danesp123 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 HI Guys, Just looking for a little advice as I pretty useless with the digital side of playing guitar. I am currently in a deathmetal/nu metal band playing with 7 strings in drop G#. My current set up is a EVH 5153 50w head, ISP Decimator, Robert Keeley baked modded TS-9, Parametric EQ. The other guitarist in the band wants to go digital and is looking at the HD500X. Due to Axe Fx's and Kempers costing an arm and a leg those are out of the question. I'm just wondering if the HD500X would be as good as the EVH if replaced or would it work better using it just for effects? I do like the tone I get out of the EVH but i've heard some of the tones from the HD500X and they sound amazing also. Any help would be really appreciated. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danesp123 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Well I wouldn't say time is a factor as I have until AxeFX becomes cheaper which it's likely soon. I am thinking about the 4CM purely because I love the tone I can currently get from the EVH, I guess it would be more the effects side that I would be using. But I'd also what the ability to record. I've heard the 4CM can be quite a ball ache to get levels right and so on. Any one have experience with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I am currently in a deathmetal/nu metal band playing with 7 strings in drop G#. If you tune any lower, you're gonna start getting fan mail from whales. ;) It's a great unit...versatile, and assuming there are monitors, you can show up to the gig with nothing but the POD and a guitar(s). Just be prepared to wrestle with it for a while till you get the hang of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danesp123 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Haha man the only reason were aren't lower is because the other guitarist only has a 25.5 scale guitar. Otherwise it would at least be G! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I can't speak as to if I would have bought one of these when I was a teen and only played one style of music. Nor can I say what these units are like in comparison to your specific situation. But here is what I can tell you... I bought my HD500. It replaced my entire setup. A setup, I may add, that I stopped building and making additions too, 20+ years ago. I knew my rig like the back of my hand. Giving it up for was not an easy decision. But since I did, I am never going back to the old ways. I carry a couple guitars, my pod, and a utility bag. I plug straight into the pa. I can carry all my stuff in a sports car with no back seat and little trunk space, no need for a hatchback, suv, van, or milk truck. Setup and tear down can be done in minutes. Which means a 4 hour gig can be 5 hours of my life instead of 16 hours. However, my personal opinion is this: If you are using it for just fx, and not for modeling (which means getting rid of your amp), then you aren't even scratching the surface of the unit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danesp123 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Pianoguyy, how would you compare the similarities between the hd500 and your old rig? I mean a massive plus of the HD500 is, like you said, its super quick and easy to set up and down. But that wouldn't bother me as much as the tone I can get from it. I guess this is really just gunna be down to me trying all these bad boys out in a shop. How do you guys feel about the editing software and getting the hang of using the HD500X, is it really as bad as people say it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertmcollins3 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Can't speak for playing that type of music on a 500x, but to the question of how bad is it to get the hang of editing, it isn't as challenging as some make it out to be. There are also some great sounding user made patches on customtone that you can just download and play with. But the fun comes out of creating your own sound. The biggest challenge (I think anyway) is keeping in mind that any set up is going to sound different in a live arena situation that it will in your bedroom or living room and not to get frustrated when you create this great sounding tone only to hear it completely different when you get to sound check. A small example of this is that I know my computer speakers will start to clip if I turn the master volume past about halfway on my POD. But I can crank it at a gig and not have any clipping issues. So I just keep that in mind when I practice at home and turn down the master volume on the POD, then I turn it up a bit at the gig, and it's pretty close to what I had at home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncann Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 One thing you could do to prepare for a device like the POD HD series, is gain a generalized knowledge of what makes a fairly decent guitar tone and how it's put together, which could contain slight differences depending on the genre. People have already experimented ad nauseam over the decades for what works well with analog stuff, and the PODs are really nothing more than simulations of that, with the great added ability of defying reality and trying things that might not be possible for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Pianoguyy, how would you compare the similarities between the hd500 and your old rig? I mean a massive plus of the HD500 is, like you said, its super quick and easy to set up and down. But that wouldn't bother me as much as the tone I can get from it. I guess this is really just gunna be down to me trying all these bad boys out in a shop. How do you guys feel about the editing software and getting the hang of using the HD500X, is it really as bad as people say it is? Similarities between the old and the new: I get the sounds I need --- AND SO MUCH MORE. It has actually opened up a few doors for me. For example, I want to find a reason to use *THIS FILE*, which is something that I currently have no reason for, but I like the effect so much that I want to find a reason. I wouldn't have gotten rid of the old gear if I couldn't use the new. I am a professional, I eat because I play. I can't go on stage with crappy gear. It does take time to learn, especially if you intend on doing some of the more far out things this unit can do. Once you get the hang of it, you think "this is easy, what took me so long". But, remember, for me, I was learning this from scratch. I didn't keep up with technology. Which is a big difference than someone who, let's say, already owned something more modern like a Boss GT8 and therefore had a general understanding of how this stuff works. I still use floppy disks! Piece of advice when shopping --- Listen to Youtube demos. Listen to Sound Cloud demos. Find a local musician that uses one and let him show it to you. Store demos are a mess. First, you're using factory presets, which may not serve your purpose. But then, you are using a Fender model though a Marshall amp (as example). It is not going to sound pretty. And that doesn't even take into consideration if the unit is set for using Direct/Combo/Stack setting. It's not like testing out an amp, where you plug in and twist a couple a couple knobs and say 'yep, I'll take it'. I used my unit for a quite awhile at home before I took it to a rehearsal, and then before I used it on some test gigs. To quote a previous statement I made: Is it really as bad as people say? The only people who have any credibility when talking about how hard it is to program, are the people who are trying to dial in a precise artist tone -- such as wanting to sound exactly like Pink Floyd The Wall, which is much different than just dialing in a clean sound with an echo. My feeling is, if you aren't sounding like [fill in artist name] now, and people aren't running out of the club when you play the sound, there is no reason to fret over not getting the exact sound with the new unit. At least you have the opportunity with it being the two of you together, the both of you can bounce things off of each other. Helping each other learn. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppiluk Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I have tried lots of Multi-effect pedals, pedals, modding amps and various software solutions before settling on the POD HD500. I was able to get the sounds I was looking for. I haven't tried the AxeFX or the Kemper simply because I found the sound I wanted. The POD HD500x is a powerful tool but that tool requires effort on your part. Currently I am running a single cable from my POD into the effects loop of my amp and get great tones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semitone Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I've had a Pod HD 500 for about 4 years. We get along quite well. But I've seen enough threads that digital modelers work for some and not for others. There is no way to know without explicitly trying it. Unfortunately the HD 500 X has a pretty steep learning curve and just playing around with it for a few hours isn't going to be sufficient. Be prepared to spend a good coup,e weeks getting to know the unit and getting comfortable to dial in a sound you might like. There are also some other units, usually pricier, like Amplifire or the newly arriving Helix that might be easier to use and get a tone/feel you like but are still cheaper than an Axe Fx unit. I think your best bet is to try to find a friend and borrow one for a couple weeks. Demoing in a store just won't suffice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semitone Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 One more thing, you are going to need an FRFR speaker to get the most from your pod HD when you don't have a PA system available. You need to factor in the price of that in the equation. I've never been satisfied with putting the unit through a guitar amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKenivel Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I got mine just a few months ago. I play ERGs in a metal band from time to time and I get some great sounds using a power amp and a cab. I'm the only guitarist and I go from clean sounds with heavy effects to hi gain and back again, so tap dancing on gates, delays and amp channel switchers was getting tiring. But I came from using a less-than metal amp and use the 5150 sim in most of my hi gain patches. maybe wait and see what your other guitar player can do with it or test his out for yourself before you get one. But to answer the question of if the unit is worth its price then I'd say yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 One more thing, you are going to need an FRFR speaker to get the most from your pod HD when you don't have a PA system available. You need to factor in the price of that in the equation. I've never been satisfied with putting the unit through a guitar amp. Needing an FRFR is debatable. Yes, you need something that is different than a guitar amp. But only certain situations would require an actual frfr. For the bedroom, a $20 pair of computer speakers is plenty. And for rehearsals, there are still alternatives. Keyboard amps. PA-on-a-stick. Home Stereo speakers. Bigger computer or gaming speakers. Live, if you aren't playing through a PA, you shouldn't be playing. So, figuring in a $1200 set of FRFRs to the price of a modeler is overkill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topaz Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I think the 500 sounds a thousand times better than my XTLive if that means anything. Get an Alto Trusonic 12 for 199 if budget is important Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 The HD500 has certainly been worth it to me. If I needed to buy something today, I would get the it all over again, even with all the other options available now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If it ain't broke, don't fix it....I certainly would suggest you keep your rig...An HD500 on your rig would sound pretty darn nice and cabling would be a cinch to the Loop return....and you could wire in any of your pedals you like too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 The HD500 has certainly been worth it to me. If I needed to buy something today, I would get the it all over again, even with all the other options available now. +1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meiannatee Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 The Rokit 5 Gen3 monitors cost about $300 on amazon. Fostex pm0.4 is 199, and it's pretty good for the money. Don't waste your money on pricier ones if you don't plan on treating your room. If you do get those budget small monitors, take note that they're quite directional, so make sure you set them up at ear level, 60degrees apart and facing you. These may not be the flattest mons, but they're not that far from the more expensive ones (eg. yamaha, adams), and WAY better than consumer speakers. Especially considering how much you're paying. Then it's just a matter of learning your mons and compensating accordingly when dialing in tones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Yes. But be prepared to learn guitar amp tones all over again. Once you understand the unit and its idiosyncrasies, you can build tones quickly. But it's a steep hill at first, especially for heavy tones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerosol_d7 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Huge learning curve, why learn if in the future you won't use. Why buy hd500 if you will be sad not having the newest version? Podhd is losing attention, less support, updates, price drop etc. It is like buying a playstation 3 or gta4 lol, they are Why buy hd500 if you will be sad not having the newest version? Podhd is losing attention, less support, updates, price drop etc. Will it support win 10? 14....? It is like buying a playstation 3 or gta4 lol, they Are nice but.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 There's too much internet involved in our life instead of life in our life. This leads to people reading about things instead of experiencing them. Get to a store. See the thing. Go to shows. See the thing in action. What good is 400 sounds if you don't like the 400 available. There is a reason why the one with 100 sounds costs more - better sounds. Go on vacation. See the French Alps instead Google Earth-ing them. Mona Lisa looks way different in person than she does in jpeg format. Get off Facebook. Get real friends. And as to 'something new'. Again, grow a pair. MAN UP, I believe is the popular phrase. Buy the thing that is going to make you not want another one. Make a decision and stick with it. I am sure that the women in our lives are happy to know that we are always willing to grab onto the shiny newer model. Do you have any idea how much money I saved by building a rig I was happy with, and keeping it for 20-25 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerosol_d7 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Lol sell you piano and be a keyboardguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CipherHost Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Podhd is losing attention, less support, updates, price drop etc. Maybe it is loosing attention, but I still get support, a recent update and the prices for the HD500X are still $500 new. Not sure about the "etc." :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I bet the majority of 500 users don't even know that they can buy model packs, let alone know about a product that hasn't even been released yet. It is only us *(see note below), the computer users/forum members, that aren't as interested in the old stuff anymore. Just go and check the forums. There are more people posting there - for a product that hasn't even been released yet - than there are here. Which could be a good thing. If you think about people that only come here to complain or to need help with an issue. If they aren't posting here, they have no more problems. Everything has been fixed. Either way, there is an entire world out there once you get offline. Just because a handful of web guys have moved on to their newest toy does not mean that the rest of the world has lost interest in the unit they already own. Hell, I didn't even know what modeling was until a couple years ago. Why? Because I had gear that worked. I had no reason to keep up with tech. No one ever said "we can't have you working with us because you do not have the latest gear". All they need is for me to be able to get the job done. You guys have bought albums, watched tv shows, and paid to see movies - up until January 2014, that the guitar player has used an ART SGE Mach II, Rocktron Pro GAP, and Peavey (circa 1986-ish) Bandit 65 as his main setup. Not as a retro thing, just as a thing that has worked since it was bought. There is no reason for musicians to care that a new product was released unless they are specifically looking for something new. *NOTE FROM ABOVE When I say us, I mean you. I certainly am not including myself in that category. I bought my unit. I am happy with my unit, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. My track record certainly demonstrates my ability to keep gear. Plus, as I have said numerous times in other posts -- I have an issue with 'Brand Y'. It is going to have to be a life changing product for me to give them my money twenty years from now when I am ready to get a new item. Honestly, as long it works and the drivers have been kept up to date, I may just be dying with unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbkiller007 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 After lugging amps and gear for many years ive ended up with neuralgia. Purist tone is a young mans game and for players with roadies. I have had various pod products over the years and they have never been taken on the road as they were never suitable for more than home use. Then out of necessity I took the decision to go digital. 3 yrs ago I decided to go all out and bought the Variax JTV 69/HD500x/2 x Stagesource L3t. The reason there are negative experiences out of the box is that line 6 modelling is crafting. And crafting at very finite resolutions. Its digital at the end of the day. It has taken me 2 years to understand the dos and don'ts with live modelling. You dont need the variax to get your best tones but to me the rig is only being used to its full potential and convenience with it.(with so many amps,effects and cabinets at your disposal why not have 25 guitars too). Remember that cabinet emulation should never be used thru a cabinet of any kind. And in terms of the variax acoustic models they sound really bad thru cabinets in comparison to FRFRs. The ubit is handling ALL of the emulation. You need a powerful FRFR speaker system to match an amps volume but it is there to perfectly reproduce the output you HD and add nothing. When the POD HD is linked to the D25 the pod will detect the D25 and switch of cab emulation on your patch. It knows that you are using the D25 for the natural cabinet sound. When you are building your tones renember you are building them in a virtal sound space. You are creating a massive tone in a virtual environment as you are replicating tones on amps that are driven at high volume to get those tones. You are doing it at home with a pair of headphones at significantly lower volumes.(you shouldnt be buiding your gigging tones through nothing else but headphones or the amp you intend to play through at the volume ranges you will be playing at. It really is that clinical) A big pointer out the box to be observed is your amp channel volumes A/B. When you have a marshall on stage, your signature tones will be when you are really throttling that amp. Halway along your effects chain you will notice what look like pickups. These are your amp channel settings. Out the box on the patches these are conservative. Dont know why. These to to be up at around 10. Then cut back on your master out to 75% (3 oclock). This is so that wont be clipping your input of your mixing desk/powered speakers. Now you have the amps cranked to their sweet spot in the virtual environment. These basics took me 2 yrs to suss out. I had watched all of the videos on you tube and heard the tones but I couldnt replicate them as I was still thinking analog. Once I understood it I can make any tone on any guitar of significance from the past 80 yrs and you would have to be an anally retentive purist audiophile nightmare type to differentiate them. Honestly your audience does not care. Only musos do and they arent your audience. I cant rate this set up enough and with the release of a better generation of Variax (I use nothing else now. When set up to your taste by a knowlegable person its a fanstastic guitar. Unless you want true caninet response you HAVE to go thru an FRFR. The stagesources are designed exactly for your emulated tones. And I would need another post to rave about those. I havent looked back and my back hasnt looked back either if you know what I mean. If you are considering a variax for this set up and you buying it to utilize the acoustics/banjos/resonators/sitars you have to use an FRFR the difference is night and day. I see a lot of posts playing down the acoustic guitars but these are being badly reviewed as they are using factory settings thru an amp. Take it from me, stagesource is best for these guitar models and sound absolutely fantastic. Any artifacts are on the tail offs and again, no one in your audience notices, especially with the rest of the band in the mix. HD500x. Love it, love it, love it and if you are willing to spend time making your tones from scratch following the tips above you will get any tone you want. Its called the dreamrig for a reason. You have to check your expectations a little go right back to a strong basic tone with the A/B channels of your patch between 10 and 12 and your master volume at 75%. Your basic tone has to be strong and clear with only minor tweaks on the amp model eq. No big phat bass settings. Just minor tweaks. If you want to eq your tone you can add an eq pedal in the chain. You want your amp model as close to flat response as poss just like your speakers. And remember....everytime you add a pedal to the chain you are altering the original tone S n R thesame way as in the analog realm. Any pedal circuit will do a job but at a cost to your signal strength or introduce noise. Less is more. Hope this helps with anyone considering digital. Remember that variax guitars are made by Yamaha now and are under £500 and they arent a necessity for the dream rig if you are happy to use your own guitars. Helix is out now so the pod hd is maybe a bit dated but you can still buy them at half the price of a Helix. Peace 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel_brown Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 You just responded to a 7 month old thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBee Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Older than that Joel - 7/2015. :) It's all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbkiller007 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Thank you for your concern guys but non members still use forums for info without leaving a footprint. As the point of the forum is to share our experience and help others to understand line 6 products I'm not sure what I have done wrong in posting to this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 You've done nothing wrong. It was just an observation by another forum member. I think your post is relevant and valid for exactly the reason you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBee Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I second that. There is no problem and no one was really saying anything bad. 9/10 necro-threads have some good info that needs to be popped to the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbkiller007 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Thanks for clarification silverhead. I've never really posted as I couldn't until I worked out how to get the best out of the rig and wanted to share my epiphany. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbkiller007 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 See? I didn't even know what a necro thread was lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel_brown Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Damn I didn't even notice the year...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSC777 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 I think his post nails it and should be required reading for everyone using an HD500. Nicely Done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.