keepitheavy Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Hey all, I'm about to make the transition to the HD series. Been a XT Live owner for many years and I think it's time to upgrade. I've been lurking the forums for a long time and read countless threads on the usual 500/500x comparisons, but I can't make up my mind yet. So, if possible, I'd like your opinion on this: I'm on a really tight budget (what with the crisis and all) and I can find a used POD HD 500 for around 250€ here in Greece. The 500x sells for ~500€ (new). Being an active musician, playing in 3 bands - all gigging regularly, should I go for the used one or is the 500x really "worth" double the money and the wait to get that kind of cash? I know the worthiness is subjective, but in an actual live situation when you'll probably won't be able to chain a bunch of weird FXs and dual amps, is the extra DSP power, the slightly upgraded footswitches and brighter LED screen, a deal breaker? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealZap Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 for that price difference i'd go for the 500. the x is not worth double! some nice to haves... but no deal breakers, in my opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncann Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I'll echo what TheRealZap just said. The 500X is not worth double the 500. However, a 500X can be found new for around 400 - 425 USD (293 - 312 €). I'm not sure if that's true (or can be) in Greece though. :unsure: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alienux Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I have a 500X, but I would have bought the 500 if I hadn't gotten such a good deal. I got my 500X for $395 on amazon.com in early April. If it hadn't been on sale, I would have probably just went with a 500. It's back up to $499 now, but there are a couple of Amazon marketplace sellers listing it at $419. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 buy the 500 and save the rest 4 a JTV from nakas. rdgs/john 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepitheavy Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Thanks for all the replies :) duncann: Unfortunately, as I said, you can't find a 500x for less than/around 500€ here yet... :/ Anyway, so far I see you guys are 100% positive towards buying the used 500, so I'll trust your expertise and go test it out! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I've used the 500 since it was available in live situations between 1-10 times a month plus two-times-a-week rehearsals and I have not had a single issue other than how annoying the damn EQs are, but the X wouldn't help ya there anyways. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncann Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 The EQs are very annoying; sometimes to the point of intentionally avoiding using them. But the 500X can help with EQs in the sense that they are easier to avoid because of more DSP. More DSP means increasing the possibility of using dual cabs/mics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepitheavy Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Why are the EQs that annoying? Is their quality bad, or is it because of how they present each setting (they use percentages if I've seen correctly)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 they use percentages instead of frequencies... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphodboy Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Hey all, I'm about to make the transition to the HD series. Been a XT Live owner for many years and I think it's time to upgrade. I've been lurking the forums for a long time and read countless threads on the usual 500/500x comparisons, but I can't make up my mind yet. So, if possible, I'd like your opinion on this: I'm on a really tight budget (what with the crisis and all) and I can find a used POD HD 500 for around 250€ here in Greece. The 500x sells for ~500€ (new). Being an active musician, playing in 3 bands - all gigging regularly, should I go for the used one or is the 500x really "worth" double the money and the wait to get that kind of cash? I know the worthiness is subjective, but in an actual live situation when you'll probably won't be able to chain a bunch of weird FXs and dual amps, is the extra DSP power, the slightly upgraded footswitches and brighter LED screen, a deal breaker? I have the HD500 (not the X) and gig with it once or twice per week and it has been rock solid. Whether the 500X is worth the money really depends on the type of sounds you use. If your tones are very complex, using dual amps + pitch effects etc. it may be worth spending the extra on the HD500X as you may get frustrated keep running into the DSP limit on the regular 500. If, like me, your tones tend to be fairly simple e.g. OD, amp model, modulation, delay, reverb with a bit of EQ the HD500 will be fine. Sonically the general consensus is that there is little or no difference. I believe that the footswitches are a little better on the 500X but as I said earlier I have gigged a couple of times a week with mine for the last 18 months and my HD500 has never let me down. If you want to have fun with your patches the HD500 can still give you some whacky sounds BTW. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncann Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Why are the EQs that annoying? Is their quality bad, or is it because of how they present each setting (they use percentages if I've seen correctly)? For me, it's not just that some use percentages, but most also audibly clip internally way too easy, especially when placed after the amp. One of the better ones is the studio EQ. Too bad it only has two frequencies per block. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepitheavy Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 You ever hear anyone say: "I'm hearing too much 12%...roll it off a little"? Me neither...lol Maybe it's some kind of stock market slang? :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Although not ideal, you can find a table to translate % to frequency here: http://line6.com/support/topic/335-frequency-response-graphs-for-hd500-eqs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 BTW, I have heard from reputable sources that the EQs are an impossible fix. Not gonna happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 ok, so we have 2 live with % i guess.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 MCU/DSP communication issue, I guess. So, basically poor execution of implementation from the get-go and no interest in fixing it after the fact. Unless there really is NO OTHER WAY for the software to handle it, but I find that incredibly hard to digest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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