Pod Question

[XPAULUSX]

Hey guys,

I've recently joined a function covers band, and received their set list, it looks as if I'm gonna need various effects to get the sound for these songs right.

I'm thinking of investing in a bass pod, however, my setup consists currently of me using a vt bass deluxe for all my tone shaping needs so is essentially just be using the pod as a form of multi fx unit.

If for example I needed to add some chorus to my tone for a particular bit of a song, would I be able to simply set up the pod to bypass all of its amp and cabinet simulation functions and simply add chorus to the signal it would be getting from my vt bass, I was thinking of adding a pod with fbv to the effects loop of my vt bass.

Would this be possible?

Is obviously like to use other various effects like this whether it be fuzz, or synth effects etc.

Thanks

Paul

[absolutpepper]

For a functions band type situation the POD will be pretty good. Treat it like a swiss army knife; ie you'll find better sound individual effects but bang for the buck it'll get the job done well without shelling out a fortune or lugging a large pedalboard with you. My experience of the PODs (as well as my M9) is that they are great for delay, mod, reverb effects and not so hot on dists (fuzzes, etc included) and filters when it comes to bass (low end drop being the primary problem). If I were you i'd probably grab one, team it with a Bass Big Muff an OC-2 and a Q-Tron (or the like) and you'd be good to go for most functions type situations.

[XPAULUSX]

[quote name='absolutpepper' post='1243155' date='May 24 2011, 05:06 PM']For a functions band type situation the POD will be pretty good. Treat it like a swiss army knife; ie you'll find better sound individual effects but bang for the buck it'll get the job done well without shelling out a fortune or lugging a large pedalboard with you. My experience of the PODs (as well as my M9) is that they are great for delay, mod, reverb effects and not so hot on dists (fuzzes, etc included) and filters when it comes to bass (low end drop being the primary problem). If I were you i'd probably grab one, team it with a Bass Big Muff an OC-2 and a Q-Tron (or the like) and you'd be good to go for most functions type situations.[/quote]

I'm guessing the foot controller will be a must then? Unless I can get my hands on an xt live
Version?

[GarethFlatlands]

[quote name='XPAULUSX' post='1243170' date='May 24 2011, 05:22 PM']I'm guessing the foot controller will be a must then? Unless I can get my hands on an xt live
Version?[/quote]

If you want to change sounds on the fly then yeah. If not, then you could just change patches between songs as necessary with the normal desktop kidney bean shaped version.

Assuming you've got a power amp input or similar on your amp you should be able to bypass its tone shaping and just use the XT.

[XPAULUSX]

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='1243197' date='May 24 2011, 05:51 PM']If you want to change sounds on the fly then yeah. If not, then you could just change patches between songs as necessary with the normal desktop kidney bean shaped version.

Assuming you've got a power amp input or similar on your amp you should be able to bypass its tone shaping and just use the XT.[/quote]

I use a vt deluxe into a power amp, I wanna create patches that have no amp or cab simulation, and just be able to turn on effects such as chorus it fuzz etc on the fly. That's possible right?

[GarethFlatlands]

I've only played with the guitar POD 2 which had a tube pre-amp setting on the amp side but I don't think you could bypass that side of it fully so not sure to be honest. Anyone own one who can help out?

[Gareth Hughes]

The closest you'll come to using the POD (well, the original version anyway, that's all I'm familiar with) without any amp/cab simulation is to use the Tube Preamp setting.

I used to have the 4 channel footswitch but never liked it for on the fly changes as there was a delay in switching channels. If I were you, and you knew which patch you wanted on each song (only one per song in this way) I'd use the POD with something like a Boss LS-2 Line Selector pedal. That way you would you the LS-2 to turn the POD effect on and off and still have a clean, bypassed, non-amp simulating signal.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Gareth Hughes

[XPAULUSX]

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1243464' date='May 24 2011, 09:05 PM']The closest you'll come to using the POD (well, the original version anyway, that's all I'm familiar with) without any amp/cab simulation is to use the Tube Preamp setting.

I used to have the 4 channel footswitch but never liked it for on the fly changes as there was a delay in switching channels. If I were you, and you knew which patch you wanted on each song (only one per song in this way) I'd use the POD with something like a Boss LS-2 Line Selector pedal. That way you would you the LS-2 to turn the POD effect on and off and still have a clean, bypassed, non-amp simulating signal.[/quote]

Had a quick look at the manual, the first amp sim effect is bypass, and the first cab effect is no cab, I'm guessing this may be possible, if I was to set up channels that made use of these.

Someone with first hand knowledge must be able to confirm this

[DaveMal]

[quote name='XPAULUSX' post='1243684' date='May 24 2011, 11:41 PM']Had a quick look at the manual, the first amp sim effect is bypass, and the first cab effect is no cab, I'm guessing this may be possible, if I was to set up channels that made use of these.

Someone with first hand knowledge must be able to confirm this [/quote]

I've got a Bass Pod XT Pro and you can turn the amp/cab/mic sims off a patch.

I'm possibly looking to sell too... im in two minds as it does everything very well.. apart from synths, and i need synths.

[Sonic_Groove]

Yes on BPOD XT you can set patches to no amp/cab as you say. Also with later software update the first soft button turns amp/cab off instantly for any patch you are on. You can set with-amp/without to there own volume levels to balance. With 64 slots you may find leaving an amp on for some special effect on top of your Sansamp works well.
You can also edit the patches & effects chains by software freely downloaded from the L6 site.

Davemal for synths try to HD500 -- loads of them there (and they track better than XT)

Brendan

[RhysP]

If all you'd be using it for is various effects then I'd say there are better options than using a POD.

I've got a Bass POD XT & while it's useful for getting a decent recorded bass sound I've always found the effects section to be pretty sh*te, especially the choruses. The synth stuff isn't great either.

[XPAULUSX]

[quote name='RhysP' post='1244204' date='May 25 2011, 01:24 PM']If all you'd be using it for is various effects then I'd say there are better options than using a POD.

I've got a Bass POD XT & while it's useful for getting a decent recorded bass sound I've always found the effects section to be pretty sh*te, especially the choruses. The synth stuff isn't great either.[/quote]

What's a better option you reckon??

[RhysP]

How many different effects are you actually going to need?

If it's only 2 or 3 then IMO you're probably better off buying individual pedals.

If you need more than that then there are plenty of good multi effects units available that will be a lot more flexible & sound better than the POD effects. Always worth checking the "Effects for sale" section on here, there's always plenty of choice.

This is all just my opinion mind; you might try a POD & find the effects are just what you're looking for.

(I don't use my Bass POD anymore mainly because I think the effects suck - I record with a DI from my amp & am in the process of buying some pedals that'll do the job properly).

Edited June 20, 2011 by RhysP

[XPAULUSX]

[quote name='RhysP' post='1244252' date='May 25 2011, 01:55 PM']How many different effects are you actually going to need?

If it's only 2 or 3 then IMO you're probably better off buying individual pedals.

If you need more than that then there are plenty of good multi effects units available that will be a lot more flexible & sound better than the POD effects. Always worth checking the "Effects for sale" section on here, there's always plenty of choice.

This is all just my opinion mind; you might try a POD & find the effects are just what you're looking for.

(I don't use my Bass POD anymore mainly because I think the effects suck - I record with a DI from my amp & am in the process of buying some a load of pedals that'll do the job properly).[/quote]

What multi fx pedal would you recommend?

[RhysP]

[quote name='XPAULUSX' post='1244281' date='May 25 2011, 02:18 PM']What multi fx pedal would you recommend?[/quote]
Oh God, I wish I hadn't started now!

I prefer individual pedals to multi effects units, but the Boss ones are quite good. There's one for sale on here at the moment & is a good deal:
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=137206"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=137206[/url].

I like the TC Electronic G Major (or G Force or whatever it's called) rack mount multi effects unit, and they can be got for a good price secondhand.

I don't really keep up with what's available in the multi effects market - there are people on here who could help you more than I could. Have you tried doing a search for "Multi effects" on the forum?

[Rich]

I sold off all my individual stomps to get an XT Live and have never looked back. I'm still getting to grips with it really but so far it's great. I'm quite happy with the choruses personally, they're perfectly good for live work. Likewise the fuzzes/dists, although I'm tending to go more with the amp models for those. I've managed to get the autowah/Qtron patch set up with no noticeable bass drop, using the EQ. The synth patches are terrible however. But if I ever need a synth sound, I'll dig out the Deep Impact again
I'd take this thing over an ME50B any day, I tried one of those and thought it was utter bollocks to be honest. But hey, we all like different stuff (see any Dream Theater or Level 42 thread for details ).
It's brilliant being able to go from flat to Jack Bruce to Jamerson to Bootsy at the touch of a button. Love it!

[XPAULUSX]

[quote name='Rich' post='1274716' date='Jun 19 2011, 01:57 PM']I sold off all my individual stomps to get an XT Live and have never looked back. I'm still getting to grips with it really but so far it's great. I'm quite happy with the choruses personally, they're perfectly good for live work. Likewise the fuzzes/dists, although I'm tending to go more with the amp models for those. I've managed to get the autowah/Qtron patch set up with no noticeable bass drop, using the EQ. The synth patches are terrible however. But if I ever need a synth sound, I'll dig out the Deep Impact again
I'd take this thing over an ME50B any day, I tried one of those and thought it was utter bollocks to be honest. But hey, we all like different stuff (see any Dream Theater or Level 42 thread for details ).
It's brilliant being able to go from flat to Jack Bruce to Jamerson to Bootsy at the touch of a button. Love it! [/quote]

I've had mine for nearly a fortnight now, only sat down with it once im gonna have to out some timer aside to find out just how much this thing can do!

[Jerry_B]

You have to mess around with them quite a bit to find settings which you like - then you can save them and dial in which one you want as needed. On the fly, a switch would be handy. I don't think the Chorus effects are too bad - they just lack a bit of depth comapred to say, a Boss CEB-3.

[Rich]

I debuted my Jack Bruce sound last night at blues rehearsal... played the intro to 'Badge', and everyone turned and gaped at my rig and went "What the fack is THAT?!!??". I think they liked it Made all the tweaks worthwhile!