Cabinet for Line 6 HD500

[Workhorse]

Hey guys,

I was looking to get a speaker cabinet. I wanted to get something small for my apartment, like a 1x10 or something like that - I was looking at Orange, ENGL, amongst others. However, I was told that playing through one of those would diminish the sound because they don't blend well with the pod...

Any advice for a proper cabinet I could use? I tried both Orange and ENGL with different amp heads and liked them a lot, but I'm concerned they won't sound good through the pod... anything else I should give a shot that might be more compatible?

 

[WhiteWalls]

The only one area (in my opinion) where the pod is not great is the cab emulations, so using a real cab only makes things a lot better. I even tried micing up my cab to compare it to the cabs in the pod and there was a very noticeable difference.
I do it with my band and I can get a great tone with just the stock Fireball amp and a Tubescreamer, no other effects.

What amp are you using to amplify your pod?

 

[Mike]

I've used a mesa 1x12 and it's pretty good, I like 2x12 cabs better though for the smaller applications. They have a lot more body and the good bass response is still there, but without being overkill. I love mesa stuff so I can only recommend their 2x12 as well. Trust me I understand apartment life. A 2x12 is still controllable.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

Yeah i agree get a guitar cab so you can turn off the cab modeling. Best speaker i've found for the Pod so far is a Vintage 30. Considering Line 6 uses it in the spider valve cabs and it's the most beloved guitar speaker for rock music since who knows when, it makes pretty good sense.

 

[Workhorse]

The only one area (in my opinion) where the pod is not great is the cab emulations, so using a real cab only makes things a lot better. I even tried micing up my cab to compare it to the cabs in the pod and there was a very noticeable difference.
I do it with my band and I can get a great tone with just the stock Fireball amp and a Tubescreamer, no other effects.

What amp are you using to amplify your pod?

I am using a set of computer speakers I have. It sounds fairly horrendous, which is why I want a new cabinet.

I'll definitely give that fireball amp + tubescreamer a check out. I am looking at several different cabinets, but the ENGL 1X10 gigmaster is definitely something I am checking out.

Unfortunately, I can't test any of these with the pod because its too heavy to carry around, do you think thats a good recommendation?

 

[Workhorse]

I've used a mesa 1x12 and it's pretty good, I like 2x12 cabs better though for the smaller applications. They have a lot more body and the good bass response is still there, but without being overkill. I love mesa stuff so I can only recommend their 2x12 as well. Trust me I understand apartment life. A 2x12 is still controllable.

I'll definitely look at whats available man. Thanks a lot, I never gave a mesa a try but i know a lot of people find them great!

So what do people use with their pod if they dont have a cabinet? Computer speakers?

 

[Leuchty]

I use studio monitors, M-Audio BX8a's specifically and they're fantastic with my POD HD Pro.

Never tried it with a guitar cab tho.

 

[Workhorse]

Nice! So it really depends on how cool I find that guitar cabinet simulation then. I hope to record stuff eventually, so maybe studio monitors would be a good long term solution.

 

[Leuchty]

Either good monitors or great headphones WILL be a solid investment for decent recording.

The PODs cab sims DO NOT suck. There may be better things to use but the certainly dont suck. I have a fantastic tone with the XXL cab and 57 on axis, Screamer, Gate & Treadplate. Thats it. And I have it ALL in one unit. Simple.

Just take your time once you get some half decent monitors.

 

[Mike]

Don't forget your power amp if you're going to use any cabinet.

 

[Workhorse]

Don't forget your power amp if you're going to use any cabinet.

So the hd500 can't power a signal enough on its own?

 

[Mike]

Nope...if you're going to run it through a cab, you need a power amp. The Pods are only signal processors that have no kind of built-in power amplification. When people use them with monitors through their PC's, the monitors they are usually using are active meaning that they have a small amp built-in.

 

[swedishfish]

Get a Tech 21 Power Engine, it's a cab with a power amp built in. Pretty decent price too.

 

[Forkface]

I'm with cybersyn on this one. If you're just using the pod in your apartment and you're not playing gigs anytime soon, just get a nice pair of headphones. Win-Win for you and your neighbors
I have a pair of Shure's SRH840 and while probably not the best around, I like them and they've never let me down. I use them for recording on the computer and stuff like that.

 

[Mike]

Headphones or even monitors are great for being quiet, but for jamming and working out ideas, IMO nothing beats the feel of playing through a real amp/cab type setup. I tried the whole monitors/headphones bit for a little while and it only left me unsatisfied. I still have that setup for recording, but for just playing, I went back to using a cab.

 

[Promit]

I would tend to suggest a cab with Emi Legends or EVM12Ls, as you'll usually want a less colored style of speaker with the HD500. A V30 cab will work fine, but you'll always be stuck with a V30 sound. May not be pleasant with Fender, Dr. Z, etc style models.

Given that you don't have an amplifier, the Tech21 Power Engine is a really good idea. They use a Celestion Seventy80 speaker, which sounds awful driven by a normal amp but seems to do well in that setting. It's probably the cheapest of the flat-response style monitoring options.

 

[Workhorse]

Headphones or even monitors are great for being quiet, but for jamming and working out ideas, IMO nothing beats the feel of playing through a real amp/cab type setup. I tried the whole monitors/headphones bit for a little while and it only left me unsatisfied. I still have that setup for recording, but for just playing, I went back to using a cab.

Yea that was my intuition too. I don't know how often I'll be jamming with others, I think I'll be recording stuff most of the time.

What cab are you using btw?

 

[Mike]

Well right now I'm using a mesa recto 4x12 and it works suprisingly well since the head i use for my power amp is a blackstar ht-5. But thats only bc i just recently got out of the whole band gigging/jamming thing. Before that I had a mesa 2x12 which i still prefer more for the bedroom jamming. Since I'm not playing w people anymore I'm actually trying to get rid of the 4x12 and downsize, but selling cabs is always a pain lol.

 

[Workhorse]

So my best option, since I am not using an amp head - would be to get a set of nice studio monitors and thats it?

 

[Mike]

Correct. If you are not going to use any form of a poweramp, you can't use a stand alone cabinet. You'll just need to make sure you get powered/active studio monitors.