PodXT Live/ Line6 Users... help me with my new rig preeze!

[Captain Insano]

So I finally got my first electric setup a few days ago.

It consists of:

Amp: Marshall MG15DFX Combo Amp

Guitar: Ibanez GRX20L, lefty.

Effects: Line6's PodXT Live.

I have it setup as follows per Line6's instructions...

Amp is clean...All built in effects are turned off and the EQ is set to exact middle on everything. Amp is connected into the left/mono output of the PodXT Live.

Guitar: Tone is all the way down. Pickup selector middle, volume on about 4. Plugged into PodXT input.

PodXT Live: Amp selector switch is on, the output is all the way up as instructed when connecting to the front of an amp and the output setting is on Combo Amp.

First off... Does it sound like I connected this all properly and tuned it correctly?

Second... Some guitars have a 9 volt battery that if low or dead will totally fuck up the sound of the guitar... I can't seem to find one on my guitar so I am assuming it doesn't have one.... Can anyone verify this?

Third.. I am trying to duplicate the sound of the guitar in Metallica's "eye of the beholder" and can't fucking do it or get even close really.

I have been using the PodXT preselect of 14C which uses the Killer Z stomp box effect.

The sound I am getting is really really distorted, fuzzy and sounds muddy as hell and has just crazy sustain... The manual says that the killer Z stomp box is what I should be using to duplicate the sounds from bands like Metallica and Megadeath etc but it just isn't fucking coming out right.

Can anyone with a Pod fuck around and tell me what AMP/stomp settings would get me in the ballpark?

I dropped 1200 bucks and am a bit disappointed at this point.

Thanks.

[labbats]

Might I suggest acoustic

[Captain Insano]

oh yah... what do you think of my choice in guitar/amp? Are they decent or shit?

The guys at guitar center were helpful until I asked them if I could get a limp bizkit guitar strap... after that they were probably just fucking with me for complete lack of musical knowledge.

[mofish]

Ive never listened to the Marshall MG, but I surf a few guitar forums now, and the general consensus seems to be that it is shit from what I gather. But shrug, like I said Ive never heard it before.

I have no experience with the POD XT, but by all accounts it is a nice piece of harware. Have listened to many amateur guitar clips made with it, and they all sounded good.

Two forums I surf now that might be helpful to you :

http://p222.ezboard.com/bespguitarsmessageboard

That is an ESP guitar site, but its still good for general equipment and tech talk type stuff. Lots of rock/metal guitarists there that post clips etc, many POD XT users.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/for ... 9ec0e9eff2

That site has tons and tons of traffic. Register and do some searches on your stuff youll get a lot of info.

Also, about the battery. Some active (all? not sure) pickups use a 9 volt battery. My ESP came with an EMG 81/85 combo, and it has a battery. Im getting used to unplugging the guitar cord every time I stop playing.

[KILL]

im not familiar with that amp, but what youre describing sounds like what would happen if you had the gain set too high?

cant distort and already distored signal, or youll get that muddy, crazy feedback youre describing.

[KILL]

just looked up the amp...

i know you probably want to crank it up and let all the neighbors hear how awesomez you are, but if youre using the pod, id choose a good set of headphones over that amp.

[Captain Insano]

Yah I have a pair of 100 dollar sennheisers that just need an adapter... I'm going to get it tomorrow and see how it sounds without the amp...

If it is better i'm draggin the whole setup back to guitar center to find something that actually works... Right now it sounds like crap... The sound is nothing even close to what I am looking for.

Thanks for the tips... I'll tool around on those forums and see if I can dig up some more infoz.

[Parv]

Yeah, it´s a matter of the amp sucking cock. Definitely listen to it through the headphones, tinker around with the settings, and you´ll find gold. One thing to remember also is that settings that work through headphones won´t work playing through an amp, so you will have to dick around with the settings to find what you want. PodXT is great, I´ve seen big name bands go on tour without any amps, just plugging their XT into the PA directly and playing. Tons of tone to be found if you´re willing to work a little at it. One thing you can also do to get some starting points is go to line6´s online tone library, look around on the website and you can find it. Download some settings from there that will get you started.

9v batteries - only if you play EMG pickups pretty much, which I don´t think the Ibanez has.

[alezrik]

you might want EMG-81 pickups.

Those do take a battery, but do increase the gain by a nice margin.

[Captain Insano]

I fucked around with it for the last hour or so and pretty much I think you are all right when you tell me it's the amp... I got it to sound a little better but I don't think that marshall amp was meant for heavy metal... somehow the extra drive and gain that causes good sounding metal distortion I want is coming through as a fuzzed out, buzzing muddy crapfest... the only time it sounds decent is when I crank the amp way the fuck up...

The only problem is that if I do it much more the neighbors are going to go nuts.

I'm going to see what guitar center's return policy is and see if I can swap out the amp for something higher quality.

[mofish]

For what its worth, I got the Vox AD30VT, 30 watt vox with a 10" speaker, modelling amp. Im really impressed, sounds great, does cleans, metal, whatever, and gets fucking loud if I want it too. Might want to check into it. Also the Roland Cubes are supposed to be good.

[alezrik]

I have an older Crate twin, sounds really good for metal.

[Foutty]

I have the same amp as mofish. Outstanding amp.

[xKALECx]

I have the Vox AD120VT and it is just incredible...

Okay on track here with Capt's questions.

Your guitar should not have active pickups, so don't worry about the battery.

About your amp...well this is going to be hard to explain. The Line 6 gear you bought is an extremely nice piece of gear. But one thing about Line 6, the tone is VERY funny. You have to be very maticulous with POD gear to get the sound you are trying to achieve. This is due to the POD's versatility with tone/effects.

It sounds like you are getting close to the sound you are trying to achieve, but let me suggest something. First, volume/tone on your guitar all the way up. Put your tone switch in the treble position (rear pick up/all the way down on a Les Paul). Next, once you get close, begin to EQ your sound on your Marshall. POD's tend to favor towards, cabinets/amps that are doing nothing more than a preamp, which is powering your sound. Once you put them through a modeling amp which uses it's own EQ, the tone can be a bitch to work with. In fact, I used to run my old POD gear through nothing more than a power amp and a 4x12 cabinet and my tone was incredible.

[mofish]

Dd a little comparison shopping cause what you paid sounded high.

If you order those three things from Musician's Friend, the mg15dfx, the lefty ibanez and the pod xt live, your total is $795.97, free shipping.

Thats a huge chunk of change, I would seriously consider taking it all back and ordering it. With a $400 difference like that, you could get a much better guitar or amp. Or just 400 extra bones in your pocket.

[Captain Insano]

I have the Vox AD120VT and it is just incredible...

Okay on track here with Capt's questions.

Your guitar should not have active pickups, so don't worry about the battery.

About your amp...well this is going to be hard to explain. The Line 6 gear you bought is an extremely nice piece of gear. But one thing about Line 6, the tone is VERY funny. You have to be very maticulous with POD gear to get the sound you are trying to achieve. This is due to the POD's versatility with tone/effects.

It sounds like you are getting close to the sound you are trying to achieve, but let me suggest something. First, volume/tone on your guitar all the way up. Put your tone switch in the treble position (rear pick up/all the way down on a Les Paul). Next, once you get close, begin to EQ your sound on your Marshall. POD's tend to favor towards, cabinets/amps that are doing nothing more than a preamp, which is powering your sound. Once you put them through a modeling amp which uses it's own EQ, the tone can be a bitch to work with. In fact, I used to run my old POD gear through nothing more than a power amp and a 4x12 cabinet and my tone was incredible.

yah with the amp EQ i currently have it set to all middle positions and all effects/overdrive totally off.

I might try turning the treble and bass all the way up and the mid all the way down... James and Kirk do this on their Mesa Boogie's to get the metallica sound.

...as for the price I just realized when I finally looked at the receipt that the dumbass salesman at guitar center didn't charge me for the Pod XT Live... lol

Total price: $650 bucks. Win. Thats what he gets for overcharging me on the other two pieces... I forgot to mention I got a fuck ton of accessories too that increased the price.

If after all this tweaking it still sounds like ass I will just play it on the headphones until I get the tone I want and take it back to guitar center and get the salesmen who originally helped me to unfuck the setup and replace the amp if need be.

I was super fucking specific on what I wanted down to the songs I intended to play... So if he screwed me just to make a quick sale I will call him on it.

[brinstar]

my kneejerk response--

i'm not totally familiar with the gear megatallideth uses/used but one thing's for sure: there is really no way you're ever going to get your sound that huge with a wee little 15w amp. ibanez makes a great metal guitar, so i'd rule that out. i've never messed with POD stuff (i prefer actual stompboxes and real tube amp overdrive myself) but by all accounts posted above people seem to really like them.

that only leaves the amp.

part of what makes a huge guitar sound huge is the size of the speaker and the muscle of the amp itself. for a good example, do this: next time you go to guitar center, grab a 1200 dollar bass and plug it into a 3000 dollar bass amp at a medium volume. then plug the same bass into a 15w combo bass amp. the difference will be night and day, i guarantee it. with guitar amps it's not QUITE as noticable, since guitars deal much more in the midtones and trebles than bass rigs do-- but in all honesty, trying to play symphony of sandman on a 15w fart-in-a-tin-can amp is like trying to take Omaha Beach with nerf guns.

furthermore, from a production perspective, another thing that makes metal guitar sound so huge on albums is micing techniques. so even if you had a sweet-ass JCM2000 full stack cranking your ibanez and your POD, it still won't quite have the same meat-- because you're listening to it live in your house with your ear, instead of a recording made in a dead sound booth with a matched pair of three thousand dollar mics aimed at an XY angle two inches from the cone with a baffle in between for greater stereo separation, and another matched pair three feet back for depth. but anyway, i digress.

i suggest the following: return the piece of shit kiddie amp, use that $300 and the other $550 you THOUGHT you spent to pick up something with balls. if it were me, i'd take home a fender twin reverb w/ tremolo, but if you're after the megatallideth sound you would probably want to stick with marshall, or perhaps even go the extra mile and pick up a boogie triple rectifier (the Thor of amps).

cliff's notes: get a real amp! (ask parv if you need help defining "real")

[Captain Insano]

my kneejerk response--

i'm not totally familiar with the gear megatallideth uses/used but one thing's for sure: there is really no way you're ever going to get your sound that huge with a wee little 15w amp. ibanez makes a great metal guitar, so i'd rule that out. i've never messed with POD stuff (i prefer actual stompboxes and real tube amp overdrive myself) but by all accounts posted above people seem to really like them.

that only leaves the amp.

part of what makes a huge guitar sound huge is the size of the speaker and the muscle of the amp itself. for a good example, do this: next time you go to guitar center, grab a 1200 dollar bass and plug it into a 3000 dollar bass amp at a medium volume. then plug the same bass into a 15w combo bass amp. the difference will be night and day, i guarantee it. with guitar amps it's not QUITE as noticable, since guitars deal much more in the midtones and trebles than bass rigs do-- but in all honesty, trying to play symphony of sandman on a 15w fart-in-a-tin-can amp is like trying to take Omaha Beach with nerf guns.

furthermore, from a production perspective, another thing that makes metal guitar sound so huge on albums is micing techniques. so even if you had a sweet-ass JCM2000 full stack cranking your ibanez and your POD, it still won't quite have the same meat-- because you're listening to it live in your house with your ear, instead of a recording made in a dead sound booth with a matched pair of three thousand dollar mics aimed at an XY angle two inches from the cone with a baffle in between for greater stereo separation, and another matched pair three feet back for depth. but anyway, i digress.

i suggest the following: return the piece of shit kiddie amp, use that $300 and the other $550 you THOUGHT you spent to pick up something with balls. if it were me, i'd take home a fender twin reverb w/ tremolo, but if you're after the megatallideth sound you would probably want to stick with marshall, or perhaps even go the extra mile and pick up a boogie triple rectifier (the Thor of amps).

cliff's notes: get a real amp! (ask parv if you need help defining "real")

I actually printed this post out and am going to make the guitar center clown read it..haha... Awesome post and thanks.

I'm more and more perturbed when I think about the situation... The fucking guy helping me was supposed to know metal inside and out and he recommended that shit heap of a marshall?! gggrrr.

The sound coming out of that gay-trocity is clipping the fag-o-meter I use to judge shitty situations.

I think I'm just gonna pop for a boogie amp like you recommended and not to mention of the same line that both Kirk and Hammett use. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze the Pantera sound out of it as well.

[mofish]

One more thing, I wouldnt be so confident in the electronics/pickups on that Ibanez, might wanna try out another guitar or two while youre there. Although, being a lefty, I guess your options are limited.

The Ibanez S470 is a great inexpensive guitar with a body I really like, but I dont think they make a lefty version.

And before you pop for that expensive tube recto, remember to try out a vox or roland modeller. With the Vox, it has a tube in the power amp section, and a solid state preamp, so you can get crunchy metal tones at volumes that wont kill your neighbors. With a full tube setup, you usually have to crank it to get the gain your looking for.

Of course, all this advice is meaningless when it comes to the pod XT. I dont know shit about it.

[alezrik]

the same line that both Kirk and Hammett use.

I know what you ment but that made me chuckle.

[xKALECx]

Two quick comments from an experienced guitarist.

1. Fuck Marshall
2. Fuck Mesa Boogie

I've owned JCM 800's, 900's, and 2000's. With the right setup they are fantastic amps, but WAY overpriced. Mesa Boogie is good for one thing. Deep MUDDY boggy sounding tone. Also WAY overpriced.

One thing you have to remember which was brought out very well by Brin, is that what you are listening to on album and live is not what you can buy at a store. Guitars overdubbed with 10-12 layers of track. Precise mic and EQ'ing. In fact, most albums are recorded with small 2x12 modeling amps and similiar sort. "But James Hetfield plays with a wall of Marshall stacks and JCM 800's...and he doesnt sound like this". It's because James is not playing through what you see. What he is playing through is a 12 foot stack of effects/EQ/surge/modeling racks being played through a 2x12 and 2x10 cabinet (this is a generalization).

Want to know what it would sound like if you plugged straight in and played? Think Led Zepplin, 70's Aerosmith, Sabbath, and Black Crowes. Incredible music, but in all honesty the guitar sounded like shit compared to todays standard. But THAT is true sound. It also takes incredible talent to pull it off.

This is why I have completely abandoned large cabinets and $3000 dollar heads. I am telling you know, that there is not a sound I can not achieve with my VOX AD120VT / PRS Custom that anyone else on this board can get using any equipment of their choice. It's no longer names and size. It's modeling of sound.

Capt., here's what you have to remember. Your guitar tone comes from your guitar/pickups/playing and your amp. The amp is what "models/shapes" your sound. You need a single source OR a combination of tools that work in cohesiveness for this to work. Your POD can easily do this on it's own. Your Marshall was meant to do it on it's own although it's not nearly as versatile or of the quality as your POD. When you mix the 2 your are daunting a near impossible task of shaping your sound.

Tell me this...your sound is much better through headphones isnt it? Imagine that sound coming through a 2x12 and 2x10 cabinet alone, which would give you a good low and mid/high range drive. What you are doing is forcing that sound through a single 12" speaker that is encased in it's own amp that is meant to get it's true sound from the Marshall's preamp. It's designed to "break up" and the correct moments that your Marshall wants it to. But you are not letting it do that job. Instead you are directing your sound with your POD which puts your Marshall in an awkward spot. (I know this may not make sense, but I'm trying to put it in easy to undertand terms).

Have a good stereo system? Go to Radio Shack and pick up some jacks, and put your POD directly in the CD/AUX jacks and play through it. Probably sounds better. It's because you are just amping the sound coming from the POD. Not jacking on your Marshall because it's a decent low/mid range practice amp, but it's just not meant to be played through by something such as the POD. Couple of stomp boxes, maybe, but not the POD.

IF getting your money back is an option let me suggest something. A single modeling amp such as http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=g ... id/482244/ OR http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=g ... id/482615/ or even one of my amps http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=g ... id/482614/ . If you get serious about the last one, send me a PM. I may can find you an excellent deal.

[brinstar]

yeah don't take my post as fact, because i know absolutely nothing about the POD stuff and i'm not afraid to admit it

i was just suggesting boogie because that's what i like and a lot of huge-sounding guitarists dig the giant crunch they give (especially the triple-rec). personally, i love my boogie heartbreaker, it's warmer and smoother than the rectifier series but it can still crunch when it needs to.

my main point was that you're not EVER going to sound "big" with a 15w amp no matter what you're plugging into it.

the absolute BEST advice i can give you is something the reps at guitar center would TOTALLY hate: play every goddamn amp in the store. grab an identical ibanez from the rack, grab a POD unit like the one you bought, and sample ALL of the amps you think you might be interested in. it's really the only way to be sure you're getting what YOU want.

[xKALECx]

Yeah, I shouldnt slam Mesa so hard. They are great amps if that sound is your sole goal. In fact, they are unbeatable for that type of tone. But for versatility they are single minded.

[brinstar]

i know what you mean K

but you should try and track down a heartbreaker and give it a test drive some day, i think you'll be pleasantly surprised

[Captain Insano]

I think i'm going to take your last piece of advice... I'm going to just line up all the amp suggestions posted here and go through them... I should have just done that in the first damn place... but not knowing how to use the Pod made it impossible. I know that thing now pretty much cover to cover... I plan on actually dragging it with me back to guitar center hopefully this weekend and the guitar.

Thanks for all the advice...I'm also really going to take a close look at the Vox's... Mofish's suggestion sounds about right where I need to be... I want the sound but not the volume at least right now.

I wish I could say I was just being picky, but I was in my room fucking around with the setup again for the last hour and its just not even close... Not even close at all. The sound coming out of that amp would make fucking Korn cry.,