Tune Up: Line 6 Pod and Tone Port
posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists
We’ve all been to a live show and seen the massive wall of speaker cabinets and amplifiers behind the band. In many ways, this display is an indicator of notoriety for an act. However, the sound usually goes into the house mixing board and out the huge PA speakers anyway. So, if they’re just placing mic’s on these amps or taking the direct-out signal, do they really need the huge cabinets? Sure, many artists love the sound of their specific amplifier but, I’ve seen a few shows where the guitar players go up there amp-less. Now in order for YOU to get that amp-powered sound with the sweetest effects on the market, you’ll need some effects processors and probably an amp modeler.
Some of the best amp modeling technology out there (for both guitar and bass applications) is from Line 6. Most specifically their POD® guitar effects processor. If you play guitar, you’ve definitely heard about it. This portable effects processor can save a bunch of presets for ease of access and can be controlled by various foot petals, making it an ideal candidate for a live guitarist. Line 6, of course preloads many of their amps with the same technology they use in the PODs®. Our personal favorite application is the POD® technology as included in the software package that accompanies the Line 6 TonePort/POD Studioâ„¢series. These devices are USB connectible recording interfaces that come in a wide variety of input types and channels. First, we’ll review the TonePort®, and then we’ll give you some of my favorite guitar settings using the POD® effects and amp-modeling technology.
TonePort/POD Studioâ„¢:
This audio interface is one my choices for tracking guitars, bass and vocals in a home studio setting. The line offers the UX1, UX2 and UX8 interfaces, respectively featuring 1, 2 and 8 simultaneous recording inputs into your digital audio workstation (DAW). This guitar amp/effects sound legend broke onto the recording interface scene with huge success. We picked up a UX2 a few years ago as an interface to use for electronic compositions and song demo recording. However, it quickly became our go-to device for portable recording and professional-quality singer/songwriter tracks. UX2 has two 48v-enabled XLR inputs for stereo micing (or two separate mono mic’s), as well as two Hi-Z TRS inputs for recording direct in (one of which is even padded). It’s got the standard analog outs and even S/PDIF for a stereo digital output. Finally, it has a couple of amp meters that can be assigned to any audio ins or outs from the software the comes with the interface.
Even though many studios don’t use Line 6 recording devices, the actual recording technology in the POD Studio â„¢ is awesome (and becoming more and more popular every day). They also come with the POD Farm modeling/effects package. These are, of course, the awesome sounds that guitarists have come to enjoy in the POD® effects processor used for live settings. This way, you can run these effects through your DAW as a plug-in, and you are essentially given a very intuitive, computer screen control.
POD® Amp Modeling/Effects
This brings us to a discussion of the actual modules and effects you can achieve using the POD® technology. The POD® guitar effects processor designed for use in live settings has become somewhat of a standard for processing. Many pros use the sounds, and as mentioned, you can go onstage using the device directly with the PA. This is because the amp modeling simulates many of the tube and solid state amps made famous in the music industry. The technology goes much further, however. You can string together stomp boxes, amps, processors, rack units and expression pedals. With so many combination possibilities, you can really achieve any sound you want. The software and the POD® device come with a lot of presets as well, giving you the tools to sound specifically like some of the most famous guitar tracks out there.
Now, we promised to give you a couple great patching examples. Below, you’ll find accompanying screenshots using our slightly older version of the Gearbox software (which includes much of processing modules and accompanies the Toneport devices). Note: An updated POD Farm screenshot is shown above.
Clean/Full Delay:
For this effect, we start with their Mr. Clean preset and edit from there. This setup gives us a great, washy sound with complicated instances of delay. This is perfect for a U2-esque bed of delay-produced polyrhythms. We’ll provide you with the amp model we used as well as the virtual effects boxes. Here’s what it looks like:
Amp: 1987 Jazz Clean with matching 2×12 Cabinet
Modules: Gate (add a bit more decay), Volume, Delay (increase feedback and sync tempo with song), Reverb (add a bit more “dry” to the mix), Microphone Placement (40%, Condenser Mic), Comp and EQ (adjust to taste).
Full Distortion:
We’d like to also show you a great distortion tone that can be used for a full rock sound. For this one, we like to start with Line 6’s American Punk preset. The sound is gritty but full and well-rounded. It’s enough to turn any modern rock song into an epic arrangement. Here’s the screen shot:
Amp: 1968 Plexi Lead 100 with 1×15 1962 Thunder Cabinet
Module: Gate, Volume, Stomp (Classic Distortion with higher tone and higher drive), EQ (adjusted to taste) and Reverb (with only a tiny bit of wet in the wet/dry mix).
In closing, we hope we’ve given you some insight on the POD ®technology. We’ve only scratched the surface and given you a fraction of the things you can achieve with this modeling technology. Obviously, we recommend toying around with the presets and making your own. Feel free to use our examples as a springboard. POD ®technology is really the best of all worlds.