jasonk931 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Hry guys, long time since my last post. Question? I am wondering what the consensus is between pod x3 live vs. pod hd 500x? Note, I am not a metal player. I play in church, and twice a week out, but it is mainly bluesy, rock, and ambient type tones. I have a full analog rig, and I'm just tired of it all. I want a one stop shop for direct to house tone. I like fat rock tones. and buttery blues. I've heard Lincoln Brewsters tones off his old pod x3 live, and I believe he now uses axe fx2, But just wanted to get some thoughts on wether I should grab a newer 500x or just get an old x3 live since I don't do metal, nor do I put a ton of fx in my chain anyway. P.S. I had a Pod HD500 back in the day, but just couldn't fully wrap my ears around it at the time. a friend had the X3 live then, and his tone smoked mine. Probably in the tweaking, but you get the idea of where I, wanting to go. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Your P.S. final comment says a lot. If you don't want to spend a lot of time learning the HD then stick with the X3. The HD tones are far better than the X3 in my opinion, but it usually takes time to find those tones. The HD is a very different piece of gear. It's very easy to get poor sounding tones, but when you understand how it works and learn how to build your own sounds you can get far superior tones from it. I've had the HD for years and I am still finding ways to get better tones from it. So the answer to your question really depends on you. How much time are you prepared to spend learning how to use the HD? If the answer is a few days or a couple of weeks, don't do it. If the answer is a few months, you'll be very happy in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I have both. Much prefer the HD500x over the X3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I have both too, but really haven't used my X3 Live very much at all since getting the HD500. I actually find the HD500 easier to use in general than the X3 Live. I like the flexibility of the signal chain a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I have both as well. I perfer the sound on the HD500x, it reacts to your playing better. The effects IMO are better as well particularly the reverb and the chorus models. I use my X3 for practicing and so I can use workbench with my old Variax. You can certinally get some great tones out of the X3 as well so like you said it's a matter of the tweaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonk931 Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like the consens is POD HD500X. I alos have a JTV59 Variax, so this is probably the better route for me since I do use that guitar occasionally. Ill be looking for a used 500x soon. Thanks again. Also, if you could steer me to some of the most useable tones in a live environment on CUSTOMTONE, and also any available ideas on tweaking the unit to forego too much beginning prep headache would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 The biggest one! Set INPUT2 to something you are not using. Posted a millons times on the HD forum for good reason too. Not sure why the heck L6 set the default that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theflyingalamo Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 For the record...Lincoln Brewster is using the HD500x live now and not the Fractal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I prefer the sounds of my HD500 over my POD Farm (software version of X3/XT). Sounded more real and more warmer. X3 can get good sounds through tweaking, but it has that old generation modeling overtone that new modelers fixed. It's all personal taste, and besides, your last comment said you like the X3 more, so either try them out more or get the X3 if you like it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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