K. Clarifying Confusing Volume Controls

For this guide I often use the terms MASTER Knob, VOLUME Knob (Ch Vol in Edit), Mixer Levels, and Master Volume (Master DEP). Below presents what exactly each one does and how I find they are best used.

I. The Pad Switch

Pods come with an input padding feature that reduces the level of your guitar signal. I have started using this to prevent some input clipping on guitars with high-output humbucker pickups. It also makes your signal a bit more manageable inside the Pod. I have tested the tone after compensating levels, and there seems to be insignificant tonal differences. Most of the issues with the Pod are that your signal is too hot rather than too weak. So this switch is a no-brainer for me. I had previously thought it had a unwanted tonal impact, but I was using a flawed test.

It's just a switch and easy to do a quick experiment with. Try it out before you spend money on buffer pedals or engage in laborious adjustments to your guitar.

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II. The master Knob

The MASTER Knob is the physical knob labeled "MASTER". When I refer to it in this guide I always use the word knob to avoid confusion with the Master DEP control. This knob controls an analog attenuator that affects the output volume of the analog outputs. It is part of an analog gain stage, so its setting has some impact on the signal-to-noise ratio; however, it has no effect on the modeling algorithms. It has no impact whatsoever when outputting digitally (USB, SPDIF, or AES). This is a global setting that affects all patches equally. It has no digital representation and cannot be saved per patch - the knob's current setting is what the Pod will use. The Pod HD Getting Started Guide recommends turning this all the way up to get the best signal-to-noise ratio; however, some users have reported their tone suffers when doing so. In particular, high settings might clip whatever you're outputting the Pod into. For gig/practice applications, I set it to 65%, just shy of clipping the amp I run the Pod into. I advise you to turn it as high as possible unless you are clipping something downstream, using your amp's master volume control to dial in your desired final volume level. If your amp doesn't have a master volume controls, such as the Peavey ValveKing or 6505, you can use this in its place.

Also, keep in mind that the Pod is designed for high resistance headphones. The headphones I have are 64 ohm, far below what Line 6 suggests using. Most consumer headphones fall into this category. If I were to turn up the Master Knob when using headphones, I'd deafen myself. I make sure to turn down the Master Knob to 20-60% when using headphones, unless they are high-ohm studio headphones.

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III. Amp/Channel Volume aka volume Knob

The Volume Knob is also a physical knob, but it controls a digital setting which can be set and saved to different settings for each patch. When a patch is pulled up, it is set to the saved value, not the value the physical knob is currently set to. The digital setting will only change to the knob's value when you start turning it, like the EQ knobs. It controls the Vol/Ch Vol parameter located on each amp block, again similar to the EQ knobs. This is a tone-transparent control, not designed to change how the amp model behaves - to get the "cranked" amp tone, you use the Master DEP, discussed below.

The particular quirk to note about this control is that it boosts/cuts at the location of the amp model in the signal chain. Thus, any effects downstream of the amp will respond differently if they are level dependent. If set too high, you can get effects or signal clipping.

I sometimes call this control Amp Volume Knob or Channel Volume Knob. I try to make sure I say "Knob", so you don't confuse this with the Master Volume DEP (explained below). Also, I sometimes capitalize "VOLUME" like how it's labeled on the Pod itself.

I generally use a conservative volume on this control, keeping it around 40-50%. When I use dual cabs, I use this control to balance the levels between each channel. Then I'll use the mixer levels (or a Studio/Mid-Focus EQ's Gain level) to try to set my overall patch volume. The mixer levels have less resolution than this control, so I'll come back to this to fine-tune the final levels where necessary.

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