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Epic New Amp Arguing Thread, Party Like It's 2010


mlody2911
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Unfortunately I don't think its gonna be possible to ever make our own content.

Im certain they got that all pretty well tied up with legality and would breach into

licencing territory. We've had these things for over 15 + years, 3rd party coding

like that would've happened by now. From what I see, Zoom are the only one's

stepping up in this respect. They add many extra FX and Amps in their firmware

updates aswell as the StompShare store they have setup for users to buy extra

modelled FX and Amps from a selection of around 70 items so far, and rising.

As for DSP processors, I see it this way.....  

If they are going to advertise a design to operate 8 simultaneous slots at one time,

then I reckon they should deliver on that promise with an adequate DSP processor that

allows ALL 8 to be used simultaneously, in ANY combination of chosen FX/Parameters.

Assuming around %30 more DSP performance would cross that threshold, I would

happily pay the difference for the extra needed DSP, in a flagship model especially.

A far better alternative than starting again with an X version that still has DSP limits.

Kinda defeats the purpose of having dual-tone if you cant add much of anything else

to them. Im stickin to single amps, but even this config can run into DSP limits. Meh. 

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NAMM is next week.  Hopefully something will come out of it.

 

btw - even the AXE FXII customers are complaining about running out of DSP.  Atleast we only paid around $500 bucks and not $3k.  But this subject has been beat to death, then back to life, then beat to death again. 

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If the HD was doing the processing the AFXII is doing when it reaches DSP failure, no-one would be (seriously) complaining about the POD.....but lets not get into another discussion about marketing semantics....we'll have enough of that tomorrow when the guitar amp gets "reinvented"......

 

There should be a "buy what you want/need" option for all these types of devices, but I can wish in one hand and sh1t in the other and see what fills up first, eh?

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I recently purchased the HD500x, and it's awesome, but, I need my auto wah, as I use it in my show. The absence of this one effect could have me returning the item for a refund. I can't find any expansion effects for the device, as the line 6 site seems to take me 'round in circles. I think I read somewhere here that you can not expand the HD's. My god, is that true? Some of the wah's and the voice box sweeps up and down on there on, and I have no idea what an automatic sweep would be good for (to me). I need an auto wah.....is anyone at line 6 at home??????????

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Why should they? That'd stop people buying their new things. It's not in their interest to keep releasing free updates.

 

It is in their interest because it keeps people buying existing products that they already have a huge R&D investment in.  It also keeps people loyal to the platform when they come out with the next generation.  I for example like many on these forums have been POD users since 2.0 and have upgraded to each generation of product and branched out with the Variax, JTV, DT, Tone Port etc.  The upgrades they have offered in the past have kept me loyal and I have come to expect that support.  In return when it is time for a significant next gen upgrade, I am usually first in line. 

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Why should they? That'd stop people buying their new things. It's not in their interest to keep releasing free updates.

No one's asking for free updates - many of us are willing to pay for new amp models.

When the HD500 came out one of the selling points was the ability to update and add new features through software.

And what makes you think that "people" will keep buying new things when Line 6 is developing a reputation of releasing a product and than bailing out on it's user base.

That kind of thing is what turns people away and makes them look elsewhere.

I own several Line 6 products and I don't think I'll be rushing out anytime soon to buy another.

Who knows maybe the merger with Yamaha will fix these types of issues - one could only hope so!

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No one's asking for free updates - many of us are willing to pay for new amp models.

......

That kind of thing is what turns people away and makes them look elsewhere.

...!

You hit the nail on the head. I was there and gave up on new HD models so I decided to buy an Eleven Rack. That was the mother of all model Packs, cost me around 300 dollars brand new on ebay without Pro tools. Amp modeling is more realistic, but I still Keep my HD500 because I had no problems getting usable sounds.  I know  I Pi$$ off a few people  here whenever I mention the Eleven Rack, but trust me the quality of amp modeling and hardware components are clearly above the HD series. At $300 it's very close to their cost, but they make money on Pro tools.  Phantom Power for Microphone, Hi Z , input, Line in, stereo FX Loop, USB 2, Re-amping  at the software level, Solid Asio Drivers to work with any other software (I use with Cubase), Amazing stunning Reverbs and EQ , I would never trade that with an HD pro X, but anyway who cares about all of that when all you want is good amp modeling.

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I agree that the eleven rack sounds great but I must say I am not disheartened at all and don't consider my set up to be lacking in anything. I run two Les Pauls and a Strat through my Pod500 and Dt50 2x12 combo and I have been able to achieve any sound I've set out to get and I mean any. Don't get me wrong I'd love new amp models to play with and it is a selling point for me when considering future gear purchases but I can't understand the complaints that think they can't achieve a sound they are looking for on this set up.

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IMHO the Eleven rack with the POD HD500x are very comparable in sound. Both have very realistic Fender, Vox, Marshall clean - mid gain sounds and same quality. For high gain tones i think POD HD is a little better. I believe too that POD HD is not lacking anything at the moment...

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The POD series is pretty good, but it's too many things for different users.  The original PODs were recording tools. Having more amps is very important for a recording tool. For those who use it live it has more than enough and with a DT50, it's probably one of the best options out there, certainly better than the AXe FX and Kemper as the POD DT50 setup  has the real thing... tubes and real tube amp sounds not simulated or modeled. But the PODs HD alone have many compromises for using them as recording tools. If you don't believe that, just look at the previous POD Xt and X3 with POD farm and you will see the major shortcomings of the HD series as recording devicesl having less amp models doesn't help either. I will not elaborate on how the Eleven Rack is a better recording tool because I doubt that anyone who owns both will even think twice on what's the better device (with more amps) for recording, and it's not the POD as close and comparable as they are.

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Mr. Dinosaur thank u for the epiphany you are correct sir. I never thought of just the recording aspect and I can agree that with the DT50 2x12 I have seen no comparison. I absolutely love this set up and have found no limitations as of yet.

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bass amps  .. !!    something along the lines of the Bass Extension Add-on for other POD products  ...  !!

 

and acoustic amps  ... or more clean stereo pres/fxs   ...

 

mic preamps   ...  

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I believe too that POD HD is not lacking anything at the moment...

 

 

I absolutely love this set up and have found no limitations as of yet.

 

 

The hd500 is a backwards step when it comes to reamping. There's just no nice way of getting it working that doesn't involve swopping cables around all the time.

 

Also, the SPID output could provide a clean signal for reamping, but unfortunately it stops working when you connect a DT amp via Line6 link, so dream rig users are out of luck there.

 

The EQ uses useless percent values instead of Hz.

 

There is no level metering anywhere, which is particularly important when effects in the chain can experience digital clipping. 

 

The FX Loop has a ~3db drop in gain, and introduces more noise than I think is acceptable

 

The looper doesn't sync to midi tempo

 

There is no global EQ

 

It's a nightmare to manage copies of patches if you sometimes use only the pod, and sometimes a DT amp too. You need to maintain duplicates of all patches with pre and full amp models.

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a cool device, but if you think there are no limitations, you haven't been using it much.

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  • 3 weeks later...

i use the device mainly for shaping my tone. i don't record and i don't gig. i can empathize with the people who want more than the pod hd series can do. as for me, if i didn't have it, i couldn't get all of the tones i want without spending a lot of cash. but what i don't understand is why people bought something that clearly doesn't meet their requirements. why come to this forum and beat to death all of the shortcomings. surely when it was purchased and used, those individuals with issues realized this and could then decide to return it.  most manufactures or retailers don't offer a 30 day return policy. time enough to find out if it's right for you.

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Dunno 'bout others, but if i needed some kinda acoustic amp, i'd try to make one by not using amp model at all and using one of them eq:s ("graphic" maybe) as pre-amp. In live situation, if using DT25 we may run outta air soon though. With acoustic one needs headroom, headroom and then some headroom. But in recording that should do the trick.

 

Dunno, if we actually need many more amps. Of course it is fun to have 100 of them, but when there is like 5(ish) amp types in whole world (i do admitt, that there is gazillions of variations) do we need yet another variation of VOX, Marshall or Fender?

 

But if Line6 wants to have fun modeling tsome more, feel free to bring us the dumblest Dumble there is (and just for the heck of it, Selmer Zodiac with that ear-tearing treble).

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I recently purchased the HD500x, and it's awesome, but, I need my auto wah, as I use it in my show. The absence of this one effect could have me returning the item for a refund. I can't find any expansion effects for the device, as the line 6 site seems to take me 'round in circles. I think I read somewhere here that you can not expand the HD's. My god, is that true? Some of the wah's and the voice box sweeps up and down on there on, and I have no idea what an automatic sweep would be good for (to me). I need an auto wah.....is anyone at line 6 at home??????????

I agree, the auto wah is seriously lacking. The mutron does not and never did cut it for guitar. I would suggest inserting a pedal into the effects loop if it's a vital part of your arsenal.

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So in theory that should be possible with the Mu-Tron emulation(s). I don't get why "does not and never did cut it for guitar"

I used to have one when they first came out, and I could never get a great sound with it. The emulation has the same thin, weak sound. There are other pedals that get a real warm thick sound, more like an actual wah wah.

 

I think the Mutron did sound good on some instruments - I seem to recall bass and clav were ok. It was a long time ago...

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Question: has a SINGLE ideascale post been implemented in ANY Line 6 product line?  I feel like it is simply a more reassuring product feedback form, which I called "the black hole" back when I threw ideas into it and nothing came out.

 

I had been asking for a 5150 and Mesa Mark II/IV a few months after I bought this unit back in 2011.  As well as a number of other simple feature requests, such as putting the EQ's in terms of HZ and db instead of %.  We can argue its laziness or strategy or technical all day.  The fact is, we don't get any answer from the company.  So we don't know.  All we know is 3 years in, nothing has changed.

 

A lot of people argue against thinking that Line 6 should update the product - after all, then it'd be more difficult to sell future products.  Well, no.  I will probably never buy another Line 6 product ever again.  It's not because they didn't grovel to me and give me everything I wanted.  It's the fact that they purposefully dangle things like the product feedback form and ideascale site in front of your eyes as though they might actually give you some of this stuff.  They won't, but they won't admit it.  I know this because they won't fix the EQ thing.  It's a glaring issue, but it's not worth their time apparently.  They are too busy adding to their arsenal of product lines.

 

It's kind of a sleazy M$ strategy - let the consumer think something is coming, and try to get them to buy a Variax or stagesource or mixer or DT or whatnot in the meantime that has enhanced functionality and "locks" them into your products vs. your competitors.  Maybe some get suckered and then just roll over.  Or maybe you love all that stuff, and found the Pod HD has everything you could want - more power to you.  For me, I refused to keep playing the game and move on.

 

I own a Kemper now.  I get new amps/cabs everyday.  I can actually talk to the owner of the company and its employees.  They discuss feature requests, bugs, etc.  I'm not trying to compare apples to oranges.  For me though, at least knowing what to expect or not goes a long way.

 

Say what you will, but I assure you the arguing is a waste of your time.  Not sure about the amp model requests, but I'd put my money on YOU'RE NOT GETTING THEM.

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meambobbo, You've just perfectly worded my somewhat convoluted thoughts on Line6 and their current approach

to their HD range. I'm relatively new to Line6 products but by no means new to guitar hardware in general, and it

doesn't take an idiot to figure out (compared to Line6's past strategies) that Line6 have lost all customer focused

perspective. This is why I vowed to never buy Line6 again in a previous post. Maybe one day they will start to listen

to customers again when enough of their revenue is lost, but like you, I'm not waiting for their realizations either.

I'm about to pull the trigger on an AxeFX II. While I'm aware that its unfair to compare it to the POD HD, Fractal

haven't lost perspective on customer feedback, and that's something ALL company's should aspire to rather than

this bait and switch stunt I've been witnessing, which WILL return to haunt them if this approach keeps up.

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I am a happy owner of a DT and pod but I will agree on all points with Meambobbo. The Ideascale thing is laughable. Could be a wonderful tool if they practiced actually using it. But obviously after 3 topics and this one alone being 4 pages long tells me probability is greater that we will all be riding rainbow colored Chimeras to work tomorrow passing Unicorns and flying monkeys before they will use Ideascale.

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I'm not sure, if people understood correctly the idea of ideascale. Do they tell "shout your demands in most unpolite way and we'll act the next day"?

 

I see lots of "model Mesa mark V, or you suck" type messages. Since that amp itself has few channels starting from Fender-ish cleans, thru early hot rodded F and new addeneum: british ('cause they cant say "we also added that obligatory Marshall sound because everyone wants it") type one, all the way to modern hi gain. That is not just one model. And we already have a collection of models covering more than mesa mark 5. For mesa clean, use Blackface. For mark 5 british, use Marshalls. And there is Treadplate for hi gains. So why mesa mark this and that? And the same goes with the rest of the multi channel amps. Check Sol(dan)o 100 models and you get it.

 

We don't need that many new amp models. And I believe that more than just modeling every amp there is (where we fit them all, since there are eventually limits in HD's memory?), ideascale wants to see new functions in old tools or even completely new ideas.

 

I don't think that marketing research - and that is exactly what ideascale is - can be ignored. However adding yet another amp model after line of 30 earlier ones just isn't anything new. I have reason to believe, that in Line6 people have already put some thought on what amps there should be modeled. They've made Amplifi. That is new idea. Wheel is invented again, even if a hipsterish one with all that Apple junk involved ;) . I believe ideascale wants more like those ideas.

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WaubinHood, your missing the point. And that is, when most of us bought the high end

POD HD products, we expected some kind of future additions just as they have with

previous POD releases, not absolutely nothing ! We have zero amps or fx to supplement

the original stock collection with, and not everyone can be happy with the same old amps.

It's having the "choice" to add what we want that really matters, and there are no choices. 

I bet you even secretly crave for a particular amp or effect in your closet lol.

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Untrue.

 

Several amps were added after the original release. Of course we want more, who doesn't always want more than they have? But to say they didn't add amps or fx is not true. Tube pre is technically an "effect", and they added quite a few new models too.

 

 

WaubinHood, your missing the point. And that is, when most of us bought the high end

POD HD products, we expected some kind of future additions just as they have with

previous POD releases, not absolutely nothing ! We have zero amps or fx to supplement

the original stock amps with, and not everyone can be happy with the same old amps.

I bet you even secretly crave for a particular amp or effect in your closet lol.

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