I Think The X3 Has Better Sounding High Gain Model's Over The Hd500x?

[synsin]

Hello all

 

I used to have a POD X3 Pro. I heard all the great reviews on the HD500X and decided I wanted a floor based device and ditch my X3 Pro. Newer means better, right? Well, maybe its just me, but I've had my HD500X for a tad over a week, I can't seem to get a great sounding high gain sound out of the HD500x. I've tried a few suggested tones users have uploaded via Customtone. They sound really good just not really great, to my ears.

 

I have been using a headphones a majority of the times when using my previous gear up until now. I'm using a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 (Old but still kick's butt). Super great quality headphone that sounded great for the POD XT PRO, POD X3 Pro and even the POD HD500X.

 

I think the POD HD500X has the best sounding reverbs to date on any POD based device I've owned. Clean sounds a pretty sweet but a few things I'm not happy with are the muddy sounding High gain models. I seem to be using my effects on EQ's leaving me no room for the other cool effects.  

 

Also, does anyone else find the chorus to seem a tad cheesy compared to the previous POD lines (X3, XT, 2.0)? I'm hoping for a firmware upgrade, if not, I'll be selling my HD500X for a X3.

 

Any inputs?

 

thanks

SynSin

[mrkphpps]

Hi Syn

 

If you're looking for Hi Gain using Pod, Meambobbo's your man.

 

It's not my style, but this guy has written an extrememly detailed guide...

 

http://www.foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/

 

Good luck

 

Mark

[evilmikehoo]

I really like meambobbo's tones. He put a lot of thought into everything. Also unclejason has some great high gain tones. Just search his name in customtones.

[synsin]

Thanks guys!

 

I've downloaded a few of meambobbo's patches. his by far are the best ones but still doesn't seem as good as the X3 high gain tomes.

 

I'll have to read meambobbo's entire site. It's some write up he's got there.

[gunpointmetal]

Its funny that I keep hearing this from previous Line 6 users. I stayed away from everything up until the HD line cause of how terrible the high gain stuff sounded/felt on all of the previous floorboards. different strokes I guess

[synsin]

Hi GunPointMetal

 

Wow, your on the other end of my spectrum. Do you have a few tones that you have uploaded?

 

It very well could be me. I've never owned a tube high gain amp. It's always been MOSFET and or line6 gear. I wonder if my ears have been tuned to liking that digital sound and maybe Line 6 finally got it right and has a more accurate sounding sim.

 

Interesting twist.

[gunpointmetal]

I don't have anything uploaded, sorry. My patches are quite a bit different than meambobbo's as I have a relatively low output guitar. I was always a digital guy too, but I actually preferred Boss modeling until this newest generation. Actually, I never really "loved" the Boss stuff either, but it felt better than earlier L6 stuff.

One thing is to make sure you have all your input settings where you want (input impedance, pad switch, input 1 guitar/input 2 Variax). I always felt like the earlier high gain stuff sounded almost exactly the same no matter what you plugged into it. I mean single coils might be more twangy, but it didn't affect the sound too much, whereas the HD series (to my ears) is very sensitive to different pickups/guitars. I use passive ceramic magnet humbuckers and I plugged a Gibson with EMG's into one of my patches and it was a whole different sound!

[kmoed]

Its funny that I keep hearing this from previous Line 6 users. I stayed away from everything up until the HD line cause of how terrible the high gain stuff sounded/felt on all of the previous floorboards. different strokes I guess

I agree completely, The HD is a lot closer to a real tube high gain then previous versions.

 

Some good suggestions would be.

 

1. Get some play time in with a solid tube high gain amp. So you know what you are looking for.

2. Keep it simple. I respect what meambobbo and others have done. But I was able to nail the same tone from my very expensive ENGL preamp using only the AMP and Cabinet sims. No extra EQ's or fusing around needed.

3. Less gain is more. Particularly when you add volume.

4 Setup your tone in the same environment you are using it. 

[tomcol]

Hi, I had a similar experience with a new Pod HD300 compared with my original pod 2.0.

I brought my own headphones pod and guitar plus leads and spent 30 minutes A/B ' ing all the high gain sounds, and nothing had what my original pod has.

It sounded a little clinical/sterile by comparison. I am happy with pod farm, though, spinal puppet plus parametric eq is xxxxing awsome!

[joel_brown]

It took me months to get the tone I was looking for and several more months to be completely happy.  I spent a lot of time tweaking tones by myself and testing them in a live setting to finally get what I wanted.  An important thing I learned in a live setting is to make sure the other instruments are also correct.  For example: I had to do some experimenting with the bass guitar tone to blend better with my tone.

[RipperShred]

I've played the XT pro, but never got to try the X3 pro, so perhaps other than being able to do 2 amps at once / twice the processing power it could sound "twice as good", but if the X3 is anything like the XT than I'd have to say the HD is by far the better sounding preamp for the following reason; With the XT it sounds like a vetta on every model. And while I really dig the Vetta sound, it's stamp is all over that preamp, so everything sounded like model-x... through/by a Vetta.  It has a certain response/attack/tonal-quality/vibe/mojo/etc that is the Vetta sonic signature. If THAT'S what you mean by "sounds better than the HD", than I would agree on the grounds that you really like the Vetta sound.

 

Whereas I can honestly say that HD doesn't have that giant sonic stamp all over ever amp model. From day one I never thought " this amp models sounds good (caveat) through/by a POD HD..." the response, tone stacks, gain characteristics, etc., are wholly different from one amp model to another. The fenders feel/sound like a fender ought to, ballpark of course, as does the dual rec, plexi, etc.

 

Also let me say that this is through a "live" rig - separate poweramp, real 4x12 cab. So recorded it might very well be that the Vetta juice isn't so obvious direct to board. That said, being that I used them both as "live" preamps/FX units HD is the winner in my books since it sounds/feels more like the amps it emulates.

 

That being said, do what I do; put a tube screamer model in front with the TS bass parameter down a few points, the "tone" parameter up between 60 and 75, and lower the treble parameter a few points as well, then eq the amp how you like, then put a "mid focus" EQ on the other end and shave off the top end to taste, and you should have a defined tone, instead of muddy, and also have the top end sizzle you want (or don't want) that suits you as well.