Is the 500HD still a worthy competitor?

[JonahP12]

I recently acquired a 500HD for worship music at my local church. I have been playing with a Pod Pro Rackmount system for nearly 2 decades. I know now days the helix family is taking center stage, and the 500hd is probably considered a dinosaur to most. However, it is brand new to me. 

I discovered patches the other day, (something else I didn't even know existed) and would like to know what good reliable patches would be worth looking into. I can always build them from scratch, but with the limited amount of down time I have on a day to day basis, I'd like a foundation to start on if possible. 

 

I prefer a Jesus Culture, Bethel, Hillsong vibe. I also like a more heavy Crowder or Lincoln Brewster feel too. 

 

There's not much to go off of these days because everyone has moved on, any help would be greatly appreciated.

A few other key notes:

Gibson 335 

500HD as primary pedal (have an external pedals: volume, gain, delay. None are dire important right now, just back up)

Plug in direct to System via XLR

[hurghanico]

I have a worn out HD500 (as a backup) and an HD500X.
The sounds you can get are as good today as they were when the device was current.

Current modelers surely have some additional features, the most used and appreciated of which is the ability to load the impulse responses you want to get more cab emulations in addition to the stock ones.

Note that many of the presets in the "Variax" setlist (based on the last firmware version), even if originally dedicated to the use of a Variax, are also good for traditional guitars, and are probably the best ever built by Line6 for this device. On my site some of those presets are listed with some info and references to the songs that inspired them:

--> Best patches by Line6

As for presets for sounds like Lincoln Brewster here is an example of what you get with a search on CustomTone, listed in order of rating:

--> POD HD500 compatible tones matching Lincoln Brewster

Having said that I always prefer to build my own presets from scratch (or by modifying my own presets), based on my touch and equipment.

 

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All about POD HD500/X

help and useful tips

[pianoguyy]

The 500 was programmed to go bad the minute the 500x came out, which was programed to go bad when the Firefox came out (is the the right name?), which broke as soon as the Helix came out. Luckily, I hacked the CMOS and turned the date back to 2003, which was when the 500 was still in concept mode, which tricked the 500 into being better than it was when it came out to the general public. 

 

 

Beyond that... 

The 500, 500X, HD Pro, and HD ProX are all the same unit. So, if you are looking for patches, you can use patches designed for any of them. 

And there is a converter locked to the top of the forum that will convert files for other devices. 

 

On 8/8/2024 at 11:20 AM, JonahP12 said:

it is brand new to me. 

 

On 8/8/2024 at 11:20 AM, JonahP12 said:

Plug in direct to System via XLR

 

Before you get to far into anything, I would suggest you get the system settings correct. Otherwise, you'll be fighting a battle you can't win. 

 

 

 

[theElevators]

The concept of a snapshot really makes Pod Go better.  Not everybody uses/cares about this "revolutionary" feature.  For me, I can't imagine how I'd play my sets if snapshots were not available.  Once you start using something, it's difficult to go back. 

 

There are some workarounds to assign multiple things to the same footswitch, but it's still not the same. 

[cruisinon2]

On 8/8/2024 at 11:20 AM, JonahP12 said:

I recently acquired a 500HD for worship music at my local church. I have been playing with a Pod Pro Rackmount system for nearly 2 decades. I know now days the helix family is taking center stage, and the 500hd is probably considered a dinosaur to most. However, it is brand new to me. 

I discovered patches the other day, (something else I didn't even know existed) and would like to know what good reliable patches would be worth looking into. I can always build them from scratch, but with the limited amount of down time I have on a day to day basis, I'd like a foundation to start on if possible. 

 

I prefer a Jesus Culture, Bethel, Hillsong vibe. I also like a more heavy Crowder or Lincoln Brewster feel too. 

 

There's not much to go off of these days because everyone has moved on, any help would be greatly appreciated.

A few other key notes:

Gibson 335 

500HD as primary pedal (have an external pedals: volume, gain, delay. None are dire important right now, just back up)

Plug in direct to System via XLR

 

There will forever be problems associated with using patches created by someone else...but this is true of any modeler, and has nothing specifically to do with the HD500. There are numerous variables that come into play when creating tones...the guitar, pickups, playing style, the output method that was used ("real" guitar amp/cab, FRFR speaker(s), headphones), and especially the volume at which the tweaking was done. The moral of the story is that just because you come across a patch that claims to emulate a particular artist or song, there is absolutely ZERO guarantee that it'll sound like that on your end when you load it up. You might get lucky once in a while, but most will leave you scratching your head as to what sort of recreational chemicals led the guy who dialed it in to conclude that it sounded just like Joe Satriani. You will likely find yourself downloading dozens (if not hundreds) of tones, just to find the one or two that you can actually use without extensive modifications...ask me how I know, lol. It's an easy rabbit hole to fall into, and an EPIC time waster. In the end you will inevitably conclude that you'll get to where you need to be much faster if you just do it yourself.

 

So the bottom line is this: Get used to creating your own tones. You can try others' patches to get a general idea of how it's done, but no modeler is a "plug and play" device. They tend to have a learning curve which can be rather steep, depending on your familiarity with modeling in general. And some of the older devices are much less user friendly and not quite as intuitive as the newer stuff. It's gonna take some getting used to. All that being said, there's nothing inherently wrong with what you've got...just don't expect instant gratification, 'cause that ain't happening no matter what device you choose.