Bass Floor Pod + passive pickups...

[Blomster]

Hey Guys.

I'm needing a bit of help with a problem I'm experiencing to do with a Line 6 Bass Floor Pod and passive pickups. I'm very new to the whole bass effects thing, so please bear with me, I'll try to make as much sense as I can

Basically, when using the floor pod, I'm finding that the number of pre-set amp models and effects I can use is extremely limited (about 2 - 5 different combinations in total). This is because any other combination simply causes my system to feedback massively, particularly the "R&D" and "Grind" amp models, and the "Deep" effect (even on very little gain, the feedback is horrendous). This effectively makes the entire unit somewhat useless to me, as many of the effects I need are simply not usable due to this awful feedback problem.

I am running a passive pickup at the moment. Could this be causing the majority of the problem? A colleague of mine suggested that the unit will work much better if my instrument was running an active pickup. Does this sound right? I'm thinking that maybe the passive pickup, combined with the pre-amp in the floor pod, is sending a signal that is too strong for the amplifier (I am bypassing the pre-amp in the amplifier - using it as a powered speaker only). Does this sound anywhere near correct?

Like I said, I am very, very new to the whole bass effects world, and learning as I go, so please forgive me if anything I've mentioned here seems confusing and doesn't make sense. I'd really appreciate any help you guys might be able to give me, I'd love to get this thing working properly and I'm keen to learn more about bass effects in the process. Thanks guys

[cybersnyder]

I haven't used the Floor POD, but I've had all the other Line 6 PODs. Passive pickups are definitely not the problem. Since you're new to this, I'll risk insulting you by mentioning that the position of the knobs is not necessarily where they are set in a stored preset. The Drive could be showing 1, while it's really set at 10.

Pick one of your problem amp models and turn down the Comp, Channel Volume and drive to see if you can get a more reasonable volume level. I assume that you are running the output of the Floor POD into the effects return of you amp.

Hope it helps...

[fenderphil]

are you running into a preamp? if so, decrease the input gain on the preamp.

or run the output of the basspod into the 'pre-amp input' on your head. that way, the only thing coloring the tone is the POD, which is what its designed for, really.

[Blomster]

Ah cool, a lot of this makes sense, thanks guys

Cybersnyder: No insult taken whatsoever. I'm learning everything as I go, so even the most basic tips/advice are extremely useful I hadn't even considered the visual vs. actual position of the knobs when changing to one of the problematic presets. I'll try adjusting the Compression, Channel Volume and Drive as you suggested, I daresay that could actually be what's causing the feedback. Thanks for the tip, I'll let you know how that goes. My amp doesn't actually appear to have an Effects Return input (it is quite an old amp), but it does have a "Main In" (seperate to the High/Low gain inputs), which I am running the Pod into at the moment. Could that be any cause for concern?

Fenderphil: Thanks for pointing that out My amp is quite old, and only has the very basic inputs/outputs - so unfortunately no Effects Return or Pre-Amp Inputs that I can see. There is however a "Main In" (seperate to the High/Low gain inputs) on the rear of the amp, which I am running the Pod into at the moment. Would that be similar to a Pre-Amp input?

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate the help. So much to learn!