Brazzy

I don't think you can turn it off, usually I just tap it down to 30 or so, doesn't bother me but I guess you could cover it up somehow with a piece of vinyl or dark cloth of some kind. If I find out how to turn it off I'll let you know.

Yes stick with the Pre's for now until you get the hang of it and want to explore.

I looked at the screen shot of your patch, but I would also need a screenshot of the Pre-Amp settings. I very rarely use a noise gate. Have you tried your Meteoro's Gain control at about 9 O'clock or lower? If you need it there must be a lot of noise, maybe due to a high drive level on the HD500. Also what are your guitar controls set at? Usually I set my patches with the guitars volume control in the middle position so I can turn it up or down while playing and the tone control full open. Some people set their patches with them both full open, both ways work well as I've tried them. I hope you get something from my ideas since I find it difficult to explain these things like this. Maybe try this: Make sure HD500 set-up is set to Combo Amp and that the Lows & Highs option are both set to FLAT (the lows & highs not as important) I like them set to FLAT. I think this option lets you cut frequencies and focus on frequencies. Make sure the switch next to the pedal of the HD500 marked 1/4" out is set to AMP. Start out by setting your guitar controls to full open then plug direct into your amp and dial in a clean setting (no dirt) while your strumming the guitar (hard enough that you know it should be loud) using say the G Major chord. Turn the amp off. With the Amp set like that unplug your guitar and plug in the HD500 and guitar. With the HD500 Master Volume turned down power up the HD500, if it isn't already, then power up your amp. Try using a blank patch first and strumming the same way as before while slowly turning up the HD500 Master Volume to a level you like. The sound should be clean. Now you can add the Pre-Amp you like to your patch. Then test the sound (by strumming), if the volume is low turn the drive down and the amp volume up, adjust till you get a good loud clean tone. After that I add drive slowly (and decrease amp volume as needed) 'till I get the level of dirt I want all while I'm strumming at a high level to test my sound. This always works for me. Hope this helps. I know I ask a lot questions but it's the only way I can understand what's going with your set-up. Remember the more info, screenshots and such will help others help you find the right path. Added: underlined and bold type.

What are all the details with your set-up? What are the settings your using in the "set-up" part of the HD500? How exactly are you setting up your patch? Are you using a Pre-Amp model or the Full Amp model? I know that the Meteoro 20w you have has a distortion button, how are you setting up all the knobs and buttons on the Meteoro? Let us see what your Patch looks like, send us a link snapshot of it. I know people who have had the type of problem you have only to find out their set-up is not right.

I feel your pain as I've been there. It took me sometime to get the hang of the HD500, but finally on that faithful day the dim light bulb that hung over my head lit up and all was good. Take your time and read the manuals found here > http://line6.com/support/manuals/podhd500 The HD500 will sound good with your Combo Amp once you figure out how the controls on your Amp correspond with HD500. Knowing the settings in the HD500 are very important.

That's cool little Combo Amp you have there. How does it sound all by itself? When you say it sounds bad is it distorted or weak? I'm guessing your overdriving your Meteoro Combo Amp. Try this, set the Gain on your Combo Amp to it's lowest level with the Master at around 12 O'clock. The HD500 has a switch to the left of the pedal for the 1/4" output "Line or Amp" set it to "Amp". Check out the attachment below. Try adjusting your HD500 levels starting low and work them up slowly. I'm reading up on your Amp Here > http://www.amplificadoresmeteoro.com.br/en/produto.php?id_produto=13

I think for your set-up the HD500 output setting would be "Stack Front". What kind of Amplifier are you using? If your set-up is a stack make sure you have your amp output going into the correctly (ohm load) rated speaker. This is my Basic set-up; Guitar into HD500 Guitar input HD500 Left Output into Spider Jam Amplifier Input or Aux. Settings I use; HD500 Output set-up "Combo Front", Focus at 670Hz, Lows & Highs set to FLAT. The attachment below is part of the Pod HD500 Advanced Guide. I suggest you study it from time to time. I set the Spider Jam Amp to a clean channel with the tone stack knobs all at 12 O'clock, The drive I play around with. I put the master volume on the Amp at 12 O'clock also. These settings are not set in stone, They are just what I use as a "Base". Once that is set I make all other adjustments from the HD500. One important thing, I always start with the HD500 Master at 0 so that I can adjust without causing unintentional damage to my Amplifier's Speaker. I usually end up with the HD500 master volume at around 9 O'clock - Full open. Hope this helps, If I think of something I may have missed I'll edit this post. Always ask questions that's how you learn.

I found this thread:

Glad it works. Thanks for letting us know.

Check with a Line 6 Expert about this before just trying it. You might be able to run the Spider Jam through the effects loop, like this; Guitar into the H&K input, H&K effects send to Spider Jam input, Spider Jam Headphones output to effects return. Hopefully the diagram I made better explains what I had in mind. You might also be able to do this; Guitar > Spider Jam input > Spider Jam Headphones out > H&K effects return. Again I haven't yet done these routings with my Spider Jam. I'm just trying to help you get some ideas and answers. Hopefully I learn something in the process as I'm interested in anything pertaining to this equipment. Added: Sorry if I went off on a tangent, LOL. The XLR route you asked about just might work. I've run an HD 500 XLR out into the Spider Jam Mic input and it sounded great. I would think the XLR out of your H&K would be a similar signal. I'll add that after 5 years of using the Spider Jam it still works great, I'm very happy I got it when I did. I can get some good tones with it.

Do not plug the output of the tube amp into the input of the Spider Jam. I'm pretty sure that would do damage. Does your H&K have an effects loop?

Yes you can. I've plugged my Schecter Devil Custom Active 6 string into one. Works good when your looking for that sound most of the time I don't use a compressor.

Don't forget to check out the bad cat attenuator, pricey though.

I guess it will get quiet as a mouse with high power coursing it's way through a line level device causing it to burn to a crisp. LOL On a more serious note, If I'm not mistaken only a proper Attenuator can be placed between the power output of the amp and the speaker. I've been looking into it a lot lately as I'm interested in the Jettenuator.

I use the tuner and it works great. I see no real good reason to spend bookoo bucks on another tuner at the moment. It's always nice to strive for perfection, but many times less = more.

Thanks for sharing your experience on this. This is what I was hitting on, trying to get the headphones to match as closely to the live sound, which I know is not going to happen now. I'm gathering I can only get close with headphones. I keep hearing that good monitoring speakers are the best way to build patches that are going to be used live. I still need headphones to keep quiet while practicing.

Sounds like it was a success. Try to let us know how it holds up in the long run.

I'm really sorry to hear about your BIL, that is a bummer. Hopefully his fingers work better than he thinks they will. When he gave you that little rectangular box he gave you a part of his soul. When I read about this preamp and realized it was from the 80's It struck a chord with me (was in my early teens then) but not 'cause I played guitar. I was deep into learning and practicing being a mechanic/machinist/fabricator and all the 80's rock music motivated me when I was being creative fixing and making things. Take care of that preamp (especially 'cause he gave it to you and it's made in the U.S.A.). Like MGblade said you can go into the power amp section of the DT50 and get the true tone of that thing. Have fun with that little piece of history it'll never really get completely old, if ya know what I mean. Thanks for that info MGblade, now I know what to do with the power amp section when that DT50 comes a knock'in.

You can't beat it for free. I would certainly play around with it to see what it gives. Also, I think there's some web pages pertaining to modding it if your into it. I read a little about putting different tubes in it an such somewhere. Since I was unfamiliar with this amp I dug in a little more, lol. Here's a video of someone using the Lee Jackson GP 1000 with a Marshall head. Here's another video. Looks like their made in the United States of America too, Wow. Here's an article.

I had to edit my first response 'cause I researched a little. I'm no expert as I have never used one of these set-ups. Since it's a preamp it sound like you would need a power amp. The DT50 would serve that purpose. Hopefully someone who has more experience with lee Jackson preamp will reply for you. I still think the Pod/DT50 rig is more versatile, and sounds great.

I read those posts about the issues also and wondered about it for a few seconds, lol. Then I ordered a DT50 Head, should be arriving soon. I'm pretty sure the issue had been addressed by now. Most of the posts I read were from 2010 I think.

Don't forget to check out the FAQ here>>> http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/amplifiers/dt50dt25/dt25dt50-firmware-installation-instructions-r120 I'm going to be dealing with this soon also.

Hey, Thanks for that tidbit. I'm going to read that pdf now, LOL.

This is a good question as I'm getting a DT 50 Head very soon. I will likely call Line 6 and ask this question if I can't find the answer in the manual.

Thanks for your input also. I've been looking at headphones around the 300 ohm or higher range and would like to use them to make patches. Not in a hurry so I have a lot of time to search.