HD500X Acoustic Patch Help

[AndrewJBoyer03]

Hello, I am looking for some help on creating a patch on my HD500X that is the equivalent of plugging my acoustic guitar into a Direct Box and sending the signal to the mixer. I am not looking for any amp modeling or effects, unless they are essential,  I just want a patch that treats the HD500X as DI.

 

Thanks  

[pianoguyy]

So, then, you want a "New Tone".

[spaceatl]

Like pianoguyy stated, you can use a "New Tone" patch. one thing you can do is move the cursor to the amp model and turn the bypass volume (channel volume knob) up a bit if you need a bit more level...You can also turn up the mixer levels to get a bit more output. That's about it...you will have your acoustic "sorta" like a DI..."Sorta", because the XLR outputs on the HD500X are MIC LEVEL. This will NOT be a line level ouput like a conventional direct box, so whatever you plug the POD into will need a mic pre...If you are using a conventional mixer, this should not be a problem. 

[pianoguyy]

Many acoustics use an XLR jack instead of the cheap 1/4" jack. 

In that case, you would need to set your input to Mic instead of Guitar. 

[AndrewJBoyer03]

Thank you guys for your input/advice, I am new to the HD500X and want utilize it well.

 

So for clarity sake, what would be better? 

1. Plug my acoustic in the “Guitar In” and XLR out directly to the mixer.

2. Set my acoustic to plug into the “Mic In” and XLR our directly to the mixer.

3. Plug my acoustic in either “Guitar In” or “Mic In” and 1/4” out to a direct box to the mixer.

 

 

[pianoguyy]

Well, the answer, like most questions regarding "what is best", really is dependent upon you. No one can truly answer these types of questions. 

 

For me, personally, I will always suggest running the two XLR jacks to the mixer. That is not always an option for everyone. But that should be the goal of every user. 

Based on what you regularly have available, if you need to use another method, go for it. 

 

For inputs, using the XLR vs 1/4" jack... 

The first thing you want to do is use what you have access to. Not everyone has the XLR. Not everyone has a good XLR. Not everyone has XLR on every guitar they own. If you are using one guitar with XLR and one without XLR, but you are using them with the same patches (one guitar tonight, one tomorrow, or swapping between sets), then you have to use the 1/4" for both. 

 

 

Side note

On the off-chance that you are using an electric and acoustic, you must understand that guitar 1 gives you a different level than guitar 2. So, you would want to use guitar 1 for the electric to be able to get the most tonality out of the unit. 

 

Side note 2

The reason I keep harping on "what you regularly have" is because... You want to keep all things the same as often as possible. The only way to get a consistent result is to keep things the same. People design patches with a Les Paul and wonder why it isn't the same with their Strat. People design patches with $10 earbuds and wonder why a 100,000 watt pa system sounds different. Your 1/4" jack is going to sound different than your XLR. 

Always try to keep things the same.