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me too! goodbye line 6 hello boss gp-10


Slooky
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Sold my hd 500, too complicated! I really think they put too much into the amps section. Like just give me the amp don't give all the other stuff , sag, hum, mics, whatever else you have to tweak. Tweak tweak and more tweak ! The choruses were cheesy at best. All other effects were great. I really would like to know how many hours I spent reading, tweaking. I really tried to convince myself that this was for me. I feel so relieved that it's gone!

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good for you.  Because there is nothing to tweak with the GP-10.  Just use the factory ones or download other people's tone sets, alternate tunings, etc. and NEVER make any adjustments cause they are awesome and you will sound amazing.  And of course you won't waste any time playing with the endless number of synths with literally millions of patches and other midi gadgets that you can now hook up to.  Hey it only has 2 knobs and two foot switches, it must be easier... Hello rock stardom...

 

Just kidding, hope it works for you.

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Sold my hd 500, too complicated! I really think they put too much into the amps section. Like just give me the amp don't give all the other stuff , sag, hum, mics, whatever else you have to tweak. Tweak tweak and more tweak ! The choruses were cheesy at best. All other effects were great. I really would like to know how many hours I spent reading, tweaking. I really tried to convince myself that this was for me. I feel so relieved that it's gone!

 

Goodbye Line 6 Hello lollipope mediocre tones from BOSS.

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I'm often amused at these posts. I have gotten on the case regarding certain aspects of the device, but overall one of the main reasons I bought it was I walked into to Guitar Center, plugged in a guitar, twiddled a few knobs, cycled a couple of menus, and had a tone that I would have been fine using in most live scenarios without ever cracking a manual or even adjusting and of the DEPs (because they didn't exist yet, I bought it the second weekd it was out, planning to buy a GT-10, btw). Whereas I literally fought weekly for YEARS with my Boss GT-5/6/8 to get a live tone I was truly happy with.

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Hey maybe you love your pods, it just wasn't for me. But i,m not the only one.

Yes Boss did make crappie sounding multi-effects units , but not the gp-10.

 

I've heard demos and they sound like the run of the mill outdated BOSS modeling technology to me, that shill high end and thin lifeless sound signature to analog and digital boss distortion pedals, still there imo.

 

If you can crank out a good tone, all to you, but it's not my cup of tea 

 

 

LOL @ the sarcastic replies, if hurting Line6 ego's was your mission, id say you succeeded. :)

Personally, I'm genuinely happy for you ! goodluck buddy, find peace with your technology.

 

Because I truly, 100% believe modern BOSS is garbage. They ride on their name and their name alone, but all of their new products are complete rubbish. Their modeling technology is embarrassingly behind times despite them having multiple opportunities to update the modeling section of their products, but it's always the same early 2000's COSM sounding modeling that does not fit anywhere in today's advanced modeling generations which took HUGE leaps to sounding 95% like a real amp. 

 

This isn't just Line 6, it's IK Media, It's Native Instruments, it's VOX, it's Electro Harmonix, Fractile, Kemper,  it's all the other respectable companies, meanwhile BOSS craps out pedals that are "supposed to be alternatives to popular tones that people are seeking for" which sound really hamfisted compared to anything else actually trying to sound like a specific tone.

 

You can go ahead and keep supporting a company that is stuck in last decade's technology but I prefer real sounding amp sims.

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Well, rather than spill my inner negative thoughts of why I'd disagree with his choice, and kick

him in the pants on the way out for making a choice better suited to himself, which is all that

really matters, I'd rather say goodbye on a graceful note. anything less is just childish imo.

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I can understand his frustration as I felt similarly for a while.  But once I finally got a handle on the PODHD I truly appreciate what it does.  However not everyone needs or wants this level of technology.  I believe this is why Line6 came out with their Amplifi product.

 

BOSS wouldn't have been my first choice as an alternative but to each their own.

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Hey Clay-man I am guessing you have a variax?? So your kinda stuck with line 6?   :D

 

I've been using my Variax just fine with Guitar Rig and other things. So no? You can use it with anything you want, because it works as a regular guitar. I made my choice to get a POD because I actually LIKE their stuff.

 

Now, if you're certain you can get some awesome stuff out of a GP-10, go straight ahead, but from all I've heard from BOSS over the years, if I were to jump from a HD500 to a BOSS unit I would be sorely disappointed.

 

Unless you're using a GK setup, I strongly suggest looking into other options than BOSS.

 

Oh, also if it was too complicated, you could have looked into a HD300 or HD400 which has less tweaking.

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I myself have found that running any POD into into any guitar amp either the front end or into the power section doesn't produce the best results for these devices.

 

I spent a lot of time running it through various amps (the best result I got was into the tube power amp in on a line6 spyder valve). However when I put the thing in Studio/Direct mode and connected it to a Line 6 L2m speaker I finally got the full sound that this thing can create and I have to tell you, for me it is flat out awesome!

 

-Max

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Like Joel (above) I too understand the OPs intent. No critism in there. The HD is a beast to tackle all at once but the rewards are there in baby steps. I've had many "Ah-ha" moments which have made it a keeper.

 

A MFX hoarder myself I bounce around here and there but TBH I am a L6 fanboy at heart and would have steered the OP towards an X3.

 

That said I still noodle with a GS10 and GT3 now and again!

 

Rock On my man and hope to see you back!

Bill

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I too was looking at a GT10 and tried it and the GT100, It didn't make me give up my Revalver II.

The sales guy even put me on one of those Chinese Fenders with on board modelling and it sounded better but admitedly the GTs were on headphones. But after my Spider II crapped I didn't want onboard modelling and I never liked it anyway.

I was walking out and noticed the POD HD on display in a different section and plugged in, I hadn't heard about it and I was still sour on Line 6 gear.

I put on the headphones and got the wow factor, asked how much? Asked what about cash today, got one and am still happy after two years.

 

A Muso mate of miune bought a GT100 not long ago mainly as it had amp channel switching. LOL

Another mate I had a jam with  had one and was playing into an amp dirty channel. I helped him set up his amp to bet the best from it. 

I had a play with it and it does the job and the presets are good. I found that tweakin not so good but my HD500 has instant physical amp controls. I'd put is like the 300 or 400.

Yours is a GP 10 which I havent heard of must be a new model

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Hey Bjnette - yep that puppy came out recently IIRC. Looks pretty cool for a compact pedal - think RP255 style (2 buttons with an exp pedal).

 

I love the GC story - probably why my wife hates me going there :)

 

Oooo pedals!

 

Bill

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Just got my HD500 and I gotta say, was really confusing at first but messing around in 1 hour already makes it really easy to figure out. I already know how to make a signal chain and program the effects to the the foot controllers. It's really not hard, it's just daunting at first, but I don't get why people think it's over complicated. 

 

You could always download the editor for your computer if the interface is too complicated for you.

 

For me, I'm really happy with my HD500, and it stacks up really well with the high quality modern amp modelers of today.

 

Good luck with your BOSS though, I hope you can find something you're happy with, but I'm just saying, if you just take some time you'd get something great out of it.

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I get where Slooky is coming from re option paralysis BUT I have (to my ears anyway) found exceptional tones without tweaking any of the sag, hum etc etc parameters. The unit is as complicated as you want to make it. The problem may be that now the DEP stuff has been tweaked it could be difficult to get it to sound 'right' again? Maybe a reflash and start over??

 

Anyways if you jump ship to Boss good luck dude...hope you find tone nirvana.

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this is how it should work....

those parameters are the equivalent of having an amp tech monkey around with your amp...

you'd never do that on the fly....

 

if i come to the conclusion that i need to adjust one of these...

rather than go and actually adjust them...

i seriously consider if i might be better served choosing a different amp model.

 

they exist to be used... sure... but they also exist to be mostly ignored IMO.

 

 

 exceptional tones without tweaking any of the sag, hum etc etc parameters.

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I had my POD HD500 for 2 days now and I know how to adjust everything already, deep tweaking (sag hum bias) change cab parameters, set up midi, assign to pedals, change the variax options, all that stuff.

I did this without reading the manual too. It's really not hard, it just takes some time. You have to be patient.

 

I thought it already sounds good already without any tweaking. I'm sure if I messed around some more I can get even better, but they sound pretty stellar already.

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I have no experience with the newer GT boards, but I've had a GT-6. I'm no modeling snob. I don't really care much about HD vs COSM - they all sound fine to me - well, good enough anyway. And 90% of the audience wouldn't be able to tell, either. But the user interface and work flow of the BOSS never settled with me. Each time I got it out I had re-read the manual. Not at all intuitive. That's what drove me to sell it and get the HD500. The Line6 stuff is just plain easier to use. So before you buy, see if you can try one out first. Maybe you'll find the BOSS less complicated. I sure didn't.

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I have no experience with the newer GT boards, but I've had a GT-6. I'm no modeling snob. I don't really care much about HD vs COSM - they all sound fine to me - well, good enough anyway. And 90% of the audience wouldn't be able to tell, either. But the user interface and work flow of the BOSS never settled with me. Each time I got it out I had re-read the manual. Not at all intuitive. That's what drove me to sell it and get the HD500. The Line6 stuff is just plain easier to use. So before you buy, see if you can try one out first. Maybe you'll find the BOSS less complicated. I sure didn't.

 

I care about it because I  think in this day and age it's kind of a ripoff to sell something that's new that sounds like it came from last decade. Another reason is because I'm going to use this for studio stuff so I need it to sound top notch, and BOSS just sounds like a cheap modeling amp. Even the X3 sounds better than the BOSS.

 

That's nice if you want a bunch of different tones but if they all sound mediocre then why get it? The biggest problem for me is that I have a bunch of plugins at my disposal that are high stellar software modelers, Amplitube 3, Lepou, Amp Room, stuff like that, even Guitar Rig. I'm not going to replace that with something that sounds 10 times worse. The POD HD actually holds up to those though. It's something that'll I'll use when I want something different than what I got on my computer.

 

For BOSS, I'm not going to use their stuff, maybe my HM-2, or DS-1, but that's it.

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Gotta agree with clay-man here.  The OP may not need or want the PODHD and that's fine, but BOSS sounds like crap and even a drunk idiot in the audience can tell the difference.  But hey, maybe the OP doesn't play out, just in his basement.  Or maybe he can't play the guitar well where it makes a difference.  Who knows...

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Well lets not go there regarding the OPs choice :)

 

I have heard some excellent stuff through Boss equipment GT10, ME50, etc... AaronArdvark here (hope I got his name right) puts up some great clips involving both. Competition is good.

 

BTW another Sabbath album!!!

 

\m/ Bill \m/

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Yours is a GP 10 which I havent heard of must be a new model

 

The GP10 has me quite intrigued actually. Now, personally I dig my Line6 gear, I've spent a lot of time brainstorming and trying different routing and connection options. It's a very seriously flexible and badass range of equipment. I have no qualms though, about intergear relationships; my Line6 equipment is the core of what I have going on, but at various points I have wired it together with multiple other brands and types of gear; Eleven Rack, analog Keeley pedals, TC Helicon Voice Live 3, to name a few.

 

I read that Glenn DeLaune actually mounted a Roland pickup system into his JTV, and he uses both sets of models and the various tuning options. For example, the GP10 has a nylon string acoustic guitar model.

 

I have been considering checking that GP10 out, indeed! But no way I abandon the Line6 rig, it's the core, heart and soul of my musical exploration right now. I even let my buddy who I jam with take over my Keeley pedalboard, and I've got him on my Line6 wireless since I am using the VDI from the JTV to the HD500. I also run a 1/4" off the JTV into a TC Helicon VoiceLive3, but that's mostly for pitch tracking. I do sometimes use the acoustic guitar patches on the VL3 when I am using the JTV acoustic models, to have a 'direct' option that bypasses the HD500.

 

Anyway, on a side note, does anyone know what is entailed in installing a Roland GK-3 pickup system in a guitar? Or as Glenn did, even putting one in a JTV?>

 

This video Glenn did is pretty cool, check it out:

 

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Hey Clay-man I am guessing you have a variax?? So your kinda stuck with line 6?   :D

 

Stuck! No way :) Here's my rig: JTV59 + HD500 + M13 + VoiceLive3 + DT25  + a pair of L2t's.. Unreal how good that stuff can all sound, each alone, or combined together. The Line6 amp modelling is still near or at the top of heap.

 

Which is an important distinction I think a lot of people missed in this thread - OP is not talking about the BOSS alternate to the HD500 / POD, etc - he is NOT speaking of the 'GT' series. He's talking about the GP10. DIFFERENT BEAAST! The GP10 + GK-3 pickup is like turning my regular strat into a Variax. The GP10 happens to also have some of the COSM, BOSS, etc. I don't *CARE* about that other stuff, just the guitar / synth models.

 

If I was going to add a GP10 to my rig, I would run the GP10 + GK-3 models INTO my HD500 amp models. In some ways, this conversation is more applicable to the Variax forum, but that's splitting hairs.

 

On that note of being "Stuck" with the variax, I once again quote Glenn DeLaune (who can play circles around most any guitarist round these parts)

 

 
"Yes I love the JTV69. Actually I installed the GK-3 pick-up onto the Variax LOL. So now I've got both modelers going at the same time. The only thing the Variax models are better are for the reso models like Banjo, Sitar, Resonators etc. Boss has better acoustic and electric guitar modeling in my opinion. Heck the variax doesn't even do nylon string where the GP-10 has a beautiful nylon model."

 

 

(one final note......G.A.S.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

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Heck the variax doesn't even do nylon string where the GP-10 has a beautiful nylon model."

 

Yep no nylon model is a glaring ommision, especially when it has so many reso models and a sitar which are probably more niche than a nylon. 

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I took a closer look at the GK-3 installation - the external version is pretty basic, anyone could do that at home, with no drilling or using screws - but as such I can imagine it might be a bit glitchy if the divided pickup moves around at all. 

 

I would like to hear a comparable 'shoot out' between the GK-3 + GP10 vs. a JTV, just in terms of the models.

 

The GK-3 + GP10 is definitely something that puts the 'Variax' style technology in a more affordable price point. $500 for a GK-3 + GP-10 on Sweetwater; vs at least $1,000 for a JTV. HOWEVER, the 'internal' installation of the GK pickup into a guitar is a way, way more involved process that entails routing out the inside of your guitar to accommodate the system, which make the JTV that more appealing since all that rather touchy and detailed work is inherent in the design.

 

I guess I would probably install the GK-3 external on my strat or something, and use it as an alternate to the JTV; while tempting to install it on the JTV, I don't relish the weight it would add, the JTV is already a pretty hefty axe!

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I did a bunch of research on the GP-10 and it's corresponding MIDI pickup system (GK-3), and I can say that it doesn't make me want to immediately jump on that bandwagon. The external version of the GK-3 looks like it would be a total mess to install on a guitar; somewhat Borg looking in fact, having that thing clamped on the back of your axe with the cable running across the face.

 

Then, by comparison, would I *really* want to pay a luthier to carve out the back of my nice USA strat for example, to install the internal version of that pickup?

 

Because, though it can be used standalone, the really only good reason to use a GP-10 is with a MIDI pickup.

 

So, then you start wondering about the 'pre installed' version; looks like your basic run of the mill Mexican made Fender Strat, with the Roland GK pickup and it's control dials and buttons pre-installed. Runs something like $800 or $900 bucks I think?

 

I looked at some other MIDI pickups, there are several on the market. I also looked at what the GR-55 or whatever it is can do, compared with the GP-10, and I see where it goes; in the sense of, do you want to make your guitar sound like a trumpet? OR a piano? Or some other non-guitar instrument?

 

In that sense, you aren't really in a realm inhabited only by Roland and Boss. You could run a MIDI pickup into something like Reason for example.

 

So, while at first glance, $500 for an external GK-3 and a GP-10 seems like a fun, limited cost investment, it's not without it's limitations. I mulled over putting in on my JTV59, just to be stupid - have the Variax modeling going at the same time as the Roland/Boss MIDI models.

 

I guess that is the key distinction: The Boss / Roland gear converts your guitar notes into MIDI data, and using a standard 13 pin connection, triggers MIDI audio from one of their devices - such as the GP-10, or the older VG-99, or the GR-55. How it *tracks* is a combination of the installation of the pickup on the guitar coupled with the DSP of the outboard device.

 

As a comparison to the JTV, which is more like an all-in-one MIDI guitar with the onboard tone modules, it's not apples and apples. 

 

I think there may be some cool developments down the road, for sure. But seeing as how you can't even get a *nice* pre-installed Fender Roland equipped axe, it's not a straight forward thing.

 

There is also a wireless MIDI pickup system that looks slightly less Borg-like, but has no 13 pin output, it sends to a USB dongle, so you would be using it with software instead of hardware devices.

 

While I was tempted to go order one of these rigs from Sweetwater, for now, am resisting the G.A.S. Tempting stuff though, I mean, who doesn't want to be able to trigger piano or strings or trumpets and saxo-ma-phone with their guitar?> :)

 

Unfortunately, the GP-10 leaves off all of those fun, albeit somewhat cheesy effects, and focuses primarily on the guitar modeling, and the synth stuff, which also shares DSP with the COSM amp modelling, which I could do without.

 

Since the GR-55 is a few years old already, I would be interested in the next "nice" MIDI guitar unit, with maybe updated HD samples, tones, instruments and such. For that matter, a JTV with a 13 pin output and a 'instrument modelling only' pedalboard which can L6link would be tasty.

 

For me, the HD500 amp models are still TOP of the heap in that price point; definitely better than the COSM stuff. Probably not 100% on par with the Axe-FX for example, but last I checked $500 is still not $2,000 and I wouldn't expect a $500 piece of equipment to equal a $2,000 price point piece of gear. Toyota is awesome, but it's still not a Tesla. ;)

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I feel the need to jump in here and correct this - the Roland modeling gear does NOT convert to MIDI, much like the piezos on a Variax it takes the actual vibrating-string audio and processes that in (latency effected) real time.  The original VG's (which sit in my rack) didn't even provide "note based" MIDI out - the port was there strictly for sysex dumps and such.

 

Just wanted to keep things straight....

 


I guess that is the key distinction: The Boss / Roland gear converts your guitar notes into MIDI data, and using a standard 13 pin connection, triggers MIDI audio from one of their devices - such as the GP-10, or the older VG-99, or the GR-55. How it *tracks* is a combination of the installation of the pickup on the guitar coupled with the DSP of the outboard device.

 

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Gotta agree with clay-man here.  The OP may not need or want the PODHD and that's fine, but BOSS sounds like crap and even a drunk idiot in the audience can tell the difference.  But hey, maybe the OP doesn't play out, just in his basement.  Or maybe he can't play the guitar well where it makes a difference.  Who knows...

The way you carry on through these forums, your the only one who knows how to play the guitar!  You really don't impress me. :rolleyes:

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I can understand you moving on if the unit isn't for you but don't understand your reasons. The adjustment possibilites in the amp section for me is the most important to get desired tones. And the point it is too complicated makes me think you didn't put too much time in understanding the unit and reading the manual. But I totally understand people who say I wanna less tweaking and more playing.

 

For me it actually works great and after years with my HD500, most of the time I'm looking for a tone I'll tweak it in less than 15 minutes.

 

But I also was thinking chance to other units but for other reason. For example I was near to buy an Elevenrack for better recording options like direct reamping and better software for tweaking.

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But I also was thinking chance to other units but for other reason. For example I was near to buy an Elevenrack for better recording options like direct reamping and better software for tweaking.

 

Yeah, I have an ElevenRack, it's a nice piece of gear! I wanted to get Pro Tools, and bought the bundle with the Eleven Rack. It's a pretty solid set of amp and fx models, it definitely hold it's own. You need something like a Ground Control to use it as a footswitch rig, but just as a soundcard, tone module and/or for reamping it's pretty cool. Record a dry guitar, then using the Eleven Rack, reamp into an HD500, for example. I look at it as, I bought ProTools 11, got a free Eleven Rack! The plexi amp model is stellar, and all the FX are excellent quality.

 

On Sweetwater, they actually show the cost of the software by itself is $60 MORE than the cost of the ElevenRack and ProTools 11 bundle with the download code. I bought the Eleven Rack + PT11 from Sweetwater, and it included an iLok; the software is a download version. Not sure if they give you an iLok with the software only versions; though I would imagine they would with at least the boxed version. The Ground Control by itself is $400 alone, so that option would be tempting for anyone shopping this.

 

Pro Tools 11 + Eleven Rack (Sweetwater) : $639.99

Pro Tools 11 + Eleven Rack + Ground Control (Sweetwater) : $940.98

ProTools 11 [download] (Sweetwater) : $699

ProTools 11 [boxed] (Sweetwater) : $699.00

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A big part of getting any of the gear like all of these discussed (Eleven Rack, HD500, GR-55, GP-10, GT100, AxeFX, etc) is the SPEAKER(s) used to monitor / listen / play through. Not all amps are equal! You could give ten musicians the HD500, each with different speakers / monitors / amps, etc., and get *very* different reviews based on the actual amplification being used. Which is important when discussing these things; maybe someone who hates one piece of gear but loves another is hearing the difference as a result of their amps, vs the actual tonal difference between this, that or the other thing.

 

From the OP's (Slooky) comment "just give me the amp don't give all the other stuff , sag, hum, mics, whatever else you have to tweak", I would imagine that implies they didn't take the time to understand the output modes, for example. Why would you buy an HD amp modeling device, then say "leave out the CORE of the amp modeling experience"? I mean, that's the essence of the gear, all the way back to the original POD. A roomful of amps, in a pedalboard, with the cab, room and mic settings to emulate the experience of taking your favorite amps and pedal to a studio, dialing in a sound, in a good room with good mics - and replacing all that with a digital modeling solution. 

 

For example, we know the OP doesn't like the HD500 due to the complexity and wants something far more simple. Fair enough - but we don't know what the OP is using to amplify the sound! I mean, no offense to the OP, but the pre-installed presets include some very basic virtually empty patches which contain only an amp model - if your amplification rig is set up properly and all other things being correct, those patches will sound AMAZING. IF they don't, something is wrong somewhere beyond the HD500. Seriously. Take a blank preset. Make the amp model the "plexi normal". Plug the 1/4" output into the FX return of ANY guitar amp. Change the output mode to "combo/poweramp". Play guitar. This WILL SOUND AWESOME, and if it doesn't, get a new amp.

 

Conversely, do the same thing, except change the output mode to 'studio/direct'. Plug the XLR or 1/4" outs in stereo into a pair of semi-decent monitors, speakers, etc. It will also SOUND good. If it doesn't, it's not the HD500 to blame. Seriously. And if that is in any way "too complex", then amp modeling is not for you, because it doesn't get any simpler. Again no offense intended - it's not rocket science. Installing that GK-3 pickup on a guitar is WAY more complicated and time consuming than dialing in good tones with an HD500. 

 

For me, I struggled with getting the HD500 to sound good with amps and with direct to the PA. Then, it all changed when I bought a DT and a pair of L2t's at the start of this year. I like my DT25 a whole lot; it took the HD500 to a new level. I also like using it with a pair of L2t's, those also rock, and bring out the other side of the HD500. But the *experience* is very, very different, even using the same patch. For example, maybe the OP didn't have the opportunity to explore using the HD500 in 'combo/poweramp' properly, vs 'studio/direct'. I've gotten horrible tones using my HD500 with an older, really nice tube amp - which didn't have an FX Loop, then achieved amazing results using my crappy SWR bass rig or even a random old solid-state Fender guitar amp - that had an FX return.

 

But we don't know, because the OP didn't come here for SOLUTIONS or ADVICE. The OP came here to crow about the Boss GP-10 and start trouble. No worries! Enjoy the GP-10, it looks fun. Of course, I would miss not having XLR outputs; the GP-10 (nor the GR-55) have XLR outs. Doesn't make me any less intrigued, because if I were to add a GP-10 to my rig, I would STILL be using it WITH my HD500. I would run the GP-10 into the FX return of my HD500. I would use it for a combination of synth, pitch shifting and whatever else it does. But that's just me, I tend to over think this stuff, and create needless complexity with my rig just for the sake of puzzle solving. For instance, if someone had a GK pickup on a guitar, or a GC-1 Roland strat, the pairing of a GP-10 with an HD500 would be a pretty stellar rig - in that instance, the GP-10 would take the place of a Variax, and that would be a pretty stellar rig. Run the 13 pin GK into the GP-10, and send the GP-10 into the HD500. Bamm! HD amp modeling paired with divided pickup awesomeness. Which is exactly what you get with a JTV -> VDI -> HD500. "You say tomato, I say tomato"... They are in essence, the same. Just a different way of getting there.

 

A couple things that the GP-10 / GR-55 offer - the tuner. It's stellar. Strum all six strings. It tracks the pitch of each string in one tuner screen; really solid. I dig it. And there is also this: (looks like this cable costs more than $100 and comes out next year..,) 

  • "Play the GP-10 and another 13-pin GK device at the same time using the GKP-2 Parallel Cable (optional)"

 

For a while I was splitting the VDI signal with the HD500 into 'variax mags' and 'variax models', then sending the 'variax mags' out from the FX loop, into a bunch of Keeley pedals, and back in the FX loop. I was splitting those into separate amp models, and having a lot of trouble trying to balance the levels, but it sure was fun trying! In the end, I let my buddy in my band take over the Keeley pedalboard, and now his rig is all old school, but sounding sweet. Basically, I wanted an M13, found one on craigslist, and the guy gave me a sweet deal, gigantic pedalboard, M13, and a Line6 G-50 wireless rig. I use the M13, my buddy uses the pedalboard, my Keeley pedals and the wireless rig, and it's pretty awesome.

 

"Full range / Flat response" vs. "Guitar Amp Tones"; a very different experience.

 

Some people need to be next to their amp, hearing it in the 'traditional' way - other people want to hear the end result of their amp + mic + room - the live or recording signal if you will - being in the room with the amp vs being in the control room, or listening to yourself through stage monitors. And that stuff MATTERS! It really does make a big difference in how playing "feels". I don't have a solid preference; sometimes I like to dial in a tone in 'combo/direct' mode, then switch over to studio/direct and audition the different mic models. Which is how you would do it in real life. You'd get your guitar tone sounding right to your EARS - *then* you would work on getting your guitar tone to sound right to the MICROPHONE paired with the ROOM your amp is in.

 

That disconnect between the tonal source and the captured/recorded/PA'd tone has a steel learning curve for some people, and many folks can't get past the difference of "amp" sounds vs. "recording" sounds.

 

Anyhow, enjoy your Sunday people, get out and soak up the last of Autumn, 'cause Winter is coming ya'all! Then it will be five months of ice, snow, cold air, and lots of free time to play music, experiment with sound systems, and bantering back and forth about it all here. :)

 

Peace!~

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I feel the need to jump in here and correct this - the Roland modeling gear does NOT convert to MIDI, much like the piezos on a Variax it takes the actual vibrating-string audio and processes that in (latency effected) real time.  The original VG's (which sit in my rack) didn't even provide "note based" MIDI out - the port was there strictly for sysex dumps and such.

 

Just wanted to keep things straight....

 

I guess that is the key distinction: The Boss / Roland gear converts your guitar notes into MIDI data, and using a standard 13 pin connection, triggers MIDI audio from one of their devices - such as the GP-10, or the older VG-99, or the GR-55. How it *tracks* is a combination of the installation of the pickup on the guitar coupled with the DSP of the outboard device.

 

 

 

 

People need to understand that just because a pickup system is used for MIDI or synthesis doesn't mean that pickup will only do just that. The thing that's making it MIDI isn't the pickups itself but the floor unit converting the channels into MIDI via pitch tracking.

 

There's a reason why it uses the term modeling instead of MIDI. 

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Sold my hd 500, too complicated! I really think they put too much into the amps section. Like just give me the amp don't give all the other stuff , sag, hum, mics, whatever else you have to tweak. Tweak tweak and more tweak ! The choruses were cheesy at best. All other effects were great. I really would like to know how many hours I spent reading, tweaking. I really tried to convince myself that this was for me. I feel so relieved that it's gone!

I get so tired of these ridiculous forum suicides. Great!! I'm glad you found a way to shortcut yourself or take the lazy road. Hope that works out for you. I mean what are we suppose to say?

Personally, I love my line6 gear.  If I didn't, however, I would simply move along and find what works for me.

I guess it is just attention seeking nonsense. not sure.

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