vshort73

Well done. Thanks for sharing this! I too would love the details on your Jazz Clean tone if possible.

Thanks for the replies! The thing is that I have read and been told by L6 reps that the quality of the amp models should be the exact same. There are other features that set the two pedals apart and make the Pod HD500(x) a more robust pedal. Thanks for the info. None of the crippling issues you mentioned would affect me. That said, have you been able to notice any discernible audio quality differences from the same amp types between the two pedals?

Thanks for the thoughts so far! I did experiment with the noise gate and that didn't seem to make a difference. One thing I failed to mention is that the tones I am experimenting with are more like a light crunch sound. Nothing with really high gain, just a moderate amount of drive on a more clean type amp - think Fender Twin Reverb tones. The interesting thing that I started to wonder is that maybe these Firehawk isn't actually worse in any way, just different and maybe better or more accurate?!?!?

FYI - I posted this same topic in the Firehawk FX section but thought I might be able to get insight from the POD section users as well... I am a current owner of a Pod HD500 (not X). Been quite happy with it but never cared for the amount of tweaking needed and the interface. After some research I decided to pull the trigger on the new Firehawk FX unit to see if it could replace my Pod HD500 as I love the idea of iOS editing, storing, etc... From all of the research I did as well as a call to the Line 6 Support Team - it sounded like, in theory, that the Firehawk would be able to identically reproduce any of the HD amps I had configured in the Pod500. For example, if I had created a patch in the Pod500 with a PhD Motorway amp/cab setup, since the Firehawk has the exact same HD amp model, I could use the same settings/parameters for that amp in the Firehawk and get an identical tone. The problem is that after A/B'ing between the two pedals of a couple "identical" amp patches it became very apparent that they were not the same sounding at all. I did this last night with headphones and then again this AM through my PA at a decent volume. The headphone test was MUCH more revealing but I still was able to tell a difference in the PA test. My findings were that the Firehawk patches were VERY flat sounding (for lack of a better description). Like no real dynamics (even ensuring that any compressors were off). Since these are digital sources and supposedly are using the same "software" I was really surprised. And I am not a "tone-a-phile" by any means, it was just really obvious. When not directly comparing, the Firehawk sounded pretty good but then when I'd go back over to the Pod500 it was really, really, obvious. The Pod500 had much more depth and feel to it's sound. I am posting this here to see if anyone has had a similar experience or if perhaps there are any suggestions or tips that I am missing when configuring the Firehawk. I really love the ease and interface of the Firehawk and don't need all of the extra features that the Pod500 has over the Firehawk, but if I cannot get the exact same sound from an indexical amp patch setup it may be a deal breaker. Thoughts/suggestions...???

I am a current owner of a Pod HD500 (not X). Been quite happy with it but never cared for the amount of tweaking needed and the interface. After some research I decided to pull the trigger on the new Firehawk FX unit to see if it could replace my Pod HD500 as I love the idea of iOS editing, storing, etc... From all of the research I did as well as a call to the Line 6 Support Team - it sounded like, in theory, that the Firehawk would be able to identically reproduce any of the HD amps I had configured in the Pod500. For example, if I had created a patch in the Pod500 with a PhD Motorway amp/cab setup, since the Firehawk has the exact same HD amp model, I could use the same settings/parameters for that amp in the Firehawk and get an identical tone. The problem is that after A/B'ing between the two pedals of a couple "identical" amp patches it became very apparent that they were not the same sounding at all. I did this last night with headphones and then again this AM through my PA at a decent volume. The headphone test was MUCH more revealing but I still was able to tell a difference in the PA test. My findings were that the Firehawk patches were VERY flat sounding (for lack of a better description). Like no real dynamics (even ensuring that any compressors were off). Since these are digital sources and supposedly are using the same "software" I was really surprised. And I am not a "tone-a-phile" by any means, it was just really obvious. When not directly comparing, the Firehawk sounded pretty good but then when I'd go back over to the Pod500 it was really, really, obvious. The Pod500 had much more depth and feel to it's sound. I am posting this here to see if anyone has had a similar experience or if perhaps there are any suggestions or tips that I am missing when configuring the Firehawk. I really love the ease and interface of the Firehawk and don't need all of the extra features that the Pod500 has over the Firehawk, but if I cannot get the exact same sound from an indexical amp patch setup it may be a deal breaker. Thoughts/suggestions...???