lukecarder Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I have had my HD500 for over a year but I have lost track of my goal in gaining the knowledge I need to put this great tool to proper use. There is so much more to it than I realized and I am such a rookie when it comes to using tools like this to improve my efficiency and effectiveness on stage. So I am begging for help from you HD500 pros. The scenario is as follows: Cover band...from rock to country to pop to hiphop. I am still learning "tone". I am very near crippled and to save myself from having to worry about lugging my Spider IV 150 on stage I play direct through the 500 to the board and us a ZT Lunchbox as my personal monitor. My tones sound great through the Spider IV but they change when played direct through the board and over the PA system. Seems way too trebly (if that is a word). I play hybrid guitars to keep from switching guitars between acoustic and electric songs. The acoustic songs are very trebly and seem to be the soundman's biggest nightmare. I sing mostly backups and I mimic a lot of different voices so I may sing LOW on one song and FALSETTO on the next. What I need is help with the direct out to the pa system. I don't even know what BIAS is or what do with it to keep the tones close to the way they sounded when I set them up on my amp. I need some effects on my vocals and help with how to use it on a different channel than guitar so our sound guy can control both guitar and vocs on seperate channels. I need a few shared settings with basically a universal "rock" rhythm distortion, an awesome lead distortion, a good crunch, clean and acoustic. I can duplicate the vocals with some reverb or whatever effect I need for each song on the mic after I get help with the main configuration of how to accomplish all this. Gonna be playing in from of over 1000 people at my company party and the sound guy will have his hands full with me since he is hired for this event and doesn't know the band and our sound guy can't be there. I want to control as much as I can so that all he has to do is control volume. Thank you for your time and I really do appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Luke, do yourself and the sound guy a favour and let him worry about proccessing the vocals and maybe the acoustic guitars (via DI), so you can concentrate on the electric guitar. Your tone that sounded great through the Spider, will sound crappy through an full range PA speaker. What's your output mode ? Is it on Studio/Direct ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukecarder Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 Well, I can't just ignore the vocals because I want to add effects and adjust them for individual songs ya know. Would be tough to work that out with a total stranger with 1000 people out there. I at least want to have the effect on my vocs and he can handle the rest. How can I check my output mode? I don't remember what I did when I ditched the amp and started going direct. Seems like I did something different but my memory is bad from all the surgeries I had during this transition. I have read on this forum that there is a way to adjust "bias" and keep the tone through the pa system. I am such a tone noob that none of it even makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukecarder Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 Oh....I do not do an acoustic guitar. I do a hybrid acoustic electric. Have Epiphone Les Paul and 339 hybrids and a Michael Kelly hybrid. The acoustic is unbelievable on them but the sound completely changes when going direct to pa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkphpps Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Hi Luke A video tutorial on output modes and how to check / change them can be found here. http://uk.line6.com/support/docs/DOC-2562 If you haven't looked already, it may be worth checking out the custom tone web site - lots of users have shared their POD patches and these can be a good start point to dialling in your own tones. Your "too trebly" problem does sound like a potential output mode issue. Studio direct is intended for full range systems like PAs / monitors; combo and stack modes are intended for guitar amps with no tweeter and boost the treble in the output to compensate for the natural roll off of the guitar amp's speaker. Just in case you're not aware of this, there could also be a volume / loudness issue. Ears are less sensitive to bass and treble at low volume, so tweaking your sound at bedroom levels then rolling up the volume at a gig can also result in an increased perception of both bass and treble and a boomy plus tinny sound. (If you like techie descriptions, check out the Fletcher Munson Curve.) When dialling in tones, I always try to be as close as possible to the kit I intend to use, and get the volume levels up to a reasonable level. Keep working on this - the sounds are in there somewhere! I've had great results using HD500 direct to PA in a covers band. Good luck Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I agree with Sonic...Worry about your guitar....Let the sound guy worry about your vocals....Give the sound guy a set list with the FX you want...he will either get it or not...As a former professional touring FOH engineer I can tell you that I would laugh in your face a bit if you asked me to run your vocal off and HD500 with your guitar as well...I would set up a vocal mic for you, get a set list with the FX you want on what songs and go from there...The thing is with a one off show like that, the simpler you keep things the better...and the more fun you will have...just my opinion... If you really want to control the FX on your voice live then get something that is made to do that like a Vocal Live (TC Helicon)...That's about the only one I will take because I can get a dry line off of it also...You think tweaking an HD500 is difficult...The TC stuff is ridiculous...but it does sound great for vocals in live situations...because that is what it was desgined for...I don't think the HD500 has enough DSP or blocks to really do a guitar and vocal right... again...just my opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Wat effects are you using on your vocal ? If it's delays and reverbs the sound guy can do a far better job at that... He probably has better equipement for that than can be found in the HD500. +1 for the TC HELICON range for all sorts harmony stuff. On the HD500 did you check your amp settings, like is it set on full amps or are you using only the pre's ? Are cab's enabled ? Sammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Yea, the harmonizer and auto-tune is actually pretty good and tracks nicely live even with a fairly loud stage...The preamp, EQ, verb, delay and other FX are really quite good...The first time I used one reminded me of the first time I tweaked a PCM-70....It's just deep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 But you CAN do it with the HD500. Channel A input = guitar. Channel B input = mic. Move the amp inside the split signal section (it will automatically generate a 2nd amp block in the other split section) and move all the FX blocks inside one of the two paths. Put the mixer at the very end of the signal chain and pan the 2 channels hard Right/Left. Now you have 2 independant signals, one for voice and one for guitar, coming out the right & left jacks on the back of the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukecarder Posted August 20, 2013 Author Share Posted August 20, 2013 Wow!!! You guys are awesome! I have been VERY busy and not able to reply fast enough so give me a little time to respond to everyone. I will throw thisnout there...we have to run our own sound from stage at most of our club gigs. Can be tough. That is the main reason for me doing the vocal effects. Basically just consistency from me at all times with guitar and vocs. Give me some time and I will reply to each post as soon as I have the time. This foruk is GREAT and I will be a regular on here from now on. You guys are a tool that will coke in very handy for a noob like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkphpps Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hi Luke I meant to say in my earlier post, I've never tried to run vocals through the POD - just push that straight to desk. With Space's response, I think I might be trying a few experiments with auto tune / harmonizer and the rest to see what might be possible... What effects are you looking to use on the vocal? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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