So I spent some more time with the HD500 and the 11R. Want to try something really cool??

Run your guitar into the HD. Then, run the HD500 into your 11R via SPDIF, use the HD500 amps and effects and turn off the cab modeling. On the 11R, bypass everything except the cab modeling and the reverb and set your rig input to SPDIF. Wow! Sweet combination. I can mix and match everything in each unit.

I have found that the cab modeling in the HD is the weak link. Use it with either the Redwirez IRs or the 11R cabs/mics and things really improve. The other thing I have noticed is that the HD is VERY sensitive to the guitar. I ran through my SG, Strat, VH1 partsocaster with an SD '78 in the bridge and my Gibson Historic R8 with stock Burstbucker 1 and 2. Each guitar sounded different like it should.

The looper on the HD is pretty cool too! Very easy to use.

So far, with these two units in my home studio, my GAS for the AxeFX is gone. I WILL NOT be investing in the current AxeFX hardware. Maybe when they release the next incarnation I will take another look. I know next to nothing about DSP chips and I could be completely wrong. However, I have heard that the DSP chips that they rely on are no longer being produced and there is no future development being put into those chips. Again, I could be wrong.

For the $$$ I have put into the 11R and the HD500, I am still not up to the cost of the AxeFx and I have a foot controller and two DAW interfaces and tones that work well for me. I am planning to continue to evaluate the HD before my 30-day return period is up. Right now, I like having both these units in my studio.

As an aside, I am currently doing a masters thesis that involves the brain of creative personalities. Without getting too "heady", it is interesting to note that since our brains interpret everything we see and hear, and that interpretation is colored by all of our own unique experiences and feelings, each of us interprets the world in our own unique way. This is one of the reasons each of us hears tones differently. That is also why all of these modelers work well for some of us and not so well for others. Be extremely grateful if you are one of those people who hears great tones from a modeler that does not break the bank!

Cheers!