ppiluk

Hello All, I have been a long time user of the PODHD 500, which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately for me, it somehow grew legs and walked away from a open blues jam. So anyway, I needed to replace it. I spent countless hours researching all the options, not just Line 6. I eventually decided on the Firehawk HD. I have only played with it for about 3 hours but I have been able to make a few observations: I am impressed with the tones I am getting out of it. The tones, especially the HD ones, are as good as anything I have been able to get out of my beloved HD 500. Creating patches is easy but a little weird because you need to start with an existing patch. I wasn't able to find a blank patch in the cloud, but I really didn't spend too much time looking. The coloured, assignable footswitches are a real handy feature. Switching patches on the unit itself is easy and the 3 user banks of 4 patches is probably enough for most guitar players so you won't need to drag your phone or tablet up on stage. I am sure I will have more comments and questions as I play around more but my first impressions are very positive.

Picked up my Firehawk today but the store didn't have the ART Preamp in stock. I will look online.

I am picking my Firehawk up thursday so obviously I have never tried this but there seems to be some logic to it. I might pick one of these up along with my Firehawk is the music store has one.

The only problem you made is not plugging the guitar in at the store. You have nothing to be ashamed of. The vast majority of the people who shop from guitars are not pro level. Most can only play a chord or two. When I was first buying guitars I only knew a couple of simple riffs. I played every one of them each time I demoed a guitar. I am glad I took the time to get over my stage fright otherwise I would have likely purchased some really crappy guitars.

Ah, this makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

I am pretty sure they don't work together. They are different products serving different purposes. I did a little research and POD Farm worked well with older POD models especially the X3 Live but not with the newer HD series. My info came from this older post: http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/68199/ There could be an updated thread where this changes but I couldn't find it.

I stand corrected. My math was based on the adapter and not the device...rookie mistake.

Thanks for the response. Studio One 3 is on my list.

My calculations put the cost of electricity running your POD HD500 for all this time somewhere between $650-$1500. This is why I would never leave any device running when it's not in use. This doesn't include the effect on the environment this waste causes. Congrats! You win!

Great video! I am not a big metal fan but your tone is fantastic! What version of Studio Pro 3 are you using?

I have tried lots of Multi-effect pedals, pedals, modding amps and various software solutions before settling on the POD HD500. I was able to get the sounds I was looking for. I haven't tried the AxeFX or the Kemper simply because I found the sound I wanted. The POD HD500x is a powerful tool but that tool requires effort on your part. Currently I am running a single cable from my POD into the effects loop of my amp and get great tones.

I run my POD HD into my Effects Loop as well. Its simple and sounds great. One cable makes it easy to troubleshoot problems as well.

The included amps in the POD HD series should be able to get just about any sound you would want. Its been my experience that Line 6 has made its share of mistakes but I have never observed any evidence of cheating their customers. I have yet to pick up the Amp packs but I have a lot of respect for JTSC777's opinions on the JC-120 and am sure with a little effort on your part you will be able to get the sound you are looking for.

I had a guitar with a couple EMG 85's in it. I loved the sustain I would get from an active pickup. I traded it away and regret it. I would have preferred the 85/81 instead of 85/85.

I think the point SilverHead is trying to make is companies such as Line 6 collect the tax that the governments charge. They don't get to keep it.

Well said Phil_M. I hadn't heard that analogy before but it is basically what I am saying...but in a far more eloquent form.

We can agree on this. It is a universal truth. Another universal truth is the more you try and fail the better you will get. Performing in front of an audience provides the music student with a great opportunity to push the boundaries of their knowledge and skills. The real advantage of playing in front of an audience is it takes the student away from the safe confines of a practice session and places the student outside of their comfort zone. We only grow when we push past our boundaries. Not every person is willing to push their boundaries. That is more harmful to a person than all the false praise in the world. I have my own Doctorate friend in Composition who supports my position. Our positions are not that different except in the approach. Jazz simply is a performance art. The definition of performance is as follows: "An act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment." Its important to discuss these things because there is no one size fits all solution...and I am glad for that. My concern is Jazz has fallen from the most popular musical form to the least popular musical form. In 2011 Jazz accounted for only 1.4% of music sales. Jazz needs to get back to its roots. Jazz was the popular music of its time because it was approachable. It was something everyone wanted to listen to and every musician wanted to play. Sadly, Jazz has been turned into something that would be unrecognizable to its earliest performers. Jazz in its early days was gritty, sexy, loud and filled with emotion. Jazz was the music of the Speak-Easy. Now its subdued, over produced and as far away from sexy as humanly possible. Its very sad. I think the current attitude that somehow a Jazz musician is better than other musicians is responsible for this decline. Its an elitist attitude and one that is disingenuous to the heritage of the Jazz. Its simply wrong to feed someones delusions. I made it clear to both my children that they are good at somethings and not good at others. The trick is to try as many things as possible to discover which is which!

Thanks for this! I was wondering where I could find the High Gain models.

I have a Mac and I suspect that I will have to upgrade the POD long before its dead. I keep finding new sounds on my POD and that has kept my "Upgrade Sickness" at bay. I have had a bunch of multi-effect pedals but this is the one that has been the best by far. Saying that, my local Pawnshop has a used Zoom MS-100BT for sale and I will likely pick it up next week simply because its so compact and battery powered...two things my HD500 is lacking. The last time I was performing live my POD HD500 was a little tricky because the stage was so small.

I agree. Talent or not, 15 years and 3 pieces of music simply a ridiculous standard. Its an impossible standard that has no bearing in the real world. Standards like this will simply cause a potential Mozart or Marcus Miller to look elsewhere.

My post still applies. We could discuss this all day without either of us bending.You believe 15 years of practice working on 3 songs is necessary to be able to preform and I think a musician should begin by practicing and performing from day one. It isn't about rewarding mediocrity because that doesn't help anyone. I do agree with you that technique should always be first and foremost in any formal guitar education. Songs are only the means to an end. When Jazz was in its hay day, there were clubs on every corner in every major city. Many of these musicians performed with substantially less than 15 years practice. Jazz has lost the title of America's music simply because no one wants to study for 15 years with basically nothing to show for it. Chick Webb for example, had his own band by the time he was 17. Benny Goodman was 14 when he started playing professionally. I think the steady decline in the popularity of Jazz music is because of the attitude that somehow Jazz is better than the other forms of music. Jazz has been hijacked by an attitude that quite frankly is contrary to the roots of the music.

Great point...we need to find a similar system to encourage the younger or beginning players to perform. Instead, guitar players tend to ridicule other players as having no talent or just plain bad. I have been on numerous boards where someone will post a performance and with in seconds there will be half a dozen people rip it to shreds.

I would be surprised if they would! I must admit that I occasionally suffer from the "Upgrade Sickness" from time to time.

I think the above statement shows why children are looking at alternatives to guitar. Why would someone want to spend 15 years learning to play 3 songs and then be told they "might" get to play with some jazz musicians. Music is by its very nature a performance art and if we encouraged musicians of all skill levels to perform more, it would do wonders for the art in general. When children learn a sport, for example, we don't tell them that they need to practice for 15 years and then maybe...just maybe they can find a few people to have a game with. Athletes play games right from the beginning. We need to have the same respect for the music student as we do for the athlete. That means we need to encourage the playing live of all musicians, especially the younger or beginning musician.

I find your comments interesting and entertaining...I up voted you. At 46 years old I have been using technology my whole life much like many other people my age. My first computer had 2k of RAM and if I wanted a program, I likely had to write the code myself. I suspect the people who are in their 40's and 50's are less flustered by technology than you think. Technology is so much simpler today than in my day and therefore a device like the POD HD series will fluster us less than many of the younger players We are used to adapting to technology rather than expecting it to adapt to us.