pianoguyy

I have a 1953 Guild 12-string A 1975 Delta 88 Royale Before switching to HD500 (2014), I used the same rig for nearly 30 years. I don't think buying/using old anything is a bad idea. As long as it works and serves a purpose. So, the question isn't for us to answer. It is for you: Does the 500 do what you need? Does the Helix do what you need? Do you want to use an amp or monitors? Of course, the monkey wrench in the situation.... The Pod and Helix aren't analog pieces of gear. How much computer music someone makes will make a difference, because the POD isn't doing well with new computers.

I have found the entire internet to be somewhat broken anymore.

That is because you can only transfer licenses (for model packs) one time. The only way to freely sell the packs is to sell the account.

If it makes you feel any better, none of my gear has any issues.

I don't have a Helix. But my unit has "Growler" listed under filter. It is a good place to start.

On the 500, it depends on if you are making changes with the device or with a pc. With the edit software, changing the amp will change the cab and mic. But changing the cab will not change the mic.

Using these three for examples: I would put a tuner before the volume pedal. WHY? Because I can turn my volume off and still tune. There's some more technical reasons, like a volume pedal amplifying certain frequencies that may or may not drive the tuner bonkers. But muting to tune is the primary reason. And noise gate???? I wouldn't put it before a volume pedal because when the gate activates and shuts off sound, if you have the volume pedal up, it will be a much more noticeable hard break. That doesn't make them wrong. And I am certainly not wrong. But it shows how rules aren't rules as much as they are suggestions. The different ways one uses a NG or VP can alter where you place them.

Separate post, not a continuation of the first A lot of new users (myself included) get lost because they look at 1000 options in the unit and they feel overwhelmed. But instead, to become familiar with the concept of virtual amps/fx/etc, you should be comparing it to the physical amps/fx/etc. Try to recreate your physical rig using a virtual rig. If you never used a "Tron Up", don't use it now. If you never used a Peavey 5150, don't use it now. If your 1983 rig was guitar-wah-distortion-amp, your virtual rig should be guitar-wah-distortion-amp. This brings down the drama to something more manageable. You are familiar with physical X, use virtual X. The 1000 options in the unit can be thought of as "The Music Store". In the physical world, we stress over which of the 1000 options to buy, but only buy a handful. In the modeling world, you have the 1000 options from the store (the device), but only need to buy a couple (patch design). Once you get the hang of that, then you can start with "what if I add this" or "what if I Switch that" and the always famous GAS - I never owned a Fender Twin, nows my chance to use one.

Ask yourself, do you want to distort a clean echo or echo the distorted sound. It is music, there are no rules. But, there are millions of tried-and-failed things that have come before... so why bother doing them. As there are also "this works" methods you want to use. That's how we come up with things like the Circle of Fifths. It works, try it, start here always. But, in the 1960s, Jimi Hendrix took that ugly, disgusting, and annoying ear splitting sound we called feedback, and he made it his lollipop. At the time, the rule was "feedback=bad", but he broke that rule. He tamed it and made it part of music history. All that to say: The list that is a good place to start. But the specific sound you are looking for may need to switch it up.

Was going to be my suggestion. If you have that option, do it. In fact, I got an old W7 laptop specifically for my L6 for when I travel. Stash it in the case and don't worry about it. The other thing I would say... I have no experience with it, but have seen others talk about it. Maybe someone will chime in, or you can search the forums for it. One of those digital recording programs (I don't remember which), the drivers interfere. If you use a generic driver it will all work out.

It can be done, but it won't be easy. You are basically going to be running two separate paths - aka, stereo, panned full left and full right.

Absolutely. In fact, even without the specific octave feature you are looking for, having two chains running two different sets of tones can make you sound like 2 guitarists.

It really is my only complaint (other than not being free, updates for life, kosher, and bio-degradable) about the unit. You aren't really modeling X-amp if you aren't using X-amp's control layout.

The 500 was programmed to go bad the minute the 500x came out, which was programed to go bad when the Firefox came out (is the the right name?), which broke as soon as the Helix came out. Luckily, I hacked the CMOS and turned the date back to 2003, which was when the 500 was still in concept mode, which tricked the 500 into being better than it was when it came out to the general public. Beyond that... The 500, 500X, HD Pro, and HD ProX are all the same unit. So, if you are looking for patches, you can use patches designed for any of them. And there is a converter locked to the top of the forum that will convert files for other devices. Before you get to far into anything, I would suggest you get the system settings correct. Otherwise, you'll be fighting a battle you can't win.

*I don't have the 300. My answer will be based on my knowledge of the 500. So it is possible that I am wrong I always suggest using Studio. And, in this situation, it is what would be recommended. But, if you have already designed your patches, then any alteration to your setup will change your tone. Correct answer is NO. One is left and one is right. They will never be the same. But, as you mentioned - a compromise. If you design your patches in a way, so that the left and right are the same, then your left and right will be the same. It really isn't that hard to do. You just have to be careful of certain stereo effects when designing your patches. And here is where it gets tricky - when designing patches, only listen to one side. If you listen to both at the same time, there could be some phase issues, which cause you to make your tone differently... and then they will sound different when on stage hearing only one side. An XLR splitter. One XLR coming out of the Pod. Which then gets sent to both of your devices. *A 1/4"-to-XLR splitter would also work. It would also resolve the issue of the previously mentioned stereo effects and phase issues, because the 1/4" sums to mono.