Open letter re pod pro x... general observations... the good the bad the ugly

[mistermikev]

Hello all,

so my objective here is to provide my feedback on my line6 experiences so far, temper that with my history, and fill the need to at least have taken a stab at influence on the product line future.

 

for starters - l6 has been pretty good to me afa cust service - so far. 

 

tempering background: I've been playing 32yrs.  Own a deville, dsl15, gaggle of vintage pedals and many I've built (klon, ge ff, many analog flangers/chorus/delay), xt pro, and I play my pro x through a classic 5050 + 2*2x12 greenbacks and gt75s - love it. 

The pod stuff is a convenience thing for me: got an idea - plug in and record - and it does that very well.

 

recently traded in an x3 live for the pro hd x.  still have an xt pro I use for bass. 

 

my take on x3 live vs hd pro x... 

the bad:

already missing the sparkle, diesel, bayou?, silvertone, subdub, aguilar... I could go on.  glad I at least kept my xt for that.

not in love with the panama

not enough bass stuff!!!

 

the good:

huge improvement on the line6 insane - altho not really a high gain guy - I like the new one

jcm800 - prob my fav amp of all time - really knocked it out of the park on this one l6 - almost makes up for some misses.

some great rotary sounds

love the flexibility of any order on fx and dual distortion paths

abso love the new bassman - it is a 10

love the turn towards more unusual pieces like the eh185, drz, colorsound (klon please), and why a dyna comp instead of ross grey?

power supply seems to have improved noise issues

love the redic number of presets and organization into setlists

 

the ugly:

the eq section is an absolute failure in my humble opinion.  almost had me returning this thing.  I honestly think l6 could save the day on this with 1 move:

simply giving me back a graphical representation of eq in the pro x edit app.  as an alternative, making the global eq NOT global would do as well (ie part of the patch)

not crazy about % vs db, not being able to select any freq??  perhaps this is a limitation with the infrastructure?  or just much harder to achieve?

on that note: do not call it a parametric eq if you aren't going to give me a few knobs for freq/gain.  do not call it a graphic eq if you aren't going to give me several sliders at several dif freq.  those are my (possibly uninformed) expectations.

on that note: if

 

also, more model packs please.  will pay whatever you want.  esp for us gtr AND bass players - anyone know if there will ever be more modelpacks for hd x series?

 

I am your loyal and humble fan... I hope you have heard me.

 

[joel_brown]

Everyone is about 100hz disappointed with the EQ in the PODHD.  Oh I'm sorry I used hz instead of percent.

[mistermikev]

 

this modeler has been released about at the end of 2010, nowdays it's still supported but not more developed..

 

it is like it is and IMO will not get any further improvements in addition to the many ones already done during time from its first release..

 

if you do a search online you'll find countless old posts saying about the same things you wrote above here..

 

it's an excellent device and still today the best bung for the buck for what it gives for the money spent..

 

the POD EQ implementation has been always one of the most debated topic..

however some forum members shared the results of their research about the POD EQ FXs which are very useful as a reference to use the parameters expressed in percentages but knowing to what they correspond in Hz and dB..

 

 

Frequency Response Graphs For Hd500 Eqs

 

Hello, love the pics...

the pro x has been out that long?  didn't realize that.  bummer if no more development... but I can understand.

yes, am familiar with meambobo and the graphs, just impractical to be opening up reference materials when I create presets.  I do appreciate your comments though.

afa bang (or bung!) for the buck - i think it could be argued that the x3 is a better value... but I'm not having buyers remorse.

thanks for taking the time to read my book!

 

Everyone is about 100hz disappointed with the EQ in the PODHD.  Oh I'm sorry I used hz instead of percent.

right on.  the global eq is all i'd need... if it were just part of the preset.  Not sure I could ever decide on settings I'd want on everything.  anywho, thanks for response.

 

certainly 100% of the people including me would have preferred that the appropriate measurement units had been implemented, it would have been a bit easier for most users..

but even if that were the case, at the end would not always be by ear that you decide how to adjust the available controls?..

 

personally I don't make extensive use of EQs and when I do I don't rely much on predetermined commonly used values, I trust mainly my ears case by case, but either way I think the important thing for me is that the different EQs do what they should do on the tone..

 

I'm sure if there was a direct/easy way to use traditional methods with regard to the EQs, L6 would have done it long ago..

 

IMHO they have found the way to squeeze every possible resource from a hardware after all quite modest, obtaining an excellent sound quality.. this is their merit!..

 

think also for example to the possibility of having a double chain, with the resources almost to the maximum limit, but you can have it ..

 

how many devices of the same level and price nowadays can do it?..

 

and we still complain about the missing indications in Hz and dB?

use my ears all the time... but when two bands cross it's a lot easier to see that point and manage it... otherwise I find my ears making me chase my tail!

I hear you on not using eq... honestly I believe (for the most part) it's something you use when things go wrong.  however, lately I've been coming around to the realization that in the l6 stuff (on my x3) a small adjustment can make all the difference. 

can always do that post recording... but then why not simply record dry and run through th2 and an impulse?  inspiration gets cold fast.

I will agree on 'if it was easy'.  for the most part I am very happy and for a guy that was a 'all tubes' hold out for many years... they get a lot of credit.

in defence of 'how many devices' - I'll temper that with the perspective that I was a 2112 user from about 99 - 13...  sold mine used for under $300... it had eq for days, could select pretty much any order on fx, has real tubes, params were much deeper on all, dual distortion paths, control any parameter via lfo or pedal... a device made in 97?... I know: so why am I here?  admittedly, the l6 models offer a lot more variety, and equivalent quality. 

 

thank you all again for thoughtful responses.  I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining (too much) as overall I am pretty happy.