Troubles Going Direct Hd500x

[toneo2001]

Hello, this week I tried my new HD500X at church.  In practice I first tried XLR out with "Amp" setting.  I Had to turn the gain way up on the soundboard and still I had lots of distortion on the cleanest tones.  I then tried every setting I  could and it still sounded bad. The only way I finally got a useable sound was to go 1/4" out to a DI box with buttons out (0 db attenuation) with output set to Line,  Even then the sound was tinny and too bright...  I am playing a Strat with Lollar "Blackface" pickups.  Any advise??  Thanks!

[brian6string]

You should set the switch to Line, since you're not going to an amp. The Amp setting is if you are running to an amp.

 

What patch are you running (a built in one, one of your own design or what)?

 

This will take some tweaking to get the sound right...since your sound is dependent on the PA, you can't really tweak the whole thing while you're practicing (at home, as you would with just an amp).

 

I recommend you get Lincoln Brewster's HD500 patches (they work on the HD500X too) as a starting point: https://www.facebook.com/LincolnBrewsterMusic/posts/10151287088779820

 

In general, you're going to want to add bass and mids, and reduce treble and presence on your patches--what comes out of the PA is going to be different than what you *perceive* thru headphones. If you can, go to the church and dial in your settings before anyone else is there waiting to practice.

 

I use one of these every Sunday at my church and am very happy with the sound I'm getting (it took a few weeks to get it dialed in), but I didn't tweak LB's patches at all.

 

My patches are at http://line6.com/customtone/profile/brian6string.

[edstar1960]

Hello, this week I tried my new HD500X at church.  In practice I first tried XLR out with "Amp" setting.  I Had to turn the gain way up on the soundboard and still I had lots of distortion on the cleanest tones.  I then tried every setting I  could and it still sounded bad. The only way I finally got a useable sound was to go 1/4" out to a DI box with buttons out (0 db attenuation) with output set to Line,  Even then the sound was tinny and too bright...  I am playing a Strat with Lollar "Blackface" pickups.  Any advise??  Thanks!

 

The switch on the front that has options LINE or AMP is only applicable to the 1/4 inch output jacks.  It changes the signal output between AMP one that is suitable for input direct to an amp (instrument level) or LINE one that is suitable to go to a mixer (line level).   The XLR outputs are always at slightly above mic level output.    NB:  The XLRs will only give you the L or the R stereo channel signal - you have to use both to capture both sides of the stereo output unless you have used something like a NOISE GATE at the end of your fx chain to sum your L+R channels to MONO.    On the other hand the 1/4 inch jacks will sum the output to mono if you just use one of them - but if you use both then you do get the separate stereo channels in each.

 

If you are going direct to  a mixer (soundboard) then your SYSTEM settings should have OUTPUT MODE set to STUDIO/DIRECT - anything else will sound bad.  So, double check that you have the HD500x output mode set to STUDIO/DIRECT.

 

If you have got the correct output mode set then tweak your sound either at the soundboard using the EQ controls or add suitable EQ blocks to your patches to adjust to taste.

 

Hope that helps.

[toneo2001]

Thanks for your suggestions... it sounds like I need to build patches at church. I will try LB's patches.  Thanks again!

[joseafh]

Does anybody have the LB HD500 patches?  I cant seem to find some that work.

[DunedinDragon]

How are you listening to the HD500X when you're dialing in your patches at home?  At home I have my POD plugged into a powered PA speaker using a 1/4" output with the LINE switch on and I have the STUDIO/DIRECT setting on the POD for the XLR output which goes to the sound board at church.  That gives me a pretty good match between what I hear when I practice at home and what comes out at church.  As mentioned before, with this type of setting you'll find there's a lot more responsiveness to high and low frequencies because PA speakers are very different from guitar amp speakers or headphones.  Make sure the people running the sound board at your church have your EQ set to flat or possibly roll off a bit of the high end on your guitar channel.

 

As a general principle I tweak the high pass filter settings on the whatever amp model I've selected to change the high-pass filter setting to around 100 Hz which takes out a lot of the bassiness and gives me a pretty clean tone on my low E string on my patches.  In some cases I'll also use a parametric EQ effect at the end of the signal chain to roll off very high frequences.  As far as stereo output, it's not likely your sound people are using stereo separation on the mixer anyway.  Live sound people rarely do since it would only sound right to people in the center of the crowd and would sound odd and unbalanced to everyone else seated to the left or to the right.  So as a general rule most sound people don't pan the channels.

[pfsmith0]

I often have to manually adjust the Master knob on the HD500 to give the board the proper levels. If you're getting unwanted distortion, reduce Master. I go straight XLR to the sound board. You shouldn't need a DI box as that's what the XLR connectors are there for. Down worry about capturing both L and R channels for now. I doubt anyone will miss that in a church setting.

[jasonk931]

The switch on the front that has options LINE or AMP is only applicable to the 1/4 inch output jacks.  It changes the signal output between AMP one that is suitable for input direct to an amp (instrument level) or LINE one that is suitable to go to a mixer (line level).   The XLR outputs are always at slightly above mic level output.    NB:  The XLRs will only give you the L or the R stereo channel signal - you have to use both to capture both sides of the stereo output unless you have used something like a NOISE GATE at the end of your fx chain to sum your L+R channels to MONO.    On the other hand the 1/4 inch jacks will sum the output to mono if you just use one of them - but if you use both then you do get the separate stereo channels in each.

 

If you are going direct to  a mixer (soundboard) then your SYSTEM settings should have OUTPUT MODE set to STUDIO/DIRECT - anything else will sound bad.  So, double check that you have the HD500x output mode set to STUDIO/DIRECT.

 

If you have got the correct output mode set then tweak your sound either at the soundboard using the EQ controls or add suitable EQ blocks to your patches to adjust to taste.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Saw your post today and it got me thinking? I am about to run a pod hd500x in my church. I will be running a 1/4 out to a Redbox 5 direct box into the snake, and I want to run another out to my amp on stage through its RETURN just for monitoring. Thus it wont be using the preamp, etc on the map. How do I get a mono signal from both left and right 1/4 outs on the pod? Any way to do this? 

[silverhead]

.... How do I get a mono signal from both left and right 1/4 outs on the pod? Any way to do this?

 

Unless you are using stereo FX in the preset each 1/4" output is already carrying a mono signal. Just route them to whatever device you want.

 

If you are using stereo FX, use the HD500 mixer to pan both paths fully L/R respectively.

[jasonk931]

Unless you are using stereo FX in the preset each 1/4" output is already carrying a mono signal. Just route them to whatever device you want.

If you are using stereo FX, use the HD500 mixer to pan both paths fully L/R respectively.

Excellent! Thanks for the info.

[jeremybnz]

The balanced XLR outs should be a similar level to a microphone, a half decent mixer and PA setup should have no issues at all!

[edstar1960]

If you want to have two summed mono outputs instead of just one then you can take the 1/4" out from either the L or R into an ABY box that is capable of having both A and B on at the same time.  That will keep the summed mono output of your HD and split it into two identical signals to feed two diferent amps/mixers etc.

 

The FENDER ABY Box 2 button passive footswitch (RED) will do this perfectly and it's an inexpensive option.

[jandrio]

...How do I get a mono signal from both left and right 1/4 outs on the pod? Any way to do this?

place a noise gate (decay=100%, thresh=0%) last FX in the signal chain.

then both L+R outputs carry the same mono signal

[jasonk931]

If you want to have two summed mono outputs instead of just one then you can take the 1/4" out from either the L or R into an ABY box that is capable of having both A and B on at the same time.  That will keep the summed mono output of your HD and split it into two identical signals to feed two diferent amps/mixers etc.

 

The FENDER ABY Box 2 button passive footswitch (RED) will do this perfectly and it's an inexpensive option.

Is this from the 1/4 inch outs or the xlr's? Im under the impression that the 1/4 out's both left and right are both mono? Is this correct? I need one mono signal 1/4 inch out into my redbox 5 direct box, which I take to the snake. I then need the other to go to my amp behind me, which i simply plug into the RETURN input of the loop of my amp so as to simply have stage AIR without involving the Amps Character/Preamp and end up coloring my sound. Hope this make sense. Any help appreciated. 

 

If someone can give me some basic info on using the 1/4 inch out't this way would be great. 

[AlexKenivel]

The 1/4 inch outputs can send out two exactly identical sounds if the mixer(inside the Pod)'s left and right channels are centered (both at 0).

[jandrio]

The 1/4 inch outputs can send out two exactly identical sounds if the mixer(inside the Pod)'s left and right channels are centered (both at 0).

 

not always, depends on patch.

if the last FX in the signal chain is stereo (eg ping-pong delay) then 1/4 L+R carry different signal.

 

check out foll link

http://line6.com/support/topic/2033-pod-hd-500-500x-new-routing-schematics

[edstar1960]

Jasonk931 - yes - I am referring to the 1/4" outputs.

 

If you want to be able to run two exact copies of any patch which may contain any combination of fx's etc, then the simplest solution is to take a lead out either the L or R 1/4 inch output - if you only use one 1/4 inch lead the HD500 sums the L and R channels to mono automatically for you.

 

Take that single output and put it into the Y socket of an ABY splitter box which allows you to have BOTH the A and B outputs on.  Then you will get 2 identical line level signals to run with 1/4 inch jack leads to two separate amplifier sources.

 

If you don't mind creating your patches so that they always result in two identical mono signals on the L and R output channels within the HD500, which means considering placement of stereo fx, and possibly having to use a noise gate at the end to sum to mono, and possibly placing your chain before the mixer block in the unit - all depending on how you want to do it - then you can create two identical outputs at the Land R 1/4 inch sockets within the HD500, and that way you don't need to utilise a separate ABY box to split the signal after the HD500.

 

My thinking is this - leave your patches the way you have them set up - so they work as you expect at home or when recording etc and you don't need to worry about stereo fxs and summing to mono etc -  and then take the HD500 to church and plug the /4" output into the Y socket of an ABY box and then take the A and B sockets and connect them to your 2 different amplifiers.   Done.     Just make sure that the ABY box supports both A and B being active at the same time.   The Fender ABY box does exactly this.

 

It's entirely up to you which method you use.

 

Hope this has helped you decide.

 

Good luck.

[lonewolf452]

Just a question for you guys using the LB patches...he has a main patch and a swell patch, are we supposed to be using his patches in preset mode? or Pedal Board mode??