Wah pedal reassignment?

[Numbat]

Hello all,

I'm considering getting a Pod Go as my very first digital multi FX unit. 

One of the YT videos I've seen that came out around the time of release mentioned how you can't reassign the wah pedal within a patch to a different effect.

Is this still the case or has it been changed in a firmware update?

I'd like to have two overdrive pedals (overdrive and distortion) going into the amp sim, as well as a compressor, so would like to be able to reassign wah to something else.

[voxman55]

The fixed blocks in Pod Go cannot be changed. You can choose eg wah type but you cannot change the wah to something else.  There is loads of info available on this, but the amount of DSP used in total by the fixed blocks (wah, volume, eq, noisegate, fx loop etc) is very small and not enough to power other fx. Think of the DSP used by all of those as a tennis ball, and each of your other fx as a football. You can't fit a football into a tennis ball. 

 

You can have up to 4 user fx on top of the fixed blocks and amp/cab block so you can choose 2 distortions and a compressor and potentially a further fx.  But that is UP TO 4 user fx...if you choose amp and fx models that are very DSP hungry, you might only have enough DSP power for 3 user fx. But Pod Go is designed so that most of the time you should be able to select 4 user fx blocks. Don't forget that you can also add one or more external pedals into the Pod Go fx loop, which will give you more fx options if you need it. So if you have a favourite distortion or compressor pedal of your own, you can use these. 

 

There are lots of threads here on DSP usage, including links to a table by Benvesco that shows you the DSP cost of amp and fx selections. 

 

Although Pod Go uses Helix  modelling, it is a Pod and not a Helix. So if you want greater processing power then you need to look at a Helix unit e.g. Helix floor, LT, Stomp, Stomp XL.  If you just want fx and not amp/cab modelling then Helix FX is a good option. 

 

But the Helix units have pros/cons e.g. Helix floor and LT offer a lot more power and features, but these are big, heavy units, and are much more expensive. HX Stomp/Stomp XL have no expression pedal, HX FX has no amp modelling or expression pedal. 

 

The Pod Go has the nicest display of any if these IMO, and it's 'form factor' including size, weight, number of footswitches, built in expression pedal, and overall features, are what have made Pod Go so attractive to customers.  

 

So it's a matter of researching carefully to choose the best product option for your needs at the right budget, and accepting that each option has pro's and con's and accepting and adapting to any limitations.  

 

 

 

 

[Numbat]

Thanks for the clarification Voxman55.

As I explore this new world more I'm learning more and more about it.

I think the Pod Go will still suit my needs. If I need two flavours of distortion in a patch I'll just make the amp dirty and boost it with a drive pedal. 

To be honest, most of the time I'm switching between a clean sound and a classic rock kind of sound, so four assignable effects blocks should do the trick. 

And I was reading that you can move the order of effects around too, which is good because I would want one patch to to be an ambient clean tone only, but with a compressor before the amp and a chorus, delay and reverb after the can so that should be fine.

From the research I've done, the Pod Go seems to be the best option for a simple to operate unit for a first time user like me. Unless someone tells me otherwise, i'll be picking one up very soon to use in my weekly covers band gigs.

 

[SiCantwell]

I use amp simulators for just about all of my distortions. I'm mostly looking for classic rock sounds and bluesy crunch, and I find the amp models work best for me.

Of course, everyone is different and I'm not playing heavy metal.

[Numbat]

Yeah the more I learn about the Pod Go the more I can imagine how I would use it.

I have fairly modest tone requirements and reckon amp sims would be the way to go. 

Something like a Fender Princeton for a clean tone, a Vox for crunch and maybe an Orange for dirt/distortion. 

Add a drive or a boost to each patch and I should be good to go.

Are there any particular amp sims that you recommend?

And do the sims have reverb (like the original amps would) or do you have to add a reverb pedal to an effects blocks?

 

[voxman55]

1 hour ago, Numbat said:

Yeah the more I learn about the Pod Go the more I can imagine how I would use it.

I have fairly modest tone requirements and reckon amp sims would be the way to go. 

Something like a Fender Princeton for a clean tone, a Vox for crunch and maybe an Orange for dirt/distortion. 

Add a drive or a boost to each patch and I should be good to go.

Are there any particular amp sims that you recommend?

And do the sims have reverb (like the original amps would) or do you have to add a reverb pedal to an effects blocks?

 

 

You have to add a reverb in the fx block. For cleans and breakup I like Fender Blackface, Bassman, and Deluxe, and Vox AC30 and Soldano. 

 

The latter is a less obvious one that frankly never occurred to me, but building on an idea from someone else, I created a single versatile patch I made with it that includes cleans, chorus, reverb, delay, and different gain levels and a distortion pedal.  

 

You can get the patch to try yourself here, which includes a description of each 'snap' :  https://line6.com/customtone/tone/5101684/

 

I also made a very simple demo of it here (starting with cleans, breakup, and working up to mild overdrive and then rock crunch:

 

 

 

[Numbat]

Thanks I’ll check it out.

[JeffM12]

You can do a workaround that essentially bypasses the Wah, even though it's "on".  Then you can assign EXP1 to a different effect.

 

 

Select the Wah.  click the both page buttons at the same time.  click the bypass / control button.   

 

set the following - using the knobs:

 

parameter = bypass     switch = none

parameter = position    controller = exp1       min value = 0   max value = 100

parameter = mix            controller = exp1       min value = 0   max value = 0

parameter = level          controller = none

 

 

now when you click the toe switch by pressing down on the volume / wah pedal, you will turn on the exp1 pedal with a completely dry mix so the Wah is gone.

This will allow you to go to any effects parameter on any of the other effects and assign exp 1 to control it without the Wah sound getting in the way.

 

[voxman55]

On 12/18/2022 at 4:58 AM, JeffM12 said:

You can do a workaround that essentially bypasses the Wah, even though it's "on".  Then you can assign EXP1 to a different effect.

 

 

Select the Wah.  click the both page buttons at the same time.  click the bypass / control button.   

 

set the following - using the knobs:

 

parameter = bypass     switch = none

parameter = position    controller = exp1       min value = 0   max value = 100

parameter = mix            controller = exp1       min value = 0   max value = 0

parameter = level          controller = none

 

 

now when you click the toe switch by pressing down on the volume / wah pedal, you will turn on the exp1 pedal with a completely dry mix so the Wah is gone.

This will allow you to go to any effects parameter on any of the other effects and assign exp 1 to control it without the Wah sound getting in the way.

 

If you don't want the wah on if you toe down, why not just save the patch with the wah turned off?