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Post subject: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 2:49 am
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After 4 years it looks like my Mustang IV and I will be parting ways as I'm moving to my new live rig I just picked up yesterday. My Mustang has been a real workhorse and I have nothing bad to say about it, but technology has moved forward and there are better ways of doing the things I need to do and I'm excited about all the new possibilities.

I'm one of a growing trend of guitar players who are abandoning guitar amps and moving to pedals and stage monitors. Here's the new rig:

A Line 6 POD HD500X:
Image

Combined with a Yamaha DXR12:
Image

Of course the cost of this rig is more than double what a Mustang IV costs, but the capabilities and convenience make it worth it to me. As many of you have discovered, there are limitation in how the Mustang deals with cabinet modeling. Some of you have mentioned here that you often disable cabinet modeling in order to achieve a cleaner and clearer tone. This is a consistent problem in all modeling amps because the modeled cabinet is played through the real amp's cabinet, and guitar amp speaker cabinets by design are not full range and flat response cabinets. So this type of rig addresses that issue and allows me to have a stage sound that is much closer to the sound that will be played through the PA which receives the same signal via the XLR outputs either from the POD or from the XLR out on the speaker.

A lot of folks doing this sort of thing have opted for the AXE FX board which I admit is a pretty good board. But I'm not sure it good enough to justify the price difference with the POD. I'll admit I've been pretty skeptical of Line 6 gear as I once owned a Spider IV amp, but Line 6 appears to be a very different company now that it's owned by Yamaha. The injection of capital from that aquisition has allowed Line 6 to bring out a stunning array of new advanced products such as their Soundscape series of PA's and a variety of new amps.

The best part about the HD500X (as well as the rack mounted HD Pro X) is the ability to buy add-on amp models rather than having to wait for the next version of the amp for new amp models. Granted I won't have a lot of the specific Fender models I have on the Mustang, but I do have some truly remarkable amp models such as the Soledad which I've fallen in love with. Also because I already own a POD HD Pro X rack mounted unit for my home studio I'll be able to model patches at home which I can then bring over to my live rig. Combined with the DXR12 speaker which is similar to flat response full range studio monitors, my live sound will basically be a true studio sound. Not to mention my live setup will be significantly easier to set up since I'll be combining the 2 and 4 button pedals and volume pedals all in one unit.

I want to emphasize this is not a hit at Fender. They make a fine modeling amp which is absolutely the best of breed when it comes to all in one modeling amps. But clearly they have chosen to take a different direction from where I feel I need to go since abandoning the Mustang Floor. But for someone who wants an inexpensive modeling stage solution I will always recommend the Mustang line.

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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:01 am
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as good as these are, there is plenty of other choices.

moving on to something else is exciting stuff.

good luck with the change over, let us know how it all works out.

hopefully you're not ditching the forum, I've enjoyed reading your contributions.


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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:38 am
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Location: Heber Springs, Arkansas, USA
Just curious, did you consider the new Helix, or was that also a cost consideration, I know they're high. On some other boards I frequent, it seems to be all the rage right now.

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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:05 am
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neuwirth wrote:
Just curious, did you consider the new Helix, or was that also a cost consideration, I know they're high. On some other boards I frequent, it seems to be all the rage right now.


As best as I can determine the base modeling engine and capabilities in Helix are the same as the HD500. It seems what you're paying for is the embedded interface which I admit is very nice. But I'm not sure it's worth the extra money for myself. The HD series at least has a track record and I'm not quick to want to be the first to find out what bugs might be there in a brand new product.

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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:02 pm
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Been the POD root once, started with an X3 then moved onto a HD500. Gigged with this gear straight to the PA for about 2 years.

I think the PODs are great, you can get great tone and the FX on the HD series are just great. I sold them for two reasons though. 1 Option Paralysis and I seemed to be spending a lot of time fiddling and not playing. 2 The sound from POD to PA to monitor did not suit my ear. It sounded too airy and not guitar amp enough if you catch my drift you can of course fix all that by changing mic placings etc. On reflection I wish I had kept the HD500 and tried one of the new DSP controlled L6 monitors or had bought a DT25. - Hey ho we all make expensive mistakes.

Best of luck..

I'm buying a Yamaha THR100 next so I can use something that takes my pedals well - keeping the Stang though :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:22 am
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81LesPaul wrote:
Been the POD root once, started with an X3 then moved onto a HD500. Gigged with this gear straight to the PA for about 2 years.

I think the PODs are great, you can get great tone and the FX on the HD series are just great. I sold them for two reasons though. 1 Option Paralysis and I seemed to be spending a lot of time fiddling and not playing. 2 The sound from POD to PA to monitor did not suit my ear. It sounded too airy and not guitar amp enough if you catch my drift you can of course fix all that by changing mic placings etc. On reflection I wish I had kept the HD500 and tried one of the new DSP controlled L6 monitors or had bought a DT25. - Hey ho we all make expensive mistakes.

Best of luck..

I'm buying a Yamaha THR100 next so I can use something that takes my pedals well - keeping the Stang though :wink:


There's certainly a lot of truth to your impressions of the PODs from my early impressions. PODs certainly provide access to almost any paramerter you can think of to tweek the sound and I can see how that might lead to paralysis by analysis in the eternal search for tone. And clearly there's a huge difference in clarity and articulation when moving from a traditional guitar cabinet to a direct input FRFR speaker or PA.

I'm actually kind of excited about the latter. We typically have two guitars going in our live gigs so it can become a bit of a mushy mess in some cases. I'm hoping the added articulation will help ease that so that each of the guitars will be more distinguishable in the mix.

The former problem will take more of my time I suspect to get things under control. I've already started perusing the Line 6 forums to find some of the shortcuts and have already been rewarded with a couple of tricks hidden in the arcane parameters of the amp and cabinet models, as well as gained some insight into how to better select and place the effects in the chain. I'm sure I'll find out more as time goes on.

Personally I kind of like the challenge of mastering a new system. But then again, I'm retired and I have the time to do so...

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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:08 pm
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Your going to love it - I was too short sighted.


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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:54 am
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dunedindragon,

Best wishes. I hope your new rig does all you want. Thank you for your imput. Your controbutions here have been helpful.

Take care.


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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:36 am
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Dunedindragon:
Your posts have regularly contributed to keeping the Forums informative and interesting. Congratulations on the new gear! Don't be a stranger. Post again from time to time to let us know how you're doing. Who know's, Fender may introduce something compelling down the road that may reinsipre you to include it in your rig. Take care.

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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:05 am
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MusicLaw wrote:
Dunedindragon:
Your posts have regularly contributed to keeping the Forums informative and interesting. Congratulations on the new gear! Don't be a stranger. Post again from time to time to let us know how you're doing. Who know's, Fender may introduce something compelling down the road that may reinsipre you to include it in your rig. Take care.


Don't worry, I'm still checking in every day and intend to keep doing so. Especially when a thread comes along I think I can contribute to.

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Post subject: Re: Sadly My Mustang and I are parting ways..
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 12:37 pm
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Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:43 pm
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Location: Here In Oregon
dunedindragon wrote:
MusicLaw wrote:
Dunedindragon:
Your posts have regularly contributed to keeping the Forums informative and interesting. Congratulations on the new gear! Don't be a stranger. Post again from time to time to let us know how you're doing. Who know's, Fender may introduce something compelling down the road that may reinsipre you to include it in your rig. Take care.


Don't worry, I'm still checking in every day and intend to keep doing so. Especially when a thread comes along I think I can contribute to.

Whew, you had me scared. Why did the skeleton not go to the Halloween party?

Scroll down for answer.
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Keep going
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He had no body to go with.

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