boyce89976

The preamps in the DT are EXACTLY the same as the preamps in the DT head. Please give us more details about how you're connecting to the DT.

I was looking at this too... if I recall from my searching, it should provide additional clean headroom?

Here's the tone I used 90% of the time last night, only kicking on the Classic Distortion pedal for lead lines. Delay and reverb mix are controlled by the 2nd expression pedal: http://line6.com/customtone/tone/263648/ And here's the one I used the other 10% of the time. There's a little bit of "bite" at the top end of the frequency range without the Screamer on (I think from the "Vintage Pre"), but I like it. The Screamer is set to a very light drive setting (with single coils), and adds some warmth when needed. Again, delay and reverb mix are controlled by the 2nd expression pedal: http://line6.com/customtone/tone/263646/ Both of these tones are set up for the bridge and neck pickups on a SSS strat, but also work well in position two (bridge/middle). They sound decent at low volume, but really open up at higher volumes.

Not sure I understand what you mean either. The POD/DT25 combo runs about $1,500 new, certainly not cheap, but not boutique either. I'm not sure an all-tube amp would be any better. If you're using a POD, and a non-DT, all-tube, amp, your not really using the tube preamp section, though it will still color the sound. In that case, you should just be dialing in a loud clean tone to feed the POD through. I've only had my POD/DT25 combo since October and until last night, thought I might be giving up something by not having a pedal board and a boutique amp (that's the perpetual always-looking-to-upgrade side of me). Now I know I'm not giving up anything (at least that I can hear), when side-by-side with a boutique/pedal combo, and in some cases I thought the POD/DT sounded better (thicker, with more body). I mean, just look at the growing number of artists using the POD live (Garbage is using POD's for their live guitar sounds... and you know how important tone is to Butch Vig)! I'll admit, the combo is pretty sterile at low volume, but almost ALL AMPS SOUND STERILE at low volume. Once I got it cranked up, and had the tubes cooking for an hour or so, all the feel of a "real amp" was there. One day I will own a Dr. Z MAZ 18 and a killer pedal board because I want one, NOT because I think the POD/DT is lacking anything.

Read my post here: http://line6.com/support/topic/5767-very-happy-with-pod-hddt25-set-up/ The POD/DT combo held up very well against a sweet boutique amp and vintage pedal setup. What is lacking that your trying to get?

Thanks Brazzy... it's definitely a system you have to commit to. Any half-hearted attempts to learn it will be unrewarding. :D

Recently, it seems there is a lot of complaining, and general unhappiness on the forums, so I wanted to share a positive experience with my POD/DT25 combo. I play in our worship band at church, and in an effort to simplify my patches this week, I made a bunch of adjustments. I took my patches down to the bare minimum (single amp models in most cases, with light compression, a little overdrive and a few effects), and added an expression pedal (which I'm using to alter the effects mix for delay/reverb or to pan between two amp models. I use the built in Expression pedal to control amp channel volume to free up an effects slot). I also switched the POD to 5-8 Footswitch control to make it easier to engage/disengage multiple effects. My goal is to have two or three base tones to build on: Shimmering Clean, Light Overdrive, Creamy Distortion; with the ability to add or remove OD/Distortion as needed and still get a great clean sound (I don't like to switch patches during a song). My Light Overdrive patch has a Distortion pedal stacked with the OD pedal, so that patch is very versatile and the one I used 90% of the time last night. It's setup like this: Red Comp, Screamer, Classic Distortion, PHD, Octoverb, Stereo Delay, noise gate. I have the Classic Distortion set up with a high filter value (to smooth out the high end a little) and give a couple db of boost for lead lines. At rehearsal last night we were changing out our Aviom IEM system to a Behringer system, so there was time to really play around with some tones along with the other guitarist. He has a SWEET setup: Matchless Class-A 2x12 combo, and a pedal board full of vintage and new pedals... he gets some amazing tones whether he's using his Les Paul or his Tele. This was my first time playing with him, and I'm happy to say that the POD/DT combo, and my new, simpler approach to tones, held up VERY well against his boutique rig. I was using my Strat (he had his LP) and the blend was very nice. He really cranks his amp up (we have amp closets) and that's the one area where the DT might fall short of his Matchless (which is 15 watts Class-A)... overall volume. I had to put the POD at 3 o'clock and the DT at 3 o'clock (about 75% of full volume on both) just to get close to his volume... I could probably get there though, as I tend to build my patches with a lot of headroom (can't stand digital clipping). This POD/DT combo is such a versatile system if you put the time in to experiment with it and learn it. We have some world class guitarists in our worship group (one guy has toured with Keith Urban and currently uses a Kemper), and I feel comfortable that I can hang with them tone-wise with this combo. THANK YOU LINE6!

Very helpful, thank you!

I there a list of the effects that are modeled in the POD HD? I've looked several times and found some dead links, but no list.

Yep. Compared to my BOSS TU3 Chromatic Tuner, it seems just as accurate when using it to intonate.

^ Genius!

You can use a pencil lead to lightly tap the power tubes while they are on to see if they make any offending noises. If they do, then you can be sure it's the tubes.

Thank guys. I'm building a lot of Coldplay type patches for worship and have to stack delays, use dual amps, etc... And I'm hitting some Dsp limits... Keep the ideas coming.

Then it shouldn't really matter for your application. I would still get one though. The POD transmits a digital signal to the DT, so my thinking is to use a digital cable anyway.

I would get a DMX or AES/EBU cable. Quieter over longer runs (over 20ft. is a good starting point).

There are a couple of reasons why you might want to do this... a better sounding pedal than the modeled one, or to maximize DSP. So what would you add to the effects loop, or replace in HD500x, using outboard pedals? To start, I'm thinking maybe an outboard delay (Eventide or similar), or a better chorus pedal.

4CM with the DT25 is pretty good too, but there's a lot of volume leveling work to do if you've set your patches up for L6 Link, and you lose the flexibility of the DT's power section.

This is so true... I use Triode/Class A a lot. Topologies affect volume as well. For low volume add Topology 1 to Triode/Class A... it will significantly cut the volume.

You're right, I wasn't clear... was trying to say the Screamer pedal provides tube-like compression (at least the HD model does), I didn't actually mean it was originally a tube pedal... my bad. Thanks for clarifying.

Use the Screamer... it's a modeled tube pedal and it has built in tube compression... add a red or blue compressor to it and you'll get a nice thumpy attack.

Sorry Phil, wasn't trying to correct anything you said, I'm just more familiar with the AES/EBU spec. I use them for all of my audio interconnects, digital or analog, no matter the length. For my L6 Link cable, I got a 25' AES/EBU cable from LA Pro Audio... nice cables, great price, and fast service.

Thanks for clarifying rad! I recall reading that now, back in October when I first got my POD... might have been a little loopy from the previous sections, by the time I got to this section of Meambobbo's guide. :lol:

Just make sure you get an AES/EBU digital XLR if you go over 18' - 20' in length.

I may be wrong, but I'm assuming (you know what they say about assuming) that since the Combo/Stack Front configuration would almost exclusively be based on a 1/4" connection, that these settings would either not be noticeable, or would have very little effect using L6 Link, but should be very noticeable using the 1/4" outs. Like I said, I could be wrong. I'll experiment with it today and see what happens on my unit.

talwilkins, how are you connected to your amp? Those settings won't have any effect if your connected via L6 Link.