In Praise of POD HD & burying my tone obsession

Grumpyrocker

I have bitched and bitched about the POD HD 500. It's got rubbish footswitches. The effects loop is horrible noisy and they attenuated it and the return to hide that. It's underpowered (as is the 500x). The signal routing is absolutely insane and takes a lot of sussing out before you know how to use it right (I do now). The rubbish effects loop and terrible signal routing make trying to get the four cable method working a real pain. The headphone out sounds very poor - but run it into a mixer then headphones and it's okay.

But...

I've been getting fed up of fiddling around trying to get sounds that work for me. I'm bored of it. I spent 15 years when my ONLY guitar gear was an Epiphone superstrat, a Korg G3, a Crybaby Wah and a Marlin solid state amp - and I gigged that regularly. Hardly play live now and I have two valve amps, two modellers and a full pedalboard of effects. I'm constantly fiddling with sounds rather than just playing. I spent more time mucking around with technology when I pick up my guitar than playing anything. This is partly due to loving tinkering with technology to be honest, but also stupid tone chasing. 

I'm fed up of GASing for new gear. A sport that seems more fueled by showing folks on forums what new gear I have than really enjoying what I have. Seems the most fun buying new gear is right up until one hits "confirm purchase" on a website. I bought a Zoom MS70-CDR a couple of weeks ago. It's great. But I'm not sure what I bought it for or how it fits into the fear I play with. £80 gone in a blink of an eye. 

When I have used my POD HD 500 with a valve amp I've tweaked the tones to death, switched off cab sims, used the pre-amp models and tried to make the device act like a real pre-amp in front of the real amp's power stage. But given how low I'm playing at home (though thanks to living in a detached vicarage I often get to crank my gear at home - which is nice) really there's no reason not to let the POD simulate a power amp too - adding some warmth - as the power stage on the real hamp is hardly cooking.

So this week - brought on by my post on the Favourite Amps thread about my old Marlin 50C (expanded in this blog post) and spending ages trying to rid my pedalboard from hum I plugged the POD HD into the power amp of my Ironheart. My only tinkering was to set the POD into Stack Power Amp mode. I selected an amp model - the Plexi at first I think - set the gain in the middle, added some reverb and delay and then played for an hour. It was fabulous. 

Did the POD give me the best sound I've ever had? No. But it sounded like a real amp, a really good amp. There was no hiss, no annoying glitches or hums. It was a super simple signal chain. Guitar > POD > Amp Head. Simple. And I just played and played for the first time in absolutely ages. I didn't worry that "I've got this great amp head here, surely I should be using its preamp" or "you spent a fortune on flashboack and hall of fame, you should be using them" or "what would people think of the rig". I just played. And it was fun. Have done the same a few times since then. Sometimes trying a different amp model each session. The Vox AC30 is nice. No idea if it sounds like a real one. Don't care. 

Ironically it's tempting me into another bit of GAS. I think I'm going to sell some pedals and pick up a Blackstar ID head. (despite my piss taking of their marketing in the past). Bored of fannying around with all manner of kit. Both for home noodling and the occasional gig. I want an amp that sounds good, doesn't need special care for its glass bottles and has some nice effects onboard. I think I've reached a point where I'm not that arsed about how amazing it may sound, given my gear history. Also like it because there's no effort to copy other amps, just offer some interesting tone options. I like effects, if I didn't then my Laney Cub12R would be the answer on its own, but I'm a geek, I like bloops and pleeps. So a modelling amp with effects might answer. 

But right now I'm having lots of fun with the POD HD. You should try one, they are great. 

dindude

Simplification of kit is good for the soul, as is GAS. Striking the right balanced is the zen like ideal.

monquixote

Lots of truth in that post, have a wisdom. 

I only tend to get the amp out at home when I've got a new pedal to play with and then I spend my time working out how to get the best sounds out of the pedal rather than learning stuff. 

Luckily I have a really low tolerance for things with lots of controls and programming (weird considering I'm a software developer) so I haven't got lost in the never ending multi fx tweaking rabbithole. When I get a multi I tend to find a chorus, trem and delay sound I like and then never touch it again. 

octatonic

monquixote said:

Luckily I have a really low tolerance for things with lots of controls and programming (weird considering I'm a software developer) 

Maybe BECAUSE you are a software developer- so much complexity in your job so your hobby has to be relatively simple.

I am frequently at the technical end of music- in gear and my playing, but it is my job.

My hobbies tend to be fairly simple- to give me that break from the complexity.

I quite like gaming but I don't like long, complex games- something I can pick up and put down suits me fine.

monquixote

octatonic said

Maybe BECAUSE you are a software developer- so much complexity in your job so your hobby has to be relatively simple.

I am frequently at the technical end of music- in gear and my playing, but it is my job.

My hobbies tend to be fairly simple- to give me that break from the complexity.

I quite like gaming but I don't like long, complex games- something I can pick up and put down suits me fine.

There is probably some truth in that, though I also wonder if it's because I have a very low tolerance for bad UI design because I know I could do better. 

I also don't like complex games, but I do tend to read fairly heavy going non fiction in my spare time.

shuikit

monquixote said:

Lots of truth in that post, have a wisdom. 

I only tend to get the amp out at home when I've got a new pedal to play with and then I spend my time working out how to get the best sounds out of the pedal rather than learning stuff. 

Luckily I have a really low tolerance for things with lots of controls and programming (weird considering I'm a software developer) so I haven't got lost in the never ending multi fx tweaking rabbithole. When I get a multi I tend to find a chorus, trem and delay sound I like and then never touch it again. 

I can definately relate to this, I'm also a software developer and have a general dislike to multi fx as I get bored of going through menus tweaking. Much prefer just to plug something in that sounds right from the start.

Grumpyrocker

Interesting stuff chaps.

I worked as a website editor (mostly in videogames) since 2009, both writing, editing copy but also helping developing CMS systems. I love messing with new tech toys. And playing with guitar gear is no different. I like technology, I like messing with menus.

I recently realised that here (and at MR) I visit the Guitar forum much less than Amps and FX. I've got some nice guitars now and really don't feel any lust for new ones. A nice Les Paul is a nice Les Paul. But when it comes to amps I could buy and buy and buy. Not for the sound, but for new features to tinker with, manuals to read, buttons to press.

I'm not a tone snob though. I've gigged (very successfully I might add) a Line 6 Spider III 75W combo. People listening to our covers set didn't give a stuff what I was playing though. 

Si_

That last point is the thing that most of us forget, we're all guitar players so we take more notice of tone and gear and things like that. 99% of gig goers (be it pubs or pro gigs) don't give a crap what gear there using, and most of the time can't tell the difference between a Line 6 Spider and a vintage 1960 Marshall Plexi and a board full of vintage or boutique pedals. 

However, on the other hand, we care what we are using, and that confidence in our gear and our tone directly influences how you play and perform. I know that the 1 time I had to gig with my backup head when there was a failure I just wasn't happy all night, however I don't think for a second anyone else cared (even the rest of the band). 

ChrisMusic

Grumpyrocker said:

... But when it comes to amps I could buy and buy and buy. Not for the sound, but for new features to tinker with, manuals to read, buttons to press.

Here is an honest man, one who knows his own soul   

Drew_TNBD

I have to have attention to detail in my job. So fuck that when using guitar gear... is a large part of the reason I never manage to settle on the Axe FX, as good as it sounded, I just didn't want to feel like I was always working!

Heartfeltdawn

Si_ said:

That last point is the thing that most of us forget, we're all guitar players so we take more notice of tone and gear and things like that. 99% of gig goers (be it pubs or pro gigs) don't give a crap what gear there using, and most of the time can't tell the difference between a Line 6 Spider and a vintage 1960 Marshall Plexi and a board full of vintage or boutique pedals. 

However, on the other hand, we care what we are using, and that confidence in our gear and our tone directly influences how you play and perform. I know that the 1 time I had to gig with my backup head when there was a failure I just wasn't happy all night, however I don't think for a second anyone else cared (even the rest of the band). 

Most professional classical musicians I know don't know about the construction of their instrument, the materials used etc etc. They focus their time on technique, practice, and playing live. The geek factor in classical music is for the music itself. They buy a cello, they buy a bow, and that's it. Because of the price of such musical equipment, they don't have backups. If that instrument sounds a bit less than they truly want, it's a case of grin and bear it. Classical music performance is way more about performance technique than tone in my eyes. 

Guitars on our level are different. We can yak on a forum about pedals and such like. We play our pub gigs. The emails hit our Inbox from Andertons and PGS with the latest amps and pedals, the credit card takes another hit, the Classifieds section gets raided again. Tone chasing happens far more than striving for better technique or performance. 

I realised this last year. All these boutique pedals, a few boutique amps, some nice guitars, and yet I was missing out on basic playing by wanking on about sounds and needing x, y, and z whilst my flatmate at the time merely got on with being a professional musician using just a cello and a bow. Her kit was worth a few thousand just like mine yet her musical options were simpler. I decided then to get rid of most of the expensive gear, get it down to brass tacks. Instead of thousand pound amps, I had two Peavey Bandits. Instead of rows of expensive pedals, I had a GT-3 and a compressor and played more than I have done for years. 

Chuffola

I'm finding the same since I got my modest THR 10 C.  I fiddle with the amp for less than 1 minute getting the rough sound I want and then I play. I'm still in the honeymoon period and I have absolutely no doubt that within weeks (days?) I'll be checking out PGS pedal demos again and investigating what guitar I need to widen my tonal range...yada yada yada.

I still think that bit is fun (and expensive!) but for now, I'm enjoying the playing, rather than the tweaking.

Fretwired

For those who use an HD500 check out the Line 6 flat response PA systems ..

Grumpyrocker

Bit pricey. I'd more tempted to buy a Behringer powered speaker.

ddlooping

Fretwired said:

For those who use an HD500 check out the Line 6 flat response PA systems ...

Yes, it is very cool, but also quite expensive. :-S
For now (I've recently acquired a HD500) I'll be going straight to the PA and use the effect return of my Mustang III for "stage" monitoring.

Fretwired

Line 6 have launched a feedback website [Line 6 Ideas] where users can ask for updates or new products - Line 6 claim they will feed this data into their product development. A smaller, lower cost flat response speaker system has been asked for by a large number of users.

http://line6.ideascale.com/

ddlooping

I've just found out something I'm not too happy with: the output option (Studio direct, Combo front, Combo power amp, etc...) apply both to the 1/4" and XLR outputs.
That means I can't set the 1/4" to Combo amp (plugged into Mustang III return) and the XLR to Studio direct (straight to PA mixer).
How stupid is that???  

Grumpyrocker

It is stupid.

However it still doesn't sound too bad if you're just using your amp to monitor it.

ddlooping

Fretwired said:

Line 6 have launched a feedback website [Line 6 Ideas] where users can ask for updates or new products - Line 6 claim they will feed this data into their product development. A smaller, lower cost flat response speaker system has been asked for by a large number of users.

http://line6.ideascale.com/

Thanks for the link, Fretwired, I have now registered and ...

Grumpyrocker said:

It is stupid.

However it still doesn't sound too bad if you're just using your amp to monitor it.

...  voted for "Dual output modes".

impmann

I believe wholeheartedly that the more options I have when playing, the less I play guitar and the more I play with the technology. 

I have more fun with a simple Telecaster than any other guitar - and I've played pretty much every genre of music on that Tele from Metal to Country... did is sound as huge as a pointy headstocked, floyd equipped, Bastard-bucker powered metal guitar... probably not, but when I played the riff to Breaking the Law the audience went just as mental.

Most of us get bogged down with worrying about the 'tone' or sound of a guitar, rather than just having fun with a guitar - after all, our audiences are just there to have fun down the local. So why not join in and stop worrying...

For the record, I play in a Punk band with a Les Paul Special into Sessionette 75, powered by an M13... and that's probably too complicated!

ddlooping

What I like about multi-effects/modelers like the HD500 is the versatility they provide, contained in a smallish enclosure.
I do not intend to spend hours tweaking sounds, I'll simply pick one or two amps I like as the basis of all my patches and add effects if and when needed.