PODxt Live Settings

[taclassic]

Anyone here use a PODxt Live? I just purchased on in order to try and cover the various sounds my band covers. So far only the Twin and Plexi amp models are doing anything for me. Maybe the Mark IIC+ and Hiwatt. Can anyone here who uses this pedal board suggest some other amp models?

[csd]

i use the xt, and have used the plexi and jumped plexi. the chieftain is good as well, although i find alot of tweaking is necessary. depending on the cabs you pick and the gtr you are playing at the time, it may need some noodling with.
i heard you can check out lincoln brewsters pod settings and actually download them??? you'd have to check out his site info.
i don't use the xt for the modeling, for right now, it is convenient to have it for the 'sauce'. i run it thru the loop on my morris and use the amps' gain and eqing.

[dannopelli]

A lot of the "out of the box" stuff is really not usuable, or more usable for selected situations. But

Have you downloaded Line 6 Monkey, Gearbox, and most importantly, Line 6 Edit? You get Monkey first. Connect your XT Live via USB to your PC. Upgrade all the firmware and software. Then get Line6 Edit and Gearbox.

Also get Amp Farm for use with Pod XT and XT Live.

Edit makes it SO much easier to tweak tones. Gearbox is pretty simple too, but it adjusts one or two fewer parameters. Almost all of the sounds I get from my actual amps I have been able to emulate using those two. Set back in the mix it works nice for recording.

[guitarzan]

yeah, if you go to www.lincolnbrewster.com and click on the tab that says "gear" you should scroll down about halfway and see a zip file for both the X3 and the XT series of Pods. Try those and use patches 18B, C, & D.

[taclassic]

Thanks folks. I will try the Lincoln Brewster download and see what it does for me. Then will go crazy with the other down loads. I won't be able to do any until tomorrow night.

Tonight will be my first time trying the pedal at rehearsal.

[Pietro]

I find that with my ToneLab SE (and, earlier, my original POD 2.0) I only found one or two models I liked with any given guitar out of the many available. So don't be surprised if you only like two models. The next guy might only like two... but a different two.

Full disclosure: I no longer "model" as I now have an amazing amp that makes all the difference to me. But I love my ToneLab enough that I'm hanging onto it for a while.

[taclassic]

Last night was my first time using the pedal at rehearsal. I found it did not cut through the mix when I used the amp models. I will continue to tweak and see if I can come up with something.

I did notice that using no amp models and only the effects like Chorus and their modeled tube screamer did cut through the mix.

I am going to spend part of the weekend tweaking and seeing if I can come up with a few usable sounds.

I really appreciate everyone's input thus far.

[dannopelli]

Are you running this through the board? Most of the presets on there are over compressed. You really need to create your own. These things really do not respond well with a lot of guitar amps, especially tube amps. So the compressed signal gets even more so

One other thought: Consider memory layout. Take a look at your floorboard. I have an XT with a Line 6 Floorboard. I lay all my Jazz presets in bank A. So 18A, 19A, 20A, and 21A are all jazz presets. I do the same for Blues, Rock Rhythm, and Rock solo. I just cursor up and down.

My point is, if you are going to need to recall the presests do so in a way that makes it easy and logical for you.

If you use Line6 Edit, save the presets you build up near the 50 mark or higher. But only temporarily. One you are satisfied you have what you want, then figure out where to put them so it is organized for you. Line 6 Edit makes this very easy to do. Just move them to what works for you with the board.

[Pietro]

You have to EQ and set up those things "in the mix". You can't, in my experience, get them set before rehearsal, only during...

But my ToneLab works great, either as an amp emulator or bypassing effects into an amp, and I know your POD will be similar.

[taclassic]

Dan and Pietro

Thanks for the input. I definitely plan to follow Dan's layout philosophy. I really only need a few banks. Most will just be Clean, Light Crunch, Med Crunch and Solo sounds. One bank with no effects and a few others with added delay, chorus and maybe overdrive.

I did see that I had to continuously tweak EQ settings during the rehearsal last night. I may need to continue doing that a bit longer.

[dannopelli]

Dan and Pietro

Thanks for the input. I definitely plan to follow Dan's layout philosophy. I really only need a few banks. Most will just be Clean, Light Crunch, Med Crunch and Solo sounds. One bank with no effects and a few others with added delay, chorus and maybe overdrive.

I did see that I had to continuously tweak EQ settings during the rehearsal last night. I may need to continue doing that a bit longer.

You'll see that you will might want a few more. Let's take that "Clean" one...

Clean for singles.
Clean for hums.
Clean with reverb.
Clean with delay.
Clean with chorus.

So you really need to get your tones settled, then place them.

It is why I got away from a rack system. I had SO many presets, and since you could not use a PC to adjust it was a pain. Plus, I was cycling through amps at the time, so every new one made me either recreate my presets or make a new set for the new amp. The stomp box dance for me is actually easier.

The POD series is really good for what it does. Through the board, it is OK. Some guys actually use them live and get great results. They are very nice for recording too. Through an amp, not so good. The PC interface and midi capabilities are cool too.

Good luck!

[Babow2]

HI,
I have a pod xt live and went through the same learning curve as you.
First and foremost, if you are tweaking through headphones and trying to then play it with a band, it will suck! The only way to EQ and tweak the tone is to play it through the kind of amp/system you will be using. I played a gig with Jeff Watson of NIghtranger and he showed up with his modeling board and I had mine, and his rocked. He and I talked for a while. He spent 2 days with Steve Morse on a soundstage dialing in usable tones. I threw out my headphones and plugged it in at volume. World of difference!

So, that's the first trick is only programming it through the system you are going to play through. That will be a big help.

As to usable tones, I have been programming mine to take to Mexico to Club Med (again). Last time we did CM, I lugged all my pedals and rack and ran through their lousy Marshall MDG50DFX. This time I am just taking the POD. I play in a cover band that covers songs from the 60's to today, so I need to use lots of different colors and tones. I would be happy to share what I've got, but it would be better on regular email. Feel free to hit me up if you want any other ideas.

[Pietro]

Consider starting with one or two setups for each guitar. That way you can put the unit into "pedal mode" (or whatever they call it) and turn the delay and chorus and other FX off and on with the footswitches. Also, when you get it the way you want it with the band, you can clone the setup and make fine adjustments, or change FX around, when you're by yourself after you've tweaked it with the band.

I typically used only one patch for a whole Sunday most of the time. I turned wah or chorus or delay or whatever I needed for THAT service on with the footswitches rather than remembering which patch was which. but then again, I don't use gobs of different gains and such. I'm a simple man, even if my pedal board is getting more and more to look like a Jet plane instrument panel...