The POD recording tips, tricks, and eq-ing thread

[7 Dying Trees]

Since a lot of people use the pod, and there's no central place for tips and tricks, it's time to start a thread. For POD xt's, 2.0's, pockets, X3's, and all variations thereof!

Basically, post the following:

EQ tips: what to do with eq, where to EQ it, rough filter settings (ie freq, DB boost/cut, approximate Q)

Tone tips: which models, settings, link to the patch library, and anything that helps, ie, this patch should be double tracked to get the best out of it

Tricks: general bits and pieces of advice, maybe some things that tie in with EQ-ing, handy things to make working with the pod easier.

As example, this is the kind of thing we're looking for in this thread:

Originally Posted by Mattayus

What i tend to do is - on the two outer guitars i'll add some 'body' by means of EQ to the 250 and 650 hz range. sorta boosts the punch on the lower mids and brings up the tone of the upper mids. The patch i was using is quite light on body as it's pretty much all low end boom. I mean just listen to the song Obzen by Meshuggah. In essence it's completely toneless, just a barrage of low end chunk!

i use the dynamic mic, purely because of how it interacts with the distortion. seems to make it 'fizz' a bit more, i use the line6 4x12 cab too for the same reason. everything else sounds really muffled i think. on the EQ though i do reduce the 80hz section and bring up some of the upper mids a bit to mold it so it's not so woolly, as you said

Originally Posted by chimp_spanner

I do use the Big Bottom almost exclusively for rhythm these days, and the P-Ball for leads. What I find with the Big Bottom is that it needs a bass cut pre-head to give it djent and prevent it from being too wooly. A lot of it also has to do with cab and mic choice too. I think at the moment I'm using the t75 model with off axis placement. Kinda naturally puts some of the mids and tonality back in there.

Originally Posted by Plankis

The frequencies I find annoying on the big bottom and usually cut are at 3,2 kHZ, 4,7kHz, 5,2kHz, 6,5kHz.
I usually try fix it in the patch later but it is tricky to remove the fizz and maintain the clarity. A way to do it is, in the pods internal eq use the "high shelf EQ band" and shelve it -10.6dB @ 4kHz. Obviously it will sound really dull, so next step is to crank the presence. I got a much nicer presence doing this, Which can be heard on the Gerudo valley-cover, didnt do any eqing at all except lpf and hpf.

Update courtesy of Plankis, cheers mate!:

General:

PODmanuals can be found here: Line 6 :: Support
About impulses: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/rec...al-thread.html
Presets: Sevenstring.org - Patch Library

Originally Posted by Mattayus

Bravo good sir!

i'll throw in some observations about the mics, including all pros AND cons -

On axis - If you want to catch the passing 'grain' of the tone then this is a good one to go for. It brings out the character of the gain but lacks oomph and punch with some cabs, and seems to be top-end biased.

Off axis - this is actually my new favourite, as it captures everything and has a great balance, allowing you to use EQ to shape it to how you like. I dare say it works well with most if not all cabs, but with some it can sound dry and dark. All in all though it's the most 'natural' sounding, if you will.

Dynamic - I used to use this a lot, and it works great with cabs that don't quite get that 'cranked' sound. It does tend to have an inherent fizz that exaggerates the well known fizz that pods have. It can be killed with EQ adjustment though. I do like this mic, and it's always my second choice, but it can be a bit over the top and digital.

condenser - A huge no no for rhythms. Personally i've never found a combo to use this in for rhythm guitars without it sounding murky. However - i'll never use anything else for leads, it's FANTASTIC for leads. It really brings out the Carvin Legacy brown sound style leads that i love. It does tend to blend the characteristics of all amps though and any two amps mic'd with the condenser will sound more similar than the same two mic'd with a '57. That said, just try it for leads with a bit of delay. It's very Thordendal/Van Halen. Smooth, and compressed.

Originally Posted by mnemonic

well, admittedly i've not spent much time trying to get really nice clean tones. actually, i hardly ever play cleans with it. same with lead tones, i usually just use my rhythm tone.

but heres my rhythm tone tell me what you think:

NoiseGate:
Thresh: -55db
Decay: 0%

Stomp:
Boost+EQ
Gain: 84%
Bass: 43%
Treble: 67%
Mid: 77%
Mid Freq.: 50%

Amp:
Big Bottom
Drive: 46%
Bass: 73%
Middle: 88%
Treble: 72%
Pres.: 71%
Volume: 80%

Cab:
4x12 V30's
0% Room
421 Dynamic Mic

Parametric EQ:
+2db @ 600hz
+1db @ 3kHz high end shelf



theres a bit of fizziness to it, but as long as i dont sit infront of the speakers, it doesn't bother me at all. i use an all mahogany guitar with an EMG 707 in it tuned to Bb. tell me what you think.

Originally Posted by damigu

i always run my audio hardware at the highest resolution they are capable of. the higher the resolution, the more natural the sound is because it captures higher harmonics more faithfully (and reproduces lows with less distortion, but lows aren't really at issue with the resolutions we're talking about).

ultimately you'll be converting down to 16bit 44.1kHz because that is the CD standard, but it still pays to record at higher resolution than that.

think of it in terms of taking a picture of a picture with 2 digital cameras. lets say that 3 megapixels is equal to CD quality for the sake of this analogy, so your final picture has to be 3MP.
if you take the first picture with a 3MP camera, and then take a picture of that picture with another 3MP camera, you'll have the requisite 3MP final product but it may have minor distortions (sometimes not-so-minor, depending on how things line up).
if you take the first picture with a 10MP camera, and then take a picture of that picture with the 3MP camera, it'll still result in a 3MP picture, but at higher quality than otherwise.

that's essentially what you're doing with digital audio. you're taking an analog signal and converting it to digital. then, later on, you're converting it to a different digital format (different resolution). that's why it is better to do the initial recording at the highest resolution you're capable of even though the final mix will need to be 16/44.1.

of course, that's assuming you have the hard drive capacity to always be recording at highest quality.

Originally Posted by LordHines42

Just read the whole thread. Some good info.

For anyone else new to the POD, I find I get my best djent tone using two patches at once (I would be LOST without this feature. My old patches are so painful to listen to compared to my new patches with dual tone...it's WELL worth it!), anyway, 2 patches centered, one an ENGL P-ball with a cocked WAH (SECRET TO SUPER DJENT!) at around 75 - 100 % depending on the WAH model, with your choice of stomp, whether that be tube, screamer, classic distortion, or something comparable, with the drive all the way down, and the gain and tone all the way up. This pretty much gives you the most shuggah bulb djent possible. It will be far too noisy, however, so you want to max your gate with a 0 falloff as well....

To balance this, I use another patch for the low end. I've been using the Big Bottom for that, with or without a stomp (no WAH), choice is up to you on most else. Cabs and mics are dependent on your physical amp/cab setup, or if you're recording. So experiment with that.

Of course, EQ plays a big part. Meshuggah use a lot of mids everywhere, especially on the DEI lead tone. So play with those And like many others have said, you want to drop the high end to remove most of the Line 6 fizz. I typically drop mine down to as far down as it can go at around the 7 or 8 k range, as I recall. And the obvious Compression which will fatten your tone.

So that's how I get my best live sound, but for final recordings, I've been lately experimenting with different POD X3 and WAVES bundle together with its added array of cabs and mics in post (which actually completely destroys the POD in regard to its available mics and positions), and finally with, of course, a 10 band EQ. This will give you the best recorded sound possible.

I also find it helps if you can find a section of whatever tone you are after, from your favorite band, in my case, Meshuggah (re-nothing Closed Eye Visuals is a good example of just the guitar with no drums or bass), isolate that, loop it, have an EQ frequency analyzer running on that in real time, and on your recording of the same section, then change your EQ to match it exactly. It's a great way to get a good EQ foundation for later tweaks. Sometimes that's all you need, however.


I hope this info helps someone. Again, nice thread, thanks for the tips. I picked up some good tips myself here and there!



EDIT: some of my current patches to get you started on what I mean...

Sevenstring.org - Patch Library - Meshuggah Djent POD X3 Presets

EQ:

Originally Posted by Plankis

I use the bulbpatch, modified a lil' bit...

The frequencies I find annoying on the big bottom and usually cut are at 3,2 kHZ, 4,7kHz, 5,2kHz, 6,5kHz.
I usually try fix it in the patch later but it is tricky to remove the fizz and maintain the clarity. A way to do it is, in the pods internal eq use the "high shelf EQ band" and shelve it -10.6dB @ 4kHz. Obviously it will sound really dull, so next step is to crank the presence. I got a much nicer presence doing this, Which can be heard on the Gerudo valley-cover, didnt do any eqing at all except lpf and hpf.

A multibandcompressor, can really help tame the palm mutes without removing body from chords and stuff. set a band at 125hz, set the threshold so that it barely reduce anything when playing other stuff than palmmutes.

Originally Posted by Mattayus

Matt's rough guide to EQ

Obviously this doesn't just apply to line6 gear, you can use this in your DAW, rack mounted or pedal EQ, anything. However, i think it's pertinent to have an EQ guide within the realms of using POD gear as it does tend to have characteristics of its own.

Keep in mind, this is a very rough guide, because EQ is SO subjective to mics, cabs, heads, gain settings, guitar woods, strings, pickups, everything! So take this as a very very general description. Also, feel free to add something or correct me where applicable.

So, firstly, this is pretty much how i see the EQ range -



0-100hz = Boom. Often this will have to be taken down on guitars, as this region is heavily dominated by the bass and the kickdrum. Too much build up here and you get rumbling in your mix, not very pretty! Alternatively, some guitars need this region boosted to sound 'big' if they're tinny or thin sounding

100-500hz = punch. Quite a critical range indeed, as guitars are the driving force of most rock music this is where they get their 'balls' and... well.. punch! 'Body', basically. This region can also get quite nasty on palm mutes and sound too 'hard' when mixed with the other instruments. Generally speaking I find the POD tones will sometimes need a bit more body than they offer as standard, but it all depends on your mic/cab settings.

500hz-1k = Honk. Mids, effectively. The middle of the mids to be exact, but in particular the part that makes your tone 'boing' (i cant think of another adjective!). Boosting will add clear bodied tone but may honk, reducing it will sound scooped and hollow

1k-3k = Attack. If you like djent, then this is your friend! Mind you, some patches already have an abundance of this (particularly if you use the dynamic mic) so adding in more will inundate you with fizz! Basically, this is your pick attack range, where you get the scratch of the strings. Sounds great in certain contexts, i do like boosting mine a bit, although i've also had to tame it in the past.

3k-7k and beyond. This is where you control the hiss and/or presence of your tone. Pods are bitches for this due to their inherent hissing and fizzing. You will have to experiment, as each mic/cab/head has it's own hot-spot for nasties. Don't go overkill on the -DB though, just shave off a couple and adjust your highs accordingly, otherwise you get dull tone that sounds like you have a blanket on your amp!

That is all.

Originally Posted by Stephen

I tend to use the T-75 cab a lot with either the Metal shop Mesa and P-Ball models

i always remove everything below 80Hz using hi pass filter.

Also remove everything over 10KHz using a low pass filter.

Reduce around 150Hz as i always find with my tones its quite boomy around that area.

And then i will notch out some harsh frequencies between 2-6KHz

Originally Posted by budule

Try this EQing to remove fizz (inspired by radley's hatmonic converger) ; just sharpen frequencies beetween 500 hz ans 2,5 khz (I tried myself with a simple graphic EQand my pod pro presets got rid of fizz). (picture here: The POD recording tips, tricks, and eq-ing thread)

Originally Posted by budule

Here's exactly my "fizz killer" setting on my DEQ 2496 ; for my rig and my amp sim, it doesn't kill my presence (it's about 8 khz) an doesn't mke it sound dull. Then I scoop the mids on the Parametric EQ ; Left guitar is some kind of vulgar dispkay of power tone, and the right one is some kind of reinventing the steel (I say "some kind of", because I haven't got Dime's rig and fingers, but it sounds very close to me). For both guitars, I use a combination of V30 cab 4x12 cab sim and Line 6 4x12 cab sim; panned 100% L/R.

Left:
- vulgar display tone + v30 cab (scoop more the low mids than the line 6 cab)
- vulgar display tone + line 6 cab (to give brightness)

right :
- reinventing steel tone + v30 cab (scoop more the low mids than the line 6 cab)
- reinventing steel tone + line 6 cab (to give brightness)

It rocks the world (Power metal era private joke )

I'll record a track as soon as possible
The POD recording tips, tricks, and eq-ing thread

[Nick]

there was a thread on here that explained how to get rid of the fizz which i found to work amazingly well.

so much that i saved my eq settings on a word file.

i'll post when i get home.

[Mattayus]

Bravo good sir!

i'll throw in some observations about the mics, including all pros AND cons -

On axis - If you want to catch the passing 'grain' of the tone then this is a good one to go for. It brings out the character of the gain but lacks oomph and punch with some cabs, and seems to be top-end biased.

Off axis - this is actually my new favourite, as it captures everything and has a great balance, allowing you to use EQ to shape it to how you like. I dare say it works well with most if not all cabs, but with some it can sound dry and dark. All in all though it's the most 'natural' sounding, if you will.

Dynamic - I used to use this a lot, and it works great with cabs that don't quite get that 'cranked' sound. It does tend to have an inherent fizz that exaggerates the well known fizz that pods have. It can be killed with EQ adjustment though. I do like this mic, and it's always my second choice, but it can be a bit over the top and digital.

condenser - A huge no no for rhythms. Personally i've never found a combo to use this in for rhythm guitars without it sounding murky. However - i'll never use anything else for leads, it's FANTASTIC for leads. It really brings out the Carvin Legacy brown sound style leads that i love. It does tend to blend the characteristics of all amps though and any two amps mic'd with the condenser will sound more similar than the same two mic'd with a '57. That said, just try it for leads with a bit of delay. It's very Thordendal/Van Halen. Smooth, and compressed.

[7 Strings of Hate]

so i'm assuming you guys all prefer the A.I.R. mode as opposed to direct line in?

[HeavyMetal4Ever]

It's not really a tip, but lately i've been using the Line6 Purge patch + the Screamer stomp model for all my tight metal riffing. I've got lots of different variations of this combo with different eq, cab, mic etc for each guitar I own.

If you havn't tried that combination, and you like really tight high gain tones, give it a go, you might find something you like too.

Rock on!

[Plankis]

I use the bulbpatch, modified a lil' bit...

The frequencies I find annoying on the big bottom and usually cut are at 3,2 kHZ, 4,7kHz, 5,2kHz, 6,5kHz.
I usually try fix it in the patch later but it is tricky to remove the fizz and maintain the clarity. A way to do it is, in the pods internal eq use the "high shelf EQ band" and shelve it -10.6dB @ 4kHz. Obviously it will sound really dull, so next step is to crank the presence. I got a much nicer presence doing this, Which can be heard on the Gerudo valley-cover, didnt do any eqing at all except lpf and hpf.

A multibandcompressor, can really help tame the palm mutes without removing body from chords and stuff. set a band at 125hz, set the threshold so that it barely reduce anything when playing other stuff than palmmutes.

[Sang-Drax]

Great thread! Since my POD will only be arriving next week, I have nothing to add - yet.

[TomAwesome]

Not a bad idea for a thread! I suppose one of my tricks would be boosting somewhere around 8k-10k. This somehow seems to make the models sound a bit more realistic, at least through my rig.

[Jaaaaamie]

I'm a little tired and busy to read this thread properly right now but it looks like my dream thread. When I can open my eyes wider than a baby hamster I'll be back.

[Jan]

I still have my good ol' POD 2.0. which I am using with a small amp to practice at home. However, I never really learned to record it properly... So if you have any experience with the 2.0., please share it too! Don;t forget the ancestors!

[mnemonic]

i dont really have too much to add, as i pretty much only ever use the big bottom/v30/421 combination, but with this combo, i've found the midrange knob is very important to the clarity of the amp, i usually run it between 85% and 100%. the big bottom amp with this cab/mic combination is pretty scooped sounding, so i like to get as much mids as i can get, haha.

this amp also gets boomy really easy, so i try not to run the bass too high. i also run the gain low, and boost it a tiny bit with the boost+eq stomp (along with cutting bass and boosting the crap out of the mids and treble with the boost+eq stomp)

and as with all amps, use very little gain for recording, in order to have maximum clarity and cut, and minimum fizz.


also i hvaen't seen this written before, so i'll type it now; those looking to get good jamming tones out of a pod, i've found it sounds like crap with headphones (but what doesn't) and you have to treat it like a real amp when playing. ie, if you dont sit with your face infront of the speakers (PA speakers, computer speakers, whatever) you'll get alot more body to the tone, and alot less fizz. i have mine connected to my computer speakers, and i sit next to my computer when i play.


also, i've found the whole "less is more" concept holds true with the pod. its easy to get an overgained overly fizzy/overly boomy tone out of the pod if your settings are too extreme. also i try to keep it simple with the amount of fx i'm using on the pod too, i dont use the eq, modulation, reverb, delay, or compressor on my rhythm tones, because just the amp eq, boost settings, cab, and mic settings are already alot of knobs and switches to think about, and you'll learn more about how the amps react to different settings, and how to attain a tone you like better than just piling on filters and effects.

[chimp_spanner]

Originally Posted by mnemonic

...

+1. Less gain, more mids, simple patches. Most of what you need to know about the POD!

***Deleted a whole paragraph there as it was also covered in Mnemonic's post haha.

[friendforafoe]

If you have a pod X3, try using the dual amp mode with the same preset, but with one cab with an off-axis mic and the other with a dynamic. It makes the preset sound very smooth.

Do be careful in mixing two seperate preamps with the dual amp mode as it can lead to distortion phasing and a really crappy, fizzy gain sound ... I use a mix of chunk chunk and big bottom. Figure out what your "main" amp is (i.e. the big bottom for me) and have that set with a volume of about 70 and your "secondary" amp (chunk chunk) with a volume at about 30-35 (tweak as desired).

It's fun to experiment with the dual amp mode ... take an amp like the modern hi gain, which is very mid friendly, and mix it with something that lacks in that department. Modern hi gain and treadplate works nicely ... when experimenting, like i said before, you'll have to adjust your gain accordingly because it can get very shitty very quickly

[Labrie]

Ok so I just received my pod x3 live and I've been wanting to check out these patches that people on here keep raving about (ie big bottom) but for the life of me I can't seem to find it. Could someone kindly point me in the right direction?

[bulletbass man]

Cutting back some between 2 and 2.5 k helps bring out cleaner palm mutes and get rid of some of that high end noise from the percussive tone of the palm mute opposed to the note. Helps brings out the rthym tracks.

The biggest tools i've found for the pod aren't the pod itself. using the compressors and eqs and plugins from cubase has really helped bring out the pods tone. The key is using both the pod and outside tools to bring it to it's potential.

Do not treat the mics how you would a real microphone. It's my biggest complaint with the pod is the micing is pretty far from real microphones.

The best way to get the best tone out of pretty much everything when it comes to recording is expiriment. I've spent countless hours adjusting mics to find a good sound from my peavey. I'll be spending countless hours with my pod as well.

With the pod go thru nearly all the user presets and make as many different tones as you can. Then go thru them and find what you like about certain ones and what you dislike. Then keep working them over and over again till your satisfied. I"m personally never satisfied when it comes to tone (there's always ways to improve it).

[mnemonic]

Originally Posted by Labrie

Ok so I just received my pod x3 live and I've been wanting to check out these patches that people on here keep raving about (ie big bottom) but for the life of me I can't seem to find it. Could someone kindly point me in the right direction?

at the top of this page, click the link that says "features" and in the drop down menu, click "patch library," tons of patches uploaded by people from here.

my favorite is bulbs distortion patch, my current favorite distortion patch is loosely based off it.

[MerlinTKD]

For Toneport users: all POD setting suggestions work exactly the same in Gearbox (though there may be certain functionality missing, e.g. the dual amp mode mentioned earlier).

Something I discovered last night recording via Toneport GX and Gearbox (and goes along with Mnemonic's post): those extra FX will subtly affect your tone! I was struggling mightily with guitar tone frustration, finally turned off the Reverb and Delay, and suddenly found the tight, thick tone I'd been listening for!

This seems obvious, but I had to re-discover it for myself: different guitars will require different settings to sound good. After finding halfway decent settings for my (then crappy pickup'd) basswood 7, I found they were absolutely unusable for my alder 6!

While Gearbox doesn't have a dual amp mode, I've found tracking two different amps with the same cab cane make a super smooth sound. I use Reaper for recording, and have found that (for example) using the Spinal Puppet for one guitar part and the J-800 for the other gives a super full sound I wouldn't be able to get without substantial multi-tracking of each part.

For me, I've found that I can't "fix it in the mix"; getting the tone right in the POD/Gearbox will go a LONG way in making the mix sound good.

If you're poor like me don't despair - fantastic metal tones can be had with just the basic POD or Gearbox! As mentioned earlier, experimentation is the key. Play your bass through a guitar amp and cab. Try your guitar through bass settings. Find out what it sounds like with this or that knob on 0, or 10. (Mattayus deserves credit for cluing me in to some great tones)


Kudos to 7DT for starting this thread - it deserves a sticky! I wonder if there's some way to consolidate these tips without getting them lost in multiple pages?

[7 Dying Trees]

After a few pages, I'll start collating posts into categories in the first one Will make for easier reading!

I used the 250-650Hz midrange bump and the 4k notch filtering tip last night, and really really liked the results, so this thread has already paid off for me!

[Jaaaaamie]

Has anyone managed to record via USB with pod xt live and also managed to playback a backing track within cubase?

This is really been pissing me off to the max, I'm not too bothered about hearing the guitar whilst recording, but I need the backing and click tracks so I know where I am.

Any help?

[-K4G-]

This thread should be stickied.

[Sang-Drax]

Originally Posted by -K4G-

This thread should be stickied.

+1

It's barely started and already there's lots of useful information.

[Tiger]

My tip: Use the bass cabs cause the mics are better and make a bigass cut at 300hz.

[mnemonic]

i wish we could switch up any mic on any cab, that would be fun. like bass mics on guitar cabs, etc.

[Mattayus]

Matt's rough guide to EQ

Obviously this doesn't just apply to line6 gear, you can use this in your DAW, rack mounted or pedal EQ, anything. However, i think it's pertinent to have an EQ guide within the realms of using POD gear as it does tend to have characteristics of its own.

Keep in mind, this is a very rough guide, because EQ is SO subjective to mics, cabs, heads, gain settings, guitar woods, strings, pickups, everything! So take this as a very very general description. Also, feel free to add something or correct me where applicable.

So, firstly, this is pretty much how i see the EQ range -



0-100hz = Boom. Often this will have to be taken down on guitars, as this region is heavily dominated by the bass and the kickdrum. Too much build up here and you get rumbling in your mix, not very pretty! Alternatively, some guitars need this region boosted to sound 'big' if they're tinny or thin sounding

100-500hz = punch. Quite a critical range indeed, as guitars are the driving force of most rock music this is where they get their 'balls' and... well.. punch! 'Body', basically. This region can also get quite nasty on palm mutes and sound too 'hard' when mixed with the other instruments. Generally speaking I find the POD tones will sometimes need a bit more body than they offer as standard, but it all depends on your mic/cab settings.

500hz-1k = Honk. Mids, effectively. The middle of the mids to be exact, but in particular the part that makes your tone 'boing' (i cant think of another adjective!). Boosting will add clear bodied tone but may honk, reducing it will sound scooped and hollow

1k-3k = Attack. If you like djent, then this is your friend! Mind you, some patches already have an abundance of this (particularly if you use the dynamic mic) so adding in more will inundate you with fizz! Basically, this is your pick attack range, where you get the scratch of the strings. Sounds great in certain contexts, i do like boosting mine a bit, although i've also had to tame it in the past.

3k-7k and beyond. This is where you control the hiss and/or presence of your tone. Pods are bitches for this due to their inherent hissing and fizzing. You will have to experiment, as each mic/cab/head has it's own hot-spot for nasties. Don't go overkill on the -DB though, just shave off a couple and adjust your highs accordingly, otherwise you get dull tone that sounds like you have a blanket on your amp!

That is all.

[MerlinTKD]

Jeez Matt, that's fantastic!