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Line6 POD HD500

Line6 POD HD500

Line 6 POD HD500 Demonstration

Line 6 POD HD500 Demonstration

Line 6 Pod HD500 Review

Line 6 Pod HD500 Review

Guitar Cover Using POD HD500

Guitar Cover Using POD HD500

Line 6

Description

POD HD500 represents a giant leap forward for amp modeling. It is the only multi-effect pedal that boasts 16 brand-new, state-of-the-art Line 6 HD amp models, 100+ modern and vintage-styled M-class effects, and a comprehensive digital and analog I/O.

HD amp modeling: sound and feel like never before
HD amp models defy the accepted standard. They feel, behave, and interact with previously unachievable realism.

Creating these new HD amp models was no small feat. Line 6 mixed 15 years of amp modeling experience with 3 years of new research and development to build an entirely new amp modeling technology from the ground up. During that time, we hunted down 16 incredible amplifiers and”with the help of LA's top tube amp experts”restored each one back to peak condition. The new modeling technology uses 10 times more amplifier information than before, including single-ended class A tube stages, class AB push/pull interactions, power supply behavior, and more. The result is a high-quality warmth, feel, sustain, and articulation for you to fall in love with.

Tube amp fanatics have long enthused that their favorite stacks and combos aren't merely "amps," but instruments themselves, with playability equal to that of the guitar plugged into them. New HD modeling takes the POD HD experience to that same exalted level, capturing the genuine playability that great guitarists demand.

Your amp collection”now in HD
On the POD HD500's menu is a collection of freshly modeled amps, many of which are brand-new to POD, and all of which are essential for performing guitarists who require a wide variety of tones in one streamlined, multi-FX-sized package.

POD HD500 includes 16 HD amp models based on:
¢Fender Twin Reverb
¢Hiwatt Custom 100 (DR103)
¢Supro S6616
¢Gibson EH-185
¢Fender Bassman
¢Fender Blackface Deluxe Reverb
¢Divided by 13 JRT 9/15
¢Dr. Z Route 66
¢Vox AC-15
¢Vox AC-30 (Top Boost)
¢Marshall J-45 MkII
¢Park 75
¢Marshall JCM-800 (2204)
¢Bogner Uberschall
¢Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
¢ENGL Fireball 100

100+ M-class FX
Made famous by Line 6 M13 and M9 Stompbox Modelers, M-class FX have found their way into the hearts of many musicians. POD HD500 features a whopping 100+ M-class effects to craft your sound. With this wide tonal palette to play with, you can sound like anyone under the sun, or no one but you. You can also use up to 8 FX at once.

¢19 delays (including cool tube and solid-state tape echoes)
¢23 modulations (including both blackface-style opto and brownface bias-modulating tremolo, phasers, choruses, and rotary speakers)
¢17 distortions (classic stompbox distortion, to vintage fuzz, to thick metal chunk)
¢12 compressors and EQs (including stomp comps and studio tube compression)
¢26 filters (including wahs and several exclusive custom filters)
¢12 reverbs (from surfy springs, to studio plates, to cutting-edge digital room sounds)

The power of this collection is truly mind-boggling. In addition to these classic sounds themselves, POD HD500 functions as a fully featured looping, pitch shifting, and harmonizing machine. Ready to start creating? This rig could keep you going for a lifetime.

Unprecedented flexibility”stunning simplicity
Beyond the mere depth of the amp and FX models, POD HD500 offers flexibility to mix and match amps and pedals in multiple pre-set rigs, attainable at the stomp of a switch.

Scale from an instantly routable signal chain up to the flexibility of a MIDI switching system and beyond, (even compiling several rigs within the POD HD500's memory, storing a full rig per "slot" with total flexibility and direct access).

The engineer's behind POD HD500 made it easy to access its deep programmability. Smart FX make it a snap to quickly dial in your tone, and the free, easy-to-use editor/librarian software supports your deepest, darkest tonal explorations. POD HD500 was designed by guitarists for guitarists.

Comprehensive connectivity for live and studio use
Put simply, POD HD500 connects to just about anything and everything”analog or digital, balanced or unbalanced, for amplification or recording.

A snapshot of the back panel shows 1/4" and XLR outputs (mono/stereo), USB, MIDI in and out/thru, S/PDIF out, FX loop (mono/stereo), guitar, and mic aux ins with mic level, Variax connection, expression pedal input and a L6 LINK jack for seamless integration with Line 6 DT50 tube amplifiers.

Edit and organize and all your sounds via computer with the included editor/librarian software (works on Mac and PC).

Built like a tank
POD HD500's cutting-edge technology is kept safe within a "bulletproof" bent sheet metal housing with heavy-duty metal footswitches and expression pedal. No injection-molded plastic boxes here”POD HD500 is ready to lap up years of road and stage abuse and keep you playing.

Version 1.3 Firmware update now available!
Power-boost your POD HD multi-effect with an additional six HD amp models and five amp parameters “ all for free in firmware update v1.3.

To get v1.3 just connect your POD HD via USB to your computer, run Line 6 Monkey Intelligent Updater and follow the instructions.

Firmware update v1.3 includes six HD amp models based on* channels from three classic American combos (the œVibrato channel of a Fender Deluxe Reverb, the œVibrato channel of a Fender Twin Reverb and the œBright channel of a Fender Bassman), two British half stacks (the œNormal channel of a Park 75 and the œNormal channel of a Marshall JTM-45 MkII) and a high-gain Line 6 original.

Five additional, fully adjustable amp parameters don each new HD amp model (and will be added to the HD amp models you already have). Further customize essential aspects of tube amp feel and behavior with Sag, Hum, Bias, Bias Excursion and Master Volume.

Meet the new HD amp models:

Blackface ˜Lux VIB
The œVibrato channel rounds out the HD model based on* the classic combo that' considered by many to be the ultimate studio amp: Fender Deluxe Reverb.

Blackface Double VIB
Fender Twin Reverb is an all-time classic of biting twang and shimmering clean tones. This model is based on* a Fender Twin Reverb œVibrato channel, which is a separate preamp circuit with clipping characteristics that are different than the œNormal channel due to an additional 12AX7 tube stage.

Tweed B-Man BRT
Based on* a Fender Bassman, the amp that started it all “ instant rock and roll tone. This model is based on the amp' œBright channel, which provides a different voicing from the œNormal channel by utilizing the second half of the first preamp tube. (The œNormal channel uses the first half only). High frequencies are increased due to the addition of a bright cap across the volume knob.

Brit J-45 NRM
This model is based on* a Marshall JTM-45 MkII, which marked the beginning of the distinctively bright and crunchy sound that Marshall amps are known for. The œNormal channel is adept at big, bold clean tones.

Brit P-75 NRM
Based on* the œNormal channel of a Park 75, a Jim Marshall-designed amp that enjoys cult status for its powerful Plexi-style tones. The œNormal channel delivers a slightly darker tone than the œBright channel, a model of which already appears in POD HD.

Line 6 Elektrik
A face-melting, soul-weeping Line 6 original with high-gain capacity, interactive presence and mid-range controls. Careful, this might hurt a little¦

*All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose tones and sounds were studied during Line 6' sound model development. Fender, Bassman, Deluxe Reverb and Twin Reverb are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Hiwatt is a registered trademark of Fernandes Company Ltd. Supro is a registered trademark of Zinky Electronics, LLC. Gibson is a registered trademark of Gibson Guitar Corp. Dr. Z is a registered trademark of Dr. Z Amps, Inc. Vox is a registered trademark of Vox R&D Limited. Marshall is a registered trademark of Marshall Amplification Plc. Bogner is a registered trademark of Bogner Amplification. Mesa/Boogie and Rectifier are registered trademarks of Mesa/Boogie Ltd. Engl is a registered trademark of Ausflug, Beate and Engl, Edmund.
Line 6 POD HD500 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor
Line 6 POD HD500 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor
Line 6 POD HD500 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor

Features

  • HD amp models that feel, behave, and interact with previously unachievable realism for an entirely new playing experience
  • 16 HD amp models based on the most sought-after guitar tones: California cleans, classic crunch, vibey boutique warmth, modern high-gain, and more
  • 100+ effects including delays, modulations, distortions, compressors, EQs, filters, and reverbs; Up to 8 simultaneous FX; Tap tempo
  • 512 user-writable preset locations
  • 48-second looper with dedicated footswitches for Undo, Play Once, Pre/Post, Rec/Overdub, Play/Stop, Half Speed, and Reverse
  • Built-in tuner with signal mute
  • 1/4" and XLR outputs (mono/stereo); MIDI in, out/thru; S/PDIF out; USB; L6 LINK; FX loop (mono/stereo); 1/4" aux in; XLR mic in with mic level; 1/4" headphone output; Variax VDI connection; External expression pedal input
  • Free editor/librarian software
  • Bent sheet metal chassis, metal footswitches and expression pedal

Reviews

4.6

45 Reviews

0%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

Most Liked Positive Review

5

Putting the POD back on the map!

Let me start by saying that I have G.A.S (gear acquisition syndrome)! I have used pretty much everything and nothing I've tried can hold a candle to this. In the past I have never been happy with the tone of Line6 amp modeling. It has always fallen flat when compared to the real thing. Also there was always something missing in the feel when playing older PODs. That is not the case with this! I play primarily at church where we run everything direct and use in-ear monitors so running a full amp is out of the question. The best I have been able to come up with before buying this pedal was a pair of class A preamps going into a SansAmp, this sounded good but still was just not quite there. After several hours of tweaking on the HD500 I was able to create similar tones that had much more realism and depth than anything I could get previously. I had been considering the Axe-FX but am not currently in the position to drop $2000 then more for the foot controller. For my money this is hands down the way to go for situations where an amp isn't an option. The effects on this are also not too shabby! So far my favorite is being able to recreate the shimmer effect created by the Edge of U2 (using the Octo reverb on an expression pedal). The delays and other effects are right there too! The greatest thing for me is that everything is very configurable. You can assign any effects or multiple effects to any of the 8 footswitches on the front. This gives you a very stomp box feel which is awesome! You can also assign just about any parameter you would like to the expression pedal (which is switchable and really works like 2 expression pedals in 1). All in all this is a great product from a sound and configurability perspective. Only time will tell if it can hold up to the abuse of daily playing without breaking down. I have heard some bad things in the past about Line6 switches but let�ۡ���s hope they don't have that problem here. The only other complaint that I have is the software. The software to configure the effects is nice but is not extremely intuitive, neither is the documentation. It took me forever to figure out how to add a second amp to run dual amp tones (which so far doesn't seem to be worth the DSP cost, but still a cool option). Also if you don't synch with the unit often you run the risk of it accidentally overwriting your patch. I have had several times when a patch I was working on got wiped out and it was frustrating. After some play with it I think I have worked out a pretty good solution by just saving frequently to the HD500 while working on a patch. My last bit of advice on working with the patches is to not discount the Channel Level knob as a simple volume. It seems to my ear to work more like the "power amp" master volume. Several of my patches were sounding a bit thin and pre-ampy until I brought this knob up. It seemed to open the tone up and give it that nice amp sag feel. Hopefully this was helpful. Again this thing really seems to be great and I hope to get even more out of it over time!

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

3

It Depends

My review is strictly concerning using this for studio recording. I have used pods in the past and always found them lacking for recording. I bought a line 6 HD and spent a lot of time tweaking the settings as the presets are pretty marginal. The sounds I was going for were generally the Fender amps where I could get a good clean/crunch sound. I didn�ۡ���t spend hardly any time with the effects; instead I just want to get really good amplifier and cabinet combinations for direct recording. The HD series is definitely a step in the right direction but it still has some pluses and minuses, which depending on how you use it is very important or not at all. Pros: 1. That high end buzzzt that pods have always had is gone, no matter how much you boost the high end you no longer get that synthetic sounding buzz. I could get a nice clean Fender high end shimmer that was very believable. 2. The HD series does for the first time, give you a truly warm sound. In addition running it through a sonic maximizer really is the icing on the cake. Cons; 1. As big an improvement as line 6 has made in these two areas, there were still some drawbacks for what I was looking for. The midrange and the low end still have that semitransparent sound to it that really gives it away that it is still digital (almost like a Xerox copy with some of the toner missing if you can picture that). 2. The other drawback is that it seems like there is a slight delay (not the effect but the delay inherent in digital) that makes it slightly lag, this is very unsatisfying if you trying to play really tight and in the pocket, it also seems to have the effect of giving a recording less feeling. It almost gives you the feeling like someone is �ۡ��̏phoning in�ۡ�ݕ�_ the guitar part instead of playing it live. This is nothing new but unfortunately for this problem there doesn�ۡ���t seem to be any way around it, at least that I can figure. To me it seems that if you really want it to sound great in recording you need to go analog. I compared it side-by-side with a simple set up of two analog Tech 21 Sansamp amp simulators running through a real tube preamp, the analog set up was far superior to anything I could get on the line 6 HD. I have found using different combinations of Sansamp amp simulators in stereo with the tube amp and the sonic maximizer I can get an incredible variety of sounds that make your studio monitors sound like the actual amplifier you are trying to duplicate, and there is no delay issue. Obviously the product development people for line 6 have spent many years on re-creating some of the greatest amps, but I think there�ۡ���s a certain limit of what you can do if you go digital no matter how good you are at. If they had just taken all the knowledge they have accumulated over the years and made an analog device that uses real tubes no one could touch them.

Reviewed by 45 customers

  • Very useful tool

    5

    submitted12 years ago

    bySteven Atkinson

    fromCentral New Jersey

    I got this because I usually carry about 100 lbs in gear to various rehearsals and gigs, and I wanted something that was smaller and lighter to make things easier without giving up too much in terms of tone. I also wanted something that sounded decent at low volumes because I live in an apartment and don't want to disturb the neighbors when I want to record something at midnight. The HD500 does a pretty good job with all of this. The number of options I have to craft sounds are very nice, and after climbing the learning curve, I am making nice, usable tones for rough recording and rehearsing. While the sounds can be very convincing, the touch response just can't compare to a good tube amp. While that doesn't matter for listeners, I can tell the difference while playing. However, for $250 (used), this was a great deal, and I can't stop playing with it. The effects are decent all-around (comparable to Boss pedals, generally), and getting so many for such a small price is great, but there's a clear difference between them and real, good-quality effects. All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase. It does precisely what I had hoped--give a very versatile range of working effects and amp modeling in a tiny unit for a very reasonable price.

  • I might be too picky....

    2

    submitted13 years ago

    byLOUIE FOSTER

    fromAnacortes, WA

    I upgraded from an XT Live which had been pulling gig duty for many many years. I decided to upgrade and while doing so, purchase an expression pedal that I would dedicate to volume. Unfortunately, the EX-1 has issues with the HD500. First, you cannot calibrate it. Second, according to Line 6 Support, it is normal with the HD500 that the first 10 percent of travel with the EX-1 doesn't affect the parameter you have assigned to it. Furthermore, there are bugs with HDEdit and the EX-1, you can assign it to a parameter and it will do nothing until you unplug the USB cable switch to a different patch and then switch back. Not on all patches mind you, I haven't determined what the gating factor is nor will I now that I know the pedal is practically useless.

  • Worth every penny

    5

    submitted13 years ago

    byDonald Holland

    fromLittle Rock Arkansas

    Features = Tons. Quality and Reliability = Owned 1 year, zero issues. Look and Feel = Looks solid and Feels solid. I am running this pod hd500 unit in a four cable configuration, into the effects loop through a Marshall Head. This unit has potentially unlimited variations to alter your tone, and add nearly any effect you've ever heard of.It does not matter what genre music you play ie.(Country,Rock,Metal,Jazz,New Age,or Funky funk funk),it has a lot of options for any style.Just look at the list of pedals and modelers it has built in, then go look at the price of individual effect units...nuff said there. This can be a pretty complex unit to use, "which is a good thing", its not a toy. Simply put it can work you, or you can work it, depending on your level of knowledge and ability.

  • Poor interface

    1

    submitted13 years ago

    byDavid Glick

    fromSeattle, WA

    I bought this for my son who loves to tweek his sound. He is a young guy so I was set to help him. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering. Poor interface. Not logical. Not easy to use by any stretch. Poorly written manual. A "home" button is mentioned in the manual but no where is there a diagram of switches and knobs. Illogical. They probably need to include a video or Youtube links for examples. Traded this in for a Tube amp with modeling and effects. Simple for us. This is very very advanced gear.

  • Excellent piece, but know this - not exactly plug and play

    5

    submitted13 years ago

    byAaron Kamphuis

    fromAtlanta GA

    The guitarist in my band got the Pod HD 500 a few days ago and really loves it. The out of the box sounds were ok, as we were running directly into Pro Tools. But it requires a bit of setup tweaking, and even more if you use it with a traditional amplifier. Make sure you setup the inputs correctly, as it will produce noise and distortion in your tone if you don't. Also be very careful about gain staging your FX chains. If you're using it with a DAW, using the SPDIF connect is highly recommended. We actually use it as a split, SPDIF direct to Pro Tools and a 1/4" from the Pod to a Tech21 Trademark 60 amplifier and then via XLR to Pro Tools and get an amazing sound with it. It's heavy duty and is also sharp looking. Looking forward to hearing it live next week.

  • Incredible piece of equipment!

    5

    submitted13 years ago

    byBILL MOGOLOV

    fromDes Moines, Iowa

    On the evening when I first set up and used my HD500, I was literally sick to my stomach when I heard the pathetic presets that it offers.....all unusable in my opinion. I also found it pretty complicated to use. So, I packed it up to return to my local GC the following day. The next day, I decided to give it one more chance before I returned it. It was then that I learned how to tweak the presets. After tuning in some the very cool sounding amp models, I was able to get some extraordinary sounds. A great unit. The main thing to remember is not to judge the unit by the presets. They're pretty much useless. The beauty is in making your own presets and WOW, you can make some great sounds. Also, as it turned out, after a little use, I found it pretty easy to use. You have to be patient. I love this unit!

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