Who uses a POD with a combo Amplifier & why?
My impression is the POD is used with a computer desktop???
Who uses a POD with a combo Amplifier & why?
My impression is the POD is used with a computer desktop???
Recipe for shitty tone. Don`t do it.
CT.
Agreed. A Pod is an amp emulator (and a shitty one), putting amp emulation into a real amp makes little sense.Originally Posted by CocoTone
Using a POD live? nah.
PODs are for recording, IMO. They are convenient and get decent tones but they absolutely will not fool anyone with good ears into thinking that they are playing a tube amp. They also don't feel the same as a real tube amp, either. They probably get somewhere around 75-85% of the original vibe of the amps it tries to emulate--good enough to fool most people but, again, not someone with 'good' ears. Despite this, IMO--tubes still rule.
But for easy recording without worrying about mic placement and sound levels, they are quite convenient. It sure is nice to scroll through a list of virtual cabinets instead of mic'ing each one up individually. And if you haven't heard the latest firmware for the POD XTs (v2.01 instead of the much older v1.05) I think you'd be surprised once a 'standard' patch is tweaked (most POD patches are in need of tweaking, IMO).
Going into the from of any amp with the POD is not that great. It's fine if you need a powered source and want to write or work out something, but not for anything serious. Quite a few run the POD into the FX return which bypasses the preamp and goes right to the power amp. It doesn't sound bad, but again the amps are not really designed for this and tend to have some brittleness to the tone.
The Atomic Amp is made just for this purpose. http://www.atomicamps.com Built by legendary amp guru Harry Kolbe. It's an 18w tube amp designed exlusively for modelers. It kicks big time. There are quite a few touring acts/players already using or thinking about using these. Depending on my mood I'll go direct or mic it up in my own studio.
As far as fooling trained ears... I know of quite a few big name produer/engineers here in LA that swear by the POD or using a Vetta HD direct. Half the issue is that most folks just dial in somethings that "just works" and not really go for the kill sound. Or they just don't know how the modelled amps are really supposed to sound, thus not knowing how to take advantage of the POD's models. I've done quite a few tracks here at LA studios that anyone not seeing me track it had no clue it was a POD. These folks are in it day in and day out. If I can't fool 1% of the folks who cares. My palette has been expanded 10 fold and I don't have to lug in tons of gear. This is what I care about. I've gotten past the tubes no tubes thing years ago. For me it's what works and what sounds good for the track.
Now THAT sounds interesting...have you tried one personally?
In all fairness, this is probably the wrong forum on which to try to persuade others of the 'tube-ness' of a POD or Vetta...most of us can feel the difference and a sizeable number can probably hear the difference as well. In person, the differences are obvious, IMO. Still, the gap continues to close and it's 'close enough' (finally--I'd been waiting for years) for me to have taken the plunge into the 'evil' world of modelling.
I do agree that, for recording, they are quite nifty. There are still some issues with the firmware (such as digital 'aliasing'--there's much less of it than before but it's still present) but that is the nature of using the software at this point in time...
I see 'em as just another tool in the rack...
I run 2 in stereo! It kills!!! Some of the stuff that's not really listed on it... JJ/Tesla EL-84 tubes. 250w rated custom designed speaker, effects loop, closed back cab, with bottom girth for days. The mount system can handle the POD 2, PODxt, Vox Tonelab and I believe the V-amp. The production version has a more univeral mount system that isn't shown on their website yet.
I don't try and persuade anyone. To each his own and whatever it takes to inspire your playing is all that matters. It is true you can feel the tube action happening, but to the listener it's fairly transparent. I have very little tube gear these days. I mainly use my Vetta II HD into a GenzBenz GFlex 212 and the Atomic's for smaller stuff. If I find something that is different that I can't nail on this stuff I'll get it.
I do have a product review I did on the prototype before it was released. If you want to read it, go to my site http://www.instituteofnoise.com and on the main page on the upper left announcement column, there is a link to it on my site.
Thisfeels like quite the
Your site is a great resource and I've enjoyed listening to the various clips of different patches, software versions, etc. Good to see you here. :)
Feel free to offer your unsolicited advice regarding modellers anytime, IMO.
Glad to meet ya Hud! And thanks for visiting my site too! I was a bit grumpy today... Hope I didn't jump out on the tone thing too much. Mostly due to frustration about pulling the trigger on my Tele Partscaster (parts orders) I'm building, since it's tough to envision what all the real parts will look like. So far I haven't see a color scheme like what I'm doing.
I'm gonna try and put some clips up as soon as finish them with the Atomic. That is a promise!
--AZ
The POD was indespensible on my last studio project. When in a pinch to find a tone that fit, I was able to record a clean track direct and mess with the POS to find just the right tone. I've had plenty of folks try to pick out the POD tone. They can't.
Live, the POD didn't do so well. Suffered from that same "tiny tone" that other modelers have live: they just don't have that "umph."
"Power don't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes from lying. Lying big and gettin' the whole damn world to play along with you. Once you've got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you've got 'em by the balls."
Senator Roark - Sin City
I have a POD, it is great for late night jamming with headphones, I have not trried it yet in a live setting. If anything I will be using it for effects only ( Chourus, delay, fuzz etc.. ) in a live setting, and not amp modeling.. I have it sitting in front of a Twin Reverb
Last edited by Jammin Joel; 08-13-2004 at 11:27 AM.
AND HOW!!
CT. :yay
Hey Pete, any transistors in that airplane of yours, or does that bad boy fly on 6L6's?
:hee
Uhh Jack, APPLES AND ORANGES. I will have you know my airplane is 1960 vintage. :-P
You won't find any transistorized guitar amps hooked up at any gig I'm playing. You won't find me recording with them either.
i've seen a bunch of pod rigs from working a lot of live shows. what the norm was that i saw was guys using the rackmount pod's with a power amp and going into a 4x12 cab. sounded pretty decent.
another thing like someone said was to insert the output of the pod into the fx return. i also have seen people use the power amp in on a roland jc 120. again sounded pretty good.
i will say that i am a tube amp player thru and thru. but the people that i saw use the modelers did a pretty good job with them.
i have also mixed a lot of bands who use modeling amps. the best tones i was able to acheive was by running a d.i. out from the amp (effected) and then compressing it on the board. about 3:1 ought to be about right.
personally i'd rather them be playing tube amps. but really in the end the audience can't really tell the difference. and when you are doing 40 songs and need to get a bunch of different tones, the modeler is the way to go. what you give up in tone you more than make up for in flexibility.
this is just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I feel the same way Chuck. I really don't feel happy personally unless I'm playing tubes. Can't stand the way my tone sounds through transistors as a rule.
But who in the audience would notice? Nobody.
I console myself with the argument that if I'm playing through a tube amp, I'm happy. Therefore, I play my best. Therefore, the audience gets the best out of me they can. Therefore, whether they know a tube from a tubesnake is immaterial.
Incognito ergo sum. I'm invisible, therefore I am.
:rofl
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I have used mine live with an amp several times and it works well if you take the time to set it up fot the rig. I ususaly use the POD livce with a PA or into a keyboard amp. I did that latter this afternnon and was told the guitar sounded great today. Go figure.
Guitars: Teles, Strats, LP, VW Wormoth, others. Amps: Bassman LTD, Richter 5e3, 5e3 Head, Taynor Bassmaster II, Gretsch 6150 (Supro), others. Board: Guitar>Java Boost> Huckleberry>Fuzz Head>Top Fuel> SFX-03 >Keeley 4 knob Comp>EH Clone Chorus>Flanger>DD-6
They work great into keyboard amps, but still you have to kill cabinet models and it's best into effects return and bypass the onboard preamp.
My Kustom KGA-65 is super clean, and I've even run a mixer into it and used it as a PA. That's how clean it is.. FX return bypassing the onboard preamp on that one is near perfect.
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