Meiannatee

Holy crap, great find! Now to get approval from the import control officer, a.k.a the wife...

You consumers in the US are so lucky. So much of prices you see online is what you pay (free shipping in US). Outside US we gotta pay for shipping and taxes on top of that. It's kinda funny that countless cargo ships from China port at Singapore on their way to EU, but when we order online they gotta ship from US a product that was shipped from China. The used market is also quite weak here, due to the small population and again due to shipping costs. Anyways, the difference in the L6 case here is that the smaller stores were offering BETTER prices than big boy Yamaha, which has over 10 outlets in a country 31 miles across. But I'm happy that those stores are still doing as well as they had before, carrying other brands they are not prohibited from carrying. As Spikey said, no more competition for L6 gear now.

Perhaps my example wasn't clear enough. 1) Stores A,B,C sells the HD500 for around the same price since its release 6 years ago. Price remains steady. 2) Yamaha acquires L6 and starts selling the HD500 for 30+% higher than stores A,B,C. Stores A,B,C maintain pricing. 3) Within the past 2 years, stores A,B,C have stopped selling L6 gear including the HD500 for reasons unknown. 4) Today, Yamaha is the sole distributor of the HD500, a 6-year-old product (with a minor upgrade in the HD500x), selling for that same 30% higher price than the previous competitors. Stores A,B&C are all local stores, and there was no change in import taxes here for the past 6 months. Not a tax issue. Increase in local market price didn't come from stores raising their prices. Rather, it came from all other stores, all of which had more competitive pricing, being removed from the playing field. And this is playing field that the Helix has now entered. And no one should be bothered even the slightest? I'm very thankful I got the 500x at a good price. Do I have GAS for the Helix? :o :o :o At the store trying out the Helix for the 1st time, it was so much faster to use than I thought. But for now, the 500x is great, just needs a little more work, some EQ, careful use of DPS when using dual amps, and creative ways of doing the most with 8 fx slots for complex ambient patches. I'm a bit sad that my students will not be able to get the same great price for the 500x, at least in the near future. There's always hope ^_^ Thanks L6 for a great back-saving product, will be glad to construct Helixes with you if that's even possible. But my heart goes out to our Australian bro/sis... where everything, especially electronic products and musical instruments cost more. We feel your pain...

Since Yamaha acquired L6, it's getting harder and harder to get good prices on L6 gear in Singapore where I live, and I suspect the same for other Asian countries. Two years ago, shops were selling L6 gear at a price similar to online stores. The Pod HD500x was around US$480. I got mine at a sale for US$370. Then shortly after the acquisition, fewer and fewer stores were stocking L6 stuff, even giving sales for L6 display units. I'm not sure if Yamaha stepped in to cut off the other distributors and monopolize the supply. I asked the guy at the store I got my Pod from, why they stopped carrying L6. He said because they're owned by Yamaha now and didn't elaborate further. Now, Yamaha stores, which are quite big in Singapore, are more or less the sole distributors of L6 gear. They sell the 500x for US$618. They just brought in the Helix, and it's US$1766. I could try ordering a Helix online, and after shipping and taxes will save maybe 100 bucks. In fact, there's 1 company offering to ship the unit for around US$1600 (not sure if they're a legit distributor). But then there will be the issue of warranty. Yes, it's not a terribly huge price difference, and I'm in no hurry to upgrade to the Helix. But I foresee the prices will not be as competitive as they used to be. On a side note, I went to another store to buy a Steinberg interface (also acquired by Yamaha). I negotiated for a discount, the store said they gotta check with Yamaha. No, i didn't get any discount in the end =(

Use IEMs? Then you get the same sound wherever, whenever

So much to read... Forgive me if some of the stuff below has already been said. 1) Guitar speakers and IRs don't just highpass/lowpass your sound, like gunpointmetal said. Even within its operational range, the frequency response is not flat. If it was, u could play a mic-ed cab's sound through another cab and it would sound the same tonally. Going through 2 non-FRFR cabs (real or IR) is a bad idea. 2) Frequencies u don't notice are not necessarily absent. Transients at the onset of picking a string can contain frequencies well below the fundamental note. On the upper end is higher order harmonics, especially with distortion. Then there's the capturing process of the IR, which may introduce low-end rumble or mic hiss. That's why we still apply high&low-pass filters. 3) Loudness perception curves (e.g Fletcher-Munson) can be easily overcome. If u don't believe me, get a sound pressure meter, measure the SPL of a live gig from the audience. Go home, play similar music through regular studio monitors. Measure with the same sound pressure meter. U can easily get the same SPL. Loudness perception curves only care about the sound level going into your ears, not the sound level coming out of the source. That said, since some live gigs are quite loud, it's not advisible to listen at the same levels at home for extended periods of time. Just check your patch at gig SPL. 4) Room and directionality makes a difference. U may have to tweak your patches according to the venue, which is what the global eq is for. 5) Pray that u get a decent FoH engineer

Also check if your track is mono or stereo. Sometimes mono and stereo could sound quite different. Check that u have no plugins in the entire signal path, which includes the track u recorded onto, the mixer, and all sends/return. Finally, how are u listening to the recorded track? U mentioned using headphones into Pod, but is that only while tracking, or also for playback? If so, u may wanna unplug your Pod for awhile and test-listen through your pc soundcard.

Glad you figured it out! With electric guitar signal chains, many times the ORDER of things matter. Boosting volume before a gain stage (pedal or amp) will increase the amount of distortion, but less of a volume increase (by nature, distortion compresses signal levels). Boosting volume after a gain stage does not change the amount of distortion caused by that stage, but u get a bigger volume increase (like a clean boost). Also, check the Pad switch, which cuts the input level of your guitar by about 6db.

No actually is 2 bags, Mono + Pod sling bag. That's why it's annoying, especially the Pod sling bag which juts out from my "top view silhouette". Will likely upgrade to a Helix when it's available in my country. So, looks like gig-bag-behind-Helix-backpack-in-front won't work since it will obstruct my view lol... I have actually considered getting a dual guitar gig bag and using 1 slot for the Pod, but the way all the bags curve, they can't fit the rectangular length of the Pod. The Helix is about the same length width, but even thicker? So... is there a double guitar gig bag with less of a contour, enough to fit it?

Any solution for a guitar + Helix backpack? I mean, they make double guitar bags, so one that fits a guitar, floor unit, cables, and other accessories for an all-in-one solution... it's not too far off right? Most of you guys in the US probably won't understand as you just need to carry from house to car to gig and back. But in Singapore where I live, and in similar places like in HK and Japan, carrying 2 bulky bags into a crowded train/bus just increases the chance of them getting bumped around. Or those bags might prevent me from getting into the train/bus, and I gotta wait for another less crowded one. Happens to me every week with my Mono + Pod sling bag (horizontal orientation of the Pod makes it worse). I guess I could carry a guitar bag behind + Helix backpack in front. But I'm not a big guy, and being heavily pregnant on both the front and rear sides with 20% of my body weight, well, I'll be a humpty dumpty

That sounds like a great idea, although I'm not sure how interpolation works for DSProcessing. I'm an engineer, but the wrong kind... Perfectly justifiable points for your playstyle. But if you're doing stuff where the reverb becomes more of an effect than a stereo widener or to emulate natural hall reverb, then reverb quality matters. Stuff like warm pads, shimmer, ambient leads, synth, etc. Of course the venue matters alot. In an auditorium with treated walls, carpets and cushioned seats, i think the quality of a reverb can be heard for fx-heavy sounds

Actually, I meant that the conv and algo parts will be combined into a single verb. Users won't need to mix and match, they'll just see 1 composite reverb. The mixing and matching part, that'll be your job :P Unless you open a branch in Asia, then I could apply...

Congrats DigitalIgloo! I'm wondering... I know convolution reverbs are CPU intensive. But would it help if a short convo verb is used for initial diffusion, followed by a less demanding algorithmic verb to lengthen the tail? I know it's easy to do it yourself on a daw, but not sure if a algo verb designed specifically to complement a short conv verb will yield better results (both sound quality and resource consumption-wise). Can't wait to try out the Helix when it's available in my country

FYI, this behavior happens in the Pod HD500 as well when switching presets. But yeah, the first thing I thought of was that there should be an option on the Pod to save exp1&2 states in the preset. Snapshots on the Helix should do the same thing.

I sprayed on the external part of the FS, gave it a few presses. It works flawlessly now! Thanks hurghanico, you're always very helpful on this forum.

No mean the little BLACK shaft that is the top part of the switch Or do i need to open that tiny switch?

Got a noob question: do I just spray it thru the gaps at the top of the switch? The cylindrical black thing

Hi Hurghanico, I'm planning to try what u described. Is there anything i need to be careful of when opening the pod? What contact cleaner would u recommend? I use tap tempo alot, and that one switch in particular is problematic. It still clicks, but often does not contact. 1 more question, does rotating the switch with my foot decrease its lifespan? Thanks!

Actually, the volume explanation is wrong. 20db is double the perceived volume of 10db, 30db is double that of 20db, 40db is double that of 30db, and so on. +10db is always double the perceived volume, no matter what you add it to. However I totally agree with EQ or FX changes for solos for some genres. For me, I just add some delay and a drive pedal with a mid boost dialed in.

Another tip (if you're going direct) is to use the mid-focus EQ for the high-pass and low-pass filters. High pass: I usually set to 10-20% Freq with a high Q to make room for the bass and kick. Low pass: Some amp+cab+mic combos sound terrible and fizzy at first, but using the low-pass filter (around 60-85% Freq?) and a low to medium Q, they become pretty usable. The parametric EQ is great for precise tweaking, but usually the mid-focus will be enough. Also experiment with where you put the EQ, especially if distortion is involved. As for me, I need some tips on getting smooth synth tones. The Pod is decent for lead synth stuff, but I can't seem to get warm round tones like in One Thing by Hillsong. Any ideas? :)

Strange, I have no problems with the fawn's volume. What were your gain, amp volume and DEP volume?

The Rokit 5 Gen3 monitors cost about $300 on amazon. Fostex pm0.4 is 199, and it's pretty good for the money. Don't waste your money on pricier ones if you don't plan on treating your room. If you do get those budget small monitors, take note that they're quite directional, so make sure you set them up at ear level, 60degrees apart and facing you. These may not be the flattest mons, but they're not that far from the more expensive ones (eg. yamaha, adams), and WAY better than consumer speakers. Especially considering how much you're paying. Then it's just a matter of learning your mons and compensating accordingly when dialing in tones

Maybe I can add a simple analogy to help. 1. How are IRs created? Let's say you have a device whereby if you put dough in, gingerbread men comes out. So, put a piece of paper in (sine sweep) and get a gingerbread man cutout. Then, find out difference between paper to cutout (transfer fuction). Finally, make a gingerbread man mould to match this difference (IR file). 2. How do IRs work? Well, now you have your mould, give it to your kitchen assistant (IR loader). Now, you can give her anything, dough, beef, your cat (amp output), and she'll make gingerbread men shapes with your mould. In other words, she's imparting the same transfer function to all inputs. 3. What's the difference between IRs and real cabs? Well, if you give your assistant a 6inch thick slab of dough (hot signal), you'll get a 6inch thick gingerbread man with otherwise the exact same dimensions. If you put that same slab of dough into the device (real cab), you may get a slightly different shaped gingerbread man (speaker saturation, distortion). In other words, real cabs may have different transfer functions depending on input dynamics (e.g. volume). When you capture an IR, it's just one transfer function, which is at the dynamic level of your capture signal. Hope it helps!

Sorry bro, was just trying to help out the other guy. Rodmayes, do share your solution with us. As for your issue Rocco, when you said the patches sound crappy, do you mean on wedges, FoH speakers, or in-ear mons? And do they sound terrible by themselves, or only when the rest of the band comes in? These details will help others to point you in the right direction. If you like, you can download free sound pressure level measuring phone apps to get an idea of whether your practice volume is alot higher or lower than stage volume. The actual SPL reading isn't accurate, but if you use the same device at both locations and measure at the spots where your ears would be, it'll give you a rough idea of the difference.

Nice rehearsal space, many of us envy you. 50,000 sqft will cost an average of 2.5 million US$ in Singapore (just for the land! :( ) The thing is, this Rodmayes said he (are you a "he"?) doesn't face the same volume imbalance problem with other gear. 1) So, he said that it's a Line 6/Pod thing. So we gotta look at why other processors do not have this problem. This has nothing to do with the loudness perception (Fletcher-Munson curves), as elaborated in my previous long post. It's simply about volume across patches, not the tone of each patch. 2) I didn't face this problem as much, and it MAY be because of how I level each FX block. 3) He should try out my method and anything else anyone has to suggest first. 4) If all else fails, he'll just have to make the trip down to the actual venue to adjust his patch volumes before the gig, like you said. 5) He shouldn't sell his Pod, simply because it's awesome :D (unless he can afford a Helix....)