Bass Pod XT - No sound from Bass Guitar's Active EQ

[jhart2021]

Hi all

 

I hope you can help me.

 

I bought a used Bass Pod XT this past weekend.  It seems to work fine when my Bass Guitar's pickups are set to passive. I need to pull the volume knob up the set it to passive.

 

When I push the volume knob in it activates the Active EQ (Bass & Treble).

 

That is where my trouble starts. When the Active EQ is enabled there is no sound going in or coming out.  It I crank the Volume and Channel Volume to full blast then I hear a very soft bass tone that sounds flanged.

 

I then pull out the cable from the Pod and insert it immediately in my amp and my Bass Guitar works 100%. On passive and active.

 

I then connected my Bass Guitar to a pre-amp and then the pod had sound on both settings - active and passive.

 

I plug my Bass Guitar back in to the Pod directly and it's dead when set to Active, but will play when the passive is selected.

 

I have tried a gazillion different cables and nothing worked. I fidgeted with the input jack socket, but nothing.

 

I wonder if my actives don't interfere or conflicts with something and encounters resistance? It may be that my guitar sends a signal that the pod doesn't want or some form of signal is transmitted to my guitar that makes it go silent?

 

The day before I bought my Pod XT (with the LCD screen) I played on the First Gen Bass Bod with the red LED numbering lights.  There it all worked fine when I was in active.

 

I have never encountered a problem like this.

 

And yes, the battery is brand new, and I even tried old batteries. 

 

I did everything I could think of to try before I came here.  It is specifically only a problem when I plug my Bass Guitar directly into the Pod XT and have the Active EQ enabled.

 

Has anyone here ever came across this situation?

 

I would greatly appreciate any advise.  The Pod that I bought was hardly used. And it works perfectly fine with any other guitar.

 

My Bass Guitar is a 1991 Warwick 6 String Thumb Bass NT with Bartolini Pickups.

[daveny5]

Well, if it works perfectly with other guitars then the problem must be with the bass or the connection from the bass to the POD. Are you using a balanced or unbalanced cable from the bass? Did you try the Pad switch on the POD? 

[jhart2021]

I have the bean shaped Podxt. So as far as I know there is no pad switch. I however changed the input and output settings, but that did not solve the problem.

 

I use an unbalanced cable. The manual states that my pod has an unbalanced input. Unless you think it might make a difference? I'll need to get a balanced jack to jack cable then. 

 

Someone suggested that I use a pedal and set it to bypass. This worked for a little while, but it then started fading until it was dead quiet again. I know this sounds like an impossible scenario, but it it is true. My head aches trying to figure out what might be causing this. 

 

 

[daveny5]

Did you follow these instructions from the Pilot's Handbook? 

 

6.Bass PODxt comes ready to rock for direct connection to your recording setup. If you’re connecting to a bass amp, it’s essential to let your Bass PODxt know so it gives you the best tone. Do this by pressing TUNE/ SYSTEM, then turning the SELECT knob one step clockwise. Press the button below DEST (Destination), then turn the EFFECT TWEAK knob to tell your Bass PODxt what type of amp you’re connecting to. Bass PODxt will automatically override this setting when you plug in headphones, so great headphone sound is automatic.

 

7. Select an Amp Model using the AMP MODEL knob. Set the CHAN VOL to max and the DRIVE, BASS, LO MID, HI MID and TREBLE to your heart’s desire. OUTPUT sets the, uh, output level.

 

8. Turn the EFFECTS knob to load an Effects Setup, then twist the COMPRESS and EFFECT TWEAK knobs so you’re happy with the sound. The TAP tempo button can set the speed for Delay or Mod effects.

 

25. Input Level - The NORMAL setting of this switch is appropriate for most basses with non-active pickups. If you see the CLIP light coming on, that means you’re overloading Bass PODxt Pro’s input. If that happens frequently, try the PAD setting here. This switches in input circuitry that’s appropriate for hotter signals output by some basses with active pickups, or from keyboards and other sources. For those nonbass sources you may also want to try the rear panel Line Level Input , which is a balanced TRS connection. A separate CLIP indicator shows in the display if you are clipping in the internal DSP.

 

Good luck. 

[jhart2021]

Thanks. Yes, I've done all of the above with no success. It's very unfortunate. 

 

I still have to try a balanced cable. 

[daveny5]

If that doesn't do it, you should open a ticket to Line 6 support.   Go to Line 6 and click on Contact Support.