croSSed

HD 500X owner, and I have a question - Is there an effect that softens the attack of a naturally picked guitar string to make it sound more "violin/viola/cello-like"? Searching... Thanks.

That was it! I had no idea. Thanks!

OH... I had no idea there was an internal setting for output mode! That's probably why this sounds like crap. I located the settings for this by watching a short vid on the subject. I'll report back on how well this works.

How does the Helix sound connected direct in recording or PA? How does it compare to the HD500X in this way?

Has anybody here upgraded from the HD500X to a Helix Floor? If you have, why did you make the switch? Was it a true upgrade? What is better about it? I'm thinking about making a switch. Thanks.

I don't design my patches that go direct with a guitar amp. Sorry that I didn't make that clear. I have, in an effort to try and make the direct sound less raspy, tried to get a good sound from it while listening through my studio reference headphones. As I said, doing this there is a brittleness to the tone that I've been unable to get rid of. On the other hand, I have built patches for the purpose of going through a guitar cab. Those sound REALLY bad when listening through the device's headphone jack.

I've been kind of "putting up" with an issue with my HD500, but now I'd like a solution. I often play live with my POD direct in through one of the SLR outputs. When I'm in a situation that calls for this it sounds awful. I will take time at home setting up a patch using my 2-12 Celestion speaker cab, and the tone is nice. It has a nice naturally compressed sound, and a little of the mid-highs rolled off. Sounds warm and creamy. As soon as I plug it in direct all that warmth - that sounds analog - goes away and the device sounds harsh, nasty, and digital in a BAD way. There's this high-mid RASP that's introduced to the sound that is completely unacceptable. In the POD I've tried different speaker cab types, mics, and mic placements, and nothing works. It's REALLY awful when I'm using in-ears through a personal mixing monitor system. My "tone" completely kills any creative, inventive vibe because I'm HATING my tone. Is there any solution to this? EDIT: One other question - Is it possible to run more than 8 effects in the chain in the HD500X? Say I have a couple of effects not controller assigned, e.g., EQ and noise gate. Those take up two in the signal chain, but they aren't assigned. Is it possible to run those two FX, plus 8 others that are assigned? If it is possible I haven't found a way to do it. Thanks!

Here's the issue. I can "record" a part, but after that two problems arise that aren't covered in the manual, or any YouTube vids I've found. If I turn off the record/overdub and play along with what I already recorded, the looper records what I'm playing anyway. Also, after I record a part and want to use a different patch, if I leave the looper with the part I've already recorded, and select a different patch, the looped part also changes to that patch. I'm stuck. Thanks for any help.

But can it hold up against a drummer and another guitar player with a tube combo? Absolutely. I think I'm going to get another one, not so much so that I can run stereo, but so I can run two cabs.

Power amps, by design, are not supposed to color the sound at all. That only happens when you turn them up too far and they start to clip. That's another reason why power amps have so much wattage; they build in headroom so they don't clip. I don't know if I've said this yet, but the 44 Magnum "stomp box" amp, along with the master volume of the HD 500X, gives me PLENTY of volume. I can make it painfully loud if I want to running through a 2 12 cab.

Mmm, yeah; I could do this. I was thinking of running like a stereo studio reference amp, though. Maybe I'm over thinking... Thanks.

Hey. I have HD500X and am presently using an Electro-Harmonix 44 Magnum digital "stomp box" power amp, which has been great for doing mono live stuff with my HD. However, I'd like to start running stereo as I have 2 two-twelve speaker cabs. The 44 Magnum is amplification ONLY; does not color the sound, and is PLENTY loud for any work I do. What other options do I have for running stereo w/o breaking the bank?

I'm using the floor model. There's an HD 500X bean?

toonsms - You are exactly right. I'm still getting used to using this device and I forgot about being able to scroll along using the arrows on the far right. Duh. Yes, that works. Cobdog - I actually came up with a very passable "Spirit of Radio" sound using 2 footswitches as you describe. FS 5 is the intro sound; turn it off and I have the verse sound. FS 6 is the solo section. I actually posted this to the Custom Tone side of things. I also posted a patch for La Villa Strangiato that is REALLY close to the studio version, at least to my ears. In that one I use 4 FS's: Distortion, Analog Chorus, Hall 'verb, and "slap back" echo. In addition to the amp model I chose I'm running a small about of chamber 'verb, and volume pedal.

I like running it in 1-8 mode because of the additional patches. What I don't like is that you have to go into the menu screen to switch to a different preset. That screen is so small and difficult to read, not to mention you have to bend down to change it. I might have to bring a laptop with me to gigs and be running HD Edit the whole time so I can more easily switch to a different preset.