videoman77 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I was playing around today with my hd500x today and noticed that in the parameters where you select guitar input (i.e. guitar, variax, aux etc) i noticed that there is a feature to the right called Guitar In-Z and it was set to Auto. Below that it showed this was the "Global" setting. With earbuds in i noticed when i adjusted the In-Z parameter that i had significantly less noise (my pedal is always noisy from the headphone jack just fyi - i go thru PA & monitors not so bad.) i have it set to 22K and now i have my noise gate set back to about -40. When it was on auto i had to Gate up to about -54. What is the ideal setting here? I noticed really anything else other than Auto sounded less noisy. Thanks! Caleb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_Igloo Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 When set to "Auto", POD looks at the first processing block in the signal flow and sets its input impedance circuit to match the pedal (or amp) modeled for that block. The default setting is 1M Ohm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 When set to "Auto", POD looks at the first processing block in the signal flow and sets its input impedance circuit to match the pedal (or amp) modeled for that block. The default setting is 1M Ohm. Thanks for the reply! So do i leave it on Auto, if so, why would anyone need to change it? I noticed lower noise (buzz) when i set mine to 22K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 When you "lower the noise" you may also be low pass filtering your guitar signal. The Impedance change affects how much roll off there is of high frequencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_Igloo Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Personally, I leave mine on 1M Ohm, but trust your ears. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 With a real amp, normal guitar, and cable, you have an input filter that is mostly made up of the cable capacitance, the resistance and inductance of the mag pickups, and the input impedance of the amp. This "filter" shapes your guitar's tone. Longer cable lowers the resonant frequency of this LRC filter. This can be very noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 When you "lower the noise" you may also be low pass filtering your guitar signal. The Impedance change affects how much roll off there is of high frequencies. Ok so whatever frequency i am manually setting is whats being rolled off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 You are not setting a frequency. You are setting an Input Impedance. (Or a modeled one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NucleusX Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Frequency rolloff is a consequence of changing input impedances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_Igloo Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 You are not setting a frequency. You are setting an Input Impedance. (Or a modeled one) It's a real impedance circuit that's digitally controlled. Only on the Guitar Input tho'; the Aux in doesn't have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Thanks everyone! I have to admit this is over my head!! Lol Why is impedance important? What benefit would it be to manually set this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NucleusX Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Impedance affects the frequency EQ shape from your pickups, changing this also changes the tone of your pickups. This feature can be desirable if your hunting down a specific tonal characteristic from your pickups or if your trying to match various actives or passives with your amp. If you don't care much about it, just set it to 1M and leave it be, set and forget kind of thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Thanks everyone! Good info!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 It actually is a bit complicated because it involves your guitar pickups, your guitar cable, and the Pod Input. This is a real effect that you have using a normal amp as well but the Pod allows you to adjust it's input impedance which will affect how your pickups and cable interact to affect your tone. Some pickups have more turns on them with thinner wire which increases their inductance and resistance. This moves the resonant frequency lower. Longer guitar cables suck out the tone because they have higher capacitance. This can vary from cable to cable and is a per foot number. Setting the pod to a high impedance will minimize this effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 So would a high impedance be the 1m? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 I have a black Gibson SG. Would I need to find out what the impedance is of the humbuckers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Really, just use whichever setting you think sounds the best and works the best for you. There's no right or wrong setting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoman77 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 This has turned into quite an interesting topic! Some say it's all about what you like to hear. Others Maintain there's a science behind it all and that should be considered! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 You have to remember that what the circuit is changing is the input impedance. Most, if not all, guitar amps have a high input impedance. They would be in the 1M Ohm range. Some pedals are notorious for having a low input impedance - vintage wahs and fuzzes, for instance, and that input impedance affects the way they make your guitar sound. So if you have one of those effects first in your signal chain in the HD500X, in order to be accurate, the input impedance should be lowered. If you have the input Z set to auto, the HD500X will do that for you automatically. It matches the input impedance to whatever the actual input on the pedal or amp being modeled is. But you can always experiment with what sounds best. Getting into the resistance of different pickups is interesting, but it's kind of muddying the waters a bit in regards to this particular setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I have a black Gibson SG. Would I need to find out what the impedance is of the humbuckers? Usually humbuckers are dark enough by themselves and work best working into a high impedance. I'd start at 1 Meg. You can then raise (or lower) it to get more (or less) high end as you desire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 The science is nice to know but how it sounds is all that matters in the end. Humbuckers tend to be "darker" because their inductance and resistance is higher then most single coils. We are not talking "Impedance Matching" like with speakers. There is no right or wrong setting here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NucleusX Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Simple explanation. Impedance affects the frequency EQ shape from your pickups, changing this also changes the tone of your pickups. This feature can be desirable if your hunting down a specific tonal characteristic from your pickups or if your trying to match various actives or passives with your amp. If you don't care much about it, just set it to 1M and leave it be, set and forget kind of thing. Complicated explanation. The definition of Impedance (Z) is A/C resistance, which is different to D/C resistance. A/C signals is what comes from your guitar, and A/C resistance is dynamic to certain frequencies. Those frequency points of resistance are judged by the filter circuit that is made between your guitars pickups and pedal or amp input. This subject involves electronics knowledge of "Resonance and Reactance" filters which is formed by Inductance, Capacitance, and Resistance commonly referred to as L/C/R networks. This is also the same science behind microphones and speakers. I was going to give you the complicated rundown at first, but I thought the lamans version would've been a lot easier to digest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panaman Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 is this "real" impedance circuit an emulated Z impedance circuit or just a switched resistor array? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyo78 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Does it matter? Impedance can be derived many different ways of varying capacitance, inductance and resistance and don't even start with "resistive impedance" or "reactive impedance" or we'll end up baking our noodles. :blink: Cable length... come on... many a great guitarist has used very long cables live and sound great. There are many guitarists who only use cables (no wireless) and there are many factors (i.e. effects, amps, outboard gear) which can affect your tone so as stated above already... do what sounds "best to you". ;) Oh... you can't say a$$ or it self-edits it to lollipop. :rolleyes: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I saw in a gear review with Santana's tech he does not use a wireless and uses a 50ft cable to his board. The reason gave was actually two fold. One was to give him room to move around, the second thought was the he actually wanted the slight tone altering affect of having a long cable. I never really thought about someone doing that on purpose, and yes that is with his PRS signature guitar he does this on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I imagine the impedance is a real resistor. It needs to interact with the pickups and emulating that would be way more expensive and complicated than just using a resistor network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeron Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Digital Igloo says it's a real circuit in post 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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