hd 500 and IRT STUDIO ground noise FX LOOP

[hichembell]

Hello , i have a line6 hd500 plugged into an IRT studio via the 4 cables method...the fx loop produces noise just like ground noise...it is not the pickup noise since a noise gate does not help..even when I unplug the guitar I still hear it....I dont have such a noise when plugin the hd directly in the amp return ..adjusting the fx block signal in the fx block of the pod does not influence the behavior of the noise ... the pod is set up to amp not to line and is in stomp boxe mode..... any suggestion ??

[hichembell]

thank you for your response ... I didnt know that the switch amp/line is dedicated to the signal going to the return ....so you mean that when switched to amp it is meant for using the hd output directly into the front of the amp without 4 cables method ?? im I getting things right ??... I hope this will solve my problem...By the way , the video is impressive I need to try 

 

Another question comes to my mind then ...in what kind of scenario i should use LINE in the switch stomp/line ..thank you so much for your help 

[hichembell]

thank you for your help...today I pluugged back my rig and switched from amp to line ... i had no more noise ....till a moment when I started to switch between HD amp models and the IRT pre amp....then i switched from stomp to line and no more noise...what do you think ?? I need to do more tests .. I think the hd models are maybe sending a wrong signal to the loop which provoques the noise to come back  

[hichembell]

GREAT idea  ...this is why I really love the POD hd you have in control every aspect of your chain....by the way how much DB should be attenuated ...I know it is better to use our ears but im curious to know ....normally the difference is that universal db difference between a line level and an instrument level 

 

do you think that the famous tone suck problem is related to such DB and volume tweaking ? or is their a non tweakable  part such as analog /digital converters ? 

[hichembell]

great info here...im very impressed to read that line6 modeled even the electronics behavior and the impedance  of the pedals....i confirm that when i switch everything to line i have no more noise..now i just need to adjust the levels and there is no real trick here but switching between the amp and the pod into the amp to get it right.

 

so what i understand is that the difference between LINE vs  GUITAR  signal is just an increase in DB ?? nothing else ?? in this case  If I achieve gain unity then i will get the same behavior from my guitar i suppose ?? If it is the case I will be a happy guy since i really love some stompboxes in  the pod 

 

Something else , when switching between the IRT STUDIO channels  and the hd pre amp into the return of that same amp i was able to get the same sound as the irt using the hd models ..Im very impressed about the sound of the HD models into a tube power amp and I am starting to question my self on the fact that maybe A DT25 is a better choice than the IRT as far a sound is concerned ..... I mean if there is only this 2 per cent difference in the dynamics  when using IRT channels, i prefer to get 80 per cent of  the versatility inherent into the DT tube behavior 

 

i need to tell you that it is my first tube amp and i still love the sound i get, I'm just wondering and interested in your comments ...who else have or had  the same impression when using the 4 cable method with the HD ..who is using the DT and is able to tell us about the result comparing DT+ HD with other HD+other amp combinations...and the most important : will i really gain anything more interesting if I switch my IRT with  a DT  as far as sound is concerned ?  ...Thank you  

[hichembell]

Thank you so much for your replies and dedication ....what i like the most in the DT HD combination is its capabilities at giving boutique and vintage sounds which may cost a lot more when dealing with the real thing....I think that i need to experiment and pass through a learning curve to get the sound i want and to be able to connect correctly my hd and IRT ...im into it i just find that 4 cables is too much to install before to start to play but it is what it is i think .

 

do you think that using analog pedals instead of the hd will be simpler ?? and  using the HD for the studio and home practice for example ... I really love the hd for its versatility and tweaking capabilities but I dont know if i will be able to achieve what i want along with the IRT ..well i know i need to play more and to experiment more as well     

 

By the way as far a results are concerned i will try to post a demo this days ..your comment on either my playing or my sound will be very appreciated  

[hichembell]

you are just convincing me to keep the IRT haha..i already used recabinet as an IRS loader and I need to admit that it is very effective in the studio ...yet when played with  active speakers (pair of P.A) i felt something was missing in my playing I dont know....I am not tube centric person ... but im just telling what i felt ...at the same time when using the pod into studio monitors I was impressed ... 

 

basically you want me to concentrate on the CAB/SPEAKER part of my sound ... maybe with the adequate speaker and cab i will get what I want ? (despite using IRS).

 

What about using hd models with CAB simulation into the irt studio with a guitar cab ... ?? too much coloring maybe ?? or using eq at the end of the chain may help ??

[hichembell]

Yes when thinking artistically there is no rules in fact. 

 

I have another question concerning the 4 cables method... as you know, when using the FX BLOCK we notice a level drop, so we need to increase the DB before the FX LOOP  to achieve unity gain . I read in many forums that the way to do  so it is by adding a studio eq before the FX block and use it as a boost.

 

personally im doing another thing I just want to know if it's correct , here it is : I place the FX block just AFTER THE MIXER and I boost my signal and compensate for that drop level by increasing little bit the signal in the mixer and little bit in the FX return ... I was able to achieve the same level ... is it a correct way to do so ?

 

Now, even if the signal is the same,  I notice that when using COMBO POWER AMP or STACK POWER AMP, I have a drop in FREQUENCIES .

 

I think  maybe it is done on purpose in order to  attenuate  in a way or another different undesirable noises in FX loop . Yet, my sound is not the same as I loose little bit of responsiveness from my amp....what i did is  to switch to COMBO FRONT, always with the 4 cable method, and then tweaked FOCUS, LOW , and , HIGH to make the IRT  STUDIO sounds with the HD500  the same as it sounds alone . The result is as amazing as if the hd has no ANALOG DIGITAL CONVERTER. I just want to know if is it correct to do so. I mean, is there something different about the nature of the level that i am sending when using this setting compared to  STACK POWER AMP or COMBO POWER AMP, which are originally designed modes to use when we plug the output of the HD  directly into a power amp IE : THE return of the amp loop  ...thank you so much.

[hichembell]

I am using the pod for FX only ....I also tried studio direct ...and it also changes the behavior of my amp little bit making it little bit darker in the tone...personally I taught that by globally equalizing the output  signal i can regain the loss of frequencies ....I mean this global eq works even without a cab or an amp selected according to my ears

[hichembell]

it seems that i am the only one having this problem in studio direct mode ....global eq is OFF and the impedence of the guitar is set to 3,5 ....in studio mode it is fairly transparent i need to admit ...it is by adjusting eqs in combo front that i am getting total transparency ....any drawback with this technique ??

[hichembell]

basically I attenuate the lows to -4 ...I set the highs to flat and i boos LITTLE BIT the mids

[hichembell]

Me too I found a lot of help on the forum , and  I need to admit that, at the end of the day, I dont really care if is it correct or not ...if it sounds good, then who cares. I just want to show with others my experience so maybe it will help others when reading the posts. Just like I find the forum very helpful, and thanks to GURUS like you,I want to contribute my self.  Since I did not find topics about HD and IRT studio, I wan to show here any thing about my experiences. Thank you so much for your replies. 

 

As far as HD into keyboard amp , before getting the IRT , i used to plug the hd into the return of a  212 yamaha G100 series III , a kind of replica of the jazz chorus ... I really liked the sound. I wanted to try this tube thing. I play guitar since 2002 and  I need to admit that yes , there is something very pleasing about the sound into tube amplification. YET, i think that an hd 500 into a tube power amp is more than enough to get what  we want. i just like the sound of the irt and i want to get an original personal sound instead of endless tweaking with the amp models , which still a very interesting and loving thing.