More info about POD HD

[mr rhys]

I think you guys are being overly-critical, and almost sound like the axe-fx lot when the eleven came out! I am by no means side-lining myself with any particular brand or company I just use what I feel will get the job done as I am sure many of you will too, but remember how many poor high gain eleven demos there were before anybody really got chance to test it? Now there are some great sounds after people have managed to have a play in real life, I believe that this will happen with the new pod line given time. The amp sims on the demo (only 30 second samples remember!) sound quite good, and I agree, particularly the clean and low-gain ones.

But seriously, it includes all the M9/13 effects within the price and does look quite appealing which to me seems to go above what the 11r currently features. Yes I can see the difference in product as one includes recording features, although to me both products strongly suggest live playing. If I wanted to solely record ITB I would be using the plug-in version of some amp sim.

I have to say this is quite a tempting product as it includes my full rig at the minute and if there is no more development for the eleven in the next six months, personally, I may off-load my current gear and pick one of these up.
Don't get me wrong, I think the 11 is a great piece of gear, but more features at a cheaper price? That's a no-brainer.

[djemass]

I personnally think I will try one before giving my opinion because all of us know that these kind of demos are generally crappy...

I remember the first time I tried the 11R, I was not that impressed, and then I found by accident the "killer combo" (M2+4x12greenback+R121mic) and I was absolutely floored. It sounded like my real IIC+.

Just to say let's try the PODHD and make objective comments.

By the way, hey Digi guys, please hurry for the new updates

djemass

[madgt621]

Actually, the first demos i heard for the 11R, (Sean Halley's vids) i thought it sounded sick. Much better than any modeller in ithe price range or lower (Line 6, Boss, various plugins). This prompted me to listen to the demos on the avid site, (i think it was still Digi at that time) and the sounds i heard were pretty good. Some hit some miss. But with that, i went to the store to try it out.

It took me about three rounds, and finally bringing my own guitar to the store to dial the awesomeness. Once i got the 11R into my apt, it was over, instant awesome tone.

I'll do the same with the new HD floor processors. I'm not expecting anything great from the sound, but i am looking forward to diving into the flexibilty of signal routing and really sink my teeth into the effects. I've been on the fence with getting my G Major shipped over here, or maybe even buy a G Major 2 to use with the 11R.

I want to give this unit a chance, but once you've been using the likes of the 11R and AxeFx, and have experienced the shortcomings of the Spider Valve Amp, it's hard to really take Line 6 seriously. At least for me anyway.

[blewis]

Well, I think there are some taste level issues on the podhd sounds. But they do have a 100 effects to sell.

Couple of thoughts I had:
- Most of the line6 samples have some kind of delay on them. You might worry that this is hiding some sound faults, but then again, I think the 11R reverbs make pretty much every patch sound better.
- Since I was on my iPad last night, I couldn't hear the samples from Avid's Flash based 11R sound library. So I went to check out the Sweetwater presets. Many were just as bad sounding and effected out as the line6 demos. Some of them were downright terrible.

Ear check:
- I think the Basement Blues, Blues Blackbace Lux, boutique Divided, Class A 15, Class A 30, Gibtone 185 all sound good and pretty organic.

Gotta remember that one of their big selling points is "feel". You'll have to actually play one to see if it feels right. See if it feels like you're playing the sound you're hearing.

I agree the effected out patches sound a bit bad... but the 11R can't even do 1/2 of those sounds. I think Line6 needs to sell that feature too... to people who might want that. There are 3-4 different pitch patches up there. I only like the Icky Thump, but plenty of people have requested a Whammy on the 11R.

All kinds of stereo delay going on. 11R people want that too.

It'll be interesting to hear more. One thing is for sure, if you want a floor board, go Line6. The 11R community has totally poo-pooed the 11 floor model.

[blewis]

The DT50 movie has some good tones too. Since it doesn't have effects, it mainly focuses on just raw sounds.

[madgt621]

Originally Posted by blewis

The DT50 movie has some good tones too. Since it doesn't have effects, it mainly focuses on just raw sounds.

agreed, it's not half bad, and definitely a step up from the Spider Valve.

It makes me think, Eleven pretty much bases itself on completely raw tones, and the 11R added to Eleven's sonic palette. As far as i can tell, it was a huge success. I really believe Avid really stepped up the amp modeling game as far as realism, and completely changed the game in terms of feel with the 11R, completely blowing Line 6 and all the other plugins out of the water. A lot of that has also has to do with the price point the 11R is offered at.

But now, Line 6 is coming out with the HD series at an even lower price point with more features. This is gonna attack the larger market of hobbyists and young kids who will find it easier to go for the cheaper floor based effects processors. With the many features of the Line 6 and other effects processors, can we really expect consumers to bite the bullet and save up for a more expensive 11R that comes with "less"?

I think that in order to stay relevant, Avid needs to put more features into the 11R, and subsequently the Eleven plugin. While a couple more amps will be great (Line 6 made a great decision modeling ENGL, Dr. Z, and such), it would be more useful to expand upon the 11R's use of stereo effects, and maybe a little more flexibility in the way it approaches the effects blocks. I believe that it was written that having a true stereo dual amp rig was impossible, but if at some point that becomes possible, 11R can be taken to a whole other level.

[ratter75]

I was excited about the HD500 but after having the 11R w/ True-Z, I'm not sure I can go back to anything that doesn't have the same or similar mechanism on the input.

[Jerry S]

My take on the HD500 after reading everything about it including this thread is that I will definitely try it out in the store. I see it as a compliment, not replacement to my 11R. The fact that the 11R is my interface alone will keep it in the family not to mention many of it's other great features.

I'm toying with the idea of throwing the HD500 in the 11R FX loop and punching it in where and when needed. I have a GC Pro and GCX, sell the two and bam, there's HD500 money lol. Integrating the two could be a beautiful thing if the HD500 does indeed sound and FEEL as good as they are claiming.

I have not yet heard any samples but I'm about to check them out in a few.

[hoss33]

Originally Posted by mr rhys

I think you guys are being overly-critical, and almost sound like the axe-fx lot when the eleven came out!

You should hear the Axe FX crew on the Fractal forum talking about the HD now. "Not great, the Axe FX still rules but Avid should worry with their Eleven Rack"

Actually the HD 500 could be a nice addition. It is MIDI programmable, so it could work as a great foot controller and as a backup unit for Eleven Rack (or Axe FX).

[Julia B]

The HD300 is on my try out list. I don't go by the clips on the web sites because they're always overly compressed in 128 kbps mp3 format.

The 11R sounds like a real preamp to me through the power section of a quality tube amp like a Diezel and through a good quality cabinet. It'll nail the real deal through them. It'll sound like the "amp in the room". Through FRFR it doesn't sound like the amp in the room. It sounds like a recorded amp... basically like crap unless it's in a mix with other instruments, where it shines. That was my personal experience with the 11R. It wouldn't replace my tube amp for solo practice because it sounds like a miked amp via FRFR which is what it is then.

And it also depends upon how much time you spent dialing in the tone. It took me three months to finally settle on my four tones with my tube amp. I've got those marked down on the amp. That's my sound.

We all know the factory presets typically suck on modelers. 11R, AXE, POD, Digitech, it doesn't matter. The users who spend time tweaking the models make them sound good. When the AXE FX first came out everyone was putting up clips of "The Edge" settings.

So I think it is with the POD HD series. You heard factory presets on the web site. I wasn't blown away, but they were good. I felt they put way too much reverb on them. That's not the fault of the unit. That's the way they had it set up. These aren't necessarily to your own tastes, but they can be tweaked. The right combinations of the amps/cabs/ and any effects. Sadly there is no SLO, but there is an Uberschall.

I'm looking for something to make recording a lot simpler. I don't want to have to have a second interface or a second copy of Pro Tools or essentially pull the M-Powered off the PC, and sell the Fast Track Pro and M-Powered on ebay. But I am looking for an easier way of recording guitar. The HD300 would probably do the trick for $329 if it passes my test. Hardware over software means less processor power. It will take some time to play with it.

This means probably taking a ton of pedals down and a cheap bass down to GC and trading them in to get a couple hundred off the price. Try it out for a month and if i don't like it back it goes. No software involved so unlike the 11R I can get a refund if I don't like it. The pedals? I'm not using them anyway.