Community: Message List

Re: POD HD500: Mic input linked to fx loop send when tuner is engaged

support@line6.com — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:32:39 GMT

I see what you mean. yep, that would work. would still need a mic pre as you say.

tbh, given that fact, the known bug with the tuner mute fx send, and my personal preference for my overdrives over the modelled ones, I am happy to keep running with the pod as effects only after the mic'd up amp.

I think its great that this little box has so many applications. pretty sure i could even use it to simultaneously control a rack over midi if i wanted to rack my actual stomp boxes for a true one-stomp solution. as I have hinted, I am not personally a huge fan of the modelled amps, nor the overdrives, and I don't personally rate the cab / mic modelling..

I know the pod is capable of much more than i use it for because my core fundamental guitar tone (which is hugely important to me) is coming from a real amp, but it is a great solution for me none the less because in one box i have the tube comp (which is what i use btw - for subtle level control after all the gain stages, rather than as a guitar effect), modulations, great delays and reverbs and then on top, all the weird effects that might get used only once each in a set which would be unfeasible to include in a live show otherwise.

for me that is the best of both worlds - i have complete consistency in my core tone through the set, and all the fx that i need to modify it to recreate what we put on the record.

Also just to wrap up, I do keep a set-list for the show that uses modelled amps and cabs so i can run without my amp should I have any technical issues with the real amp. Likewise, having a real amp, should the pod give up the ghost mid-show, i can carry on, just without the lavish effects. To me that redundancy is priceless.

Re: POD HD500: Mic input linked to fx loop send when tuner is engaged

support@line6.com — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:43:20 GMT

of course simplicity is desireable, but at the end of the day it boils down to a question of sound quality..

I like the sound of my amp, i drive it loud and into power stage distortion, and the frequency response and compression coming from the cab and speaker also being driven hard is important to me. I haven't been able to coax a sound out of the pod that can compare, YMMV.

So most of my dirt comes from the amp, and its also important to me that chorus, delays and reverbs are post dirt. hence the pod - as an effects unit that is happy to work with a mic signal is perfect for my application.

at the end of the day there is no right or wrong in this game, only what works for you.

the set-up you describe is similar to what i was using in the screenshot above but you are suggesting i can also run a parrallel dry mic signal as in the set-up i use for bigger gigs. i don't think this is possible as you would need 3 paths initially (one for guitar, terminating in fx send, and 2 for mic - going through split paths and then sent L/R as wet/dry outputs to FOH.)

Re: POD HD500: Mic input linked to fx loop send when tuner is engaged

support@line6.com — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:20:29 GMT

Hi Frank,

I do have a mic pre I could use to bring up the mic to line level and then run into the aux but it is a shame to have to do that when all the capabilities are available in the pod.

In fact I was only running this exact set-up for a couple of smaller gigs, where the amp alone was loud enough to not need reinforcement and i ran the effects 100% wet through the PA.

For anything where the cab is normally mic'd up (which is 90% of our gigs) I have settled on a variation of this set up - which doesn't suffer from this issue because i use an external tuner:

What i do is run guitar into tuner pedal, then my fuzz, dist and OD (real actual pedals!) then into the amp.

I then take the mic'd signal into the pod, where i run it in two parrallel paths. One of these is 'dry' panned 100% left and goes to FOH as the dry signal from the L output. The other is 'wet', panned 100% right, and goes to FOH from the L output. (Both are mono- centrally panned in the PA btw.) Then I let the soundguy do his stuff as he is in the best place to judge the mix.

If you are interested; I put a comp first in line, then any tremelo, flanger and chorus (in that order, affecting both wet and dry signals.) Then i do the split, and the 'wet' path takes delays and reverbs primarily, though I can also do pitch shift and any weird fx, where you would mix in some to the dry signal. fx in 'wet' path are set to 100% on their mix parameters. I have a volume pedal patch on the wet path which is activated by the same footswitch as the delay or reverb and set to 0% so that when i'm not using the wet fx there is no signal in that path.

You need to explain to the sound man why you are giving him two feeds and soundcheck some songs which include the wet fx. if you've got your levels set up well, he or she usually won't have to do too much through the show.

Re: RE: POD HD500: Mic input linked to fx loop send when tuner is engaged

support@line6.com — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:10:29 GMT

Thanks Hugo - good to know you guys are on it!

I'm sure you are aware of this, but just in case this particular detail helps track down the bug: in my case it is the mic input which is bypassed straight to the fx send when the tuner is engaged, even though it is not even on the same 'path' as the fx block.

Consequently I would argue that there is a strong case for making this a high priority fix since the unintended creation of a loop when the tuner is engaged could feedback and cause permanant hearing damage. Furthermore, the unsuspecting user may not discover this bug while setting up the system at home - and only encounter it at practise or a gig, where generally the equipment is sufficiently powerful to do lasting damage.

I look forward to getting the next firmware update. Keep up the great work,

Findo

Re: POD HD500: Mic input linked to fx loop send when tuner is engaged

support@line6.com — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:26:11 GMT

here is a screen shot if this helps to visualise how it's set up.

POD HD500: Mic input linked to fx loop send when tuner is engaged

support@line6.com — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:10:24 GMT

Hi there,

I've a technical question about the hd500. I've looked all over the line 6 forums, as well as the internet in general and found nothing relating to my question. I hope you can help.

I will describe the problem in detail shortly. Could I please ask for only helpful and constructive answers relating to the way I have chosen to use the pod, and not knee-jerk responses telling me to simply not use it this way: I'm new to the line 6 forum and sure it's a great place, but there are forums where many of the replies are less than helpful and I hope we can move forward with this issue in the most pleasant and mutually constructive manner possible. Thanks! One last thing: I am a professional musician, gigging and touring regularly. I am using the pod in a live environment, and have tried a variety of set-ups. The one i have settled on is the one that best suits my needs.

The pod offers me a huge amount of flexibiltiy in terms of reproducing the wide range of sounds recorded on the album which we are currently touring. However it is my own personal preference to build those sounds around a real amp and cab when going for driven sounds - which make up around 80% of my tones in live use. I like to drive both the power amp and the speakers hard. We are mic'ing up the guitar cabs and running through the PA in all our shows.

The routing flexibility of the pod is an incredible asset and allows me to use it in a way whch might not have been envisaged by the designers: I run my guitar into the guitar input and set channel A input to guitar. i then run through any overdrives and distortions i might like to use, and wah/phaser if applicable. I then put an fx loop block in line with send at 100% and return at 0%. I also set the mixer A fader to mute.

I then take a feed from the physical fx send output of the hd500 to my guitar amp, which then goes to the cab, which is then mic'd up.

This would normally go straight to the FOH mixing desk, but I 'steal' the feed and take it back into the pod, via the mic input.

I set channel B input to 'mic' and then I run a compressor, flange, chorus if applicable and any delays and reverbs i need. I set the mixer channel B fader as applicable per the song in our set (I work around 0) and sent the output to the mixing desk, FOH.

This set-up works perfectly for me and gives me the same great organic overdrive tones that we recorded on the album, along with studio quality compression, delay and reverbs after any distortion stages. However there appears to be a bug in the HD500 which causes a feedback loop when the HD500 is put in tuner mode in this set up.

It appears that the mic input - coming in to channel B is somehow routed to the fx send. Thus creating a feedbalk loop where the mic on the guitar cab goes directly back into the amp. My workaround at the moment is simply to use a standalone tuner pedal, but would be nice if i could be 100% self-contained with the pod.

Please could somebody from line 6 advise if this behaviour is intentional? If you need further details or need me to upload some patches to show you exactly how i have it rigged, don't hesitate to ask.

finally thanks to all for surviving the long post. I'd be interested to ehar from any others who use the pod in the same or similar way. It is an incredible move forward for me and having effects in the pod both pre and post the real amp, cab, mic, means no more tap dancing too.

Many thanks