Line 6 HD500x into an acoustic amp?

[BaylorPRSer]

Hi there,

 

I'm a bit hard up for cash right now, and all I've got is an electric guitar, acoustic guitar, a pod hd500x, and an acoustic amp.  

 

Here's the amp: https://www.acus-sound.it/en/one-forstrings/5-oneforstrings-5t.html

 

If I were to play electric through the POD, should I have it on studio/direct or one of the other output settings?  

 

Any other hacks to make the most of the situation?

[silverhead]

There’s no ‘right’ answer. Experiment with all your options and decide what sounds best to you.

[pianoguyy]

the correct answer has already been given. 

 

However, I always suggest people use studio/direct, especially if using global settings or will be using different methods of amplification on a regular basis. 

Also, most acoustic/keyboard/microphone amps are rather 'transparent', which makes them more closely related to something you'd use studio/direct for. Meaning, they don't colour the tone the same way an electric amp (such as Marshall or Fender) would.  

 

But, what I am curious about (because I have no experience with this brand): 

What happens when you use the aux input of that amp. That, to me, would certainly be something to use studio/direct for, and that jack might just be your best option for good tone from the Pod. 

[pianoguyy]

On 3/9/2022 at 7:42 AM, BaylorPRSer said:

Any other hacks to make the most of the situation?

 

Stereo. Mono. Sum-to-mono 

Phase cancellation. 

 

The 1/4" outs of the Pod will 'sum to mono' if using only one jack. The XLR are always left or right, it never sums. 

While the 'sum to mono' is nice, I don't like using it. You may run into a situation where patches sound dreadful because of phase cancellation. And, since it is mono, you lose any stereo aspects of your tone. 

Knowing this is important because should someone later use the XLR (or a 2nd 1/4"), you might run into a situation where you have to 'start over' with tone building because that beautiful tone you spent so much time building now sounds horrible. 

 

One solution is to use a dummy plug in the other 1/4" jack. This prevents the 'sum', and allows you to hear left (or right) as it was intended. 

 

So, as I look at your amp. And I see an XLR and two 1/4" inputs, these are things to consider. I'd hate for you to use one 1/4" and one XLR, because you'd actually be getting two lefts and only one right. (a left and right from the sum, and a left from the XLR)

 

 

*worth noting: if you are using the Pod for your microphone and guitar at the same time, then sometimes you need the device to sum-to-mono. Otherwise you would only hear guitar, not the mic. 

 

[hurghanico]

On 3/9/2022 at 1:42 PM, BaylorPRSer said:

If I were to play electric through the POD, should I have it on studio/direct or one of the other output settings?  

 

Personally I would choose without a doubt the Studio/Direct output mode for 2 reasons:

1) all the output modes other than studio/direct are designed to connect the POD to an amp made for electric guitar when in your patch a cab model is included, in order to get a sort of live voiced cab compensation with the natural sound of the real amp cab/speaker (made for electric guitar, ie much different than one made for acoustics).

2) the studio/direct output mode is the only one that gives the real modeled cabs sounds made from impulse responses (IRs), and when connecting the POD to a wide frequency response (probably very close to a flat response) amplification system is the best choice to get really close to the real things sounds modeled.

 

Then you can experiment as you like with the other settings, but the one above here is the best choice for me

 

In regard instead to other hacks you can find some here:

Useful articles, tutorials and tips

 

Final tip:

given that you have at disposal an acoustic amp, the high end response could be (but not necessarily) too much but in case you can use some EQ to tame it, and maybe you need to boost a little the the mid-frequency band if your amp naturally has a mid scooped response.

 

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