zaphodboy

+1 to that. I was pretty happy with my HD500 and JTV59, but when I added a Stagesource L3 the whole thing REALLY came alive.

Why don't Line 6 produce a pro grade cable? The Tyler Variax and HD500x are their flagship, pro products after all.

There's a whole lotta love going on in this thread.....and a 100% agree with all of what's been written. I can't see myself changing my rig for a long time because I haven't found a tone that I can't get really close to yet with my Variax and HD500. And I use nowhere near the 100+ effects available to get them.

My Rig: JTV59-vdi-HD500-L6 link-L3t Just thought I would share an experience with a 'muso' acquaintance of mine..... I was playing a gig at a local venue and, lets call him 'Barry' to protect his identity, came to see us. I had been using my dream rig for a few months but Barry hadn't seen it. Our other guitarist was using my old Marshall tube amp. During the break Barry came up to me to ask me about my 'new guitar' which he said sounded 'sweet'. He hadn't spotted that it was a Variax and when I told him what it was he totally back tracked saying, "Well it still sounds pretty organic anyway, but then you are putting it through that lovely Marshall of yours". I duly explained that the path was totally digital and he sort of shuffled away mumbling something about 'old school'. Well, that's muso's for you... I absolutely love my rig. I have been playing for 35 years (eep!) and have never enjoyed the sound I'm getting as much as I do now.

It would have to be bloody amazing for $199!

+1. It took me a while to work that one out.

Thanks Colonel, I'll try that!

I play very little high gain stuff in the band but have noticed that when I do need a tone more saturated than my usual crunch I struggle to get it to cut through. I am using an JTV-VDI-HD500-L3m as the rig. I seem to get the best results with the Treadplate but I would be interested to see how you guys set up the patch to cut through. Thanks in advance.

I have a patch with 2 tube drives, one set so it's just breaking up (Don't Look Back In Anger) and one that's a bit more saturated (Rock n Roll Star). The tube drives are assigned to the foot switches. I have a digital delay set up on one of the foot switches too. If you weren't going through your amp I find the Park to be the closest to Oasis' tone. Hope that helps.

Hi all. I've been trying to dial in a tone for Supermassive Black Hole by Muse. I've come reasonably close without nailing it. I think the problem is that Matt Bellamy uses a Zvex Fuzz Factory, one of the few stomps not in the HD500. Has anyone got any ideas? Cheers.

I run my JTV through VDI live. I hear a difference but wouldn't describe it as better or worse....just different. That said I don't use high gain amps to any great degree. To be honest though I would accept some degradation in return for the extra versatility in terms of charging and auto model changing when changing patches on the POD.

.....or maybe he works for Kemper :P

I have heard dozens of great sounding tones using a single amp configuration. As for dual amps, I've never really explored them so I can't comment.

1. Connect the JTV and POD using a VDI cable 2 Create your acoustic patch as you usually would through HD edit. 3. Go to the mixer tab where you'll see the variax panel. Select James Tyler Variax from the 'VDI input' drop down menu. 4. You should now see the models available via a drop down menu in the panel to the right. Choose the acoustic models you want 5. Hit 'save' 6. Repeat the process with your Les Paul patch Now, when you switch patches you'll also switch guitar models. Once you've done it a few times it becomes second nature. Good luck

Like Triryche I start with the amp then go from there. If you don't get the basic amp tone right you're up the creek before you even start. The only other thing I would add is LESS IS MORE. Because the Pod has so many effects, cab and mic options etc. it's easy to fall into the trap of adding so many effects and over tweaking....you just end up with mush. Good luck.

Is this the death of the tube amp? Of course not, but all things considered I would go FRFR rather than tubes. I like the consistency of tone across all volumes with my L3 which I always struggled to achieve with my tube amp. And it's lighter. And it can do acoustic sounds.

I have an L3m, HD500 and JTV. I have yet to come across a tone, acoustic or electric, that I can't get pretty darn close to. Oh, and it's INSANELY loud! Some people have commented on a disconnect between rig and player when going FRFR but I have never experienced this, it just sounds fantastic!

100% agree with you about technology being a distraction. I think the problem with modelling gear is that people tend to try to be too clever with it. Because the HD has 100+ effects it's easy to try to shoe horn as many of them as possible into your patches. I have certainly fallen into this trap. After spending a ridiculous amount of time tweaking and still not getting close to the tones I wanted I ditched all my patches and went for a less is more approach and you know what? My tone is now 100% better than it was. I have around 10 patches with a different amp model in each. Within my patches I have a little reverb, one modulation effect and an OD pedal of some kind, maybe some EQ.....that's about it. Nothing else to muddy the sound. IMO that's how to get the best out of modellers.

I really love my JTV59, it is my go-to guitar for gigging, but if the modelling failed and it turned into a 'one trick pony' my 1977 Les Paul does the trick better. It would be an awesome standby guitar though!

I gig mostly smallish bars and clubs with a few private party's here and there. I went for an L3m (don't need the mixer)- L6 link- HD500 -vdi -JTV. I go mono and it sounds awesome. The Stagesource range IS a bit pricey but I think the connectability to the rest of the dream rig is worth the extra. I love how I can switch speaker modes per patch, going from full on rock to fantastic acoustic tones with the press of a button. For a covers band that flexibility is fantastic. To be honest I think I would have been fine with the L2 as the L3 is insanely loud. I could have saved myself a bit of weight but at the end of the day I have a rig that sounds like absolutely anything I want it to consisting of guitar, pod, speaker and 2 cables; set up time 5 minutes!

+1 to all of that!

I would say 80-90% of my patches are in p.a. mode using full amp models with the other 20% being a mix between acoustic patches in acoustic guitar mode, and PRE amp models in electric guitar mode. The Stagesource is just that little bit more versatile when used with a POD HD and JTV than a regular FRFR speaker. If you have no real need of acoustic tones there is probably not that much difference (the acoustic patches sound amazing though!) .

Sorry mate, I have never seen that on my L3m but it definitely looks like an L6 link issue. There is always just one light on the back to denote which speaker mode you're in. The mode you have the POD in makes no difference to the speaker mode, just the sound. I had a few issues with the speaker mode jumping around when I first bought it. I feared the worst but it turned out to be an dodgy xlr cable causing the L6 link to get confused. I swapped it for another lead and it was fine....you might want to try a few different cables? Good luck, hope it works out.

I use am L3 as a stage amp. I run it in PA mode using full amp models from the POD which for the most part I prefer than running Electric Guitar mode with PRE models (there are one or two exceptions). I agree with litesnsirens about tone building too. It's pretty easy to dial in a tone at bedroom volumes and, with only minor EQ tweakage, convert to stage volume. For me the beauty of the Stagesource over DT is its versatility. I can get killer guitar tones using PA mode (and occasionally Guitar mode) and fantastic acoustic tones using the JTV. A lot is made about feeling disconnected from your sound on stage when running FRFR but I have never found it to be an issue.

I'm waiting for him to come back for Round 2!