grdGo33

Btw, I wouldn't recommend anyone skip a used deal because of this issue. The issue was subtle, took many many months before anyone noticed the issue, and even when comparing with and without, they're kinda hard to tell apart. Not to mention that if you're running a pedal with a buffer in front of the Go, then the impedance issue completely goes away. I think the effect might vary too depending on the guitar, but the bottom line is, if you have a good deal for a used unit, likely worth getting. I haven't bothered to get mine fixed, given I'm using a buffered pedal + as I said, really not a very significant issue!

How?! An analog pedal would not behave this way, and neither would an amp.... For instance, say you had 3 settings on an analog pedal: Gain / Volume / tone. Dial settings 1: 5/5/5, results in volume = 50dB. Dial settings 2: 2/8/5 = 50dB. If you could instantly go from 1st values to 2nd values, you would go to/from 50dB to 50dB. Your pedal output would send a ~50dB signal either way. Your amp wouldn't know the difference. You would not get SPL screw ups. That's exactly what the Go should be doing. The thing is like I was saying, Go seems like it doesn't do it instantly, it does it sequentially, so say you were at 2/8/5 and wanted to go to 5/5/5, it would go turn up the 1st dial: 5/8/5 then lower the 2nd dial 5/5/5, so the time between turning the 1st dial and the 2nd dial is where you're getting an massive offensive SPL gain; huge sound increase when switching snapshots. The exact same thing would happen with an amp. If you could instantly switch input volume & gain, you would get no volume discrepancy, but in the real world, if you had to adjust every dial sequentially; one by one; then you would inevitably get either SPL increase or SPL reduction during switching snapshots; which is exactly what we're getting with Go! Adding a compressor would make no difference. Ex: snapshot 1: Compressor 2/5/3/8 settings + OD 5/5/5 = 50dB snapshot 2: Compressor 5/1/6/3 settings + OD 9/6/5 = 50dB snapshot 3: Compressor off + OD 9/9/5 = 50dB If you were switching everything simultaneously, you would get no volume disparity. But if you had to switch parameter by parameter sequentially, then you'd have to be careful in what order you would do so. And to my knowledge, no way to control which parameter is changed first by PGO. Feels entirely random, but in my experience; the greatest the volume disparities and the greater the values change, the worse it can get. Maybe there's an order; 1st block to last block, or maybe it's last block to first block.. ---------------------------- [edit] To think more on that issue though, some effects might be problematic. For instance... Things that store inputs and whose outputs could be affected by change. Like reverbs and delays... Ex; reverb dials = in/out levels, you've played a 50dB chord which it's going to play in the next 0.1s, if you then switch snapshot and change the in/out to -10dB/+10dB, then you're in trouble, because the 'recorded' chord was full volume, and now your reverb will play it with +10dB, your next chord will be fine though.

I don't think it does. From what was able to gather from my experiments, it's like Pod Go switches each setting sequentially rather than instantly. So if your block volumes vary a lot between snapshot, the worse it gets. Ex; you could have 2 effects boost the volume significantly before the 3rd block reducing the volume, and this will result in an awful ear blowing during snapshot switching; the volume gets from 5 to 8 to 12 and then go back down to 5. Any luck? For myself, I wasn't able to determine exactly what causes the issue, some snapshots switch fine while others cause sound explosions of different degrees, but my conclusion is that ... It's unpredictable and rather unfixable, it's just something Pod Go sucks at; snapshot transitions. That is, the more volume varies between the blocks of different snapshots, the more Pod Go will do stupid things during snapshot transitions. If you want to minimize it, not sure how you'd do it... But again, my personal conclusion = don't try to have a clean sound and a very dirty sound in the same patch, as snapshot transitions go haywire.

"Pump up"? What did you pump? Probably pumped something which you shouldn't have pumped. Not all things should be pumped. Best bet would probably to put everything back to the middle, and just switch one thing at a time, that way you'll figure out what ever dial does! I'm guessing a high treshold or something prevents it from activating because it's too high! https://helixhelp.com/models?categoryId=5

Have you tried without the FX Loop? I think the FX Loop might be the culprit; apparently can be configured mono or stereo, but I'm guessing that if it's configured mono or the issue is one of the effects in the FX Loop block, the FX might be receiving no signal in the FX Loop return and that's why it's outputting no sound for 1 channel. Having 1 mono effect in FX Loop would kill stereo. So just testing with FX Loop disabled, are you getting anything? Maybe test with just 1 amp + 1 stereo delay, to be sure it's not a mono effects block or something screwing things up! Ok so no stereo in your FX block, your stereo effects should be after your pod [amp / FX Loop], if you're using 4 CM you obviously can't send stereo to your amp. Again, KISS, (Keep It Simple, Stupid), just try guitar + stereo effect, that'll confirm your L6 FX unit can indeed output Stereo correctly, then add 4CM and FX Block, which cannot be Stereo with 4CM, and but I guess could contain something like [L6 FX Loop Out -> Amp out -> Stereo Effect -> L6 FX Loop In], but any stereo effect before the FX Block would get 'eaten' by the amp which isn't stereo.

That's only because those who upgrade without issues don't make threads about it. I had issues with my 1st update, years ago, but all updates since them have been working perfectly. I'm sure a high % of people never had any issues at all. In the case of Go, firmware has some bugfixes, but most appealing are obviously new features, like new effects or the cabs system. I'm definitely with you with the if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But software is typically a different beast. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you in the end.

What does the HX Effects do that the Go doesn't? I don't think it would make much difference. The Effects is even more expensive than the Go. Don't think it as many more effects; from memory, it might have more features (outputs, maybe DSP, maybe more blocks, etc.), but the effects themselves are largely the same. https://line6.com/comparison/processors/ But maybe also the UI of the unit is more suited for your use case.. Kinda. You got a 'combo' amp. "A guitar combo amp is a type of amplifier that integrates the amplifier head and speaker cabinet into a single unit. This design simplifies the setup process for guitarists by combining the necessary components—preamp, power amp, and speaker—into one box, making it particularly popular among beginners and those looking for convenience in their gear." So yes, if in Go you have a cab block, you in reality will have 2 cab; the one in Go, and the real one. So disabling cab in Pod Go is desired, since you're already using a guitar cab and don't need Go to simulate one (like if you were using Studio Monitor speakers). For the amp, you can't bypass your Vox combo amp amp's section. But if you set it so that it sounds 'neutral' (imparts little sound of its own; clean amp), then you can use Go to simulate another amp, and your Vox should sound like the other amp, with obviously the Vox Cab.

If you had other pedals you wanted to use with PGO, but didn't want to use them in front or after, so can place anywhere in your PGO chain. Plus can turn on/off the loop so disable/enable series of external effects from Pod Go. Yeah largely, other than just amplifying signals, tube amps also distort the sound; they all do it kinda differently, so Fender, Marshall, Mesa, etc., all have their own attributes. So if you want your Vox to sound like a different amp, that would be it! For clean, largely depends on the amp, but typically reverb off, drive at 0, mids/lows/highs at 30-50% (depends on amp), etc., For the AC15, looks like the normal volume controls the drive, and the master volume just the volume, so likely normal volume pretty low. But try it! See what works for you :)

There's no best way, really depends on what effects you're going to use on both units. Both seem to have FX loops, so you could use that, really up to your preference!

Does not seem like the Vox AC15 have an effects loop... :\ So either 1) use the clean channel and make the amp as clean/neutral as possible. Then you could use the Go's amps, but probably would be better off disabling the Cab block, that would allow you to almost fully use the Go's potential and full line of effects through the Vox. 2) If you use your amp drive/distortion, it'll distort the Go's output and might hinder effects such as reverb, delay, etc., typically effects that go after the amp. But if you'll use just Go's drives or pre-amp effects that would be good too! You could also use your Go as PC audio interface and connect your speakers to Go, then both PC and Go will play through speakers/monitors. And if you connect the Vox using Go's Amp out, it'll automatically cut off the cab & effects after the cab block, so both your patches should work for both PC and Vox amp! (well you'd get double amps, so likely would need to manage that one way or another!)

It's not a bug, it's a feature. The PGO was essentially a limited mini-Helix, at like a third of the price? So yes, there are limitations. The main seller for me were the effects quality, which at the time were pretty unique. Not entirely sure if it's the same today, and there likely is more competition than there was 4 or 2 years ago. Does it still hold up in 2024? I don't know. I've done the exercise 2 years ago and you can see the result below. But yeah I'll concede that just removing the limitation of having some blocks 'locked' could be easily done for L6 in 2024, without cannibalizing their other products like it might have at the time... How is the sound quality and quality of effects though? That was still one of Go's strengths at the time. I'd still choose quality over quantity today. For instance, reverbs. Their early fancy reverbs like Ganimede, Glitz, etc., reverbs were great. But their later dynamic stuff got even better, supposedly favorites of some, even considering $$$ dedicated reverbs like Strymon, Eventide and others.

You can download a preset which replaces many of the currently pre-assigned slots with empty slots, which gives you more flexibility. Personally, I haven't bothered because I more often run out of DSP rather than blocks (so many effects you can stack before you lose the character of each effect), but if you want, bit of search will lead you to this 'hacked' patch!

I've been using some distortions Kokko overdrive & distortion pedals that had been lying around in conjunction with the Go, and damn, I was impressed how well they work! For cheap pedals, they really sound great. Shockingly even, given they compete with the Go's fancier od/dist pedals! Which brings me back to compressors... Being that I'm using them before the Go, well, the compressors in my presets are sitting behind the od/dist, and again, a bit shockingly, seems to also work out quite well! I always used to put them before distortion, but also works out after.. Interesting! Just did a bit of research, and perplexity.ai delivered! I'm sure it could also be very useful for others!

Do you guys have some advice for which compressor to use for different styles, or for example whether some work better for single coils vs humbuckers, or if some work better with or without distortion, etc.? I'm guessing some might be better for example heavy metal tones, modern, clean, strat, etc., So many compressors and settings.! I've mostly just used the Rochester & LA Studio in front of the amp, without really tweaking, for both clean & dirty tones.. None of the others ever really seem to impress me for some reason, but I'm likely just not using them correctly. For reference, list of PGO compressors.

Any specific example of guitar sound? Or, what isn't 'jangly' with the sound you're getting? I don't know what jangly means in terms of electric guitar sound... Odds are the 3 bands you've quoted aren't using the same gear or have the same sound.. Besides, every guitar (pick ups) has specific sound, even strings to a lower extent, but especially if you're after the 'twingy' sparkly sound new strings sound like.. Older strings tend to sound more 'dead'. So while you can tune Go to sound like whatever, if the tone you're starting with is very different, it'll be much more challenging or impossible.. The best way to get a specific sound should be to identify a precise song, hopefully popular song, and get the exact rig (amp & pedals) used for that song, or at least maybe the album. Then start from there. Unfortunately, imho, the mic & mic placement plays a crucial role in end tone, and getting these right is the more difficult part about using Pod Go IMHO. But, you should be able to find a decent mic especially if you can find the correct amp. (just when you're trying to wrap your head around amp plus mic gets, not easy!!)

How do you achieve that in the Helix? I think you might be able to achieve it via effects, such as reverbs or delays, by increasing the mix value; reducing the amount of dry and increasing the wet. The reverbs, especially some of the fancy ones, will give you tons of ambience; like a diffuse type of sound. Otherwise, like I said earlier, from my understanding your left and right would need to be different to result in a wider sound, and I know that this can be the result of DSP, but I don't recall it being a built-in effect. Actually, volume/pan section, hopefully they're in Go!: https://helixhelp.com/models?categoryId=15&subCategoryId=5

Go is single path, so not possible to have different paths for left and right. But you can pan the sound from the output block (last block) left or right, but I'm not sure what you mean exactly by; left = left, right = right, so left or right sure, but left + right = center. But yeah, just change the pan value on either footswitch or snapshots, or bind the value to the volume/wah pedal if you're not using it, where min/max = left/right, which would allow you to control the pan without a bunch of snapshots or footswitches, in an analog manner.

Won't make any difference the 'amount' of data going through the cables. It's all 0s and 1s so so there's never 'more' information going through the cable, and PGO isn't doing anything different whether the music you're playing contains a single singer or an entire orchestra. Think that's the nature mixing. Why many sound engineers will for instance cut off the bass of the guitar and boost the mids, so it can 'cut through' the mix; so you can hear the guitar without interfering with other instruments. https://www.masteringthemix.com/blogs/learn/5-ways-to-help-your-vocal-cut-through-the-mix

Pretty much, yep. Ch. Volume is effectively your volume control, and Master Volume also controls your volume, but simulates a real amp getting pushed hard, so boosting the master volume will also add distortion. L6 Go really simulates amp electronics & tubes, so they do behave similarly to real amps.

++ for compressor, but don't expect the impossible. It's not that simple.. I wouldn't agree with everything on the above answer, but mostly, especially if you're a beginner, it's something you'll pick up over time. I'd just focus on technique and learning to play rather than do 'techy' stuff, but yeah, short answer; distortion, compression and delay/reverb will go a long way. But many other things do influence sustain by a ton too.

You can try plugging a single patch cable in the FX Loop out -> FX Loop in of the Go. If it doesn't work, try with a different cable. If you get any sound, the issue is elsewhere. You can check the FX Loop settings in the manual, page 24. You also have page 32, Fx loop level in global settings -> ins/outs

Sure! You save block, get an extra button for on/off flexibility. Not sure what you find insufficient with the plethora of choices in PGO but 100% go for it! :D

Nice! Yeah one thing with Go is that you basically have to go through the manual... So many options, definitely won't be able to fiddle your way exploring every option... Gets even worse once you get to effects with 26 different parameters, many of which really aren't very intuitive, as the manual doesn't go in depth for many of the options and settings... descriptions of amps, cabs, models, etc., vs 'real' counterparts: https://helixhelp.com/models/ Added effects details (settings, etc.) https://line6.com/software/index.html?hardware=All&name=POD Go Edit&os=All&submit_form=set Then, there's all the million tricks and subtleties; things you wouldn't think/know on your own; so can be learned via guides, tutorials, tweaking videos/articles, etc., sigh ... That's all time spent not playing or practicing guitar though. LOL Not exactly sure what gain there would be to increasing cab volume? But on volume topic; the channel volume of the amp is basically the 'pure' volume, while the Master volume simulates how a real amp reacts to increased volume; gain/saturation. Ex; Gain 3, Ch. vol 10, Master 1, would result in low gain/distortion. While Gain 3, Ch vol 1, Master 10, would simulate a real amp pushed to max volume; so your '3' of gain would be much different with both. (tube saturation and all) Same goes with your chain; boosting volume before hitting the amp block, vs boosting volume after hitting the cab block will result in quite different gain/distortion characteristics/feel. Even for EQ. Ex; you can use the EQ as a boost, increasing volume, and again, placing it before or after the amp block will affect the distortion characteristics of the amp.

For the tone & just overall 'amp' sound, the cab & mic are crucial, and wrapping your head around the different combinations of cab/mic isn't easy at all, given the vast number of mics, cabs, placement options, etc. So I always recommend The best IR in the world, really sounds great with pretty much any genre, simplifies a lot the entire tone-finding process. setting the Sag setting of the amp tends to make things tighter; less muddy. Always at 0 for me. Proper use of EQ For the impedance issue, if you don't have a pod go with the impedance issue then you don't have an impedance issue and adding buffer pedal shouldn't make a significant change. But that said; Which particular amp(s)? Not all models nor all amps are created equal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9tO4-kAG4 L6 really models the amps electronic components. And even 2 amps of the same brand/model can sound different, not to mention tubes... The blind tests I've seen of real gear vs L6 Helix/Go/etc., pretty much demonstrate that it's on par; really hard to differentiate. It's really all about your ability to tweak the tone. And not everybody likes the same amps/tones either. A lot of the amps you've mentioned are favorites in the lineup, and for me they're just plain meh.. Don't think it's particularly related to the amp/model, maybe more about your own playing style, your guitar, preferences, tweaking ability, tone-preference, etc., So as there's a ridiculous 100+ amps in the thing, just find a dozen amps that work for you, and forget about the rest. That would be my advice. But, it's definitely fun to explore amps and their history, and learning how people use them and how to make them work; plenty of tutorial videos and tweaking PGO tones, so I'd definitely start off with that too! Oh and don't be afraid to use the L6 amps either. Revisited them recently and they're pretty awesome. Definitely nothing wrong using them over 'real' amps; they're just that; improved versions or tweaks of existing amps; amps that could exist, or maybe couldn't due to electronic vs DSP, but honestly they sound great, I'd get rid of all Marshalls in PGO instead of them in a heartbeat! Not 'worse' in any way.