Pod Hd500, How many of you own one - first impressions? |
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Pod Hd500, How many of you own one - first impressions? |
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Jan 4 2012, 12:20 AM |
Just curious how many of you own a POD HD500, and what do you think of it so far?
I've just started learning the ropes of programming mine and am really digging it so far. Perhaps one of the nicest things is that you can download others' patches and install them, and place effects pre-or post the amplifier. I haven't tried the four cable connection for routing thru my amp, but have been using it directly into the main input of my amp and can get some pretty deep thundering heavy metal tones. The noise gate is really well done IMO. Something that is lacking though is a good beginners guide to creating and working with patches as well as a recommendation FAQ for creating tones. An HD500 for dummies tutorial would be awesome. If anyone knows of one in written form and want to share it, that would be great. I'm almost tempted to write one up, but I'm by no means proficient at it myself yet! Currently, the only way to get good advice to search google on any topic you can find :/ Something I learned recently through research though is the implementing a 4 cable hook up method: Of course what is not mentioned is you should use a pre-amp model, and set the global to "Amp - combo or stack" instead of Studio". Otherwise the POD will simulate your cab before your cab does it's own thing. Also, when adding an amp, if you are not using 2 amp models simultaneously (using only one channel), then setting the unused channel to Variax instead of "Same" is a way to clean up the tone - or mute the channel, which I don't know how to do yet. This was recommended in thread that I quote below. Quote: Originally Posted by Rena Rune Just got a Jag today, which definitely isn't crazy hot... still hear some breakup towards the end of this clip... again the Deluxe model... I'm AB'ing between it and a Twin(First half of the clip), don't know if that's what's causing it. I had the inputs set to "same" so perhaps it doubles the input into each, but it didn't work otherwise. CODE http://www.box.net/shared/gueorpxj8p88hrypqy4k They should not be set to same when using a single amp model. Input 1 should be set to guitar and input 2 to one of the Variax models (or muted, didn't know that was possible). When set to same you are essentially getting a boost (doubling the input) for which you will never get a clean sound using humbuckers with any of the amps. And if you do want pristine solid state clean, look elsewhere as the POD HD will breakup on pretty much all amp models when you dig in even when set at fairly low gain levels (the Digitech RP series has several clean models which can be set 100% clean). Quote: Originally Posted by derek_32999 Yup, don't set it to same. I set mine to 1st channel Variax cause that is my main instrument and I set the second to guitar (which I don't use). On high gain patches I even mute the second channel and can tell a difference. You can mute the second input? Need to look at the manual. Been setting my second to Variax as that was the quietest of the options available... In any case, looking for others that use the HD500 to share tips and tricks and patches. Chris! -------------------- The more I practice, the more I wish I had time to practice!
My Band Forum: http://passionfly.site/chat |
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Jan 4 2012, 12:53 AM |
The HD500 is amazing. although I am reserving buying one and going for the HD Pro Rack Mount. It is the closest thing to rival the depth of an AxeFx. Most POD's follow the same formula, it becomes confusing at first the devastatingly simple. I dont know of any tutorial although there are a ton of tone demos and examples on youtube if you search for them. Been around the net twice now! I didn't know they had a rack mount version, but on reflection, why wouldn't they right? Sounds awesome. Chris! -------------------- The more I practice, the more I wish I had time to practice!
My Band Forum: http://passionfly.site/chat |
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Jan 4 2012, 12:56 AM |
I think Andrew actually got the Rack Mount recently too.
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Jan 4 2012, 02:42 AM |
When I owned my Pod HD500 I ran it through an Egnator 60w Tube Head. I did the guitar > 500 > Head route and it sounded decent but when I kicked it over to the 4 cable method it really started to shine, I think its because it look over the preamp on my head and modeled what was set for the cabs and everything. The only knobs that worked on the head itself was the clean/distortion switch, changing the tubes from EL to 6L6, and volume thats it.
Compared to my previous multi-effects the Boss GT-10 and Pod XT sound quality is way nicer. Also if you haven't do as Azzaboi said patch that baby up you will get some better hi-gain tones and also it adds a few amps into it as well. I really enjoyed the unit but I did get rid of it. I miss having the headphone option for late nights, but I guess with the setup I got from selling it I'm happier. As for making patches I found its easier to take ones they have copy them to an open slot and change the amps, cabs, and that seems to be easier than creating from scratch because you have some what of a idea to start with. -------------------- Guitars:
Ibanez S770PB (Natural Flat) , Ibanez XPT700 (Chameleon) , Sterling J Richardson Signature , Squire IV Jazz Bass (Sunburst) Gear: Neural DSP Plugins My YouTube Page. |
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Jan 4 2012, 03:31 PM |
Thanks for sharing, it definitely looks like a good option!
-------------------- Visit my:
INSTRUCTOR PROFILE "If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music." Gustav Mahler Subscribe to my Youtube Channel here |
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Jan 4 2012, 05:00 PM
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Hey everybody,
Just accidentally stumbled over this thread, so I thought I'm gonna write my first post at all :-) I recently found a really cool guide (written by Line 6 forum member Meambobbo) that might help getting some serious quality high gain tones out of the Pod HD. Here's the link: http://line6.com/support/thread/71651 Hope that helps, John |
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Jan 4 2012, 06:23 PM |
I received mine yesterday and I just used it a bit. At first I can note that the new emulations has much more dynamics and the factory presets work better than the previous version. You'll note the difference in my future lessons.
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Jan 4 2012, 07:09 PM |
Got mine for Christmas and I am loving it. It is an HD pro and is a big improvement over my Pod XT Live. The Amp sims have come a long way and are much more dynamic although there are fewer of them, all in all a great unit. I have some caveats:
1. Good Cleans, Good Crunch, good Hi Gain, but lacking in the transition between them, not really too touch sensitive (although much better than the XT) 2. I would love a VST version of the unit so I can use the same patches for playing and recording. The Pod Had this but there doesn't seem to be an HD Pro version of the pugin yet - maybe Pod Farm II is meant to be this but they don't seem to be able to share patches. Its a great tool however and the looper is a lot of fun! I'm keeping mine and looking for a great tube amp to pair it with, as well as using it in my studio. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jan 4 2012, 07:17 PM |
Got mine for Christmas and I am loving it. It is an HD pro and is a big improvement over my Pod XT Live. The Amp sims have come a long way and are much more dynamic although there are fewer of them, all in all a great unit. I have some caveats: 1. Good Cleans, Good Crunch, good Hi Gain, but lacking in the transition between them, not really too touch sensitive (although much better than the XT) 2. I would love a VST version of the unit so I can use the same patches for playing and recording. The Pod Had this but there doesn't seem to be an HD Pro version of the pugin yet - maybe Pod Farm II is meant to be this but they don't seem to be able to share patches. Its a great tool however and the looper is a lot of fun! I'm keeping mine and looking for a great tube amp to pair it with, as well as using it in my studio. hahaha I'm also having a lot of fun with the looper!! and the POD HD500 Edit software looks so nice. -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Jan 4 2012, 09:20 PM |
Of course what is not mentioned is you should use a pre-amp model, and set the global to "Amp - combo or stack" instead of Studio". Otherwise the POD will simulate your cab before your cab does it's own thing. Great info and fascinating video for the 4 channel method, adds a huge amount of versatility, i will be trying this for sure! if I understand correctly though, you are already using the amps preamp, so why do you need to set one up on the HD? Why not just turn the amp off entirely? I agree with the Amp Combo stack setting though. I like this method because it allows you to place Volume and Wah ahead of the preamp wher it should go, and also delays, reverb etc after the preamp - very flexible. My alternate plan was to use the mic input of the HD to mic up the amp and do all the post processing in the HD then output to a PA. The upside is that you get stereo effects such as reverb and delay, the downside is that you sacrifice the proper placement you get through the 4 cable method and would need separate wah and volume pedals. Overall I think 4 cable is best if you have a decent power amp you are using as the sole amplification for a venue, and the micing plan might work better for a lower powered amp (I've seen Steve Vai do this) Interesting! This post has been edited by Andrew Cockburn: Jan 4 2012, 09:27 PM -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jan 4 2012, 09:45 PM |
Man, I loved the looper on my Boss DD20 pedal It was very cool tool to have, kept me more with the guitar in my hands instead of a mouse. COngratulations guys
-------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
- Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :) |
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Jan 5 2012, 05:18 PM |
My alternate plan was to use the mic input of the HD to mic up the amp and do all the post processing in the HD then output to a PA. The upside is that you get stereo effects such as reverb and delay, the downside is that you sacrifice the proper placement you get through the 4 cable method and would need separate wah and volume pedals. hey man! this is a really good idea! Have you tried it live?? Nice share, some good tones and tips, thanks. As for the loop or the direct input, depends if you want to use the PodHD as the preamp. If your already got a preamp builtin with your amp it might be better to loop so you get to use that. If your got a cheaper amp or no preamp, then get the boost doing it directly. My fav tones are some of these, see attached. Check them out if you want! (Metal/Shred) thanks mate! I'll try these ones! -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Jan 5 2012, 05:45 PM |
hey man! this is a really good idea! Have you tried it live?? Nope - just a theory at this point! -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jan 6 2012, 10:05 PM |
Hey everybody, Just accidentally stumbled over this thread, so I thought I'm gonna write my first post at all :-) I recently found a really cool guide (written by Line 6 forum member Meambobbo) that might help getting some serious quality high gain tones out of the Pod HD. Here's the link: http://line6.com/support/thread/71651 Hope that helps, John Awesome! thanks John. Always looking for guides! -------------------- The more I practice, the more I wish I had time to practice!
My Band Forum: http://passionfly.site/chat |
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Jan 6 2012, 10:38 PM |
if I understand correctly though, you are already using the amps preamp, so why do you need to set one up on the HD? Why not just turn the amp off entirely? I agree with the Amp Combo stack setting though. This method is used to bypass your pre-amp on amps whose loop input/outputs allow for it. My pre-amp knobs don't work when I'm plugged in via this method - bypassed completely - I'm still trying to experiment with it so I can't say from experience but I'm pretty sure that's the objective. Also, for a PA system, seems you can change your settings to studio, and send your L/R directly into the P/A - you'd need to also set up your cab response simulation settings, but I think that would probably work better than the mic option because then you'd have true stereo for said effects - I was playing with the pong-delay in my senheisers and it sounds wicked good in stereo. The POD is great in terms of being able to move effects pre-post it's own cab-settings. If you want your existing stack's tone, then I think I would just have a set of boss or other pedals (chorus, delay, tube-screamer) plugged into a Mesa (if I could afford one) and mic the stack! There seems to be some crossover these days between amp simulation and the real-deal. I think POD's are intended to be your virtual amp sent through a PA system. I think they try to accommodate those who want all the cool effects of the POD as a flavor to be added to your normal rig's tone. I don't know that a hybrid use like that has all its wrinkles ironed out - but that's just based on what I've been reading over the past several weeks, and one reason why I started this thread - to see how others are using their POD and the results! This was an interesting read: http://line6.com/support/thread/77225?tstart=0 Two things to pull from this thread - the headphones you use for your HD500 should have greater than 40 ohms - Senheiser280's are used internally by the POD team? I found this odd, but seems to be a point of interest in the thread. CODE I have actually asked for clarification on that 150-600ohm range, as if you look out there most studio cans are under 150ohms. there are some Sennheiser HD280Pro's in a 300ohm version, but they're not as easy to get hold of as the 64ohm versions. BUT Line 6 has confirmed previously that the 150-600ohm range is accurate. that said it seems cans with 60ohms or more seem ok, it's when you start getting to below 40 that people report audio problems like hearing a hum all the time or the audio quality being affected... DJ headphones usually have under 30ohms so you should stay well away from them. there is a post on this forum where even one of the LIne 6 tech's says you should stay between 150 and 600 ohms, but then suggests using Sennheiser HD280Pros, with a link to the 64ohm versions... quite a few users seem to like them, and I have never noticed any hum or audio issues, so they seem like a solid option and they work which is why I suggested them. But it's your choice in the end. Secondly - KRK Studio Monitors are great for home practice CODE KRK Studio monitors are great for guitars. You could just use 1, and for that I suggest getting a Rokit G2 8" model. if you want a pair, then the 6" or 5" models will do. of course it does depend on your tone. if you like a thick lump of bass in your tone, the bigger speakers may help a little, but the 5's and 6's are surprisingly good at giving a lot of bass too... so I guess it also depends on the volume level you want...
Myself and several of the other experts here all use KRK Rokit's... Sennheiser HD280Pro Cans are good for late night jamming if you don't want to wake your family or neighbours. At least one of the other experts also uses these Sennheisers too. for your bedget you could get a pair of the 6" KRK's and the headphones for $500 from sweetwater. If it was my choice that's what I'd be buying. -------------------- The more I practice, the more I wish I had time to practice!
My Band Forum: http://passionfly.site/chat |
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Jan 6 2012, 10:50 PM |
This method is used to bypass your pre-amp on amps whose loop input/outputs allow for it. My pre-amp knobs don't work when I'm plugged in via this method - bypassed completely - I'm still trying to experiment with it so I can't say from experience but I'm pretty sure that's the objective. Interesting, thanks for the links too! I'll definitely give this a go when I get my new Amp. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jan 14 2012, 01:38 AM |
Nice share, some good tones and tips, thanks. As for the loop or the direct input, depends if you want to use the PodHD as the preamp. If your already got a preamp builtin with your amp it might be better to loop so you get to use that. If your got a cheaper amp or no preamp, then get the boost doing it directly. My fav tones are some of these, see attached. Check them out if you want! (Metal/Shred) I don't know how I missed this ~ I downloaded the tones and will try them out tonight! If I create any tones that I'm proud of I'll be sure to share them in this thread! Thanks! Chris! -------------------- The more I practice, the more I wish I had time to practice!
My Band Forum: http://passionfly.site/chat |
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