Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

[JeffB]

...the POD XTL Live and Atomic Reactor. I figured some of you may wonder how it (the Atomic) sounds. Well, I spent a bit of time tonite sitting on the floor jes goofing around and talking away into my laptop speaker.

So enjoy..I think it's about 7 or 8 minutes long...I just kept adding on and adding on ..lots of "cuts"

might need to turn your speakers up a tad....

and no I'm not crazy....

much

:laugh2:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=419896

EDIT: Its 7 megs....so stream it

 

[ErikH]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Nice "noodling" there, Jeff. And you say you don't like the 59's????? :smack: Man, they sound great. That guitar sounds great. I did hear you right saying it was the Hamer Standard, right?

Sounds like you got some good tones dialed in on the Atomic Reactor finally. Those things are like that. That's why I'm not in to the modelling amps and stuff very much. I don't even use my Rocktron rack FX anymore cause there's too much to mess with to get it the way you want. My Crate is much simpler. True plug-n-play...:laugh2:

Great job. :fing2:

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Nice "noodling" there, Jeff. And you say you don't like the 59's????? :smack: Man, they sound great. That guitar sounds great. I did hear you right saying it was the Hamer Standard, right?

Thanks bro..

Yes it's the Hamer

Yes, the 59s

and Yes, definitely noodling:laugh2:

Through the XTL/Atomic, the 59s sound *much* less twangy...I think the reason being it's (digitally) "mic'ed". It rolls off a lot of high end. It sounds like a recording, ya know? Through a "real" amp, like the Rivera, I have to to roll my tone control down to 6 to keep the twang from getting too annoying. I find that the XTL kinda makes all the guitars I've owned, regardless of pups, sound the same. But yes, through that setup, the 59s sound excellent!

Sounds like you got some good tones dialed in on the Atomic Reactor finally

Yes, finally ...it took forever. I finally caved and turned on the parametric. Don't know how the $%^& to use it (too complicated for this redneck ), I just kept dialing and dialing until the thing started to warm/fatten up :laugh2: I hit "save" right quick once I got it where it sounded good

As I said, I figured folks who have a modeler may be interested in how the Atomic sounds. It's pretty good with the XTL thanks to that built-in parametric. The VOX Tonelab, on the other hand, sounds like @$$, even with a decent tube. Perhaps if it had a parametric like the XTL, I could get it to sound better than the XTL...it's def warmer...more dynamic, and more "realistic", but it's horribly thin sounding...no low end...it makes the Hamer sound like a strat

 

[ErikH]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

I've noticed that same type of behaviour with modelers. I've tried the PODxt and a few others too. Every guitar had a "similar" tone. There was some of the guitar's natural tone there but not enough for me. I wanna hear it, and lots of it. The only ones that come close to my ears are the Roland Cube's.

Parametric EQ's are easy. You set the frequency on the bottom part of the knob (outside ring), and then cut or boost it with the top part. Left to cut, right to boost, 12 o'clock = flat.

I haven't tried the Vox. No desire to really. The PODxt I could handle for playing with at home, like at around this time when my daughter is asleep.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Parametric EQ's are easy. You set the frequency on the bottom part of the knob (outside ring), and then cut or boost it with the top part. Left to cut, right to boost, 12 o'clock = flat.

This one doesnt work like that..LOL...well kinda...similar...but not as easy to work with as a normal parametric with knobs for each frequency.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

This one doesnt work like that..LOL...well kinda...similar...but not as easy to work with as a normal parametric with knobs for each frequency.

What does it look like? Is it one of those digital looking parametric EQ's where they try to emulate the knobs on the screen?

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

What does it look like? Is it one of those digital looking parametric EQ's where they try to emulate the knobs on the screen?

yeah..sliders...and a couple knobs gotta scroll through stuff then twist this and press that...I suspect if I would just RTFM, It would be easier ..but I'm leaving well enough alone

Like you, I wanna plug & play, so I avoided it (A REAL 2203 doesn't have one )...but the Parametric REALLY helped...made it much easier to get good sounds.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

GAHH!!! I hate digital parametrics. They call it parametric but it looks like a graphic on the screen....LOL. Ah well, at least you got some tone out of it. I like it. I've told my wife that I wouldn't mind the PODxt cause I can jam with headphones and have some cool sounds. The "headphones" being the key cause it means quiet when she wants it...BONUS!!!! LOL. If she was working, well, Santa probably would be bringing it to me. Not this year.

Record some more stuff when you can.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

GAHH!!! I hate digital parametrics. They call it parametric but it looks like a graphic on the screen....LOL. Ah well, at least you got some tone out of it. I like it. I've told my wife that I wouldn't mind the PODxt cause I can jam with headphones and have some cool sounds. The "headphones" being the key cause it means quiet when she wants it...BONUS!!!! LOL. If she was working, well, Santa probably would be bringing it to me. Not this year.

Record some more stuff when you can.

DEF, get the XTL when the time comes...you can do the headphones thing...its got the parametric (not sure if the reg POD XT does or does not), but it's also got an EQ for running it through combos/loops/stacks....you could run it through your little crate, and optimize it for "real amp" sounds or "mic'ed" up . PLus it's got a couple of the "model packs" installed already...the footswitch, obviously, easier to tweak.......more than worth the price dif.

 

[Stevo]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Wow that little amp really rocks! It has a nice natural overdrive tone.
The 59 is very open and really cuts. I have always liked the 59, especially with the type of tone you are using on the 1st round (jcm800 with greenback).
The boost (on the 2nd round) adds some compression.
Nice Thin Lizzy blurb Keep jamming bro.

 

[Rainmaker]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Jeff, you played some awesome tunes very well!

Was that 'Waiting for an Alibi' I heard?

Your clips rock, man! I checked out the other ones, like 'The Prisoner' and 'Wrathchild', and they were played very well - but I think you had too much bass.

Your very first clip (at the very bottom) sounded the best tone-wise, IMO.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Wow that little amp really rocks! It has a nice natural overdrive tone.

nothin natural about it, Steve The ATOMIC is just a tube power amp...if I turned the amp model off on the pod, it's just an absolutely clean, dull & flat EL84 sound. That's all modeller for tone/EQ. In fact the amp doesnt even have a volume control..use the level control on the POD XTL.

The 59 is very open and really cuts. I have always liked the 59, especially with the type of tone you are using on the 1st round (jcm800 with greenback).
The boost (on the 2nd round) adds some compression.
Nice Thin Lizzy blurb Keep jamming bro.

Thanks 59s do sound good through this setup for sure...wish they sounded this good through my Rivera

All the clips were the same patch...I just worked the volume knob on the guitar and at one point turned the preamp gain down "on the amp" from 1 oclock to about 11 around the part where I started the Thin Lizzy to get closer to that JMP type sound. The "vetta boost" I kicked in here and there does add a little compression, but it preserves the tone much better than the other modelled pedals. If anyone cares, The chorus was the CE-1 model and the delay was a tube echo model.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Jeff, you played some awesome tunes very well!

You are too kind!

Was that 'Waiting for an Alibi' I heard?

Glad somebody was able to recognize it!

Your clips rock, man! I checked out the other ones, like 'The Prisoner' and 'Wrathchild', and they were played very well - but I think you had too much bass.

Prolly just the way I had them recorded...I'm using my lappys built in speaker...had to put it pretty far away from the amp to avoid clipping the mic. It's far from a good recording. Once I get a real mic, that will improve. Thank You for the compliments.

Your very first clip (at the very bottom) sounded the best tone-wise, IMO.

The first several clips (from the bottom, up) are the POD XTL direct into my computer. Marshall and Soldano models.

 

[presa_tito]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

The Atomic sounds good. You can really hear it sounding more like a "real" amp, as opposed to recording direct. I have the same setup as you and I have quite a few tones that are my regulars. I should have a lot more, probably because I'm too lazy to fool around for a long time. I havn't even used all the XT options avaliable as it is. Now, I know you claim to be no expert on tweaking the pod/atomic, but what do you find is the best way that works for you? I guess the simple anwser is to turn until you find something. I like tweaking through the computer screen and L6 edit. The only problem is that makes a horrible sound when the USB cable is plugged in, so I usually do it manually.
Another good thing about the atomic is that it's easy to get some good tones at low volume. By the way, I thought you were returning the atomic.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Hear me blather on like an idiot and play poorly through...

Now, I know you claim to be no expert on tweaking the pod/atomic, but what do you find is the best way that works for you?

Welll the only models I use I'm fairly familiar with in real amps...so I kinda start at what has worked for me well with the real thing. And every control dimed on a 800 makes for good metal tone as well, so thats a good place to start, and then back off things to address "issues".

If I find I'm not getting enough midrange or grit or crunch, or something is too middy or gritty, buzzy..I'll often start going to the other speaker cabs and then tweak from there, for the most part though I always use the 25W greenbacks with Marshalls on it. Sometimes the 20s, sometimes the 75s, never the V30s though...too harsh.

I don't use any of the software, etc.. Just tweak tweak tweak. Takes awhile to find the right tones...and it's SOOOOoooo volume dependant. Def take that into account.

Another good thing about the atomic is that it's easy to get some good tones at low volume. By the way, I thought you were returning the atomic.

I was going to, had it packed back up and everything, but after hearing all the good press about the VOX Tonelab SE, I decided I would try that first before I returned it as a last resort. Unfortunately it sucks ,at least through the ATOMIC. Well, the marshall models suck..the effects and stompers and some of the other amp models are just fine, but the ones I need to use... no good.

I've got a plexitone on the way for my Rivera, if that does what I want it to, then the ATOMIC and the XTL go to EBAY, and I'll grab a new delay and chorus pedal and be done with it.