Amp out settings

[Kingdondo]

Hi Guys. Running my PG into the power amp in on my new Katana 50 2

i adjusted the global setting eq for my studio set up - SSL 2+ into Presonus E8’s and it’s tightened up the bottom end and removed some fizzyness

The Katana seems way more top end

i have just read that the global eq doesn’t work on the amp out output

Any fix other than playing with the eq preset which will lose one of the all to rare input blocks

would it be difficult for Line 6 to fix in next update

 

many thanks in anticipation 

 

[cristt]

It's true that global eq doesn't affect the amp out, which does makes sense, if you think about it. I guess that would be nice to have it optionable also for amp out, but, nevermind...

The eq block for each preset is there by default so you won't loose any of the other spare 4 blocks. So you can tweak this eq but of course you will affect also the main out (the only option being setting amp out as pre cab/IR and putting the eq after the cab, so the amp out would spill the signal before the cab hence before the eq block).

Or, you might play also with the eq (high/low pass) that is available in each cab simulation, if you have the cab sim on for amp out.

Or, the other way around, you set the eq on your ssl/presonus and make the pod go sound good for the katana.

[Northsea]

I’ve spent a week messing around and just can’t get the amp out to sound good at all into the return jack of an amp (with IR off).

 

none of the dynamics are there, lots of artificial noise, sounds very digital not organic and it sounds like there’s a blanket over the amp. I could EQ it specifically for the amp out but that would mess with FOH. 

 

I know now it’s not it’s primary function but very disappointed none the less as home use/rehearsal rooms will be my primary use with regular gigs but my main on stage monitoring would be via an amp so this is not a good solution for me. I wonder if the helix has a better amp out in terms of truer representation of FRFR tone? 

[Kingdondo]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.  Probably just wanted the best of both worlds as I run the Katana with the studio speakers 

[cristt]

19 hours ago, Northsea said:

I’ve spent a week messing around and just can’t get the amp out to sound good at all into the return jack of an amp (with IR off).

 

none of the dynamics are there, lots of artificial noise, sounds very digital not organic and it sounds like there’s a blanket over the amp. I could EQ it specifically for the amp out but that would mess with FOH. 

 

I know now it’s not it’s primary function but very disappointed none the less as home use/rehearsal rooms will be my primary use with regular gigs but my main on stage monitoring would be via an amp so this is not a good solution for me. I wonder if the helix has a better amp out in terms of truer representation of FRFR tone? 

 

amp out should be just a spill from the main out signal of the pod go, you shouldn't hear any difference, with settings on par. So if you use the main out is that better? I mean, for a problem solving test I would try to use the same speaker system, and swap between amp out and main to see if there's any difference. To do that of course you need to disable or set flat the global eq, and set the amp out not to disable the cab/IR (or if you want to test with cab disabled, just disable it in the patch). Check also for the cable from pod go to the speaker system, the main out is balanced (TRS) but amp out is not, some users here claim quite a sonic difference (non only for volume) when using TRS vs TS for main out.

[Northsea]

Appreciate the response. I think it’s a really well designed unit and am trying to be positive but...Amp out sounds the same as main out (with cab off) and both sound poor into my amps effects return.

 

It sounds better into the front of the amp to my ears into the clean channel with a bit of amp eq but still nothing like as good as the demos on YouTube etc. Somewhat fizzy, electronic and digital sounding rather than organic, nuanced and saturated. I’ve just used the presets so will experiment with my own patches and spend some time trying to dial it in but out of the box it doesn’t sound “not perfect” frankly it sounds quite bad (again to my ears) and this is my first modelling unit I’ve played valve and solid state amps with pedal boards up to this point. And into an amp effects return with the stock presets there’s just no comparison in terms of tone quality. I don’t have a pa or FRFR powered cab unfortunately to compare that. 

[cristt]

what's the amp you're using? it's rarely the case that just the presets sounds good always for every system right off the bat. You probably need some tweaking. 

[grdGo33]

20 hours ago, Northsea said:

Appreciate the response. I think it’s a really well designed unit and am trying to be positive but...Amp out sounds the same as main out (with cab off) and both sound poor into my amps effects return.

 

It sounds better into the front of the amp to my ears into the clean channel with a bit of amp eq but still nothing like as good as the demos on YouTube etc. Somewhat fizzy, electronic and digital sounding rather than organic, nuanced and saturated. I’ve just used the presets so will experiment with my own patches and spend some time trying to dial it in but out of the box it doesn’t sound “not perfect” frankly it sounds quite bad (again to my ears) and this is my first modelling unit I’ve played valve and solid state amps with pedal boards up to this point. And into an amp effects return with the stock presets there’s just no comparison in terms of tone quality. I don’t have a pa or FRFR powered cab unfortunately to compare that. 

 

Are you bypassing the Go's cab section?  If not, don't forget that the Go doesn't try to sound 'good' through your guitar Cab.  What it does, is simulate a microphone + guitar cab, and it will output that sound.  So if you output to studio monitors, it will not sound like if it was played through a guitar cab (not as a "good sounding amp in a room", it isn't trying to do that either), but as the mic would have recorded a cab's output.   So it'll sound a like a guitar on a recording, but it's not emulating just "a guitar cab".

 

If you're using a cab, you'd be better off to go through, as you said, your guitar in and go through your 'real' amp/cab.  When you're using your effects loop in, you're just, basically, playing 'directly' through your guitar speaker; and should be getting your own 'guitar cab sound'.  If your guitar cab was a 'perfect' speaker, it should sound as good as the youtube videos.  But, you're playing emulated cab+mic through your guitar cab, not something intended, or not exactly something Go is trying to do.

 

I think it's similar to using Go's headphone out to amp mp3/cd in input, to me sounded quite poor, to quote myself from another thread:

 

 

Quote

 

Just in case this might help someone.  Basically, should have been evident, but the 'best' way to plug in basically any amp without effects loop such as the Spider or whatever, is simply to bypass the POD Go's amp block and plug to guitar in.  Sure, you're losing out on the cab block of the Go, but honestly, just messing a bit with the amps and the L6, I'd recommend that.

 

If you want to use a Go with a Spider, I'd put the drive to 0, the low/mids/treble to noon, no reverb & delay (unless you're planning to use Combo's to save or Go Blocks), and completely forget that the cab block of the Go exists.  If you want, create a 'base' preset for all the L6 Spider's amp models with 0 drive & all, and that gives your different 'cab' settings.   It would have been nice to have a totally neutral sound out of the Spider, but since you're basically getting 9 cabs with a L6 Spider 3 (forget anything metal/insane, even 0 distortion = too much distortion), you're bound to find one which will sound decent with whatever you're trying to do.

 

Just playing a bit with the Go's amps + L6 Spider, honestly, it's better than I first thought.  It really does sound quite bad when you add the Go's Cab section + Spider's amp/cab, but bypassing the Go's cab, it's decent.  Probably better than the aux, plus saves you the headache of cab+mic+distance, which given that the Go is already soo complex, is a big plus. 

 

Then you can migrate to monitors and use the cabs later on, when you're familiar with the Go & want to improve your sound, but short term, probably your best bet.

 

 

TLDR.  Guitar -> Go -> Amp effect in =  Go simulated cab -> simulated mic -> out of real cab.  <-- not optimal.   Think it's better to turn off Go's simulated cab & mic and just use your real cab. 

 

Also, for the Katana, I'm not sure if there's any wizardry at the amp/speaker level, like if the amp section of the Katana (pre effects loop out) already tweaks the sound for its own power amp section & driver.  Because reading back my TLDR,  guitar -> Go (cab bypassed) -> amp effects in, should not sound any worse than the Katana's own amp section (anything before the effects loop out) if the Go's cab section is bypassed...

[Northsea]

Only way it works for me is into front of amp and using amps eq. Sounds like crud through the effects return without IR (and total mess with IR as you would expect) and yes I’ve played with it. Into front of amp is waaay better than into effects return. Which it shouldn’t be. Really. But it is. Once you know this happy days I’m having fun. 

[Northsea]

But I don’t mess about with the fiddly settings on the pod go. I just use the amps eq. Who knew! 

[voxman55]

I too don't like Pod Go or my Vox Tonelabs (SE/LE) through the FX loop of an amp, and also usually prefer it through the 'front' where the amp is set to clean.  But the problem here is that it colours the tone, and  time based effects sound bad when you switch between clean/gain channels.  You can use the 4 cable method to solve that so if you haven't yet done so you might want to try the 4-cable method that allows you to use eg the gain channel of your amp with time based FX in the FX loop.   

 

So I now don't use my MFX units through an amp.  Live, I'll go through the FOH PA, and at home I use headphones.  However, I recently got a Headrush FRFR108 which sounds terrific with Pod Go and my Tonelabs.  So if I do want to play 'amplified' with my Pod Go/Tonelabs at home, rehearsal or smaller gig where I might not have a PA option, or if I  just need a monitor, the FRFR108 fits the bill perfectly.  being Full Range Flat Response, it doesn't colour the MFX unit tone so I get a consistent tone that allows the modelling to shine through as intended.  It's also very light (only 15 lbs) and very compact, with options to direct at an angle due to its shape.  And it's incredibly loud and clear with lots of full bottom end.   I've been so impressed with it I might even buy a second one once I start gigging again!  And at under £200 (UK) these aren't expensive. 

 

 

 

 

[voxman55]

3 hours ago, Northsea said:

Only way it works for me is into front of amp and using amps eq. Sounds like crud through the effects return without IR (and total mess with IR as you would expect) and yes I’ve played with it. Into front of amp is waaay better than into effects return. Which it shouldn’t be. Really. But it is. Once you know this happy days I’m having fun. 

 

I too don't like Pod Go or my Vox Tonelabs (SE/LE) through the FX return of an amp, and also usually prefer it through the 'front' where the amp is set to clean.  But the problem here is that it colours the tone, and  time based effects sound bad when you switch between clean/gain channels.  You can use the 4 cable method to solve that so if you haven't yet done so you might want to try the 4-cable method that allows you to use eg the gain channel of your amp with time based FX in the FX loop.   

 

But I now don't use my MFX units through an amp.  Live, I'll go through the FOH PA, and at home I use headphones.  However, I recently got a Headrush FRFR108 which sounds terrific with Pod Go and my Tonelabs.  So if I do want to play 'amplified' with my Pod Go/Tonelabs at home, rehearsal or smaller gig where I might not have a PA option, or if I  just need a monitor, the FRFR108 fits the bill perfectly.  being Full Range Flat Response, it doesn't colour the MFX unit tone so I get a consistent tone that allows the modelling to shine through as intended.  It's also very light (only 15 lbs) and very compact, with options to direct at an angle due to its shape.  And it's incredibly loud and clear with lots of full bottom end.   I've been so impressed with it I might even buy a second one once I start gigging again!  And at under £200 (UK) these aren't expensive

[Northsea]

Thanks I bought a headrush FRFR-112 on your recommendation and it’s much better thanks

[arsimoes]

I miss the function to disable the amp/preamp only on the "amp out" output.  Just disabling the "IR/cabinet" is not enough to use a real amplifier along with the line-modeled signal.

[cain29671]

On 9/8/2020 at 1:21 PM, Northsea said:

I’ve spent a week messing around and just can’t get the amp out to sound good at all into the return jack of an amp (with IR off).

 

none of the dynamics are there, lots of artificial noise, sounds very digital not organic and it sounds like there’s a blanket over the amp. I could EQ it specifically for the amp out but that would mess with FOH. 

 

I know now it’s not it’s primary function but very disappointed none the less as home use/rehearsal rooms will be my primary use with regular gigs but my main on stage monitoring would be via an amp so this is not a good solution for me. I wonder if the helix has a better amp out in terms of truer representation of FRFR tone? 

 

[cain29671]

I had a similar problem with my amp.  Some users mention setting the Amp Out source to Pre Cab/IR since you are already using a real cab in the amp, then run the Pod Go output to the amp Return to bypass its preamp.  This all made sense but I got undesirable sound like you.  I still run the Pod Go through the amp  Return but set the AMP OUT Source back to Main Out.  Sound is very good.  BTW, I use an Ampeg bass amp, BA 115.