Line 6 POD HD Series
- Thread starter cakire82
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UCSDBoy
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Re: Line 6 POD HD Series
I brought one home today (HD500) just to try it out and one thing I noticed in the manual is something I haven't seen mentioned around the net: They mention that as not all models are equal in the amount of DSP processing power they require, the models that require very little processing power can have a longer and more varied effects chain. The opposite is also true - if you select an amp model that requires a lot of power, you will not be able to select certain effects that together would require more power than what the processor has.
Based on this alone, it appears to me that if you buy an Axe Fx you're paying for (in addition to the boutique price) the cost of putting the cadillac of the SHARC series processor in your rig. In this way it seems a lot like the tradeoff one makes when building a home PC - you can get the bleeding edge of CPU power for 3x what you will pay for the chip with the best price/performance ratio. More power = capability for longer effects chains with more complex models requiring more processing ability.
That's not to say you will always be using it - not all of the POD HD's models require even the kind of processing power it has - the extra they make a point to offer up in extra effects processing.
That's basically where my thinking takes me - Many of the models are in another dimension compared to those on my XT, when I play them both through my headphone monitors. The JCM800 preset sounds a lot better although it's not blowing my hair back or anything. XD
btw - not everyone may know this but the HD400 is more like the XT with one amp modeling at a time while the HD500 is more like the X3 with dual amp models. Just throwing that out there in case someone who hasn't already got one decides to go out and get one...
The other major thing I've noticed is that while the dynamics may seem more real through headphones, through my Atomic (112 (18w)) I really don't see the additional benefit. That is to say, the XT really shines through the Atomic and the added advantage of the HD modeling doesn't really carry all that much over, either with pre-amp only or the full model + cabs
I brought one home today (HD500) just to try it out and one thing I noticed in the manual is something I haven't seen mentioned around the net: They mention that as not all models are equal in the amount of DSP processing power they require, the models that require very little processing power can have a longer and more varied effects chain. The opposite is also true - if you select an amp model that requires a lot of power, you will not be able to select certain effects that together would require more power than what the processor has.
Based on this alone, it appears to me that if you buy an Axe Fx you're paying for (in addition to the boutique price) the cost of putting the cadillac of the SHARC series processor in your rig. In this way it seems a lot like the tradeoff one makes when building a home PC - you can get the bleeding edge of CPU power for 3x what you will pay for the chip with the best price/performance ratio. More power = capability for longer effects chains with more complex models requiring more processing ability.
That's not to say you will always be using it - not all of the POD HD's models require even the kind of processing power it has - the extra they make a point to offer up in extra effects processing.
That's basically where my thinking takes me - Many of the models are in another dimension compared to those on my XT, when I play them both through my headphone monitors. The JCM800 preset sounds a lot better although it's not blowing my hair back or anything. XD
btw - not everyone may know this but the HD400 is more like the XT with one amp modeling at a time while the HD500 is more like the X3 with dual amp models. Just throwing that out there in case someone who hasn't already got one decides to go out and get one...
The other major thing I've noticed is that while the dynamics may seem more real through headphones, through my Atomic (112 (18w)) I really don't see the additional benefit. That is to say, the XT really shines through the Atomic and the added advantage of the HD modeling doesn't really carry all that much over, either with pre-amp only or the full model + cabs
UCSDBoy
New member
Re: Line 6 POD HD Series
I must also add that as a longtime PODXT + Atomic user I'm somewhat biased against spending another 500 and change just to get an upgrade. I'm seriously considering returning the thing and using the money to buy an Alchemist - It seems to cover quite a lot - it appears to do the fender and marshall thing well, and has enough high gain for anything I'll ever use...
I must also add that as a longtime PODXT + Atomic user I'm somewhat biased against spending another 500 and change just to get an upgrade. I'm seriously considering returning the thing and using the money to buy an Alchemist - It seems to cover quite a lot - it appears to do the fender and marshall thing well, and has enough high gain for anything I'll ever use...
UCSDBoy
New member
Re: Line 6 POD HD Series
I concur - when the XT came out I made the same argument here and took a fair amount of flame from all the tube-heads for it. =) What I think now though is any software product, be it Pod Farm, Guitar Rig, etc. is going to have access to processing power a POD can only dream of. If you're using your home computer for home recording and messing around, it may be just as well to buy a software product. (Now I don't own any of those, I just have GarageBand on the Mac and so there may be unacceptable latency in those packages I don't know...)
The videos on the Line 6 page appear to acknowledge that at least somewhat - the guys start out by saying when POD came out it was for the home, but people put it into studios - now the POD's place is more on the stage because tastes have shifted and people are going more with the software/plugin products on the home desktop. As a software guy, that really got me thinking as to _why_ that would be the case, because I've used an XT for years and it's practically bullet-proof - especially on the Mac. What I wrote above is essentially the conclusion I came to. Feedback on all that, especially Guitar Rig is appreciated - since I might try going for that instead.
I concur - when the XT came out I made the same argument here and took a fair amount of flame from all the tube-heads for it. =) What I think now though is any software product, be it Pod Farm, Guitar Rig, etc. is going to have access to processing power a POD can only dream of. If you're using your home computer for home recording and messing around, it may be just as well to buy a software product. (Now I don't own any of those, I just have GarageBand on the Mac and so there may be unacceptable latency in those packages I don't know...)
The videos on the Line 6 page appear to acknowledge that at least somewhat - the guys start out by saying when POD came out it was for the home, but people put it into studios - now the POD's place is more on the stage because tastes have shifted and people are going more with the software/plugin products on the home desktop. As a software guy, that really got me thinking as to _why_ that would be the case, because I've used an XT for years and it's practically bullet-proof - especially on the Mac. What I wrote above is essentially the conclusion I came to. Feedback on all that, especially Guitar Rig is appreciated - since I might try going for that instead.
eschoendorff
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Vasshu the humanoid typhoon
Unseen
Re: Line 6 POD HD Series
They all have the same "shine" around them...no mistake there!
They all have the same "shine" around them...no mistake there!
