Taking My HD500X From The Studio To My Jamspace

[benwells709]

Hey everyone. I currently use my HD500X in my studio for home use. I am going to jam with some friends and they have an extra Marshall Head and Cab there I can plug in so I was hoping I could use my HD500X so I can get the tones I want. I am not a Marshall fan and I don't feel like dragging my EVH, and Cabs over so I was wondering if I can use his Marshall head as a preamp and just run my settings which is amp and cab simulation to get the tone I like ?

 

Is this possible ? What do I need to do in order to get this to work ?

[pianoguyy]

Any change in your rig that you make will make a change to the final tone. 

 

Will it work - of course. But you are going to need to make new tones. You're not going to be able to carry tones from one amp to the next. 

[benwells709]

I understand that they will sound different. But what will. need to change for output settings ? How do I go about hooking it up into the amp ?

[pianoguyy]

The truth is, if you are starting from scratch, you can do anything you want to get the end result you need. 

Some people go into the effects loop. Some people come out of the effects loop. Some people go into the input jack. Some people try doing 4cm. Do what ever you want to do. 

 

 

Honestly, personally, I wouldn't go messing the the global settings just because you are using a "sometimes" rig. Because then you need to change them back when you go back to the old rig. 

 

 

=====================================

Thirty years I hooked my rig up in one linear path. I didn't bother with FX loops and patch bays and preamps and matching impedance levels. Never once did anyone say to me, "your stuff isn't hooked up right", because they only care about the end result. 

 

[benwells709]

Will the effects loop pick up the true amp and cab sims ? Or do I need to use the Head as a pre amp to achieve this ?

[pianoguyy]

This statement hasn't changed. 

 

On 4/27/2018 at 5:54 AM, pianoguyy said:

Any change in your rig that you make will make a change to the final tone. 

 

Will it work - of course. But you are going to need to make new tones. You're not going to be able to carry tones from one amp to the next. 

 

 

Sure, using the fx loop will cut out some of the tone coloring. But it doesn't change an amp/cab into an FRFR. 

There is no easy workaround. It isn't going to be the same as your EVH.

[spaceatl]

I would say, keep it simple as it is very easy to over analyze this stuff...Just plug it into the Marshall...It might be fine....Sounds like you are just running power amp in on your EVH...If that is the case, then perhaps try a different output mode...If a different one sounds better, stick with that...tinker with the global EQ a bit and jam...If it's just a jam, then I say keep it simple...or just take your head and use the cab there...

[joel_brown]

You want to use his Marshall head as a pre-amp ?  Which Marshall ?  Has the Marshall been modded ?  Are your tones built to use your EVH head as a pre-amp ?  

[benwells709]

I don't know what im asking as im new to all of this so let me try to explain again. Forget the Marshall. Right now im using the 4CM on my EVH. 

 

Not totally happy with the sound. I went through different outputs and Studio/DIrect sounds the best to me. Stack Power Amp sounds more Hissy, or Fizzy. 

 

Another issue is. I would like to use the Distortion side of my EVH and have the option of using the Line6 HD500 for Noise Gate, EQ, Effects, etc. This was I can part ways with my current pedals and rackmount Noise Gate. It would be nice to downsize if this pedal can pull off the things I need. While using the 4CM I have no access to the Distortion side of the amp. All controls on the amp are inoperable in that they control nothing. Everything is controlled from my pedal.

 

What are my options ?

[spaceatl]

EVH has midi control, so you really are going to have to hook up midi and program some CCs on some buttons to get what you want going to get channel switching going in tandem with HD patch changes...

 

Not sure if this is the right doc, but you need to look at the midi appendix in the HD manual the EVH doc to get it figured out.

 

http://support.evhgear.com/schematics/MIDI Programming EVH® 5150III 50W Series.pdf

[benwells709]

So there's no way I can just run the HD and have a channel without Amps and Cab sims, just a few pedals for effects and a noise gate and be able to switch my amp between the 3 channels it has ?

 

Basically it seems locked in the clean state even when I switch to dirty. Can it be bypassed so I can get the RED channel ? Im playing metal so I could lock in the RED and use the HD for Noise Gate and maybe effects id be a happy camper.

[spaceatl]

Of course you can...just set the amp block to none, put in an FX Loop Block for your EVH and program the HD to send the correct CC to change the EVH to the red channel. You might need to make sure the EVH loop is serial...4CM will not work well with parallel loops.

[benwells709]

On 2018-05-07 at 8:27 AM, spaceatl said:

Of course you can...just set the amp block to none, put in an FX Loop Block for your EVH and program the HD to send the correct CC to change the EVH to the red channel. You might need to make sure the EVH loop is serial...4CM will not work well with parallel loops.

 

 

Im reading that its a Serial Loop. What do you mean by programming the HD to send the correct CC to the Red Channel ?

 

SO I put the FX Loop where I would usually have an amp. I can play with the positioning a little once I hook up. The issue I was having was that the red channel wasn't giving distortion. It was just clean no matter which channel I was on. Which was making me think the amp was bypassing its settings and acting as a pre amp. 

 

Im sorry if my terminology is incorrect I am very new to this technical stuff. Albeit basic as it is.

[codamedia]

If your amp is not changing tones then you likely have a signal flow issue. To me it sounds like the amps input is being bypassed....you are likely just hearing the amp "return" (just the HD). Double check that you have your 4cm setup correctly... and don't take any steps for granted. 

 

First deal with the signal flow so it all works.... 

1. Guitar > HD Input
2. Set up the effects to use before the amp (normally overdrives, phase, wah, compressor, etc... etc...)
3. HD Loop out > Amp input  (don't forget to add the Loop block in the HD and turn it on)
4. Amp FX Out > HD Loop return
5. Setup the effects to use after the amp (normally delays, reverb, noise gates, etc..)
6. HD Out > Amp FX In

* Make sure the loop is inserted as a block on the HD and turned on. 

* Turn off all AMP models on the HD500... this will automatically remove any cab/mic sims as well

* Set the HD to Studio Direct

 

Now the HD should work as effects only, and the amp will be your tone. When you change from the clean channel on the amp to the dirty channel you will hear it. If not, something is not right - double check the signal flow again. 

 

Channel switching on the amp

You have two options... using the amp's switching system, or using the HD500 to control the channel switching via midi. If you don't understand midi, don't own a midi cable, and don't know what a CC or PC number is then do yourself a favor and just use the amps channel switching for now. Although it would be convenient to have the HD manage the channel switching it just ads complications to your fundamental problem which is getting the amp to work as it should. 

 

Moving from home to rehearsal....

If it were me I wouldn't complicate things.... if the Marshall at the rehearsal room has an effects loop just set it up the same as your EVH. If not.... turn off the loop in your HD and plug directly into the Marshall (all effects before the amp). It may not be your favorite amp... but it is certainly good enough to use at a practice space. 

 

On 4/27/2018 at 12:45 AM, benwells709 said:

I was wondering if I can use his Marshall head as a preamp and just run my settings which is amp and cab simulation to get the tone I like ?

 

Although guitar players are known for breaking rules.... I'd like to point out that you are breaking two general rules of modeling here :)

• When using a real guitar cabinet... turn off cabinet/mic modeling in the HD
• When using a real amp as a pre-amp, don't use an amp model in the HD.