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About To Give Up. Please Help.


Nick83Weasel
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Hi, I can't seem to find a decent sound with my Pod HD500.

I've had it for 3 years now and I play it through the effects loop of my old solid state Peavey Classic Chorus 130.

Although not the best amp out there, I thought it would be an ok match for a modeler, since it has good cleans without much power amp coloration.

Strat--->Guitar In--->1/4"Outs--->Power Amp In.

Tried all the input settings, tried using full models and pre models, tried all the output settings, tried "guitar in" both in normal and in pad mode, tried "1/4" out" both in amp and in line mode.

I even bought new cables and changed my guitar's pickups.

Haven't tried going to the front of the amp or using the 4 cable methods since it would mean having to deal with the horrible sounding preamp of the Classic Chorus.

Since it is a combo amp I choose the combo power amp output setting. Cleans are not that bad but any kind of overdrive/distortion sounds like I have a Big Muff on...Muddy to say the least at low volume. Both muddy and ear-bleeding trebly at medium-high volume. Turning the bass EQ knob down makes the sound thin, turning it up makes it muddy. Turning the highs or the presence EQ knobs down take the mud back, turning them up make my ears fall off: it seems like there's no sweet spot. EQ pedals work the same way.

The mud goes away if I set the output to "direct" but the sound gets harsh and unnatural. The other output settings are even worse than these.

The same bad sound comes out of the "Phones" output through headphones (Sennheiser HD 25 II) or through my PC speakers.

But here's the strange thing: if I go direct to my laptop via USB, record a riff and then listen to it through those same speakers the sound is suddenly good. No mud, no harshness, no farting distortion. I don't know why or how but all the "gainy" models seem to become more overdriven than when played through the power amp.

What am I doing wrong?  :mellow:

 

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Since it is a combo amp I choose the combo power amp output setting.

 

This may be your problem...don't get stuck on the "correct" output setting based on your set-up. Might not work for you, certainly didn't for me. I've been running everything the "wrong" way from day one, with "studio/direct" selected (cab sims and all), no matter how I'm listening...through an amp, headphones, direct into mixer, whatever...cause that's what sounds good to me. Done that with other modelers I've had too.  It's about what sounds good to you, not what it says in the manual. Worth a try before you ditch it and shell out more $$$...no right and wrong way to do it.

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There is no easy answer. The HD500 is a complicated tool to use mainly because of all it's flexibility which in turn lead to problems if its not fully understood.

 

Try reading these for background and essential information on how the HD500 works and how to get the best out of it:

 

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

http://line6.com/support/topic/4927-how-has-greatly-improved-my-use-of-the-hd500/

http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/

 

Hopefully they will shed some light on the dark arts of the HD500 and suggest some things you have not tried before, and perhaps with a little more experimenting you will hit upon a setup and sounds you like.

There are plenty of other useful threads out there with useful nuggets of info if you find you need more help .....

 

Good luck!

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Do you disable the cabinet modeling when running it in combo power amp mode? That should help quite a bit. For lower volume patches try the full amp model with no cabinet modeling, for loud patches use the pre amp model with no cab modeling. You shouldn't have to change the amp settings much from default to get a good basic sound, perhaps you can try with a friends amp as well to compare?

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So I just read the manual for your amp and I want to make sure you are using the left 1/4 out (set at Line, not Amp) of the POD into the PWR AMP IN (2) furthest from the foot switch plug.  Using that one disables all preamp functions, reverb and chorus so we can eliminate any potential interference or coloring.  This amp has no Master Volume that I see so you will need to use the POD Master to control final volume.  I don't know how you are setting up your patches, but try to keep the Master as high as possible and maybe lower your amp channel volumes instead.  If all your internal volumes are maxed, you will naturally have the POD Master down and that may not be providing a good clean signal to the amp.  It says you should be able to feed a 1 Volt RMS signal and I don't know what the POD output is rated at.

 

I think I read somewhere (Meambobbo) that Combo/Stack Front is for open back cabs and Combo/Stack Power is for closed back cabs but choose Studio Direct for now. Set your input 1 to Guitar/Variax and input 2 to Mic.  Start with just a Blackface Dbl Nrm full amp and no effects.  Before adding any effects how does this sound?  Does this still sound like junk through the headphones?  Are they the same basically?  Does it get better or worse with guitar volume/tone adjustments?

 

Give this another shot and get back to us.  What sticks out to me is your last paragraph where you state that it sounds like crap even through the headphones yet sounds great through the USB when recorded. I assume this is with the exact same patch with no system changes whatsoever. Kind of makes me wonder if there isn't a physical problem may be with the output DAC? I was going to suggest trying it through a different amp/cab but it the problem is also in the headphones I don't know that would help.  Unless you have a defective unit there is a solution...

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Thanks everyone for your answers  :)

 

Do you disable the cabinet modeling when running it in combo power amp mode? That should help quite a bit. For lower volume patches try the full amp model with no cabinet modeling, for loud patches use the pre amp model with no cab modeling. You shouldn't have to change the amp settings much from default to get a good basic sound, perhaps you can try with a friends amp as well to compare?

I've tried disabling cab modeling and it sounds even muddier. No change in tone amp when using pre models, just less volume.

 

So I just read the manual for your amp and I want to make sure you are using the left 1/4 out (set at Line, not Amp) of the POD into the PWR AMP IN (2) furthest from the foot switch plug.  Using that one disables all preamp functions, reverb and chorus so we can eliminate any potential interference or coloring.  This amp has no Master Volume that I see so you will need to use the POD Master to control final volume.  I don't know how you are setting up your patches, but try to keep the Master as high as possible and maybe lower your amp channel volumes instead.  If all your internal volumes are maxed, you will naturally have the POD Master down and that may not be providing a good clean signal to the amp.  It says you should be able to feed a 1 Volt RMS signal and I don't know what the POD output is rated at.

 

I think I read somewhere (Meambobbo) that Combo/Stack Front is for open back cabs and Combo/Stack Power is for closed back cabs but choose Studio Direct for now. Set your input 1 to Guitar/Variax and input 2 to Mic.  Start with just a Blackface Dbl Nrm full amp and no effects.  Before adding any effects how does this sound?  Does this still sound like junk through the headphones?  Are they the same basically?  Does it get better or worse with guitar volume/tone adjustments?

 

Give this another shot and get back to us.  What sticks out to me is your last paragraph where you state that it sounds like crap even through the headphones yet sounds great through the USB when recorded. I assume this is with the exact same patch with no system changes whatsoever. Kind of makes me wonder if there isn't a physical problem may be with the output DAC? I was going to suggest trying it through a different amp/cab but it the problem is also in the headphones I don't know that would help.  Unless you have a defective unit there is a solution...

That's the way I set it up. 1/4" outs to the amp's 2 power amp in (it has 2 power amp inputs. If I use just one of them the sound comes out from one speaker only). Switch set to line. Pod master always maxed out.

I'll get back to the pod in a couple of days and try that Blackface thing.

 

This may be your problem...don't get stuck on the "correct" output setting based on your set-up. Might not work for you, certainly didn't for me. I've been running everything the "wrong" way from day one, with "studio/direct" selected (cab sims and all), no matter how I'm listening...through an amp, headphones, direct into mixer, whatever...cause that's what sounds good to me. Done that with other modelers I've had too.  It's about what sounds good to you, not what it says in the manual. Worth a try before you ditch it and shell out more $$$...no right and wrong way to do it.

I used both the "correct output" and the "wrong way" and they're just different shades of bad  :mellow:

 

There is no easy answer. The HD500 is a complicated tool to use mainly because of all it's flexibility which in turn lead to problems if its not fully understood.

 

Try reading these for background and essential information on how the HD500 works and how to get the best out of it:

 

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

http://line6.com/support/topic/4927-how-has-greatly-improved-my-use-of-the-hd500/

http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/

 

Hopefully they will shed some light on the dark arts of the HD500 and suggest some things you have not tried before, and perhaps with a little more experimenting you will hit upon a setup and sounds you like.

There are plenty of other useful threads out there with useful nuggets of info if you find you need more help .....

 

Good luck!

Unfortunately I read them many times and when I tried to apply those informations to my situation it never made a great difference soundwise.

Maybe just a slight difference. If I set input 1: Guitar and input 2: variax, mic or something else the sound gets thin and sterile. If I set input 1: Guitar and input 2: Same every distortion sounds like a Big Muff.

The Meambobbo guide is great but it led me to maniacal tweaking. Or better: to maniacally adding EQ pedals. But every EQ pedal (just like the amp knobs) seems to lack a "sweet spot". Roll down some kind of low frequency a little bit: still mud: Roll it down a little more: still mud. Roll it further down: mud is gone but tone is gone too and all I got is a trebly thin sound.

 

 

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I know you have said you have tried all the setting combinations, but have you tried this particular combination? STUDIO/DIRECT mode, picking just a PRE amp model, and selecting NO CAB and having the 1/4 inch switch set to LINE? 

That will ensure you don't get any artificial EQ adjusting the sound and a PRE model should be an equivalent to the Peavey's own pre-amp running into it's power amp.

Then just adjusting the PRE amp model gain, tone and volume settings as well as adjusting the HD500 MASTER control should enable you to get a reasonable amp sound.

That is what I would start with first.

 

Then if necessary, I would double check that all my leads are working fine and then I would adjust and compare the following:

(a) 1/4 inch switch LINE compared to AMP  (you will drive the power amp stage more with LINE, but you may prefer the sound when you don't push it so hard)

(b) NO CAB compared to a CAB model, and then choose different mics, and adjust the ER value (I would expect the NO CAB sound to be the most realistic but a cab model plus mic may soften the sound for you and you may prefer it)

© PRE amp model compared to FULL amp model (the full will also model the power amp stage, but will produce a richer fuller tone at low volumes)

(d) Using just one INPUT compared to using both INPUTs (in other words, having INPUT 2 set to SAME).

 

Hope that helps.

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It's possible the speaker(s) in that combo is killing your tone as well. The tone of a speaker can make or break the Pod in my experience.

 

Sounds like you have it hooked up correctly.

For dirt, try a patch with just the Treadplate-Preonly model. No cab or power modeling - gain less than halfway. I've found that sounds great as-is, no EQ or other stomps required. The pod's output mode wont matter as cab models are off anyway. You should be able to get a realistic tone like that. If not, then your amp/speaker is probably killing the tone.

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