Hi,
I've been using the POD HD 500 for about a year now, and I thought I should share my experiences so far. I plug it in to a powered FRFR speaker (Yamaha DXR10). I play rock'n'roll and blues and I am going for the somewhat overdriven sound. Haven't been able to capture the sweet lead tones of John Mayer, but I guess I can't without a real tube amp cranked up.
I've noticed the digital clipping/artifacts too, which you can even hear in the video for the pinned post "Creating a Keith Richards Tone on the POD HD500X" , and after browsing the forum, I found out that lowering the master volume really helps a lot.
Go-to-amp: Dr Z model
Go-to-overdrive: Classic Overdrive, filter at 70%-85%
Go-to-volume-boost: Tube Compressor at end of chain, level 10%, compression(?) 98%.
I would like to use the Marshall-models, but they become too boomy for me.
The EQs are just frustrating, but thanks for all the help from this forum.
I always use the mic-preamp at the beginning of the chain, which I also use as a hi-pass / low-pass filter. Cut at 80-100 Hz and at about 8k (because I read that most speakers found in guitar amps don't go higher than this).
If there's any good tone-tweaking tips out there, please share them with me. :-)
Regards,
Bjorn