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HD500x vs. Pod Go vs. Firehawk FX


RainbowSkyes
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What's Important to me:

Pad type ambient effects (not presets)... who's the winner?

Most product support... (I noticed on the forum the hd500x has 50,000 topics)

Does the Pod Go or the Firehawk have an arpeggiator like the hd500x does? ("Seeker" Effect)

Rugged... is the pedal on the firehawk metal? I noticed the pod go pedal is plastic... for $400 that's real sad

Do the firehawk or hd500x sparkle or shimmer like the pod go can?

 

Current Prices:

Line 6 Pod Go $400-$500

Line 6 Firehawk $300-$400

Line 6 HD500x $$300-$350

 

Tell me your pros and cons :]

 

Thanks for all the helps!

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Only the bottom of the POD Go is plastic, and it’s a very structurally sound thermoplastic. The rest of it rolled steel and aluminum, similar to the Firehawk FX.

 

As far as support, the POD Go is the only one of the three you listed that’s going to see continued firmware updates into the future. The number of forum posts is kind of neither here nor there. The HD has been around since 2010, so people have naturally been creating posts about a lot longer than the POD Go.

 

The POD Go has all the amps and effects the HD500X has (with just a few exceptions), plus a lot more. The Firehawk is a bit different as it has some of the older POD Farm models combined with some of the HD models.

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each was designed for different purposes. 

Other than being the oldest, the 500 would be considered "the best" - at least in terms of being the flagship of its line. 

 

The Firehawk is a watered down 500 but allows bluetooth connectivity. (in fact, doesn't it require bluetooth usage for certain things?). It doesn't do as much, it doesn't do it as well, but it has bluetooth. You can ignore the Firehawk. 

**I don't want to insult the product. But basically, I would compare the Firehawk to some free app you download on your phone. Would you rather have a 4 inch game you play on your phone, or a PS3. It's a cute toy, but doesn't compare to the real thing. 

So, really, you are looking between the 500 and the Go. 

 

The 500 is the flagship of the HD line. But it is old (in technology years).  Fully functional. But old. It doesn't do some of the newer stuff, but what it does do it does well. Unlike, as example, a 1993 "digital piano", which sounds dreadful, particularly when compared to 2021 models; you wouldn't know the 500 was "ancient tech". It is just that damn good.    

The Go is the entry level product of the HX line. Newer tech, but fewer toys. What does newer tech mean - a new sampling method when they created models. Newer processors. Maybe a color touch screen or gesture control with facial recognition. But what good is all of this lightning fast 5G data speeds if your phone drops calls every time a truck drives by. 

 

 

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There really is no right answer. There is only what is right for you. Not everyone needs 60 amp models (found in the 500).  Some people don't want amp modeling at all, they just want MFX, so they can get an M Series. It just comes down to what you need. 

 

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On 6/17/2021 at 6:16 PM, RainbowSkyes said:

Current Prices:

Line 6 Pod Go $400-$500

Line 6 Firehawk $300-$400

Line 6 HD500x $$300-$350

 

Used HD500X for $240-260 is an awesome piece of gear, considering it was flagship and has multitude of ins and outs for mic, second guitar, xlr, two signal paths, multitude of footswitches. There are other units at this price point, like Zoom G5n or NUX / Mooer / Ampero that might sound better with IR's, but HD500X is more professional (sturdier, number of footswitches and ins/outs).

 

But POD GO for $400 is far better than HD500X for $350. It's also more compact, easier to carry around. Even if it has less footswitches, color coded ones and snapshots make it easier to operate (like setting an amp to your guitar once, then doing 4 snapshots within one patch, for clean / clean+fx / riff /solo). Obviously IR's make POD GO future proof.

 

As for sturdiness, both HD500X and GO will feel panzer if you keep them in a proper hard case.

 

One con of HD500X is that at that time, Line 6 decided to release many of its amps as a paid "DLC", so if you get the unit used, you might not have them and paying $100 for this bundle in 2021 is awkward.

Another con is that its drivers might be unstable on modern Windows 10 machines.

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