ArtinSF Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Hello everyone. Hoping to get some advice. I got an HD500X about a month ago and it is a big disappointment. I'm sure that it is not the product but my not knowing how to use it properly yet. Here are my main issues. Plug the HD500 into the guitar input on the front of my Fender 65 twin reverb amp Loud hum drones on Strat played thru the 500 into the Fender = tone suck. It sound bigger and better without the 500. Has anyone encountered this problem and found a solution? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBee Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Man its a toughie as you are probably going in through the front end and not an effects loop, right? Don't have a 65 Verb so I don't have knowledge of that other than it sounds great with only a TS pedal in front when I tried one decades ago. For S&Gs find an amp with an fx loop and try going into the fx in (watch the volume on the HD as it will bypass the amp's pre) or try out a powered PA speaker. That usually gives examples of what the HD can do in case you are getting frustrated and want to kick it. :) There have been a few threads here on how to go about front ending - dial the amp as clean as possible, try studio direct for output mode (or one of the others - some people like them too). Going into the front end of an amp can hit the amp's pre-pretty hard too and cause extra drive so you might have to also make sure that isn't happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Just to make sure you understand... The HD500X is an amp modeler, not just an effects unit. In your configuration if you try and use the amp models you're putting a pre-amp (plus a bunch of other stuff) in front of your amp's pre-amp which is what's causing the problem. What BillBee is referring to is that many amps have an effects loop out and effects loop in. Plugging into the effects loop in effectively bypasses your amp's pre-amp and just goes into the power amp and speaker portion of your amplifier. But you don't really have a facility like that on your amp. What you can do is use the HD500X just as an effects unit without the amp models the way you're hooked up. As long as you don't have any amp models engaged you shouldn't overdrive your pre-amp. But you should still make sure you have studio direct set as your output mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 +1 for everything that's been said already. Running into the front end of any amp with a unit like this is a noisy mess. If you've got an FX loop, use it. Try the 4 cable method if you want to use your amp's preamp for your basic tone, and the POD only for FX. If not, and you're gonna use the amp models, just run as follows: guitar--->POD---> FX return on the amp. This way you're bypassing the preamp, and only using the amp for power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I got an HD500X about a month ago and it is a big disappointment. It's either user error or an unrealistic expectation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremybnz Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 If you want to use it just for effects it's not really what it's designed for, and unfortunately does suck tone like crazy, you should really look at something like an M13 instead :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtinSF Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Thanks to most for the constructive comments. Unfortunately the 65 verb does not have an FX out. So the FX loop and 4 cable are not options. I think jeremybnz is right, I bought the wrong product. M13 would have been better for what I am trying to do. I am curious how are the line 6 amps different from a traditional amp? I assume they are optimized for the HD500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 "the impedance needs to be at least 1MΩ or higher...." How and where does one do this on the HD500? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 This is one of those products where reading the user manual, or at least the quick start guide, is really helpful. Also, Pressing and holding the View button also takes you to a page that lets you select the output mode. You want to select Combo when going into the front panel of your twin reverb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 This is one of those things that make me appreciate this forum. The two manuals only confuse me most of the time. Once I see the stuff talked about here, I then go back to the manual and it makes sense. I guess there truly are different learning styles. Thanks everyone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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