Line 6 POD HD500x opions and possibilities?

[dnp41]

Guys,

I'm seriously thinking about selling my pedalboard and going with the POD HD500x.

I mostly buy cheap pedals and am on a limited budget. I play in a cover band so the broad spectrum of amps etc. could be very usefull. I do have some questions regarding this unit.

- Can I use the headphone output while also using the normal or XLR outputs? Could be usefull as in ear monitoring to hear myself a lot better when I'm not standing in the sound beam of my own amp.

- Can I easy the unit with the effects loop of my amp (well i know you can, but is it any good, and can I use my own dirt pedals to drive the amp, and perhaps some mod pedal I have lying around in the fx loop, while still having being able to use dirt/boost pedals from the pod in the front of the amp, and all the mod effects in the loop?? Hope this questions makes sense to you).

- perhaps the hardest question. If you had either $ 500 to spend on pedals or the POD unit, what would be money well spend (for playing in a cover band)

as always thanks for the help guys!

 

[MKB]

The HD500X has enough flexibility to do both of the functions you mention above. And the HD500x is a good value as compared to a ton of individual pedals. It might be worth considering a used one as I would guess a lot of users will be selling theirs to upgrade to a Helix. However please keep in mind that if you want to use the HD's amp sims, you may need to spend a lot of time tweaking its amp models as they can be hard to get sounding good (depending on how critical your ears are). The effects in general seemed to strike me as being not too hard to use, except figuring out the frequency bands on the EQ's.

 

[dnp41]

MKB thanks! Will keep my eyes open for a used one. Any tips on how to get the amp sims sound good?

 

[lspaulsp]

I'm seriously thinking about selling my pedalboard and going with the POD HD500x. If at all possible I'd get the HD first. You might not like it. (It does happen)

I mostly buy cheap pedals and am on a limited budget. I play in a cover band so the broad spectrum of amps etc. could be very usefull. I do have some questions regarding this unit. The unit as proven many time is stable and sounds great. The amount of work going into sounding differs from person to person. There are limitless variations which cause some people stress I'd read some of the documentation found on the net on how to set it up. Membobo's page is a great asset. Watch your pedal gain structure closely.

- Can I use the headphone output while also using the normal or XLR outputs? Could be usefull as in ear monitoring to hear myself a lot better when I'm not standing in the sound beam of my own amp. Your live and headphone sound will differ. Many a person has hated their modeler because they used phones to set up all their patches went live, and hated them. If you understand it's a monitor you're OK.

- Can I easy the unit with the effects loop of my amp (well i know you can, but is it any good, and can I use my own dirt pedals to drive the amp, and perhaps some mod pedal I have lying around in the fx loop, while still having being able to use dirt/boost pedals from the pod in the front of the amp, and all the mod effects in the loop?? Hope this questions makes sense to you). Yes

- perhaps the hardest question. If you had either $ 500 to spend on pedals or the POD unit, what would be money well spend (for playing in a cover band) If you're completely new to modeling there are easier/cheaper ways to go. The HD is not the easiest piece of hardware out there but it is one of the most flexible and does sound great. The effects for the most part sound like what they're modeled after. You're not going to get 120 effects anywhere else for $500. If you don't need amp sims the M-13 is much easier to negotiate.

You did ask the question on a forum so you going to get haters and lovers. Do your home work, download manuals and read them before you jump. You might find something that fits the bill perfectly.

 

[ChrisVereb]

If you plan on using it with an amp, and not using the amp sims very often, you can save a $100+ by going with a used plain HD500 instead of the HD500x. You'd be hard pressed to hit the DSP limit w/o using any amp sims even on the non-X version.

If you've never done digital gear before the advice on trying it out before you sell off your pedals is HUGE. Some people just don't prefer the tones/experience of using digital gear. I've used it for a long time and love it. Presets are where it's at.

 

[Fatherflot]

One thing to keep in mind is that you must have high impedance studio headphone, Like 250 ohms. If you try to run typical consumer-grade low impedance headphones (even good ones) they are not going to sound good.

 

[mojah]

Sounds like ur making this way more complex. If I had a good amp I liked then I'd buy a few peddles or a m9 zoom g3 ect.. If I wanted to ditch my amp and go frfr I'd use an 11r or an amplifire before the HD.. A used hd500 is pretty cheap. I dumped mine for 250. I wouldn't bother combining the tube amp and HD and the phone output is sub par. The HD can be a rabbit hole if you're picky about your sounds.

 

[guitarno]

I am one of those guys who have ordered a Helix to replace my Pod HD500X. I have used the HD500X as my main FX device/Amp for some time and have had a lot of success using it. It's very versatile and you absolutely can gig with it on its own without other pedals. If you have other pedals you positively must use, you can put them in the loop. I will be selling it soon, took pictures but have been too busy to put up an ad yet. I normally have run mine into a FRFR speaker in parallel with a regular tube amp, but I have used it 4CM & 2CM (in my amp's FX loop) in the past. It works well but you need to get levels adjusted and balanced with your gear, and that takes some time to work out at first.

Actually, individual pedals can cost a small fortune, especially boutique ones. A pod could be a lot cheaper, and the results are more repeatable.

 

[rsm]

A few other options at $500 to consider. I thought about going back to pedals after using a digital modeler for several years; turns out the Boss/EH pedals I wanted would be more than twice the cost of the modeler I was considering, so I got the modeler: Boss GT-100. I dig it, it sounds great, and does everything I need/want and more. Worth a look at options IMO.

 

[dnp41]

I will also look into the Boss GT-100. I've seen it getting great reviews.. In one of the reviews it was mentioned that the Boss might be better when you still use a real amp then the POD. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Tmidiman]

For effects the HD would be stellar. For amp models IMHO you would be better served with another device.

 

[ChrisVereb]

One thing to keep in mind is that you must have high impedance studio headphone, Like 250 ohms. If you try to run typical consumer-grade low impedance headphones (even good ones) they are not going to sound good.

If you use the headphones out of the HD500x. If you run the POD XLR or line outs into a mixer/interface/headphone amp/etc... that's not an issue.

 

[mojah]

One thing to keep in mind is that you must have high impedance studio headphone, Like 250 ohms. If you try to run typical consumer-grade low impedance headphones (even good ones) they are not going to sound good.

The easiest work around is one of those mint tin headphone amps.

 

[bob-i]

I've been using my HD500 for a few years now and I can honestly say I don't miss my pedals at all. I use it with tube amps, sometimes as an effects until in front of a clean amp, sometimes with an amp with overdrive and effects loop.

For the simple setup, guitar > HD > amp, I have 4 patches with different effects. Once patch with just overdrives, reverb and delay, one patch with the overdrives and tremolo, one with a rockabilly slapback, one with flanger.

For the Overdrive amp I use the 4 wire method, guitar > HD > HD loop out > amp in > amp loop send > HD loop return > HD out > amp effect return. It's less complex than it sounds. I have some effects before the amp, compression, overdrive, wah, others in the effects loop, reverb, delay, flange. I also use some amp sims that bypass the amp's preamp section completely and just running into the amp loop return.

As you can see. It's very flexible. The effect sims are close or as good as the real pedal, plus you can try a ton of other pedals you don't have the money to buy. For example I don't have a tube driver, but I can use the sim and it sounds great.

So my advise is be prepared for a lot of time getting to know and understand the HD, but if you have the time to invest you'll be able to get a bunch of very usable sounds for a few hundred bucks.

 

[corvay]

It should work great for what you want, but get the unit first as others have said. There's a bit of a learning curve and it puts plenty of people off.

The standard Hd500 works for me I rarely ever feel I'm missing out and plenty of used ones around. I prefer mine in the loop of my Marshall as the valves/speakers add something I like. Do find different amps/speakers make a big difference and when the factor in the impact of volume, but if you are using your own gear you should be fine.

It's possible to program everything from the screen, but if you tweak a lot you will miss pedals quickly. An M13 may be better if you can't put in the time to setup your presets.

 

[lowyaw]

- Can I use the headphone output while also using the normal or XLR outputs? Could be usefull as in ear monitoring to hear myself a lot better when I'm not standing in the sound beam of my own amp.

I'm a long time 500 (hd500) user, and been through several bands with the unit; ran it direct, 4cm, preamps to poweramp, etc. You'll get a ton of advice here anyway, so I'll make a shortcut to the monitor issue.

Yes, you can run a pair of headphones off the phone out for monitor purposes, but, here's what I learnt so far (it all aplies to full modeling and Studio / Direct mode):

1. If you do it in the most simple way, just a pair of h-phones with a long cable, there are two problems - first, sometimes the guy at the sound board wants it louder than you can endure in headphones without your head exploding; second, and the most usual scenario - the "phones out" turns out to be too quiet, especially with high impedance headphones, to be of any merit for live playing whatsoever. You simply can't hear sh*t on stage - wedges, drums, bass amps, screaming girls easily overpower your improvised IEM. In essence, it is quite difficult to balance "to board" and "headphones" levels without any additional device.

2. Good news. You can get an IEM pack, transmitter + reciver, and runn it off POD, too, as your own monitor - from unbalanced outs, or headphone out. Bad news, if you get a cheap IEM unit, it either sounds like crap, and/or gets easily clipped and cuts signal off. Guess what? you don't hear sh*t on stage. So you kind of have to have a wedge or a decent IEM pack, which are not exactly cheap. Otherwise, it IS a PIA.

OTOH, once you get a good IEM system, it's really great. You'll be able to finally vary and use nuances in your playing, as opposed to doing Pete Townsend windmill all the time

 

[rsm]

I use my GT-100 direct to FRFR and as effects-only into 1-2 Roland Cube-80GX amp(s). works great for both

 

[PaisleyWookie]

For effects the HD would be stellar. For amp models IMHO you would be better served with another device.

I disagree; I think the modeling is quite good, and provided you build patches from scratch, it can get great tones. Certainly better than the POD XT/X3 era, IMHO. YMMV though, of course.

 

[fr8_trane]

I disagree; I think the modeling is quite good, and provided you build patches from scratch, it can get great tones. Certainly better than the POD XT/X3 era, IMHO. YMMV though, of course.

The cab sims are terrible. If you want to use an FRFR I think you'd need an IR loader like the Epsi to make the HD500 sound as good as it can. Another option would be to run the HD500/x with cab sims disabled into a SS power amp and a real guitar cab.

 

[shawnshack]

The cab sims are terrible. If you want to use an FRFR I think you'd need an IR loader like the Epsi to make the HD500 sound as good as it can. Another option would be to run the HD500/x with cab sims disabled into a SS power amp and a real guitar cab.

The cab sims are a weakness for the HD500/x, but I think terrible is a strong word. I've heard a lot of people get great tone out of an HD500. It is just harder to dial in a great tone. But once you do, it is a great unit.