DolurumMafikala

Hi, Try Method 3 of When I had erratic switches I originally used Method 1, but have since used Method 3 with success. Easier than opening up the Pod. Hope that Helps, DM.

It's a fraud attempt. They are trying to get people to click on the link about banking in the post. @Digital_Igloo , are you still moderator on this forum? I wonder if you could get the post deleted so people don't try to click the link.

I'd say if you were thinking of buying an amp pedal to use the studio cabs, and therefore spending some money, you should also audition a powered speaker such as the JBL EON @pianoguyy mentioned. You see them used and there are lots of different speakers that do the same thing. The point of that approach is that you use the amp and cab modelling in the Pod and then the powered speaker tries to then faithfully reproduce that sound, like a PA would. When you use a power amp to a guitar cab you will be getting the guitar cab sound in there. I just mention this as you said you were trying to match up your live PA tone with your studio practice tone. You would have to carry the speaker to practice though!

The contacts might just be dirty. I had similar symptoms and complete success by cleaning the microswitches. Instructions here: HTH, DM

I love the Sub Octave Fuzz but hadn't thought about using without an amp model! Thanks for the tip :)

@mwschwartz If you search back on this board there are some posts from @pianoguyy where he talks about calibrating volume by ear using a standard piece of music from an standard input source (could be your phone) with the volume set to a standard level. Although it refers to the Pod HD the fundamental approach sounds like it would carry over to other devices if you are having trouble with keeping volumes from jumping around too much. My takeaway is that there isn't an easy button for this, you do have to sink the time. Pod Go might have some extra help, but I don't know as I don't have one. I do have Helix Native and I agree it gets a bit confusing between having different blocks on and off, vs snapshots of a particular preset, vs a whole new preset. One suggestion would be to do what you need in the minimum number of preset and snapshots, then it minimizes the management, not just of volumes but everything. DM

Hi, It's a bit sad that most of the posts these days are technical support requests - we don't seem to talk about actually using the Pod so much these days. So here are a few things I've been enjoying recently and thought might be interesting to share: I've been listening to Larkin Poe a fair bit in advance of seeing them later this year, so fuzzy or overdriven Fender sounds have been running through my head. On no account should you go and listen to "Bad Spell" as you will never dislodge that hook from your head! Amp-wise, I've been using the BF Deluxe in the Vibrato channel, on the default settings, which seem quite "edge of breakup" ish. I've been finding putting the Overdrive or the Tube Compressor in front of it are nice ways to dirty things up when needed. I also use the Spring Reverb straight after the amp block, with the intention of this being a straight emulation of the actual amp's reverb. So pretty simple chain: Overdrive or Tube Compressor -> BF Deluxe Vib -> Spring Reverb. Sounds nice for practice... this is all bedroom levels so YMMV if you are able to play louder. I've been watching the JHS Pedal Show on Youtube, which I find gives a fascinating history on many of the effects modelled in the Pod. I came to the DOD 250 history video after liking the Overdrive in the Pod and finding in the Model Gallery that it is a model of the 250. Why didn't they do a Model Gallery for the Helix I wonder? It was so cool for the HD. Back to Larkin Poe, I caught a Youtube video where RebL talks about her pedalboard which uses an HX unit as the central effects processor and a hub controller for other pedals. Something that caught my interest was that her husband made her a pedal that was described as two-TSs back to back, with an additional boost when needed. It's a custom pedal. No problem to do that in the Pod, though, right? Just put three blocks in: Two TSs on mild settings and then some sort of boost and you are done. It is the work of seconds vs building your own custom pedal. I love the flexibility that the Pod delivers in this respect. One last tip of the hat to the Pod. Of course, for the music I am talking about here I needed to try some fuzz. Whilst experimenting with the Overdrive (DOD 250) vs the Fuzz Pi (Big Muff) or Facial Fuzz (Fuzz Face) I noticed that my sound changed whether I had the DOD at the front of the the chain and turned off vs not in the chain. I knew the Pod modelled the input impedance of these devices and that fuzzes are often low so you lose the treble. This is exactly what was happening. The sound was darker if I didn't have the DOD first in the chain, even if turned off. This is all with the Z setting to Auto. I could override it by manually setting the Z to 1M or whatever. My point here is that the Pod was accurately modelling what should happen to the signal with those different pedals and different orders. What a machine! Happy days, DM.

First off, let's level-set what you might expect to see. You would see Pod HD 500x edit appear as a separate program outside of your DAW (FL). That allows you to use your PC to edit patches on the Pod - more convenient than the small controls on the POD itself. You would see the Pod appear as an audio device in your DAW - this is the ASIO driver. Monkey would be another stand-alone program that you would use rarely to perform updates... which don't happen these days so you might never use it! The POD HD 500x will not appear as a VST plugin in your DAW. Assuming you are not seeing the Pod as an audio device in FL, I don't use FL Studio so hard to comment specifically, but I would check: Does it appear in other DAWs? - If so then it is a FL configuration problem Does FL Studio support ASIO? - If not then you won't see the Pod appear as an audio source. There is an alternative approach to use here if needed. Hope this helps, DM.

Hi, I agree with @hurghanico that sourcing a replacement board would be most straightforward if you can find one. In your first picture a cable is obscuring the part number. If you can take another picture with the part number clear you could search on that to see if you can find a stockist. Given the age of these units that might be difficult, though. I can see a few options: 1) Pay an authorized repair centre to fix it for you: Here are a couple of Service Centres in Germany from the Line 6 website. Depending on where you live there might be other convenient options, for example in the Czech Republic: https://beatsbytes.de/ https://www.pms-electronics.de/ 2) Source a complete board yourself from someone who has one in stock, using the part number. 3) Buy a used unit from ebay etc. You might even be able to find one that has a different fault and use it as a donor for the power board 4) Find a general board repair specialist (not Line 6 authorized) and send the board to them. It is a power board, not anything particularly specialized to digital audio processing, so a good board repair shop may be able to fault-find and replace the needed components. 5) Attempt a component-level repair yourself. You would have to work out what the underlying fault is and source equivalent components. Not impossible, but time consuming and potentially-dangerous if you don't know where to start.

Thanks @hurghanico, I tried that and was able to fade out. What a great suggestion! I find it quite difficult to control the expression pedal smoothly so there are not jumps, but I can practise. I also need to tighten up my expression pedal which will probably help. Thanks again, DM.

To add to what @pianoguyy said, there is a setlist called "Bass/Aco/Voc" (on the 500X at least) that contains some starting points for vocal chains. They start from patch 09A. Probably a good basis for expansion.

Hello All, I know there has been previous comment about the inability to use the expression pedal to control looper volume making the HD500X looper less useful. Given that, what is the next best approach to use with the 500X when trying to gracefully end playing with the looper? My current best method is to start playing along quietly with the loop, to sort of take it over, then turn off the looper and play out. This nearly works but still tends to be a little jarring when I turn off the looper. Does anyone have any other tips they use? I realise that "buy a dedicated looper" is an answer but I am interested in any techniques people are using with the Pod itself. Thanks in anticipation, DM

@jonnymac1974 How did you like the new models? I like the Black Panel Pete, which is funny because I think it dates from the days of the original bean-shaped PODs, not the HD series.

Wishing we had this interface for Helix Native! DM

@soundog I just logged on to make a similar post but will keep things together here. I wish I had seen your post months ago as I've ended up with the same discovery. I was initially disappointed with HXN but persevered and have now found great sounds by turning down the input level. In my case I am not using Helix HW to record, rather I am using a dedicated audio interface. I am applying a -12dB trim on the input level in the plugin itself. I am applying a +3dB trim on the output level slider so the monitoring level is good. Like you, I'm finding that you have to turn down the input to HXN even more than it says in the manual. I find things sound good when the input meter stays in the green. Any yellow and things start to sound harsh. There are a lot of confused posts out there with posters conflating (1) the gain on their audio interface input channel, (2) the right input level to their plugin, (3) any gain/drive/channel volume/volume pedal/boost pedal settings on the models within their plugin and (4) the output level on their plugin. These are all separate and things become clearer when they are treated separately. (1) is about capturing a healthy, not clipped audio signal into your computer. This is what Soundog talks about in (1) above. Any DAW processessing needs this. (2) is about applying the right level of signal for the models in your plugin. I think this is where it can get confusing. It seems that HXN wants a pretty quiet level to sound good. A nice, loud signal into your DAW seems too loud for HXN, so you have to turn it down. Soundog talks about this in (2) above. I'm using the input trim in the HXN plugin itself to achieve the result. Other plugins like Amplitube or Guitar Rig seem to be happier with an input level (2) that is similar to the DAW capture level you set for (1). Maybe some do some internal levelling - we wouldn't know. Some, like Peavey Revalver, have a "Learn" button that listens to the input and turns it up or down as needed for that plugin. Some plugins document their input level needs, some don't. When I say I am applying a -12dB trim in HXN input, I should also point out that I am keeping my signal captured into my DAW pretty cool too - not often peaking over -18dBFS on my DAW meters. I'm using a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB with the Gain at 0, Instrument switch in and Pad switch in to capture the guitar. In summary: If you think Helix Native sounds bad, particularly if it sounds harsh, clipped or unpleasantly-distorted then try turning down the input level trim in the plugin so that the meter does not go into the yellow. I've circled the relevant points in red on the attached screenshot. Hope this helps. @Digital_Igloo @Line6Tony You might consider a sticky in the Helix Native forum along these lines. I worry that people who just try the trial and don't adjust their capture levels would get a bad first impression and just dismiss the product. I know the manual covers levels but it looks like some of us are finding we need to turn down even more than the manual suggests. DM

I love Johan Segeborn's vids. All those vintage amps, amazing chops and his relaxing Swedish diction :)

@Scorebass Because "it rolled through the banks", I wonder if your one or both of your Bank Up or Bank Down footswitches are stuck. You might want to try Method 3 from this post on those footswitches: Depending on where you are Dexoit could be easier to find than Servisol. Just don't buy a contact cleaner that doesn't have lubricant in. DM

Thanks @JohannDaart for the link to the earlier thread. I followed @hurghanico's advice in it to google "tube amp crackle on note decays" and found many references to this in real amps and in modellers. The standout for me was this thread where they are talking about the Amplifire. This specific post links to an A/B test between a Fender modelling amp and a real Champ-style amp: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/fuzzy-distortion-when-the-notes-tails-off-is-my-amplifire-faulty.1636667/post-20938332 For me the real amp sounded fuzzier than the modeller! I'm not worried about all this in La Pod, I just find it interesting and educational. I'm concluding that real amps (especially older designs) do this to various degrees and so the modellers do it too, to various degrees. The extra clarity from the modellers (and suspicion of them) might make the noise stand out more.

Thanks for taking the time to do the experiment @stormstudios I appreciate it. Just a quirk of the model then perhaps. I'm just happy it is a simple twist of the Master DEP and not a string of PEQs :)

Relatedly, what revision is your motherboard? It will be printed on there. Or just post some high-resolution photographs of your board. By high-resolution, I mean so we can read the numbers on the parts. Where I am going with this is that you might be looking at a photo of an older layout and comparing to a newer layout. For example, Line 6 may have simply moved to a smaller package for those oscillators, so they look different but are not actually missing.

Searching, I find that the original Pod and Pod 2 did have a battery, and a test mode to check it, but the HD bean does not. L6 seem to have moved to Flash memory in the HD series. I don't have an HD bean so this is just me inferring from other info. @titchyblackcat are you definitely sending the presets the way @hurghanico described? Sorry to ask, but wanted to eliminate that aspect.

Well, if they are intended for the circuit, then whatever they clock wouldn't do anything, which would be bad. Are you sure they are missing from your board? As in, where they ever there? There are different revisions of the main board and perhaps you are looking at a photo of a revision that is different to the version in your Pod. They might be in a different place or not even in the version you have.

Since I've had the Pod HD500X I've always noticed some high-end fuzzy digital-sounding noises on the Twin Reverb model and I think on the other Standard Pack vintage Fender models too. Recently I tried Peter Hamner's presets http://www.peterhanmer.co.za/hd500x.htm after stumbling across his demonstration videos. His Fender Twin Reverb patch, which runs the Drive at 57%, shows the effect I had noticed. I isolated it in the attached file, which is me plucking the G string. It sounds like a buzz, as if a string is vibrating against a fret (it isn't) or a speaker was loose (this was recorded over USB, no speaker involved). I found I could remove the noise by turning down the Master DEP to about 60%. By default, it is set to 100%, presumably to model the fact the original Twin Reverb does not have a Master Volume knob. Reading some comments by companies that have modelled these early Fender amps it does sound like they have power-amp distortion which is subjectively unpleasant. Maybe what I was hearing was correctly-modelled power-amp distortion and by turning down the invented Master DEP I was removing it by reducing the signal going into the power amp stage. If so, it is pretty cool that the model would do that. If anyone has a real Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb or similar I'd love to know if you get a similar distortion/artifacts to the one in the attachment when you turn up past 5. Just out of interest about the model accuracy. Some related comments that got me thinking along those lines: This is from a Line 6 Forum post about invented controls in Helix, talking about the DR rather than the TR: https://line6.com/support/topic/19961-helix-amp-model-gallery-real-controls-vs-invented/ We matched the knob positions in the amp models. If anyone here has used a Deluxe Reverb you know that after about 4-5, the amp stop getting louder. Once the amp goes past 7-8 it can get pretty ugly. The model behaves the same. Once the drive passes 40% or so, it'll never be a clean amp. Cranking the drive will never give a tight distortion, it'll blow out the power amp. Some think this sounds awesome, some think it sounds ugly. That's totally subjective. But if you are using a model and you want more drive, think of how that model would sound when cranked. Sometimes it sounds a lot better to put a drive pedal in front of an amp than to push an amp to its limits. And another from Fractal Audio, again talking about the DR: https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Amplifier_models_list#DELUXE_VERB_NORMAL_.28blackface_Fender_Deluxe_Reverb.2C_AB763.29 (fuzzy lows) "That's what those amps do. Always been that way. Just to be sure I just compared the Deluxe Verb model with the reference amp and it's correct. Those are old designs. Simple circuits with minimal frequency shaping. As such there's a lot of bass going into the power amp. That coupled with the resonance magnification of the speaker impedance causes frequencies around the resonance (in the 50-100 Hz region) to distort early. The low E string is 82 Hz so it's right in that zone." [160] Artifact.mp3

They are tone reservoirs. Before they ship the Pods, Line 6 fill them with mojo from big tanks they have in Calabasas, CA. The tanks themselves are kept topped up via automated collection of vintage juice that comes from their cache of amps kept in storage. The more you play via the Pod the quicker they run out, so be careful! More seriously, my guess would be oscillators to provide clocks for the integrated circuits (chips) that need them, like the processor. If you still have the Pod open and can take a higher-resolution photograph we might be able to look up the numbers. Out of interest, why the question?

Thinking along @hurghanico 's lines, does it forget all presets, or only new ones?