Line 6 POD HD500X Guitar Floor Multi-Effects Pedal

I probably spent 3hrs demoing all the stock sounds through a set of quad driver universal IEMs (Westone W40s) and really enjoyed what I heard with a ’72 Gibson (’54 Black Beauty Reissue) and an ’06 LTD Axxion. The biggest improvement I heard over the older POD was dynamic response and how much more room it felt like the guitars had to breathe (more so on the Paul, as my LTD has LiveWires). Heaps of gain is something L6 has always done well, but found my ears wandering more through the subtleties of the mid/low gain configurations. I found the characteristics and behavior of the amp models to be a lot finer tuned than I heard in the POD + a better level of detail.I’m not an effects heavy player, but relished the opportunity to get back into having more parameters at my fingertips (my Valve MKi was limited). Long delays, lush reverbs, deep phasing, and heavy filters should be more than sufficient for an average/straightforward player – anyone looking for more probably doesn’t have a taste for multi effects units anyway. The XT had pretty bad “synth” models so I didn’t expect much from the HD500, but was definitely pleasantly surprised with the tracking/response and the tonal flexibility. It’s definitely something I would have loved to had been able to incorporate in my cover band days, as synth lead lines would have come in super handy for adding depth to some pop selections.About 2 years after getting the POD I caught a DT50 1x12 on clearance and had to pull the trigger given I already had a POD HD500x. Combining these two is an AMAZING tonal experience IMHO. I thoroughly enjoyed the POD on its own and always preferred to demo guitars through DT Series amps (closer in sound to my MKi vs. the MKii Spider Valves) so was familiar and comfortable with them both apart.The L6 Link connection between the POD and the DT is a simple XLR cable and would make for a very clean stage setup, as I’ve not gigged this rig. Further, the automatic synchronization of the analog and digital elements tied to a patch makes for a relatively great out of the box experience. There was some setup and dialing in required (always with digital processors and pairing them with any amp) & I’d advise that cab modeling be turned off and checking the input/mixer settings. For some reason the combination of the inputs and the mixer settings can cause volume dropoff. I’m pretty sure mine is set up to have input 1 set to guitar, input 2 set to Variax (I don’t have/use one) + the mixer with channel A at 0dB panned to center, and channel B muted. I’m not running a stereo setup so I haven’t run into issues with this configuration & do remember getting more out of my tone when I set up the inputs and mixer “correctly.”PROs:-Great iteration of POD tech-Solid board build (better switches than the XT, cleaner vol pedal travel, etc)-Fantastic out of the box tones, with lots of depth to fine tune-Effects variety and quality you expect from L6-L6 Link with DT amps can generate the sweeter sweet t0aNzCONs:-Power cable length-Display brightness contrast isn’t great in darkness IMO-L6 Link setup/settings is not 100% straightforward-Would prefer USB 3.0/USB C ports for updated connectivity-Not all amp models included from factory***Detail/ExperienceTo provide some context, I’ve been playing electric guitar for over 21 years. The early days had me playing metal in a high school band, junior college had me gigging with a jazz combo and playing in a big band, then varying live and studio projects that included metal, R&B and fronting a wedding/cover band. I made the switch to Line 6 back in ’05 when I moved into an apartment and wanted to have great quality tone via headphones + USB recording capabilities – the PODxt was the newest at the time. Since then I’ve purchased 2 Line 6 amps to replace my 80’s Peavey solid state combos and a Marshall halfstack. Long to short: I’ve moved through a good variety of gear in a variety of settings to give me perspective on this processor.Prior to getting the POD HD500x I had been gigging with Line 6’s Spider Valve MKi 1X12 & had no need for any effects beyond what the Spider had onboard, let alone a full processor. This had reignited my ear for tube tone and the warm dynamics you get from a living & breathing valve amp & was loving my sound like never before. A huge upside was also the simplicity for gigging: FBV controller + amp + guitar, with a Cat5 on the floor and a cable from guitar to amp. Setup, teardown, and the DI into the board vs. mic positioning had the lead guitarist in my band overhaul his whole rig when he heard my tone. Having also demoed and being really taken by the Line 6 DT series valve amps, I knew that the POD HD and DT duo was going to be my next rig. After some varied playing at home in small and large rooms, I’d vouch for this setup being a great gigging rig. Plenty of volume and lots of tonal malleability.

I really did my research before i spent this money because I dnt have alot of it. Essentially i concluded that there are 3 levels of music equipment you are likely to go through when progressing thru your career. The top tier would be something like a massive rack with several studio quality effects units at $1000 or more each and like 4 different marshal amp stacks, a $10000 sound system. U literally have to be a sound engineer to operate it. Second tier would be a serious amp or 2 and a $2000 pedal board with very specific and very expensive pedals, like $600 per pedal. And finally the lowest level, any thing under $800 for your very average pedal board. I'm between the lower level and tier two, I have a desent amp and a good guitar, I tried building a desent pedal board for less than that and it just doesn't cut it. The pod can literally do anything the $100 pedals can and probably more, unless it's got some fancy tube in it which no one really cares about if u already have a tube amp. So if your at my level and don't have $2000 to spend on a pedal board then the pod is ideal because it gets you so many pedals for such a low price that u can really learn about each pedal while still having good sound for the moment so that when u eventually decide to sell your wife and child for the $10000 system you knw exactly what to buy.;) Regarding the actual pedal, I am really impressed with it. I was sceptial at first hearing all the talk about tone loss ect bla bla. I cant hear the difference. Sounds amazing. There is a learning curve, which I have been on for the last 3 weeks. Not to say I got some usable sounds straight away. There's just soooo much u can do with it. Need distortion? Try several dist pedals each as malablle as the last. Still not the sound your after how about a compression pedal or 7? Maybe pre and post equalising? A the same time?Not even touching on the amp modeling which is amazing and exponentially multiplies the various sound patches u can make. U can even use them as an effects, not just to model a particular amp.There are a host of other effect I haven't even used yet. Mainly stuck with a few delays and reverbs which are all great.Just note it requires fiddling to get sounds right. But there's plenty of online help and guidance.Oh don't forget the looper which u can record 48 seconds of a riff u like in one patch and then play over it endlessly with another patch model.

I used to gig quite a bit, and over this past few months I needed some inspiration. I also needed a replacement for my old Digitech RP20 so after extensive research I thought I'd bite the bullet and get the Line6 POD-HD500X. I've always been traditional Guitar>tubescreamer>effects>Marshall kinda guy and I didn't think amp emulation would sound good to anyone not still in their basement, but I was floored by how legit amp emulation sounds throughout the whole tonal sound of a guitar through a tube amp, including those harmonics and feedback overtones you expect.Delays, choruses, etc have been good enough quality for decades but amp emulation is a gamechanger. You don't need to lug a heavy, super expensive amp around to gigs if you don't want to anymore. I recently seen a Metallica tribute band do their whole show (the old good tunes not the thin crap they've put out lately) with no amps on stage and it sounded just like the album. Even the bass player ran a Helix.I chose the HD-500X over the Helix because I wasn't interested in paying an extra $1000+ for some pretty lights and a few features that don't really matter. There's even a side-by-side comparison on YT showing the HD-500X with an edge tonally over the Helix, but suffice it to say that this will do everything you'd want without the rainbow lights to impress your non-player friends.I will say that if you haven't used a multi-effects processor before you're in for a bit of torture with their interface, but to me it was similar enough to other systems that it didn't take too many manual references and google searches to do the specific things I wanted. But for someone new it can be daunting to get away from those scattered one or two patches you'll actually use.The other thing I love about the HD-500X is the parallel effects chain which allows you to set up two separate amps and effects to run stacked and mixed, or toggle switched to keep everything in one patch! Pretty handy for cover gigs where you need to access a bunch of different sounds all in one song without going to a different patch. Or blend a bit of that clean Fender into your Plexi classic metal tone if you like. Personally, I've been gravitating towards the Line-6 amps for emulation and tweaking them for my tastes.If you play cover songs spanning different tones and genres, you can't live without this. Sell that amp or keep it as a display in your jam room from now on and save your back for playing the gig not setting up for it. I would rate this 6/5 if I could.

Después de pasar varios años con el POD X3 era necesario renovar algo de mi equipo y vaya que ha valido la pena. El producto llegó en excelentes condiciones y en tiempo.La calidad del sonido es impecable, en mi caso tengo una variax y hacen una increíble mancuerna.Ojalá lo disfruten tanto como Yo.Saludos desde QRO, MEX

fantastic delivery and amazing product :)spent more time online and made my guitar patches and hey it sounds very professional :).i recommend this processor to all guitarists who want to make very big gigs in their life .the more you research on this processor the more you get out of it. it beats its competitors :)

昔、コンパクトエフェクターを沢山繋げてエフェクター間のシールドも最短距離になるように自分でハンダ付けして大きなアルミケースで持ち歩いていましたが数ヶ月で接触不良を起こし、そのつど接点復活剤でクリーニングしてました。そんな時代に接点の少ないマルチエフェクター（BOSS ME-5）が世に登場して真っ先に飛付き、それ以数機種ではありますが使っています。しかし時代と共に製造技術も変わってきたのが災いした被害者の一人です。例えば、BOSSのME-5やME-10はアナログでしたのでペダルを踏んで音色を切りかえる瞬間も音は途切れず綺麗に切り替わるものでした。その後のデジタル化によって音が途切れる進化とは言えない「退化」を経験させられました。今はデジタル処理速度の向上でどこ吹く風ですが、、、このエフェクターは、お持ちのマルチエフェクターに自分で作った音色をゼロからプログラムして使ってきた人には取説なしでも一日あれば95%（主観的）ぐらいは攻略出来るでしょう。基本的には他社のと一緒です。わからないのはボリュームペダルを新規に入力するとVOLUMEとしてプログラム出来ない事です。とりあえずボリュームペダルがメーカープリセットで組み合わされているものを一旦ユーザーエリアにコピーして他を削除して好みのエフェクターを組み合わせて使っています。問題は全くありません。と評価してきましたが、その後アレコレやっているうちに今日（2018/03/04）、本体ペダル中央左にある「 EXP 1」「EXP 2」のLED切替方法が分かり問題は解決しました。本体ペダルをつま先の方向へ思いっきり踏み込むと切り変わります。「EXP 2=緑色」のほうにすれば新規でボリュームペダルを加えても使えるようになります。日本語の取説にも書いてありました。取説チェックも大切ですね（笑）サイズと重量は大型の部類です。よって長距離をギター背負ってこれを持って歩くのは辛いかも、、、（若ければ問題ないと思いますが中年以降はキツい）初期のBOSSマルチエフェクターは演奏中ギターシールドが本体に乗っただけでバンクが勝手に切り変わり意図せぬ不審を買ったりしてましたが、このモデルはチョット触ると切り替わるスイッチ類も無いので音色が不本意に勝手に切り替わる事も無さそう。よく考えて造られている事がわかります。エフェクターの順番も自由自在で痒い所に手が届いて頑丈に出来ていますので内部回路が壊れない限り永く使えそうです。音も良いですね！膨大なライブラリーの中から好みのものを見つけて気に入っています。

This is a great unit! OK it's never going to sound like a real tube amp but with a bit of patience and tweaking it can come pretty close. I play in a covers band so need a few different sounds and didn't want to be tap dancing on pedals half the night. I use it going through a blues jnr (yes a tube amp!) And to my ears it sounds great using the direct/studio setting and the line setting on the unit. The amps become much more dynamic and small changes make a big difference. Tun the master to about half the use the amps own volume. It's easy to balance different patches just by adjusting the amps volume control. The fender, vox, div13 and Dr Z amps sound best to my ears. Very easy to add and set effects and sounds are pretty amazing generally. Give it some time and this unit will deliver.