HD500X as interface audio issues

[Kelin]

Recently i discovered how to get the dry signal out when playing through a DAW. At first, I would use a completely clean patch and USB into the daw and use plugins from there. However, I could still hear the pre-DAW clean signal from the pedal. You can fix this problem by going into the Line 6 audio/midi inputs and recording tab and turning down the hardware monitoring slider. Now here is my current problem. After getting only the processed sound from the DAW, I noticed that my sound is weak. There is less gain or something. I can use my regular interface and with the same plugins and settings I get a very good thick tone that holds pinch harmonics and is pretty beefy. But through the HD500X it has less gain, hardly gets artificial harmonics, and generally sounds weaker/thinner. There is a +18Db button that will get it a lot closer to my regular interface's sound, but then when i switch to a clean track in the DAW and use my pedals amps and effects, it sounds terrible. Like the extra +18Db fixes the DAWs plugin sounds but the same +18Db destroys the sound when I use the HD500s amps and effects into a clean DAW track. I tried using SPDIF from the POD into my interface to see if that would fix it but had the same problems. I could just use my pedal here, and the regular interface there, but I was hoping I could do it all from one.  I also tried just running out of the HD500X into the interface's instrument input and it solves the previous issues but I lose the cool stereo effects coming from the POD that way. Has anyone else had these issues? Does anybody else notice that plugins have a weaker sound when using the POD as an interface vs using a traditional interface? And is there anyway to fix it besides using the +18Db?

[bjnette]

I am not familiar with how this set up works. In fact I am lost understanding most of it.

The first bit I understand,the USB is tracking the dry and the DAW effected signal in the headphones I presume.

 

I get good results into the DAW via s/pdif out into Interface digital input. I dont boost it and I go for just below clipping the channel meters with the amp controls in the HD.

 

The s/pdif volume is about the same as the master out knob fully opened but cleaner.

 

You can make the s/pdif dry out into your DAW in the setup menu you might have to boost it in the menu.

 

You could go out the 1/4" or XLR sends into your interface for a HD processed sound. To get the overtones and pinch harmonics might require some experimenting in the HD with similar effects you use in the soft sims. 

 

You might try the USB on the HD but it will depend on your PC and how it likes a couple of interfaces.

I'd monitor from the outs of your interface or h'phone out.

 

You can turn off listen or echo or just lower the output fader on the dry guitar track. This can be used for your amp sims.

 

Let me know if I missed anything as another look could be your trying to use the HD as a reamp device.

That is a whole different kettle of fish. But seeing the guitar in is expecting a guitar in level, Not sure if the dry out can come back into the USB and be processed. I dont think so.

It would be best to use the return on the FX loop if you dont have a reamp box and place it befor your amp and FX in the HD.

[Kelin]

Yeah I dont think it is possible to run back through the pod a second time. It would be cool if i could send a clean tone into the daw from the POD and use an amp sim there and then come back through the POD and use Reverb or something at the end and send that back to the DAW for recording. One of the main things i was wanting to do was use the POD amps but disable the cab and use my Redwirez IR library and then run it back through the pedal for some post effects like chorus and delays before sending back to the DAW for recording. That will most likely never work. But I did kind of figure out a solution to my original post. I had to use both L/R outputs into two inputs on my interface. I had to turn my amp and effect patches down and the empty(clean) patches volume up. That kept the stereo effects from the pod, kept my effects patches from the POD sounding good, and also worked when I ran the clean patch into the plugins. I think the main problem was when I was using the POD with USB as an interface, the input gain from the clean patches were too low. When using the L/R outputs, the main pedal volume turns up the output enough to send a good clean signal to the plugins. The main volume knob doesnt do anything for send volume through the USB. I"ll have to go check turning the mixer volume up all the way on the clean patch to know for sure if it is enough volume or not. I hope so because that way I could just use the POD and no interface and just use USB instead of the other interface and several more cables. I think it all boiled down to not getting enough volume in through the clean patches. Its basically like turning the input volume on a plugin way down and it loses a lot of the tonal power. And my effects patches may have been set too loud. So when I used the +18db option it made the clean patches the right volume but way over did it on the amp and effect patches. I hope all this made sense.  And thanks for helping me out buddy! The SPDIF may also work like you said if i turn down the volume on the effect patches. 

[bjnette]

no worries bro!

If you select the output as a stack or combo I believe the cabs are turned off.

The preamp only versions also have a higher output it seems and doing IRs in the box without the cab will make sense.

I found that you could get a similar sound to the Studio Direct but at a lower level by cutting the highs alot and some lows centering the focus in the lower mids.

 

In the old analogue days studio's would run pedals in the inserts of the desk to come up with "the new sound". It was popular to record dry guitars and vocals to use the new great digital reverbs and delay units then.

 

The first POD kind of revived that to an extent.

 

But generally consensus reaffirmed the musicians required their live tone to pull off their riffs and the art of getting a good guitar sound with pedals came back into mode.

 

Now with digital using analogue amps and effects is the most ideal way to go to soften the clinical results of purely digital.

 

Try running the HD into an amp and mic it with a 57. It doesn't have to be too loud to work, especially on solos.

 

Problem is, you can get a pretty decent sound out the HDs as it is. 

When I first got it I was using IRs and Recabinet etc as I was mainly using amp sims befoehand

The HD sounded better than the simms at the time about 3 years ago.

I havent bothered to chase the trail of new offerings but will once I get a new PC as old one died on me.

Have heard Amplitude 4 is pretty good including others. 

My fav back then was Revalver IV and being able to load IRs of cabs was usefull not to mention VSTs let alone tweak the actual amp circuitry. All amazing. Hopefully they have come up with some improvements.

[Kelin]

Yeah I have most of the amp sims out there. Just missing a few of the more recent brainworx amps like the ENGLs and Mesas. They all sound pretty good. Each has its own strong points. My 120w tube amp does sound the best in my opinion but I cant crank it up very often and besides, I like fiddling with all the possibilities that the amp sims can create. I have gone back and found another solution to my problems and Ill post it just in case anyone else has the same issues. I tried using the POD as the interface and ran a clean patch with the channel A and B volumes turned up to the max in the mixer on the pedals edit screen (the mixer next to the amp symbol). And like I feared in my earlier post, It still wasn't loud enough. So I took my regular interface that sounded right and recorded a track. The first insert in this DAW track was a Meter. Then I recorded a track using the POD as the interface and compared the Meter from the POD track and sure enough it was considerably lower volume at input, and that was causing the weak sound. So I opened up the line 6 audio/midi tab and went into the input/recording tab and activated the +18db boost. It was too much. So I played guitar and adjusted the "Record Send Level" slider down until the POD meter matched the meter from the first track. So, now the POD is coming into the DAW at roughly the same volume as the normal interface. BOOM! Problem solved! This had me beat for weeks so I gave up and posted on the forums and within a day I came up with multiple solutions. Go figure! This one is the best though, because it doesnt require the second interface like my last fix. I've also heard using the studio EQ at the end of the FX chain will make a clean gain boost. So adding a studio eq might be another fix as opposed to adding +18db and adjusting the record send slider.