imannoyed Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Ok, This is noob question but I have seen some very detailed setups for pod hd connections for Amps. What I usually do is connect guitar to guitar input Connect output left (mono) to the guitar in on amp. Change the setting to live on back of pod. Change the setting to stack front or combo amp front (depending on what rehearsal room I am in ) Sometimes it sounds good , sometimes it doesn't . What is the reason for the 3 cable and 4 cable methods of connecting to an amp? If it can give me a better sound I am all for it but unsure of why people are doing this. Please forgive my lack of knowledge in guitar amps . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Must add... I like to use my hd400 on patch mode. I use the distortions and fx etc from the pod. I just want to use the amp for the overall volume of the pod . I won't be using any amp fx or distortions. Am I better going into amps power amp input instead of normal guitar jack? Apologies again for this question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 4 cable method allows you to use the amps preamp section as well as the power section. Your POD provides pre effects before the amps preamp and post effects between the amps pre and power sections. If you just want to use the amp for the power section then use the power amp input as you are from the left POD out (stay away from the amps guitar input if you have a power section in option). Now you will use the POD for all your effects and amp/cab modeling. You probably should not be switching output modes based on venue, those should only change based on your gear. Once you settle on a choice that sounds good for your gear, stick with it and use EQ for venue adjustments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 4 cable method allows you to use the amps preamp section as well as the power section. Your POD provides pre effects before the amps preamp and post effects between the amps pre and power sections. If you just want to use the amp for the power section then use the power amp input as you are from the left POD out (stay away from the amps guitar input if you have a power section in option). Now you will use the POD for all your effects and amp/cab modeling. You probably should not be switching output modes based on venue, those should only change based on your gear. Once you settle on a choice that sounds good for your gear, stick with it and use EQ for venue adjustments. I don't really understand the 4 cable method to be honest, I need to take some lessons on pre & post fx loops etc. The other method , (power amp) seems more like what I will try next. So I put guitar in guitar input on pod as usual & instead of putting the jack in guitar input on amp, put it in power amp jack? Should the back switches still be set to live & amp? Just to be clear...does the current way I use it mean that I am using all of the pod fx and modelling etc but also going through the real pa pre amp which causes the quality to decrease ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Just to be clear...does the current way I use it mean that I am using all of the pod fx and modelling etc but also going through the real pa pre amp which causes the quality to decrease ? Yes, you are using everything in the POD and then also running it through everything in the amp which can color your tone. Stick with the power amp in. Keep your switches the same I believe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Also meant to say it's not the room that changes what settings I use , they have stacks in one room and combos on the other. It is confusing me though as I thought that if you chose whatever amp>front that it would adjust accordingly & give similar results to pluggin into the power amp and selecting that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Yes, you are using everything in the POD and then also running it through everything in the amp which can color your tone. Stick with the power amp in. Keep your switches the same I believe... Ah ok...so I take it the amp>front option just tries it's best to limit the modelling. Thanks for your patience... I just enjoy playing my guitar never been too clued up on the amp fx side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjnette Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 What you are doing can work, just like plugging a pedal before an amp except the HD has a pre amp before the pedals. Which makes two pre amps at work which can add noise and effect response. Ideally you only need one pre amp. Do try out the 4CM for ultimate options. You can choose one or the other but not both. The way you are doing it is also fine as some combos don't have send returns on the amps and you can choose in the menu Direct or combo. Combo works closer to studio direct if you roll off lots of top end down the to mids and a few db off the bottem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhorell Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I have been using Amp Pre models (hd500x) alone with no cab sim into my tube amp's effects return to use the power amp section only.. I had great result! similar to those DT patches.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 I have been using Amp Pre models (hd500x) alone with no cab sim into my tube amp's effects return to use the power amp section only.. I had great result! similar to those DT patches.. How many cables does this way take & I take it I would have to recreate all my patches ? Is there not a way of modifying all patches at once? To be honest I think I I'll try the power amp method next as i can understand it's bypassing the amps pre amp. I don't really understand the 4 cable method or fx return . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstar1960 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 How many cables does this way take & I take it I would have to recreate all my patches ? Is there not a way of modifying all patches at once? To be honest I think I I'll try the power amp method next as i can understand it's bypassing the amps pre amp. I don't really understand the 4 cable method or fx return . The 4 cable method allows you to use your amps pre-amp as another pre-amp selection as part of the POD. If you don't like your amp's pre-amp or simply don't need it or prefer the pre-amps available on the POD then you don't need to bother with the 4 cable method. You can use the POD to just do fx which would typically be placed in front of an amp - and you can then use it going into the guitar in on your amp. If you want to use the POD's amp modelling then it's best to bypass your amp's preamp and go straight to the power amp in on your amp. Guitar into POD input - POD output into power amp in - just two cables needed. Hope that helps clarify things for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhorell Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 How many cables does this way take & I take it I would have to recreate all my patches ? Is there not a way of modifying all patches at once? To be honest I think I I'll try the power amp method next as i can understand it's bypassing the amps pre amp. I don't really understand the 4 cable method or fx return . one cable from pod to amp effects return and another from guitar to pod. I use hd500x edit to create my patches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 The 4 cable method allows you to use your amps pre-amp as another pre-amp selection as part of the POD. If you don't like your amp's pre-amp or simply don't need it or prefer the pre-amps available on the POD then you don't need to bother with the 4 cable method. You can use the POD to just do fx which would typically be placed in front of an amp - and you can then use it going into the guitar in on your amp. If you want to use the POD's amp modelling then it's best to bypass your amp's preamp and go straight to the power amp in on your amp. Guitar into POD input - POD output into power amp in - just two cables needed. Hope that helps clarify things for you. Ok so I finally got round to playing my guitar, I looked at 3 or 4 of the amps in the rehearsal rooms and couldn't find power amp input, I checked smaller combo to the larger stacks. What does the power amp input usually say? I don't want to damage anything as this isn't my equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstar1960 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Ok so I finally got round to playing my guitar, I looked at 3 or 4 of the amps in the rehearsal rooms and couldn't find power amp input, I checked smaller combo to the larger stacks. What does the power amp input usually say? I don't want to damage anything as this isn't my equipment. Actually it is often labelled fx loop return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpsim7 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 If you do not have an fx loop return or power amp in jack on your amp,you can use the clean channel of your amp and set all eq settings to a 12:00 flat position,you can also use the aux cd/mp3 input if you have this on your amp that will bypass the preamp section in your amp and is something like running your signal path through the fx return loop and or power amp in that are on other amps that have these fx loop jacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 If you do not have an fx loop return or power amp in jack on your amp,you can use the clean channel of your amp and set all eq settings to a 12:00 flat position,you can also use the aux cd/mp3 input if you have this on your amp that will bypass the preamp section in your amp and is something like running your signal path through the fx return loop and or power amp in that are on other amps that have these fx loop jacks. What output should I use on pod hd400? It is just dead when I try the fx return on amp only seems to work going in to main amp input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imannoyed Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 I think in going to have to use this pedal as fx only. I can't seem to get the distortions sounding good, nothing seems to cut through & it varies wildly from amp to amp. Probably a lot of it down to my inexperience, but the actual amp distortion sound better to me. I'm not sure of best way to tackle as I have a few banks of presets made up depending on song. I'm assuming I could still keep them and when it's in fx only mode (for my distortions) I would have to do some double footwork. It's either that or stomp box mode.... Can you get the pod hd400 to trigger the amp distortion in stomp box mode? I just don't like the idea of having the pod & another floor switch in front of me... Too much space between pedals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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