OldAsDirt Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Well, I'm about to take the plunge and ditch my pedalboard for a Line 6 POD HD500X. I use several different guitars in the band I'm in - a Les Paul, an ES 335, a Firebird and a Guild Troubadour acoustic with a DeArmond sound-hole pickup (magnetic, not a piezo). What I'd like to do is set up a pedal array for each guitar so that I can switch them out without having to tweak EQ, gain and pedal settings every time I change one. So, my first question would be, is this doable? I'm still waffling on my output; we generally run everything through a PA - either the venue's or our own, but I might be better served going through my amp, which brings me to question 2 - in some of my research I've found folks selecting the pre-amps only, and running the HD500 through their power amp section of their amp(s). Am I correct in assuming that, in order to do that, you'd be running a line out from the HD500 into your effects return jack in your amplifier? And final question (for now), if I'm running it through a PA, should I select amp sims? Any and all help would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Yes, it is doable to setup patches for each of your guitars. If you choose to run thru your amp, you have the right idea. FX Return and put a mic on your cabinet or inject a RedBox on the speaker line. Run the POD in Stack Pwr Amp or Combo Pwr Amp mode. Whichever you like better...Or just set the Cabinet to None...depends on what you likes. If you have a tube amp, PRE models generally work a bit better...FULL models on cleaner amps. If you run direct to a PA, it would be a good idea to use amp sims and run in Studio Direct Mode...For monitoring a full range stage monitor would be all you really need. bring your own or use the house monitor if adequate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Step one to getting good tone.... Twist the knobs until it sounds good. Using pre-amps when using an amp is a starting point, not a be all end all stead fast rule. I always run direct and many of my patches use pre-amps. Sometimes, that is just how it works out. You don't even need to run through an fx loop, you can go into the input jack. Run everything in one straight line. If that is what it takes to make it work, rock on. I did that for decades. There was no loop in my rig. Everything was plugged in succession. You twist the knobs until it sounds good. Now, as to making patches for specific guitars... It can be done. There are plenty of available setlists and patches. Many people use a setlist for amps and a setlist for direct and a setlist for humbuckers and a setlist for single coils. It is your machine, do what you want to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAsDirt Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 Thank you guys! I think I'm going to have fun with this thing. Of course now I can see myself falling down the rabbit hole of making patches...then again, that'll be much cheaper than buyin' more pedals! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napynap Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I've been using Pod HD Desktop direct to PA for years (same engine as POD HD500x). I set it for Studio/Direct mode and all of my presets have amp sims. I mainly use a super strat style guitar and also an actual acoustic guitar. When I change guitars, I just change to the bank of 4 presets I need, so you may not need to change setlists unless you have so many presets that you HAVE to go to setlists. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel_brown Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Don't expect this to be a quick process. Once you find the connection/configuration/setup for your PODHD that works the best it will still take some time to get all the patches tweaked to your liking. In the end it will work great. Just don't get frustrated if it seems like it's taking too long and getting nowhere. We've all been there. Think of it like this. If someone dumped 100 pedals and 30 amps/cabs at your feet with a handful guitars and said "Hey quickly get all this sounding great". It would take a while. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAsDirt Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 On 10/26/2018 at 12:28 AM, napynap said: I've been using Pod HD Desktop direct to PA for years (same engine as POD HD500x). I set it for Studio/Direct mode and all of my presets have amp sims. I mainly use a super strat style guitar and also an actual acoustic guitar. When I change guitars, I just change to the bank of 4 presets I need, so you may not need to change setlists unless you have so many presets that you HAVE to go to setlists. napynap - What amps/effects are you using for your acoustic guitar patch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAsDirt Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 ...awaiting the FedEx truck's arrival - my HD 500 arrives today! I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with this rig. From the videos I've seen, setting up your effects and signal path(s) looks pretty straight-forward, but the fun is going to be in tweaking the sims and effects. My goal for the weekend is to have a couple usable patches set up so that at Monday's band rehearsal I can introduce it to our PA. I appreciate all your comments and suggestions! Wish me luck, I'm sure I'll be back with lots of silly questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 2 hours ago, OldAsDirt said: My goal for the weekend is to have a couple usable patches set up so that at Monday's band rehearsal I can introduce it to our PA. Not gonna happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAsDirt Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 On 11/3/2018 at 2:46 PM, pianoguyy said: Not gonna happen. lol...yeah, I was perhaps a wee bit over-optimistic there, wasn't I? Ah, the bravado of the uninitiated. There's a lot going on with this thing, and it does take some time to get acquainted! While roaming through the presets, I found one (Tweedy) that, with a little tweaking of the drive and EQ, sufficed for rehearsal and sounds great with my 335 through my amp (Blackstar Club 40, with a 12" Celestion). Then I downloaded the editing software...complete game changer! Using one of the empty User setlists, I recreated my current pedalboard's array, but then wondered if I could drag and drop other presets into my setlist. Yep. Awesome. So I dragged in about a half-dozen acoustic guitar presets, and at last night's rehearsal worked up a couple that fit really well with my little Guild Troubadour - including one that also works nicely with my mandolin. So, as of now my presets consist of a recreation of my pedalboard and two acoustic patches. If that was all I'd be able to do with this thing, I'd still be a happy camper as my gigging (and recording) palette just got a whole lot broader, but I've also saved about a half-dozen presets to tweak for specific guitars, so it looks like this thing is going to do everything I'd hoped it would. If anybody's looking for me, I'll be out in the studio with a pot of coffee and a handful of guitars, building pedal arrays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 You, unlike most, have the right idea. Start by rebuilding your rig. If you don't use a Oberheim Voltage Controlled Sample and Hold filter in your physical rig, why in your virtual one. That's just silly. Do what you know. Even still, there's a lot to learn. This isn't a "plug and play" device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napynap Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 On 11/3/2018 at 12:14 PM, OldAsDirt said: napynap - What amps/effects are you using for your acoustic guitar patch? OK here's my acoustic guitar chain for POD HD Desktop to PA: Connections: Acoustic GTR->POD INPUT->POD OUTPUT to DI Box to PA (DI Box only necessary if you need XLR to a snake, but go balanced 1/4 if you can connect directly to the board.) POD Chain: Dynamics Red Comp (Sustain 38, Level %85) -->Amp Class A-15 Pre (112 BlueBell, 409 Dynamic mic) --> add your own blocks of chorus->delay->reverb in that order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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