StephenSLR

Hi all, I want to do some home recording and looking for advice on speaker set up. I’m considering downloading Reaper as the programme. From my understanding to get the best sound: POD HD500 > USB cable > Laptop (or PC) The HD500 then becomes the sound card and I have to connect speakers to the ¼ inch L Mono & R Mono outputs of the POD and not the Laptop speaker output. I’m after some cheap speakers just so I can hear while I’m playing and how the effects sound while I’m recording. Do I need to get an active set of speakers that I have to plug into a power board or can I get passive speakers that run off the POD? Since I’m only interested in getting song ideas do I have to get both L& R speakers or is it just best to get both? I can always hear what I’ve recorded later on the laptop from the earphone jack. The pod has ¼ inch outputs are there many speakers on the market with ¼ inch jacks or do I have to get adapters? s

Good to see another Aus. member here, I remember Noiseworks and most of my Metal collection is on cassette. A good starting point is to read Meambobbo's guide. http://www.foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/ If you know what type of amp the guitarist in question uses it'd be best selecting that amp and going from there. Check out the patch building tips here: http://www.foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/quickGuide s

I just tried that, with the compressor last in line and it really fattened up the sound. I also tried it with the Red Comp, Screamer and Classic Distortion before the amp. After the amp I have chorus, echo and reverb. I have more experimenting to do but am finally getting better tones. s

You can also download some patches from Customtone. Some of the acoustic ones have a nice clean sound. s

Yes, I had edited my post but you got in before me, all good. s

Only if you use the 4CM, that is correct. The OP wants to use the POD as a preamp, then he only needs 2 cables and not worry about FX loops. s

4CM is only if you want to use your amps pre-amp. You only need 2 leads, Guitar> Guitar In 1/4 L out > your amp's 'return' or 'power amp in' socket. Your amp's front panel knobs will then not work and your POD's 'Master' knob becomes your volume knob. s

Cheers, I guess his version of harsh is much harsher than what I thought. As usual with the POD, it comes down to using your ears to get the best result. s

I'm trying to get an understanding of this: You should use Studio/Direct if you want to use the cab/mic simulation provided in the Pod. Other output modes use "live-voiced cabs". The mic model selected has no impact on the tone. The selected cab simply EQ's your tone mildly to slightly mimic the response of the cab, when run through a real guitar cab (or IR). This is no substitute for a mic'ed cab or IR. Without one of those, the tone will be very harsh. I use 'combo power amp' output mode and go into the 'power amp in' of a practice amp. I hear more than 'mild' changes to the tone when I select different cabs, admittedly the mic differences are subtle but still noticeable. What does he mean by 'without a mic'd cab, the tone will be very harsh'? Is he saying if you go Studio/Direct and select 'no cab' the tone will be harsh? I actually find the tone harsh when I select 'no cab' using the combo front output mode. s

This is all very interesting. A question, if you have a single amp set up what is the best configuration? Should I still set input B to variax to eliminate any possible noise? I guess muting path B at the mixer has the same effect so do I use either method to eliminate path B altogether for best result? I output to a live amp using the L mono output, I imagine it’s still optimum to pan to 0%, for if I pan 100% I will only get one side of a stereo signal coming through? s

You can download some patches from Customtone. In Customtone, double click on Amp and it sorts them in descending order, double click amp again and it sorts them in ascending order. Download some patches of the amp you want, if you hit ‘expand view’ the ratings will show up or you can select the popular ones with the most downloads – be wary, fanbois of certain bands will d/l those tones so if they haven’t been rated the d/l numbers could be a popularity contest. Nailing another guitarists tone is tricky however if you want to create a tone that sounds good to yourself (which I highly recommend) start with a blank template, configure inputs and outputs, line vs. amp switch, studio/direct vs. combo front, stack power amp, etc. till you get a good clean tone you like. Then scroll through each amp till you find one you like, dial in the tones you like using drive, bass, mid, knobs etc. When you have one you like then try out each cab and then each mic. This is the best starting point. Then go to FX pedals, pretty much how Meambobbo explains it here: http://www.foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/quickGuide#quickStart Be sure to A/B your tones. In other words if one mic. or amp sounds good but you’re not sure whether another is better or not, save the patches side by side on the board with only a change in mic. or amp respectively. Play to your style, flick to the other patch, then repeat what you played with the other mic. cab, etc. setting you saved. With mic. for example it can be hard to hear much difference but one may leave you with a better feeling about it, if that makes sense. I find some amps sound similar but A/B'ing and playing along with some of my songs helps me choose which I prefer. Enjoy. s

Dialling in a tone is just like you would for a Metal tone, read Meambobbo's guide then use your ears and test multiple scenarios. I plug into a 'power amp in' socket on the back of a practice amp, if I follow convention, I should select Amp, not Line (switch beside the pedal) however it sounds much better if I select 'Line'. Also going by theory, I should select the output to 'Combo Power Amp' but it sounds better when I select Studio/Direct. Go with what sounds good to you, Full Amp vs. Pre-amp, cab/mic selection, cab deep parameters or No Cab. The settings are likely to sound different with each individual amp you try it on. There are no rules, it will depend on what guitar you use and what gear you plug into. You're unlikely to experience the same tone unless have the same gear and set it to the same specs. If you did by chance hear the tone in the same way, you may still not like it. I find the Customtone patches all need some tweaking to suit my taste and that's likely because my gear is different. s

Level your volumes between patches using your volume levels at the mixer; for both path A and B if you're using dual amps. Adjusting the volume of a selected amp using the VOLUME knob changes the output level of the amp block and will affect the tone of your patch, especially if you have effects after the amp block. It's recommended to keep the amp's VOLUME conservative. http://www.foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/quickGuide#quirks s

This is the Volume control for the amp you've selected, if you turn it up/down you affect the tone. To even out the volume between patches use your mixer L&R volumes. I run my pod into a 50W amp and I can't set the Master to full, it's too loud and I do notice the gain does increase as you increase from 0 to half way and I guess it's because it's pushing the tubes in my amp to react to it. s

Can you describe what's in that preset? s

That's all you have to do, after the first click you can select which patch and setlist location you want it to be saved. This is how you save from the laptop. Make sure you have highlighted the ones you want to save otherwise they won't save. To highlight more than one patch, hold CTRL and select as many as you want. To highlight many patches in a row, highlight the first one, hold 'Shift' then highlight the last one, all in between will then highlight. If you use both methods, obviously the second one you save will overwrite the first one you've saved. You may be saving them then overwriting with the original patch. s

You mean Guitar and Same? lol. While on the topic, also try changing Input 2 to see which sounds best. You get more dB if you select 'Same' some prefer to select 'Variax' http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/setup#input http://line6.com/support/topic/4927-how-has-greatly-improved-my-use-of-the-hd500/?hl=input s

You could try the 8 cable method. j/k s

I found a review of your amp. Man, this is a little cheap practice amp made in China (or something like that), by the Brazilian brand, Meteoro. I think there are many practice amps out there that sound way better. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-1226131.html If you still can't get a good sound try out some other amps. s

I recommend to use your ears and test multiple scenarios. I scored a free a Gorilla practice amp combo. It's loud but the pre-amp sounds like crap. It has Master, Crunch, EQ and Reverb dials and even when I plug the guitar straight in, with no POD or FX, the distortion is BAD! I serviced the control pots with electrical lube (avoid WD40), it fixed some crackling but I think some of the components are worn, either that or it was always a crap amp. I can get some good clean tones from it using the POD but clean chords still distort a little. Luckily it has a 'power amp in' jack at the rear which bypasses the pre-amp; I plug my 1/4 L out from my POD into that and it sounds so much better. If I follow convention, I should select Amp, not Line (switch beside the pedal) however it sounds much better if I select 'Line'. Also going by theory, I should select the output to 'Combo Power Amp' but it sounds better when I select Studio/Direct. Go with what sounds good to you, Full Amp vs. Pre-amp, cab/mic selection, cab deep parameters or No Cab. The settings are likely to be different with each individual amp you try it on. There are no rules, it will depend on what gear you use and what gear you plug into. You won't experience the same tone the author of a CustomTone patch does, even if you have the same gear and set to the same specs. If you did by chance hear the tone in the same way, you may still not like it. I find they all need some tweaking to suit my taste and that's likely because my gear is different. s

I could very well happen and if the designer charges per download; it's money Line6 could have had. s

If Line6 allow it, someone with an engineering degree is bound to do it. Then we can upgrade our units from their site the same way we upgrade from the Line6 site. ... because there is 'popular demand' for it. s

I also have the Gator, near the bottom of the page there's a pic. showing the fitment. http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/lycanthia/389779-lycanthia-endorsements-gear.html s

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There are too many variables, you will get different tones from different speakers, the speakers in/on your ears are not the same as a speaker in a cabinet. You will have to do adjust your EQ and possibly amp, mic. and cab DEP settings. Time to do some reading: http://www.foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/ s