Astaroth_CY

Thanks, that's a great idea. I think what I'll do is I'll wait for a few people to contribute their opinions, then compile everything and submit it to Ideascale.

I was just asked on Reddit to list the obvious issues that should have been fixed, so I'm copying it over here and asking everyone to chip in anything I've missed. Hardware: USB port breaks too easily No power switch Power supply is flimsy and cheap No true bypass (sucks tone) Screen is way too small for live use Software: Very infrequent firmware updates No global EQ No way to completely remove the looper to free up DSP Looper is a nightmare to use Parameters on certain effects sometimes work very counter-intuitively EQ parameters controlling frequency are displayed in percentage instead of Hz (this is my "favorite") No graphic EQ When running dual amps, there are some issues with phasing that I don't fully understand, but are well documented (see memabobbo's work and others') No way to run one amp through two cabs, you have to use two amps (chewing up DSP) and have to individually adjust the amp parameters on each even if you want both to be the same Some of the effects are virtually unusable (Vintage Pre and Synth-O-Matic come to mind) If you adjust an amp parameter using the knobs on the Pod, there is no way to see what your original setting was Possibly the worst: NO PEAK METER!!! PC interface: The unholy unusable awkward mess that is Pod HD Edit Problems caused when using the Pod while connected to a computer with HD Edit open (see recent thread reporting it)

I hope someone does a HD500X teardown...

That's great to hear, actually.

Well played. That'll teach me to fire off a reply after speed-reading a post.

Did your testers ever mention anything about displaying frequency instead of percentage in EQs? Honest question. Also, will firmware updates to the HD500X also apply to the HD500? Edit: I'm leaving my original post up, but I just realized the OP sounds a lot like a joke post... If it's a joke, you got me. If not, wow. Poe's law, I guess.

That's funny, the manual is identical to the HD500 one.

Unfortunately the Line 6 rep had no idea about compatibility with the HD500. He says that 500X tones MIGHT be compatible with the 500, and that if you have 500 tones to transfer over to the 500X, the editor is different but the tones are compatible. I am thinking he actually has no clue and that the editor is the same and the tones exactly the same. Why would they be any different given that this is the exact same machine just with more processing power?

MSRP means very little these days. Who sells anything at MSRP other than books at book stores? I really hope firmware updates will apply to the HD500. If this is not the case, that would be massive and blatant betrayal of the entire Pod HD customer base. It seems like the HD500X only differs in terms of hardware and that there is nothing fundamentally new that would make it use totally different firmware. On the flip side, if they do keep supporting the HD500, that is great news for us since a lot of us thought it was dead in the water! Gives me SOME hope but not enough to think that, e.g., they will fix the EQ frequency display issue.

I've also tried to work with the synth effect and hear the same glitches. It takes a lot of tweaking to get it clean but a lot of things play into it, I found the most useful to be a noise gate or hard gate in front of the synth, but don't set it too hard. Also, use your loudest/warmest pickup when using that tone. Good luck and upload your tone if you get it working well!

Just want to remind everyone that all the major concerns and complaints people have with the HD500 (frequencies as percentages, lollipop EQs, etc see all the relevant threads) are NOT addressed by the release of the HD500X.

No.

You should call them and ask why it is backordered. They might give you some juicy info.

Eh, whatever. My local guitar center is pretty good. They replaced Daddy's Junky Music which was a local (New England) chain with great reputation, except apparently the company was deep in the red and was forced to fold. I'm pretty sure GC got at least some of their people employed.

Based on what people said earlier in this thread I don't think Line 6 will let owners upgrade their own units. Guitar Center is everywhere, they sell Line 6 products, and they have techs. Makes sense to me. Not that it actually will happen, just saying I wouldn't be surprised.

I have to say... if "double the DSP" is the only change here, this is not a new Pod HD. This is just a reissue of the same machine with one very obvious change that at the end of the day would only affect a small minority of users for a small minority of the time. Don't get too excited. Also, since this is the only change, they really should offer a cheap upgrade path for existing owners. I wouldn't pay more than $40 for it (including installation). They should just partner up with Guitar Center or something and have them upgrade everyone's Pod HDs.

How exactly will a new product coming out render your existing unit useless? Will Line 6 beam out a remote firmware downgrade to all Pod HDs to make them suddenly lollipop?

Perhaps your active PA speaker is causing mini power surges. Try having the Pod plugged in separately on its own. Have you noticed that the power-downs happen when you're playing something particularly loud/bassy (low notes or palm muting) ?

Huh. Ok. Now i'll buy the rumors.

Sweetwater now says that more HD500s are arriving in stock. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PODHD500?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=none&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=COP28q2AirgCFdKj4Aod52sAvQ What will it take to kill these silly rumors?

Gotta love that HD500X photoshop huh?

Most people love the look of their own text. Hence this thread.

Sigh. I wish people would go through some obvious troubleshooting by themselves before coming here...

no. i mean that the reason your settings appear to auto-save is because you are plugged in via usb and have Pod HD Edit open.

Are you connected to a computer via USB? Disconnect it.