Incoming POD XT Live

[JB_From_Hell]

Scored a POD XT Live super cheap on Reverb. Should arrive today. It’s the most modern effects board I’ve owned, planning to pair it with a small bass amp for the most neutral amp tone possible, and also to give the low F# on my 8 string some breathing room.

Anybody still using an XT Live?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

POD sounds pretty good, lots of great effects, definitely worth $90/ shipped.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

I would think the effects alone are worth that, no matter what the amp sims are like.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Old technology is WORTHLESS.

I know - when it came out and was the cutting edge it was the cat's meow of tone. Many a great record was recorded with it, and epic shows were done. But that was last week...

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

It sounds pretty awesome in my garage, and for less than the cost of an OD pedal I’m usually shopping for...

Truth be told, this is part of my mid life crisis. I heard some of the crap I’d say about modeling, newer metal bands, etc... and decided to quit yelling at clouds. Now I’m playing an 8 string into a modeler

Now I’m looking for a solid state 2X12 combo or half stack with an effects loop to plug this guy into.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Not the Xt, but an X3 that works great for practice and recording straight into the computer.

Line 6 have always nailed the reverbs and delays, those sound as good as anything off the shelf today. At that price can you go wrong?

 

[Aceman]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Seriously man - if you can't make a righteous sound with that, it's you. That thing has 1000x the power of an 80's rack of doom.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

You'd need a keyboard amp or a powered PA speaker to make that sound right...not a guitar amp.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Seriously man, if you can't make a righteous sound with that, it's you.

Agreed. Any anti-modeling snobbery you ever heard from me is gone.

You'd need a keyboard amp or a powered PA speaker to make that sound right...not a guitar amp.

The reason I'm intending to get an amp with an effects loop is so I can run it into the return, using just the solid state power section and the POD as the preamp. The other reason is I'm betting I can grab a Randal, Peavey, or Crate locally for under $100.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

You would have to turn the speaker sim of the model in the XT Live off if you put it through a guitar amp..

 

[Aceman]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

I think people just have no sense when it comes to modeling. They get all 'THAT doesn't sound like a REAL Fender Twin here in the room!!!!!"

No $h!t it doesn't. A real Twin in the room would be painfully loud/bright, etc...

You need to say "Can I craft a tone I want/like with this as a foundation?" The answer is almost always yes.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Figured I'd treat the cabinet modeling like another EQ. If it sounds better without, I'll shut it off. Otherwise...

As far as "That doesn't sound like a REAL ___," exactly, who cares? Since I don't have a Dual Recto sitting in my garage, when I turn on that model, "good high gain sound that I like" is pretty much what I'm going for.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Figured I'd treat the cabinet modeling like another EQ. If it sounds better without, I'll shut it off. Otherwise...

As far as "That doesn't sound like a REAL ___," exactly, who cares? Since I don't have a Dual Recto sitting in my garage, when I turn on that model, "good high gain sound that I like" is pretty much what I'm going for.

Cab Modelling - EXACTLY! Try them all, and go for the one that you think sounds best. I know you might *want* a 1960 with 30 watt Celestions, but if a Vox 1x8 combo sounds best - use it!

And there are plenty of people who care a ton. Most of whom are Blues Lawyers, Bedroom Shredders, and people with more money than sense who have nothing better to do than sit around nitpick every little tonal nuance.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Lol, I just gave up being that guy. It took flipping my main players, but I'm genuinely excited about doing new music stuff.

Asked for headphone recommendations on sevenstring.org, one dude also recommended a Mooer Radar pedal to improve the XT's tone. Last week I was shaking my head at people not using tubes, now I'm shopping for IR pedals. I feel good about this

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

The other guitarist in one of the bands I'm touring with uses the XT live directly to the PA. As far as I can tell he has an amazing tone.

off: I am a simple guy. I use a single AMT M1 preamp pedal and its cab sim through a DI box split between the PA (XLR) and a 2000W tiny Alto wedge (thru). I've never heard myself with such clarity, not even back in my double half-stack days.

 

[Despair]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

I've been hearing claims that the weak point of later PODs is the cab modelling, so POD with IRs is ridiculous bang per buck.

Next trick is figuring out whose IRs you like best, assuming you go for an IR loader, rather than one with fixed builtin IRs.

There's some entertaining arguments on TGP's digital modelling forum claiming IR stands for Infinite Rabbithole... But it shouldn't surprise that there's a lot of options, you are picking which speakers, in which cabinet, with what microphones at what distances mixed (and possibly EQed or otherwise further processed). It's a good thing most IR vendors are supplying quick start options these days.

Celestion Plus has a High & Low Gain All microphones options that work well on most of their speakers. I like the Suhr cabinet collection they did better than Celestion's own rig with same speakers. Bit more lower mids, though still plenty of the upper-mid cut that Celestion Plus favors.

I've heard just about exclusively positive reviews of the Ownhammer 412 GnR IR collection, too.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

I'm definitely looking into the IRs.

Currently, I've got the POD going into my Super Reverb. Treble and bass very low, mids cranked, volume set so it stays clean. With the Dual Recto boosted w/ a Metal Zone patch I made, it sounds absolutely brutal. Meshuggah sounds coming out of a vintage silverface Fender is pretty funny, too.

 

[Despair]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Cabinet models/Impulse Responses (of speakers & mics) should almost never be used if you are going into an actual guitar speaker/cabinet. There are also IRs that do strange things, like make a magnetic or piezo pickup sound like an acoustic guitar (which also tend to work best through FRFR). Or longer duration Convolution IRs, which can be used to capture the acoustics of a room... Which some people have used to capture their spring reverb's sound.

Many digital modelers allow patches with cab models/IRs, then there are either special outputs for live use with cab models disabled, or you can globally disable them for particular outputs or in general (depending on what features the particular modeler supports). Dial it in for both ways, and you have a portable solution with terrific flexibility.

The effects in many modelers are no slouches, either. I've used the wah from an old modeler into a real amp occasionally (more often phaser or flanger and reverb in the effects loop). A lot of pedalboard users are still using old Line 6 DL4, DM4, FM4, and MM4.

 

[SAguitar]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

You're on the right track, dude! Just dive into all those menus and wring out all the great tones you can, they are still in there. But while you do, don't forget about ear fatigue, it's real. Take some breaks and let your hearing readjust, when you come back to it, you'll have a better perspective.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Incoming POD XT Live

Line 6 was, and continues to be, great with their effects.