Line6 POD HD500 Tips & Tricks (Part 1)
I've been using the new Line6 POD HD500 for a week or so now and I've worked out a few tips and tricks you may like to try with your own unit.
Some of these tips may work with the HD300/HD400 models too.
...
FX Loop Drive
One alternate way of making the clean amps breakup or push the high gain amps a little harder is to use a boosted FX loop. You can get some very convincing bluesy breakup on the Fender Blackface this way.
You'll need a patch cable for this. Set it between the hardware's FX Loop send and Mono/Left return. Then add an FX Loop block to your signal chain on the HD500 screen - place it just before your chosen amp model.
Set the send level on 100 percent and mix on 100 percent too. Then all you have to do to push the modelled pre-amp harder into breakup is raise the return parameter from zero. For a subtle breakup sound you're probably looking at a figure of around 10db, but it varies between the amp models.
This trick doesn't just work for lower gain sounds - use it to push the JCM800 for that Van Halen modded Marshall tone you may be looking for. You can also use this technique for a solo boost, setting the FX Loop on and off with one of the HD500 footswitches.
Extra Volume Pedal
Adding a volume pedal to your signal chain on the HD500 takes up one of the eight available FX blocks. But there is a way of getting a volume pedal for free and leaving the eight blocks clear for other effects.
Highlight your amp model on the screen and double click Move to open the expression pedal setting screen. The parameter you want is "output" and assign it to EXP1 or EXP2. Set the parameter minimum to zero percent and the maximum to whatever volume you'd originally set for the loudest on that patch.
Voila, you can now control the amp model volume via the expression pedal without having to add a volume pedal block to your signal chain. And remember, as the channel volume doesn't affect the tone this really is purely a volume control.
Tight Metal Tones
The regular models that emulate the Bognor, JCM800, Dual Rec and Engle high gain amps feature plenty of power amp drive in their tone. This is great for thick lead playing and some styles of rock. But that power amp saturation can seem a little OTT for slick tight metal rhythm playing.
There's a way round this though (but one hopes Line6 add a feature to adjust power amp saturation in future firmware). Many metal bands use 100 and 200 Watt stacks for a reason, not necessarily for volume, but for massive clean headroom to avoid power amp saturation. This way they can use plenty of pre-amp gain but keep a very tight focussed tone.
You can do this too on the HD500. When you want a tighter metal tone from the high gain amps - choose a PRE version of the amp instead. You'll be able to run the gain high on the amps but avoid that low-end looseness that the regular models introduce. If you're struggling to get the high-gain tones you want from the regular models this is the way to go.
Add a Screamer
This is pretty much a universal truth in getting great high gain sounds with modellers and real amps. Don't feel you should get all your gain from the pre-amp. You'll most likely be disappointed by the lack of depth in the sound. Many guitarists have discovered you'll get a richer, lower-noise, sound by stacking drives rather than trying to do it all in one box.
So try this. Half your amp gain and instead put a Screamer or Tube Driver in front of the amp to get back to the gain where you started. Sounds better doesn't it?
Finally (for now)....Be Realistic about Metal Tones
Remember too to set realistic expectations. When an artisr claims to have used a certain amp on a record they don't mean it in isolation. One rythm track may really be five tracks, each with different EQ and pickup settings, played through several cabs an recorded with ten mics. Eq and compression is added at the mixing stage and then when the record is mastered.
You listen to the record and it sounds like the artist is playing through God's own speaker cabs. Then wonder why you can't get that same tone with the same real amp or a very good model of it. This is particularly true of modern metal production.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Harry on 20/10/10 at 11:56 . Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. |
21/10/10 @ 16:56
Thank you for the cool tips!
22/10/10 @ 18:40
Great tips und hints.
29/10/10 @ 15:17
Thanks for the FX loop tip I will definitely try that. It's too bad I can't import my tones from X3 Live to HD500!!! OH Well....Starting over from scratch sucks!!!!
08/10/11 @ 06:09
Nice column. I like the last comment the best. We all forget what goes into recording guitar. I'm one of those guys that endlessly struggles to get that studio perfect digital sound from my modest analog gear. Before you know it a hour has gone by and your ears are blown out. You come back to your practice room the next day just to start twisting knobs again. The hd500 is a pedal tweekers dream. I still haven't found my sound yet but somewhere along the way I've found everyone else's and gained a great understanding what great tones are made of. The podhd500 is one of the greatest processors ever invented. Even if they are only 80% as realistic sounding as a real tube amp. I challenge anyone to find a single amp that can pull off as many great tones that the podhd500 can create in as many styles of music.
03/12/11 @ 17:07
Maybe you can help me with something I've been struggling with re: the HD500. I have three set lists for my band. Since I'm going to plug straight in to the mixing board, I am looking for a way to set the output signal from the HD500 at a consistent level across all patches. Is there a global parameter that covers that? The sound guy is going to make the volume adjustments so I don't want different output levels on different patches, but I haven't found an easy way to ensure that the output volume is consistent across the board. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
03/12/11 @ 17:57
Hi Greg, alas there isn't a way of doing that on the POD. It's actually a very hard thing to do as EQ and perceived EQ make a huge difference. And tones at the same real sound pressure can sound like different volumes depending on whether they are clean or distorted, or what instruments they are accompanied by.
However that said you can get your tones into the ballpark by downloading a simple volume meter/sound pressure meter for your phone (assuming you have a smartphone).
25/12/11 @ 17:43
nice,i can play much better now,thanks...
16/01/12 @ 16:33
I too have struggled with the problem of different volumes across patches. It's very frustrating to have what I think are balanced volumes in the practice room, but then in a live setting a particular patch gets lost in the mix or unexpectedly jumps out like icepicks in the ears. Sure, the sound guy can make adjustments, but I don't want him to work so hard, and those first notes in a song matter too. I've trying using a dB meter, but I've found that it's not very effective for comparing a sustained distorted setting with a percussive clean setting.
While I don't have a perfect solution, here's what I've come up with:
1) Choose a recorded song that is similar to what you play with your band. Play it a typical stage volume through a PA in your practice room. Choose your most common patch and use that as the reference. Adjust your PA mix so that you can just hear your guitar playing over the recorded song. Then cycle through all of your other patches and adjust the channel volumes so that they're similarly prominent in the mix. This will get you fairly close to balanced patches in a live setting. But not perfectly. So here's step two:
2) When playing live, send one channel (e.g. R) of the POD output to a dedicated monitor that you control (I use a Fender Deluxe Reverb for this purpose -- I only use it as a stage monitor; the sound guy doesn't mic it, but the other band members can hear it too). The L/mono channel goes into the main PA (if you want your sound tech to take stereo, the HD500 provides both XLR and 1/4" outputs, so there should be enough to go around). Anyway, during sound check, set your monitor level so that the guitar volume on your most frequently used patch sounds about right when your volume pedal on the POD is at about the 2/3 position. This gives you some latitude to adjust other patches up or down on the fly to keep them sounding right to your ear when playing live. You don't want to do this too much after the start of a son or the sound guy will have to chase your levels around on the FOH mix.
3) If you find that certain patches constantly require you to add or subtract volume with your volume pedal, then you should then permanently adjust the channel master on the POD to eliminate most of the difference. After about 20 gigs (in my experience), you'll finally get them dialed in to where you want them, keeping in mind, of course, that the same patch may require different levels in different songs. But that's again why the volume pedal is so handy.
Your mileage may vary.
17/01/12 @ 22:54
Thanks for your detailed comment Grant, I'm sure visitors will find it useful.