[Ruan7321]

Hey all. I am having a hard time finding the right gear for my rig . If anyone can advise, it would be much appreciated. I play metal most the of the time, so I am hoping to build up a good rig for that.

Gear I Own:

RG7321 w/ Lundgren Model M
UV777BK (stock)

Peavy 5150
Cab??? (Sounds good with an Ibanez Thermion. I would Like a 5150 cab, but cant find any .)

Effects
Line 6 Pod XT Pro w/ model Packs


What I have been looking at:

Booster / Overdrive:

Ibanez Tubescreamer TS808 / TS9 / TS7
Zakk Wylde Overdrive ZW-44
Digitech Bad Monkey
ProCo Turbo Rat

Other:

Boss TU-2
Boss NS-2
Cab???

My main concern is that I have a POD which can do most of these things. I has a gate, Tuner and overdrive pedals. Should I just stick with that??
And if I do should I run it In front / FX Loop??? I would still use it for the delays and other fx.

I have been using it in front for the Tubescreamer and it works well, but I think you cant beat the real thing.

Please help!!!

[Vince]

The 5150 is a great amp and should sound pretty good on it's own. I'd suggest getting a 4x12 cab for it that has vintage Celestion 30s in it. They're the standard for most guitarists.

Almost every amp company has a Celestion-equipped speaker cab they sell. Here's my favorites:

Marshall 1960 4x12
Mesa Recto Standard
Crate Blue Voodoo 4x12 (w/ celestions, be careful, there's one that comes w/o them)

If you want to go cheaper, you may want to check out avatar cabs. I own an Avatar 2x12 and it's pretty good. Avatar cabs run a little brighter than most others, but if you compensate a little for that on the amp, you should be just fine. www.avatarspeakers.com

[Ruan7321]

I was looking at the Ibanez Thermion Cab. It sounds awesome, but the amp doen't really fit on top of it. I also have a PODxt Pro that I use for tuning and delay effects. Do you think it would be better to replace that with other gear and just use it for studio work?

I'll go check out those cabs

Thanx a lot. Any other Advice??

[Christopher]

So what exactly does your rig do or not do that you seeking?

[Ruan7321]

Well, it does a lot, but im not sure its the best it can be. How do you hook up the POD to be the pre-amp? The other route is to get some stomp pedals to just tighten up the amp tone.

I love the 5150 tone, and it sounds sweet with a tubescreamer in front.

My biggest problem is should I replace the POD? The other members in my band are going old school (using stomps) and are like "man get rid of the POD cause your tone can be so much beter", but the POD cuts out getting a Gate, Overdrive and Tuner, not to mention the effects. I really like it, so I'll probably stick with it, but how can I improve it, maybe it can sound beter if I wire it correctly (not sure), and maybe I am.

I am definately going to get a cab with vintage 30's as soon as I sell my other amp. (MODE 4).

[Christopher]

If you like the sound of your 5150 and you only need a noise gate, overdrive, and tuner than the POD seems like super overkill. Which model is it? POD, POD 2.0, POD XT, POD XT Live?

If that's all you're using it for I'd go with pedals. I'm not convinced that having your signal run all the way through the POD for just those effects would be worth it. You'd simply plug your guitar into the POD out of the POD into the input of the 5150. You'd also want to bypass or disable everything you could inside the POD besides the gate, tuner, and overdrive.

If you want the POD to act as your preamp then you'd plug into the POD then out from the POD into the loop return of the 5150 but you're going to be bypassing the 5150 preamp that way.

[7slinger]

If you can, I'd check out some different speakers before you decide...vintage 30's are the standard speakers in most respected pro level cabs, but I find them too buzzy, and I like C90's much better...to each his own

The Line 6 sounds like overkill to me for what you are using it for. I've had or have a few line 6 products, and I had a Boss GT8, and the effects I didn't think were as good as the TC effects I have now. For the money, I'd take a hard look at a TC Gmajor. Everybody who has one seems to like it, and from what I've read the effects are the same as they are in my Gsystem, so they sound great and are just less tweakable than the Gforce for less than a third of the cost. I don't know how the noise gate is on the Gmajor, but I imagine it's the same one as on my Gsystem, which I don't use...I use a ISP decimator, and it works great.

[Ruan7321]

Originally Posted by Christopher

If you like the sound of your 5150 and you only need a noise gate, overdrive, and tuner than the POD seems like super overkill. Which model is it? POD, POD 2.0, POD XT, POD XT Live?

If that's all you're using it for I'd go with pedals. I'm not convinced that having your signal run all the way through the POD for just those effects would be worth it. You'd simply plug your guitar into the POD out of the POD into the input of the 5150. You'd also want to bypass or disable everything you could inside the POD besides the gate, tuner, and overdrive.

If you want the POD to act as your preamp then you'd plug into the POD then out from the POD into the loop return of the 5150 but you're going to be bypassing the 5150 preamp that way.

Im using a POD XT PRO (with model packs).

I'd like to use other fx as well, but Distortion is the most important at the moment. Like I said above. Even if I get the pedals I would still use it for delays and other effects. I saw a flaw in my setup. Wil try it out later. I actually feel it is overkill to go out and spend money on fx that I have on the POD.
Is the POD any good is Rack Setups???

Thanx for the info

[7slinger]

Originally Posted by Ruan7321

I'd like to use other fx as well, but Distortion is the most important at the moment. Im using a POD XT PRO (with model packs).
The POD makes the effects a lot easier, but it is about distortion tone. Thanx for the info, I saw a flaw in my setup. Wil try it out later.
Is the POD any good is Rack Setups???

Thanx for the info

so you are using the POD to add distortion to a 5150? do you have the 5150 set clean and are using the POD to add all your distortion? or slightly dirty and the POD for a boost? people generally use a 5150 for it's distortion sounds, if you are using the POD for your distortion I don't think you are getting the most you could get from your amp

[Ruan7321]

You are probably right. So to sound "Better" the stomp/gate/tuner setup would be the best option for the 5150.

Now a completely different question. Is the POD any good in a Rack setup???
I've been reading about the Mesa 2:90 / 2:100 on the forum.