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Is my POD HD 500X clipping or is there something wrong with my bass?


Onomatopoeia
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 I have played around with its settings some hours yesterday and got it [the Cougar amp model]  to clip with the gain really low. The master didnt do much and the boost mostly just lowerd the volume. 

 

That's because the problem is almost certainly with your bass preamp. You need to get it looked at or just take it out of the circuit and go passive (which is what I would do at this point btw).

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That's because the problem is almost certainly with your bass preamp. You need to get it looked at or just take it out of the circuit and go passive (which is what I would do at this point btw).

I have mailed seymour Duncan and will also double check the wires. If not working im having it looked at.

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Thanks, I tried that aswell and got the same results, the only difference that i got it clipping even with preamp eq att center or slightly cut (mostly bass).

 

 

That does make some sense. I Have a cheap sterling stingray (SUB) with just one single MM style pickup at the bridge. I now have it set all the way down in the body and don't get clipping unless i play really hard. With tube Comp on there´s no clipping at all. The problem is that it doesn´t sound good at all having the pickup this low - it´s really bassy, flat sounding, no dynamics and the preamp eq doesn´t seem to do much at all. Really getting frustrated now... 

 

So your idea is to have a clean patch with just the same cougar settings, turn it off and the see if I can get it to clipp while raising the mixer? Should it be panned center and channel B at mute? Should I now try to raise my pickup at this point and how do I know if it´s right (aside clipping everything)? It´s FAR below factory specs. If I understand you correctly, if I know when it distorts by using this method (and hopfully how to make it stop) it´s all about adjusting the Cougars settings? I have played around with its settings some hours yesterday and got it to clip with the gain really low. The master didnt do much and the boost mostly just lowerd the volume. 

As the pup is at the Bridge it wont need to be too low.

Put the mixer at +12 and play with the bass tone controls to get it to clip and to not get it to clip.

Bring mixer back down to zero.

The Cougar Master and boost should definitely be effecting the model with the settings on the bass now affirmed from upping the mixer only and getting the bass to not distort.

 

If you hold the Enter button while moving the cursor in the amp block you can put the mixer block before the amp. Similar process as selecting a second amp block. Play with it till the mixer is in front.

You might be best lowering the now in front mixer block so you can get a better tone in the Cougar.

 

Mentioned before and important to note: If your headphones have been punished in the past with heavy use you might have a issue in them. But the main point with this is on the way out the speaker has to be able to handle the bottom end and if it doesn't you can be wasting time on the bass and in the HD trying to minimize what is being translated.

I would test them before getting the bass sent off etc if not done so already. 

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As the pup is at the Bridge it wont need to be too low.

Put the mixer at +12 and play with the bass tone controls to get it to clip and to not get it to clip.

Bring mixer back down to zero.

The Cougar Master and boost should definitely be effecting the model with the settings on the bass now affirmed from upping the mixer only and getting the bass to not distort.

 

If you hold the Enter button while moving the cursor in the amp block you can put the mixer block before the amp. Similar process as selecting a second amp block. Play with it till the mixer is in front.

You might be best lowering the now in front mixer block so you can get a better tone in the Cougar.

 

Mentioned before and important to note: If your headphones have been punished in the past with heavy use you might have a issue in them. But the main point with this is on the way out the speaker has to be able to handle the bottom end and if it doesn't you can be wasting time on the bass and in the HD trying to minimize what is being translated.

I would test them before getting the bass sent off etc if not done so already.

 

Thank you and i will try that. I really dont think its the headphones since theyre quite new (HD 280 pro) but will test them to be sure. Ive been researching the bass a lot (massive thread obout it on talkbass) and problems with the high output and pickup height seems the be the theme. If this doesn't work i will be selling it and buying something of better quality!
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I had a similar experience in a session yesterday. 

 

It turned out the eq controls on the dual concentric pot on a Carvin 5 string bass had been turned all the way up, clipping everything in its path.

I brought them back down to flat, problem is gone.  That bass/treble spike sent the gain structure through the roof before leaving the Carvin's output jack.

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I now know what the problem is!

If I make an completely empty patch just turning up the Mixer i get no clipping. I even could raise my pickup. When engaging just the Cougar (same settings) before the mixer I get no clipping unless i boost the bass's preamp.

 

HOWEVER when i but in another amp block the clipping comes back! It doesn't matter if the other amp block is engaged or not i get clipping. It doesn't matter which input settings i use or how i set the mixer, I get that damn clipping!

 

This must be a sign of a faulty unit?!

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I finaly think i solved it! The signal from the bass is really hot so as some of you mentioned i had to change the input to guitar/variax and i did. However the problem was still there especially when i turned of comp (second in chain). When using both amps togher on at the same time, the clipping somehow went away, and then i realised that i had the noise gate (first in chain) set up to only engage when the second distorted amp model went on. The second input to variax aparently mean you have to have a mono summing fx before the split. When it went of togheter with the second amp, the first one still got a hot signal and it clipped...

 

Im stupid and The Pod HDs internal wireing is confusing to say the least! :-)

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Please do not disparage yourself. You found the cause and that is really great!

 

How many times has something not worked only to realize it wasn't switched on.

Have you ever pulled the wiring out of a motorbike to trace the disconnection only to eventually find it was'nt connected to the battery! 

With something like the HD which does so many different functions and has a mind boggling amount of choice it is easy to overlook the obvious.

 

Look how many ways it has to change the volume. Absurdly too many!  It accounts for too many variables.

Yet what is not obvious is that with so many places to effect volume it makes sense to make a personal policy of leaving several of the settings uneffected in all patches but this doesn't always pan out when you adjust the gain and how much it effects volume. Etc ad infinitum!

 

It bamboozles some

 

To know it like the back of your hand can take a couple of years or more! LOL

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I finaly think i solved it! The signal from the bass is really hot so as some of you mentioned i had to change the input to guitar/variax and i did. However the problem was still there especially when i turned of comp (second in chain). When using both amps togher on at the same time, the clipping somehow went away, and then i realised that i had the noise gate (first in chain) set up to only engage when the second distorted amp model went on. The second input to variax aparently mean you have to have a mono summing fx before the split. When it went of togheter with the second amp, the first one still got a hot signal and it clipped...

 

Im stupid and The Pod HDs internal wireing is confusing to say the least! :-)

 

No, you're not stupid and yes the HD signal routing is indeed complicated. Nobody else here spotted what the problem was either, including me.

 

This is why I kept on and on saying "go back and rebuild your patch from nothing, one block at a time" :) Anyway, got there in the end so it's all good.

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