zaphodboy

You can't save the speaker modes per patch using the HD500 editor. You have to bring up your patch on the POD, manually switch the speaker mode on the speaker then hit save on the POD. If you try to save it on HD500 editor the setting isn't saved for some reason.

What a great idea! I'm definitely gonna try that.

Am I correct in thinking you are talking about house p.a.s varying from venue to venue or are you talking about your own p.a.? If you mean a house p.a. I know that in theory a p.a. should produce a flat response but in my experience frequency response can vary massively from p.a. to p.a. Logically if the signal being sent through to front of house is identical from gig to gig (which it is if you are using a variax and pod) the sound variations must be coming from the p.a. itself. If the 'flat response' of the p.a. is actually cutting mids a little you could end up with a muddy sound that isn't cutting through the mix as much as you would like. How you remedy that is pretty difficult unless you have different set lists EQed differently according to how the house p.a. is behaving. I have come across a couple of guitarists who do exactly this but personally I have never really found it a problem.

Question 1: Usually A, sometimes B Question 2: B Question 3: D. I have 2 'live' set lists depending whether I am FRFR or through an amp. 1 set list is used for experimenting (A/B testing) in the studio. 1 set list for recording so I can recall appropriate tones for retakes etc....

Hi Loekito I connect the my HD500 and L3m via L6 link using a regular DMX cable. It works perfectly, is probably more accessible than an L6 link cable and cost significantly less.

I asked a similar question about speaker modes in the L series for use with an HD500 in a previous thread. Predictably (and correctly) I was advised that there is no 'right' way to set up, it's whatever sounds best to you. That said, when in 'electric guitar' mode you should in theory use the PRE models as the speaker is emulating the cab. Conversely when in 'PA' mode use the full version of the amp models which include cab models as the speaker has no cab emulation. Having said all of that my set up has a complete mixture! I use L6 link to the POD so can switch speaker modes per patch. I run some patches with full amp models in 'electric guitar' mode and some PRE models in 'PA' mode. It goes back to the original advice I suppose.....there's no 'right' way to do it.

Definitely leave the amp out of the signal chain, then the rest is up to you. I find adding a little tube compression and reverb gives the most natural sound. Hope that helps.

Sounds like good advice to me. Thanks for the quick response, I'll give your suggestions a try.

My rig consists of JTV59 - VDI cable - HD500 - L6 link - L3m. I am getting some fantastic tones and am really pleased with the set up but I have only had the L3m for a few weeks and wonder whether the tone could be EVEN better. I have the speaker mode set to 'electric guitar', output mode set to 'studio/ direct' and the physical switch on the top of the HD500 in the line position. My amp blocks are all full amps rather than pre. Are these the recommended settings or is there something else I can try? I should be happy with the sound I've got but, hey, I'm a guitarist and therefore never satisfied!!! Any comments greatly appreciated.

Make sure your output mode is set to combo front and not studio direct. This is changed by holding down the 'view' button then scrolling through the various screens until you get to the relevant one. Also make sure the physical switch is set to amp, not line. I am using an FRFR system (basically a PA) now, using Stagesource speakers but to be honest I got some pretty decent tones with the above settings using full amp and cab emulations going into the front of my old tube amp. I often got positive feedback from musos in the crowd with this set up anyway! I just made sure my basic amp sound was as clean as I could achieve and worked from there. Don't get me wrong if you compared, say, my Fender Twin tone with a real Fender Twin they wouldn't sound all that similar, but it was still a great tone. Once you've got used to the HD500 you'll love it but I think you'll end up tweaking more than you would want....somehow you just get drawn into it!!

OK guys, my first offering is Hysteria by Muse. I have used Lester 1 on the JTV I have included links to the screenshots and the h5e file. The Q filter, phaser and delay are all switched on with FS4 for the solo. Give it a try and let me know what you think...be kind! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/54981952/hysteria.h5e https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/54981952/hysteria%201.JPG https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/54981952/Hysteria%202.JPG

There have been a lot of negative posts in this thread and, by the sound of it (or maybe the lack of sound), they are well deserved. In the interests of some balance I have been using a JTV into an HD500 weekly for 2 and a half years with no issues apart from not liking the JTV v2.00 update (rolled it back). Hell, I even spilled a full pint of beer into the HD500 once and it STILL worked!! Just sayin'

I've just completed my Dream Rig with the purchase of a shiny new L3m, no DT. I was playing around to get my patches to sound right when it occurred to me that there are a lot of you guys who have already gone through that pain and nailed their tones. I have looked through Customtone and a lot of the Dream Rig patches are to be used with a DT amp so are only of limited use. It would be great if there was a resource for us 'Stagesource Dream Riggers'- there is no apparent way to search for this type of thing in Customtone so how about sharing in this thread? I will get some of the patches I have tweaked on the thread when I get home from work. I'm currently on a (ahem) break......

I think the key to getting feedback is making sure you have the L2 in electric guitar mode. Obviously you'll need to crank the volume a bit to get it to sing, but sing it will! Check out the demo here watch from 15:30. This will give you an idea of the feedback which can be achieved. The set up is JTV-HD500x-L2.

We all know L6 are masters of the marketing spin but to be fair I'm pretty sure that in the HD500 blurb talked about it as having 100+ 'M class effects' i.e. they are the same effects as the M9 and M13. My understanding is that the HD bit refers to the amp models, not the effects. I'm with you on the sound of the HD though, and the fact that it's not the easiest unit to edit in a live situation. I think L6 designed Amplifi more as a home unit- maybe it's a precursor for a 'bigger brother' live version in the future? Now that would be something worth looking into...

+1 to that. Just bought an L3m to replace my Marshall 50w combo. Sacrilege I hear you say!!?? I was spending more time tweaking than playing which is just not right with the Marshall. The L3m sounds killer when used with my HD500 and JTV59 for electric and acoustic tones AND it's way easier to dial in great tones. For a gigging musician playing covers it's way more versatile than a regular amp.

I have the HD500 (not the X) and gig with it once or twice per week and it has been rock solid. Whether the 500X is worth the money really depends on the type of sounds you use. If your tones are very complex, using dual amps + pitch effects etc. it may be worth spending the extra on the HD500X as you may get frustrated keep running into the DSP limit on the regular 500. If, like me, your tones tend to be fairly simple e.g. OD, amp model, modulation, delay, reverb with a bit of EQ the HD500 will be fine. Sonically the general consensus is that there is little or no difference. I believe that the footswitches are a little better on the 500X but as I said earlier I have gigged a couple of times a week with mine for the last 18 months and my HD500 has never let me down. If you want to have fun with your patches the HD500 can still give you some whacky sounds BTW.

I was running my HD500 into a Marshall 50w combo. I tried every which to set up, 4CM, straight into the front of the amp, all the different output settings, pre amps v full amps, the lot. I was spending more time tweaking than playing which can't be right. A couple of weeks ago I splashed out on a Stagesource L3 and WOW! Not only did it sound awesome but I have found it really simple to dial in great tones. Set the POD to studio/direct and the L3 to 'electric guitar' mode and away you go. I have played a few gigs with it now and the band are really impressed with the sound and it's easy to set up. If you didn't want to splash out on the L3 you could go for the L2 and save yourself a few quid, it would be plenty loud enough. They are not the cheapest speakers but seem to be made for the POD HD.

I was playing around with the acoustic models on my JTV in acoustic guitar mode on the L3m and completely agree with you. Some of the tunes we play need both acoustic and driven electric patches so I was going to buy an L6 link cable so the L3m could be made to swap modes. These are pretty pricey, upwards of £35, but I have been reliably informed that a decent DMX cable will do the same job at a fraction of the cost so I have one on order. I'll report back with the results.

Cheers Zap, tha'ts just save me a few quid!!

Will I get any sonic benefits by using L6 link?

Yeah, when I switched to acoustic guitar mode using the variax the difference was huge. I was hoping to get away with not spending silly money on an L6 link cable but I think I'm goint to have to.

Ditto. I went for the L3m which is WAY more powerful than I need. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it though, right? With the smart mode set to 'electric guitar' and the POD to 'studio direct' the rig sounds absolutely awesome. The L3 really brings the pod alive plus it seems easier to dial in a great tone on the pod.

I have had the exact same problem but luckily only had the L3m for 48 hours before it happened. I have contacted the vendors Guitarguitar who are arranging pick up and sending a replacement. Not a great start but I think it's worth persevering because it sounded awesome before the fault. The smart speaker mode set to 'electric guitar' really brings the POD alive.