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Opinions? Easy: I'm never going back to analog again. I've been trying to achieve the sounds of my guitar heroes (and the sounds i hear in my head) with analog gear for 26 years now, without success. And let's not talk about how to bring that on stage, because that's another vast can of giant worms. :) Digital gives me everything i've dreamt about: i can now sound exactly* like the recordings i'm used to. Vai, Holdsworth, Robben Ford, and even a bit of those Alex Argento and Jens Johansson dynamics - all within the reach of my toes, consistent day to day, unit to unit. We live in the future, and i love it. :) *probably not exactly, but it feels like it, and sometimes even better than the original...

Just a quick "thank you" for adding the Tone Sovereign to the 2.8 update. A clone of the KOT was my last analog pedal on my board and has been the source of my main crunch sound for a couple of years up to now. I did an A/B with the Tone Sovereign and while there is a slight difference, I cannot tell which one is better (and forgot which one I was on after some playing).

Hello After updating my iPhone 8 plus to the latest iOS 13.1.2, I'm having problems with the Firehawk remote app. Everything is OK except when I try to edit the Variax model using the app, it crashes all the time. I can still use every other functionality and the pedal works fine, changing models to and from magnetic pickups to Variax models, I just can't edit it on the Remote app. I have another older phone and it works fine there, so must be the latest iOS update. Anyone else experienced this and has a solution?

I'm not going to suggest any specific brand of audio interfaces and monitors/speakers.. There are so many that could be chosen. All can I say is that nowdays an external and minimal audio interface could cost about 100 bucks new, but you can easily find used ones for much less, just first check carefully that its drivers are still updated to work with your PC current OS. There are basically 2 main paths which could be followed, which one depending on: 1 - if you want to record your performances by micing the tube amp 2 - if you want just to jam along the jam tracks without recording Case 1 (recording) is more complex because you need to mic (yes, you need also a mic) the real tube amp, and the miced signal should go into an external interface (you need one) and then recorded in a recording software (DAW). Case 2 (just jamming along, no recording) is much simpler, since the jam tracks playback could be simply managed by your PC with its integrated sound card connected to some decent speakers/monitors, better their quality/power and better the results of course. And your guitar connected to the POD in turn connected to the RETURN of the tube amp. All that said it's worth mentioning that when recording, a miced tube amp hardly will sound better than any of the available full models, which have been captured in a professional way and are ready to use especially for recording. The beautiful amp in the room full feeling never gets tranferred in a recording. Whatever you do live, when you listen to a recording what you'll hear is always a miced sound (real or modeled) which even if resembles the original one (if you used the real amp) is still different in its own way. Funny example: if I record a message in an answering machine anyone who knows me well can immediately recognize that it is me, but my voice still sounds quite different live (fortunately in this case, I would say).. How many times your voice have been recorded, and then listening back you had the reaction: but that's really me? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All about POD HD500/X help and useful tips

Okay let me take a crack at this: 1. Digitech 150 - It's hard for me to comment on this as I've never owned a Digitech. Is it possible? Yeah, it's possible assuming it has the ability to interface with a DAW (which from quickly looking at it it does) and if in addition to accepting a guitar signal it has another input for accepting a jam track of some kind (for this I couldn't see one - can it accept it via USB at the SAME time it tries to record?). Also, if it can accept a guitar signal, can you have all of its effects off so that it doesn't impact the sound created by your HD 500x and tube amp? In short, there's a lot of what ifs, and it sounds like a lot could go wrong. Maybe, though, you'd strike pay dirt. That happens sometimes. 2. Peavey valveking II 20 w/speaker defeat - Yeah this is also possible BUT . . . The real gist of it is this - and yes, this is my opinion so take it as you want, but it's meant kindly. I think you're trying to mix two different goals that are best kept separate (jamming and recording). In my opinion, there is NO way to catch the "sweet sweet tube amp sound" which, as far as I can tell, is actually a feeling, not a sound, by recording it. The moment you mic one up that "sweet sweet sound" is no longer present on the recording as far as I can tell. Plus, in all of the scenarios you describe, you aren't even mic'ing it up - which is the only legitimate way to even attempt to capture a tube amp sound - which means you'll just be getting a digital emulation of your amp anyway (particularly in option number 2). My suggestion would be when you want to jam, JAM! Turn on a stereo, and play with your guitar, through your Pod, into your tube amp. No recording, unless you plan on actually mic'ing up your live performance. When you want to record, focus on that. Set your Pod to the best amp emulation you can and record that straight into your DAW. Or, if you really want to be a purist, figure out how to mic the sounds of your guitar amp and get that transferred into your DAW. If you try and mix and match goals I don't think you'll ever be happy, and you'll probably end up with half assed versions of jamming, and half assed versions of recording.

It is sort of fixed for your 1) and 2). If it happens: - unbind all controls from the footswitch, save. - bind your controls to that footswitch, make sure in all snapshots the footswitch is off, save. - then if you want the footswitch on (wetter) to be default on for a certain snapshot, set it, save. For 3), it may still be buggy if you have two footswitches control the same parameter(s). Better to add another reverb after that and bind to that other footswitch. OR you can use snapshots instead for different levels of reverb per snapshot. I'm using this method, let me know if you wanna try my preset, I can upload it.

Same here. Just found out it does indeed crash. Just the sort of thing I need before a gig. I do hope it’s indeed a bug from the Apple iOS and not within the app. Will raise a ticket as well, though I have my doubts about Line6 support.

I was messing with this one last night, and I still love it. The whole host of drives in the Helix is perfect in my opinion. Is there a vital one missing? I can't think of it. Occasionally I read people say they're disappointed with the Helix's drives and I have a serious WTF moment. Then I go eat a sammy and down a Coke to forget about how crazy life is.

If you're using the Stomp for recording, you should be listening to the Stomp, not the monitored sound through the DAW. Turn OFF the Stomp Track's Monitoring Button in the DAW and use the knob on the Scarlett to mix the playback tracks and the direct signal from the Stomp. Full left (counter-clockwise) is full Stomp, full right (clockwise) is full playback. FWIW - I use my Stomp as interface in my office rig. There's no latency/popping because I'm NOT listening to the Stomp through the DAW (Track Monitor Button OFF). I'm using USB 5 (LEFT/MONO) as Input to Reaper. The MAIN OUT level in the DAW gets routed to Stomp Outputs 1/2. I have all my INS/OUTS set to INST to keep overall noise down.

Pigs will fly before there's a Helix with a built-in wireless... and you don't want it anyway. It's just something else to fail. And when it does, you lose the brains of your rig along with it while the wireless part is off being serviced. Everything in one box looks nice on paper... not practical in the wild, though.

I don't want to jinx it, but thanks to you guys I think I finally have this figured this out. Using the Helix as my audio interface and a decent pair of headphones really made the difference. Here's a sample with the backing track to Dani California. Because of the size limit I just captured some of the verse and chorus and then it jumps to the solo. I'm really happy with the Helix and how this turned out - it would have been a muffled mess if I didn't change my setup based on your advice! Also, I'm eyeing a couple of used Sony MDR-7506's online which should be even better than the bass enhanced headphones I'm using now. Thanks again to everyone for their advice. I greatly appreciate it! Dani CA Sample.mp3

Yeah - totally agree... For me I have 4 scenarios of set up - 1) At rehearsal where I go through the 4x12 that is provided by the rehearsal room 2 ) Through my 2x12 at home 3) Through my 2x12 un-miced for smaller pub gigs and 4) larger gigs where I'd mic up my 2x12. I'm quite enjoying being able to pack everything I need into a bag for rehearsal each week and know I'll get a similar tone to what I dialled in at home. If I was regularly playing gigs where I bought my own cab and it was miced-up I may look at the FRFR option for the reasons you described... As it is we're lucky to even get small pub gigs!

I don't disagree with you at all... but there is another side to the discussion. This is an interesting conundrum, and really is the difference of approach and mindset between "amp in the room" and "FRFR". Not right, not wrong.... different. In the end you are right... it is "personal preference". For those that play live and are miced up through a system, the crowd doesn't get to hear that 4x12 sound. You can dial in the tone all you want for yourself... but the crowd will get tone of a mic (often a '57) jammed into a tiny 2" square section of a single speaker.... producing a tone that will pale in comparison to the full cab sound you hear on stage. A live tech does not have the benefit that a studio tech does with using multiple mic's and placements to capture that full tone as much as possible. My approach is to use cab blocks or IR's with multiple mic placements to try and convey the fullest tone possible to the FOH. I look at it this way... if I send a great tone to the FOH, then it will also be a great tone in my monitor, FRFR or in ears.

Well, this isn't the entire truth, it's just the default factory behaviour. I have set my preferences to 10 stomps (I think that's a non-existing option on the LT, for whatever reasons) and the mode button to switch between those stomps and stomp/snaps which will give me 4 snapshots (1-4) and 4 stomp switches (2-5). In case I want all 8 snapshots I use the up/down switches simultaneously. I have set those to explicitely work as snapshot up/down switches, too (not because I'd use it but because I never want to accidentally switch a preset). Edit: Whoops, you're actually mentioning this. Well, then take the above as a sort of addon.

Easy way for me: Copy block. Delete block. Paste block :D

I suggest the inclusion in the amps list of some great solid state amps like Gibson Lab 5 (used intensively by B.B. King), Yamaha G100 212 or the Polytone MiniBrute 2. There are a lot of great amps aside from the Roland Jazz Chorus so the inclusion on one or two of them it would be cool. https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Great-solid-state-amps/966450-23508

Have you tried to load your backup after a factory reset? ...I hope you did one

Ok, that's at least good to know. Line6 is really not doing themselves much of a favour. I mean, for non-HX-hardware users not getting any discount, this is among the more expensive lines of guitar amp sims and a demo should rather run flawlessly. And unlike myself, I bet most folks running into the spinning beachball or hourglass won't give it much further tries. I really love fully functional demos, but I'd rather take something save-disabled or whatever than something freezing my projects. Apart from that, I only knew about a possible solution because I've already heard about the "requires to be online" restriction of the demo before. Many people may not realize that and they may as well not even try to get as far as to cut their internet connection temporarily to "fix" HX Native. "Normal" users will just be like "Oh, the thing is constantly freezing my sequencer, byebye Line 6, Positive Grid (or whomever) here I come". Which is a shame, as the thing is really great (not sure I'd pay 400 bucks, though, most people will only need around 5-10 amp models and you can get those for a lot cheaper). But with the demo acting up like this, I could even imagine some hardware users won't purchase it.

Hi everybody, a little late, but I want to give you a feedback about your suggestions. I replaced the tubes and now everything works fine. Thank you very much for your help!

Just a friendly advice - 5150 in the Helix is nothing like a real 5153, except for obnoxious amount of gain available. Line6 Badonk is your best friend in that regard. I had the same setup as you, and went full Helix. Actually, now, after a couple of weeks of learning, adjusting, and getting used to Helix's workflow, I wouldn't go back. Oh, and a Headrush 112 or a PowerCab will move some air. Definitly. Just don't use a real cab, as you lose the ability to use IRs correctly. Just my 2 cents.

I went full digital back in GT-10 days and I don't missing carrying all the extra gear and fighting with a guitar cab that sounds different in every room. As far as "amp in the room", you need something that moves air like the cab you're used to or it won't work feel-wise. So either a real guitar cab, Powercab, or probably one of the Friedman options. I tried their wedge 12" speaker and that was the closest to a guitar cab feel I've gotten with full-range speakers. I personally prefer my monitor up on a pole behind me to further decouple from the effects of the stage/room on my sound. I'm also an anomaly among guitarists as I couldn't really give two craps less about "cab feel", since I learned to play and spend 99% percent of time practicing in headphones or monitors, so for me playing guitar has nothing to with the amp or air movement, just hitting the right notes at the right time in the right way. I sure do like having a load in that consists of my pedalboard, my guitar case, and my 12" PA speaker with a pole.

In my opinion, those who successfully embrace FRFR are those who don't need it to have an "amp in a room" feel. I wanted an FRFR in the room feel ... and it did that perfectly. Powercab is your best bet, but if you really want an amp in the room, it's a scientific fact you need to place an amp in the room.

Definitely agree to the need to hear the actual sound. For example, in your first description you described it as follows: "second later there's like a static noise" This description sounds very similar to the "squirrels" phenomenon, but then later you described it as a "metallic hum" which doesn't sound at all like it. This isn't your fault. Describing sound is hard, but it's why an actual audio clip will do wonders when that's possible, or if that can't be done, posting the preset for others to try and mimic it.

Whenever you ask "Why does this sound like this?", unless you either record it and attach a .wav file or (better) attach a copy of the preset, all we can do is scratch our heads and go "HUH?".

Be warned: If anyone is using Firehawk remote with a Variax, the latest iOS 13 updates make the app crash when you try and change Variax models on your iphone or ipad. The rest of the app works, but this is quite frustrating as I have a Variax standard and a whole load of patches with different Variax models. I raised a ticket with Line 6 and they came back: this is a logged bug under iOS13, unfortunately we have no timeline yet when it will be fixed. The suggested I don’t change to iOS13 if I want to continue using the Firehawk remote Variax model functionality. Pretty unsatisfactory solution if you ask me, this must be affecting many people so if everyone raised a ticket they may escalate!

This is happening to me as well. I can’t manage variax settings in the app. As soon as I select the variax block, it crashes. This started for me as well after upgrading to 13.1.2

Does it power up if you press on the battery door? I've literally replaced that component 4 times on my G30. Recently took it off my board because its basically useless in rooms with more than 10 people or places with modern mixers that have Wi Fi for tables (including the ones I have in my band racks for IEM setups) as it gets a TON of interference from anything Wi Fi. The only way I could use it was if I plugged it into a 20' cable and moved the receiver way off stage away from lights/gear/cell phones, which kind of defeats the purpose of a wireless if I still have to run an extra cable for it every time. I'm going back to UHF for the time being and dealing with the noise because the dropouts were way more annoying that a little noise.

I'm running Mojave 10.14.5, KB37 device is not detected, and nothing appears under security & privacy to allow.

Try to check under system preference --> security&privacy--> select allow if something appear on the tab. In my case is working. But i have an issue with the pitch wheel. midi data are sent randomly. i don't think is a hardware issue but a driver issue. The problem appeared after 10.14.4 upgrade.

You will find the slider in the Line 6 Audio-MIDI control panel item, in the Recording tab.

from page 9-6 of the Advanced Guide: 9 Hardware Monitor Level: This slider independently controls the volume of your processed guitar tone output for monitoring (the signal fed to the device’s main outputs). It does not affect the level of the signal fed to your computer via the Record Send. This allows you to balance your guitar’s monitor level against the playback audio from your computer, such as when recording in DAW software. If using POD HD500 as the audio interface for recording into a DAW application, then your DAW may also offer its own “software monitoring†function. You may want to use the DAW’s software monitoring in some scenarios, such as if you want to hear your guitar signal processed with plug-ins on the DAW track. When utilizing DAW software monitoring, you’ll want to set this slider’s level to minimum to allow you to hear only the DAW software monitoring signal. I had the G92tt as well and while it was a great pedal, this is leaps above it. It takes time and effort to learn it inside out, it's not simply plug and play but it is well worth the effort...

Hello, I am quite pleased using the HD500 as an audio interface with a clean and blank setting (i.e. no amp,cab,mic, or fx models) just straight in so I can add my own vst plugins for recording. However, when I do, I hear both the "dry" guitar input sound coming from the HD500 and the "wet" sound coming through my vsts in my DAW with record monitoring enabled - both blended together. I have no latency problems whatsoever, so I would like to hear only the vst processed sound while recording. With other audio interfaces, you can change the mix where you only hear the sound coming from the DAW- I haven't found a way to do this with the HD500. Can anyone please help?

From the USB Audio section of the HD500 Advanced Guide: Hardware Monitor Level: This slider independently controls the volume of your processed guitar tone output for monitoring (the signal fed to the device’s main outputs). It does not affect the level of the signal fed to your computer via the Record Send. This allows you to balance your guitar’s monitor level against the playback audio from your computer, such as when recording in DAW software. If using POD HD500 as the audio interface for recording into a DAW application, then your DAW may also offer its own “software monitoring†function. You may want to use the DAW’s software monitoring in some scenarios, such as if you want to hear your guitar signal processed with plug-ins on the DAW track. When utilizing DAW software monitoring, you’ll want to set this slider’s level to minimum to allow you to hear only the DAW software monitoring signal.