POS GO

[Flipper124]

I figure before I bring this nightmare back to the store, I would try to see what everyone else on here thinks about the Pod go. 
I am quickly realizing that I'm just too old to buy stuff like this.   This is very frustrating.  I watched about a hundred tutorials and I still can't figure any of this out.
I still can't even find the software or whatever it is to create the sounds.   It's not in support, it's not in software, it's not in custom tones.   But I keep seeing sounds to buy.  I don't get it.  
Why aren't the sounds INSIDE the thing?    Isn't that what we bought? 

First things first.  Can someone PLEASE tell me how to turn off this god damned blinking red light.  It's driving me insane.   

These companies have SOME balls!!  They sell you an expensive box that makes sounds, but if you want all of the sounds that go in there, you have to spend MORE money.   Doesn't everyone want everything that's available for it?   How much would THAT cost?

Are there some kind of cheat codes to figure out what the hell these people are talking about?!   The Marshall isn't called Marshall.

There are weird cutesy nicknames for everything.   If the amps and other stuff aren't called the correct names, how do you find anything?     

[phil_m]

First of all, if this the first modeler you’ve used, you going to have to be a little patient. It’s generally not to hard to get the hang of it, but there’s going to be some learning curve just to understand the UI bad concepts around it.

 

All the software you need to download and install comes in a single installation package with POD Go Edit. It can be found here: https://line6.com/software/

 

You can actually turn off the tap tempo LED if you like by going to Global Settings>Switches/Pedals and on the last page of that menu, selecting Off or Tempo Panel for the Tap Display parameter.

 

You don’t need to buy any premium presets or IRs to make things work. Those are really just shortcuts, or ways to get particular tones. But they definitely aren’t a requirement. All of the real names of the models can be found in the manual. They aren’t permitted to display them on the unit itself for legal reasons. Basically all the Marshall models have the word “Brit” in their name, though.

 

 

[silverhead]

Not trying to be rude, but you would really benefit greatly by reading the manual to get a general understanding of how things work. And yes, the sounds are indeed inside the thing. As phil_m said, you don’t need to buy anything else.

https://line6.com/support/manuals/podgo

 

[voxman55]

@Flipper124 Trust me, if I'm 64 and can suss Pod Go out, you should have no trouble!   As has been said, you don't need to spend a penny more - everything you need is in Pod Go.  If you read about people paying for patches or IR's ignore it. There are a ton of free patches on Custom Tone, and I wouldn't worry about IR's for now - get your head around the basics first.  Even when you are ready to play around with IR's (and you don't need these anyway) there are tons of good free ones available anyway.

 

When using Pod Go you can select & set everything from Pod Go itself - you don't need software.  But I strongly recommend you install Pod Go Edit, connect your Pod Go via the supplied USB lead to your computer, open up Pod Go Edit and then you can do everything from there - it makes things much easier and quicker. 

 

First things first - you MUST invest some time to read the manual.  Although some things are obvious, a lot isn't.  Pod Go is a pretty sophisticated bit of kit so it will take you a little while to get your head around how it works and how to do certain things.  Have you used MFX units before - if so, which ones?   

 

With older MFX, like my Vox Tonelab SE, I can choose 1 amp, 1 cab, 1 each of a reverb, delay, modulation, and 1 pedal effect (eg tubescreamer). Because my choices are 'fixed' there's never a processing issue so within those constraints I can have what I want. But, I can't have eg 2 delays or 2 distortions, and my amp choice is limited to 16 models, FX choices are similarly limited. Modern MFX give you way more choice as to how you want to use your DSP allowance - but it also means some compromises or trade-offs.

 

Modern units like Pod Go give you a ton of choices (some would argue too many!) and there's a lot of processing power (DSP = digital signal processing)  (not as much as a Helix, but still a lot) but it has a limit of how much it can process.  Because of the detailed modelling some FX and amp models use a lot more processing power than others.  So although you can have UP TO 4 user FX, if you've selected models that use up a bigger chunk of your DSP 'allowance' then by the time you add a 4th FX (in extreme cases a 3rd) you might find that some options are 'greyed out' or not listed.  That just means they need more processing power to run than you've got left. Things like 'jumped amp' models and spring reverbs use up a lot of DSP allowance. 

 

Pod Go has been designed so that most of the time you can have exactly what you want, but not all the time.Think of it like going shopping - you have £20 but if you've only got £3 left after choosing some things, you can't buy something that costs £5 - unless you put something else back or change if for something a bit cheaper.   

 

Unfortunately, Line 6 doesn't show how much each model 'costs' you as a percentage of DSP - but there's a wonderful guy called Ben Vesco who's created tables for all the different Line 6 units, including Pod Go, that shows you.  So a 'jumped Marshall' might cost you nearly 41% and a spring reverb 34% of your allowance - this would only leave you 25% left. But a room, plate, hall reverb etc would be less than 14% and a non-jumped Marshall Plexi would be under 35% and something like a Line 6 Litigator (a very 'Dumble' like amp model) would only cost under 22%.  You get the idea - so there's a ton of choice and there's always cheaper alternatives to amp/fx that sound very similar.    

 

See here (you need the Pod Go column):

 

https://benvesco.com/store/helix-dsp-allocations/

 

It also gives you the amp or FX unit that every model is based on - but that's in the manual too, for example:

 

 

Once you've got your head around what's in a patch and how to tweak parameters in each FX and amp model, and you get a feel for the different cabinet and amp types (you can play around to your hearts content with the cab you want, the mic type and how far away to place the mic and various other tweaks), you can move onto 'snapshots'.  Snapshots are just a 'version' of your patch - so you can't change the amp or FX you've selected in your patch - but you can change any settings of the amp/fx you like and switch fx on/off. 

 

So, lets say you chose an amp, a cab, a distortion pedal, a reverb, a delay, and a modulation.  In snapshot 1 you might want to set your amp for low gain, you want the reverb on, but delay, distortion and modulation off.  In snapshot 2 you decide you want more crunch so you up the gain a bit and add some low gain distortion. In snap 3 you rack up gains and add delay for a lead tone, and in snap 4 you add your modulation.  So, in one patch you can have 4 variations to tailor as you want.  Hell, some folk can do a whole gig this way with just one patch!  

 

You can also set footswitches in different ways eg to turn on/off multiple pedals.  There's just so much you can do - BUT the key thing is to walk before you can run.  Pod Go is a cracking piece of kit - but you need to read the manual and watch the Line 6 vids to learn your way around.  After that come & ask and we can help you with stuff plus there are loads of other forums and facebook Pod Go pages you can join that can all help you to.  

 

Think of this as just like buying your first car but you need to learn to drive it first and to understand how all its controls and gadgets work before you can really enjoy driving it and push that baby to see what it can do! 

 

 

 

[SiCantwell]

This is all good advice, Flipper124. Just read the manuals all the way through, both the owners manual and the edit guide, which is about the computer-based editing software.

https://line6.com/support/manuals/podgo/

I create all my own presets and keep them simple.

I do all my editing on the computer because it's easier.

Stick with it! The fact that you have so many options is what makes the Pod Go fun to work with once you're familiar with it.

[spaceatl]

Knowledge is $....You could; take the time needed read & comprehend the manual to fully understand how GO is designed to work, buy presets from guys that have done that and get their interpretation of certain types of tones....or go with what you know...nothing wrong with that...good luck.