pfsmith0

The specs show it takes 1V for the Art to reach full power. I think most DI's won't get close to putting out that much. Perhaps use the 1/4" out of the POD and feed both amps directly?

Maybe the Master Volume knob got hit by mistake. That has happened to me several times.

I get this as well. It helps a lot if both the HD500 and laptop are plugged into the same power strip/outlet. You may want to try plugging the HD500 or laptop plug the other way around. That helps with some things.

I often save/backup a set list to disk before downloading and playing with new patches for this very reason. It is easy to wipe out hours of hard work. Having a backup to restore from has saved me multiple times.

I tried to like the BOSS workflow for ~5 yrs or so but never got the hang of it. It had a ton of flexibility and the ability to tweak a ton of options, but each time I got it out it felt like I had to learn it all over again. The HD500 is much more fluid and intuitive for me. So I use it more. And therefor I learn it better and can get better tones out of it. It doesn't have as many options to tweak, so I'm not distracted trying to do so (no more thinking "maybe if I go over here and tweak that then I can get just a little more tone out of it"). But the Line 6 has enough options for me. Very happy I sold the Boss unit for this,

From my distortion measurements here, the table shows that the Tweed B-man is a very clean amp, so you may need more signal than normal. The graphs show that the PowerAmp has more gain than the Preamp. So if you want crunch, you should use the full model.

Or, unplug it from the laptop to see if the noise stops. If it does, then the wiring is faulty between the laptop and HD500. Try plugging them into the same power strip to see if you get the same problem. Maybe even try turning the AC plugs around (if you can) when you plug them in. Regarding shocks, the HD500 (if it's not broken) is grounded through the IO connectors (USB, SPDIF, XLR, 1/4"). Remove all those (guitar, mixer, laptop, audio interface, etc) to see if the shocks still occur. If the HD500 provides a shock when it's there all by itself then, yes, somethings wrong with the unit or power supply.

Yes, it takes a few milliseconds to load in the new patch. No way around that. You either switch patches during a song and learn to incorporate the gap in your playing or you configure the Pod so that you only have to switch patches between songs. I do the latter. With 8 FX blocks and dual signal paths it's pretty easy to get the clean/high gain sounds in one patch.

Which ADA cab simulator did you use? They have several models.

The biggest problem playing acoustic instruments live is feedback, not "tone" per se. In this regard, the HD500 can be a life saver. Before the gig, at home, turn up the volume of your FRFR monitors and hold the guitar up to the speakers. Keep turning up the volume until feedback starts. You can then use the parametric EQ to notch that freq out. Increase the volume more until you reach the 2nd feedback freq. Then the 3rd. That's probably enough for a nylon string (my banjo required about 5-7 notches). It's the combination of the instrument and transducer and transducer placement that causes these resonances, so they're largely independent of the room and venue. I also use the HD500 to equalize levels. I use several different instruments in a set so I assign a patch for each one, containing the proper EQ and level. This way I can switch between guitar, mandolin, uke, dulcimer, banjo, etc and not worry about feedback or matching levels. I'm somewhat of a purest so I don't use FX (compression, modulation, etc) on acoustic instruments.

I highly recommend not using anything in front of the Pod. It is way too easy to get digital clipping.

2) yes, the Edit software is the easiest way to figure out how the unit works. It includes a GUI the illustrates the dual signal chain paths and what goes where. The visualization is very helpful. It is also very helpful to download various patches to see how others program it. A lot can be learned that way. However, you should also learn how to use the buttons on the unit itself so, if necessary, you can change things on the fly at the gig when you run into something unexpected with the venue.

Does the noise go away when you turn down the volume control on your guitar?

The unit is not grounded thru the power supply connector (yes, there are only 2 contacts there). It is grounded thru the input/output analog (1/4", XLR) and digital (USB, SPDIF) signal connectors. I don't think you'l blow anything up unless your venue has faulty wiring between the PA mixer, IEM system, and FOH amp. The grounds for those 3 systems should be referenced to the same point (usually the fuse box in the US).

I can't guarantee anything but I, personally, would not hesitate to use a 12V supply. Most electronics I know of that would be happy with 9V would also be happy with 12V. However, if the unit really draws 3A (since that's what the original supply delivers) and you're feeding it with 3V more, then you're asking the unit to dissipate 3x3 = 9W more power. That'll heat something up! I'd feel the case near where the supply plugs in to see how warm it gets. If it feels "very warm" then there'd be a reason to be concerned. Heat is the enemy of electronics. I WOULD hesitate in that case. But why not buy a new power supply? Then there's no worries.

Yes, the PodHD uses Line Monkey. Yes, you will want all updates since they fix some irritating bugs.

Hmmm, I think that would work. Good way to do that. They only issue I see is that this would be plugged into the Schecter the entire gig so batteries will drain a little faster.

Regarding changing cords when changing to the Schecter, I believe this is due to the Schecter using active pickups, correct? You can't use a TRS stereo cable for that cuz it uses the Ring portion of the connector to complete the ground for the batteries. Basically it uses the connector as an on/off switch when you plug it in/out. A stereo TRS cable won't allow that to happen. If you know someone with soldering skills you can 1) modify the Schector by installing a manual on/off switch and re-wiring the 1/4" jack to allow the use of a TRS cable, or 2) build a little interface box that grounds the Ring portion of the cable. You'd have guitar -> TRS stereo cable -> interface box -> two normal cables -> POD guitar/aux inputs. Or, you can change cables when you change guitars. It's all due to the active pickups on your Schecter.

Well, my thinking is your noise changes with input level (raise guitar level, noise drops). The gain of the noise gate also changes with input level. Compressors do too. I was just trying to think of things that could change gain based on input level.

Take the noise gate out of the beginning of the signal chain and see what happens.

I figured that since he can only play 1 instrument at a time he'd just unplug the cord from the instrument, swap instruments, plug the cord into the new instrument, then stomp on the new patch. Only 1 input is required. I do this all the time with 4 instruments (1 per ABCD patch). This new patch could then automatically mute Left and unmute Right. Amp/mixer cables don't need to change. I also assumed he doesn't use stereo since he only mentioned using 1 amp.

Or, if you don't want to use up an FX block for the loop, use the mixer to rout the electric signal path to Left and acoustic signal path to Right. Plug the amp into the Pod's left output and the mixing board into the Pod's Right output. I call up different patches for electric and acoustic instruments (to EQ the acoustic instruments to minimize feedback for example).

You touch the plastic part of the volume control and noise goes away. But it does NOT go away when you touch the strings, or the metal collar at the jack, right?

+1 Each instrument in a band needs to carve out its space. When you're by yourself do whatever you want to get the full glorious hit-you-in-the-gut impact of your playing, but that just doesn't work well in a band. Derek Trucks mentions this here.

Dropbox has changed their public folders. I just updated the link in the first post above.