BlueBrain

If the clipping were happening at the input stage, one would expect to hear it consistently, any patch, not just specifically medium gain setups. Also, if it were a too-hot guitar input, turning down the volume on the guitar a bit should provide a simple resolution, but as I mentioned, I had tried five very different guitars and the only thing that worked was to lower the drive or the guitar volume to the point of zero distortion. Now I've found that trying different mics, adjusting bias, and keeping the bottom end modest seems to resolve it. It seems resolvable, but the solutions limit tone options.

Hey all. Sooooo ... I really had been quite thorough in my earlier troubleshooting, trying different instruments/outputs/amps/levels in the chain, everything suggested to me via line6 support tickets, even going to a store to test another HD 500 with other guitars. Nothing was working. I'm managing now to dial out the clipping sound. It's still very easy to dial it in, and not entirely clear where it's being introduced. On the Blackface DBL with gain up I need to keep the bass low and switch to 4038 ribbon mic. I'm still not sold on the unit, so far it's wasted a LOT of my time, I don't think it should be this difficult to achieve a workable tone - but, those of you who said it was possible to resolve that clipping sound with proper settings seemed to be correct. I'm still not sure that it's a matter of gain staging, as if I leave the bass up even above 25% and leave the default mic selected, I can't dial out the clipping without lowering the master and/or drive to the point of zero or near zero distortion. I mean, you can introduce the same digital clipping sound via poor gain staging, of course, but so far what works to dial it out seems somewhat random, relating to EQ and cabinet/mic selection regardless of gain levels. I'm still not convinced it's all a matter of accurate reproduction of the original amps, but whatever the case, if it's digital clipping, why is there nothing in the user interface to show where it's occurring in the chain? The software should be able to detect that and the user interface should display it.

Very interesting - I'll take my HD 500 back out of the box this weekend, will set it up again with exact settings matching yours & will see what comes of it. Thanks for the time you've taken to help!

It's not on the computer end, I get it via USB or XLR through a MOTU. Not guitar, I've tried five. Not the unit, I've tried two HD500s. I also hear the exact same thing in that video I posted. I don't think I hear it on your sample. From what I can tell, it's mainly an issue on low gain amps with the drive at the point of giving just a bit of break-up, though I often hear it on higher gain stuff as well. This thread kind of went off the rails though, I hadn't intended for it to be about problem solving, I've already been through that extensively, including with Line6 support ... at this point I was just wondering whether people hear what I'm talking about or not. I was curios whether I just have more picky ears at this point ... if people are getting that sound but just not noticing it or not bothered by it.

I'm tellin' ya, I hear that sound via USB, phones, XLR with a good signal to my MOTU, ... with any of the five guitars I've tried, on both the HD500s I've tried. I've spent extensive time trying to "dial it out" but only thing that works is to stick with perfectly clean tones. Whatever it is, it's not the recording. The signal out to the MOTU for those recordings wasn't too hot, and it sounded exactly the same on phones.

Hey, that was really nice of you to take the time to do that. :) Thank you. The tone is higher gain than the type I was aiming for, I'd say try the Fender BDR normal with drive dialled in anywhere between 20 to 40ish, wherever it needs to be to just start to get a bit of break-up. I'll listen to your sample a little later when I can give it more attention, can't at the moment, but first quick listen my impression was that I didn't hear the clippy sound.

Yeah, I hear you, I used to perform in show & tribute bands, I needed a wide variety of tone, hence I've been using Line6 from the original bean, the AX212, variax acoustic, and now the HD500. I'm also trying to make music; record it, specifically, and I picked up the HD500 on spec because of course the versatility appeals, but I can pick a preset or set up a new tone that is nothing but an amp with a bit of drive, grab my strat, tele, ibanez or gibson, and via XLR, USB or phones, I hear that nasty little clipping sound on top of the tone, and I've spent heaps of time trying to dial it out, hunting forums, back and forth with line6. I assumed for the past two months that my unit was defective, just resolved recently that it's not. Anyway, I realize it's working for a lot of people, so I was wondering if that's just because they don't notice or don't mind that clippy-distortion sound. Almost all of what I find for recordings produced with the HD seem to be high gain, and of course it's harder to hear that sound in a high gain tone (though I still do) and even harder in a mix. I finally found an extensive thread of people discussing this exact sound, calling it cross-over distortion, and it seems it is a particular issue on the HDs with low gain amps once the drive is up enough to get just a bit of break-up. That's the exact tone some of us want, a nice warm light crunch, hence me only providing the short clip with one tone in spite of it being an issue I hear on almost all presets and amp models. Anyway, just to be clear, it's not a recording issue. The signal out wasn't too hot, and that sound is there regardless.

I didn't specify the guitar or patch details, because I've tried five guitars on two HD500s, I hear that unwanted distortion on almost any preset or new patch other than perfectly clean ones - any guitar, any output, every level in the chain tested. I wasn't looking for solutions in the thread because I already spent weeks on forums, back and forth with line6, out to the music store to check another unit, etc. The ONLY thing that has worked for me to eliminate that unpleasant clippy sounding distortion is to have no distortion at all, either by lowering the drive or the guitar volume to the point the tone is completely clean. Line6 said specifically that they thought the tone sounded good, that they'd be happy with the tone. That's what got me curious about how many people actually hear that distortion noise I'm referencing in the clip.

I get that sound regardless of output levels, via XLR/USB/phones, have tried five different guitars on the front, two different HD500s to confirm it's not a bug, adjusted input impedance, doesn't matter where levels are at in the chain, I hear it on presets and on very simple patches consisting of nothing but a low-gain amp with the drive up just enough for a bit of break-up. The ONLY way I can seem to clear that clipping-type noise out of the tone is to lower the guitar volume or drive to the point there's no distortion in the tone at all. I was just curious how many others notice the sound and are or aren't bothered by it, but folks are quick to assume it's just user error.

A few thoughts: 1) in my experience soundcloud pretty heavily compressed the file, so not sure how much of the shape of the waveform may be a result of that, 2) regardless, that "crossover distortion" noise is audible via XLR outs with a prime signal level into my MOTU, USB, or headphones out, regardless of any levels in the chain. The only thing I can do to eliminate it is drop the drive or the guitar volume WAY down until there's no distortion left at all. 3) I hear the exact same noise on the video link I posted 4) when I say it's "just how the POD performs" I'm quoting Line6. They listened to the sample in their "lab" - and they apparently all agreed that it was "a good tone" and sounded how it was supposed to sound. See, you're the first one (on here) saying it sounded terrible. This is what I was most curious about and intended in the post: I wanted to know how many people actually HEAR that nasty distortion, and whether they think it sounds fine or unacceptable. I think it's unacceptable, as does the profoundly amazing guitar player at the music shop (while trying out a new HD 500 at the shop to rule out it being a problem with my unit), as does my producer friend, etc. I was baffled to have Line6 reply that the tone sounded good to them. Anyway, I hadn't intended to argue that it's bad, I just wanted to know how many people hear it, but, yeah: "just how the POD performs" were Line6's words.

Just to play devil's advocate here a bit: I shared the sample, and the video I linked to with a friend who used to engineer for years and then went on to produce big names in LA, now producing big names in Canada ... his diagnoses: "Yeah, that's digital. No, I don't have to try to filter that sort of thing out when recording from tube amps in the studio."

I realize you weren't asking me, just replying to the other post, but for reference, I tried with multiple guitars with different pickups, multiple outputs, adjusted input impedance, all the levels in the chain, and the sample is a simple amp with no effects in the chain, drive probably around 40%. I didn't bother specifying anything because I hear this "crossover distortion" sound on almost every preset or new patch, whether it's a distortion pedal or a simple amp with a bit or a lot of drive. Sometimes it's more obvious, sometimes it's kind of subtle, and sometimes if there's an effect like a flanger after the amp in the chain it's not there. The ONLY thing I can do to eliminate it is by lowering the guitar volume or the drive on the amp to the point the tone is completely clean. In my clip I think you can hear it most clearly on the light playing half way through - it's the rattly distortion on top that falls off 3/4 of the way through each chord ring-out. https://soundcloud.com/potential178/pod-hd500-unwanted-distortion Line6 says that's how it's supposed to sound, but it just sounds wrong to me, and to a few others with very pro ears that I've run it past. I plugged into a Hughes & Kettner tube head at the store this weekend, dialled in a very slightly distorted tone like that, and most definitely didn't hear that sort of "crossover distortion." I don't mean to be a troll with this post, I was honestly very curious whether other people hear it in the sample and if they do, whether they find it acceptable or not.

No, I'm going for slightly broken up, and I like the tone in general, but particularly from the mid point on with softer playing, there's an unwanted distortion on the surface that just sounds wrong to me, and to others. Listen really closely from the middle on, listen for that messy break-up that falls off about 3/4 of the way through each chord ringing out: https://soundcloud.com/potential178/pod-hd500-unwanted-distortion

See, it's that jagged surface distortion on the softer playing half way through my clip in particular - I can't eliminate it it (have tried, very thoroughly) and I don't hear that on recordings of real tube amps. What I'm confused about is whether other players hear that distortion and just don't mind it, or whether they just don't really hear it at all. To me there's a nice warm very slightly crunchy tone underneath, and this nails-on-chalkboard dirty distortion on the surface, and I can't record with that, not for any kind of delicate playing in a subtle mix. Listen to my clip again from the mid point, do you hear what I'm talking about, and if so, do you think it sounds good? Honest question. https://soundcloud.com/potential178/pod-hd500-unwanted-distortion

Hey there, thanks for the vid. To me (and a producer buddy I shared this with) the dirt on these doesn't sound like the dirt on the pod samples. The pod sample crossover distortion sounds digital and unpleasant to me.