pianoguyy

Beat the Bastards If it is a 'bad word', the machines will change it for you. For example, if I said --- lollipop you, you lollipoping lollipoptard. Why can't you lollipoping get it lollipoping together and just go lollipop the lollipoping lollipop already. ----------------------- Other than making sure you have the non-patch related settings right, I think the HD500x is a "select amp, tweak levels on amp, play" device, if that is what you are looking for. A lot of us want more than that, so we do more. But I absolutely have "just amp" patches, for both clean and dirty. The limitations are the same as with a physical amp. You don't have a 36 band eq on a Marshall head. So, the 'virtual' Marshall will not have it either. The one effect that I think will be needed on a regular basis is a noise gate. But even that is not needed unless you want it.

In my opinion... As a band, you will never have a good TSO tone unless you have the orchestra on stage with you. The low booming guitar sound isn't quite as low booming as you think. It is all of the other instruments helping to fill it out. Same with the ear splitting highs. There are too many other instruments adding to it. So, you need to decide if you want to make the "TSO guitar sound", or if you want the "TSO sound". Because they are not the same.

I don't know the rules either. But, $250 is hardly a steal. In theory, because it wasn't used, one may think it is a decent price. But, in reality, it is not a car, it doesn't have an odometer, we can't tell if it has been used or not. Plus, it is electronics. If you had a Windows 95 computer sitting unused in an unopened box - is worth anything because it wasn't used? $200-250 seems to be the current going rate for these things since the new one came out and there are more of them available on the used market.

I wonder what would have happened if I gave up playing guitar after the first 5 days because I wasn't doing Steve Vai lead licks. So, the question still remains: What was the clicks? Because no one else seems to have that issue. Instead of trying a completely different product, I wonder if an exchange would have solved it for you. Not that we will ever know. You returned the old product, you got a different product -- there is no reason for you to ever come back here.

I am going to start off by saying: I thought I understood what you wanted, but then you kept talking, and now I am not sure. So, here goes: Your board is capable of: 1. having 8 effect on/off buttons within a single patch. Or, 2. having 4 effect on/off buttons within a single patch, with the remaining 4 buttons being used to select patches. If you choose option 2, then in the EDIT software program, your buttons align themselves with the format of the boxes in EDIT. Meaning, 01A 01B 01C 01D (etc), can be selected by tapping on the A B C or D button. Does that help? -------------------------- Also, you have more balls than I do. It took me months of using the Pod before I took it out. I basically figured out the answers to the questions before hand. That way I knew what to expect when I did use it.

I thought the entire idea of metal was --- turn everything to 11. ------------------------ There are plenty of 'metal' tones. They may not necessarily use the specific amps you are looking for, but they are there. One of the problems with 'metal' is the fact that it covers everything from Poison to Legion of the Deceased. Sorry, but a 1968 Deep Purple tone isn't going to satisfy a 2012 Morbid Angel seeker.

Yes, I saw that it was more of a pre-purchase experiment, but I also thought I saw a line of him saying about using it live - which is why I added the the line about not wanting to use the program live. As far as blanking out the patches goes... EDIT will open up blank. If you then hook up your pod, it will sync all of the blanks. I mean, I have not had it happen to me because I am either in offline or online, never both. But we have read people saying that it happened. So the actual process of it happening vs not happening is unknown to me. But it is better to throw it out there so that we know the right way to do things, then to not say it and have people coming back complaining that their stuff is gone.

I will answer both... Being in offline mode, and then plugging in your pod can result in all of the patches being blanked out. It has to do with the way the two items sync. As to the live/EDIT statement: EDIT slows down the device. Not something you want in a live situation. Also, just because you edit a patch does not automatically save a patch. If you would come back to the patch, it would not be edited and you would have to start all over. But, you can't save the patch while using(live) your pod. And, there are people who have an issue using the exp pedal while EDIT is plugged in. That is definitely something you don't want live.

This issue has been around long before Yamaha took over, but Yamaha is very known for trying to keep their information proprietary. Which is one of the reasons why they get along so well with Apple, who also likes to keep strict control over their systems.

Is this one of those situations where you are using the pod as the soundcard instead of the soundcard as the soundcard?

I didn't see it being mentioned, but I am not about to read everything -- Make sure you save all of your work, close EDIT, and then hook up your Pod before opening EDIT again. You definitely do not want to have EDIT open before you connect the Pod. ***Nor do you want to use EDIT in a live situation.

using them to play is different than using them to create. There is nothing wrong with using either of them for playing. But when it comes to creating, you want to hear what it is going to sound like in the real world traveling through the air, not what it sounds like directly planted on your ears.

For the initial product releases, which were 3 years apart, yes, they had different amps and effects. But if you use the updated firmware versions for both units, they are the same. The X was not an "upgrade" in the manner of programming. It wasn't actually an upgrade at all. It was a change of hardware because the supplier quit making a part.

My guitar goes into my pod. My pod runs both outs (stereo) to the mixer. I do not use the GEQ. If I don't like what it sounds like, I have no one to blame but myself because I designed the patches. Now, I will point out... I didn't buy my pod and immediately throw out all of my old gear. I continued to use all of my old gear professionally while trying to learn the pod. Then, I started to let it work its way into the performances - starting with rehearsals, and then testing at some gigs. Working the way into a complete set ---- It was quite awhile before I got to the point of using the pod, and only the pod. So, that is about all I have to say. Guitar==>Pod==>mixer

I laugh when I see some of the people that post here, swearing up and down about how certain people (3 off the to of my head) are these guru's of sound... but then I listen to their patches and think that the factory patches are more useful (and we all know how I feel about the factory patches) than what everyone is drooling over. Hey, sorry to have to give a good dose of reality but here goes: Being able to design a fancy website, or being able to use video editing skills to make fancy youtube videos -- it has nothing to do with the actual product they are selling. That one guy gives great tutorials about what you think is how to design a sound, but it is actually about 'watch me play a song'. And that other guy has a website that seems to be very insightful, but when you listen to his patches they make you think "is this what happens when you follow his advice?" I couldn't make a video to save my life.

In 30 years of performing on stage, I am not aware of a single time that my amp was not mic'd right up against the grill. In the studio, I am willing to set mics all over the place at the same time and then choose which tracks give the best sound (sometimes you'd be amazed at what it sounds like strapped to the ceiling facing the far corner like it was an school kid that got in trouble). That's not something that can be done with these electronic gizmos. But, that's because they ARE the mic'd sound. Design the patch the way you want to hear it. Which is far different than having a sound and needing to recreate it on tape. You patch is the same as the final product.

The file types can be put into the equivalent rack units as well.

As long as we are wishing and not complaining.... Not only would I do the resize thing, but I would also make it "snap" --- or whatever they actually call it. When you can drag it to the side and make it into a split screen. And with the resizing, I wouldn't just 'keep aspect ration', I would want to pull it down to make it longer so that I can access patch 16d at the same time as 1a.

All I care about is that they keep making the software so that it can be connected to computers ---- and hopefully someday to an android phone. I don't need more amps or new features. Fix the bugs (if there are any) and make sure that I can hook up my HD500 to Windows 25. My last rig lasted over 20 years. I want this one to do the same. ~~~I don't chase technology. I buy what I need when I need it and once I have it I don't care what else comes out because I bought what I needed and didn't need something that wasn't in it or else I wouldn't have bought it because it wouldn't have been what I needed. Try saying that 3 times fast.

The guitar part is an impossible choice due to: 1. Always need a backup. A minimum of 2 guitars, always! 2. What does a specific gig need - tuning, pickup config, bridge, etc But the amp and pedals are easy. I would take my amp - which, again, would vary based on the need of the gig. And a wah pedal. If you need specifics, I own the Dunlop Original Crybaby --- old, from when it was actually Dunlop. Or, at least, old enough before this new breed of cheap junk they make. One pedal. i don't need a 2nd. If my choice is to not carry everything I need, then I don't need two pick two. One is enough. Hell, I don't even need the Wah half of the time. But, to be fair, my amp choice would have an eq and reverb built in. So, that may make a difference since some of you are taking pedals that do the same things.

If today, I was in ONE band doing ONE type of music, like I was 30 years ago, I wouldn't have a problem using amps. Admittedly, carrying a board is easier than amps and effects. I would just have less of a need for a multitude of various tones and wouldn't want to waste the money on something that does so much when I need so little. But, today is not 1983, and Mickey Mouse is a rather large employer, I tend to need to do everything under the sun. And, also, because I am skilled and accessible, I often get calls from all sorts of bands/projects that need someone just for a day or two, so again, I have a need for a large variety. Then you go and figure that because I no longer am in one full-time band, that I have a lot of time on my hands, but not enough to be in one full-time band, so I am in multiple part-time and some-time bands, which just reinforces my need for many tones. It ain't no joke when I say that one day I am playing rock much and the next day country music, followed up with a 3rd day of disco. ===== FYI, I know a lot of people who use fake cabs on stage. And that was long before modeling and lip-sync became so prominent. Rockman Soloists. Pignose amps. You don't need to fill an arena with your own sound, that is what the pa is for. You just need to be able to get your tone and to hear yourself.

Yeah, that's what I meant. I don't do it with my own hands. I pay to have it done. Which is why I couldn't imagine taking a hammer or file to my gear when being a new player who doesn't even know what a good playing guitar is to feel like, let alone how to make it good feeling. But, also, yes, when I (pay someone to) replace frets, I usually go with the Stainless Steel. And if I order a guitar (as opposed to buying off the rack) I will go with Stainless Steel. Yes again, I am constantly swapping guitars in and out. And I have a bunch of them. So, my frets don't wear out as quickly as someone who plays just one guitar all the time.

While everything everyone has said is correct, I still wonder if any of that is safe for a novice. I mean, using a hammer??? Especially when it could very well be playing technique. Yes, the way you play can cause buzz. This is normally the case for beginners. Although, beginners often buy cheaper guitars that have fret buzz as well. 30+ years I have been playing, and I still don't do my own fret work.

That's why they have units like the 300 and 400. Less jibber jabber. But still the basic stuff. And, just out of curiosity... You have a 500 but it is too much gear for you, so you want to go to the Helix... WTF!!!

But that's why you use IEM's that are fed from the mixer, not from your personal gear. In Ear Monitors are monitors that are in your ear instead of on the floor. It is a little different than using just the headphone jack. I, personally, do not like them, but when you're playing stadium gigs, you really have no other choice. Also, when you are playing little lollipopholes with stages so small that you could trip over them and still not realize that it was the stage... IEM's work well there too.