Community: Message List - Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:54:21 GMT

if you've not downloaded and ran slimdrivers http://www.driverupdate.net/

i'd give that a try... i've seen it solve alot of issues by locating and updating forgotten chipset drivers etc.

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:28:53 GMT

I also just made the transition from Guitar Rig to Pod HD500. I initally thought its was OK until I got a QSC K10 . It revealed just how realistic the Sims and Effects really are. Im very glad to have made the switch now.

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:54:11 GMT

I've disabled a lot of programs that automitcally start up and run in the background and that helped my performance, but yeah, whenever I get ready to upgrade I'm definitely going to get a desktop.

meambobbo, I've thought of something similar before; dumping the recorded track to a WAV file then deleted that track and integrating the WAV file in a new track. Too much hassle though!

I do like my HD500, although there have been some times of frustration, but that's with any new product, especially music gear. When I had my XT Live I was an avid Treadplate player but with the HD I'm leaning more towards the ENGL Fireball model. It seems to be a little tighter than the Tread (I've used the Tread with different cabs; Tread, XXL, and Hiway cabs). But I really like the ENGL with the XXL cab, using the 421 mic (darker tone!) for one panned rhythm and the 57 off axis for the other rhythm. There's still something missing but it's getting close to the Legion tones I had created using Legion and Recabinet (not saying it's better but I had dialed in a really nice metal tone I liked so I'm trying to get that with the HD now). I like darker tones and for the music I'm writing, I'm wanting something between Evergrey's 'Torn' album and Mercenary's '11 Dreams' album. I'm getting close but haven't quite found that balance between the gain being enough vs too much. Well, I went off on a rabbit trail here...I'm pretty good at that!

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:33:48 GMT

also with laptops, things tend to be a bit greener, rather than performance oriented...

a solid state hard drive will work wonders for overall perfomance....

i know it doesn't seem cpu related directly... but the cpu is waiting for the spinup etc... so it can make a difference.

just generalizing a bit.... for laptop users...

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:30:20 GMT

One way to avoid the plug-in CPU cost although kind of a pain is to output that track to a different track and record the audio. now you can disable the plugin on the original track and replace it. you don't have to throw away the original either, if you want to tweak it later, but you do have to re-record it.

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:50:14 GMT

This is an old thread I found doing a Google search but I wanted to chime in here. I've used the LePou Legion amp with Recabinet and got some killer tones. The amp sounds more 'real' and feels real. I've had my HD500 for about 2 months now and I do like it (trying to decide between the Tread and Fireball which one I wanna use for the project I'm working on), but when go back and listen to my mixes, I lean more towards the mix recorded with Legion and Recab.

The draw backs to Legion (and plugins in general) is they eat up a lot of CPU usage. I'm running a dual core laptop with 4GB of RAM and about 3 tracks of Legion/Recab is all my system can handle. The other draw back, specifically the Legion amp, it's very noisey and it's difficult to get a balance using a noise gate to where the notes smooth out without noise or without cutting off all together.

What would be just completely awesome? If Line 6 reached out to LePou and hired him to re-create his amps for the HD!

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:05:14 GMT

I think it's definitely in the same league, and trust me, there is no other solution I would rather use live than the POD HD500. However, when recording, I find that although in the same league, there is a little bit of dimension or dare I say "tube-behavior" lacking when compared to RVMKIII or Amplitube 3. Anyway, it's not big enough of a difference to worry about, especially in a live situation. Again, I find them all fairly comparable, but give the edge to the software for recording.

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:55:02 GMT

I've tried every plugin outhere, including Revalver, guitar Rig, Amplitube, Amp Farm but in critical listening the POD HD beats every single one of them Hands down. If you can't hear it very well just use a pair of headphones and you will notice that the HD has a few extra dimensions to the sound. Sure people respond differently to different frequencies and each plugin maker has their own signature sound (Predominant Frequncies), but under critical listening, the POD HD is definitly a newer generation modeling compared with old generation modeling including POD XT, X3, and all the plugins outhere.

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 09:49:50 GMT

I A/B 'd Revalver HP and POD HD 500. My conclusion: There is no B.

The amptones in Revalver - though only Peavey Models (and 4 years old) are miles ahead

of the POD HD simulations concerning dynamics, tone and feel. I was testing with ONYX board/interface and quality monitors.

Re: Pod HD vs. Software Amp Sims

support@line6.com — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:15:26 GMT

hey harry,

thanks for the comments. i've tried the other amp sims, but i guess GR has been my comfort zone, so i haven't gone far enough to make good tones out of any of them. as i said before, i have a love-hate relationship with GR, somedays it's everything i ever wanted, somedays it's just not sounding right. which is fine. i know this happens for everything. my idea of getting the HD500 was not to out-do GR, or find a permanent solution, i needed to buy a footcontroller (Rig Kontrol) to play live, which was costing close to the HD, and then i did some googling and found that users are actually comparing the HD to the AXEFX, that got me quite excited. and it also doubles up as a foot controller for GR. like you, i can't afford to buy gear every now and then, a purchase in this category was very much required to take my music to the next level (which is gigging), and i'm quite certain i've made a good choice. frankly, i don't think the HD (or any other unit including the axefx) sounds stunning by itself, it's all in the hands.

GR, yeah sure. the reverbs suck. i'd say the delays are just about ok. nothing steller. the modelling is good in places, and quite crappy in some. and that's the whole point, my mac is also my music production station, and i don't wanna make it's the live horse, or then i'll need another one soon enough, and they're (bloody) expensive, but also excellent to work on. so i'd like to leave it home and be happier with something that's a floor unit. a friend of mine used a zoom g1x to record and play live. it sounds beautiful. i'm quite sure the HD can pull off a lot more.. NI customer support is non-existent, i've been on the GR forum for a long time, they're just never there.

lets see..!