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Can I toggle effects on the Pedal Board in GarageBand using the foot switches?


Martin_Br
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Hi,

 

I'm pretty new to music hardware. I got an e guitar and I want to record on my MacBook in GarageBoard. I'm interested in buying the Pod HD 500, because it has an audio interface and pedal controls, but I don't know if I can use those to toggle effects on the virtual pedal board in GarageBand itself. I know the Pod HD 500 offers own effects, but I would prefer to use software effects to bypass any limitations like limited RAM on the device itself and I'm not interested in live performances anyways.

 

I know that the foot switches can send MIDI signals and I found some indication that this should be possible in the manual, but I seek confirmation by any experts before I buy it. It would be very helpful to get fairly simple explanation how this can be done. 

 

Thank you so much!

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Surely the POD doesn't send any MIDI through USB, but only through its MIDI OUT connector..

Therefore I guess that at least you will need an external MIDI interface (or an audio interface provided with MIDI) to be able to send MIDI commands from the POD to your MacBook.

 

I never used MacBook and the GarageBand program, so I don't know how it should be setup to receive MIDI commands, but I guess it should be quite simple.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All about POD HD500/X

help and useful tips

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4 minutes ago, hurghanico said:

Surely the POD doesn't send any MIDI through USB, but only through its MIDI OUT connector..

Therefore I guess that at least you will need an external MIDI interface (or an audio interface provided with MIDI) to be able to send MIDI commands from the POD to your MacBook.

 

Greetings to Italy from Germany. Hope you guys doing good at the current times ...

 

Thank you, you just confirmed what I was afraid of, but you prevented me from making a mistake, so I am thankful a lot. Since I will start of as hobbyist, I don't really want too much hardware laying around here. Are there any alternative products in the Line6 line up that provide all I need here in one device?

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Thanks, despite the bad period we go on .. Greetings to Germany

 

1 hour ago, Martin_Br said:

 I don't really want too much hardware laying around here. Are there any alternative products in the Line6 line up that provide all I need here in one device?

 

If you think that the POD HD500X is not enough powerful to handle the virtual chains of effects and amp models you need for your recordings, you could consider Helix or Helix LT which are the most powerful Line6 modelers currently on the market, and much more powerful than the POD HD500X..

 

Personally as a performing/recording musician I'm still using the old POD HD500 and I never reached the hardware limits for the tones I need to use, but we guitarists are all different and with different needs.

 

The Helix line is having a lot of success, if you give a look at The Gear Page website under the Digital & Modeling Gear category, you'll notice that almost every posted thread has to do with the Helix family of products.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All about POD HD500/X

help and useful tips

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23 hours ago, hurghanico said:

If you think that the POD HD500X is not enough powerful to handle the virtual chains of effects and amp models you need for your recordings, you could consider Helix or Helix LT which are the most powerful Line6 modelers currently on the market, and much more powerful than the POD HD500X..

 

Personally as a performing/recording musician I'm still using the old POD HD500 and I never reached the hardware limits for the tones I need to use, but we guitarists are all different and with different needs.

 

Thank you for being so helpful. I was unsure, I heard it has not much RAM. But to be very honest with you, I think it's very convenient to manage the effects on my MacBook, though. Even if it means I'm dependent on it. It's a personal preference and I'm not live acting anyways. Also such solution is always cheaper. Since I'm not professional at all, I would rather go for a cheaper variant.

 

I came to the point that there is no all-in-one alternative at that price level. The only device that can do it is the GiO from Apogee, but this thing has terrible foot switches and is not even compatible with Catalina, so straight trash now-a-days. I will end up picking a cheap audio interface and midi controller (that works via USB), instead.

 

Keep safe and healthy! And thank you again!! :)

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