me to the conclusion that something was "broken", when in fact I was just an idiot, lol. :wacko: Sometimes you'll get no sound, a hollow-ish sound, horrible screaching, L or R only...then after much head scratching, and the dreading of ex$pen$e, St. Stunod smiles upon me, and I'm back in business, lol.

Anything is possible...but in 25+ years, unless it's a pedal with true bypass circuitry, I've never been able to get anything to sound decent running straight into the front of any amp I've owned. If it's not how it colors your tone when the effect is turned off, then it's the extra noise that gets generated, and a noise gate will only do so much, usually at the expense of sustain. If it doesn't have an fx loop, or so many onboard fx that I won't need anything else, I don't even bother looking at it anymore. Just my $0.02.

Oh I know...just seems the list of sub-standard parts keeps growing. Already considering a different neck, as the nut spacing is absurdly small for me. Do most of my playing on a custom build that has the widest neck I've ever seen on an 6 string electric guitar, and a nearly flat...almost classical guitar radius...so this has been quite an adjustment for me. Some things I just flat out cannot play below the 4th or 5th fret.

I have no idea how many tones there are/were at any given time. What I do know is that I don't want to wade through 50,000 of anything to find the 10 (and I think that's being generous) that I'd find useful. I'd die of old age by the time I found "my" tones. I suffer from CTD (constant tweaking disease) too...but good god it's easy to spend 3 hours doing nothing but that and forget to actually play something. Gotta remind myself to knock it off sometimes. Unless something's seriously broken, it's always "close enough for rock 'n' roll"! :)