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Bass POD Pro LIVE XT...Real World Review

#81
tombowlus said:
Interesting. So it's not as common to use DI's or preamps anymore?

Tom.
Click to expand...

Tom,

I ALWAYS DI the bass and I have gotten to where I DI the Guitars (Both accoustic and Electric). I own a LINE 6 Vetta 2 as well as quite a few other pieces of Line 6 gear. I wish that I could love the Variax Bass but not this generation of it so far...I have not tried the 5 string but I heard it is a bit better....I own an amber Variax I don't know when I have a done a project that did NOT use Amp Farm for something and we typically wind up using the Vetta for almost all of the guitars and then go back and reamp as well. From what I know of my contemporaries this practice is fairly universal at this point. A simple case of too many "choices" I guess. I still prefer to put a good mic on a good amp and go but that just doesn't happen that much anymore. Budget constraints prevent a LOT of people from bringing in a bunch of guitars and amps like they used to. All in the name of progress I guess....

Peace,

T
 
#82
tommixx said:
Tom,

I ALWAYS DI the bass and I have gotten to where I DI the Guitars (Both accoustic and Electric). I own a LINE 6 Vetta 2 as well as quite a few other pieces of Line 6 gear. I wish that I could love the Variax Bass but not this generation of it so far...I have not tried the 5 string but I heard it is a bit better....I own an amber Variax I don't know when I have a done a project that did NOT use Amp Farm for something and we typically wind up using the Vetta for almost all of the guitars and then go back and reamp as well. From what I know of my contemporaries this practice is fairly universal at this point. A simple case of too many "choices" I guess. I still prefer to put a good mic on a good amp and go but that just doesn't happen that much anymore. Budget constraints prevent a LOT of people from bringing in a bunch of guitars and amps like they used to. All in the name of progress I guess....

Peace,

T
Click to expand...

Interesting stuff, Mike and Tom. It sounds like the modelling options are pretty prevalent in the big studios, and not just for guys with Pro Tools LE systems (like me!). Back when I used to record in a professional studio (or down at the Recording Workshop), it seemed that just going into a nice board was oftentimes the best option, but it has been a while (that was back in the early 90's!).

Take care, Tom.
 
#83
tombowlus said:
Interesting. So it's not as common to use DI's or preamps anymore?

Tom.
Click to expand...

Oh no, I still use a DI. I actually send two or four signals to the board. depending on the gig. A DI, a POD patch, a SansAmp channel and sometimes a live mic'd speaker. Then there are options later during rough mixing.

What I see, is the use of POD's over amps in the studio more than ever both on the bass and guitar sides but FAR more on the guitar side.

I am doing pre-production on some songs we got from a handful of Nashville songwriters and I am demoing them with a Line 6 Variax 700 guitar, PODXT Live board, my Sadowsky's, Bass PODXT Live board, SansAmp RBI pre and a Radial DI.

When we actually start recording I am already planning on NOT using real amps. The POD stuff just sounds toooo good and it is far faster and easier to work with. Wham bam, great tone.
 
#84
1 week since i got my live at last, honestly, i hurt my back one time while tweaking this thing, i gotta find a good spot to sit, tweak, and meanwhile play and listen to my bass tone

its like play tweak play tweak play tweak, and now i only got 8 presets, my own presets, well some from original i snapped them and customize them a little bit

its makes me so tired , and line6 havent release their tweaking software, which i believe it would be far easier to tweak on the computer.

And the sad things is, everyone in line6 forum doesn't help, they only complain about the unreleased software, and the other site i found either use basssmith which cost around 50 bucks, or, a dead forum. Well comparing my friend who have vox tonelab se, the pod forum are like one year un-updated. T_T so sad i wish i could exchange patches or listen to people's advise about patching, but till now i cant find the place yet
 
#85
How many tones do you need? I bought a Bass PodXT on Monday (having done a fair amount of earlier research online and having tried it at the shop a few days earlier) and I'm very pleased with it.

I know there's a massive amount for me still to learn about this and I agree that there's not as much online information as one might like about setting tones. However, I probably wouldn't learn as quickly by just downloading other people's set ups as I will be tweaking myself (and, from some of the threads here and elsewhere, I get the impression that what works in one gear set up might need adjustment to fly with another set of equipment).

What I've done to get myself moving foward is to set some definite goals for what I want to achieve. I bought the Pod because my little Zoom multiFX was finally starting to play up (after years of reliable service). Therefore, my first task has been to create similar sounds to the two main patches I used on there (a mellow chorusy pad and an aggressive distorted tone).

By experimenting, I've got some good starting points (as well as a new tone to play with that's similar to the Fish preset but with less FX) and will get to test them in a live environment on Sunday. Three tones will be more than enough to try, evaluate and further tweak depending on the results - if you've got eight that are useable, I think you should consider yourself well ahead of the game! :)

Wulf
 
#86
I have seen a few threads that might have benefitted from this thread so I am going to bump it to make it easier to find....

BTW - I am still using the Bass POD XT Live and I have also picked up a POD XT Live for my guitar work as well....


Peace,

T
 
#89
Sean Baumann said:
Hey Tommixx, do you use the pod xt live for your live sound, or only recording?
Click to expand...

I use it for both. I really like the guit*r version (on gtar of course!) better for live use though. It is a shame that gtar players have a LOT more options than we do out there but this is one department that Line 6 really has nailed. The Bass POD XT Live is probably the best thing out there in its class but there are a number of things I would do to make it better! I can only hope that over time some of the things I'd like to see will become incorporated into future models. In fact, since I initially wrote this post, one of the things I thought about has already happened. You can buy a POD XT Live (Gtar version) and ADD bass cabs and amps etc through an upgrade. To me, this makes more sense because I would like to see 1 platform that you can add to as necessary depending on your situation. I have upgraded my POD XT Live and can use the same 1 while doing tracking/overdubs without having to lug around 2 different ones! The bass amps and cabs come from the Bass POD and not the Bass POD XT Live (which I prefer) but they are still good for the most part. If I could have BOTH a POD XT Live AND a Bass POD XT Live in the SAME unit, that would be A W E S O M E for what I do with them!!!!

Peace,

T
 
#90
Tommixx
A few pages back you and another person said that the effects set leave something to be desired. Now that you have used the BPXTL for several months, do you still think this is the case? Or have you found satisfactory ways to tweak them? The ability to load all my song settings once then just switch from bank to bank/patch to patch sounds good to me. I'm not very picky about the chorus, flange and phase effects but are the synths and wahs really that bad? I am especially interested in hearing about the manual wah. I already know that I will keep my Whammy and a couple of distortion boxes. I don't want to have to add a Morley DBW to it.

Thanks
 
#91
syciprider said:
Tommixx
A few pages back you and another person said that the effects set leave something to be desired. Now that you have used the BPXTL for several months, do you still think this is the case? Or have you found satisfactory ways to tweak them? The ability to load all my song settings once then just switch from bank to bank/patch to patch sounds good to me. I'm not very picky about the chorus, flange and phase effects but are the synths and wahs really that bad? I am especially interested in hearing about the manual wah. I already know that I will keep my Whammy and a couple of distortion boxes. I don't want to have to add a Morley DBW to it.

Thanks
Click to expand...


I still feel more or less the same way, unfortunately.....BUT I have a bit of good news here. IF you pick up the (GTAR) POD XT Live you can ADD the bass amps/cabs of the Bass Pod AND have all the GREAT EFX that are in the POD XT Live......I know that sucks but that is the way it is right now....I have added these Model Packs to my POD XT Live and I dig it!

Peace,

T
 
#92
syciprider said:
Tommixx
A few pages back you and another person said that the effects set leave something to be desired. Now that you have used the BPXTL for several months, do you still think this is the case? Or have you found satisfactory ways to tweak them? The ability to load all my song settings once then just switch from bank to bank/patch to patch sounds good to me. I'm not very picky about the chorus, flange and phase effects but are the synths and wahs really that bad? I am especially interested in hearing about the manual wah. I already know that I will keep my Whammy and a couple of distortion boxes. I don't want to have to add a Morley DBW to it.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hey tommixx,

I sent you a PM about whether you would be so kind as to share your patches with the greater world - would love to see your tweaks if you could dump them to a POD file.

I have been playing with the effects quite a bit and leaving the amps alone (gotta start somewhere). My thoughts:
- I love the flanger. Got some great Cure happening
- I like the manual wah a lot, still playing with the auto wah
- the fuzz tones are great. Love the warm brown Jack Bruce sound on the Spoonful preset.
- I got some of the synth settings to work really well, to the point that I could do the Stevie Wonder bass synth lines and it sounded good. You do have to change playing a little - lots of volume, bridge pickup, well damped notes, heavy compression before the synth.
- I'm messing with the envelope filter at the moment to try and get some funk sounds I like - I'm getting there slowly. Big thing is to turn off the precompression so you have as much finger dynamics as possible in your signal.
 
#93
daffy said:
Hey tommixx,

I sent you a PM about whether you would be so kind as to share your patches with the greater world - would love to see your tweaks if you could dump them to a POD file.

I have been playing with the effects quite a bit and leaving the amps alone (gotta start somewhere). My thoughts:
- I love the flanger. Got some great Cure happening
- I like the manual wah a lot, still playing with the auto wah
- the fuzz tones are great. Love the warm brown Jack Bruce sound on the Spoonful preset.
- I got some of the synth settings to work really well, to the point that I could do the Stevie Wonder bass synth lines and it sounded good. You do have to change playing a little - lots of volume, bridge pickup, well damped notes, heavy compression before the synth.
- I'm messing with the envelope filter at the moment to try and get some funk sounds I like - I'm getting there slowly. Big thing is to turn off the precompression so you have as much finger dynamics as possible in your signal.
Click to expand...


I haven't uploaded any files but I have downloaded quite a few especially for the POD XT Live (guitar stuff) I will see if I can try and get these same ones up!

Peace,

T
 
#94
Well here's what I think. I've got an older pod-Pro that I've had for several years now. It think it is the absolute best way to record or use through a big PA and monitor mix. As for using it with backline speaker and power amp, It just seems to lack something compared to say an Alembic F1X or SVP-Pro.
 
#95
This has really got my interest up. I have often wondered about the BPXTL but never tried one. I played around with the older BP (dont ask which model, I think maybe the first), but wasn't really impressed. But I am reading good feedback about this.
Personally I like the Eden sound and was very suprised to see that the BPXTL has the Eden amp/cab modeled.
Can I ask how close does the modeling get to the real deal?
 
#96
I have a dilemma currently where I'm at odds on getting either a PODXT Live OR going with maybe the programmable Sansamp BDDI, a couple effects & a decent DI.

I currently have a big rig (pre/power & 2 cabs) & I have no need for that much rig or do I wish to haul it. The music in question is acoustic/blues/jazz/folk w/2 guitars, piano/keys, drums, vocals & bass (lower volume gig).

What I would like to do is get either a small combo or run the bass thru a monitor mix (or both). Also possibly IEM's but the whole band would not be using them & there will be 2 guitar amps (small combo's onstage).

In my situation I have no need for effects but would like some OD & a volume pedal, compressor, maybe a chorus. But it would be nice to have few choices for bass tones.
 
#97
First my thanks to tommixx for an excellent thread starting review ! There are a lot of threads and opinions on the Bod in its varied incarnations, but this is by far the most productive for me. I bought the Bod xt, unfortunately just b4 the Live was released, but to my knowledge, the innards (models, effects, patches) are identical.

+1 to all the comments on tweaking, patience etc. made b4.

I get great tone, both in studio and live mode. However, after playing for awhile in live mode (currently just at home) through a proly somewhat under-powered poweramp and then changing to my Fender Dual Showman, I notice that while the tone is pretty much there, the play sounds somewhat lifeless thru the Bod compared to the real thing. The same is true to studio mode and good headphones.

Playing the real DS sounds much more alive and open.

Do you share this experience?
Any hints ?

P.S. I love the tone and flexibility, but the lifeless presentation has stopped me sofar from investing in a decent poweramp.
 
#98
We are tracking this entire cd with Variax guitars and POD XT's. Nothing else. I wish I could share the rough tracks but I will just say they sound really good.

I plan on using a Bass POD XT, an Avalon U5 and a GT Ditto Box tube DI (or other - not 100% sure yet) for the bas tracks.

Live Shows:

We already know what we are doing live guitar wise.

We will have two electric guitarists and an acoustic guitarist/keyboard player.

The two electric guitarists will run the following rigs:

* Line 6 Variax Guitars and POD XT Live Boards (using the Variax digital cable): Using the cable the guitarists can not only have preset amps, cabs and effects BUT when switching on the POD board it will automatically switch the guitar model on the Variax! Even acoustics, banjo's, dobro's, etc...

* Aphex Aural Exciters: You can use the little pedal ones too. These things really bring the Line 6 stuff to life.

* Tech 21 (SansAmp) Power Engine 60: Single 12" cab with 60 watts of pure power made to reproduce modeling technology. Two lines (stereo) direct from the POD Live Board to Aphex and out to FOH and one mono line to the Power Engine 60. Invalid Link Removed

* Sound Enhancer: Place the Power Engine on the Sound Enhancer for increased volume and tone. These things are amazing. http://www.soundenhancer.com/ click on the demo video at the far right bottom.

Acoustic Rig: Similar Variax 700 Acoustic (with tons of great sounding acoustics, banjos, dobros and other instruments) to an Aphex Acoustic Xciter pedal. The XLR to FOH and the 1/4" to another Power Engine 60.

Bass Rig: This is still up in the air but may be similar regarding size, portability and direct to FOH. Not sure on using the Bass POD XT Live for this quite yet. Who knows I ay end up using a Bass POD XT Live board and a Bergantino IP310 cab? Not sure.
 

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