The treadplate's "obnoxious" bass

[BaylorPRSer]

http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/quickGuide

 

Hi there.  According to the above guide, the bass that the treadplate "puts out is obnoxious".

 

Me and some buddies were rehearsing yesterday, I was plugged direct into the mixer and out through the PAs, and we all agreed that the tone needed more low end.  This was EVEN with BOTH the screamer and the amp model with the bass on 100.

 

I went ahead and put the Mid Focus EQ after the mixer, and the default settings got the tone to a place where we thought it was "good enough".  We could all hear me over the bass and a hard hitting drummer.

 

But yeah, what's your experience with the treadplate?  What are your go-to's for fixing a lack of low end in high gain or modern rock tones?  

 

Song we were playing was Slither by Velvet Revolver.  I like a bit more metal in my tone the VR guys, but just saying for context.

 

 

[hurghanico]

Both effects you applied to the amp model are bass eaters, both the Screamer and the Mid Focus EQ especially with default settings, so given your needs in the specific case I would avoid using them.

To generally obtain a different balance between the frequencies, first of all I suggest trying different mics and/or different cabs, these are certainly the most influential parameters and with the most natural results.

If you want to add an overdrive/distortion there are some models available in the category that cut the bass much less than the Screamer, for example the Tube Drive and the Line6 Drive which may be more suitable for the sound you are looking for.

Creating a patch with 2 amps with complementary sounds (one darker and one brighter) to be balanced as you prefer via the mixer block could also be a good idea.

I don't use the treadplate model often so I don't have detailed settings to suggest, but I would certainly do as suggested above to achieve the sound you describe.

 

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[silverhead]

I’ve moved this topic to the appropriate sub forum in the refreshed Tones Discussion area.

[BaylorPRSer]

On 12/8/2023 at 6:16 AM, hurghanico said:

Both effects you applied to the amp model are bass eaters, both the Screamer and the Mid Focus EQ especially with default settings, so given your needs in the specific case I would avoid using them.

To generally obtain a different balance between the frequencies, first of all I suggest trying different mics and/or different cabs, these are certainly the most influential parameters and with the most natural results.

If you want to add an overdrive/distortion there are some models available in the category that cut the bass much less than the Screamer, for example the Tube Drive and the Line6 Drive which may be more suitable for the sound you are looking for.

Creating a patch with 2 amps with complementary sounds (one darker and one brighter) to be balanced as you prefer via the mixer block could also be a good idea.

I don't use the treadplate model often so I don't have detailed settings to suggest, but I would certainly do as suggested above to achieve the sound you describe.

 

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http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/

 

This guide cautions against using dual amps and instead advocates using "dual cabs".  Would you mind sharing your experience of using 2 different for higher gain type stuff?

 

Also, funny thing.  The mid-focus eq (i tweaked it slightly at rehearsal, but not much. mainly on default settings) helped the tone at rehearsal, but then at the gig, it actually sounded better without it.  the tone actually had plenty of bottom end and too much top it (although it sounded fine once the bass and drums kicked in, so i left it as is).  i suppose it goes to show that when running direct, you have to be willing to tweak a little bit at each gig?

[hurghanico]

Perhaps the author of the guide you mentioned intended to advise against the use of 2 amps, each different from the other.
But in any case the only possible way to use dual cabs in the POD is by using dual amps, but if the 2 amps chosen are identical to each other but differ only in the mic and/or the cab it is exactly as if you were using a single amp with 2 different mics and/or cabs. The only disadvantage of this POD operation is that it consumes a lot of DSP resources and therefore few are left to add other effects, while with other more modern modelers it is possible to apply 2 mics and/or cabs to a single amp and therefore save DSP resources, to be used for other purposes.

 

Regarding mic pairings, as I already mentioned in the previous post, it makes sense to combine mics that are complementary to each other, a darker sounding mic to give strength and body by acting on the bass and mid frequencies (for example ribbon mics), and a bright sounding mic (for example dynamic mics or slightly darker condenser mics) to give definition and the degree of brightness by acting more on the high-mid frequencies.
In the mixer block it is then possible to find the best balance between the two channels created, the dark one and the bright one.
If you then try to differentiate not only on the mics but also on the chosen cabs, the tones that can be obtained become many more.

Certainly the patches for playing at gigs require different adjustments than those used at rehearsals or at home, due to the different perception of the sound at different volumes and also due to the acoustics/resonance of the environment in which you find yourself.

The Global EQ that POD is equipped with can be useful for adapting the preset sounds to different situations.

(In case you change the output system, for example from output through a real amp to direct sound, the patches to be used for each mode must necessarily be different).

 

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[BaylorPRSer]

On 12/14/2023 at 4:24 PM, hurghanico said:

Perhaps the author of the guide you mentioned intended to advise against the use of 2 amps, each different from the other.
But in any case the only possible way to use dual cabs in the POD is by using dual amps, but if the 2 amps chosen are identical to each other but differ only in the mic and/or the cab it is exactly as if you were using a single amp with 2 different mics and/or cabs. The only disadvantage of this POD operation is that it consumes a lot of DSP resources and therefore few are left to add other effects, while with other more modern modelers it is possible to apply 2 mics and/or cabs to a single amp and therefore save DSP resources, to be used for other purposes.

 

Regarding mic pairings, as I already mentioned in the previous post, it makes sense to combine mics that are complementary to each other, a darker sounding mic to give strength and body by acting on the bass and mid frequencies (for example ribbon mics), and a bright sounding mic (for example dynamic mics or slightly darker condenser mics) to give definition and the degree of brightness by acting more on the high-mid frequencies.
In the mixer block it is then possible to find the best balance between the two channels created, the dark one and the bright one.
If you then try to differentiate not only on the mics but also on the chosen cabs, the tones that can be obtained become many more.

Certainly the patches for playing at gigs require different adjustments than those used at rehearsals or at home, due to the different perception of the sound at different volumes and also due to the acoustics/resonance of the environment in which you find yourself.

The Global EQ that POD is equipped with can be useful for adapting the preset sounds to different situations.

(In case you change the output system, for example from output through a real amp to direct sound, the patches to be used for each mode must necessarily be different).

 

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He was indeed advising against using 2 amps, each different from the other.  What's your experience with using 2 different amps?  Any experience with that in a high-gain context?

 

To justify adjusting the global EQ at a gig, it would mean that you have the same issue with all your patches, correct?  For example, my metal patch was a bit trebly/harsh.  To dial that out with global EQ, I would need ALL my patches to sound trebly/harsh to justify that.  Am I understanding correctly?

[hurghanico]

On 12/15/2023 at 3:55 AM, BaylorPRSer said:

He was indeed advising against using 2 amps, each different from the other.  What's your experience with using 2 different amps?  Any experience with that in a high-gain context?

 

I tend to use single amp model setups in most cases, and have tried the 2 amp combination only a few times, and when I did I followed the guidelines I wrote in my previous post, with excellent results but nothing which made me develop a clear preference for this method, given that I obtain excellent results already with single amps.

Let's say that above all I consider the 2-amp method a way to obtain additional sounds rather than to correct problems.

 

"meambobbo", the author of the guide you linked dedicated much of his study of the POD to dual cab configurations, especially for hi gain metal sounds, which he then published.

 

I mainly play genres ranging from classic jazz to fusion to rock to blues to pop, I don't play metal even if sometimes I use typical sounds used in that genre.

Generally I let my ears guide me a lot in building and setting needed patches based on my instrument and personal touch, loudness and room acoustics.

 

As I have already said, the choice of cab and mic is the most decisive element in getting closer and obtaining the desired sound.
The great importance given to the cab and mic is made even more evident nowadays by the thriving market of cab impulse responses IRs (which are nothing more than additional cab/mic models captured in different ways) that can be purchased and added to the most modern modelers.

 

On 12/15/2023 at 3:55 AM, BaylorPRSer said:

To justify adjusting the global EQ at a gig, it would mean that you have the same issue with all your patches, correct?  For example, my metal patch was a bit trebly/harsh.  To dial that out with global EQ, I would need ALL my patches to sound trebly/harsh to justify that.  Am I understanding correctly?

 

Exactly. The Global EQ was designed specifically to adapt the sound of all your saved patches to different live contexts.
In fact, it is not a per-patch fx but it is only global, and when recording via USB it has no effect at all on the sound.

 

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