Charlie_Watt

The extra horsepower probably was not available when the 500 was introduced. The extra 20% is from a new compatible DSP processor upgrade.

I still think it's possible that using both inputs can overdrive the inputs especially if you have a guitar with more than typical output signal. This can lead to clipping and nasty sound. Guitar outputs vary a lot.

The acquisition has not even happened yet so don't blame that. It's more likely that the 300 and 400 are not selling and the 500X is a much better machine.

Go with Sweetwater! You may pay more but you will get much better service if you have a problem!

I doubt that any changes or decisions will be made before the deal is official. There are strict rules about that stuff. Been there several times.

I have a feeling that their quirkiness has been due somewhat to lack of resources. Maybe they will get the support they need from Yamaha. They know how to do manufacturing right.

It will work fine with any amp. My experience is that the more clean headroom the amp has the better when using a Pod.

I see it as only being Positive! Yamaha is a quality oriented company and they would not have acquired Line 6 to screw them up. I expect even more great things from Line 6 in the future.

Regular wireless and battery is the only option you will ever have with a Variax unless you want to kludge something up yourself. I doesn't make sense for Line 6 to do a wireless system for the digital channels required to use the VDI.

I do not think having anything like an overdrive in front of the Pod is a good idea. The input isn't designed for it or expecting it.

I don't think the 2.0 strat models are crap. Maybe they were better before but they are very usable and you can tweak them with workbench if you don't like the tone.

I was not sure what the poster was asking here. Does he already own a Variax and want to know if he should upgrade? If he does not own a Variax I would recommend going with a JTV for sure.

What Variax are we talking about here? My 500 5 way is pretty standard. Since there are no pickups it only tells the computer which model to select.

I do like my JTV69 more than my 500. I like having the mag pickups. I like the alternate tuning options at my fingertips. The models are better - but I am not sure I would say "much better". The guitar build quality is maybe a tad better but there is nothing wrong with the build quality on my 500 either. The necks are very similar.

This could be a good thing. Yamaha has far more resources than Line6 so maybe this will help Line6 do more.

Which old model are you comparing to. There is a big difference in the guitar quality between the 300, 500, 600, 700. I have a 500 and now a JTV69S and I would say that it is a nicer guitar but not by a lot.

I have no idea how much more consistent they are but you can take the trouble to find a good Korean one and by two or three for the price of one US one.

Based on the quality of my Korean JTV69S I don't know why anyone would fork out the $$ for the US model. The electronics will be the same. Not sure what you get for the much bigger $$.

I agree with you that firmware isn't going to fix a Mag pickup problem. You can run the Mag pickups with the battery removed. However it is probably cheaper to replace the suspect pickup yourself if you are up to the task.

The 59 and 69 are very different guitars so you should buy the one you like to play. Scale length is a big deal in my opinion. I am a fan of the 69 style and scale length.

With digital electronics you want the largest signal you can pass through it without clipping anywhere. Smaller and you are giving away resolution since you are not using all of the available bits. It is easy detect clipping internally so having a clipping indicator makes sense. If you are running clean sounds it's easy to hear clipping but if you are running already distorted effects it's not as obvious. After all most overdrive effects are modeling some form of clipping anyway. But the models are not going to produce the desired results if the DSP is clipping anywhere in the chain.

IMO Line 6 turns out a lot of products for a company their size. They can't be everything to everyone and it's up to them to decide what markets are best for them to focus on. They have done a great job on the pods over the years. There are enough models in an HD500 to configure it to almost any sound you want. I do not see the need to have more models.

It would be nice if Line6 added a clip indicator that would flag clipping anywhere in the path. Clipping really ruins the modeling.

One (69S) is enough for me. I like Strat like guitars.

You can do EQ with the Pod.