Avarage age group of the HD500\X User ?

[pianoguyy]

This is interesting.

I would have bet that most of the users are in there 20th, because so many demos are in the metal department.

... Not that older people can't play metal ;-)

 

Forum users vs pod users 

 

 

And when you consider how old rock and roll is, you can no longer associate it with teen angst. 

Think about it --- Woodstsock. The dope smoking, acid dropping, promiscuous sex having hippies --- THEY ARE ON SOCIAL SECURITY 

KISS Alive! was 40 years ago. 

MTV is in it's 30's. 

[DarkEdge]

I'm 54, gigged around San Diego last 15 years...started around 20 sumpin'

[nosajzenitram]

32, and I've been using Line 6 stuff since 2000-ish (first purchase was a POD 2.0). Bought an HD500 in 2012 after the band I was in decided to go direct for a number of reasons, the biggest being the other guitarist got tired of hauling all the gear in his van (couldn't blame him). I missed my amp (Roccaforte Jenelle), but I sure as hell didn't miss having to wait until 3:00 AM to be able to load out (due to the club not having a rear exit). Was eventually able to dial my patches in to where I wasn't missing my amp that much. Now that I'm no longer gigging I use my HD500 exclusively for practice and recording.

[zaphodboy]

Interesting that most seem to be in their 40s (I'm 46). This was the first real 'computer generation'...think ZX81, VIC20 etc. Does this mean we are the first generation who can use these types of device without being flummoxed by them, whilst still being able to afford the relatively high cost compared to stomp boxes? When I was in my 20s and 30s I couldn't have afforded the relative cost of a POD in one chunk so I went for stomp boxes and built my rig up slowly...kids cost a fortune!! 

[Akeron]

I don't know. I still can't play Ghost'N'Goblins with my POD ;)

[joel_brown]

First computer generation ?  I started with a TRS-80, 4k of memory, and had to solder a chip in it to have lower case.  You loaded programs on it from a cassette player.

[phil_m]

Funny, I feel like a relative youngster here - I'm 38. I bought my first POD (perhaps Line 6 should start selling a children's version called "My First POD") when I was 25 or 26 I think. I had only been out of college a few years and was making a real salary, so I wanted to invest in some real gear. I remember I bought my American Deluxe Strat, the POD and the MM4 (I had the DL4 already) all in on order. It was like the largest single purchase of guitar stuff I had ever made.

[smrybacki]

So, I'm 56 and I will post from either a computer, a tablet and/or my Droid phone.  I am technically inclined by nature having been a computer programmer since the early 1980s, so tech like the POD is second nature to me.  If I wrestle with anything, it is the idea of the sheer variety that the POD HD and Variax combination offers (which even for a tech guy can be mind boggling) versus the simplicity of plugging straight into a tube amp with a quality Stratocaster versus picking up my Taylor and just playing the damn thing lol.  The thing there is that you CAN get quite a lot of sounds out of the seemingly simpler electric Strat-> Princeton/Deluxe setup using volumes, tone controls and 5 way switch changes and with my Taylor I returne often to Drop D, Double Drop D, Open D (and by extension Open E), Open G or DAGAD and get a million tones that way.  These last two approaches are what I grew up with really while the Line6 rig represents the "more endless possibilities" there are to be had.

So for me, every time I sit down, I decide between playing my acoustic straight up, my electric tube setup or the Line 6  rig and every day is different.  Life is good :)

[smrybacki]

Funny, I feel like a relative youngster here - I'm 38. I bought my first POD (perhaps Line 6 should start selling a children's version called "My First POD") when I was 25 or 26 I think. I had only been out of college a few years and was making a real salary, so I wanted to invest in some real gear. I remember I bought my American Deluxe Strat, the POD and the MM4 (I had the DL4 already) all in on order. It was like the largest single purchase of guitar stuff I had ever made.

You are a younngters Phil, but then I knew that instictively based on your answers to many questions here myself.  That's not meant as any sort of slight mind you, so please take no offense.  My brother is slightly older than you are and I know how differently he went about learning to play guitar than I did.  He wore out cassette tapes learning licks while I wore out vinyl, for example.  All there was to play as a kid was tube amps and pedals were a luxery while he was raised in the age of rack systems and Randy Rhodes shredding.  So his approach begins at a far different place than mine....yet we play a lot of the same songs and enjoy jamming when we can (he lives 200+ miles away) -- we just do that with different gear and my hair is a bit grayer :)

[radatats]

I'm 59, primarily use desktop or laptop to access but occasionally my Android phone.  I started playing around '68-69 with lessons from Aubrey Rolfe... great guy, British, really knew his stuff and was instrumental (no pun intended) in my early development.  Gigged for a few years after high school.  Those were very competitive days back then.  There was a tremendously active circuit around high school dances.  Rush played at my high school as did April Wine and a bunch of others.  I did a 20 year stint with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children where I mostly just jammed with friends or by myself or at parties.  After that I played for years in a great worship team at a large church.  I mostly do local studio work and open mics now but am looking to do more solo projects this year.  Got my first computer in 84 and been knee deep in tech ever since.  I have always been an early adopter for new tech and keen to learn and share.  I am not ashamed to say I am all in with my L6 dream rig.  Best sounding and playing rig I have ever had and has never let me down.  Knock on wood...

 

PS - I keep a browser tab to New Content all day at work and usually at home too.

[maxnew40]

I am 52 and post mostly from my work computer. I spend all day at work in front of a computer, so after I get off I work I tend to avoid more computer time.

 

-Max

[Charlie_Watt]

I go back to running programs on punch cards when I was in school!  Built my first home computer from an Altair kit. (around 1975)  Then I did the TRS80 thing.  I got one of the first IBM PC's for a project. (around 82 I think)  My first guitar amp was a Heath Kit (1967).  It sucked big time!  I built fuzz boxes back in the 60's when I was in high school.  I still have my first guitar, a Hagstrom III.

 

When I graduated from college in '74 the Intel 8080 processor cost over $300.  My first HP scientific calculator cost $400.  We have come a long way since then.

[CipherHost]

I was 8 years old when I watched Neil take "...one giant leap for mankind.", live on TV. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwmrnd10IFM

[billlorentzen]

I'm 60, a pro musician since 21 years old. I play several gigs a week, and although I've used modelers off and on since the original bean, this is the first one I've owned good enough to stand on its own without a tube power section to warm it up and give some juice.

[smrybacki]

I was 8 years old when I watched Neil take "...one giant leap for mankind.", live on TV. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwmrnd10IFM

I was 10 1/2 and I was enthralled by this moment!

[cclement]

46 here. I've been playing since I was about 12. Started my Line 6 journey with an Axsys 212 when they first came out, then the AX2 (chip and cosmetic update of the Axsys), then on to the Vetta II. Sold both pay for the Alto TS110A speakers I use with my HD500X.

 

I have a band, but as I'm the "young one" in the band, we don't do a whole lot of gigs.... got a day job as the Web Producer for a data blending and advanced analytics software company here in the SF Bay Area.

[duncann]

I was 10 1/2 and I was enthralled by this moment!

 

Sadly, much of this kind of sentiment has disappeared from society. :(

 

I wish I around, and old enough to understand its significance, to witness this event. But today, there are events just as awesome, if not more so, on a much smaller scale, literally. Though not as easy to relate to as a man stepping foot on another world.

[porcytree]

I am 49 yrs old.

 

Been playing guitar since I was about 15/16 - started out on a Tokai SG ( Japanese model - wish I still had it ) and a mates JCM 800.

 

Played in a few "jam" bands but never really gigged.

 

Took a few years off playing when the kids were little - until I got my first Line 6 gear ( Flextone 3 amp ) which meant I could play "quietly" through headphones.

 

Began jamming with my old college mates again for a while - but this has tailed off again ( life stuff /busy schedules etc ) so now I just play / record at home using my POD HD bean , my ID 15  amp or my Yamaha TRH.

[pianoguyy]

Sadly, much of this kind of sentiment has disappeared from society. 

 

It's hard to gather around the tv and watch 'an event' when they have spent so much time telling us what is going to happen in advance. Complete with computer simulations. 

 

 

 

Of course, this assumes that it was real and not the invention of a Hollywood movie studio. 

[duncann]

Of course, this assumes that it was real and not the invention of a Hollywood movie studio. 

 

Lol. I hope that was a joke.

[pianoguyy]

While I believe that we did land on the moon (and were greeted by aliens), there is enough evidence to support those who believe that we didn't land at all.

Sure, the non-believers are wrong. But they have valid reasons for thinking how they do.

 

So, it wasn't a joke. As much as it was --- just laying out the option for the others.

[jandrio]

I was 8 years old when I watched Neil take "...one giant leap for mankind.", live on TV.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwmrnd10IFM

how abt 1 month later?

 

This Monday of august 1969...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRECFGlM92s

 

btw, has any L6 forum member attended woodstock?

Edited May 22, 2015 by jandrio

[smrybacki]

Sadly, much of this kind of sentiment has disappeared from society. :(

 

I wish I around, and old enough to understand its significance, to witness this event. But today, there are events just as awesome, if not more so, on a much smaller scale, literally. Though not as easy to relate to as a man stepping foot on another world.

You are so right Duncann...it takes a lot to "wow" the world these days which is really sad to me as well.  There are a great many things that are just as amazing that fly well under the radar most times. 

 

People these days seem to be interested in:

 

1. Facebook in all it's pointless meme-riddled glory

2. Sports

3. Arguing over politics (in all it's pointless glory)

 

Family runs a distant fourth, although people will quickly deny this.  The stats don't lie though and as a (now former) long time foster parent I can attest to how important some people's kids are to them, namely not at all.

 

Wow, sorry I got on that soapbox, but it's a bit of a pet peave of mine.

[pianoguyy]

btw, has any L6 forum member attended woodstock?

 

I'm not that old. But my father was sort of there.

 

He was driving through. But because of the long lines of traffic, and gas stations that were out of fuel... he couldn't go anywhere and decided to hang out. 

 

 

Either that, or he used it as an excuse to stay at his mistress's house for a few days. 

[smrybacki]

btw, has any L6 forum member attended woodstock?

Not the actual event, but I grew up not far from there and it was quite something to see for a 10 year old.  Naked hippies!

 

In 1973, I also saw the aftermath of the concert they had there that was even bigger and yup, more naked hippies except I was 14 then and knew what that really meant lol.

 

Those were the days in Upstate New York.

[BigBob-Irwin]

 

Sadly, much of this kind of sentiment has disappeared from society

 

remember staying up half the night to see "the first step" I think we have lost our sense of wonderment about things and when some modern tech is discovered we just take it for granted.

 

 

has any L6 forum member attended woodstock?

 No went to see him at the Marquee club in Soho London though around 67. I knew Noel Redding he used to go into a coffee house called the Acropolis in Folkestone where us "heads" would go and hang out he was a local lad but sadly no longer with us.

[Charlie_Watt]

My folks nixed my trip to Woodstock.  I wanted to go.  I was 19 at the time.  After seeing the mess there,  (and I was not into the drug scene) I am sort of glad I did not go.

[bptrav]

I'm "only" 30 which seems to be young for this forum.  I'm pretty new to playing guitar too.  I messed around a bit with simple power chords back in high school (12+ years ago) but never really went beyond that.  I just started playing guitar again last October.

 

My music tastes are pretty eclectic, which is one of the big appeals of modelers for me, especially now that modelers can sound so good.  In the past it was more of a trade-off between having a lot of mediocre tones or one good tone.  Now you can have a lot of good tones and switch between them at will.   :)

[Giorgos02]

Am I the youngest in here?? Im 21 years old and I bought my first Pod 4 months ago...

I never thought people at your age would tend to use digital equipment and stuff. I don't try to be mean, it's a compliment, don't get me wrong. My dad is around 60 and he can't even open a Personal Computer. And most of the older guys I know that play the guitar prefer tube amps and have never played through digital equipment. That's really nice! We 've got some bright and open-minded people in here!

[silverhead]

I am 63. Never thought that old Beatles tune would catch up to me so fast. "Will you still need me, will you still feed me ......". My username was chosen based on my hair colour, not the obscure 70s British band.

 

I started playing acoustic guitar at 12 years old and started playing electric at 14 to join my buds in the high school band scene. My first piece of electronic kit was a Digitech RP-1 in 1993. Haven't used an amp since my POD X3 Live in 2009.

 

I've been around computers since 1979; my first programming was done on pencil-marked cards, one small step from punched cards. But I'm not really into social media other than this forum. I've never used Twitter and my only experience with Facebook is what happens to me every night as I fall asleep while reading in bed. I still use a cellphone for phone calls.

[pianoguyy]

Am I the youngest in here?? Im 21 years old and I bought my first Pod 4 months ago...

 

I never thought people at your age would tend to use digital equipment and stuff. I don't try to be mean, it's a compliment, don't get me wrong. My dad is around 60 and he can't even open a Personal Computer. And most of the older guys I know that play the guitar prefer tube amps and have never played through digital equipment. That's really nice! We 've got some bright and open-minded people in here!

 

 

Computers are different. 

That is a 'new' device. Even at work, if you had established yourself as something, you may not have a need to use a pc for it. 

 

Where as music, we've twisted knobs before there were knobs. We invented things to twist trying to make changes.

Using an amp model on a 500 isn't too different than using the actual amp. Twist knobs. Volume, tone, drive. We've done that. 

 

But ask some of the 60 year olds if they use gates to chop the sound into a chugga chugga type effect, that's a different story. 

[spaceatl]

Yea, I remember walking to school uphill both ways... :lol:

[Charlie_Watt]

In a blinding snowstorm!

[silverhead]

... to a one-room schoolhouse, after doing the morning chores in the barn.....!! (Wait... that was my dad... truly!)

[JTSC777]

From my teaching experience I have learnd that in these times young people are not picking up an instrument and working at and studying it for 20 years before they can play proficiently.Those days are about gone. Being a real time working professional musician is very hard work by young peoples standards today.As an example my 21 year old bass playing son who is pretty good with decent reading skills cannot find enough younger players to get their faces out of their bong/Facebook/video game/ girlfriend etc....to do the rehearsing and work involved to play music at a high level live. At last winters NAMM show the biggest draw was anything related to EDM. Electronic Dance Music for you older musicians here. Every EDM booth was packed while a bunch of geezers hung out at the Marshall booth which was surprisingly quiet.Things have changed a lot. I rarely see the musicians work ethic in young folks that I was taught was a requirement to be even a casual musician much less a pro.I will be 54 years old in a couple of months and have played professionally since I was 12 years old. I am not against any of these changes as change is important and must happen. I see a marriage between EDM and conventional rock/pop insteuments as the next wave in popular music. I have been very fortunate to have played as long as I have and make my living from it but I had to learn to do a lot of things well. It's all Blood , Sweat and Tears. No shortcuts. My 2 cents.

[stevevnicks]

lifes to fast for most/average people to want to spend time needed to learn how to read wright music they have far to many pointless multi tasking things taking up there time to even consider it so just playing what ever you can at your ability as long as your having fun will do ... me included lol :/

 

not saying thats a good thing lol but ay not everyone wants to be joe satriani .. :)

 

hence the guitar my avatar's holding lol :P

 

my axe close up

 

 

hook this bad boi upto my HD500 and im away ..

[bptrav]

 

At last winters NAMM show the biggest draw was anything related to EDM. Electronic Dance Music for you older musicians here. Every EDM booth was packed while a bunch of geezers hung out at the Marshall booth which was surprisingly quiet.Things have changed a lot. 

 

Yep I even see a big difference between people my age (30) and people my younger brother's age (21).  Virtually none of the music he and his friends listen to has guitar (or any real instruments) in it at all, so I'm not surprised young people aren't inspired to pick up an instrument and try to learn to play.  Plus on top of that there are a million little things to distract people now...smart phones, social media, video games, movies on-demand, 100 hour TV series on-demand, etc.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I actually enjoy some electronic music, but I like the electronic music that is well....musical.  Every time I hear some good electronic music I go look up more information about the artist, and invariably they learned to play piano/guitar/violin/etc when they were young then transitioned to electronic music (The Flashbulb for example).  Too much EDM seems to skip that musicality part.

 

Now get off my lawn!   ;)

 

I see a marriage between EDM and conventional rock/pop insteuments as the next wave in popular music. I have been very fortunate to have played as long as I have and make my living from it but I had to learn to do a lot of things well. It's all Blood , Sweat and Tears. No shortcuts. My 2 cents.

 

It's already happening to some extent.  Maybe not with the really popular "top40" music, but bands like of Montreal or Tame Impala have a nice mix of real instruments and electronic stuff.  When of Montreal started they were just a straight up rock band too, but they have gradually included more electronic/synth sounds in their music.  No dubstep WUBWUBWUB though, thankfully.   :P

[Digital_Igloo]

At last winters NAMM show the biggest draw was anything related to EDM. Electronic Dance Music for you older musicians here. Every EDM booth was packed while a bunch of geezers hung out at the Marshall booth which was surprisingly quiet. Things have changed a lot.

 

It's already starting to swing back. At last year's EDM conventions, it was almost all spacebar DJs. This year's EDM conventions have a lot more live musicians—guitarists, percussionists, and live drummers. Not saying things are where they should be, but it's looking up. 

[cruisinon2]

I see a marriage between EDM and conventional rock/pop insteuments as the next wave in popular music.

I think I'm gonna get a head start and start disliking/ignoring this genre now...beat the Christmas rush. ;)

[cruisinon2]

It's already starting to swing back. At last year's EDM conventions, it was almost all spacebar DJs. This year's EDM conventions have a lot more live musicians—guitarists, percussionists, and live drummers. Not saying things are where they should be, but it's looking up.

I realize it's all personal preference, but as far as I'm concerned, if EDM is the future, then there's nowhere to go but up...wanna be a "songwriter"? There's an app for that...push this button, and POOF!...you're a "musician". Don't forget your mouse-head helmet....ugh.