pianoguyy

It's not necessarily an L6 problem. If you can't make your screen resolution move to a point that EDIT fits, then that is an issue with your hardware's manufacturer.

There is no on/off button. But, when designing patches, you just don't put them in your chain. Much like saying "can I turn off all of the Flangers" - just don't put them in there. But here is my assessment ---- If you aren't using the modeling, you are buying the wrong unit. It's sort of like buying a Ferrari and only driving it to the end of the driveway to get your mail. The fx of the unit aren't bad, but there are units that cost a lot less that don't have the models in them. You'll be paying for a lot of stuff that you just aren't using.

All of this depends on how you want to use it. A guitar amp and a guitar cab are going to give different results than a guitar amp and pa cab or pa amp and pa cab. For me, I go direct to the pa. I get all tone from the Pod. No coloring issues. No mic issues. My patches will not sound the same if someone is running it through an amp. So, then, I need to ask you... How are you going to be using it? And that is rhetorical, you don't need to answer to me - only to yourself.

Of course, the real answer is - no speakers. Go direct. But based on the actual question that was asked: I might suggest going for 2 speakers even if you don't use stereo. Simply because you may be using stereo and not realize it. But then when you send it to the pa, if they only get one channel, you are missing half of your tone. The alternative to this would be using one speaker and using a dummy plug in the other jack to make sure that you are never summed.

Yeah, well, if you use stage props (backdrops, fake cabs, etc) then those 5 guys leaning up against the post saying "I could have done it better" won't know what you are actually using.

The goal for (working) performers is to make it good for the crowd. That means the final result (the pa) is the most important part of the show. I don't give two lollipops about what sort of crappy monitors there are on stage, as long as FOH sounds pristine. If you want an amp, that is your choice. But the goal isn't for you to be "feeling the roar of tubes".

Even if you are running the latest version, installing the latest version can cure many problems. It is sort of like reseting your phone or reinstalling Windows. You don't get anything new, but you do get a fresh install.

I've already bought my unit, so i don't give a flying lollipop what they come out with next or how long this one continues to be made. My only concern is - since this is computer related hardware, I want them to continue to support it so that I can hook it up to my next computer and the next and the next.

3 years? Sorry, you've been mislead. It is 6 years old. The X may have come out later, but it was not a new product. It was a minor change in hardware that was forced upon them by the hardware maker.

Plug the pods into the amps. Pod output to amp input. There really is no other way that I know of. That is sort of how it has been done for decades. Use Studio/Direct. You aren't using a "guitar amp", you are using a bland system designed to give you true tone.

And, just for sake of argument.... People need to learn to keep their damn mouths shut. This 'loophole' could have remained active for months and been used and not noticed --- if it was kept on the QT and only used by a few people each day. The so-called "inner circle". The old "friend of a friend" network. BUT, when someone makes it public, and hordes go exploiting the error--- companies notice a lot of traffic in one particular place and they investigate. Error fixed. That marks the difference between a smart successful criminal and the dumbass that makes it on tv in the "what were they thinking" segment.

Hope they don't decide to prosecute. It is stealing. Also, when they don't ring up a can of fruit (which is sometimes a computer error), that is also theft. Not just in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of the law.

I think the one thing that often gets neglected to be mentioned/clarified when talking about the extra DSP.... You are still limited to 8 effect blocks and 2 amps. It is not like the extra memory allows for a 9th effect or a 3rd amp. The extra DSP just helps to ensure that you don't run out of "memory" before you hit the 8 blocks and 2 amp threshold.

The cost of a pod, in reality, is the cost of... well... Less than a gallon of coffee. Maybe not. But when you consider that for less than 2 weeks pay, you are replacing your entire rig and increasing the size of your rig 30x... My distortion unit cost more than my Pod --- and that was actual cash, not adjusted for inflation. But, if it makes you feel any better down in your nether regions, if you twist the knobs in a certain way, you can get an acoustic sound from your electric. Sure, a guitar modeler will emulate an acoustic sound better than an amp modeler will. But you can make it work.

Guitars matter. BUT... Because of the processing power of these puppies, you can accommodate for your lack of gear. Meaning - your real tube amp only sounds good when turned to 10. You can't do that in a bedroom. But, with a computer, you crank the virtual amp to 10 to make it sound kickass, but then you nudge down the volume of the physical speaker you are using so that you get the "but mine go up to 11" tone while not being heard by your baby mamma's ex husband in the guest house. Of course, you aren't talking about amps, you are talking about guitars. But it really is the same principle. You guitar sucks, so you add a little more volume and eq and distortion to your tone. Nothing will ever replace having decent gear going into decent gear coming out of decent gear. But, as long as you are in the bedroom, you might not truly recognize the differences.

@Bill - Close enough for a first attempt. I will expand on that later... As far as using the factory patches -- I would never (as an example) use C3PO, Spring Bass, and Enter Sandman in the same show, so who really cares what the volume differences are. And if you are using EDIT to make your patches, everything defaults at 0. So, again, it really isn't a problem with volume between amps and patches. You are going to just have to manually adjust them. Ultimately, not many of us are using the default patches. So, again, it isn't that big of a deal to us. But, what Bill was talking about is mostly for creating a baseline. A baseline that you will then compare everything against. I plug my mp3 player in the cd/mp3 jack (not the aux jack). The mp3 jack is not controlled by the unit at all. Even the HD500 Master Volume has no control over what plays through the mp3 jack. That jack is completely independent of the unit. So, I have a file I use (pick a song, any song, but use the same one everytime). I set the mp3 player volume to the same volume level every time. But here is where it gets tricky... I have a patch that I use. Same patch, every time. And the reason I said it gets tricky is because you have to have one patch created before any of this other stuff applies. How you make it is up to you, you can use a default patch or download one from CT, or just twist some random knobs to make your first patch. But whatever patch you have, it must already exist and you must use it ALL THE TIME for things to be equal all the time. So, now, with the patch selected and the mp3 playing... I play guitar. Also, I use the same guitar at this stage almost all of the time. It is impossible for me to always use it, but I try. While playing along with that file, I adjust the HD500 Master Volume to be equal to the mp3 file. Once you have done this properly... THAT is your baseline. It is the value that all other things are going to be compared to. If you want to make a new patch, you can compare it to that baseline. Do you want the new patch louder then the original - maybe like a solo volume - well, adjust accordingly. Do you want a patch with more delay? The only way to truly know how long an echo will sustain is to compare all things equal - so, you compare it against the baseline. Don't know how to set the volume for a 'clean' patch because distorted guitars naturally sound louder even though they aren't - you have that baseline to compare and contrast. You need a baseline. How you create that initial patch or what song or what volume to set your mp3 player at --- these things are up to you. But once you create the baseline, you must always use that baseline. So make sure it is a song you will listen to for the rest of you life. Frequently asked questions: -Why do you use the same guitar? Because, unlike some people I use different guitars because they have different personalities. Some people make patches per guitar to "even out" the sound. Not me, I have that one guitar that I use as a baseline, and then I pick up this other guitar knowing that it is really hot and my sound will be really hot in comparison. Or I pick up this other guitar because it has more twang to it. That baseline result allows those guitars to be part of the expression I perform. Whereas other people have the same monotone sound because they make a patch with less bass for the guitar that adds bass. Me, when I play a guitar with more bass, it is because I want the more bass to appear. -Once you have the patch made, why do I have to use the mp3 player all the time? Because, even though this is digital, you still have things like Fletcher Munchausen. Your patch isn't going to be exactly the same with the master volume at 10 when you made it with the master volume at 5. The echoes that I mentioned are a good example - you won't hear them as they drift away. But if the master volume somehow gets turned up a notch, they will appear to echo longer because it takes longer to have that "drift away" sound. You want all things equal. -Why are you such an lollipop? If I am not the "smartest guy in the room", I will shut up and listen so that I can learn. If I am speaking, it means it is time for others to shut up and listen. That doesn't make me an lollipop. That makes me a success. -What song/patch/guitar do you use? None of your business. That is MY baseline. You need to create your own. I am giving you the tools to create that baseline. But the baseline, itself, has to be something you invent. I mean, I played guitar for Alice Cooper. Certainly, having a "hard rock" baseline isn't going to fly for someone who plays with Carrie Underwood (I also played with her, lol). But those differences is the very reason why you need to create your own. Do what works for you. The method works for everyone, but the details only work for the individual.

You could also compare the differences between the HD500 and HD500X. The 4 units are virtually the same. Sure, that doesn't actually answer the question, but it may make it easier for you to research - knowing that it really boils down floor unit vs rack unit. Because you could possibly find much more information on the floor units than you could the rack units.

You simply create your patches without amps.

Are you using $10,000 cans, or are you using $20 earbuds that came with your iPod?

Don't think of it as a wah or volume pedal. Wah pedals do wah. Volume pedals do volume. The HD500 has an expression pedal. It does anything.

But there's a conundrum..... You can buy a refurbished 500x at wholesale costs from L6, and buy the model packs at full price --- and still save $50.

AMEN BROTHER.

Mathematical life lessons for the non-discount shopper: If I save X-amount each week between now and the time that an item might go on sale, I will have enough money saved that I won't need them to be on sale.

And in German - for the benefit of those not on chrome with the auto translators: BillBee sagte: Heute, 12:33 PM TOE-Schalter für das Schwellerpedal. Seine steife einschalten, so müssen Sie möglicherweise zu stehen, um genug Gewicht hinter sich. PianoGuyY sagte: Heute, 01:51 PM und Böden aus Hartholz arbeiten besser als ein Teppichboden, weil der Teppich kann das Gerät zu sinken, wenn Sie schritt auf sie.

And hard wood floors work better than a carpeted floor because the carpet allows the unit to sink in to it when you step on it.