| Matching levels for different patches on a Pod X3 Live
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I've got a Pod X3 Live. My typical live setup since I got it is to run bass -> Pod -> FOH. My band typically runs its own PA, and we use the aux channels on the board to feed in-ear monitors.
The problem I'm having is inconsistent patches. I have a mixer at home that I ran the Pod into to try to set volume peaks for different patches so they'd match as close as possible, but when I started gigging with it that all fell apart--the different patches sat way too differently in the mix.
I've got a few different goals with the patches.
1. Most important - have different patches for different basses to keep levels the same. I want it so that I have a "Lakland" patch for my 55-02 with the on-bass EQ tweaked that is about the same volume at the FOH board as a "Corvette" patch for my passive Warwick Corvette. Obviously the "Corvette" patch would have more gain, even if the rest of the settings were the same. In practice, I'd probably use the same amp model for both, but leave the EQ flat for the Lakland patch and bump the bass and a little of the mids on the Corvette patch, to keep the Corvette from sounding kind of thin.
2. After getting the above, I'd like to set up "stompbox" effects on the Pod, so that I can use the footswitches to add chorus, overdrive, etc.
3. Nice to have--some special one-off patches for specific songs that we cover, that need some pretty wacky bass sounds. This is way down the importance list though.
So my question is, how can I get these different levels to match as closely as possible? I don't want to overload the PA by feeding it a really hot signal with one patch and a not-so-hot signal with another. I also want the different patches to sound like they're about the same volume. Does that come from gain, or careful EQ, or both? Any tips on how to set things to start, how to do the tweaking, and how to measure would be greatly appreciated. | 
