- •I. Introduction
- •II. Quick Guide
- •III. Guitar Setup
- •IV. Pod Setup
- •V. Amp/Distortion Tone
- •VI. Cabs and Mics
- •I. Introduction
- •VIII. Tips and Pitfalls
- •IX. Troubleshooting Guide
- •X. Faq and Links
- •XI. Wish List
- •XII. Effects
- •XIII. Glossary
- •I. Frequency Response
- •XIII. Change Log Appendix a – Line 6 Effect Processing Diagrams Appendix b - Line 6 Effect Processing Table
- •I. Introduction
- •Section Overview
- •II. Quick Guide
- •I. Top Ten Tweaks
- •A. Quirks
- •Input Settings Global/Patch Option
- •Volume Knob/Ch. Vol. Functionality
- •Input 2
- •B. Patch-building Tips
- •C. High-Gain Amp Roundup
- •D. Cabs/Mics Roundup
- •F. Distortion Effects Roundup
- •G. Gain Staging
- •H. Eq Effects Roundup
- •I. Top Ten Tweaks
- •J. Killing Fizz
- •K. Mids for Metal
- •L. Dual Cab
- •M. Noise Gate Usage
- •P. Output Modes
- •Q. Input Settings
- •III. Guitar Setup
- •A. New Strings
- •B. String Gauge
- •C. Action
- •D. Fret Buzz
- •E. Intonation
- •F. Pickups
- •I. Single-Coil vs. Humbuckers
- •II. Pickup Position
- •III. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
- •IV. Frequency Response
- •V. Actives vs. Passives
- •VI. All about Blackouts
- •VII. Pickup Height on Passives
- •VIII. Pickup Height on Actives
- •IX. Pickup Suggestions
- •G. Bridge
- •I. Body/Fret board/Tuners/Neck-through/etc.
- •IV. Pod Setup
- •I. Simple Guide for Settings
- •II. Where Confusion Sets In
- •III. Global eq
- •A. Understanding Output Modes
- •I. Simple Guide for Settings
- •II. Where Confusion Sets In
- •III. Global eq
- •IV. Live-Voiced Cabs
- •V. Cab/Mic Simulation
- •VI. Bass Boost
- •VII. Output Mode Feature Chart
- •B. Internal Signal Routing
- •C. Running Direct (pa/board/computer or daw/monitors/headphones)
- •I. Simple method (no real amp)
- •II. Using a real amp as a pre-amp
- •D. Running to an amp ("live")
- •I. Amp without effects loop
- •II. Pod as Effects Only after pre-amp
- •III. Simple setup for amp with effects loop
- •IV. 4 Cable Method
- •E. I Tried This and It Doesn't Sound Good
- •F. Dual Output
- •G. Wet/Dry/Wet Output
- •H. Multiple Instruments/Independent Paths
- •I. Input Settings Global/Patch
- •Input 2
- •Impedance
- •J. The Effects (fx) Loop
- •K. The Mixer Block
- •L. Effects Order/Position
- •Noise Suppressors/Gates
- •Chorus/Phaser/Flanger
- •Delay/Reverb
- •Pitch Shifters
- •M. Gain Staging
- •I. Principles
- •II. Practice
- •V. Amp/Distortion Tone
- •A. Distortion Types/Overview
- •I. Frequency Chart
- •C. Gain Staging/Layering Distortions
- •D. High-Gain Amps
- •I. Park 75
- •II. Plexi Bright
- •IV. Uberschall
- •V. Dual Rectifier
- •VI. Fireball
- •VII. Elektrik
- •VIII. Dual Rectifier "Pre"
- •IX. Slo Overdrive
- •X. Doom
- •XI. Epic
- •E. Distortion Effects
- •I. Tube Drive
- •II. Screamer
- •III. Classic Distortion
- •IV. Overdrive
- •V. Facial Fuzz
- •VI. Line 6 Distortion
- •VII. Line 6 Drive
- •VIII. Others
- •F. Power Amp d.E.P.'s
- •G. Dual Amps
- •H. "Full" vs. "Pre"
- •I. The Elusive Pure Clean Tone
- •J. Noise Gates
- •VI. Cabs and Mics
- •I. Introduction
- •A. Cab/Mic Overview
- •Ignore General Frequency Response...
- •...Unless Frequencies are Missing
- •Response or Noise?
- •Using Res. Level to improve snr
- •Taming the Low End
- •Tonal Nuances
- •Dual Cabs
- •Using Cab/Mic Choices for eq Purposes
- •B. Cab Selection for Direct Tones
- •I. My Favorites
- •II. General Tips
- •III. Hiway 4x12
- •IV. Tread V-30 4x12
- •VI. Greenbacks 4x12
- •VII. Uber 4x12
- •VIII. Brit-t75 4x12
- •IX. Other cabs
- •C. Cab Selection for Live Tones
- •D. Mic Selection
- •I. Sm57 On/Off Axis
- •II. Dynamic Mics
- •III. Condenser Mics
- •IV. Ribbon Mics
- •E. Dual Cabs
- •I. Introduction
- •II. Getting the Patch Ready
- •III. Phase Correction
- •Cab/Mic Delay Times Matrix/alternate Google Cloud version/pdf version
- •IV. Eq'ing the tone
- •V. Other Amp Settings
- •VI. E.R. Settings
- •VII. Dsp Management
- •VIII. My Favorite Combinations
- •Res. Level
- •A. Classifying the Frequency Spectrum
- •B. How to eq a Hard Rock Tone
- •C. The Pod hd's eq Effects
- •I. Graphic eq
- •II. Parametric eq
- •III. Studio eq
- •IV. 4 Band Shift eq
- •VI. Q Filter
- •D. Eq'ing your Patch
- •E. Fizzy Spots
- •VIII. Tips and Pitfalls
- •A. Tone Matching
- •B. Branching/Evolving Patches
- •C. Setlist Tips
- •D. Effect Switching/Tips
- •E. Recording Tips
- •F. Monitoring
- •G. Dsp Allocation/Advice
- •H. Mesa Boogie Mark II/IV tone
- •I. Clean Boost
- •J. Leveling Patches
- •K. Clarifying Confusing Volume Controls
- •I. The Pad Switch
- •II. The master Knob
- •III. Amp/Channel Volume aka volume Knob
- •IV. Mixer Levels
- •V. Master d.E.P.
- •L. Clipping
- •I. Input Clipping
- •II. Signal Clipping
- •III. Effects Clipping
- •IV. Clipping external devices
- •V. "Digital Clipping" (Crossover Distortion) on "Full" Amp Models
- •M. Bad Monitoring
- •I. Acoustic Tone
- •II. Bad Monitors
- •III. Bad Room
- •IV. Low Volume
- •N. Wrong Output Mode
- •O. Gain Staging
- •P. Outside vs. Inside Mix
- •Q. Relying on Others' Patches
- •IX. TroubleShooting
- •A. Too much noise
- •B. Tone is fizzy/noisy
- •C. Tone is harsh
- •D. Tone has digital clipping
- •E. Tone is muffled
- •F. Distortion is muddy/fuzzy/farty
- •G. Distortion is dirty/gritty
- •H. Tone is thin
- •I. Software Knobs move on their own
- •J. I'm Getting dsp Limit Reached Errors
- •X. Faq and Links
- •A. Frequently Asked Questions
- •I. Tone
- •Is the tone better when using Input 2: Variax (or another unused input)?
- •Should I use "full" or "pre" amp models?
- •Where should I set the master knob?
- •What does the Master dep do for amps models where there was no master volume on the original?
- •II. Output/Routing Can I output dual output modes with the hd-500 or Pro?
- •Can I output w/d/w (wet/dry/wet)?
- •Can I reamp over usb?
- •Why can't I get any output from Channel b?
- •Why don't I have stereo output?
- •III. Usage How Should I Level my Patches?
- •Why can't I get a natural volume swell with the Exp. Pedal?
- •How do I use the Pitch Glide?
- •IV. Compatibility/Hardware Does the Pod hd work with Gearbox?
- •Can I use hd-XXX patches on hd-yyy?
- •What is the differences between the Pod hd models?
- •Can I use a different power adapter?
- •Can I modify my Pod hd to gain more dsp power?
- •Do you take tone requests?
- •B. Links
- •I. General
- •II. Forums
- •III. Pod hd References
- •B. Amps
- •C. Utilities
- •D. Routing
- •F. Footswitches/controls/Midi
- •G. Effects
- •H. Dsp Saving Features
- •I. Devkit
- •XII. Effects
- •A. Preferred Effects
- •I. Chorus
- •II. Flanger
- •III. Compressors
- •IV. Reverb
- •V. Delay
- •B. Dialing in the Flangers
- •C. Substitutes
- •D. Ordering
- •XIII. Glossary
- •I. Frequency Response
- •A. Signal-Based Terms
- •I. Clipping
- •II. Distortion
- •III. Signal
- •IV. Noise
- •V. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (snr)
- •VI. Impedance
- •VII. Signal Chain
- •VIII. Mono
- •IX. Stereo
- •X. Field
- •XI. Balance
- •I. Frequency Response
- •VII. Shelf
- •VIII. Peak/Valley
- •II. Fizz
- •III. Buzz
- •IV. Grinding
- •V. Crunchy
- •VI. Chunky/Punchy
- •VII. Fuzzy
- •VIII. Cold
- •IX. Warm
- •XIV. Change Log
- •Appendix a – Line 6 Effect Processing Diagrams
- •Appendix b - Line 6 Effect Processing Table
- •Appendix c – Cabinet/Mic Phase Correction Timing Data
- •Appendix d – dsp Usage of Effects
What is the differences between the Pod hd models?
For a simple table highlighting feature set differences, see here: http://line6.com/podhd/multi-effects/compare.html
Additionally, many of the 300/400's effects are grouped into 4 slots. You can only use one effect from each slot. For instance, slot 1 contains the Distortion, EQ, and Spring Reverb effects. So you cannot use a Distortion + an EQ effect in the same patch. I find this quite limiting. Also, most of the EQ effects are not designed to be an "all-in-one" EQ like a 10 band graphic EQ or the EQ on the Pod XT/X3. I use an HD 500 and find I usually need to use multiple EQ's per patch, which would be impossible on the 300/400.
Top of FAQ and Links
Can I use a different power adapter?
Yes, but it has to match the voltage and wattage of the original, as well as provide DC, not AC power. The power supplies from previous-generation Pods will not work.
Top of FAQ and Links
Can I modify my Pod hd to gain more dsp power?
No, this error occurs due to the way the software calculates DSP, which I seriously doubt is based upon real-time analysis of the hardware's performance. There is more likely a fixed value representing available DSP, and each effect is assigned a DSP cost based on the maximum amount of processing power necessary for it to work. If the sum of the effects and amp model costs exceed the max value, the error is displayed and the effect is removed from the chain.
If you were able to mod the hardware to increase its horsepower, you'd additionally need to hack the firmware and change the software to change the way DSP usage is calculated for each effect or increase the maximum available.
Top of FAQ and Links
Is the variable Input Impedance feature simulating the effect via software?
Line 6 has said that the impedance is actually a hardware-related change, even though it can be switched from software. I've tested active vs. passive pickups, and AFAIK, the feature is implemented via hardware.
Top of FAQ and Links
v. Misc.
How do I submit a feature request to Line 6?
Use this form:http://line6.com/company/contact/productfeedback/ BROKEN LINK
Top of FAQ and Links
Why don't your patches have enough bass?
I can't say for sure that I nailed the "correct" amount of low-end - it is the most difficult thing to accurately dial in. If you feel my patches are "off", feel free to tweak them!
I tried to dial in my patches on my M-Audio BX8 monitors and Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones, compared to source material for the artist I attempted to match, using a medium to loud volume. I tried to find places in the source material where the guitar track(s) was playing by itself, outside the mix. I find my patches are comparable to the source material in bass response.
Also, I don't have a professional studio, just a bedroom studio. I have not acoustically treated my room (yet), and I am aware that there are some bass nodes that make it difficult to dial in the appropriate amount of bass. However, these nodes should also be present when playing back the source material. And the headphones don't have such issues.
Often, the kick drum and bass track makes a guitar tone sound much thicker and chunkier than it actually is. Trying to get a guitar tone by itself to have the low-end of a full mix is going to end up muddying a mix when playing with a drummer and bassist.
Finally, keep in mind that the loudness of different frequencies is perceived differently at different volumes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour). This means lower volume tones need to dial in much more bass for the bass to seem balanced and thick in relation to the other frequencies. However, as you raise the volume, this bass quickly dominates the entire tone. Using such in a mix would surely muddy the mix and prevent the guitars from "cutting through".
Top of FAQ and Links