grdGo33

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.

Just save another preset over this preset, then change it as desired.

Sag is always at 0%, the others are default values. Since typically I can't really hear much difference when testing different values, I'd categorize these as micro parameters; very minor effects, so I in majority of cases don't bother changing them, and just tend to use settings which have a far more drastic effect. More subtlety/precision than I care for. It's the last block, because I use an external looper for looping and it allows me changing sounds/patches without having the patch alter looped sound. Otherwise, it will depend on which effects you're using in the FX loop, so compression/distortion first blocks, vs reverbs/delays/etc., last blocks.

You can setup footswitch 1 turn on/off overdrive, FS 2 to turn on/off distortion, and you can program multiple parameters to FS 3, which for example could reduce channel volume, increase master volume, turn up amp gain, etc. You'd have to still push 3 footswitches, but you get multiple combinable options of OD/DST/Gain, resulting in multiple possibilities. You could also even bind multiple parameters to your volume/wah pedal, so that all the way up it's a clean tone, whereas all the way down it's disgusting distortion, and you get the in betweens too. But the simplest for " Clean, Dirty and Overdrive pressing just one switch for each. ", is 3 snapshots, one for each of those tones. 1 footswitch for each, done. KISS. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) You could also tweak your presets so that the patch can clean up; Meaning, you dial down the volume of your guitar and/or play softly, and the sound is clean, whereas when you play loud or crank up the guitar volume, you get a distorted tone. For that, some amps are better than others, some amps/channels are great at it, others just can't do it. But my 2c, you're likely trying to do too much with gear; especially if you're a newer player, with something like pod go, it's easy to lose sight that it's about guitar playing and not about microscopic distortion settings. The music won't be good/bad because you've went from 25% OD to 35% OD, it's much more about actual music & how/what you play..!

BTW, posted in another comment but never got a response, I believe that you could do twin mics with IRs, if you could find/make some. (edited above post above btw) Also, I've really gotta try this, but since an IR is a wav, it might be simple to simply add two IRs (waves) together then 1/2 the volume; and you'll be essentially averaging the two together; two mics & cabs into one, hopefully someone can confirm/deny this! Thanks! :D (might try it later, if I can finish all other work ... lol)

Yeah not possible. Single path. Think the Stomp models can, but they're also a bit limited by DSP / number of effects you can use; plus other compromises. I guess many think it sounds better; could very well, I wouldn't argue against the concept. But a large portion of guitar players only use one amp, and many recordings were also done with 1 mic... Is it that important of a feature? How much better will 2 mics/cabs sound vs single? Because like everything, it'll end up being compromise; you'll have to pay more, smaller screen, no volume pedal, etc., so in the end, what's it worth to you? Even in usage; the Go has a million features and possibilities... Adding dual paths to the equation, if you're not experienced, you'll just be adding to complexity. KISS concept likely apply here. For myself, I didn't even use the mic/cab system mostly, just used 1 IR, adequately named "the best IR in the world", and the Go's million other options were more than enough to tweak the sound. So YMMV! Btw with latest update there was an overhaul of the mic/cab system which wasn't bad to start with, and many have reported improvements. There's tons of vids on YT and others, so I'd say try to listen to some tones, see if they sound good or bad to you. Lots of free or paid IRs too. videos with sound & discussing a bit the topic & limitations

Yep, plus bass... (7506 is essentially the same as V6) https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sony-mdr-7506-review-headphone.19099/ Having listened to much music on many different headphones and quite enjoyed it, I could never really enjoy the sound of Pod Go + headphones... So if your presets have been built to sound balanced on headphones, especially V6, it likely just won't translate on speakers! But if you think that there are 'issues' with FR for headphones, for speakers, it's even worse..... Right away, unless you have very good speakers in a well setup room, much of what you hear isn't even the sound from the speakers, it's the room reflections, with room modes; where some frequencies are boosted and other are null'd. Takes a lot of work to get a pair of speakers to work well in a room, and it involves room treatment, careful speaker placement and specific listening position. And then again, the speakers themselves will have their own FR and all, so just compounds with room issues. At least you can just put headphones on your head and they work as intended, as there's no room interaction! (But not even... Might depend on the shape of your head; as depending on whether you can get a good seal, shape of your head/ears, some headphones might some awesome on the head of some people and not for others!! Not even considering different hearing; just head and ear shape...!!! LOL ) So likely a combination of everything; the V6 aren't super neutral, and likely your room and speakers aren't either! PA speakers also aren't renown for their neutrality; likely to be even more all over the place vs home audio speakers, since their reason to exist is more to 'blast' (SPL) sound for large venues; so compression drivers, large drivers, often large plastic boxes, etc.. Not that they can't sound good, I'm sure there's some fantastic PA speakers out there (high end studio monitors sound fantastic), but depending on the venue, they're very likely not to be the sweetest sounding speakers out there. FRFR speakers aren't considered speaker 'cabs' as speaker guitar cabs such as the ones in the Pod Go. So you should 100% be using the the cab block of the Go. FRFR speaker are more like regular audio speakers, they're made to play music; whether they're drums, guitar, etc., a guitar speaker cab is more like designed to sound 'good' with a guitar amp (color the sound), which is why there's 100 different guitar cabs to make your sound different. In contrast, FRFR speakers, Studio Monitors, or audiophile speakers, of headphones, are just trying to play the signal as accurately as possible; not impart their own sound. So yeah, for PA speakers, FRFR, studio monitors or regular speakers, definitely use the PGO cab block otherwise it'll sound like poop! ;)

Two good resources; not complete or ultra detailed, but way better than nothing, it has good info: https://helixhelp.com/models/ https://benvesco.com/store/helix-dsp-allocations/ Since the effects/amps are often based on real amps and effects, you can read up on the original product, and much of it translates to Pod Go; albeit not 100% translation given real vs emulated... But what each knob does should be fairly similar, for instance, for compressors, while in PGO it's not really explained what each setting does, finding the original unit and reading about it will give you all the info you need to make the same adjustments in PGO. Good luck! :D

Yeah I played a little with it on the weekend, it might be placebo, but they did seem to sound a lot better than the legacy cabs... Or even random downloaded IRs. It might be that the default settings are just better (cab + mic + mic & other settings), but I think it was with the Archtype lead amp and I could just switch amps or even cab settings, and just playings afterwards, and it just seemed to sound great! In contrast, I had largely given up using cabs/IRs, and instead majority of time just used the best IR in the world... Maybe there was some sort of issue with the original cabs which made some (most?) mic/cab/settings combinations sound not great, as I clearly recall having watched vids where people compared the PGO stock cabs with different IRs, and after slight tweaks like EQ and stuff they sounded pretty much identical... So strange, I do think they're better, but might have been old cabs needed specific tweaking to sound good, whereas new cabs don't and sound better with random/misc settings... I'll likely play more with it, revisit stock cabs and IRs, and try to figure out if or how much they really improved, but at this point, seems like they did! 0.o Yep, first thoughts; great upgrade from old stock cabs! :D Which btw seems to correspond to everything I've heard about the new cab system, which could have influenced also my early thoughts... (placebo?) lol