# How should I tweak my tones (Pod HD500) for live use, going direct to the board?



## MF_Kitten (Mar 16, 2014)

I play bass in a band where everyone uses a modeler. We want to go direct to the board for gigging, as it's very practical, but the first time we tried it wasn't optimal.

Of course, through the PA, being played super loud, everything sounds way brighter and bassier. Basically it's like it gets scooped. The problem is that if you don't have a chance to test it yourself beforehand, you don't know which frequencies are the worst offenders, and how much to cut from where. 

My bass patch had "too much of everything" according to the sound guy. Too much mids, highs were kinda sharp, and there was way too much low end. So I don't know what you do about that! He was happier when I turned down the distorted path, had less highs in it, and turned down the deeper low frequencies from the clean path.

Does anyone have experience using modelers live, and what have you found yourself doing to make it work optimally? Like, which frequencies do you find yourself cutting more often than not compared to a studio/bedroom level patch?


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## GunpointMetal (Mar 17, 2014)

You get some loud ass PA speakers and a sub, you crank them the .... up, and then you dial in your tones....sound stupid, but seriously, you're never gonna know what your FRFR tones sound like till you hear them at volume. Lots of people edit thier patches at home at low volume or through headphones assuming because its full-range and thier is modeling that it will sound the same, but when those tones get amplified the treble/bass swallow the mids (Fletcher-Munson; google it) and it sounds like a can of bees taking a huge diarrhea fart....You gotta tweak those patches at volume, and you guys should probably do it individually first, then with all of you playing to make sure you're making room for everyone.


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## MF_Kitten (Mar 22, 2014)

Yeah, that's probably what we'll do. The thing is exactly what you mentioned, with the Fletcher-Munson curve. Using that, you could probably figure out which frequencies that you'll need to lower, ya know?


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## AngstRiddenDreams (Mar 22, 2014)

Use the parametric at the end of the chain. Lower the bass and treble parameters and use a wide boost of the mids.


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## MF_Kitten (Mar 24, 2014)

Yeah, that's the plan. I'm wondering about specific frequencies that are always louder when you turn it up. You know what I mean? Like, when you turn shit up, some frequencies are totally fine, and some frequencies just hurt ten times more suddenly.


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## 3trv5u (Mar 25, 2014)

Every location is going to have a different PA system and different acoustics so you can't really tell exact frequencies.


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## djentbojangle (Apr 18, 2014)

I've found my patch sounds good at normal level but cranked through the pa at rehearsal it sounds amazing. definitely boosts the treble when full on volume so take that into consideration. follow these suggestions in the thread and you should be good.


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## VBCheeseGrater (May 16, 2014)

GunpointMetal said:


> You get some loud ass PA speakers and a sub, you crank them the .... up, and then you dial in your tones....sound stupid, but seriously, you're never gonna know what your FRFR tones sound like till you hear them at volume. Lots of people edit thier patches at home at low volume or through headphones assuming because its full-range and thier is modeling that it will sound the same, but when those tones get amplified the treble/bass swallow the mids (Fletcher-Munson; google it) and it sounds like a can of bees taking a huge diarrhea fart....You gotta tweak those patches at volume, and you guys should probably do it individually first, then with all of you playing to make sure you're making room for everyone.



This, for sure. I had the same problem OP when i first tried my POD HD FRFR, sounded like hell on earth lol, some quick tweaking during sound check got things serviceable. 

Since, then, i went to power amp/guitar cab setup for the pod instead, so my tone is always how I intend it to sound. Plus i like the amp-like tones with tubes in the mix. I have the sound guy mic up one of my cabs, and use another cab as a personal monitor pointed at my head since the monitor feed sounds like shit usually if i can hear it. Even with this setup, i have to tweak up loud - usually means less gain and less highs.


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## Funz (Jun 11, 2014)

You build your sounds regardless of rig type at gig/practice volume. 
Doesn't matter if you are using a modeler in to the PA, a Recto half stack, or a Fender twin. 
+What everyone else has said.


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## Yo_Wattup (Jun 11, 2014)

I am in the same boat as you, OP (pod hd500, bassist, DI) and at least once a show, i get a dude or two come up and tell me how great my tone was. All you need to do is go to your local rehearsal studio and use the pa theyve got to test your tones. The tones you make this way will sound really dark through studio monitors, so dont use studio monitors to get your tone.


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## eyeswide (Jun 11, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> My bass patch had "too much of everything" according to the sound guy.



"Everything"? Pretty sure he's just finding a passive aggressive way of saying he doesn't like you haha.


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## eyeswide (Jun 11, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> Yeah, that's the plan. I'm wondering about specific frequencies that are always louder when you turn it up. You know what I mean? Like, when you turn shit up, some frequencies are totally fine, and some frequencies just hurt ten times more suddenly.



How long is a piece of string? No one is going to be able to tell you what frequency is a bad one. It depends on your guitar, your pedals, the pa support and the room. So, one frequency might sound like shit in one room, but in another one it's gold.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Jun 11, 2014)

I create all of my tones against backing tracks, that way they'll sit within the context of a mix well.

I back off of the bass just a tad more for my live presets.

Keep a bank or two for recording, and a bank or two for live, and only use them for that purpose. These are your "control" presets.

Then, as each song may require a different effect, ie harmonizer, copy one of your control presets to a new location and title the preset with the same name as the song.

I generally keep any recording presets in banks 1-10, and any live ones in banks 11-20 so that they are far from each other and I don't stand the chance of overwriting one by accident.

Each bank of 4 presets looks like this:
A: Clean
B: Tweed
C: Crunch
D: SPCL (Special) for wierd stuff that doesn't fit in any of the other categories like a synth/octaver thingy.

My FS1 through FS4 looks like this.
FS1: SPFX (Special FX) for a clean/tweed/crunch tone
FS2: Mod
FS3: Hmny (Harmonizer)
FS4: Solo (which usually consists of a solo boost + a delay with "Trails On", and a slight mid/treble boost.

I do the basic setup in my home studio, then I do final, very subtle volume tweaks to the live banks in the rehearsal studio where I only go direct.

Keep a thumb drive and a laptop within access in case you do though, between soundcheck when you discover the anomaly, and before you go on, so you're good to go.


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