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(More customer reviews)Before we get started, I am more "pro" than amateur. I work at a church as a pastor of Worship Arts and use this in my work. But I hesitate to say I'm only "pro", because "amateur" means you do something purely for the love of it... and I feel that way about music... So...
First... the models I've tested are far and away more realistic to my ears than other modelers I've used, which includes Logic Studio's amps (these sound almost as good btw), POD X3Live and XTPro (the HD models are noticeably better... and the fizz is GONE GONE GONE), the original POD and 2.0 (which sounded the same to me and made me happy at the time), and the ToneLab SE (which I missed for a while, but not anymore).
I made a few patches for one of my guitars based on having a Bassman 4x10 alongside the Dr. Z, and it is the coolest sound I've ever made with this guitar... easily. Better sounding, to my ears, than the real amps I've been using (maybe because I put them off stage and don't run them very loud). I ADORE the sound of this unit.
Oh, and as always... forget about all the pre-sets. They're probably all as useless as you imagine they might be.
Now the bad news. And it's significant... for some...
First off, editing is clunky like it was on the XT and X3Live. Just forget about trying to use the display. Connect to a computer... Seriously. When you start from an init patch, you only get lucky, it seems, to manage to coax it into "two amp" config...
Next, The functionality of this unit is exaggerated by it's specs. You will almost certainly NOT be able to do 8 FX at once the way you're thinking. Why? Let's say you use an XT or a X3. think about what you're used to.
You start with 8 FX
Subtract effect banks for...
1. volume pedal (you need to use an effect bank). You might be able to use an analog pedal, but I like my volume after my compressor... so I have to do it in the loop I guess...
2. FX loop (only works with an effect bank... Line6, is there any way you can make this always active in a firmware upgrade? Seems like you could.)
3. Noise Gate (used to be always available... don't worry if you mix this with the M13 as I plan to do, though, as the M13 has a great gate). I mostly use clean or just barely broken-up amps, so I might be able to skip this.
4. Wah (this is always available and active in the X3 and below).
5. Post-EQ. The X3Live had a final EQ before final output that I liked a lot. in addition to all the other FX, too. You need to dedicate an FX bank now.
SO... you might only have 3FX left. For me, put in a clean boost and tube drive (which I think sound better in this box than they did in the M13. Probably because they're "digitally part of the signal" is all I can think) and a verb for the amp. No slots left. What if you need delay and modulation? EEK! I have to re-think the way I use FX in this box. Still evaluating how that will work for me.
What if you're a guy like me who was using the X3Live (occasionally) as a one-box solution for a dual-voice guitar. (All my guitars have piezo bridges.) No dice.
I will have to use an acoustic preamp. No matter. I have one. I will probably dedicate a "null" amp to bring this signal into the unit and mix it.
In addition, there aren't as many computer-recording routing options as the X3Live, and the SUPER-sweet ability to switch between two FX chains in one patch (instead of switching programs) is gone. As far back as my old Vox ToneLab SE, I could literally switch channels from one amp/cab to another in the same FX chain. You could do something similar on the X3Live. Not here. Also... Line 6, why on earth can't you make the Midi in and out work as a USB Midi interface with this unit? How complicated can that really be?
In short... the X3Live has significantly... SIGNIFICANTLY more flexibility imho than this unit, for many of us at least, and ought not to have been discontinued imho. For some of you, it's still a viable option.
You also still might need your other FX!
I thought it might be possible that this unit, even if I needed to use my AG Stomp for my acoustic side again (which I'm happy to do) would bump my M13 off the stage. Maybe not. At least not all the time. That said, I think from what I'm hearing that some of the FX (especially the dirt pedals) work FAR better inside this box than they do in the M13 when you connect it to a POD or amp.
My favorite patches so far that I've made (which use the Bassman model and the UNBELIEVABLE Dr. Z model... far and AWAY my favorite amp model EVAH!) don't leave any room for modulation or other special FX. (I'm not a "switch whole patches on the fly" guy. I turn FX off and on.) So I need my M13 after all. And the way I use my M13, having four FX processors with 3 FX available at any time is something I don't think I can live without anyway...
My rig is not getting any simpler, though... and that is a minor disappointment. The X3Live was a one-box solution for the two-voice guitar I do... Am I complaining? No. Because the sound of this unit is so extraordinary. I'd take off a full star for this shortcoming, but the fact is the unit sounds good enough that I can't do it.
There will, at some point, I hope, be a next-generation of this technology which will possibly address some of the usability shortcomings, but I have to say, for this price, I am totally satisfied with the sound, and have the other gear to add to it to make it totally work for me... BIG TIME!
In the meantime, am I willing to trade the flexibility of my former rig for the sound of this one? Heck yes, it sounds that good. I even love the models of amps I know I'll never use for the first time ever....
So... I will likely have a rig consisting of the HD500, and sometimes an M13 (I'm SERIOUSLY thinking of down-sizing that to an M9, but probably won't bother), and an acoustic preamp (currently a Yamaha AG-Stomp) mixed in with the HD signal through the mp3 input or using ONE of the FX to route it through the aux input.
Am I disappointed? Not really. I'm only nit-picking so that you will know all the trade-offs. For what I have been fantasizing about, basically an M13 in form and function with a handful of amp models shoved in the box, this is as close as we're probably going to come. And, did I mention... the SOUND! It's seriously great!
UPDATE! I have learned that I will indeed have no problem replacing my M13 as well, and am selling it in the next day or so (already have offers). It's a great unit, but I simply will not need it anymore with this thing around.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Line 6 POD HD 500
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