JohannDaart

After connecting HD to my PC through USB, I had no problems setting up Line 6 ASIO driver in my DAW (Ableton). But when I record guitar onto one track, while playing a backing track on another track, there's some misalignment. Most DAWs (Ableton, Logic, Reaper) have an option called "Driver error compensation" (Ableton) or "Input manual offset" (Reaper) that allows to correct this misalignment. To measure this offset, its necessary to perform "loopback test". Connecting Output of the device to its Input, playing a sample sound in DAW while recording it, then measuring the timing difference between a sample and recorded sample in milliseconds - that's the needed offset. Have you guys tried doing it? The problem is that POD has only instrument inputs (so plugging 1/4 line level outs into them seems a bad idea), while audio interfaces inputs can switch between line level and instrument modes... Or maybe there's something that I've missed...

I've pulled a bit more cable, so the break angle at the end of the power cable is not so drastic as in your example. Also I've found USB cable that has this square guard at the end of it, so even if pulled, it doesn't wiggle in the socket too much. I don't think all of this is crucial so much, if you keep your unit in a case like this one. In my country used ones are sometimes up for grabs for cheap.

From what I've seen on used market, power and usb inputs are the things that get broken in HD's more often. So be mindful about them.

That's true. This one I think opens up a can of worms ;) Line 6 squirrels are harsher and stand out more than those in real amps. Yep, real Marshalls have big time squirrels too, when cranked up. In HD/Helix, they are especially present and prominent in edge of the breakup tones, that are not exactly "cranked". Then you could say "if you want edge of the breakup tone, lower down Master, because Master at 10 and Gain on breakup produces squirrels on real amps too". Yep. But in HD simulation, when you lower down Master, squirrels go away, but your tone stops breaking up. Then when you add more Gain to compensate, squirrel squad attacks again ;) On Line 6 simulation, amount of squirrels is dependent on the overall amount of distortion (pre + power). Increasing Bias reduces squirrels (duh). But it changes the tonality of the amp. Changing microphone smooths them out too, but again, it changes the tone. If I want a bright tone I need a mic that does it, picking a mic that darkens the tone and makes squirrels smoother is a sacrifice. Then there's the question "even if squirrels are realistic and present in real amps, are they desired?" In real life, producers are aiming for a setup that eliminates harsh stuff like squirrels. They have tools in the studio to do it with real mics, distances, positioning etc. Modelers aim to be a solution for live PA and easy recording. By default, I think modelers aim to reduce the difficulty. HD wasn't easy by design (block of sound to chisel instead of a tone ready to go out of the box) + it's cab/mic modeling isn't sufficient. Making HD work is kind of an art. MeamBobbo guide proves it. Helix proves it, the biggest advancement in tone from HD was the cab/mic modeling. Anyway, I'm really happy with HD's cleans, crunches and hi gains. I will save breakups for later, I think they are hardest tones to learn how to make sound nice on HD.

Yep, after listening to isolated recordings of real tube amps, I've realized that they have squirrels too. Sometimes a lot of them. Again, thinking my POD was defective was my inexperience with units like POD and tube amps. Obviously HD and even Helix have those squirrels pronounced in a bit harsher way than in real amps or Fractal/Kemper, but squirrels are everywhere, I just wasn't aware of them until I started tweaking HD. They are part of the game, just as you've said. I'm slowly getting my tweaking skill up. Compared to POD 2.0 or Yamaha THR10, where the sounds are ready after selected amp model, HD forces tweaking. "Here's a block of sound, now chisel it". Actually HD made me learn a lot about EQ's and guitar sound in general. Maybe in the last weeks I wasn't playing much, because I was learning HD and stuff about EQ's, guitar frequencies etc, but I feel that knowledge is useful and it will help me in the future to get the sounds I want on every other amp/effect/device a lot faster, because of deeper understanding of how it all works. As usual, thank you for help @hurghanico :)

Some people wrote on the forums that Level at 100% is 40 dB boost (?), so 1% is 0,4 dB. Is it the same for Threshold? It doesn't seem so from my experiments. Let's say I want to use TC as a "glue" at the very end of the chain, what settings guys would you recommend for it?

I think spending time learning how to create one good patch yourself is far more valuable than buying some "instant tones". It's better, because you will tweak it on your own system with your own guitar plugged into it, because you will learn the unit that you are using and because you will develop your ear for the future. You can't expect 1:1 sound from a demo video, if you are using different pickups, different pickup height and different output devices (headphones / speakers). There's too many variables. If you want a good tone, you need to tweak it on your own gear and you need to be patient, because it won't be instant as a download.

Amazon finally delivered my AKG K240's! After some testing: - They are really comfortable, but I feel that they are clamping my head a bit too lightly. I have a narrow head so that's my problem, I guess no K712 Pro for me in the future, I will probably check Beyerdynamic's higher models ;) - 3m cable is long enough to comfortably play while standing up, so that's awesome. - Playing on IEMs wasn't a pleasant experience, because their sound was too direct. Playing on K240's feels a bit like listening to the speakers that are further away and that really feels great for guitar modeler application. It's probably because their open backs and size of the cups. - My IEM's have a bit more precise bass. But they have artificial V-shape response. K240 make the POD sound a bit muddier, but because they are flat, that's probably closer to what POD really generates, so K240's are a better guide for creating patches. - They completely "solved" the problem of noise floor that initiated this topic, this quiet hiss. It's not present anymore. I guess it was a problem of high sensitivity of my IEM's. I don't even think they picked up analog A/D converters hiss, because hiss was present at Master on 0. - Hiss / Noise floor on my speakers (old hi fi stereo) depends on Master volume. But using basic technique of setting source volume at max without clipping while reducing volume on speakers eliminates any hiss by improving SNR. I thought those speakers are unusable, because I felt they were clipping even while using lower Master... Nope. What I thought was clipping, was this fizz/buzz/ squirrels of my POD. - Because K240's are rather detailed... High frequency buzz/fizz is present and very prominent on them too. I'm still not sure if that's defective unit or that's how POD HD really should sound. This buzzing really stands out when I'm using some modulation effect like flanger on a slightly dirty tone. While notes are decaying, t feels like the base of the tone gets modulated with the effect, but the buzz is poping out of it without being affected by the modulation. Could the power supply be faulty? I've plugged to other outlets in my apartment and it doesn't change a thing.

Without using impedance options, do you find your unit similarly fizzy? Thanks for responding :)

I've double checked it and I was using global preset for inputs, that was Guitar + AUX. On patch it was Input 1: Guitar / Input 2: Guitar, just as you said. I compared the two, and yep, when the Input 1: Guitar / Input 2: Guitar is in effect, the sound gets distorted more. I think if my global setting was in effect, it wasn't distorting, but I will keep it mind, thanks for the tip! Rising Bias reduces squirrels, but it seems that it reduces gain a bit at the same time. If I turn gain up more to compensate, squirrels appear again ;) I'm a bit bummed out by this squirrels, but I really want to make this unit work for me...

I think this sizzle on the clip I've attached to my previous post seems to be a bit too much, so because of my lack of experience with multi fx and lack of comparison, I'm worried if my unit is defective or is it normal... What do you guys think? I've checked my guitar signal while on empty patch - it's not clipping, not fizzy, clean as a bell. So my cable is ok and my guitar is not clipping the input.

@pianoguyy I don't mean noise floor anymore, rather the fizz in decaying notes/chords. Those legendary "squirrels", but I think in my case it sounds a bit like something is clipping or buzzing. Obviously when POD's Master is at 0, I don't hear anything.

@hurghanico @pianoguyy Now all I'm hearing in every patch is this fizz and sizzle... I get that some of this sizzle is inherent to real amps and it's more hearable in amp sims. I started to think that I have a bad cable or I'm clipping the input. Lowering volume on guitar or using pad switch doesn't solve it. Lowering high cut in Global EQ even down to 7k doesn't eliminate this too. HUM parameter at 0 - fizz still present. My Input 1 is set to Guitar, Input 2 to AUX. Writing this up I thought on another possibility... What if the POD is ok, settings are ok, cable is ok... But my guitar setup is off due to change of temps recently? I'm actually getting a lot of fret buzz... I think that I need to add some neck relief and rise the action. Nope, after eliminating every possible buzz on the fretboard, the excessive fizz is still there :( So maybe bad pot / cable? Could you guys listen to it and check if it should be that excessive? I'm using bridge humbucker on a Les Paul. I've attached the sample and the patch used for it. PODHD_Fizz.mp3 BLACKFACE - Amp on edge of break-up.5xe

As usual man, thanks for help! (it's possible that you are running some kind of ad block, or your browser is blocking the player, but the mp3 can be downloaded too) I started digging on the forum again and... It turns out that this fizz/sizzle is not a bug, not unit's defect but... A feature of POD HD modeling. There were other topics about it before: This guy presented clips that display the same sizzle as my clip ;) This sizzle turns out to be most prevalent while using edge of the breakup tones (the ones that I like the most haha). Then I've found this topic: Which sent me back again to Peter Hanmer tutorial, where he uses EQ to cut exactly this fizzy noise -> https://youtu.be/iJ9v7SCCt_c?t=263 So I guess I'm making some kind of progress with learning this unit / my ears, because I struggled to hear what he meant the first and second time I've watched his tutorial ;) I will also experiment with cab DEP's again, maybe the patches I was using had DEP Master at 100%, I will check if lowering it will reduce this sizzling. Personally I don't think this artificial sizzle was a worthy addition by Line 6, it just forces EQ block to get rid of it... In semi-clean tones this fizz stands out far too much. I suspect that it's not as noticeable while playing POD through a guitar cab / FRFR on loud volumes. It just sticks out on detailed IEM's or monitor headphones...

After spending more time with the unit and getting more into tweaking, now I discovered this fizzy, sizzling sound in every clean-ish patch while notes are sustaining... It sounds a bit like a speaker membrane that was cut with razor ;) I thought that it might be a headphone issue, but I've recorded it and it's present on recording too: https://www3.zippyshare.com/v/59eluW1m/file.html At first I thought it's this "AC hum", but it's definitely something unwanted, any remedies for it? :(

Thanks @hurghanico, I didn't have a prior experience with units like POD HD, I'm really enjoying it so far :)

I've re-installed my POD's firmware, to clean it from previous owner's patches (no wonder he sold it) and who knows where he used some setting, easier to wipe than to hunt his settings in Global. Obviously I also did Global Settings reset + pedal calibration (it calibrates to proper 0-255, so that's nice). After some more testing, what I've noticed: My headphones and speakers have some hissing on their own. If I set Input Sources in Global Settings > Inputs to just Guitar or Guitar+Variax, then I only get some inherent hiss of my speakers (it's present with Master on 0, it doesn't influence level of the hiss). If I set Input Sources to Guitar + MIC or Guitar + AUX, even if I don't have a mike plugged in or anything connected to AUX/CD, turning up Master makes hissing a bit louder. So if there's some POD's hiss, it's AUX / MIC that are adding it. Dunno what to think about this right now, I guess when my new headphones will arrive, they will give me more answers.

@hurghanico Yesterday I got quiet frustrated with Plexi... The mud just disheartened me ;) Just as you wrote, I found out more about cab DEP's like Thump and Low Cut. I also re-watched Peter Hanmer tutorial... The way he deals with Plexi's mud is simply... Huge Low Cut in cab's DEP. 150 Hz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ9v7SCCt_c&t=590 Until this point, I thought that I should cut guitars between 80-110 Hz. 150 Hz seems really excessive, but it works like a charm for him. I will test if for dark amps in HD500 reducing Resonance / Thump first might be a better idea, then using Low Cut (a bit less, 100-120?). Could all this HD500's bad reputation mud on YouTube could be avoided if people knew about a simple Low Cut? :D Thanks for all the help :)

Thanks for your input @hurghanico :) On your K240, do you also find default Plexi NRM tone very muddy and dark? I've found a nice comparison... POD HD Plexi sounds in this video are so muddy and boomy they are not usable at all... They sound the same on my POD :/ Is this really how HD500 should sound?

I know there were couple of topics about it, but I still have doubts... I want headphones that have detachable cord (which is important for guitar playing, because cables don't last long...) and are rather budget. @cruisinon2 recommended AKG K240, they are great price (I can get new MKII for $50). Some other guys said that K240 are "dark" headphones. Reviews not related to POD usually say that they are transparent and their tonality mostly depends on the source, but they are definitely not boomy and not bass heavy. While checking various amps on my IEMs (their tone is V-shaped), I'm just baffled how muddy and dark Plexi's rhythm channel sounds. I'm a bit worried, that although K240 are great price, they will sound so muddy too...

I've turned off Global EQ -> no difference, there's still a hiss. Just as you said, if there's a hiss when Master is at 0 (and guitar is unplugged), it seems like it's not POD's fault. I will test things more tomorrow. Thank you for responding man! :)

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and I just bought used HD500X in perfect condition. (BTW, 15 years ago, when I started playing guitar, my first "amp" was "POD 2.0" ;) The only doubt I have about it, is that when I connect headphones (IEMs) to it, while I'm not playing guitar, there's a really quiet, constant hiss. Something like an empty cassette tape playing in the background. I can hear it even when Master is turned down to 0. It doesn't get any louder with Master at full. It's just a constant, very quiet hiss. I think my IEMs are highly sensitive, low impedance and they are known for being very bright. With other (bad) headphones I don't hear this quiet hiss. Is it normal guys? I definitely need to buy some better, higher impedance studio headphones. Anyway, I'm really happy with HD500X, it's truly great even in 2020 :) Before buying it, I've heard some complaints about it being hard to navigate. But I'm a nerd and I find it awesome and fun :)