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Posted by: SirJamsalot 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.

In any case, looking for others that use the HD500 to share tips and tricks and patches.


Chris!

Posted by: The Uncreator Jan 4 2012, 12:48 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.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 4 2012, 12:53 AM

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!

Posted by: The Uncreator Jan 4 2012, 12:56 AM

I think Andrew actually got the Rack Mount recently too.

Posted by: Azzaboi Jan 4 2012, 01:49 AM

My first impression of the PodHD500, sounds alright and sweet got dynamics.
Not high gain enough and mostly cool sounding but useless effects.

The patch came out and updated, high gain model, sweet!
Next replace the tones with custom ones, better metal/rock.

I had a direct cable to the amp input (sound better if lower quality amp or if you want a pre-amp boost).
Later tried the four loop cable (works better for high quality amps and doesn't mud the effects over).

Finally got the DT50 2x12 to go with it. Four amps in one, this tube amp sounds good by itself, but hells bells it weights a ton! Push - pull the volume pot to change from 25w to 50w - great can adjust the volume without lost of quality or getting muddy. Only annoying bit is a clicking sound between changing the tones.

Link DT50 with the PodHD 500, uses one midi cable connection (L6 Link) - Wowster, automatic updating the amp with the effects and via versa. Some of the tones need to be changed/tweaked but quality is through the roof!

Posted by: SpaseMoonkey 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.

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Jan 4 2012, 03:31 PM

Thanks for sharing, it definitely looks like a good option!

Posted by: Shaolin Jan 4 2012, 05:00 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

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi 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.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn 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.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 4 2012, 07:17 PM

hahaha I'm also having a lot of fun with the looper!! and the POD HD500 Edit software looks so nice.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 4 2012, 09:20 PM

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!

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic 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

Posted by: Azzaboi Jan 4 2012, 11:22 PM

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)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 5 2012, 05:18 PM

hey man! this is a really good idea! Have you tried it live??






thanks mate! I'll try these ones!

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 5 2012, 05:45 PM

Nope - just a theory at this point!

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 6 2012, 10:05 PM

Awesome! thanks John. Always looking for guides!

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 6 2012, 10:38 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.

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.



Secondly - KRK Studio Monitors are great for home practice

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 6 2012, 10:50 PM

Interesting, thanks for the links too! I'll definitely give this a go when I get my new Amp.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 14 2012, 01:38 AM

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!

Posted by: Michael AC Jan 14 2012, 04:07 AM

This makes want to save up even faster...will be nice to share tones and techniques. I am looking forward to being able to control the chaining paths. I plan on using it with my Line 6 Spider Valve III. It has an input in the back so I can bypass the built-in cab modeling and use the pedal.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 14 2012, 06:02 AM

Awesome. I'd love to hear how that amp sounds with your setup. I've never tied one!

Posted by: Alexiaden93 Jan 15 2012, 12:20 AM

Does anyone know if the Line 6 POD HD500 charges the iPod while it is connected? That would be very convenient since my brother "ran" back to Norway from Houston and stole my charger, which I won't get back in ages seeing as we don't live in the same city anymore...

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 15 2012, 04:06 AM

it doesn't, no it uses the headphones 1/4" out to connect to the 1/4" in on the HD. So no USB connection to charge your phone :/ Time to hit the apple store!

oopse, meant eighth inch.

Posted by: Alexiaden93 Jan 15 2012, 04:27 AM

Technically I asked about the iPod, not the iPhone but I guess they use the same charging system. Got a cheap USB charger anyway, problem solved.

So... If it uses the headphones' input, does that mean I can't use the iPod and the headphones for the HD at the same time? :S

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 15 2012, 07:30 AM

you can do it any way you like - I'll plug my iphone/ipod into the HD, my guitar into the HD, and my headphones into the HD. That way I can listen to my music, and play my guitar along with it, all the while listening uisng my headphones Of course, if you prefer not to use headphones, just plug the headphone out into your stereo / mixer board / PA, amplifier, whatever .

Anyhoo - lots of inputs and outputs on the HD. Check out the manual to see what you can use.

cheers!

Posted by: Alexiaden93 Jan 15 2012, 08:37 AM

Thank you so much for the help! I haven't actually bought it yet, but will be doing so tomorrow.

Posted by: edguy Jan 15 2012, 10:18 AM

Hey,

nice thread !

Can someone tell me something about the difference between the POD HD 500 and the POD HD "desktop" version (the classic POD "bean" form).

I have a POD X3, do you think it's worth to sell the x3 and getting a POD HD instead (qualitywise)?

Posted by: edguy Jan 17 2012, 10:14 AM

Hey POD HD users,

yesterday i sold my POD X3 and i'm now thinking about getting the POD HD desktop version.

I found out that the difference between the hd300-500 series and the desktop version relies on the different inputs and outputs and it seems that the hd300-500 is better for playing live. Is this correct ?

So soundwise the desktop version should be the same compared to the hd500 right?

Are there any alternatives out there

Basicly i want a device which i can use for recording songs, practicing and maybe use it with an amp later on.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 17 2012, 12:27 PM

Yes, the HD500 and the HD Pro are pretty much identical in features sound wise - they just have a different form factor. The Pro is better suited to sitting in a rack in the studio and has additional ins and outs (balanced as well as unbalanced) and a Mic Preamp, the 500 is meant to be used live, includes all the footswitching and sits happily on the floor, although either can do the other job.

One important point is that if you want to play live with the Pro you will need to buy an additional pedal board (they recommend the FB shortboard MKII at $199 - I have this) - this works fine, even for the looper etc, but adds significantly to the price of the overall package - I was happy to pay extra for the flexibility though. If I ever gig with my HD Pro I have a small mobile rack for it, or i may even invest in a flight case to protect it.

Posted by: edguy Jan 17 2012, 12:45 PM

Hi Andrew,

thanks for your answer ! With HD Pro you mean this device right? : http://www.thomann.de/de/line6_pod_hd_pro.htm

I thought about getting this POD HD: http://www.thomann.de/de/line6_pod_hd.htm

But looking at the features it should be just another form factor, so it looks like a cool recording and practicing device. The HD Pro rack version is too expensive for me

Posted by: Blister Jan 17 2012, 01:46 PM

Very interesting thread, indeed!

I recently purchased a Pod 2.0 (older version but works well), Floorboard (works fine cept for Wah), stand (mounted on mic stand) used for $150usd. I'm new to multi effects & thought this was a fair price to test how I liked it. Yes, I'm loving it.

I have looked at the HD series as well. I'm curious why the HD500 seems to be the most popular. Seems like bending down/over to make adjustments would be annoying or do you place it, on say, a keyboard stand while making adjustments to presets? I assume adjustments can be done w/the foot as well, but that screen seems small (& I'm getting older ). But I also see by using the desktop (assuming easier to adjust) is more equipment to connect/carry around & a foot board would be an added cost. I'm nowhere near the rack equipment stage level...YET!?!?!

Like I said, I'm new to this & hope it isn't a stupid question/comment.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 17 2012, 02:27 PM

Congrats man! Welcome the the amp simulator and Fxs world!! The Pod HD is popular because it's the new version of Pods. It includes all the updates and improvements regarding the quality of sound and also regarding the possibilities of connection and tone edition. I had the Pod X3 live and the different in sound quality (amps and fxs) is notorious. Check out this video:




The easier way to edit presets is using Gearbox (or Pod HD Edit) that is a software that is a software that you can download from the site and will allow you to created tones and save yo you device faster and clearer.

Regarding your question about why the new version have pedals... this is not something new, the last two versions has a "live version" which means that you can change presets and use a expression pedal like if you have a MultiFx rack and a Foot midi controller all in one. If you would like to do the same with your Pod 2.0 you should get a midi controller.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 17 2012, 04:32 PM

Yes, i was talking about the HD Pro, sorry! I don't know so much about the one you are looking at ...

Posted by: edguy Jan 17 2012, 06:31 PM

Okay Andrew no problem, i'm pretty sure i will find the right one for me

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 17 2012, 10:34 PM

Gabriel summed it up great. I would only add that the HD500 (and the rack version) have a USB port to connect to your computer, so you can control the pedal via your computer - that is, you can create tones, set lists, patches - move effects around in the effects chain, etc. all from a user interface via the software. You can save all of your presets, export them into a file and send them to others who have an HD who can then import them to try them out as well! The line6 forum has a section devoted to tones created by others that you can download and import - and bam - you've got a custom tone someone else created. I love this feature. But everything you can do with the software, you can do directly from the unit itself (except import saved tones). It's just a win-win for home use. As far as live goes? Never tried it live - you'll always have those who love it, and others that hate it - so you gotta just try it yourself and see if you like it.

hmm. I said I would "only add"... guess I rambled on a bit huh? sorry

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 17 2012, 10:47 PM

Secondly - KRK Studio Monitors are great for home practice
]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...

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.

------------

BINGO! When I got my KRK Rokit 6 monitors and started using Guitar Rig with an external Pre-Amp, I actually took my physical Guitar Rig apart and started selling pieces of it. The emulation through the rokits was just that good. Recording decent tone got wads easier and going between mic reposition and mouse over and over is a thing of the past. I recently added a pair of AKG MK II and Booya! Killer sound from heaphones or speakers.

The cones in the KRK are a carbon weave that does a really good job on guitar. Especially big / heavy/ crunchy guitar

Todd

Posted by: edguy Jan 21 2012, 03:27 PM

Hey guys,

because this thread is very interesting and gathers a lot of information about the line 6 pod hd devices i want to suggest that we use this thread as a line 6 pod hd user thread.

Yesterday I got my POD hd desktop and i love it!

That said i want to share a bunch of links to presets, basic information, playing videos etc:

These presets are made by Rob Chappers from andertons.co.uk and they are really good imho:

http://line6.com/customtone/profile/leeanderton/

Here are the sound demos of these tones:





Then i found this guy in youtube and his customtone profile where you get his presets:

http://line6.com/customtone/profile/MartinMoyan0/

Gary Moore Example




Another one which sound really cool!

High gain Metal sound:



here the download link for that preset:

http://www.oep.se/Crap/Olahandjobpatch.hre (right click to save)

So that's it for now. Hope you like it !

PS: If you want to use the hd500 presets on the hd desktop (or pro i guess) just rename the file type to the one that is needed by your device.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 21 2012, 05:10 PM

Thanks for doing this edguy!

I love the Andertons reviews - they play well, cover several different styles and get all the best stuff - I am buying a Blackstar Club 50 Head and cab mainly based on their review!

Posted by: edguy Jan 21 2012, 09:18 PM

Hey Andrew,

I'm glad that you liked it I'm also a fan of the Andertons reviews!

Here is another tip i found on the net regarding reamping of the POD signal. Maybe it's useful for one of us

Quote from: http://es.line6.com/support/thread/62948%3bjsessionid=C3C082856BA 731DA8F38E266185ABD1E


To reamp a guitar track on the POD HD500 using USB connection:

-Launch your DAW.

-Assign your POD HD500 as the audio device/driver.

-Create a track.

-Start using a blank patch, so that you can record your guitar clean.

-Connect your guitar to the Guitar Input.

-Record your guitar part.

-Disarm the record enable on this track once you are done recording.

-Create another track with the same input, but mute it, but record enable it.

-On the HD500, using a instrument cable, connect the L MONO out to the guitar input.

-Configure your tone, or bring up a patch.

-Launch the Line 6 Audio-MIDI devices menu, and under the inputs & recording tab please decrease the hardware monitor level all the way.

-After you are happy with your tone, press record.



You can use the 1/4" out switch to adjust the level if you are having a bad signal or sound.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 21 2012, 10:25 PM

You really need two inputs to record it in stereo but that's a pretty resourceful way of using the pod, and re-amping in general is a cool technique!

I have my studio setup to do it using my audio interface and a DI box so I can always record the tone clean. Then I can reamp either in the box with gearbox, Pod Farm or Guitar Reg, or using hardware like the pod or a real amp using the mic to record the sound of the amp. I have enough ins and outs that I can leave them hooked up permanently which makes things a lot easier, plus I have a patch bay which makes things easier if i want to swap things around.

I also plan on using the Pod hooked up with a mic to add latency free delay and reverb to my tones when i am recording for monitoring purposes - I did a test run today in fact and it is working well

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 23 2012, 06:38 PM

Seems that for re-amping *anything*, not just POD, you could use a "Y" splitter and a DI box to record both a dry signal and the tone from your unit directly into your AI simultaneously - each to its own channel. That way if you decide the tone you recorded wasn't the best, you could always re-amp the dry signal onto a new track, or Main out during your mix down once you have the tone to your liking.

I saw a video or read a forum thread about this - if I'm able to find it, I'll post a link. I think that's generally the easiest and most used way.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 23 2012, 07:35 PM

Right - its a much used technique in professional studios. I fact most if not all DI boxes will have an instrument level input, an instrument level output and an impedance buffered mic level output all built in with no need for an additional Y connector. You feed the instrument out to the amp or pod or whatever, and the mic out to a spare channel in your DAW. Then it's just a question of recording the output of whatever you fed the instrument out into along with the dry signal for later revamping.

In general, unless you are going for a very specific effect it is best to record everything dry since its usually impossible to remove effects after the fact - doing it this way preserves maximum flexibility. In this day and age of 24 bit DACs there isn't even usually a need to use compression on input as headroom is no longer at a premium.
Reamping is the reverse of the above ... In the guitar world you generally need a revamping box to convert the line level signal to instrument level again.
To make all of this work smoothly it generally helps to have at least 2 input channels, 3 if you want to record the original signal along with a stereo signal such as the pod, then for reamping, a 3rd output channel is generally necessary to avoid having to rewire your main monitoring stereo pair.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 23 2012, 08:02 PM

Thanks for the clarification on that - I kindof knew what you were talking about but had the opposite in mind when replying

Cheers!

Posted by: edguy Jan 23 2012, 08:17 PM

Hey,

this reamping topic with the POD is very interesting. In a german music forum is also a discussion ongoing how to record the dry and the effect signal. They say that the POD x3 is able to record both signals at the same time (the driver settings must be adjusted for that)

They point out that the new POD HD is not able to record both signals at the moment (with adjusting the driver settings) therefore they use this trick I posted before.

Maybe the POD HD will be able to record both signals with a new firmware update.

I'm not experienced, so i hope it makes sense what I wrote

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jan 23 2012, 08:46 PM

happy to help - in any case theb2 things are very closely related since you need a dry signal before you can successfully reamp!



Interestingly enough, the older pods (I had an XT live before the pro) allowed you to pick the dry or effected signal to record but not both. This seems like the kind of thing that could be addressed in firmware depending on how flexible the DSP routing is in the unit.
The pro actually has a Dry Out on the back, potentially meaning that you don't need a DI box,although it comes out at instrument level rather than mic or line, and in any case I don't use the pro as my audio interface, it is mainly for noodling and monitoring of guitar when I record it. I usually rely on VSTs to add effects in the DAW, I used to be able to get the exat sounds from my XT live in the gearbox plugin but sadly there is no equivalent yet for the HD units, I really hope they release one as it was a really flexible way of working, kind of a virtual reamp without the recording part, I could change the tone all day as much as I wanted and hear it against the dry guitar with no need to commit to a particular effect until I liked the sound in the mix.

Posted by: edguy Jan 24 2012, 10:03 PM

Hi guys,

i found some more "beef" for us POD users!

Here is a nice clean sound preset which i found through this thread: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1019698

Here the preset:

http://line6.com/customtone/tone/212138/

On the first page of this thread Shaolin posted a link to a cool in depth guide about creating tones with the POD (http://line6.com/support/thread/71651)

The author of this guide added all his tones on a site which I want to share with you here:

http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneDemo/

cheers

Roman

Posted by: SirJamsalot Jan 24 2012, 11:11 PM

Awesome. Gonna check these out tomorrow!
Thanks!

Posted by: Michael AC Sep 2 2012, 04:04 AM

I got my HD 500 this week and I got a Tech 21 amp with it too. It is pretty amazing. Taking a little getting used to settings, but I am anxious to get tones dialed in.

Has anyone played live with it yet?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 3 2012, 02:05 PM

I use my pod live but only as a multiFx, I don't use the amp emulators...

Posted by: AdamB Sep 3 2012, 04:13 PM

Yea I've played a couple of shows with a pod HD Pro rack unit. I just put the guitar into the rack, then the rack out into the effects return of a blackstar HT-5 (at line level) from the line out left channel (mono). Sounds really good, through a 2x12" cab it's plenty loud and the blackstar doesn't seem to colour the tone much - but I don't have a good ear for tone so I'm not sure how much my opinion counts on that.

Bad sound quality, but there's a video of me playing with it over here (I'm the creepy guy on the left with the sunglasses and the pink pickups ):



The most useful thing for me is that I can program each song in into the set list and at the end of each song just hit next preset and it even tells me on the display which song it is next, and has 4 slots for each song to program sounds in.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 3 2012, 04:26 PM

Did you use pod's amp emulations or just the effects?

Posted by: AdamB Sep 3 2012, 05:39 PM

I used the amp emulation.

I had it still set to 'studio direct' mode too, which means it was doing cab emulation. Apparently this is a bad thing (you're meant to turn off cab emulation by setting the output mode to 'Amp something-or-other'), but it sounds fine to me setup this way. And if it's ain't broke...

I use a bunch of different amps in different presets, that's another cool thing is you can use radically different sounds for each song (and even within the same song) and it'll set it all up for you on 1 footswitch press. I find that very cool, using one amp and a few effects you have to dance over is very limiting for me.

The only downside for me so far is balancing patches with each other, so that when I switch to the next song I know the levels are right compared to the song before. Also I tend to add too much reverb to patches coz it sounds good through headphones, but in an open environment with the venue verb on top it's too much. I played 2 gigs outside with it, and it was fine as it was outside, but I played in a club with it once at a jam session and it was way too much reverb. It's be nice to have a 'reverb global scale' control to be able to set that up quickly depending on the venue conditions. But you can't always get what you want...

Posted by: Alex Feather Sep 3 2012, 09:27 PM

I just was talking to a friend of mine who owns one we will be comparing AxeFx and HD500 in a few weeks cause he is swearing by it and it would be very cool to hear if there is any difference!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 4 2012, 02:12 AM

This sounds VERY promising! I'll be waiting for this comparison!