Community: Message List

Re: What every HD500 owner needs to know!

support@line6.com — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:35:25 GMT

Grimm26... thanks for your help. I think i'm good to go. If you say that most likely my patches are "mono", then I'd have to agree. Unless there are quite a few "Stereo" patches that are "stock". But I don't really use many dual amp splits, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were mono. The only super geeky patches I've ever seen were from Glenn Delaune, but they are some of the best that I've heard yet.

With regards to setting up my patches... i'm going to have to stick with the amp/cab until I'm able to gain access to the soundboard and allowed to sit at the board with my HD500 and play until I'm sick of playing. If I've got someone standing over me wanting to chit chat and offer suggestions, then I'd rather not deal with it. I was told that I can do this whenever I want... I just have to arrange for it in advance. But there is nothing more annoying than to listen to someone go on a tone odyssey at high volumes for hours on end. HA!

Re: Updating Firmware: Why say "no" to saving presets?

support@line6.com — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:26:02 GMT

Ok, that is what I needed to know. I back up my presets like crazy. So, once I do the update, they will all be gone and I'll be "back to factory". From there it's just a matter of importing my Saved Setlists, and all will be as it was, but with perhaps new and improved tweaks. I thought the old patches retained the "old" info.

Thank you all!

Re: Searching: the best way to search through the POD HD Support forum ....

support@line6.com — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:23:48 GMT

Wow, that really helps! Thank you! It's too bad they make things here LESS obvious, unlike other forums like say the Gearslutz forum, which uses a very common setup that is time tested and easy to use

Re: Updating Firmware: Why say "no" to saving presets?

support@line6.com — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:14:44 GMT

I did a Google search for my question and found a zillion answers... but yet I can't find these results doing a search on the Line 6 site? Smooth.

I found this http://line6.com/support/message/350230

But it still doesn't say (what might be obvious I don't know), what then happens when you import your old patches? If I've spent tons of time tweaking my patches to sound good, why would I choose to start over again?? I'd much rather choose to have whatever changes that were made to the sounds, but with MY settings. Losing my adjustments would result in hours of work. So, I back up, update, then import my old patches/set lists, and what....? what happpens? Do I benefit in the same way as answering "no"?

It's hard for me to explain this obviously... but either I'm a moron (which I am not), or the reasoning behind doing this isn't explained clearly enough.

"We said to say no, so say no, and don't ask why you should or shouldn't!"

Actually, they did say why, but I still would like to know more about it. "Say No, and allow the update to replace your existing presets with the new ones". But doesn't that totally wipe away any modifications you've made to the preset? Are presets different than something I have copied to a bank, tweaked, and saved to suit my tastes? If that is a preset, then why would I choose to have to start over on something that could have taken me hours to perfect for my environment?

Bottom line: >>>>Does importing it back in result in a "non updated" sound with my adjustments or an "updated" sound with my adjustsments?

Thanks!

Jason

Updating Firmware: Why say "no" to saving presets?

support@line6.com — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:03:28 GMT

I don't understand why if you've backed up your presets and upgraded firmware, why you would choose NOT to keep your old presets? Why would you choose to lose them? Is there some kind of benefit that I'm missing? If you say Yes to keep them, are you then not getting the changes contained in the update, to any models or FX that you are using in the saved patch?

What then happens if I immediately import my saved setlists or bundles? Are they the "old" unchanged sounds on a new system, or the old ones but now "updated"? I never understood why they say to do it this way.

And of course, found NOTHING via a search relevant to this. And I know it's been asked before. Nice.

Thanks!
Jason

Re: HD500 Direct?

support@line6.com — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:54:59 GMT

I've ran it both ways, and for the reasons above.. prefer to a power amp>2x12 set up. I run my HD500 to an old Alesis RA100 reference monitor, mono, then into a 2x12 Avatar cab w/ two diff Celestions. I can dial in my tones much easier becuase I know once it's mic'd it's going to sound pretty darn close to what I'm heae,

Going direct is fine too, but you have to trust what your source is while dialing in your tones. If you're using headphoens, they'd better be REALLY good becuase your tone can sound HORRID if you use poor quality headphones. Once it hits the board, it's up to the soundman to deal with your tone, and if he's a really good soundman, he'll get it. if he's just "ok", you can count on your tone being fairly bad. Esp in a big room. The BEST way to go direct is to sit at the soundboard in the room, and dial in your unit from the board. That way you know exactly what it's going to sound like. If you go from room to room, it can be tricky and time consuming.

So, using the power amp into a cab is great because it's consistant, but a lot more to drag around.

that's my 2 cents anway.

Re: What every HD500 owner needs to know!

support@line6.com — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:44:55 GMT

@Grimm26 said:

You can still use input 1: guitar and input 2:variax for 2amp patches. You only need to worry about input 2 if you have a dual tone split from the start. There are posts in this thread that even have a screenshot of hdedit to show this.

I hate this forum, but i love the forum members. Why? because you see that little search box in the upper right hand corner? I typed in dual tone split and guess what I got? NOTHING pertaining to this thread. Most forums have a drop down box that allow you to "seach this thread", or "Subscribe to this thread", etc. I have never liked the way this forum is laid out and I've let it be known several times. I spend more times looking in the wrong places for answers then I do finding the answer. I refuse to even search because you'll end up in FAQ's, Community, Tech Support Documents, etc. I don't want that. I want to hear from DUDES WHO USE this stuff. Not some stock answer the book gives.

My cell phone manual along with the Verizon website says nothing about rooting my phone to make it super sweet. Yet, you can, and it's awesome. That's my point.

So, I still have no clue what a "dual tone split from the start" looks like.

If you guys have never downloaded or heard Glenn DeLaune's patches... do yourself a favor and check them out. Not only are they great, but they are VERY creative. In fact, I don't understand the logic behind how he makes these patches. They just work! He has some Youtube vids showing you all kinds of tips too.

He's big on using an Expression pedal which I don't own. I wish I did. I've heard that many of them on the market are JUNK, so I don't know which to buy. But he controls the gain output of a dist pedal with one, and the overall output vol w/ the other I think. Very cool! But if you don't have an expression pedal, it can really throw you.

I also don't understand how or why anyone would want to use all 8 FS buttons. How do you scroll to your patches? Manually? You can only go up and down, not side to side right?

Again, sorry for the rant. Messing with my HD500 (that I love btw), always sends me over the edge with confusion and the end result is the same... I do nothing about it because I don't have time to sift through hours of posts to find a simple answer. HA! I know, I'm a jerk. Sorry. I'm really not... I swear.

http://www.glenndelaune.com/Patch%20Download%20Area.htm

Re: What every HD500 owner needs to know!

support@line6.com — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:24:05 GMT

I wish I understood this Split amp thing. I NEVER have time to gone on a tone exploration, and then I'm asked to play at church... and I've ran out of time to get deep into it. I like quite a few of Glen Delune's patches, and many of his are dual amp. But I go out of the left or right 1/4" and feed a power amp mono to a mono cab, and I think that his patches sound fine.

what if I were to go direct to the board, mono? There is no way the church is going to mess with stereo XLR channels for my guitar. They just won't do it. Too much time would go into that, and it would foul up their scenes I'm sure. We run a rotation of players, and consistancy is best. One guy goes to a mic'd cab, and the other goes direct. THe direct guy has aweful distortion, but that's because he doesn't have a lot of "taste" for it. he's older and jazzy. Myself and the other 40 something rocker like to mic our off stage cabs... and we've been told our tons are great.

So why go direct if micing the cab is fine? Why not?! Less to worry about, less to go wrong with a cable, etc. I want to try it, but I don't know how this stupid Input 1 and Input 2 dilemma is going to affect my sound or my patches. I wouldn't normally mess with a two amp patch, but these GD patches take advantage of it.

Bottom line: What do I need to "globally select" that will sound the best for mono out, that sorta sums the patches into one? If I plug headphones in, I'm gonna get stereo out. But if I send an XLR to a DI to the Board, it's not going to sound right is it? What do I need to change to make sure it DOES. That's my question.

Re: What every HD500 owner needs to know!

support@line6.com — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:15:39 GMT

So, I'm getting ready to flash to 1.43. Prior to this update, I had to go into EVERY PRESET via HD500Edit and change source 1 to Guitar, and source 2 to Variax. I did this because everyone here said it made a huge difference, but I don't know if It did or not. To me, It sounded the same.

Are you then saying that after I install 1.43, I can do this GLOBALLY, rather than having to go through each patch one at a time and changing them? Because that was a GIANT drag that took way too much time.

Has anyone from Line 6 ever confirmed or denied this issue? Why does it matter in the sound of the unit? I go to a power amp and a 2x12 amp sometimes (Because I like the way a mic'd cab sounds), or I go direct to the church PA. Either way I'm at the mercy of the sound man. The thing is, I've dialed in my tones via the cab... so I KNOW how it sounds. My direct sound can be good or bad depending on what headphones I'm wearing, so I don't trust it. I could spend an hour tweaking my direct sounds with some $200 Bose S1 in ear monitor headphones, then put my AKG K-240's on, and it will sound totally different. The headphones are both great, but they are also both totally different. The in ears can throw you if they are seated in your ears perfectly. The AKG's are accurate, but slightly colored sounding AND the impedence is very low, which to me means you almost need a headphone preamp to get them loud.

Also, why is it every punk kid I see aged 10+ is wearing $200 Beats headphones? Are parents STUPID? I've heard them and thought they sounded great for what they are intended for. So do the Bose over ear Quite Comfort headphones. But these kids... amazing how spoiled some kids are. My son said that all of his friends have them. But my son is fine with his $15 Skull Candies... so he doesn't ask for anything "better". He's a good boy. It was just a rant... sorry. LOL!

Re: What every HD500 owner needs to know!

support@line6.com — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:15:30 GMT

Man, this thread makes my brain hurt. I don't totally understand the whole "Split Paths" thing. It's in the manual, but I don't really understand it. And now this "trick" depends on whether or not FX are before or after the split? Ugh. Too much thinking. Plus, having to change HUNDEREDS of patches manually is the biggest drag ever. I wish Line 6 would change the default. Why did they choose to do it this way if it doesn't sound as good? (no I haven't read every post in this thread because i don't have that kind of time!! I wish I did).