is this how you would wire this up? and 4cm trouble shooting

[lkes335]

I'm new at integrating POD's into a larger rig. so by using the 4CM I want to unlock the ability to cut my guitar amps preamp in and out... but because I have numerous other FX I like to use... I'm curious what the best way to wire this up would be...Granted I haven't done anything other than try the HD500 by itself with the amp, I haven't attempted to integrate it fully into my rig as of yet. 

 

Should I go?

 

Guitar -> Volume pedal - > Wah - > HD500 guitar in -> HD500 FX out -> Distortion pedals/compressor -> Amp in - > Amp FX out -> EHX POG 2 -> Diamond Tremolo -> HD 500 FX in-> HD 500 output - > Line 6 DL4 (looping only) -> Maxon AD999 -> Amp FX in
 

Or do I put the POG/Diamond trem after the HD500 and before the DL4? The DL4 and the AD999 must be last in my chain due to how I use them. Essentially I put the HD500 in the signal chain the same place that all the FX that it's replacing were. 

 

 

 

As well, i must have the 4CM hooked up wrong or setup wrong, as when I was testing just the HD500 and my amp I ran into a few troubleshooting spots I don't know how to fix. I must not understand whats going on... I'm pretty sure I have the HD500 wired up correctly, but the problem I run into is with the FX loop setup and placement.

 

I tested that the FX loop is for sure bypassing my amp. As when I click on the FX loop I am loosing the sound of the guitar amp (distortion channel disappears). however, when I switch the FX loop back on I head a mixture of both the amp tone and the amp tone of the HD500. Seeing as how I'm wanting to use the HD500 for mostly clean tones this is where I'm getting roadblocked in fully integrating it into my setup.

 

Another minor curiosity is the huge change in how my amp's volume controls work now. My clean tone volume, which I normally need to run around 12:00 to be heard in my band I now had to drop to 8:00. My distortion channel I had to crank the volume past 1:00 which is odd because it's usually at 10:00. I have the mater volume of the HD500 at full volume, guitar in switch set at "normal", 1/4" out set at line level (top panel), FX loop switch set to stomp. 

 

 

[JaseFIJo]

There are quiet a few guides on the 4CM if you look in the knowledge base.  My personal opinion is it's not worth the hassle, unless you are really picky about your tone and as you say you are running clean sounds the amp pre amp may not colour the POD preamp too much.  Live most punters would not know the difference of having for example a reverb after the pre amp or not so it really come down to what you like for recording I think 

 

As for the volume level the only consist way I've been able to resolve this is hook the POD up to a DAW (or similar using a USB) I use Reason and match the amp/mixer out level using the big VU/Peak meter, if you pan to centre they should both be the same, if you start using left and right they'll differ.  I try and target about -12dB on VU for a clean un fx'd tone and then things like boost, tube, comp etc can they sit about this but don't target over 0dB, peak should then float around without clipping.  Remember running additional kit will drop levels so on the FX send/rtn block you can boost the levels in dB out and in to the pod to balance the volume with the amp you just have to mess with it.  Run  your guitar>amp pre amp>power section then run guitar>pod>fxloop>power section and adjust the send rtn levels to make the sound volume about the same without adjusting the amp level.

 

You need lots of spare time to set this up and get consistent levels and volume - so have fun 

[dbagchee]

The FX send has a pretty big level drop going out so that's probably why you're having to crank the amp more.

 

Does your amp have a parallel or series fx loop? You want series (parallel blends the fx with the amp signal so that might be why you're hearing both).

 

Here's how I run 4CM - there are a lot of variations but I've found this to be most consistent with all of my amps. It is kind of a hassle!

1. Move mixer block to the end of the the signal chain
2. Add the FX block into the middle
3. Just before the FX block put a studio eq with the gain set to +6db (this compensates for the level drop on the fx send)
4. In the mixer block pan to center keep path A volume at 0 and mute path B
5. Set FX send level to "amp"
6. Keep return level at 0
7. For output you have two options (which I toggle between from gig to gig):
   1. Set output level to amp and set the output volume knob on the pod to max - control your final volume with amp master volume
   2. Set output level to line (careful this can be loud) and use the pod master volume as your master volume. This option is nice if you amp doesn't have a master volume too.

This should be a good starting point. There are a couple of other options to play with but this should get you with a clean base sound. In my setup I keep my amp on the dirty channel and setup patches that omit the FX block and use the amp modeling for clean sounds. Works pretty well though I always feel like something is lost between all that cable and level setting vs plugging straight in - I don't know if it's just my imagination or not though :D