JTSC777

I use Roland GK3 equipped guitars/ HD500/GR55 guitar synth/ Alto powered speakers/ old Marshall and new Fender amps and a bunch of old and new stuff.Any one with any Variax questions needs to go see John MacFee of the Doobie Bros. play a live show. He will cut your head using a Variax and a Pod. Period. Cut Your Head. He can play whatever he wants. That is all I need to know.

Raise the action slightly on your guitar.Your strings vibrate in an elliptical fashion towards and away from the fretboard not from side to side as they appear to .That will give you more sustain. Modern players demand super low strings slapping against the fingerboard action.That is not what you want to do for good sustain.My guitars all sustain even when using my HD500 through my FRFR speakers. I am sure some here will disagree with my opinion. Thats okay I have over 40 years of not just pro experience live and in the studio but I am a qualified guitar repair/setup tech as well.Learning to live with slightly higher action is the simplest solution to sustain and intonation problems. That is what I know IMHO.

Use one or two powered FRFR cabs. I put one angled to the side of me and one behind me and it sounds great in a variety of rooms.Look up what Paul Pesco of Hall and Oates does live an old X3 live and 2 QSC K12s I think.When I play live I also use a GR55 guitar synth and with the HD500 it kills!

Finally had time to go to my banks of patches for FRFR tones and implement the Mid Focus EQ. HOLY SMOKES! I think the guys who designed the HD500 were unable or ran out of time to make the e.q.s work with the cab modelling directly as it should have been incorporated within the cabinet modelling block. I use my HD500 a lot with my tube amps but their are a lot of times I want to use it through my Alto 10 in. speakers and also use a d.i. to feed the front of house mix. Before adding the mid-focus to my patches the cabinet modelling was unusable.With the mid focus enabled it is very close to my JCM800 lead tone. I will start gigging it this way as I use a Roland GR55 in my rig and love the HD500 tones with it. Thanks to all here who suggested using the mid focus e.q. Although I think any of the e.q.s would help. That is what is missing from the cab modeling. My Boss GT10 has a lot of e.q. in the cab modelling section so it was easier to use for FRFR. The HD500 is a much better sounding more intuitive unit so I am excited to use it as an FRFR amp modeller again!

I am glad I bought a used HD500.No problems with anything on it and I use it a lot outside in the 100 plus degree heat.I did have an M13 switching problem but fixed that myself.The switches in all of these newer multi-effect pedals should only be tapped and I am very gentle with them. My Roland GR55 and Boss GT10 however can have the crap stomped out of them with no problems.I shall avoid the HD500X!

Spend a good amount of time with each patches cab model.After thinking that the cab models were not very good and dumping them for a while and using my HD500 into my tube amp(s) effect returns(which sound really good by the way) I went back to the drawing board and just worked with two cab models for about two hours taking breaks of course.I now have much better FRFR lead tones which is why I wanted an HD500 in the first place. I was spending too much time on the front end instead of the back end as it were.Also for live playing crank your FRFR speakers up for patch tweaking and don't use headphones except for building patches initially.All your final work should be at VOLUME!

Alto 10 in powered speakers are great and cheap.249 ea or sometimes less.I use two of them for FRFR with my HD500 and also with my Roland GR55 and they sound real warm and pleasing.Just played a 3 hour gig yesterday with them outside in 104 degree heat and they never even broke a sweat.Best value on a budget IMHO.

Having used Digitech/Roland-Boss/Line 6 etc...for many years I know one thing for sure.These newer ones are very sensitive to the voltage they are getting from the power supply.I carry a Fluke voltage tester with me to all my gigs and look at whats coming out of the wall.It is rarely what it is supposed to be.Also all my Line 6 gear (HD500-M13) can act strangely and make noise when near other power supplies cables etc...in some venues with lousy power I still use a tube amp and pedals because they don't have as much sensitivity to voltage fluctuations as the digital modelling stuff does.

These days you can get a real nice used Roland GK pickup/GR20 setup used online for very little money.If you are serious about having those types of sounds(pads/strings etc...) get the real thing.I have played Roland synths for 25 years.I get a lot of gigs subbing for keyboard players because I can do both guitar and synth sounds convincingly.You should check it out.None of the HD500 synth sounds are very good IMHO.The Boss GT series mono synth sounds aren't either.The new Boss GP-10 looks promising as well. Good Luck!

When I get frustrated with this multi-effect stuff(patch leveling/clipping/fizzing/weird e.q.s/cabinet model woofiness etc...) I take a small pedalboard(Fulltone/DS-1/Delay) and a good tube amp to my gig and kind of reset my self.It helps me to get what I want out of my HD500.I am constantly comparing it to the real thing.I think a lot of players here are trying to record with it(HD500/X) using the full amp modelling and I can see where that can be rather difficult.I don't think I could do it myself. In the studios I record in I use pedals/M13 and a tube amp or two.

Just bought a G50 and although it wont see a lot of use I will be careful with the battery door and cable connector sleeve.I know several working pros who love them so I am giving it a shot. Good Luck To Me LOL!

Yes it goes straight to the power section of the amp.A tube power section really warms these HD units up but they sound good into a decent FRFR speaker too.You cant go straight out of the power section for a bunch of reasons.If you use the powere section of a tube amp you will still have to mic the cab or speaker.I use a little Sennheiser 409 and just hang it over my amp/cab. If you go FRFR you should use a cheap passive direct box( or an expensive one if you like) and split the signal from the HD.One goes to your FRFR speaker(1/4 in.) and the XLR from the D.I. box goes to the front of house mixer/speakers.This way you can turn up your FRFR powered speakers without changing the front of house mix.Works great when I don't or cant use one of my tube amps power section/speaker. Hope this is helpful.

In my neck of the words Axe-FX players are selling/trading them for something simpler LOL!!! Frustration is the word I have heard lately about the Axe LOL! I use several Roland guitar synths so I know all about that.Played a large venue Friday nite with my regular variety trio/funk/blues/jazz/some sequenced track stuff/alternative/classic rock etc...with my HD500 and Egnater Tweaker 1x12 cab .Saturday used HD500 with same rig in 7 piece female singer lead band playing a very different set of material.Finished the weekend yesterday with an excellent female vocalist fronted soul/R and B/funk band with a sax player .I threw my Roland GR20 down next to the HD500( I used a Fender BDRI amp for this one) put on my headset mic. so I could look at both units on the floor while singing and got busy.I have used many many many rack and floor guitar multi-effects and so far after about 25 good paying gigs the HD500 is friendly with all my amps/all my FRFR stuff and all my different bands-material requirements.In other words this thing kicks serious booty for covers of any color or flavor.My wallet says I can buy an Axe but my cover band sense says "Keep your money in your pocket son this thing sounds great"!!! My 2.5 cents

I have never used the HD500 into the the front of the Crate just the M13.So much debate about effect loops and I am an effects loop amp player but I remember using a lot of pedals into the front of my old Marshalls and Fenders that did not have an effect loop.Eric Johnsons old Marshalls and Fender Twins don't have loops and he uses a waterfall of delay and sometimes dist. and chorus in the front of his amps.I think too that volume has something to do with this. At low volume into a PA an amp with no effect loop sounds weird with dist/chorus and delay pedals in front but turn that amp up really loud and it's a lot better.I will stick with loops myself as I don't play very loud anymore.

Set the output switch next to the expression pedal to line instead of amp that will give you more.I send my HD500 patches into about 4 different tube amps this way and have plenty of level.Your Peavy may not play well with the HD unit.I use a Fender HRDLX/BDRI/Egnater Tweaker head and have no problems with level. Good Luck!

It took me three years of tweaking in my spare LOL! time to get my Boss GT10/GR55 units to be useable direct through a PA system.I was gigging my HD500 in about three weeks after getting it.The Boss/Roland units are great.Excellent build quality/nice effects/decent amp models and you can drop them onto a concrete floor from 6 feet and they will still work. But when it comes to ease of use/great amp models and just plain fun the HD is tough to beat. I am having more enjoyment and have increased the amount of entertainment value I am giving the folks who come to see me since I got my HD500. Keep the Boss and buy the HD500X.Use the HD for gigging while you work on your Boss unit.Having two or three of these modellers is what I do .HD500 for my regular female fronted rock band/GR55 for my jazz and duo gigs/GT10-GR55 together for my occasional high profile gigs as an extra man in a 10 piece showband.I don't have one but your duo sounds like it could use both a variax and an HD500X. Good Luck and Have Fun!

So after playing quite a few gigs using FRFR and my HD500 and being happy with the tones for the cover gigs I do I decided to turn off the cab models in some of my most used patches and run the HD500 into the effect loop of some of my tube amps.I got some coffee going and braced myself for the arduous task of disabling the mic/cab modelling in each preset anticipating that it would be a giant p.i.t.a. like it is on my Boss GT10 and my (2) Roland GR55s.Much to my surprise turning of the cab modelling in each of the 8 patches I had chosen was ridiculously easy involving a couple of simple-logical button presses on the front panel.I did not need to use the computer software to do this. Before half the coffee in my cup was gone I was auditioning patch after patch through my JCM800 combo and several other tube amp/cabs and the sounds were glorious! I wont say they were better but for a lot of what I am doing now gigging wise a tube amp /HD500 combo will be more appropriate. I am just really digging the HD500 unit a lot.I play a lot more and tweak it a lot less than any other unit I have ever used and I have used many. If you have a tube amp with an effect return I highly recommend you try this method.Much easier than the 4 cable.You only need two!

I am very gentle with all the switches on my Line 6 stuff(HD500/M13 and before that the old floorboard).They are not meant to be stomped on just tapped.I have done a few repairs on the M13.Not too tough.I have considered doing the switch upgrade myself but I keep switching back and forth between my M13 and HD500 .I also open them up once in a while and blow the dust out of them with compressed air BEFORE I use any cleaner or do any soldering.My Boss GT10 on the other hand I can put my entire weight on and it will still work LOL!!! Soundwise though I have not used it since I did a bass gig back in May.After that back into storage it went.

When I sit at my laptop and interface my HD500 with it I use my little inexpensive M-Audio studio monitors.Great way to build patches /arrange banks etc..and I get a good idea of what my patches will sound like with my FRFR rig.Some front panel tweaks on the HD500 are almost always needed though when you crank it up through your FRFR speakers whether they are Line 6s'/Altos/EVs'/QSCs or any others.As far as amps go get a good used Fender HRDLX III or something decent with tubes and an effect loop.Make a bank or two of patches you like-turn off the cab modelling and run the HD500 into the effect return of your amp.Simple and sounds great not good.At 6pm tonite I am doing an outdoor gig using my HD500/Fender BDRI/1x12 ext. cab and a Roland GR-20 guitar synth for some keyboard sounds I will run direct to PA/Monitors.Tomorrow I will do a 100 seat club with a different band and use an Egnater Tweaker head/HD500/Strat/Les Paul and an Epiphone electric mandolin.Yes the HD500 is great for electric mandolin too!You will have to figure out what works best for you by experimenting a bit. The DT25/50 are great amps but not easy to use for someone new to the modelling amp thing. Keep it simple at first so you spend some time playing/practicing/writing and gigging.The more time you have that guitar in your hands and you are playing it the better you will be. Good Luck To You!

Guitarist/Producer etc...Pete Anderson has used and continues to use 2 first generation kidney bean PODs with a THD power amp and 1 or 2 1x12 cabs He can use anything he wants to use.I still use my POD 2.0 live sometimes and my son records with it. I play an HD500 sometimes into FRFR or tube amps/I also play live/record(in a studio) an M13 into tube amps. I am grateful for all these tools.Updates are cool but I don't expect or need them to play 100 live dates and lots of studio gigs every year. Let's remember that for guitar players 80 per cent of what you do is in your hands not in an update of an amp model from Line 6.For me to be able to impart the characteristics of 20 different amp models into the power section of one of my tube amps is nothing short of a miracle. Now if you want to get upset and be disappointed by a music equipment manufacturer go buy 5,000 dollars worth of Roland /Boss guitar gear and wait for your update.Tis' a great time to be a guitar player!

I have been playing my gigs lately with an HD500 into the effect return of an Egnater Tweaker head and 2 1x12 cabs instead of any of my FRFR rigs and it absolutely kills! This weekend I will use the HD500 into the effect return of my Fender BDRI and a 1x12 cab for more volume.I don't even turn off the cab models I just use the stack return setting(to lower the bass) for now.This allows me to change the character of my "amp" to whatever I want using the modelling and effects of the HD500.I would suggest getting an M13 to the OP as it is the only multi-effect I have ( and I have a bunch) that works with my amps that have no effect loop.When I have time I will take a bank of patches and turn of the cab/mic. modelling and give that a whirl but for now it is just right for the 6 piece and trio bands I play in.Lots of cut and not too much thump.I stay out of the frequencies of the bass guitar.I also am finding I don't have to play so loud with this tube amp /effect return HD500 set up.My FRFR rigs I run a lot louder which gets into the vocalists area.Not Good! Keep experimenting as the experts here have said and you will find a way to use it with your amps.I just kept trying things until I got it to where I wanted it. Good Luck!

And that's the beauty of it! I have both an HD500 and an M13. Great for having choices.For tube amp loud rock gigs I use the M13 and a tube rig. For dance/ R and B/funk etc...type gigs I use the HD500 and an FRFR speaker rig.The HD500 has an excellent editor for pc I use a lot. The M13 I set up on a table or stool in front of me and work with it and the amp I will use it with.

Gigging my HD500 through my /Egnater Tweaker head/1x12 cab or Marshall JCM800 1x12 combo three times this weekend.Two different clubs inside and an outdoor gig on Sunday afternoon and I balance all my patches(20 or so) by playing my rig in my garage as loud as I can stand it.I have found no other way to do it.Adjusting the mixer levels slightly also helps balance them out but I notice with all these modellers as soon as you turn up and the band starts wailing your guitar will be swallowed if you don't tweak levels and e.q. at VOLUME before the gig. I also must add that the tones of the HD500 through FRFR are good but into a good tube amps power section they are amazing ! I don't even bother with 4 cable any more .I just run a cable from my HD into the effect return of any of my tube amps/add another cab if I need it and get busy! Really digging the HD500!

Both pairs of my Shure in-ears sound amazing with the HD500.My cheap Koss cans work okay too.