jamiejohnxd Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Hi, I just have a few questions, what would be better, a multi-effects with a speaker or a multi-effects with an amp? If I decided to get a multi-effects and a speaker what speaker should I get? What advantages are there getting a firehawk fx rather then an amplifi fx100, amplifi TT, amplifi 150 or amplifi 75? What are the advantages of the Pod HD500X over anything else? It seems so popular I feel like I might be missing something. Also what is better about the Pod HD Pro compared to the HD500X? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppiluk Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I have used a variety of these products and will give you my 2 cents. What advantages are there getting a firehawk fx rather then an amplifi fx100, amplifi TT, amplifi 150 or amplifi 75? There are three main differences between the Firehawk and the Amplifi group of products. Firstly, the Firehawk uses HD versions of some of the amps and effects. The HD versions of the amps and effects are of a higher quality than the standard versions. The HD versions are the same amps and effects built into the POD HD series of multi-effect pedals. Aside from the HD amps and effects, the Firehawk and Amplifi share all the other amps and effects and in fact any patch created for the Amplifi will work with the Firehawk. The same can't be said for Firehawk patches. The second major difference between the Firehawk and the Amplifi is the Firehawk has a built-in port for the Variax guitar. By plugging a Variax into this port Firehawk patches can control the settings on the guitar as well as to provide power. I have a Variax and I love it. To me this is a very important feature but if you don't have a Variax or have no intention of purchasing one it won't be important for you. The third major difference, and in my opinion a killer feature, is the built in effects loop. With this effects loop you can add any effects pedal you want and you can control where in the effects chain you put the external pedal. Both the Firehawk and Amplifi series of products use your iOS or Android phone or tablet to edit patches. Its simple to edit patches and there are thousands of patches to choose from. What are the advantages of the Pod HD500X over anything else? ***I had a Pod HD500, before it grew legs and walked away from a jam session I was at. The only major differences between the two units is the 500X has slightly more processing power than the 500, and the 500X has better footswitches.*** The Pod series is Line 6's professional series of multi-effects pedals. It's a well built and feature rich multi-effects pedal. You can dial in a very good sounding tone if you take the time to learn the patch editing software. It installs on your PC or Mac. It takes more effort to create a patch than the above units because there are so many parameters you can edit. Many people find the sheer number of parameters overwhelming and quickly become frustrated. You can find plenty of ready made patches for the unit but not nearly as many as the Firehawk of Amplifi. The 500 series also has a Variax port and an effects loop. You can also purchase additional amp packs for the 500 series multi-effect pedals. I suspect these packs will end up being offered to Firehawk users but for now this is a 500 only feature. The one feature the 500 series has that the Firehawk is missing is the ability to create multiple Set Lists. *When I had my HD500, I purchased a Windows tablet so I could edit patches on the fly. It simplified the process a little and if you end up going this route you should pick yourself a cheap Windows tablet* Also what is better about the Pod HD Pro compared to the HD500X? The Pod HD Pro is basically a rack mounted HD500X. So after all my rambling, my recommendation is solely based on the features you require. If you want something easy to program, don't need the Set Lists and don't have or never intend in getting a Variax, an Amplifi product is likely sufficient for your needs. If you want something that's easy to program, has some of the most realistic effects Line 6 has to offer, have or are looking to get a Variax guitar, the Firehawk is the way to go. If you require deep editing of patches, multiple Set Lists and want the option to purchase more amps, have or may be considering a Variax the HD500X would be the way to go. As for what type of speaker should you get with a multi-effects pedal, you want a speaker that will not change the sound. So that means a good pair of monitor speakers. There are a few threads on this board that already address this question. I use this and it works well for me: http://www.voxamps.com/soundboxmini I use the Keyboard 3 setting and it works beautifully. As for me, I love my Firehawk and aside from the Set Lists and current lack of additional amp models, I haven't looked back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiejohnxd Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Thanks for the very informative reply. I think I'm definitely going for a Pod HD500X, a Pod HD pro or a Firehawk FX. What do you mean by "set lists"? I don't quite understand what this function does... Does pod have more HD sounds than Firehawk? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppiluk Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Set Lists are a way of arranging patches in the order in which they would be used in a live gig situation. I believe the POD HD500X allows for 6 different Set Lists. You can mimic this function by using the patch banks in the Firehawk but it is not quite as effective. I believe the Firehawk and the POD HD have the same number of HD amps and effects right out of the box however you can purchase additional HD amps for the POD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiejohnxd Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Can the Firehawk FX pair with a DT amp like a Pod HD500X can? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugbug Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Don't forget to consider the floor units (amplifi fx, firehawk, hd500) have a configurable effects pedal. You can add a low-end pedal floor kit to amplifi amps or a low-end amp to an effects floor unit :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppiluk Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Can the Firehawk FX pair with a DT amp like a Pod HD500X can? No it can't. I forgot that's one more thing the POD can do the Firehawk can't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiejohnxd Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 What is a configurable effects pedal? Sorry I know so little about this modelling and digital stuff :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugbug Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 What is a configurable effects pedal? Sorry I know so little about this modelling and digital stuff :/ The effects floor units each come with one pedal that does volume, wah, or some fx of your choosing. You can always add a floor unit to the amplifi amps as well but you are limited to the older effects as mentioned above (my guess would be the amplifi line has lower-end DSPs). (these have more hookup options than Im listing.. and all can USB to computer for recording) AMPLIFI FX100: Low end fx unit with pedal.... can hook up to an amp and standard guitar. iPad tone mgmt FIREHAWK FX: Mid range fx unit with pedal... can hook up to an amp, standard guitar, variax guitar. HD effects capable. iPad tone mgmt HD500X: High end fx unit with pedal... can hook up to amp, standard guitar, variax guitar. HD effects capable. ^^^ The above need an AMP but have headphone jacks. AMPLIF 75/150 is an amp with digital effects, similar to the AMPLIFI FX100 but you would have to add the following to get the pedal: FBV MkII Foot Controller: Low end pedal and switches There are more options than these, helix and whatnot, but I would leave that to someone that knows what they are talking about :) For many of us the variax hookup and hd effects are they key differentiators from amplifi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiejohnxd Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 I think I'm going to go for a Pod HD500X and then soon after get a DT amp so it can hook up with that via L6 link. I the meantime I can hook it up with a couple of Wharfdale studio speakers I already own via left and right XLRs on the balanced output section. I'll introduce a variax later. Still quite tempted to just get the firehawk and not get the DT though. I'll have to try out how much difference it makes. What is full range flat response and what would be the argument for getting maybe an L2M and a Firehawk FX or a Pod HD500X rather than a DT and a Pod HD500X? Thanks again ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbeddall Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Acoustic modelling doesn't sound that great through a guitar amp generally speaking so the dt amp wouldn't handle acoustic guitar brilliantly A full range flat response (FrFr) speaker would handle acoustic sounds better but you may need to experiment with eq to get the electric guitar to sound like it's being played through an amp Guitar speakers naturally cut highs and lows from the guitar signal which helps to give an amp it's character FrFr speakers or powered monitors will reproduce the full frequency range So for example you might pick a Marshall amp model to use and through an FrFr speaker you might hear too much of the high frequencies that are normally filtered out by a guitar cab so you would then need to apply a little eq It's a balancing act whichever way you go but personally I went with a firehawk and a stagesource LT3 It may take me longer to find the tone I really want but the payoff for me is that when I want to record direct to a computer my sounds are already fit for that purpose and I don't need to fiddle with it too much 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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