Should I Get The Hd Pro X For Recording?

[xglassx]

I currently have the Pod HD500 that I use both for live and recording. I have been getting a lot more into recording, and have been wondering if an upgrade to the Pro X is worth it. Currently I run the HD500 into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (the usb port on the 500 is broken, so I have to use an external interface).

 

The quality of the recordings is ok. I have a decent amount of recordings experience, so I know the basics of it and mixing. So would getting the Pro X make much of a difference?

 

Thanks in advance!

[silverhead]

There are two significant differences for your purposes:

- the HD Prox has about 20% more DSP capacity, meaning you can do a bit more in terms of amp/FX processing in your tones

- the HD Prox has additional I/O capabilities that can mean more flexibility in the studio. In particular, it has a Dry Out signal that the HD500 does not have.

[DeanDinosaur]

The short answer is NO unless you need special connectivity like AES/EBU and in your case you have another interface so you don't need it!, I honestly can't think of anything that's missing from the HD500 but found in the HD PRO that doesn't have a workaround with your HD 500. You already have spdif out but missing the SPDIF.  For guitar recording anyway most professionals rarely ever record effects, they'r added later, so the extra processing  is not a big deal at all. If you get an interface with SPDIF in, you're signal can stay digital for the best Signal to noise ratio possible.

[TheRealZap]

there is a dry out, that could be studio useful....(you can switch spdif to either)

as well as both spdif in/out rather than just out (reamping?)

anyway... perhaps not huge... but sometimes little differences can make big differences in the workflow.

[DeanDinosaur]

The dry out is not worth 699 or $200 for an HD Pro X :)    That's terrible advice (a signal splitter for very little money can accomplish that).  if he goes out and buys an HD ProX based on the suggestions of the advantages "significant differences for your purposes", he will be pretty pissed when he realizes that for a home studio, there's virtually nothing that will justify getting the HD PRO X.  I say that with the at most respect. If  my customer asks for my advice, I would never direct them towards a product if I'm not sure 100% that there's a significant advantages that they will reap from it even if I stand to gain commission. It's ok to advice customers against a product that's not relevant to them, that's how trust is gained! Sorry guys but I have to call foul play when I see it.

[silverhead]

The dry out is not worth 699 or $200 for an HD Pro X :)    That's terrible advice (a signal splitter for very little money can accomplish that).  if he goes out and buys an HD ProX based on the suggestions of the advantages "significant differences for your purposes", he will be pretty pissed when he realizes that for a home studio, there's virtually nothing that will justify getting the HD PRO X.  I say that with the at most respect. If  my customer asks for my advice, I would never direct them towards a product if I'm not sure 100% that there's a significant advantages that they will reap from it even if I stand to gain commission. It's ok to advice customers against a product that's not relevant to them, that's how trust is gained! Sorry guys but I have to call foul play when I see it.

 

Since you quote me, I think it's only fair to respond. If you read what I said, nowhere did I give advice. I certainly did not recommend that he buy the HD Pro. That's his decision. I simply answered his question about the differences. I didn't even offer my opinion about the differences - I did not state or even imply that they were advantageous. I simply stated them. He is quite capable of deciding whether or not those differences are worth the price for him.

 

Read what I said. If you imbued my comments with additional import, that was your doing - not mine. I would appreciate a public clarification, or retraction, of your call of 'foul play'. Especially your implication that I may receive a commission from misdirection or insincerity. I am not a Line 6 employee and I certainly do not receive any commission. I find the implication quite offensive.

[TheRealZap]

I agree at first glance it's totally not worth the extra...

BUT... to the right person it is... i just wanted to throw that info out there so they can decide for themselves.

[DeanDinosaur]

Since you quote me, I think it's only fair to respond. If you read what I said, nowhere did I give advice. I certainly did not recommend that he buy the HD Pro. That's his decision. I simply answered his question about the differences. I didn't even offer my opinion about the differences - I did not state or even imply that they were advantageous. I simply stated them. He is quite capable of deciding whether or not those differences are worth the price for him.

 

Read what I said. If you imbued my comments with additional import, that was your doing - not mine. I would appreciate a public clarification, or retraction, of your call of 'foul play'. Especially your implication that I may receive a commission from misdirection or insincerity. I am not a Line 6 employee and I certainly do not receive any commission. I find the implication quite offensive.

I completely understand that you don't get commission and that you're not a line 6 employee. Sorry to offend you, but I know that line 6 employees would very likely be trained to direct potential customers away from even thinking of  buying the wrong product that doesn't serve  the intended purpose that the customer is seeking.  The question of the original poster is  "So would getting the Pro X make much of a difference?". Any one who knows the product and what the poster is asking should  suggest that HD PRO X would NOT make much of a difference than the the HD500 for this situation, it's clearly not warranted and an unintentional foul play.

 

I'm not implying anything malicious here, but I'm suggesting that because you're not an employee you might not feel comfortable suggesting that a line 6 product might not be suited for specific situations when it very clearly isn't.  The guy needs to fix his USB or get another HD500 or HD500X and that would serve him best even for his  recording needs. If he needed to interface it with a PRO tool rig or large studio setup, I wouldn't hesitate in an instant to suggest the HD PRO or PRO X, but for his purpose, I thought it's fair to make it clear with an emphatic "NO" there wouldn't be much difference for his setup.

 

I also realize that no where did you suggest the he gets the HD PRO X, but you certainly didn't steer him away from going in  the wrong direction because his question is clearly about the improvement in guitar sound quality due to broken USB port. In his current setup and I quote "The quality of the recordings is ok......... So would getting the Pro X make much of a difference?" So the main concern is in the quality of the recording due to the broken USB port in his HD500. He can either fix the USB or get another HD500, but getting the HD PRO won't help the quality. But then again he didn't offer more clarification if he needs to use the mic because THE HD PRO X has phantom power so he can use condenser mics etc.

 

Finally, I will retract the foul play comment and replace it with unintentional omissions that I thought were warranted. And let me finish by saying that I have tremendous respect to the all the expert users and I mean that sincerely due to volunteering significant time and effort to helping everyone on this board. I just felt I was also helping, by pointing out something that I thought could have been handled better in the spirit of helping also.

[brue58ski]

If I have a dry guitar signal in my DAW, does the HD pro allow me to reamp that signal without actually plugging a sound cards outputs into the inputs of the HD?  Can I do all this through the spdif.  It sounds like I can but I want to be sure.

[bjnette]

There are advantages to the HD PRO live to but you'll need the expense of a ext pedalboard. 

The advantages are keeping the cabling short with the HD PRO in the rack closer to
Amps rather than cabling out on stage and back to the HD500.

 

As you have to HD500 already I'd stick with it unless you can get a very decent price for it to make the switch a few hundred..

I think the HD PRO X ins and outs are perfect for the studio too!

 

I do not  have personal experience using the HD PRO recording and coming back into the unit on a reamp basis.

 

While it sounds ideal to have  absolute control over a mix it can be just an inability to make tracking decisions and getting the sound your after at the recording stage. Anyway the s/pdif in out would be great for multiple guitar tracks and getting better separation in the mix. When you consider the cost of a no noise reamp box. 

But re amp is what it says it is re amping the track via a real amp. It is still a handy tool to re create the guitar tone via the HDPRO. Perhaps Re patching is the proper term 

 

You can already do much with the HD500 

Record dry via s/pdif and send that out via the reamp box to an actual amp or two that is mic'd up or the HD500.

 

That said you could do away with the HD500 all together and use a quality DI and a soft Amp sim instead. Then reamp when you got something worthy.

 

In the meantime, just run the HD model you got thru and actual amp, even a mediocre one and mic it. Add to that a stereo track of the L & R XLR outs. Add to that a dry s/pdif. the trick is placing the mic so it and the XLR feed are in phase. Isolation headphones. In a pinch you can use industrial ear muffs over small headphones or ear buds.

 

With isolation headphones you can select the tone on your next guitar track say lead and with a different amp with different mic it'l help separate the Line 6 sound on a different patch.

 

What gets reamp'd are too distorted, too wet tracks. If every guitar is distorted to the max then combined the sound will thin out.

If you add a Amp sim to the HD s/pdif to dirty it up a bit or wet it with reverb to your playing satisfaction while actually recording a much drier and cleaner sound from the HD you won't need to reamp. It is easy then to make the sounds work with more control in the box on delays and verbs used.

 

Those HD amp models on their own are seriously good but even a touch of delay or verb distortion is fine. But you can't remove what is recorded.

 

Isolation headphones can only help but are by no means as good as an isolated control room if you mic the HD thru an amp

 

I can see why the HDPRO is a Studio tool.

[silverhead]

......

 

...but for his purpose, I thought it's fair to make it clear with an emphatic "NO" there wouldn't be much difference for his setup.

Then perhaps that's exactly what you should have said - and left it at that. I don't think I need your editorial oversight or your self-righteous criticism. He asked a very specific question at the end so his post, and I answered it.

[DeanDinosaur]

..... I don't think I need your editorial oversight or your self-righteous criticism. He asked a very specific question at the end so his post, and I answered it.

You didn't answer it directly , You suggested and I quote you: "There are two significant differences for your purposes:". When you should have known that anyone who knows the product, knows damn well that there are not a single advantage for his purposes!

 

so it's time to get off your self-righteous can' do no wrong attitude. If I heard a sales person/Customer support rep in my company giving a similar advice to our customers or skirting around the answer because they don't want to say "no spending the extra money won't serve your purpose", I would have told them the same thing I told you and they would have accepted the fact that their answer was from from candid. If a friend asked you the same question with the same scenario, you would have told them to fix their USB or get another POD HD500. You need to learn how to deal with criticism when you're providing support in a public forum. Sure you're not paid, but you have to live up to a certain level of standards...

[DeanDinosaur]

If I have a dry guitar signal in my DAW, does the HD pro allow me to reamp that signal without actually plugging a sound cards outputs into the inputs of the HD?  Can I do all this through the spdif.  It sounds like I can but I want to be sure.

As far as I know the answer is NO you can't. You need to plug the physical plug into the POD...

[silverhead]

You didn't answer it directly , You suggested and I quote you: "There are two significant differences for your purposes:". When you should have known that anyone who knows the product, knows damn well that there are not a single advantage for his purposes!

 

so it's time to get off your self-righteous can' do no wrong attitude. If I heard a sales person/Customer support rep in my company giving a similar advice to our customers or skirting around the answer because they don't want to say "no spending the extra money won't serve your purpose", I would have told them the same thing I told you and they would have accepted the fact that their answer was from from candid. If a friend asked you the same question with the same scenario, you would have told them to fix their USB or get another POD HD500. You need to learn how to deal with criticism when you're providing support in a public forum. Sure you're not paid, but you have to live up to a certain level of standards...

Let's agree to disagree.

 

I think I was providing the factual answers to his question about differences, and leaving him to make his own value judgements about whether those differences are worth it to him. You feel that I should have decided for him (as you did) that something like a pure analog ( not digital) dry out, and the additional I/o would not be worth it for him. I simply think he is the one to make that judgement, not me or you.

 

Peace.

[DeanDinosaur]

Let's agree to disagree.

 

I think I was providing the factual answers to his question about differences, and leaving him to make his own value judgements about whether those differences are worth it to him. You feel that I should have decided for him (as you did) that something like a pure analog ( not digital) dry out, and the additional I/o would not be worth it for him. I simply think he is the one to make that judgement, not me or you.

 

Peace.

Actually, I agree with your approach. you got the ball started by being first to respond with meaningful facts and I'm sorry that I have offended you as that wasn't my intention. My attitude is that there's always room for improvement, so  I need to improve the way I say things when providing my personal opinion or  suggestions  so I don't seem that I'm just criticizing. 

 

Peace