unperfectcircle

If you can easily afford it, I'd say go with the HD500X. Otherwise, if you can find a great deal on the used market and want to save some cash, HD500 is the answer. DSP limit can only be a problem when you run dual amps and start adding multiple heavy fx like pitch-shifting, reverbs and stuff like that.

I understand...unfortunately that's the main drawback of plugging directly into a PA, your tone is always linked to the quality of the system. Regarding the DistX, d'you use just one tone out of it? I was wondering about putting it in the fx loop and then boosting or cutting the input volume before it to get different gain stages. If this would work I could save some money and get the DistX instead of the Dual

cool, how does it sound along with the HD500 (especially the emulated output)?I'm thinking about a Dual, but the DistX and the Metal are on my radar too lol

Diezel VH4 (this one above all for me) Diezel Hagen Diezel Herbert Bogner Ecstasy Mesa Mark V

beefy tone here, thanks for sharing!

great stuff man, thanks for sharing! ;)

great stuff here, very useful.

I'd say 2015 too. I truly hope they take their time to develop a better modeling technology and fix the well known problems of the current HD series. I think that the path is already here...a few more steps and we could see the best all-in-one pedalboard on the market. Fingers crossed!

cool, the Tech21 emulated output must sound pretty good then...hope the Blackstar's one will work fine too, otherwise I'll use external IRs. Anyway, I guess I'll go this way step by step...thanks again for sharing your experience. Feel free to post more about your setup and findings...I'm always really interested about POD upgrades to make it sound better :)

great stuff, man! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! When I decide to pull the trigger, I guess my first upgrade will be one of those Blackstar HT pedals (probably a Dual) in the POD fx loop, using their emulated output or external IRs via computer; I tried some of their low-wattage HT series amps and they sounded absolutely killer for my tastes, so I'm sure I'll find something good in the stompbox versions too ;) Besides they're tube, so maybe I could kill two birds with one stone regarding tone and feeling. If not, at that point I could always add a Presonus Tube Pre (this would work with my condenser mic too!) or a Fryette/VHT Valvulator at the very beginning of the chain. A couple more questions man: 1 - d'you use your Tech 21 emulated output or run it before a clean amp sim on the POD? Just curious about how those emulated outputs sound when they hit a PA :) 2 - how much difference does the Tube Pre make to the overall sound? Could you post some quick samples of your current rig, making brief comparisons of POD sims VS Tech 21 tones, also with and without the Tube Pre, so we can hear how every single piece affect the sound? That would be absolutely awesome :) Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, very useful. Problem is I often use different gain tones during the same song, so I need to have a bit flexibility in that ballpark. The Blackstar Dual has 2 channels, but sometimes I need to go from a clean/mid-gain with fx into a dry high gain tone (and I sing too), so that additional channel wouldn't be that useful without some tip-tap dance (Blackstar switch to change channel, POD switch to activate/deactivate FX). That's why I was thinking about the studio preamp/volume pedal trick, but unfortunately I can't try it before pulling the trigger on an analog pedal. The TC Nova Drive looks interesting since it's MIDI, but has no emulated output and other MIDI programmable preamps (like the T-Rex Spindoctor) are pretty big and expensive.

cool, so that's exactly the same scenario I was thinking about with a Blackstar Dual. What about - for example - different crunch settings? Let's say you set your Tech21 with a high gain tone, how d'you get different gain levels for other patches? I was thinking about dialing a high gain setting on the Blackstar and then putting a volume pedal before it to control the amount of input volume + a studio preamp block after it in order to boost it in my lower gain patches. Or I could dial a mid-gain tone on the pedal and then put a studio preamp before it to boost the signal and a volume pedal block after it to control the overall volume. Would it work in your experience? (I'm asking because I don't have an analog pedal to try before buying it).

great...did it improve the feeling and tone? did you use an amp sim after the Tech 21 or the emulated output bypassing all the POD amp block?

hope it too. Glad to see better footswitches and more DSP power, but honestly I still can't see a real reason to upgrade. In my opinion, even if it's an update to the previous unit, this version seems much more addressed to new users than old ones, which is completely ok from a marketing point of view. To me they should just be careful about the way they'll handle all the HD500 users regarding firmwares and stuff like that, because if they cut out all the existing owners from future upgrades in the long run they could hypothetically risk to lose more users than the ones they'll hopefully gain with this new product. Just my 2 cents anyway, I always wish the best and expect great things from Line 6! ;)

glad you had some great playing experience! ;) How did you combine those elements in your POD rig? FX loop? I'm thinkin about adding a tube distortion/preamp like the Blackstar Dual for my main heavy tone in order to have an analog distortion source instead of digital.

if those are the final specs, I definitely agree...this seems like a good but partial fix of the old unit; at this point I would have waited some more time and released a brand new POD generation

any interesting feature apart from the DSP power enhancement and new switches?

absolutely, it's a great tool to have...for home recording only, I'd go with the PRO instead of the 300/400/500 and I'd also look at the Eleven Rack; never tried one in person, but I heard a lot of good things about it considering the price range (especially amps sims, for fx POD seems way more powerful). For recording purposes I usually use software sims (even free ones) with external IRs, but to save CPU these units are great. Agree, amps are a lot simpler on stage, but they can also be a p.i.t.a., especially in small venues; I think that running everything directly through the PA gives a much more consistent tone in a band context...less stage volume, easier to work with for (good) sound engineers. I have a Diezel VH4 that I love to death, but for live purposes I switched to the digital world (software sims + computer at first, POD now) a long time ago and I've never looked back. Just my 2 cents :)

I have an HD500 and for the most part is exactly what I need...you get an all-in-one device with way more that you will ever need in terms of tones, effects and routing options. To me the only real weak point are the models; don't get me wrong, they work great and they're more than usable especially in a band context, but I find that there are some strange things happening in the frequency spectrum and feel response...for example, I like the Fireball amp and I dialed some usable tones with it but - no matter what I try - there's always some strange response in the upper frequency range that makes the tone sound and feel a bit "unnatural" (I'm talking about high gain here). I'm not an expert by any means, so this could probably be my fault, but I have some experience with tone shaping (for years and years I used analog gear, mostly "boutique", and software sims too) and I tried to tweak all the parameters of the unit for months but still I'm not 100% satisfied with my "core" tone. Besides, I think it's pretty difficult to tweak the patches on the fly (and that's something you really need to do when you're in a band context playing different venues), because there are so many variables that can mess up with your tone. I think that what most of us really need is a solid core tone that sounds good and it's easy to tweak on the fly, which is exactly what you get with a real amp that you like: you plug in, find your tone and then you tweak the knobs when you need to (stage, rehearsals etc.), but the basic sound texture and response stays the same. With the POD, when you start tweaking parameters, you can end up in a completely different ballpark because of all the variables, and that's something counterproductive in my opinion, especially when you need to adjust things quickly. Apart from this, the HD500 is an AMAZING unit considering all the fx and the routing options.

hi guys, what d'you think about these pedals in the HD500 fx loop as preamps instead of the stock amp sims? Blackstar HT-Dual: Blackstar HT-Metal: Blackstar HT-Blackfire:

no experience with this buffer? I was trying to figure out if I could improve the tone and the feeling of my HD500 adding some hardware, like this Valvulator or - for example - using an external dirt box (like the Blackstar DistX) in order to have an analog distortion source instead of the digital one through the unit. Guess it would sound a bit more realistic, maybe...for my tastes I mainly use the Fireball amp, but to my ears there's something strange inside the tone structure with high gain settings; I can't really describe it clearly, but it's something I especially notice with pinched harmonics and lighter picking/rolled off volume, something strange with the amp response that translates into a digital feeling to me. D'you think that adding a Valvulator or an external dirt box would improve the tone/feeling? Hope so because I really love the HD500 from an hardware and fx point of view...the only thing I'm not completely satisfied with is the core tone.

Hi guys, have you ever tried the Valvulator in the signal chain before the POD HD (directly into the PA)? Watching this video ( ) it seems like a great unit, BUT in that demo he runs the POD through a poweramp and a cabinet, not directly into a PA. My question is: does the Valvulator really worth it in that scenario? Does it take away some of the well-known "fizz" out and add some dynamics to the tone? Thanks! ;)

Thanks a lot for sharing your efforts! I try to avoid internal EQs because I don't really like the way they color the tone, but that's some great info here!

I agree...I currently use dual amps for "dual cabs" purposes (same amp, different cabs) just because I can't find a single amp/cab tone I'm completely satisfied with. With a better modeling, EQ or at least the chance to load externar IRs I guess I could easily avoid dual amps (and I would gladly do it). Besides I've already learned to live with the DSP power I have at my disposal, even using "dual cab" patches, so if that's gonna be the only upgrade of the new unit, I'll definitely keep my HD500. Seems like a lot of current users share the same thoughts about this...that's something Line 6 should take in consideration before releasing a new POD, imho.

Me too honestly, even if I'd really like that of course. I also don't expect anything revolutionary, stellar or comparable to Kemper and other high end products from a new Line 6 unit, especially considering the different price ranges, but I'll wait for it anyway hoping to be disproved when it comes out :)