Members pixelchemist Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 really doesn't sound all that great... like its missing the meat of the tone... all of the lower mids seems to be completely missing and the gain stages of every amp all basically sound roughly the same maybe just EQ'ed a bit different... I gonna put in a few more hours with it this weekend... just picked it up today... but as of right now it's pretty much destined to be packaged up and brought back to the store. Maybe it's just me but I think my Boss GT10 has it beat in a lot of areas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members magentaplacenta Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 If you can do a video demo comparing both units I'm sure lotsa folks would find it very useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pixelchemist Posted October 30, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 great idea... new project for tomorrow afternoon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 I love nice amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cylon Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 I returned mine today the interface on it sucks and so did the software. I wasnt blown away by the sound either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Misha Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 Pedal addiction AC30C2 (w/ UK Blues) Champ Clone 65' Gibson GA40 Clone Bedrock 1202 Mesa ElectaDyne I think you have amps much too nice to appreciate digital effects!! What about a nice Ampeg amp??? (Jet J-20, you can still find some or an older model...) [YOUTUBE]lsl76DzTecg[/YOUTUBE] Or maybe the TC Electronic Nova System if you want effects... ??? [YOUTUBE]am7R_eZe7rg[/YOUTUBE] Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 Is ignorance bliss in my case? I AM blown away by how my HD400 sounds. I sold a TUBE amp to be able to afford it. I think they did nail the dynamics of playing, cleaning up with soft picking or turning down the volume knob on the guitar, making it a whole lot more expressive than previous PODs. The sound of most of the amps is very satisfying to my ears (I dare say my ears are working fine, thank you). If I may say, posting a strongly negative feedback thread of a not-so-simple gear like the HD500 after a singleday of trying it appears a little rushed to me unless it is THAT aweful. No doubt that the GT-10 is a good one, probably a "classic" in this genre. Heaven knows it has enough goodies to be prefered to the HD pod if it fits the bill better. I suppose this is not a contest between the GT-10 and the HD. Or if it is, we'll need owners of GT-10 and POD HD to come together in a poll thread with self made clips, of how they use their "better" gear and invite comments on how they (the units, that is) perform. Otherwise, this is gear talk again without music being served in the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 From what I've seen on the internet (because it's been THE hottest topic out there for a few weeks now) there are a lot of different opinions on this sucker. I've heard more than a few stories of utter disappointment and talk of returning it and I've heard just as many, if not more stories about people just loving it to death. But then again that's how it is with just about every piece of gear out there. Either you're gonna like it or you aren't at the end of the day. I will say one thing though, the soundclips being posted have steadily gotten better as people have spent more time tweaking it and getting to know it. Doesn't mean that it's great for everyone, but it seems to be finding it's audience. Personally I think that the majority of people that are unimpressed with it has a lot to do with the pre-release marketing hype. It's not the best sounding box ever made and it isn't going to make you throw all of your amps away. It's an improvement over the old one and it's got a hell of a lot going for it. I didn't mention "for the price" for a reason, but if you take that into consideration it's really amazing to me. But based on how they talked it up I would probably be disappointed too. Heck, I'm not looking to buy one, but the first soundclips that were out there by Line6 were really disappointing to me. I don't want one and I felt let down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 I won't go into detail as I have a thread that is kind of long... but I'm blown away with mine. I'd like to think I have a decent ear. I usually pick up on subtle changes and I have an AC15H1TV with a Celestion Blue, A Tweed Deluxe clone with an Alnico Weber Silver Bell, a Twin that I play through two JBL K120s and I've had a Silverface Bassman I play through Celestions... I'd like to think those are decent amps. I usually use pedals from Barber or Fulltone. How exactly are you running the HD? I experimented a lot with the Tonelab and got the best results plugging the guitar into the Tonelab, then running the output to the FX return of a tube amp. That always gave me the most connected feeling. When I ran the Tonelab (or any other modeler) into the front end of an amp, it always felt disconnected. Anyway, if you have a good tube amp with an FX loop, you might give that a try. I wouldn't say the preamp sections of the different modelers sound very similar at all. My biggest gripe so far is I'm not really blown away by the Vox tones and I really like my Vox tones. But I haven't explored them in depth yet and I do think that Vox amps have a certain responsiveness and liveliness that would be very difficult to capture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 Had mine for a day so far and loving it. How exactly are you running the HD? Yeah, that's key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pixelchemist Posted October 31, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 i bascially spent the entire day playing with it today and comparing it to my tube amps, guitar rig4, and my gt10.... there are some great sounds in this box... especially in terms or clean / crunch this is same area I felt the GT10 excelled at. Where the GT10 is borderline worthless in my opinion is in high gain applications... the HD500 is significantly better than the GT10 and even the Pod X3 in that area witch the exception of maybe the NuMetal thing that the Pod was exceptional at (something i have no interest in really) All of the effects are there from the M13 which i really liked when I had it and some seem improved a bit actually... the noise floor is lower than the m13 by quite a bit i think and it doesn't suffer from the borderline ridiculous RF interference problem that the M13 had (the only reason i sold it) all in all its a great unit with some highly usable sounds... i give the GT10 the edge in effects quality, overall effects setup capability, build quality, display, and user interface design though. While it may be complicated the GT10 is really amazingly flexible in terms of what you can make it do. And the display is just so much clearer... when setting up EQs and that type of things. I really think the HD500 UI is poorly laid out. The PC editor makes up for that though. There is no official GT10 editor for PC. The amp and cab sims are far better in the HD500 overall but there are a few exceptions here and there. Against my real amps well its no contest. The real amps and stomp boxes do sound better. In fairness though I do have some particularly good amps and a whole line up of top-shelf. What can I expect for 500 dollars. Compared to something like the GDec, CyberTwin, Vox Valvetronics line this beats them hands down overall. Is it perfect... no its not. Can it sound great, yes it most certainly can (if you ditch all the factory presets in a hurry). i will be recording with it and it will be my take anywhere rig. Long story short I will be keeping it. Oh and to answer the question about how I tried running it. It sounds best through my PA (which is not the greatest). I tried it through studio monitors, amp returns, headphones, and a poweramp through a 2x12 with Greenbacks. I think the ideal output device for this unit would be something along the lines of QSC K12s I am gonna try to capture some clips of various setups over the next couple days to compare and contrast. Gonna try to pick up a stereo AB box tomorrow to make that a bit easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockStringBendr Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 except for their stock margins I have always been disappointed with everyting POD has claimed that their gear can do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 Is ignorance bliss in my case? I AM blown away by how my HD400 sounds. I sold a TUBE amp to be able to afford it. I think they did nail the dynamics of playing, cleaning up with soft picking or turning down the volume knob on the guitar, making it a whole lot more expressive than previous PODs. The sound of most of the amps is very satisfying to my ears (I dare say my ears are working fine, thank you). If I may say, posting a strongly negative feedback thread of a not-so-simple gear like the HD500 after a singleday of trying it appears a little rushed to me unless it is THAT aweful. No doubt that the GT-10 is a good one, probably a "classic" in this genre. Heaven knows it has enough goodies to be prefered to the HD pod if it fits the bill better. I suppose this is not a contest between the GT-10 and the HD. Or if it is, we'll need owners of GT-10 and POD HD to come together in a poll thread with self made clips, of how they use their "better" gear and invite comments on how they (the units, that is) perform. Otherwise, this is gear talk again without music being served in the least. Ha! This is the most worked up I have ever seen you, Richard! Must be some srs biznes!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 Yeah, I don't have any good powered speakers so I used the FX return method into a tube amp. I'm using a Peavey Prowler which is a 40W 1x12 with two 6L6GCs. I have an EVM 12L in it at this time though I mostly used a Celestion Relic 30 (which is like a Vintage 30 without the peak) or a Weber Blue Dog when I ran the Tonelab. The only guy I know with an AxeFX runs into two QSC speakers with 12" drivers. Not sure which model they are, but they cost about $700 each. He swore that the QSCs sound better than any of about three amps he tried the AxeFX with. I'd like to give it ago, but I can't justify that expense. The tube amp method has me pretty pleased at the moment. I spend a couple hours mostly playing into three different models today... the Park, the Supro and the Gibson. All three models are absolutely great at that low-fi, slightly thick rhythm tone vibe. I honestly think that the Park on the HD is the best Marshall model I've ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members big_aug Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 I only got to use mine for little while, but I really like it. The one thing I noticed immediately is how responsive it felt. You can play really lightly on a higher gain setting and get some cleaner tons and then dig in a little for that crunch. I thought it sounded great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 I've been following the response to the POD HD around the web. It seems pretty obvious that this box has some drawbacks. But, I've been impressed with the direct recorded tone capabilities. There are some great sounding clips being posted on the web! Some of the amp models seem great while others seem to fall a bit short of the mark. I'm not really surprised with the sentiments of the OP. I don't think this box is going to sound as good as a great tube amp next to the player. But, it does seem to be an upgrade over the old POD technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Promit Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 I'm interested in any thoughts about how the POD HD and the ToneLab compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 Ha! This is the most worked up I have ever seen you, Richard! Must be some srs biznes!!! This is very srs, indeed! I have not been that happy with a gear purchase in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 The 400 I demoed was extremely nice. I wasn't completely blown away by the presets I tried...at least most of them. Some sounded amazing. However, every Line6 product I've ever owned sounded a million times better after some tweaking of the settings. I don't know who sets up their presets at Line6, but they should be fired. The presets on the Fender Mustang are worlds better than the Line 6...but I know with a bit of work the HD would smoke the Mustang. I'd give it a few days to see if you can warm up to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 except for their stock margins I have always been disappointed with everyting POD has claimed that their gear can do Me too. Nice toys. Really versatile. But when it comes time to make the choice I plug in to a real amplifier with valves. There is something about the way that a vibrating string, a pickup, valves and speaker(s) interact that feels and sounds better to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bro Blue Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 I have always thought that the POD stuff sounds much better for recording than anything else. It is decent live, but not good enough for me to drop money on anything new. I have played with everything after the XT Live (which I have) and it is just more of the same to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 The 400 I demoed was extremely nice. I wasn't completely blown away by the presets I tried...at least most of them. Some sounded amazing. However, every Line6 product I've ever owned sounded a million times better after some tweaking of the settings. I don't know who sets up their presets at Line6, but they should be fired. The presets on the Fender Mustang are worlds better than the Line 6...but I know with a bit of work the HD would smoke the Mustang. I'd give it a few days to see if you can warm up to it. The presets are the least interesting and most expendable thing on it. Not a big deal (they'll be overwritten and gone) but I too find that they could have taken the time to REALLY show us what this unit can do by creating tasteful and useful presets that emulate classic sounds that we have learned to love. Wasn't the X3 better in this regard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 kinda unrelated but i loved my rp1000 right out of the box and it has only gotten better with time. the more i use it and figure out all the ins and outs the better it sounds. sometimes you can learn how to make things sound better with time and you shouldnt rely on first impressions but sometimes your initial reaction is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 I'm interested in any thoughts about how the POD HD and the ToneLab compare. I haven't directly compared them, though I've owned a Tonelab for about four years and I have the HD400 now. And this may sound weird to say, but with the Tonelab, I'm very happy to leave the low gain settings low whereas the HD seems to make me nudge each of my presets higher and higher on the gain range. That's not to say that it doesn't sound great with lower gain settings. In my opinion, that's one of the biggest areas they improved with the HD over the Pod 2 and XT. Never spend much time with an X3. I don't know... I liked the Tonelab enough to keep it around while I had a couple different Vox tube amps, and I would certainly say it's good enough to gig with... it responds well to a couple dirt pedals and it responds well to the player's input and the guitar's volume knob, but overall, I'd have to say the HD is a step forward. BUT... I've only had the HD for 4 days so I'm very much in the honey moon phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 kinda unrelated but i loved my rp1000 right out of the box and it has only gotten better with time. the more i use it and figure out all the ins and outs the better it sounds. sometimes you can learn how to make things sound better with time and you shouldnt rely on first impressions but sometimes your initial reaction is correct. I've seen this in posts time and time again. Once people have time to experiment with these products they are amazed with them. Then their "tune" changes. I never pay any attention to someone who has just purchased something and within a day or even a week are giving us an "experience" review on it. Anyone that does this is not reliable and is just looking for reaction most of the time. When a company sends out their products to companies they tell the testers to keep the product for X amount of months or sometimes they are allowed to hand onto it indefinitely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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