you know what is suprisingly good ? ( POD )

i57dwun4yb1pt8

1/ running a POD xt from one of the
line outs into the effects return of a tube amp so to go through the power amp tubes and into a cab ,
then miking the cab
turn off all cab and mic sims on the pod first though- and set the pod to output = 'combo power amp '
so that the POD is effectively the first stage of the amp
this seems to eliminate all digital harshness, warms it up, and makes it more 3d .
you can then record with mics at a nice low level of volume and sound pretty impressive.


2/ taking the headphone output and running it via a transformer based pre amp into your daw
leave the cabs sims and mic sims on this time though as you need them .
it sounds quite similar to using the tube amp solution , but silent .

I had toyed with getting an AXE fx solution , but this setup has been quite a revelation to me .

sure beats the hell out of GTR3 , amplitube , etc .

it even feels like a real setup , feel wise with a guitar.

i hated the pod due to its brittle bright sound , but these paths really open it up in a big way

trackmixstudio

I have a pod xt and a digitech GSP1101.
The digitech is far far better. The pod has a horrible low mid mush and high end harshness whereas the digitech is actually useable in a mix at a push.
Post a di guitar track and I will run both through whatever type of amp sim you want and you will hear the difference.
I always use the digitech in front of an amp for tube screamer, compressor, gate and eq and it works really well in this role too.
I used to use the 2 of them for guide guitars but these days I just use a di into pod farm with speaker sim off then into space designer using my own mesa cab impulses.

MilanPan!c

It's funny, I read this yesterday, didn't think much of it one way or the other then, I randomly was reading this:

Recording Franz Ferdinand

which says this:

Two tracks on the Franz Ferdinand album, 'Tell Her Tonight' and 'This Fire', were recorded by the band themselves and then mixed by Johansson. "Actually we recorded those songs here, but we weren't happy with the results. We were trying different tempos and stuff and we'd experimented quite a lot with them in the studio. But then we didn't have time to continue to record them because the band had to go to England to do some touring. So they had a couple of days off and then they did the recording of the songs themselves in Scotland. It ended up that they wanted to play them more like they play them live.

"So then I mixed them in Pro Tools. At first I had problems with them because when I just mixed them normally, they tended to sound a bit wimpy and clean, '80s kind of sounding. Then once I realised they'd been recorded with a bit too little compression, I started to experiment putting the whole mix through the Neve compressor. And that was quite good, until I actually did something that you're not supposed to do. I actually put the whole mixes through [Line 6's plug-in] Amp Farm — no speaker though, just the amp. So I used the cleanest amp, the Fender Twin, and then I had to fiddle around a lot with the equalisers because it was way too bright.

"If you don't use the speakers in Amp Farm, it has this tendency of making everything sound bigger, almost like those Aural Exciters in the '80s. It's simulating some kind of tube distortion and you get that extra twinkling brightness on top of it and a bit of extra bass. When I did that, those two songs sounded more like the things we'd recorded here. If you've got recordings that sound good, but wimpy, that's a good trick."

---

So that's pretty cool...

His kick drum secret is pretty awesome as well!

i57dwun4yb1pt8

thankds ofr the tip on the digi box , i might look into getting one , the reviews are good , and the pod does still have that edge you talk about , its smoothed out alot with the amp and mics- but i will look into the digi system

I thought the pod was useable enough alright..im currently being blown away by digi eleven (the plugin) though..its a bit of a resource hog allright, but it has this playability and expression ive not come across on another amp sim..and between the 12 amps you can get any tone ya want..im well impressed..
(sorry if its a bit ot..)

MilanPan!c

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought the pod was useable enough alright..im currently being blown away by digi eleven (the plugin) though..its a bit of a resource hog allright, but it has this playability and expression ive not come across on another amp sim..and between the 12 amps you can get any tone ya want..im well impressed..
(sorry if its a bit ot..)

Actually dying to play with this.

MilanPan!c

MilanPan!c wrote: »

Actually dying to play with this.

Shur have a go at the demo..it is serious enough though..to the point where i cant tear myself away from it at times..it's got me playing guitar again in a major way..it was on the air blog for e75 recently too..

SeanHurley

Deleted User wrote: »

Shur have a go at the demo..it is serious enough though..to the point where i cant tear myself away from it at times..it's got me playing guitar again in a major way..it was on the air blog for e75 recently too..

How hot is the signal you are sending thru the plug? I have Eleven but have never really used it - it came as part of the music production tool kit.

SeanHurley

SeanHurley wrote: »

How hot is the signal you are sending thru the plug? I have Eleven but have never really used it - it came as part of the music production tool kit.

It kind of depends on the amp...just going into the 002, and then i adjust the input on the plug till its hittin bright green or yellow if im hammering it..you do need to up it a bit with most of the amps..check it out man..i cant recommend it enough anyway..

i57dwun4yb1pt8

I take this back

granted the mics / tube power amp smooth things out a lot
and the headphone out trick smooths out direct access

but it still sounds lifeless and grainy.

ah well back to the drawing board.

PMI

I also found the POD XT was really good too........... as a doorstop

i57dwun4yb1pt8

after a few more tests , i think you are right - it is a door stop

it sounded ok in the room with the amp, but when i recorded a few takes , its sounds yuck.


so ive ordered the digitech ( i cant afford an axe fx )

PMI

DaDumTish wrote: »

after a few more tests , i think you are right - it is a door stop

it sounded ok in the room with the amp, but when i recorded a few takes , its sounds yuck.


so ive ordered the digitech ( i cant afford an axe fx )

theres nothing like a good guitar, lead and a big stinkin valve amp

jtsuited

PMI wrote: »

theres nothing like a good guitar, lead and a big stinkin valve amp

there really isn't....
a few weeks ago I was playing a Tele through an original 76 (i think) Fender Twin. Was in a heaven of glassy goodness. It's so easy to get a great tone out of a good amp with one mic I don't know why people don't just stick to such an easy method.

MilanPan!c

jtsuited wrote: »

there really isn't....
a few weeks ago I was playing a Tele through an original 76 (i think) Fender Twin. Was in a heaven of glassy goodness. It's so easy to get a great tone out of a good amp with one mic I don't know why people don't just stick to such an easy method.

I've been rocking my Guitar Rig 2, 3 and 4 for the last few years. Now I'm about to get an Orange and I couldn't be happier.

I used to have a 73 twin, which was shockiny awesome AND unreliable.

I totally will still use GR4, but I can't wait to actually mic an amp again!

Course I have to buy a cab first.

I'm babbling but really just saying, amp sims are great, but nothing beats a decent amp!

i57dwun4yb1pt8

alot of us record at home and cant wack the amp up past 1 in most cases
so we dont get the full sound or air we need .

so we have to use guitar sims.



id rather use the amp , but these are the breaks .

MilanPan!c

DaDumTish wrote: »

alot of us record at home and cant wack the amp up past 1 in most cases
so we dont get the full sound or air we need .

so we have to use guitar sims.



id rather use the amp , but these are the breaks .

True enough. I wonder what my neighbors will think

I also wonder about just plugging the amp into the soundcard.

Seems like everyone thinks this ok...

PMI

DaDumTish wrote: »

alot of us record at home and cant wack the amp up past 1 in most cases
so we dont get the full sound or air we need .

so we have to use guitar sims.



id rather use the amp , but these are the breaks .

When I record at home or live I run my amp at about 4 or 5 and get an exact guitar tone I want, no toy pods, or other fisher price stuff involved...... BUT again (sick of saying it) this is the secret http://www.palmergear.com/recording_studio.shtml

full guitar tone and no sound/noise/neighbours banging etc...

BUY ANY OF THESE AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT I WILL REFUND YOU.... THATS HOW CONFIDENT I AM ABOUT THEM !

MilanPan!c

PMI wrote: »

When I record at home or live I run my amp at about 4 or 5 and get an exact guitar tone I want, no toy pods, or other fisher price stuff involved...... BUT again (sick of saying it) this is the secret http://www.palmergear.com/recording_studio.shtml

full guitar tone and no sound/noise/neighbours banging etc...

BUY ANY OF THESE AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT I WILL REFUND YOU.... THATS HOW CONFIDENT I AM ABOUT THEM !

In that GS link I posted in the other thread a guy said that he'd had some issues using one of those.. Would you kind Reading that and commenting on his issues, ie. Do you think his issues are unrelated to the palmer thing/is he using it wring/etc.

I'm def interested in one...

PMI

what link? cant see it and dont have time to hunt

you dont get probs with palmer stuff it can only be pilot error

i57dwun4yb1pt8

hmmm, there is also this

http://www.performing-musician.com/pm/jun09/articles/motherloadelemental.htm

this

http://www.faustineamps.com/phantom.html


and this

http://www.spl.info/index.php?id=53&L=1


and this

http://www.aracom-amps.com/products/prx150.html


jesus
the choices

MilanPan!c

PMI wrote: »

what link? cant see it and dont have time to hunt

you dont get probs with palmer stuff it can only be pilot error

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/356897-plugging-guitar-amp-into-computer.html

I hear ya re: pilot error.

Did you order it from Nashville or can you get one locally?

PMI

ebay, adverts etc.. they pop up every now and then and thomann !

i57dwun4yb1pt8

one thing about using an attenuator at home is this
from my experience in the last two weeks

1/ yes you get loads of lovely power tube distortion

but

2/ you still need to push the speaker with at least 2 watts or more of power
or it will not respond properly - it will sound thin and harsh
and 2 watts is still very loud for home use

so you are actually better of using a cab sim -
either in a vst plugin convolver , fed by the amp direct out
or a built in cab sim in the attenuator and record with no mics
or use a moddeller altogether, like the pod or gsp 1101

or use a silent sister isolation speaker
( not the standard isolation boxes as they sound - boxy )


i just got the gsp 1101 and will try it later .

if the cab sims dont cut it - i will look at getting the pd104 or a motherload elemental and use the amp as well

MilanPan!c

DaDumTish wrote: »

if the cab sims dont cut it - i will look at getting the pd104 or a motherload elemental and use the amp as well

Tell me more...

PMI

DaDum these arnt attenuators they dont soak power at all, they just convert the voltage to line level so total tone...

which is why they usually put in line between head and cab

one of my cabs has greenbacks and yes you do get a small amount of loss from speakers, but you do get all valve sound, in fact if anyone is near i can loan someone one as I have a spare

i57dwun4yb1pt8

total tone eh ?

you work your tongue better than a five dollar ho ;-)


if the gsp 1101 doesnt quite makie it , i wil get on to about a "loan"

MilanPan!c

PMI wrote: »

DaDum these arnt attenuators they dont soak power at all, they just convert the voltage to line level so total tone...

which is why they usually put in line between head and cab

one of my cabs has greenbacks and yes you do get a small amount of loss from speakers, but you do get all valve sound, in fact if anyone is near i can loan someone one as I have a spare

so do you need to still use with cab?

i57dwun4yb1pt8

no you dont need a cab or a mic with the palmer , its got cab sim built in .

I must say this digitech 1101 is impressing me
it pisses all over the pod sound ,
and sounds at least as good as any plugin ive heard so far.

the amp models are very tweakable , and effects are very nice .

and so easy to use as well.

so far so good .

a big step forward in silent recording .

PMI

you would need a cab or an 8ohm dummy load resistor on the PDI09 version....

the 03 04 and 05 versions have an 8ohm load box within them

The filter on the 04 is truly stunning thats where the magic happens.... most of the big touring boys use 2 04's and send them out front and then thru to their (usually) mesa engineering cabs

trackmixstudio

DaDumTish wrote: »

no you dont need a cab or a mic with the palmer , its got cab sim built in .

I must say this digitech 1101 is impressing me
it pisses all over the pod sound ,
and sounds at least as good as any plugin ive heard so far.

the amp models are very tweakable , and effects are very nice .

and so easy to use as well.

so far so good .

a big step forward in silent recording .

Good to hear you are enjoying the GSP1101.
It's a huge step up from the pod.
If you think it's good now wait til you put the new beta software into it.
Lots more amp, pedal and cab models.
I have the beta installed and it works perfect so don't worry about messing anything up.
Go here and download and install the C48 beta.
You won't regret it. It turns a great preamp into a monster!
http://www.mustbebeta.com/

i57dwun4yb1pt8

thanks track

i have it already, was twitching about doing the upgrade , but will do it tomorrow after reading this.

great box for the money

i57dwun4yb1pt8

just upgraded it - jesus you were not kidding , its like a new machine ( even though its new )

much huger and realistic sounding
the extra amps are great

im very impressed .

i know the axe fx is the bollox - but this is pretty damn good for 1/3 the price.

looks like the POD is now destined to be a scratch track box
or just a sound card downstairs ;-)