Line 6 POD HD Thread

[xCaptainx]

I'm using the new Line 6 L3M. It pairs up with the HD500 perfectly, in fact they can now communicate via L6 Link cable with the new firmware. I'd highly recommend that over anything else. Everything else in that pricerange (in NZ) is more of a 'wedge' style floor monitor and didn't really give me the confidence I needed on stage.

The L3M is the height of a 4x12 but half the width, and it's loud. 1400w, I've used it live with a vocal only p.a and it drowned out my other bands 5150 half stack, haha.

Everything else I saw in NZ just looked like a floor monitor/wedge and didn't look big enough for my needs (NZ venues arent huge, I needed a stage sound AND a loud backline.

 

[xCaptainx]

btw my low end problem was simply because I was using the 57 off axis mic. it sounds great on recording but the 409 dynamic works better for me in a band enviroment.

 

[meambobbo]

Ok, gave the Epic one last go round, and I have found a tone I liked. Here's what I had to do.

1) Turn down the "Drive" parameter to around 25% - the pre-amp distortion is horrible on this model. It makes the tone splatty and farty, and has horrid bass response. Turning drive anywhere north of here made me get poor pick response, especially on low notes, farty palm mutes, and volume spikes/drops.

2) Crank Master DEP to 100%. This is where the gain comes from. The power amp distortion is surprisingly smooth. But your EQ choices on the amp will affect the distortion tone. So I set these basically flat (50%) with a slight mids boost. As MFKitten mentioned, you'll get more compression than true distortion. So...

3) Use a Distortion effect in front of it, and use it to add a bit of distortion. I like the Line 6 Drive, and I set the Drive to around 25%. Keep output conservative.

4) Whatever you put in front the amp, give it a nice, hard treble boost. I set my Line 6 Drive to 100% Treble. This will give you more sizzling harmonics to the distortion.

5) I set Sag to 0%. This seems to improve the response.

6) The amp is very mid-centric. I used a couple post-amp EQ's to balance out the tone.

The end result is a very tight, punchy, yet not too distorted tone. It's fairly unique. I find it would work well as an Opeth tone, or could maybe even get into that Autotheism range, although I need to see what room I have for effects. I think it's got that death metal feel. Very thrashy, focused, and dry. Dry would be the main word I'd use. It does not feel organic at all, which can sometimes be a good thing.

 

[Shask]

Yeah, I used drive kinda low, with a a screamer in front, master very high and sag very low. I think it sounds pretty good, so I am surprised everyone here seems to think it is crap. To me it has that good thrashy, yet modern type tone. So far I like it better than the SLO. The Treadplate is still #1 though....

 

[cfrank]

I'm using the new Line 6 L3M. It pairs up with the HD500 perfectly, in fact they can now communicate via L6 Link cable with the new firmware. I'd highly recommend that over anything else. Everything else in that pricerange (in NZ) is more of a 'wedge' style floor monitor and didn't really give me the confidence I needed on stage.

The L3M is the height of a 4x12 but half the width, and it's loud. 1400w, I've used it live with a vocal only p.a and it drowned out my other bands 5150 half stack, haha.

Everything else I saw in NZ just looked like a floor monitor/wedge and didn't look big enough for my needs (NZ venues arent huge, I needed a stage sound AND a loud backline.

Thanks for the info dude! Going to check out that on some local stores. Keen on getting such a portable yet huge sounding rig!

 

[Kristianx510]

So i am having an interesting problem...

I have a Pitch Glide on my 7 string so I can do some(I really hope I don't get banned for this)...Emmure style pitch shifts. Well, I have it set so when my fbv is at the heel its at 0.00 and when its on the toe it's maxed. every time I go from the toe to the heel it will stay at like +1.00 or even go down -1.00. any idea why this happens?

 

[RickyCigs]

So i am having an interesting problem...

I have a Pitch Glide on my 7 string so I can do some(I really hope I don't get banned for this)...Emmure style pitch shifts. Well, I have it set so when my fbv is at the heel its at 0.00 and when its on the toe it's maxed. every time I go from the toe to the heel it will stay at like +1.00 or even go down -1.00. any idea why this happens?

Recalibrate your pedal

 

[meambobbo]

More on the Epic. Getting very usable tones on this, and have figured out how to give it more versatility.

The problem I had last night was that everything sounded a bit dark and overly compressed. I mean, that's a cool tone in some ways, but I was trying to get something a bit more dynamic and scratchy. So the killer was the amp's Mids control. With that anywhere near 50% or higher, it tended to dominate the distortion, causing the darkness/compression just mentioned. By turning that down, it really opened the amp up. Then I could turn Sag back up.

I ended up liking the amp's distortion a lot more. I keep Drive at 5%, and I keep my Line 6 Drive at 0% Drive. I keep the Epic at Master 100%. Then I just use the Line 6 Drive's Output to dial in the desired amount of distortion.

I've really been trying to dial in some Autotheism tones, considering this album is so awesome. I think the Epic can get a close tone. It's thrashy, but it doesn't have that high end bite than the Fireball does (which is pretty much impossible to dial out). It's still not quite there, but getting closer. It's like as good as I can dial in the Fireball and Epic, the tone sits right between them. Might try the Uber tonight.

 

[MF_Kitten]

I tend to figure out what amps sound like, then stick to the ones that satisfy me the most right away. I'll probably do midsy droning lead lines (think Fredrik Thordendal) with it, or something similar to that, since it compresses the sound in that way. I love what the Doom amp does, and it might become one of my more used tones, replacing my previous baritone patch.

 

[meambobbo]

I tend to figure out what amps sound like, then stick to the ones that satisfy me the most right away. I'll probably do midsy droning lead lines (think Fredrik Thordendal) with it, or something similar to that, since it compresses the sound in that way. I love what the Doom amp does, and it might become one of my more used tones, replacing my previous baritone patch.

I tend to agree, but i couldn't say any of them satisfied me right away on this unit. then i made it a mission to see how many different tones I could successfully dial in and tried to make the most out of every amp.

 

[japs5607]

Well I ran the pod into e 6505. Really happy with the sound. So I think I will stick to getting a power amp and keep my 4x12 cab

The only thing I noticed I where I had been using the pod through headphones the sounds were very different though the amp. I need more loud practice time to get the sounds at the right level

 

[PodHdBean]

the epic model is so damn heavy i got epiiccc chugs lastnight at a venue.No harsh highs either

 

[RickyCigs]

This thread makes me love my hd500 even more than ever. I had a chance at lunch to tweak the Epic and holy shit!!! It may be my new favorite tone. Definitely in my top three along with the Soldano. I may mix the two on my next track.

Still very odd that the power amp distortion is so much nicer than the pre. I guess I can't complain where the tone comes from and should just be happy that it's there.

 

[meambobbo]

well I have a complaint about it, since the Pod HD's processing doesn't allow you to place anything between the amp's pre-amp and power amp sections (commonly known as an effects loop). I'd like to be able to boost the signal or EQ it after the pre-amp, but that's not an option. So if I want to push the power amp, other than boosting the Master DEP, I also have to push the pre-amp a little.

 

[Allealex]

Guys i've never understood one thing about the Pod HD.. Is it possible to reamp only with with the PRO or is it possible with 500 too?

 

[meambobbo]

Guys i've never understood one thing about the Pod HD.. Is it possible to reamp only with with the PRO or is it possible with 500 too?

With the 500, you can stick the FX Loop effect first in the chain at 0% mix to get the raw guitar out the FX Loop send and still get the processed output from the main outputs.

Or you can put all your processed sound in Channel A, with nothing in Channel B and pan them hard left/right to get the processed sound from one side but the dry sound from the other.

So you can use it as a DI - just takes a bit more work than the Pro.

You'd actually re-amp them both the same way.

 

[Mega-Mads]

i use my pod hd pro like this with the band:
Chain:
Noise gate - Setting: Until it shuts up
Screamer - Clean boost. - Until it sounds about right
Treadplate: Gain 60%, Bass 70%, Mids 70%, Treble 70%, Presence 60% - I cant remember the other settings.
Some fx after that, which i control with my shortboard.
No cab or mic.
This runs into my 6l6 head, with the presence on 55%(with bkp painkillers) or 70%(super distortions).
This is finally going into my beloved Mesa Rectifier 4x12.


I cant get much happier with the tone. The only thing i really want to change here is to get a rack mountable poweramp instead of the head. Im looking for a used Mesa 50:50 =)


----

I have never had so much punch in my sound as i do now. Its super articulate, hits as tyson and i never dissapear in the mix.

 

[Alex6534]

Got a little bit of a dilemma guys. Got someone wanting to buy my Peavey 6534+ and Marshall 1960B 4x12 for £950 (just over $1530). Now, I was originally going to buy an axe fx 2 but with the price of everything I'd be scraping by and that's counting I sell the rest of my gear. Whereas if I go the Pod hd500 (used) +alto ts115A, it would cost me around £560 ($960) so I'd have around $500/$600 spare.

My only concern is that if I don't like the Pod, selling it might be a nightmare along with the pa speaker and I'd be stuck with no head + cab. Also my other guitarist is using a 6505 and if I switch to pod, worried that it'l sound weak and flat in comparison. The type of music I play is along the lines of Killswitch with 7 strings, so I need a powerful in your face tone. Also I have a gig this Friday so it needs to be sorted asap

 

[meambobbo]

Got a little bit of a dilemma guys. Got someone wanting to buy my Peavey 6534+ and Marshall 1960B 4x12 for £950 (just over $1530). Now, I was originally going to buy an axe fx 2 but with the price of everything I'd be scraping by and that's counting I sell the rest of my gear. Whereas if I go the Pod hd500 (used) +alto ts115A, it would cost me around £560 ($960) so I'd have around $500/$600 spare.

My only concern is that if I don't like the Pod, selling it might be a nightmare along with the pa speaker and I'd be stuck with no head + cab. Also my other guitarist is using a 6505 and if I switch to pod, worried that it'l sound weak and flat in comparison. The type of music I play is along the lines of Killswitch with 7 strings, so I need a powerful in your face tone. Also I have a gig this Friday so it needs to be sorted asap

Today...is...Friday... Do you mean NEXT Friday? My only concern is that the Pod HD has a bit of a learning curve, and you want time to get used to it before a gig.

If you know how to dial it in, you won't sound weak and flat in comparison to the other guitarist. You'll just have less back pain. I'll try to upload my latest batch of modern metal patches this weekend. That's like 10 or more patches covering a wide range of styles. And if you look back over this thread, there's plenty of great patches that have been posted.

 

[Alex6534]

yeah NEXT friday. I've got your guide bookmarked so I know I'd be in good hands ;-). If you could upload the patches/a clip or two that would be much appreciated.