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Using Pod Go Amps and cabs into front of a valve amp


Kenny202
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I know this probably isn't a normal thing to do. I have Super Reverb so no effects loop etc. Now I know you can use the Pod Go straight into a PA using Effects / Amp / Cab sims.....but is there any reason you can't so it with my amp set very neutrally?

Normally love the sound of my amp and only want to color it with simple effects but would be cool to be able to simulate Roland Jazz Chorus for a few things. Not interested in driving the amp, just using it as amplification of the tone of the Pod. Is it ok to use amp and cab sims or amp only? How would I go about it? Anyone done something similar?
 
 
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1 hour ago, voxman55 said:

Yes, of course you can use Pod Go in front of your amp and it has a specific amp out for this. 

 

I understand that, what I was specifically asking is whether people are using them into the front of an amp using Amps and Cab sims. General school of thought is if you go into an amp you don't use an amp sim and particularly a cab sim. Just wondering if anyone is doing it

 

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Nice clean amplifier...Should work ok...I think that is an open back amp...so you might want to avoid using the cabinet/irs as they could cloud things a bit...Have a look at the preamp models...They use less DSP and are a good approach when you use a real amplifier with a modeler.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I have a PRRI tube amp with no FX loop.  Can I still use the Amp and/or Cab modeling on the Pod Go running through Guitar In and Amp Out on the Pod Go, or will this muddy the sound?  The PRRI clean sound works for most everything I play but for some songs I might like to emulate, say, a Vox AC 30.  Thanks.

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Yes. Just experiment with settings. Patches set to sound good through headphones may not always sound good through the front end of a tube amp. Create some patches specifically for your amp and you should be fine. Whether you want to use cab modelling/IR's as well as the amp model will be something to experiment with as you're going through a real amp and speakers. There are no rights and wrongs - just keep an open mind, experiment, and see what sounds good to your ears. You may find that you need to 'tame' fx including reverb & delay settings and even gain levels of any amp or distortion model, because the front end of your amp, even set to clean, will add its own 'tonal colour' and with a real cab/amp pushing real air you'll have natural room ambience which will vary depending on where you are playing.  Hence why I think you'll be better off designing purpose built patches, and toning things down to begin with.  

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I find the best thing to do is make your adjustments with headphones get them as close as you can, then switch over to the amp and EQ from there. It really depends on what you are doing. I like to use mine predominantly as effects, so I am more interested in setting delay times and such. Other guys I guess are more interested in tonal aspects of different amps etc and that is a different kettle of fish requiring flat response monitors / headphones. Like the other guys have said, play around with it. I got some great lead tones using amp cabs and I am just plugging into the front of an old school valve amp. Even cabs can sound good. Try them is the best way, you will soon find what you want.

 

I have my Pod Go for sale now. It's a nice enough unit and has all the bells and whistles etc but its too much for me. I find the Comp / EQ's don't really work for me. Distortions and OD's not keen. I also found every different effect I added some tonal color that I didn't want. If I select a delay I want it to make my natural amp sound delayed, not make it brighter, or duller etc.

I gone back to my little Nux MG-300. Good basic effects that work how I want them to and very easy to use. Dialed in everything I wanted in under an hour. I sat on the pod for days. I notice there are an awful lot of these used units for sale and the price is coming down fast. 

 

My feeling is the PodGo and similar is more suited to a person who doesn't have or doesn't want a heavy guitar amp, that can simply plug into FOH and get a simulated sound of a particular amp or wants to go DI into their DAW or recorder without mics. I already have a nice amp and want to retain its character. I personally don't think a Amp / Cab sim unit into a PA or anything else will be the same as a proper amp. It may sound similar but its never gonna feel the same. Just my thoughts of course, to each his own and whatever works best for you 

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@Kenny202 odd to hear you are finding that delays in Pod Go colour your tone as this isn't something I've encountered with headphones, through a powered speaker, or through the fx return of my amps. I wonder if this is something that is more sensitive when you go through the front of a tube amp?  

 

Interesting observation 're the NUX300 as at one time I was thinking if getting the NUX MG20. However, several things put me off. Firstly, in the UK, there is virtually no customer support and having read that quite a few units had been reported with problems, I'd be reliant on the store. Line 6 customer support was a big consideration. Secondly, as a gigging player, the NUX pedals simply didn't provide the necessary floor control without external devices. Finally, fx options in particular seemed somewhat limited.

 

Out of interest, are you a gigging player? If so, how do you manage the limited floor control of the 2 footswitch NUX300 on stage?

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I am a gigging player. I was pro stomp box set up myself and wanted that type of unit but I do not use many presets for eg 2 or 3 in one song is plenty for me. Mainly covers light rock and pop, duo stuff. So I might have my first bank set up Clean chorus, Clean boost ,Clean / Flange / Clean Boost sort of patches.....made up with different things of course. If you used more than that in one song I agree it would be a pain, like I wouldn't want to be switching to the next bank in the middle of a song. So my next patch is never more than one or two button presses away. My clean chorus patch may for eg have blocks compressor, Chorus, Delay, EQ.....the clean boost might have comp, drive, flanger, EQ, Delay......I just find its a lot easier to do it this way than tap dancing a pedal board of 6-8 pedals at once, once you get over that mindset. The next bank of 4 patches I might have set up in a similar way for a rock song, with OD rhythm, OD boost etc. So I start off in Bank 1 for a clean song, and bank 2 for a heavier song. I would have set up the Pod in the same way even though it has 6 stomp switches.

 

Not sure if the MG-20 is the same animal. The Nux MG-300 interface is brilliant intuitive and easy to use also I found. Look, not running the Pod down in anyway. I am sure in the right hands and if you have the need for many things the Pod would have many more features than the Nux. Its not hard to use once you get into it and it has a ton of connectivity which I don't need. The Nux only has one stereo output. When you talk about gigging musicians I wonder if any of these guys have actually worked dark noisy pubs, beer being spilt everywhere etc. Some of the pedal boards must have at least 20 connectors, different power supplies. It's a lonely place in the middle of a song groping around on the floor trying to find a disconnect in your cables somewhere. Maybe ok set up on a desk top at home, 4 cable methods and such. All good if you have the need, its just not for me.

 

The FX options in the Nux are limited but they work and they are good. I dialed in a Dave Gilmour lead tone in about 15 minutes. Was still searching three days later on the Pod. It may be all you can eat buffet syndrome lol. Maybe too much too choose from, get stuff you may otherwise not want out and overdo it. What I meant about the Delays etc coloring your tone too much is similar to what I have found with most multi effects units dating back to the 90's. By the time you add 3 or more effects it all starts sounding like an over processed electronic mess, to my ears anyway. I agree with something Tom Petty I think it was said. he said he had been through all the effects stuff, pedal boards etc and worked out at the end of the day there is nothing that will emulate a good guitar, with good pick ups through a good amp. I use effects to enhance the sound of my guitar / amps. I don't want them to be the be all and end all. 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 it has a specific amp out for this. 

 

My experience has been that the amp out sounds terrible into every amp I own, but your mileage may vary. Your ears, your rules.

 

Do check out the global settings and make sure you have them set up right for your application.

 

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6 hours ago, wpostma said:

 it has a specific amp out for this. 

 

My experience has been that the amp out sounds terrible into every amp I own, but your mileage may vary. Your ears, your rules.

 

Do check out the global settings and make sure you have them set up right for your application.

 

I was using amp out and global settings. Some amp / pre amp models (less cab) into the amp I found were great, Roland JC etc give my Super Reverb a whole different thing and some of the amp pre amps better than the overdrive pedals. But I have since given the podgo away and gone back to the Nux MG-300. Whole different thing I know but I just want basic effects and I find the NUX comp and EQ just work better without a lot of knob twiddling. I also find individual effects (Chorus / Flanger / Delay) etc seem to tonally color the sound too much and it all ends up an electronic mess. I want a delay to delay the signal, not add a whole lot of bright / flat / mud etc. Each to their own. I have a friend at the moment going down this route and ended up with a FRFR PA set up and yeah its flat and you get the true sound of the Podgo, but its not like a nice guitar, with nice pick ups going into a nice amp. Its kinda like putting all your focus on the effects unit rather than Guitar / amp. Might be good for recording or through headphones in stereo etc but not for me. Reminds me when I was a young bloke and we all bought cheap nasty old cars, and then spent a fortune on them trying to make them decent lol. I know these are supposed to give you many different options all in the one box rather than be stuck with a singular sounding amp but nah..Don't see a session guy turning up to a recording session or gig selecting his amp for the day from a PodGo, or HX stomp whatever.

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  • 1 year later...

Apologize for getting into this thread late but this topic seems to relate to what I'm doing.  I play both in church and in a rock band.  At church I use an FRFR feeding the Pod Go's Main Out (mono) direct. For a Rock gig I use an Ampeg BA-115 feeding the Pod Go Amp Out in the Return to bypass both the cab simulator and the amp's preamp.  For the Main Out/FRFR I use the 1x15 Ampeg B-15 Cab, assuming this is similar to my BA-115 amp.  I would like to duplicate sounds between these two setups but haven't been able to get there with this setup.

 

I have considered looking at regular guitar amps and still run through the Return.  Since I bypass the amp's preamp I was wondering if a tube amp would be better or should I just consider a solid state?  Any ideas how I can get closer to duplicating my sounds between these two setups?

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