Chompy007 Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Hi all, I have recently picked up an HD500 and am loving it, but have an issue I can't solve regarding output modes. Forgive me if it's already been answered, but if it is, I can't find it. With my old X3 live, I could set the 1/4" outputs to one of the AMP modes and go into my on stage amp, and set the XLR outs to Studio Direct and go straight to the PA. With the HD500 the one setting controls both the 1/4' and XLR outputs, and the headphones as well, which won't work for the way I've been setting up. Does anyone have a solution? I used to use this setup all the time (particularly when playing bass which was always DI anyway), and wonder why the later model doesn't have this feature? If I split all my patches to have 2 amps hard panned, I could have one side with no cab simulation and no mic simulation, but would lose any dual tones, and it sounds like a lot of work. Does everyone else just mic their cab to get a signal to the FOH? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurghanico Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Unfortunately with the HD500 it is possible to choose only one output mode valid for all outputs. However, for some patches it is possible to take advantage of the alternative (mono & stereo capable) SEND output (on the rear panel) which you could manage via the FX LOOP block that you can place at the end of the chain in order to divert the signal path towards the SEND output (just before the standard outputs). So for example patches that include cab can use the standard outputs and patches without cab can use the SEND output. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All about POD HD500/X help and useful tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chompy007 Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 Thanks for the reply - that's an interesting method I hadn't thought of! I think I've got the general idea but... So for that to work, the Cab and mic modeling would have to be the last thing added to the signal, after the last available FX block? (which I would now make FX send) I just assumed that the Cab and mic modeling were added at the amp block, as that is the way the signal flow looks in the display. Thinking about it now, having it last would make the most sense if you were replicating a real amp setup. I'll give it a go. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chompy007 Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 Just tried a patch with the FX send last in the chain, and plugging the headphones into FX Send, it sounds identical to the headphone out, (except 20 dB louder) With the headphones in FX send, I can hear a massive changes in tone as I change output modes, so it appears that the FX send gets the same cab/mic modeling as the TRS, XLR and headphone outs. Unless I am missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurghanico Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 (edited) Please forgive me, in my previous answer I did not understand your problem well, and I thought that you needed to route patches with cab active and patches with cab deactivated differently, while instead you need to route the same patch in two different ways at the same time, one with cab and the other without. I'm sorry, but there is no way to be able to do this with the HD500. The presence or absence of the cab is part of the amp model parameters and cannot be separated by the amp in any way. The Helix series can do this since the cab can be separate and independent, and the routing possibilities are much more advanced. EDIT: But wait!!.. I still have another idea. If the available DSP resources of the POD allow it, you could create a patch with 2 same amps, one with cab and the other without, and then insert the FX LOOP in only one of the 2 paths, by doing so you should get what you need: eg from the SEND you get the cabless tone , and from the standard outputs the cab included tone. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All about POD HD500/X help and useful tips Edited October 15, 2021 by hurghanico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chompy007 Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Worth a try. That's more or less what I was thinking initially except I was just going to hard pan and use the 1/4' out instead of the FX send. The downside is that it won't work with existing dual amp tones, and as you say, has a hit in DSP, but may be worth a go. It's taken me 11 years to splash out on a HD500, so it may be some time before I'm ready to drop a couple grand on a Helix! I just can't fathom why something that was so simple on the X3 was made difficult with the HD500. I guess I must have been one of the minority that used that feature - ah well...... Thanks for your help :) I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurghanico Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 3 hours ago, Chompy007 said: I just can't fathom why something that was so simple on the X3 was made difficult with the HD500. Mysterious choices by Line6.. Same thing with the smaller brothers of the HD500. Both the HD300 (the one above in the pic) and the HD400 (same modeling engine of the HD500) have the dual output (exactly what you would need), but the HD500 does not. And people wonders: why does the flagship device of a series, in addition to having its special features, also not have all the useful ones of the smaller models? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All about POD HD500/X help and useful tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chompy007 Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 My HD500 certainly has dual output (balanced L+R XLR's and unbalanced L+R 1/4" as pictured above), but my issue is that they always have the same output mode applied to them. I'm sure a bit of clever firmware coding could fix it, but I guess that's not likely to happen. I'll have to look at the manual for the HD500X and see if it has the same 'global' output mode setting. I usually dial in tones using headphones, and know that a correctly set up PA should faithfully reproduce the studio/direct signal. Then I just have to find a 1/4" jack output mode that sounds the best with my stage amp and live with it. It may take a bit more effort with the HD500, but I'm sure I can get there. Either that or look at using a monitor or something else for on stage monitoring, but it's always nice to utilize the stuff you already have. Other than this little detail, the HD500 is a lovely bit of gear, and does pretty much everything I need it to do, and I'm really happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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