Line 6 Bass POD xt, Bass POD xt Pro User Manual

BASS POD

XT

ULTIMATE TONE FOR BASS

XT

BASS POD

PRO

ULTIMATE TONE FOR BASS+ DIG I/O

Pilot’s Handbook

An in-depth exploration of the revolutionary technologies and
bum-shaking tonal pleasures of Bass PODXT and Bass PODXT Pro.

Electrophonic Limited Edition available at www.line6.com. Revision C.

CONTROLS REFERENCE

31 32 33 34 35 36

LIVE: -10 dBV

(not compatible with Floor Board or FB4)

6
7

D.I.

STUDIO:

MODEL

RECORDING OUTPUT

D.I.

/

LIVE:

FEED TO ONSTAGE AMP

MODEL

D.I. MODEL D.I. MODEL OUTIN

STUDIO: +4 dBu

GROUND LIFT

GROUND

FBV Class Foot Controller only

Unbalanced

EFFECTS RETURNEFFECTS SEND

UNBAL ANALOG OUT

Low High

Biamp

Mode

BALANCED ANALOG OUT AES/EBU S/PDIF

USBPEDAL

Line Level

Input

ANALOG REAMPING INPUT/OUTPUT

Balanced: Tip = + / Ring = -

Unprocessed

Bass Out

WARNING/AVIS:

SHOCK HAZARD – DO NOT OPEN. RISQUE DE CHOC ÉLECTRIQUE – NE PAS

OUVRIR. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT

EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. TO REDUCE THE RISK

OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER SERVICEABLE

PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

29

30

22

24

1318

3

POWER

27

SIGNAL

16

17

14

28

S

A

V

E

E
Q

S
T
O

M
P

M
O
D

V
E
R

A

B

Y
/

A

C

.

A

I

.

B

R

.

/

T

S

U

Y

S

N

T

E

E

M

CLIP

0 10

E

D

I

T

T

A

P

EFFECTS

D
E
L

AMP MODELS

1

21

20

2319

15

9

THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES.

OPERATION IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO

CONDITIONS: (1) THIS DEVICE MAY NOT CAUSE HARMFUL

INTERFERENCE, AND (2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT ANY

INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT

MAY CAUSE UNDESIRED OPERATION.

OUT

IN

11

12

0 10 0 10 0 10

COMPRESSCHAN VOL OUTPUT

0 10

LO MID HI MIDBASSDRIVE TREBLE

10

N222

MIDI

OUT/THRUIN

POWER REQUIREMENTS

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

100 - 120V ~

100 W Max.

CAUTION

50 - 60Hz

DO NOT OPEN

4

2

25

NORMAL PAD

INPUT LEVEL

BASS INPHONES

SELECT

ULTIMATE TONE FOR BASS

+
DIG I/O

PRO

XT

0 100 100 10

I/O & DIG

26

8

D

O

M

9

0 10

DRIVE

6

P

D

T

U

P

T

U

O

.

I

.

T

U

P

T

U

O

L

E

D

E

7

S

B

L

U

A

10 10

10

0 10

BASS

V

E

A

S

21 23

0 10

LO MID

BASS POD

ULTIMATE TONE FOR BASS

P

M

O

T

S

Q

E

19

SELECT

PAGE

M

17

0 10

HI MID

XT

D

D

O

E

L

A

Y

/

C

V

E

R

B

A

20

A

B

/

.

I

.

R

.

EFFECT

TWEAK

VALUE

M

I

D

I

O

U

T

0 10

TREBLE

U

T

S

Y

S

1416

85

M

I

D

I

I

N

10

1

11

E

N

T

E

M

0 10

CHAN VOL

0 10

OUTPUT

3

NAVIGATION REFERENCE

• With EDIT, SAVE or TUNER lit, “SELECT”
selects pages

SELECT

PAGE

• Otherwise, “SELECT” chooses from the
Channel Memories

E

D

T

I

EDIT PAGES

4

22

P

H

O

N

E

S

• Amp Settings

• A.I.R. Settings

• EQ Settings

• EQ Settings (page 2)

• Stomp Select and Settings

• Modulation Select and Settings

• Modulation Settings (page 2)

• Delay Select and Settings

• Delay Settings (page 2)

• Mod and Delay/Verb X-Overs

• Wah and Volume Settings

• FX Tweak and Tempo Settings

• Gate and D.I. Settings

E

T

I

D

18

T

15 13

EFFECTSAMP MODELS

D

D

O

M

E

L

A

P

M

O

T

S

Q

E

A

S

SAVE PAGES

U

T

Y

S

TUNER PAGES

Y

/

V

E

R

B

A

V

E

N

E

T

E

S

M

A

P

24

12

0 10

COMPRESS

T

U

P

N

I

• EQ, Stomp, Mod, and Delay effects are on when lit.

C

A

B

/

• CAB/A.I.R. is lit when you are using a cab simulation.

.

I

.

R

.

• Double press one of these buttons for its EDIT pages.

• Save Sound to Channel Memory

• Custom Save Amp Model

• Custom Save Effects Setup

• Single Factory Channel recall

• Factory Recall

• MIDI Dump

• Tuner

• Input/Digital Out (Bass PODxt Pro Only)

• What are you connecting to?

• Bi-Amp Setup

• Display contrast

• MIDI

• Bass PODxt Software Version

2

AMP MODELS

# AMP MODEL MODEL BASED ON

0 ......BYPASS..........................(Bypasses the Amp Model)

1 ......TUBE PREAMP..................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

2 ......L6 CLASSIC JAZZ..............LINE 6 ORIGINAL

3 ......L6 BRIT INVADER..............LINE 6 ORIGINAL

4 ......L6 SUPER THOR...............LINE 6 ORIGINAL

5 ......L6 FRANKENSTEIN............LINE 6 ORIGINAL

6 ......L6 EBONY LUX.................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

7 ......L6 DOPPELGANGER...........LINE 6 ORIGINAL

8 ......SUB DUB ........................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

9 ......AMP 360........................ACOUSTIC 360

10 ....JAGUAR...........................AGUILAR DB750

11 ....ALCHEMIST......................ALEMBIC F-2B

12 ....ROCK CLASSIC .................AMPEG SVT

13 ....FLIP TOP.........................AMPEG B-15

14 ....ADAM AND EVE................EDEN TRAVELLER

CABINET MODELS

# CAB MODEL MODEL BASED ON

0 ......NO CAB...........................N/A

1 ......1X12 BOUTIQUE..............EUPHONICS CXL-112L

2 ......1X12 MOTOR CITY...........VERSATONE PAN-O-FLEX

3 ......1X15 FLIP TOP................AMPEG B-15

4 ......1X15 JAZZ TONE..............POLYTONE MINIBRUTE

5 ......1X18 SESSION................SWR BIG BEN

6 ......1X18 AMP 360...............ACOUSTIC 360

7 ......1X18 CALIFORNIA............MESA BOOGIE

# AMP MODEL MODEL BASED ON

8 ......1X18+12 STADIUM..........SUNN COLISEUM

9 ......2X10 MODERN UK...........ASHDOWN ABM 210T

10 ....2X15 DOUBLESHOW........FENDER DUAL SHOWMAN D130F

11 ....2X15 CALIFORNIA............MESA BOOGIE

12 ....2X15 CLASS A.................VOX AC-100

13 ....4X10 LINE 6 ...................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

14 ....4X10 TWEED...................FENDER BASSMAN COMBO

15 ....4X10 ADAM EVE..............DAVID EDEN

# AMP MODEL MODEL BASED ON

15 ....TWEED B-MAN .................FENDER BASSMAN COMBO

16 ....SILVERFACE BASS.............FENDER BASSMAN HEAD

17 ....DOUBLE SHOW................FENDER DUAL SHOWMAN

18 ....EIGHTIES.........................GK 800 RB

19 ....HIWAY 100 .....................HIWATT DR-103

20 ....HIWAY 200 .....................HIWATT 200DR

21 ....BRITISH MAJOR................MARSHALL MAJOR

22 ....BRITISH BASS..................MARSHALL SUPER BASS

23 ....CALIFORNIA.....................MESA BOOGIE BASS 400+

24 ....JAZZ TONE.......................POLYTONE MINIBRUTE

25 ....STADIUM.........................SUNN COLISEUM

26 ....STUDIO TONE ..................SWR SM-500

27 ....MOTOR CITY....................VERSATONE PAN-O-FLEX

28 ....BRIT CLASS A100.............VOX AC-100

# AMP MODEL MODEL BASED ON

16 ....4X10 SILVERCONE...........HARTKE 410

17 ....4X10 SESSION................+HORN SWR GOLIATH

18 ....4X12 HIWAY ...................HIWATT BASS CAB

19 ....4X12 GREEN 20'S...........'67 MARSHALL BASKETWEAVE

20 ....4X12 GREEN 25'S...........'68 MARSHALL BASKETWEAVE

21 ....4X15 BIG BOY.................MARSHALL MAJOR

22 ....8X10 CLASSIC.................AMPEG SVT

EFFECT MODELS

STOMPS MODEL BASED ON

BASS OVERDRIVE ................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SCREAMER .........................IBANEZ TS 808

CLASSIC DIST......................PRO CO RAT

FACIAL FUZZ .......................ARBITER FUZZ FACE

FUZZ PI ..............................BIG MUFF PI

OCTAVE FUZZ......................TYCOBRAH OCTAVIA

BRONZE MASTER.................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

BLUE COMP ........................BOSS CS-1

RED COMP..........................MXR DYNA COMP

VETTA COMP .......................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

AUTO WAH..........................MUTRON III

DINGO-TRON.......................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

BUZZ WAVE........................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SEISMIK SYNTH ..................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

REZ SYNTH.........................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SATURN 5 RING MOD...........LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SYNTH ANALOG...................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SYNTH FX ..........................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SYNTH HARMONY................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SYNTH LEAD .......................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SYNTH STRING....................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

SUB OCTAVES.....................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

All amp, cab and effect product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names and descriptions are provided for the
sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

MODULATIONS MODEL BASED ON

DELUXE CHORUS.................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

ANALOG CHORUS.................BOSS CE-1 CHORUS

DELUXE FLANGER.................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

JET FLANGER.......................ADA FLANGER

PHASER..............................MXR PHASE 90

U-VIBE................................UNI VIBE

OPTO TREM.........................FENDER OPTO

BIAS TREM..........................VOX BIAS

ROTARY DRUM ....................FENDER VIBRATONE

HI-TALK ..............................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

LINE 6 ROTOR.....................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

RANDOM S H......................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

TAPE EATER.........................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

LUX SPRING
STD SPRING
KING SPRING

SMALL ROOM
TILED ROOM
BRITE ROOM

REVERBS

DARK HALL
MEDIUM HALL
LARGE HALL

DELAYS MODEL BASED ON

ANALOG DELAY....................BOSS DM-2

ANALOG W/ MOD................EH MEMORYMAN

TUBE ECHO.........................EP-1 ECHOPLEX

MULTI-HEAD........................ROLAND SPACE ECHO

SWEEP ECHO ......................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

DIGITAL DELAY .....................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

REVERSE ............................LINE 6 ORIGINAL

RICH CHAMBER
CHAMBER
CAVERNOUS

SLAP PLATE
VINTAGE PLATE
LARGE PLATE

FBV SERIES REFERENCE

13

3

1

FX LOOP

4

STOMP MODULATION

CHANNEL BCHANNEL A CHANNEL DCHANNEL C

2

3

FX LOOP STOMP BOX 1 STOMP BOX 2 STOMP BOX 3

4

5

6

FBV SHORTBOARD

8

9

DELAY

7

4

REVERB

TAP

HOLD FOR TUNER

10

CUSTOM FOOT CONTROLLER

11

VOLUME WAH

12

11

WAH PEDAL 1 PEDAL 2VOLUME

FACTORY/USER

1

7

8

9

DELAYMODULATIONTREMOLOREVERB TAP TEMPOAMP 2AMP 1

10

12

HOLD FOR TUNER

CHANNEL A CHANNEL B CHANNEL C CHANNEL D FAVORITE CHANNELBANK DOWN BANK UP

2

SIGNAL FLOW & EFFECTS ROUTING OPTIONS

USB SEND/RETURN: Unprocessed Bass can be sent to/from Computer via USB

Mod and Delay/Verb X-OVER:

Hi Pass filters available in wet paths of these FX

Wah & Volume can be

controlled by FBV or MIDI

MODEL

to prevent muddy tone

LIVE

MODE

CAB MODEL

GATE

WAH

STOMPVOLUME

D.I.

EQ

VOLUME

COMP DELAY/VERB

MOD

DI>MDL: mixes D.I. signal into Model out

DI DLY: delays D.I. signal, throwing it out of

phase versus the Model signal, for tone variation
when the two signals are mixed together.

BI-AMP: When Bi-Amp Mode is activated on the "Bi-Amp Setup"
TUNER/SYSTEM page , the 1/4-inch outs are both sent a
frequency-split version of the Model signal. The effect loop is also
fed the frequency-split signal in the Bass PODxt, so you can effect
each frequency range separately. The XLR outs take their signal
just after the DI>MDL mix, before the frequency-split and loop
send, so their signal is normal (no frequency spilt, Model and D.I.
signals are both available at their jacks as usual), except that the
effect loop is not applied to the XLR outs in this mode.

AMP

STUDIO

MODE

MOD

DELAY/VERB

CAB MODEL + A.I.R. II VIRTUAL MIC/ROOM

EQ

PRE/POST: Volume, EQ, Mod and Delay/Verb can run Pre or Post

USB SEND: Model & D.I signals can both be sent to the computer together.

USB RETURN: Sound from the computer can be heard.

XT

PRO

BI-AMP
MODE

AUTO

MERGE

BASS POD

LOOP
SEND

LOOP

RETURN

A.I.R.

LIVE MODE

VIRTUAL ROOM

In Live Mode, virtual
room is added to
Model signal for XLR
& Digital outputs,
while D.I. outputs and
1/4-inch outputs to
onstage poweramp
are sent without
virtual room.

LIVE MODE 1/4-INCH OUTPUTS

(Effects Return is summed in analog domain)

STUDIO MODE 1/4-INCH OUTPUTS,

STUDIO/LIVE DIGITAL OUTPUTS,

STUDIO/LIVE XLR OUTPUTS

(Effects Return is summed in digital domain)

AUTO-MERGE: When headphones or USB are connected, only the Model
signal path is output, sent to both Model & D.I. output jacks as well the headphone
jack and both effects send jacks. When a cable is connected to one 1/4-inch
output (Model or D.I.) of the Bass PODxt Pro and not the other, both effect send
outputs will be sent the signal for the connected jack.

LIVE & STUDIO MODES: Select your mode on "What are you
connecting to?" TUNER/SYSTEM page. Studio Direct mode has virtual
mic appropriate for recording. Live mode is appropriate for feeding
onstage amp/speaker setup. Bass PODxt Pro XLR Model output has
virtual room in Live Mode for feeding house sound system.

The serial number is on the underside of your Bass PODXT, or back panel of your Bass POD
Pro. It’s the number that begins with “(21)”. Please note it here for future reference:

SERIAL NO:

XT

WARNING:

electric shock, do not expose this appliance to
rain or moisture.

CAUTION:

pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause
harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.

Before using your Bass PODXT, carefully read the applicable items of these operating instructions and safety
suggestions:

1. Obey all warnings on the Bass PODXT and in this Pilot’s Handbook.

2. Do not place near heat sources, such as radiators, heat registers, or appliances which produce heat.

3. Guard against objects or liquids entering the enclosure.
4a. Bass PODXT: Connect only to AC power outlets rated 100-120V or 230V 47-63Hz (depending on the voltage

4b. Bass PODXT Pro: Connect only to AC power outlets rated 100-120V or 220-240V 47-63Hz (depending on

5. Do not step on power cords. Do not place items on top of power cords so that they are pinched or leaned on.

6. Unplug your Bass PODXT when not in use for extended periods of time.

7. Do not perform service operations beyond those described in the Bass PODXT Pilot’s Handbook. In the

8. Prolonged listening at high volume levels may cause irreparable hearing loss and/or damage. Always be sure

To reduce the risk of fire or

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device

The lightning symbol within a triangle means
“electrical caution!” It indicates the presence
of information about operating voltage and
potential risks of electrical shock.

YOU

SHOULD READ THESE IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

K

EEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS IN A SAFE PLACE

range of the included power supply).

the voltage range of the unit).

Pay particular attention to the cord at the plug end and the point where it connects to the Bass PODXT.

following circumstances, repairs should be performed only by qualified service personnel:

• liquid is spilled into the unit

• an object falls into the unit

• the unit does not operate normally or changes in performance in a significant way

• the unit is dropped or the enclosure is damaged

to practice “safe listening.”

CAUTION:

do not remove screws. No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer
servicing to qualified service personnel.

To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock,

The exclamation point within a
triangle means “caution!” Please
read the information next to all
caution signs.

Bass POD

XT

Pilot’s Handbook © 2003, Line 6, Inc.

Please Note:

Line 6, Vetta, Amp Farm, POD, Bass POD, PODxt, Bass
PODxt, PODxt Pro and Bass PODxt Pro are trademarks
of Line 6, Inc. All other product names, trademarks,
and artists’ names are the property of their respective
owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated
with Line 6. Product names, images, and artists’ names
are used solely to identify the products whose tones
and sounds were studied during Line 6’s sound model
development for this product. The use of these
products, trademarks, images, and artists’ names does
not imply any cooperation or endorsement.

Quick Start Guide ................................................................................1•1

Register Now .......................................................................................................................................1•2

Get On-Line...........................................................................................................................................1•2

Line 6 Tone Transfer and Discussion Forums .............................................................1•2

Introduction............................................................................................................................................1•3

Welcome to Bass PODxt ........................................................................................................1•3

Who is Line 6? ................................................................................................................................1•3

Modeling .............................................................................................................................................1•4

Amp, Cab and Effect Models .................................................................................................1•4

There’s Magic in the A.I.R. .......................................................................................................1•5

And Away We Go........................................................................................................................1•7

Controls and Connections...................................................................2•1

Getting Set Up...................................................................................... 3•1

All Purpose Basics...............................................................................................................................3•1

Bass POD

XT

– In The Studio.......................................................................................................3•2

What are you connecting to? ................................................................................................3•2

The Ins and Outs of Great Tone .........................................................................................3•2

Setting Levels ...................................................................................................................................3•3

Radiation Alert.................................................................................................................................3•3

Pedal Power ......................................................................................................................................3•4

Midi Mania ..........................................................................................................................................3•4

Bass POD

XT

– Playing Live............................................................................................................3•5

Mount Up............................................................................................................................................3•5

Keeping Your Options Open..................................................................................................3•5

What are you connecting to? .................................................................................................3•5

Getting The Right Tone With An Amp............................................................................3•6

External Stomp Boxes and POD

XT

.....................................................................................3•7

Bi-Amp Mode...................................................................................................................................3•7

Bass POD

XT

Pro – Configurations & Connections.......................................................3•9

Selecting An Input..........................................................................................................................3•9

Input & digital Out Options......................................................................................................3•10

FORMAT: Sample rate, word length (bit depth), and clock source.................3•10

MODE: Normal or Dry Guitar...............................................................................................3•11

GAIN: Extra gain on the digital outs....................................................................................3•11

What are you connecting to?..................................................................................................3•12

continued on next page

Getting Set Up

continued

FX Loop...............................................................................................................................................3•13

AES/EBU or S/PDIF Data Format?............................................................................................3•14

Bi-Amp Mode...................................................................................................................................3•14

Radiation Alert .................................................................................................................................3•15

Pedal Power.......................................................................................................................................3•16

MIDI Mania.........................................................................................................................................3•16

Re-Amping with Bass POD

XT

Pro............................................................................................3•17

Analog Re-amping..........................................................................................................................3•17

Digital Re-amping............................................................................................................................3•18

Creating & Storing Sounds.................................................................. 4•1

Recalling Channel Memories ......................................................................................................4•1

Recalling Effect Setups ....................................................................................................................4•1

Stompbox-style Control ................................................................................................................4•2

Editing Basics .........................................................................................................................................4•2

Double Press for Easy Access ...............................................................................................4•3

Inside the Edit Menu ........................................................................................................................4•3

Amp Knob settings........................................................................................................................4•3

Cabinet and Mic settings (There’s magic in the A.I.R.!)............................................4•4

Effects Editing....................................................................................................................................4•4

Setting your Tone to Tempo ......................................................................................................4•7

Mod and Delay/Verb X-Overs ..................................................................................................4•7

Wah and Volume................................................................................................................................4•8

FX Tweak Knob Assign / Tempo Assign...............................................................................4•8

Gate Settings..........................................................................................................................................4•9

D.I. Settings .............................................................................................................................................4•10

Gate Settings..........................................................................................................................................4•9

Saving Yourself......................................................................................................................................4•11

Saving Channel Memory ............................................................................................................4•11

Custom Save Amp Model.........................................................................................................4•12

Custom Save Effect Setup.........................................................................................................4•13

Single Channel Recall ...................................................................................................................4•14

Complete Factory Recall............................................................................................................4•14

MIDI Dumps......................................................................................................................................4•15

Modeled Amps & Cabs.........................................................................5•1

Which Amps and Cabs Are Modeled? .................................................................................5•1

Cabinet Models ...................................................................................................................................5•18

Stompboxes & Effects..........................................................................6•1

Effect Junkies Welcome...................................................................................................................6•1

Stomp Models.......................................................................................................................................6•1

Distortions and Overdrives......................................................................................................6•1

Compressors.....................................................................................................................................6•6

Modulation Models ............................................................................................................................6•8

Synth and Filter Effects.....................................................................................................................6•13

Basic Synth/Filter Editing.............................................................................................................6•14

Synth Models.....................................................................................................................................6•15

Filter Models......................................................................................................................................6•17

Delay Models.........................................................................................................................................6•19

Reverb ......................................................................................................................................................6•22

Springs...................................................................................................................................................6•22

Rooms...................................................................................................................................................6•23

Halls........................................................................................................................................................6•23

Chambers............................................................................................................................................6•24

Plates......................................................................................................................................................6•24

Deep Editing & MIDI Control..............................................................7•1

MIDI Basics ............................................................................................................................................7•1

What’s MIDI?.....................................................................................................................................7•1

In/Out....................................................................................................................................................7•1

MIDI Channel....................................................................................................................................7•2

MIDI Messages .....................................................................................................................................7•3

Backing Up Bass POD

XT

Programs to Other Devices ................................................7•4

Other Things You Can Do with MIDI ..................................................................................7•6

Changing Bass POD

Tweaking Bass POD

Full MIDI Automation of Bass POD

XT

Channels with MIDI Program Changes..........................7•6

XT

Tones with MIDI Controllers..............................................7•6

XT

..............................................................................7•6

MIDI Setup Trouble-shooting .....................................................................................................7•7

Putting Your Feet to Work ................................................................8•1

Meet the FBV Shortboard ............................................................................................................8•1

Hooking up the Shortboard.....................................................................................................8•1

Pushing Your Buttons........................................................................................................................8•1

Saving and Naming with the FBV Shortboard....................................................................8•3

Using an EX-1........................................................................................................................................8•4

Appendices............................................................................................A•1

Amp Models .........................................................................................................................................A•1

MIDI Program Changes ...................................................................................................................A•3

Bass PODxt MIDI Controls...........................................................................................................A•4

FBV Shortboard MIDI Controls..................................................................................................A•9

Line 6 Contact ......................................................................................................................................A•10

Warranty Info........................................................................................................................................A•11

Q

UICK

S

TART

Q

UICK START GUIDE

G

UIDE

or:

•

“Manual? I don’t need no stinking manual!”

1 •

1

ANUAL

“M

Bass PODxt Pro owners, if you’re going to use anything beyond the standard bass input
and analog outputs, we can’t cover all your options on this brief page. See Chapter 2 to
learn about controls, and then get deep with the inputs and outputs in the

Pro — Configurations & Connections

1.

Turn the

2.

Connect
plug the
headphones to the

3.

Connect the included power pack or power cable to your Bass PODxt,
and plug the other end into a power jack.

4.

Connect a bass to Bass PODxt’s

5.

Flip the

6.

Bass PODxt comes ready to rock for direct connection to your recording
setup.

PODxt know so it gives you the best tone.

YSTEM

S

button below
to tell your Bass PODxt what type of amp you’re connecting to. Bass
PODxt will automatically override this setting when you plug in
headphones, so great headphone sound is automatic.

7. Select an Amp Model using the A
to max and the DRIVE, BASS, LO MID, HI MID and TREBLE to your
heart’s desire. OUTPUT sets the, uh, output level.

8. Turn the E
C

OMPRESS and EFFECT TWEAK knobs so you’re happy with the sound.

The TAP tempo button can set the speed for Delay or Mod effects.

9. Browse pre-programmed tones using the S

of the four buttons below the display. You can press any one of those
buttons twice for a “Manual Override” that gives you where-the-knobs­are-is-how-it-sounds operation.

10. Now before you run off, please give the page a quick flip and....

DON’T NEED NO STINKING MANUAL

? I

Bass PODxt

section that starts on page

O

UTPUT

D.I.

ODEL

M

OWER

P

If you’re connecting to a bass amp, it’s essential to let your Bass

, then turning the

FFECTS knob to load an Effects Setup, then twist the

L

control all the way down to zero.

EVEL

ODEL

and

M

output into your bass amp’s input. Or connect

P

switch to fire up.

EST

D

outputs to your recorder or mixer’s inputs, or

HONES

(Destination), then turn the

jack for silent jamming.

I

(Bass PODxt’s Pro

NPUT

Do this by pressing

ELECT

S

knob one step clockwise. Press the

MP MODEL knob. Set the CHAN VOL

ELECT knob or by pressing any

FFECT

E

T

3•9

B

ASS IN

UNE

T

WEAK knob

!”

.

).

/

QUICK START GUIDE • Register now!

1 • 2

Register now!

Included in this manual is a handy, postage-paid card for you to send back to us to
register your purchase. It’s

right now and drop it in the mail or jump on the Internet and register at the Line 6

Support Center — www.line6.com. Registering insures that you’re dialed in for
warranty service (warranty info is at the end of this manual) and insures we can
contact you if new software versions or other cool enhancements are offered —
cutting edge technology and such.

very important that you fill that registration card out

Get on-line and get good free stuff!

Here at Line 6, our mission is to help you be more creative by bringing you powerful
new technologies. As part of that mission, we focus great effort on making the
Internet a valuable resource for every one of our customers. The Line 6 web site is one
of the most effective ways for us to deliver you what you need to make you and your
Bass PODxt ever more powerful.

Connect to www.line6.com and download free USB driver software free for your
Bass PODxt. Learn tips & tricks, trade advice, generally hang out and get POD-a­licious in our online forums. Use FAQTRAQ to contact our product support experts
and get answers to your technical questions. Or grab electronic versions of this book
and other documentation, learn what your favorite artists are doing with Line 6 gear,
and see the latest products we’re introducing for you.

Not on the Internet yet? It may be time to make the big jump, and thereby ensure
that you will get all the great resources we can offer for you and your Bass PODxt.

QUICK START GUIDE • Introduction

Introduction

Welcome To Bass PODxt...

Thank you for inviting Bass PODxt into your life. Whether you use your Bass PODxt as
a direct recording miracle, a powerhouse preamp, a practice partner, or as a creative
digital signal processing tool (and heck, why should it be just one of these?) — we think
you’ll agree that Bass PODxt is about the most amazing thing to happen to the bass
guitar since, well, since the bass amplifier itself! Bass PODxt delivers the incredible
tones of the acclaimed Line 6 Point-to-Point Interactive modeling technology and
fuses it with the wonderfully portable and easy to use POD’s, which has been the
recording and live sound choice for savvy guitarists and bassists for years. So you’ve got
the tonal heritage of the past century of bass amplifier and stomp box design, plus no­compromise recording and direct sound excellence — all ready to roll when you are.

Who is Line 6?

As you may know, Line 6 first came on the scene several years back with a new kind of
guitar amplifier — the first to put digital software modeling technology to work in a
combo amp for guitarists. We also knew then that guitarists (and bassists) need great
amp tone when recording, but generally don’t have the room to crank up that classic
stack, or the money to hire a team of ace engineers to get it to tape. So we squished our
patented modeling technology down into a small, kidney-bean-shaped wonder called
POD, and forever changed the world of guitar recording. And then we introduced Bass
POD, to bring the bassists in on the benefits of all this goodness.

Once we’d gotten this whole modeling amp and POD thing started, it was time to see
what we could do if we really cranked up the horsepower and took our modeling to the
next level. I mean, once you’ve climbed to the top of the mountain, it’s on to the next
mountain, right? So, eyes glowing like power tubes, we stocked up on the Pepsi,
gathered our genius engineers into a secret lab, fired up our extensive collection of
amplifiers and stomp boxes... and spirited their treasured tones into a newly­supercharged modeling technology we dubbed Point-to-Point modeling. It first hit the
streets in the award-winning Vetta amp, whose superb tone and unparalleled selection
of dream amps, cabinets and effects make it a pretty good contender for the world
heavyweight amp title. After that, we poured the same magic elixir into the classic
PODs and—ta-dah!—PODxt and Bass PODxt were born.

1 • 3

How does Bass PODxt help you create a bass tone that is out of this world, and then get
that tone wherever you need it? Easy! It’s…

QUICK START GUIDE • Introduction

1 • 4

Modeling

Modeling: just what is it, and why is it so important?
Well, my friend, Line 6’s team of crack engineer-musicians has spent years

understanding pretty much everything there is to know about guitar, bass, recording
and amplification gear, including exactly how different types of tubes and other
electronics respond under various conditions typical of guitar and bass amplifier and
effect design. How signals are colored and shaped, at what point they begin to distort
or get otherwise altered, the quality and characteristic of the distortion, what happens
when the signal gets to other parts of the system — complicated stuff, but all
analyzable as electronic data. A guitar or bass pickup output, after all, is an electronic
signal, and tubes and all the rest are really just a complex form of signal processing.

Having sussed it all out, the Line 6 engineers translated all this arcane knowledge
into software that simulates the signal processing of amps’ tubes and other electronics,
entirely within the digital domain. Cool, huh? The Line 6 crew also directed their
caffeine-enhanced modeling attention to a study of speaker cabinets and the
important part they play in communicating great tone. And the great variety of
stomp box and rack effects that guitarists and bassists use to juice things up. They
translated it all into yet more powerful software, and it’s this revolutionary DSP
(Digital Signal Processing) software-based modeling technology that gives Line 6 the
power to create super silicon-based life forms like Bass PODxt.

Amp, Cab and Effect Models

The tone and technology know-how of Line 6 thus comes to you as Amp, Cab and
Effect Models based on a collection of gear recognized by guitarists and bassists the

world over as true “tone classics.” These models were tweaked through careful,
scientific A/B comparisons to the gear that inspired them, with an ear open for the
effects of different volume levels and settings of the originals’ tone and gain controls.
The gain and equalization characteristics of the modeled gear were carefully measured
so that changes to knobs on the models would mirror the effects of these changes on
the originals as closely as possible. We’re talkin’ major attention to detail here. Tone
control center frequencies, slopes, and cut/boost range were painstakingly analyzed,
in addition to a whole host of factors unique to each piece of gear. Not only that, but
since many classic amps and effects have highly interactive circuits, we paid careful
attention to the way that the setting of one knob changes the way that another knob
may behave. All in an effort to make our Models as much like the amps, cabs and
effects in our collection as possible. The resulting Amp, Cab and Effect Models are
the foundation of Bass PODxt.

QUICK START GUIDE • Introduction

Now, then — here are a couple of things we want to be completely crystal clear on:

1. The Line 6 modeling process is a patented, 100% digital software-

based technology exclusive to Line 6.

2. Line 6 Modeling is not sampling, nor is it solid state; no special

bass, pickup, or cabling is needed.

There’s Magic in the A.I.R.

Bass PODxt delivers its modeling tones through another innovation: Line 6’s
A.I.R. direct recording output. The A.I.R. (acoustically integrated recording)
technology is the result of intensive research and careful study of the tonal
characteristics produced by the interaction of amplifiers, cabinets, speakers,
microphones and the recording room during the recording process.

The direct output of many preamps, amplifiers and direct box-style amp
replacements available today offer some limited form of cabinet simulation or
speaker emulation. Those that happen to be more than simple high end roll-offs
have little or no control options. Generic cabinet simulations cannot reproduce the
markedly different tones resulting from the choice of speakers, wood, and other
details of a great real-life speaker cabinet. Other equipment also fails to reproduce
the significant tonal contribution of microphone selection and placement, and do
nothing to reproduce the subtle ambience of the recording space.

Bass PODxt’s combination of Amp Models and A.I.R. technology provides superior
direct tones by recreating all the elements contributing to a great recorded bass
sound, and giving you that tone with the same feel as playing through a real amp
and speaker cabinet:

1 • 5

•The effect of the bass amplifier circuit is emulated by the Amp Model you
choose. Each model was developed from extensive study of a classic amplifier
treasured as a tone classic, or is a Line 6 original inspired our knowledge of these
classics.

•In a bass amp, once the bass signal passes through the electronics, it is output to
one or more speakers in a speaker cabinet. The specific design of the speakers,
how many there are, and how they are arranged contributes significantly to your
bass tone, as does the construction and resulting tone of the wood box itself. An

QUICK START GUIDE • Introduction

1 • 6

Eden head driving a pair of 10-inch speakers in an open-back cabinet, for instance,
will sound dramatically different from the same head driving a 4x10 closed-back
cabinet with a horn. Line 6 has carefully constructed virtual software speaker
cabinets that emulate the contribution made by real speaker cabinets to get great
bass sound.

•Once the sound makes it out of the speaker cabinet, the next important link in the
recording system is the microphone that receives that sound. Bass recordists select
different microphones, and arrange them in different placements, to get particular
sounds. A microphone pointing directly into the cone of a speaker will hear
something different than one positioned off-axis. Line 6 carefully analyzed the
coloring that various microphones add to the bass sound, as well as the effects of
different mic placement techniques, and gave you control of these details in your
Bass PODxt.

•The bass amp, cabinet, and microphone don’t just sit in empty space. The room
that they are in contributes importantly to the bass sound you will record. Reverb
can be used to capture the basic character of the space, simulating the effect of the
sound reflecting off the room’s walls, floors and ceiling. But there are other subtle
details that have more to do with the “spread” of the sound as it passes through the
air between the speaker and microphone. This final component is the key to the
sense that the listener is in one position in the room, and the bass sound is in
another position, and that the two are separated by a mass of air that sound spreads
through to reach the listener.

All of these important sound-shaping components are accounted for in your Bass
PODxt. Turn the Amp Model knob to call up the amplifier emulation you want. Bass
PODxt automatically matches that amplifier with an appropriate cabinet and
microphone setup, and gives you the sound of that setup coming through the air of a
recording space so you can start recording incredible mic’d up sound. Press a button
and twiddle a knob or two, and you can switch cabinets, change out mics and their
placement, and adjust the “spread” of the sound in your virtual room as well.

The A.I.R. direct recording output is exclusive to Line 6. In combination with the
Line 6 Amp, Cab and Effect Models, it is the key to Bass PODxt’s phenomenally
satisfying direct recording sound.

QUICK START GUIDE • And Away We Go....

D.I.

Of course, we also realize that many great recorded bass tracks and live bass sounds
are achieved by going direct with a D.I., or using a blend of amped and D.I.
together. And that’s why your Bass PODxt includes, along with its Model output, a
D.I. output that gives you an unprocessed direct bass signal line level output that is
exactly time- and phase-aligned with the amp-cab-mic-and-effects sound pumping
out the Model output.

And Away We Go....

So, now that you know what’s in store, it’s time to experience Bass PODxt for
yourself. Grab your favorite axe, plug in, and flip back to the handy Quick Start
Guide on the first page of this chapter if you haven’t already been through that.
Then fold out the back cover and follow me, my friend, for the Bass PODxt Grand

Tour....

1 • 7

Controls & Connections

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

Now would be a good time to turn to the nifty back cover of this manual and notice
that it folds out. Ooh, pretty pictures! The idea is to have this essential pictorial
reference always opened out while you’re thumbing through the manual. It’s also got all
the essential details for quickly getting around on your Bass PODxt. The boxed
numbers that pop up throughout this manual correspond to the numbers on the
foldout’s illustrations. The back side of the cover’s got handy pictures for the FBV and
FBV Shortboard foot controllers, plus signal flow and connection guides.

1

Power Switch - Flip this to bring your Bass PODxt to life. Bass PODxt Pro

includes a standard IEC grounded power cable. For Bass PODxt, use only the
included PX-2 power pack.

2

Input/Bass In - Plug your bass in here. (You techies will want to know this is

a mono, un-balanced connection).

Phones - Plug your headphones in here for silent concertos. The volume is set

3

by the O
not set for ridiculous volume before your slap them on your ears. Try an O
setting of about 10 o’clock when first putting the headphones on, them turn up from
there if you need more volume.

UTPUT knob. Any time you use headphones, it important to be sure they’re

UTPUT knob

2• 1

So that you hear appropriate sound through the headphones, Bass PODxt
automatically switches to Studio Mode whenever headphones are connected (for more
on Studio Mode, see “What are you connecting to?” on page 3•2).

Controls & Connections

4

Output - This controls the overall output level of Bass PODxt and also sets the

headphone level. Changing the O
get the tone you want at any volume level. This setting is not saved when you store

2• 2

settings into one of the Bass PODxt’s memory locations.

Bass PODxt Pro users, note that this does not affect the level of the XLR Outputs in Live
Mode (for more on Live Mode, see “What are you connecting to?” on page 3•5).

Bass PODxt will give the best signal-to-noise performance when you have the

O

UTPUT control at max. With the OUTPUT control turned down low, you may get

extra hiss—which obviously ain’t what you want—if you turn up your mixer or
recorder’s output to compensate. In order to allow you to set the O
possible when connecting to recording, mixing, and other studio gear, be sure you
are plugging Bass PODxt’s outputs into line level, not microphone or
instrument level inputs. Line level inputs should allow you to turn Bass PODxt’s

O

UTPUT up all the way (or close to it) and thereby get the best sound possible. If your

gear has inputs that function as mic/line level inputs, try to set the trim for those inputs
to the minimum level, and Bass PODxt’s O

5

D.I. & Model Output - (See numbers 33 and 34 for Bass PODxt Pro’s

outputs.) These balanced 1/4-inch TRS (tip/ring/sleeve) connectors are ready to rock

with pro +4dBu balanced equipment. They will also work happily with unbalanced –
10dBV equipment and standard bass cables.

UTPUT level does not change your tone, so you can

UTPUT as high as

UTPUT to maximum, when setting levels.

6

Pedal - Looks like a telephone connector on steroids. Connect optional Line 6

FBV, FBV Shortboard or FBV4 foot controller here. Bass PODxt’s do not work with the
Line 6 Floor Board and FB4.

7

USB - Bass PODxt’s USB jack lets you connect it directly to most computers,

and record your Bass PODxt directly to a wide variety of popular recording software.
We’ve included a USB cable for use with Bass PODxt driver software. That software—
along with directions for using it—is free for you to download at www.line6.com.

Controls & Connections

8

MIDI In & Out - Connect Bass PODxt to your MIDI equipment to select

Channel Memories (via Program Change messages), or automate Bass PODxt settings
(via controllers and/or SySex). You can also back up Bass PODxt’s memory to your
computer by using free software—check www.line6.com for details. The Bass PODxt
MIDI OUT connects to another device’s MIDI IN; its MIDI IN goes to another
device’s MIDI OUT. Please also see Chapter 7, Deep Editing and MIDI Control,
to setup your MIDI gear with Bass PODxt and find out what MIDI can do for Bass
PODxt and you.

Drive - This knob controls how hard you’re driving the input of the chosen

9

Amp Model. Like the input volume control on a non-master volume bass amp, higher
settings give you more “dirt.”

Tone Controls - BASS, LO MID, HI MID, TREBLE. Just like any bass amp,

10

only when you change Amp Models, the response and interactivity of the controls
changes, too — so they act like the tone controls of the original amp that inspired the
Amp Model you’ve selected.

11

Chan Vol - This knob controls the relative volume level of the “channel” you

are playing through — thus, C
the sounds you store in two different Bass PODxt Channel Memories (say between your
clean and distorted tones). In general, you want to set the C
possible to get the best signal-to-noise ratio performance — but back off on this control
if you’re seeing CLIP in Bass PODxt’s display. Here’s an important tip:

HANNEL VOLUME. Use this to balance levels between

HAN VOL as high as

2• 3

TIP: You probably want to have all of your favorite sounds as loud as
possible, while also having the right difference in volume between your
standard and lead sounds, clean and dirty sounds, etc. Right? OK, then, to
get this happy balance, start with your favorite ‘clean’ sounds. Turn up
their Chan Vol as high as you can without getting the CLIP indicator in
Bass PODxt’s display when you play hard and save them that way. Then
switch amongst them to see if some are too loud, and turn them down a
bit to match well with the others. Next, its time to move on to select your
‘dirtier’ distorted and lead tones, comparing them to the clean sounds
and saving them with lower Chan Vol settings to match well with those
clean sounds. Now, each time you use your Bass PODxt, you just have to

Controls & Connections

set an Output volume level you like, and you can switch amongst your
various sounds without unhappy volume differences.

2• 4

12

Compress - Bass PODxt’s include a model based on of the LA-2A classic

tube studio compressor. Turn this knob to get more or less compression. Higher settings
will smooth out the volume differences between notes that you play harder and ones
that you play more lightly. Lower settings will leave your playing dynamics unaltered.
Compressors work by reducing the volume of the louder notes feeding into them, so
that those sounds are at a level closer to the quieter notes. Bringing down the loud
notes this way would tend to give you a lower overall volume if it weren’t for the
automatic gain compensation that’s also built into Bass PODxt’s compressor. Thanks to
this feature, your overall average output volume will actually remain consistent as you
dial in more compression.

13

Effects - This knob selects from Bass PODxt’s Effect Setups — which set up a

combination of effects for you (all the details on effects are in Chapter 6, Stompboxes
& Effects). Think of each Effect Setup as a virtual pedal board or outboard gear rack
that you can match with any Amp Model. When you turn the E

FFECTS knob, Bass

PODxt shows the name of the Effect Setup that is loaded and you’ll hear the effects
change instantly. The effect buttons light to show which effects are on. There are 64 of
these effect “rigs” pre-programmed and ready for you to use.

Effect Tweak - This knob varies some aspect of the effect you’ve chosen.

14

Turn it up and the effect will generally go deeper, louder, faster, longer or just plain
more. You’ll know what you’re tweakin’ because a window will pop up on Bass PODxt’s
display to show you. The T
including how you can customize the E
& Storing Sounds. If the effect that E
surprise, E
button is lit, the E

FFECT TWEAK won’t change anything. While the EDIT or TUNE/SYSTEM

FFECT TWEAK knob adjusts parameter values instead.

AP button usually sets Delay time. For the inside scoop,

FFECT TWEAK knob, see Chapter 4, Creating

FFECT TWEAK is “targeting” is off, then, big

15

Amp Models - When you spin this knob, it’s essentially like changing what

electronic “circuitry” is running inside Bass PODxt to make your amp sound. (See the
groovy details in Chapter 5, Modeled Amps and Cabs.) You’ll see the Amp Model
names change in Bass PODxt’s display. When you choose an Amp Model, Cabinet and

Controls & Connections

Microphone Models are also loaded automatically. For instance, when you choose the
Tweed B-Man model an appropriate Cabinet Model will be loaded with it. You can also
choose a different cabinet/mic setup by pressing the CAB/A.I.R. button (below).

In fact, Amp Models automatically load with all the amp-related settings pre-set for a
ready to go tone. Drive, Bass, Lo Mid, Hi Mid, Treble, Cab/A.I.R., etc. will all be
determined by the Amp Model you choose — giving you a ready-to-rock sound with
the turn of just this one knob. Once you get familiar with Bass PODxt, you can change
these amp-associated defaults to customize the settings of each of the Amp Models to fit
your tastes. Note that when you’re in Manual Mode, Drive, Bass, Lo Mid, Mi Mid, Treble,

Channel Volume and Compress are set by the physical knob positions instead of being
automatically set with the amp selection. Complete details are in Chapter 5.

16

Select - The Bass PODxt has 64 Channel Memories that store a huge variety

of complete amp-and-effect selections pre-programmed by the tone mavens at Line 6.
They are arranged in 16 banks of four channels each. (The four are called A, B, C, and
D.) You can think of each bank as a sort of virtual four-channel bass amp — and you’ll
find that the same layout is used on the optional Line 6 foot controllers for Bass PODxt
(the FBV and FBV Shortboard) which are discussed later in Chapter 8.

You load Bass PODxt channels by turning the S

ELECT knob. You can press one of the

four “soft buttons” under the display to load one of the other channels of the current
bank. When recalling a channel, you may have left the physical B

ASS knob at

minimum, whereas the just-recalled channel has this control set to max. To change

B

ASS (or anything else), just grab the knob you want and tweak. To leave the Channel

Memory world and enter Manual operation, press any of the buttons under Bass
PODxt’s display twice. The display will read Manual Mode to let you know you’ve got
WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) operation, and all the physical knob
positions are being used to determine your sound. More on all this later.

2• 5

When the E
the available display pages. When you press E
parameters; when you press T
system-wide settings; when S

DIT, SAVE or TUNE/SYSTEM button is lit, the SELECT knob selects from

DIT, it selects pages of effect and channel

UNE/SYSTEM, it takes you through all of the Tuner and

AVE is lit, you’ll find amp and effect customization

features as well as MIDI dump operations. The vertical “scroll bar” on the left side of
each display page shows you where you are in that group of pages.

Controls & Connections

17

Display - Bass PODxt’s LCD (liquid crystal display) is your window into every

parameter and setting available. Here’s how to get around:

2• 6

1. When the S

AVE, EDIT or TUNE/SYSTEM button is lit, a scroll bar on the left side

of Bass PODxt’s display shows you where you are in the available display “pages.”
Press one of these buttons to see the scroll bar now . For those that really need to get
all the nerdy details, each dot in that bar represents a page. As you turn the

S

ELECT knob, you move through the pages and so does the little square. When

you’re on the first page, the little square is at the top. When you get to the last
page, the square’s at the bottom. Square goes up, square goes down. Square goes up,
square goes down. Fun for the whole family!

2. Each page typically has words that appear in the bottom of the display . These words

label things you can adjust. Press the button below the thing you want to adjust,
then turn the E

18

Soft Buttons - These four buttons operate differently depending on what

FFECT TWEAK knob to do your adjusting.

you’re doing. Generally, these allow you to instantly load one of 4 channels in a bank,
or get you in and out of Manual mode when you double-press (see S
the E

DIT, SAVE, or TUNE/SYSTEM button is lit, you can press a Soft Button to select

the item displayed above it so it can be adjusted with the E

19

Effect On/Off Buttons - These four buttons allow you to quickly turn

FFECT TWEAK knob.

ELECT above). If

any of the four effects on or off (the effects are on when the buttons are lit).

• The EQ button turns on/off the 6-Band Semi-Parametric EQ

• The S

• The M

• The D

TOMP button turns on/off the loaded Stomp-Box effect

OD button turns on/off the loaded Modulation effect

ELAY/VERB button turns on/off the loaded Delay or Reverb effect.

Double-press one of these buttons to adjust the loaded effect or load a different one. For
example, just press the EQ button two times quickly and you’re instantly taken to the
EQ E

DIT page. Double-pressing the STOMP button will quickly take you to the first

Stomp Box E

DIT page. Double-press the same button again (or press the EDIT button)

to leave Edit Mode.

Controls & Connections

20

CAB/A.I.R. - Press the CAB/A.I.R. button once to pick a Cab Model to pair
with your amplifier, select the microphone used on the cabinet and even set the
amount of “room” that the mic captures. Unlike the E

FFECT ON/OFF buttons, this

button is not an on/off type control. A single press of this button simply lets you change
cabs and mics quickly. When the Cabinets are off, this button’s light will be off as well.

21

Save - When you want to store your own tweaked-up sounds in your Bass

PODxt, this button is the key. Exactly how it works is detailed in Chapter 4, Creating
& Storing Sounds. But you’re probably impatient, so here are the basics:

When using a pre-programmed sound, Bass PODxt will display the bank number,
channel letter and channel name at the top of the display. If you turn one of the knobs
or change a parameter in the E

DIT mode pages, you’ll notice an asterisk appears to the

left of the bank number. This is a reminder to you that you have tweaked the
memorized channel, and that you should save it if you want your Bass PODxt to
remember the tweak.

2• 7

To save the changes you’ve made to a Channel Memory, press the S
button will start to flash. Just press S

AVE again if you want to overwrite the currently

AVE button. The

loaded Channel, using the same name. Or, if you’d like to change the name first, use
the middle two Soft Buttons to select a character, then press the right soft button and
turn the E

DEST, turn the EFFECT TWEAK knob, and you will see that you are switching

FFECT TWEAK knob to change the character. Press the soft button under

through memory locations A, B, C, and D in each of the sixteen numbered banks.
Pick one to store your sound in, and press that S

AVE button a second time. The

button’s light will stop flashing, a progress bar will shown on the display, and the
sound is stored at the location you chose, replacing the sound that was there before.

After the sound is stored, you can bring it back any old time by simply turning the

S

ELECT knob to call up the location where you stored it. (See Chapter 8 to learn

how to do all this with your feet on the optional foot controllers).
If you aren’t using one of the Bass PODxt Channel Memories — you’re in Manual

mode, and you’re just getting the sound of where the knobs are set — you can store that
state into a memory location the same way. Press S

T

WEAK to choose a place to save to, and press SAVE again.

AVE, then DEST, then use EFFECT

Controls & Connections

If you decide you don’t want to store the sound after you’ve started saving, press any
other button to cancel the save. (The save will also be canceled if you don’t touch
anything for 15 seconds after pressing S

2• 8

sound you liked, the S
version of a Channel Memory any time. See Chapter 4 for details on this feature.

The S

AVE button also lets you customize any of the Amp Models and Effect Setups to

your own taste, so your favorite version of the amp or effect comes up instantly when
you turn A

22

While E

MP MODELS or EFFECTS. See Chapter 4 for the details on that.

Edit - A deep-dive into tone central is available at the press of the EDIT button.

DIT is lit, the SELECT knob selects pages of everything that makes up a

Channel Memory. From here, you set all the effect parameters, select cabinets and
microphones, and assign a parameter to the E
about deep editing, please see Chapter 4.

23

Tune/System - Press that puppy and — shazam! Instant digital chromatic

tuner. All Amp Model and effects processing are bypassed so you can hear those
questionably-tuned strings clearly, should you choose to do so.

Play a note on your bass and Bass PODxt will show you what it is on that handy display;
all notes are displayed as flats, so you’ll see A instead of G . Play that string you’re
trying to tune again, spin its tuning key so it goes sharp and flat, and the little ball will
move to the right if it’s sharp and back down to the left when the note’s flat. The little
ball will sit right in the middle when you’ve got it just right. Give Bass PODxt’s T

S

YSTEM button a push and the tuner disappears just as swiftly as it came, taking you

right back to normal operation.

AVE.) If you accidentally save over a factory

AVE button’s additional pages let you recall the factory preset

FFECT TWEAK knob. To learn more

UNE/

Tuner Bypass/Volume - Normally, the audio will be muted while you’re tuning, but
if you prefer to hear yourself tune, press the button labeled Mute, and turn E
T

WEAK counter-clockwise to select Bypass.

FFECT

Tuner Reference - Want a different reference than A=440Hz? When you’re in the
tuner mode, press the button labeled 440 Hz and turn the E

FFECT TWEAK knob on

Bass PODxt while watching the display. This control lets you set the reference
frequency anywhere from 430-450 Hz. This setting is stored so you don’t have to reset

Controls & Connections

it every time you turn on Bass PODxt if you decide you want to be different (or if that
piano in your rehearsal room has decided to be different).

24

Tap - Bass PODxt allows you to control the time and speed of your Mod and

Delay effects by simply tapping on this button. To use the T

AP control, just tap the

button at the tempo you want and the effects that are set to “lock” to that tempo will
change to match what you tapped. There’s also a Tempo parameter near the end of the

E

DIT pages, so you’ll see exactly what Tempo you’ve Tapped. This is especially useful if

you are trying to nudge your T

AP setting to just the right value. See Chapter 4 to

learn how to set up effects to follow the tempo that you’ve tapped.

2• 9

Controls & Connections Bass PODxt Pro

26

Bass PODxt Pro

The following controls and connections are found on the Bass PODxt Pro only.

2• 10

25

Input Level - The NORMAL setting of this switch is appropriate for most

basses with non-active pickups. If you see the CLIP light coming on, that means
you’re overloading Bass PODxt Pro’s input. If that happens frequently, try the PA D
setting here. This switches in input circuitry that’s appropriate for hotter signals output
by some basses with active pickups, or from keyboards and other sources. For those non­bass sources you may also want to try the rear panel Line Level Input , which is a
balanced TRS connection. A separate CLIP indicator shows in the display if you are
clipping in the internal DSP.

26

I/O & Dig Select - Press this to tell your Bass PODxt Pro what it’s

connected to so it gives the best sound, and to choose digital audio and other options.

•Press it once to select where you’re going to connect your input source to the Bass
PODxt Pro, and exactly what you want to come out of the digital outputs.

•Press it a second time to tell Bass PODxt Pro whether you’re using it in the studio
or live, how you have connected your effects loop and what kind of digital gear you
have connected to Bass PODxt Pro.

28

29

•Press it a third time to access the options for Bass PODxt Pro’s Bi-Amp mode.

•A fourth press will dismiss the pages and take you back to whatever was in the
display before you pressed the button.

27

Signal Light - This lights to say, “Yep, I’m hearing some input.” If you’ve got

something feeding audio to your Bass PODxt Pro but you can’t hear it and don’t see it
here, press the I/O & DIG SELECT button and be sure you’ve got the right input
selected. (This light doesn’t show input from USB, by the way.)

Controls & Connections Bass PODxt Pro

28

Clip Light - This lights to say, “Whoa, Nelly! That’s too much input!” (And,
again, it doesn’t show the status of USB audio.) Reduce the output level of the bass or
other device that’s feeding your Bass PODxt Pro, or try the Pad setting of the handy
Input Level switch. For non-bass sources, you may instead want to use the...

29

Line Level Input - Here’s a balanced connector for non-bass sources (or

25

the line level output of a wireless bass system). It’s also perfect for “re-amping”—
feeding an already-recorded bass into Bass PODxt Pro for further processing. To use it,
you’ll also need to press the I/O & DIG SELECT button and select the Line
Input. The front panel’s Signal light shows you when you’ve got some signal
coming, and the C

28

LIP light shows you when you’re overdoing it and need to

27

26

reduce the level you’re feeding to Bass PODxt Pro.

30

Unprocessed Bass Out - This connector actually has at least a couple of

potential uses. If you’ve got a separate rack-mount tuner, you can feed it with this signal
for instance. But the real reason it’s here is to let you do the kind of after the fact
adjustments to your bass tone that Pro Tools users with our Amp Farm plug-in software
have come to rely on.

The idea is this: you record this unprocessed bass out signal to your recording system.
Then, you play it back through the Line Level Input of your Bass PODxt Pro

29

when you’re mixing, and you can change amps, effects and every other aspect of your
bass tone with complete flexibility.

2• 11

’Course, it would be pretty hard to record a good bass take without hearing the amp and
effects sound that you were planning to use, right? The answer is that you don’t listen to
this unprocessed signal while recording—instead, you monitor your Bass PODxt Pro’s
processed output during the recording process. You can even record both the
unprocessed bass out and the Model and D.I. outputs at the same time, so you’re ready
for complete flexibility in later tone adjustments, or you can just stick with what you
had. Page 3•17 has details.

Bass PODxt Pro’s digital outputs can also send unprocessed signal, if you prefer to
capture this signal digitally. You can set them to do this from the display pages of the
I/O & DIG SELECT button .

26

Controls & Connections Bass PODxt Pro

31 32

Effect Send & Return - The effects loop is designed for line level

devices, like rackmount effect processors, not for stomp boxes (which you can run
happily in front of your Bass PODxt Pro). You can choose to run the loop series or

2• 12

parallel from the display pages of the I/O & DIG SELECT button . If you have
the loop set to series, but nothing plugged into the loop return, Bass PODxt Pro is smart
enough to see this and disable the loop so you still get sound. See page 3•13 for more
details. If you want to use the loop on the D.I. only, you must still plug a cable into the
Model Send. Otherwise the D.I. loop will be sent Model + D.I. signal.

33

Unbalanced Analog Out - The display pages of the I/O & DIG

SELECT button configure these outputs for Studio or Live Use, and also allow

you to enable Bi-Amp Mode.

•In Studio Mode, these jacks are ready to plug into a recorder with –10 dBV
unbalanced inputs.

•In Live Mode, they don’t have speaker simulation, and are ready for connection to
an onstage power amp.

•When Bi-Amp Mode is enabled, the low frequency portion of your signal is sent
out the D.I. jack, while the high frequency portion goes out the Model jack, so each
jack can be connected to a separate power amp and speaker cabinet(s) to separately
amplify your lows versus your highs.

26

26

Whichever options you choose, the front panel Output knob determines how much
signal you’ll get at these jacks.

34

Balanced Analog Out - The I/O & DIG SELECT button display

“pages” configure these outputs for Studio or Live Use. In Studio Mode, they’re ready to
plug into a recorder with balanced +4 dBu inputs. In Live Mode, they’re ready to send
great sounding –10dBV signals to the house sound system or P.A. The front panel
Output knob does not affect the volume at these jacks in Live Mode. This lets you
make onstage adjustments to your volume without affecting the P.A.’s levels.

4

4

26

Controls & Connections Bass PODxt Pro

35

Ground - This switch lets you lift the grounds of Bass PODxt Pro’s XLR
Balanced Analog Outs. This can be handy if you get an audible hum caused by a ground
loop when connecting to other grounded equipment.

36

AES/EBU & S/PDIF Inputs & Outputs - These jacks send and

receive digital audio signals. The display pages of the I/O & DIG SELECT button

26

choose which of these connections to use, along with sample rate, word length
(“bits”) and other details. You can use digital input at the same time as analog output,
or analog output as the same time as digital input, or any combination. You can even
send digital audio into Bass PODxt Pro with one rate and word length, and choose a
different rate and word length for output.

Bass PODxt Pro does not include a separate clock connector, but it can clock to the
digital audio being received at either of its digital inputs, even if you are using an analog
input to get audio into your Bass PODxt Pro. You can, for instance, connect a digital
output from your digital mixer Bass PODxt Pro’s S/PDIF input, press the I/O & DIG
SELECT button , set the

26

FORMAT to MATCH SPDIF, and Bass PODxt Pro will

clock to your mixer. Bass PODxt Pro will also format the digital audio it outputs to
match the incoming format.

2• 13

GETTING SET UP • All Purpose Basics

GETTING SET UP

The numbers in black boxes below and throughout the chapter refer to the back cover
foldout’s illustrations

Bass PODxt is ready to give you world-class tone, no matter what you’re plugging
into. It’s as happy to live on stage as it is working alongside the most elite of world­class recording systems. (And who wouldn’t be?) To tell you what you need for
where you’re going, this chapter’s got three sections:

Bass PODxt - In the Studio
Bass PODxt - Playing Live
Bass PODxt Pro - Connection & Configuration

But first, it’s the...

All Purpose Basics

1. Plug the power supply or cable into the wall, and connect it to the power connector

on your Bass PODxt.

3 • 1

2. Connect your bass to Bass PODxt’s I

3. Bass PODxt: Connect Bass PODxt to whatever you’re going to be playing it into.

The O
connectors, ready to rock with pro +4dBu balanced equipment. They will also work
quite happily with unbalanced -10dBV equipment and standard bass cables.

Bass PODxt Pro: Use either pair of rear panel outputs, and see the details in the
third section of this chapter. Press the I/O & DIG SELECT button to select
Bass (or whatever else you want) as your input.

UTPUT connectors are balanced 1/4-inch TRS (tip/ring/sleeve)

5

NPUT (Bass PODxt Pro’s BASS IN) .

2

26

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — In The Studio

23

Bass PODxt — In The Studio

Bass PODxt Pro users, fast forward to the Bass PODXT Pro – Configurations &
Connections section at the end of this chapter.

3 • 2

To use the USB connector, visit www.line6.com to download Bass PODxt USB Driver
Software which includes instructions for use.

What are you connecting to?

Your Bass PODxt needs to adjust itself to deliver the best possible sound depending on
what you’re connecting to. Press the T

16

knob clockwise until the display asks, “What are you connecting to?”

Press the Soft Button below

STUDIO: DIRECT mode. In this mode, Line 6’s exclusive A.I.R. II DSP is active, and

DEST and turn the EFFECT TWEAK knob to select

you are treated to a virtual speaker-cabinet-air-microphone experience that’s so good
you may never use a regular bass amplifier and microphone set up again.

The

DEST setting you select will be remembered by your Bass PODxt, so you don’t have

to re-set it every time you power up. If you change it to a different setting for a special
situation you come across, don’t forget to change it back again to the setting you
normally use once you get back to your standard setup. When you plug your
headphones into Bass PODxt,

DEST will be automatically set to STUDIO: DIRECT,

giving you the best tone for private jamming.

UNE/SYSTEM button and turn the SELECT

14

The Ins and Outs of Great Tone

If you’re hooking your Bass PODxt up to a recorder, mixer, or other equipment, be sure
you are plugging its outputs into line level inputs on your other gear, as opposed to
microphone level or bass level inputs. This will ensure that you get the best signal-to­noise ratio (lots of juicy bass tone, not too much hiss) with Bass PODxt. Some
equipment only gives you a single input for both mic & line level sources, allowing you
to trim low level signals (like mics) up to a high level at the inputs. If you are plugging

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — In The Studio

your Bass PODxt into one of these inputs, try setting the trim to minimum, and
twisting Bass PODxt’s O

UTPUT and CHANNEL VOLUME knobs up to

4

11

maximum. If your equipment has a couple of open line-level only inputs, you’ll
probably get better performance by plugging into these, rather than the wide-ranging
mic-to-line level trimmed inputs.

Setting Levels

Start by setting Bass PODxt to the sound you intend to use, play hard, and set

C

HANNEL VOLUME as close to max as you can without getting the CLIP indicator

in Bass PODxt’s display. Now play with the Bass PODxt O

11

UTPUT knob and any input

volume control on your system so you can get the maximum sound level out of your
Bass PODxt without going so far that you overdrive the input on your system and cause
unwanted distortion.

TIP: You probably want to have all of your favorite sounds as loud as
possible, while also having the right difference in volume between your
standard sounds, and other sounds, etc. Right? OK, then, to get this happy
balance, start with your favorite ‘clean’ sounds. Turn up their Chan Vol as
high as you can without getting the CLIP indicator in Bass PODxt’s display
when you strum play and save them that way. Then switch amongst them
to see if some are too loud, and turn them down a bit to match well with
the others. Next, its time to move on to select your ‘dirtier’ distorted or
synth tones, comparing them to the clean sounds and saving them with
lower Chan Vol settings to match well with those standard sounds. Now,
each time you use your Bass PODxt, you just have to set an Output
volume level you like, and you can switch amongst your various sounds
without unhappy volume differences.

Radiation Alert

You’re also likely to find, especially if you are using a bass with single coil pickups, that
it is quite easy to pick up some serious noise from any computer CRT (which stands for
cathode ray tube) display you might have in your studio. CRT displays are, after all, just
special purpose ray guns that shoot photons at you all day long. Your bass pickups
receive and amplify the electro-magnetic fields that your display radiates, and you hear
this in your audio signal as buzz and hum. Moving farther from the CRT, and turning
your bass so it does not directly face the computer’s display, will minimize this problem.
But if you find yourself in a tight studio setup, needing to lay down some quick tracks,
and being pestered by CRT-induced buzz, you may find it helpful to do as we have

3 • 3

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — In The Studio

sometimes done: set up your track to record and start your pre-roll; reach up and flick
your computer monitor’s power switch off; record your bass part; stop your recording,
flick the monitor back on, and check out the buzz-free playback. Flatscreen LCD
monitors generally don’t cause hum and buzz.

3 • 4

Pedal Power

Bass PODxt has a couple of foot control options that make getting great bass tracks
even easier: the L
in a later chapter, it’s good to know that both allow you to select Bass PODxt channels,
tap in your effect speeds/times/tempos, and kick in the tuner, plus both give you Wah
and Volume pedal control. Whichever of these two Line 6 foot controllers you choose,
it will plug into the Bass PODxt
Board and FB4 pedals will not work with your Bass PODxt.

INE 6 FBV and FBV Shortboard. While we’ll go into all the details

6

Pedal jack. Remember that the older Line 6 Floor

MIDI Mania

Those of you with MIDI-capable studios will find that your Bass PODxt lets you control
everything via MIDI. Using MIDI, you can select any Bass PODxt Channel and
automate any Bass PODxt parameter. You are truly lord of your domain. Pretty neat,
huh? Read the Deep Editing & MIDI Control chapter if you plan to venture into
this realm.

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — Playing Live

5

Bass PODxt — Playing Live

Bass PODXT Pro users, fast forward to the Bass PODXT Pro – Configurations &
Connections section at the end of this chapter.

Mount Up

If you perform live, you’ll probably want to have the Bass PODxt in a handy spot on
stage. One of the easiest ways to get it there is with the optional Bass PODxt mic stand/
amp top adaptor you can get from Line 6 — it’s described on the Line 6 web site (where
it can also be purchased). We know this is another shameless plug to get you to buy
more gear, but what the heck — this really is a handy little item to get the Bass
PODxt’s deliciously curved aluminum chassis wherever you need it for mid-show

tweaking. And that custom PODxt carry bag is simply smashing.... But let’s get back to

educational stuff:

Keeping Your Options Open

When you’re playing live with Bass PODxt, you’ve got a choice of setups. You can plug
straight out of the Bass PODxt’s outputs into the house system for awesome tone
without the hassle of mics and cabinets and all that other stage setup. You can also
choose to run Bass PODxt’s M

ODEL OUPUT into a power amp and speaker

cabinets, using it as the ultimate preamp. Or, you can plug your Bass PODxt in between
your bass and a bass amplifier so Bass PODxt acts as a tone shaping front end for the
amp. Whichever setup you choose, you’re gonna have to tell your Bass PODxt about it
first. Read along and we’ll get’cha dialed in like a pro.

What are you connecting to?

You can supply your Bass PODxt with one of three answers to this question, and
thereby ensure that your little pal gives you the best possible tones in any setup. To
start the dialogue, press the T
knob until the display asks, “What are you connecting to?”

UNE/SYSTEM button and then turn the SELECT

24

16

3 • 5

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — Playing Live

The options here are:

STUDIO DIRECT—When plugging Bass PODxt straight into a P.A., or using in-ear

monitoring systems, press the Soft Button below
knob to select

14

STUDIO DIRECT for amazing tone, night after night. Line 6

exclusive A.I.R. processing serves up a virtual speaker-cabinet-air-microphone

3 • 6

experience so good you may never use a regular bass amplifier and microphone on
stage again. You’re as powerful as the entire P.A.—and guaranteed to be in the mix!

LIVE W HORN & LIVE NO HORN—Choose one of these settings when plugging into

a combo amp, head and bass cabinets, or power amp and bass cabinets. Choose

HORN if your system doesn’t have a horn or high frequency driver, or you’ve chosen

to turn them off on your speaker cabinet. Choose the
includes a horn or other high frequency driver. The Mic component of A.I.R. is
turned off, and the Cabinet Models are revoiced to sound their best coming through
the kind of setup you choose.

DEST and turn the EFFECT TWEAK

NO

W HORN option if your system

Bass PODxt remembers the

DEST setting you choose, so you don’t have to re-set it

every time you power up. If you change to a different setting when using a different
setup, don’t forget to change back to your standard setting once you get back to your
regular setup.

Getting The Right Tone With An Amp

When you’re playing Bass PODxt into the front of a combo amplifier, it’s a good idea to
start off with your combo amp in neutral. What is “neutral,” you ask? Well, if you only
have one volume control on your amp, set it low enough to get a “clean” tone; that
ensures Bass PODxt’s sounds come through as purely as possible. If you have a master
volume in addition to a volume control on the input, set them both so that the first
volume doesn’t overdrive the master volume (so you’re getting a clean tone). This will
vary from amp to amp, but usually the input volume is going to be less than the master
volume to get a clean, non-distorted sound. If you have passive tone controls, try
setting your mid control at max, and your treble and bass controls at zero (this is
actually “flat” equalization-wise on most amps). Active tone controls may vary, but just
be sure you’re not overdriving the amp so the Bass PODxt tone comes through without
extra coloration. Once you get going, you can tweak the amplifier settings to suit your
tastes. Try to set the Bass PODxt’s O
amp.

UTPUT so you’re not overdriving the input of the

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — Playing Live

If you have a bass amp with an effect return or a jack that lets you connect directly to
the input to the power amp, you can plug Bass PODxt’s output right into that
connection and that will generally bypass the tone controls of the amp and avoid their
coloring of Bass PODxt’s tones. When plugging into the effect return or amp directly
this way, you want to choose

LIVE NO HORN or LIVE W HORN on the “What Are You

Connecting To?” page.

External Stomp Boxes and Bass PODxt

If you’ve been playing bass for a while, you probably have some favorite pedals that you
dig. And even though Bass PODxt has now graced your life with some pretty hip stomp
box and rack effects models, you probably still want to have the option of keeping those
old pedals in your arsenal. No problem! Just remember that if you’re going to use Bass
PODxt with those other effects boxes in front, they’re going to act differently based on
the Amp Model you’ve selected on your Bass PODxt. It’s just like you’d expect —
different combinations will produce a veritable feast of tone! Some distortion boxes
may sound overly harsh if you max their output volume into your Bass PODxt. Try
lowering the distortion box’s volume, and you can always add more gain with Bass
PODxt’s D

RIVE knob or its own STOMP effects.

Bi-Amp Mode

Bass PODxt includes a Bi-Amp Mode. Bi-Amping is the technique of using a crossover
to split a signal into its higher frequency and lower frequency portions, and sending
each frequency range to a different amplification system. Lows would typically be sent
to a power amp setup with lots of wattage and large diameter speakers, while highs
would be sent to smaller diameter speakers and/or horns. Bass PODxt’s Bi-Amp Mode
includes selectable slope and frequency.

3 • 7

To activate Bass PODxt’s Bi-Amp mode and adjust its options, press the T
S

YSTEM button and then turn the SELECT knob until you see the page with

24

16

UNE/

the heading “Bi-Amp Setup”:

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt — Playing Live

3 • 8

Press the far-left Soft Button below

OFF—Bi-amp Mode is off, and Bass PODxt functions normally, sending the Model

SLOPE and select from the options:

signal out its Model output, and D.I. signal out the D.I. output.
6dB, 12dB, 18dB or 24dB—Bi-Amp Mode is on. Text appears on the right side of

the screen to tell you that Lows are being sent to the D.I. output, and Highs are being
sent to the Model output. Each of the available slopes has different characteristics:

6dB This is a single pole crossover, a gentle slope that is phase and amplitude

coherent. The gentleness of the slope means that a fair amount of low
frequency content is left in the highs, and a fair amount of high frequency
content is left in the lows.

12dB: This is a 2nd order Linkwitz-Riley crossover, making a stronger separation of

the lows from the highs than the 6dB setting. The high frequency path is out
of phase.

18dB This is a 3rd order Butterworth crossover, making a still stronger separation

of the lows from the highs, while also retaining coherent phase and
amplitude.

24dB This is a 4th order Linkwitz-Riley crossover, making the strongest separation

of the lows from the highs (flat phase and amplitude). This strong slope
removes almost all high frequency content from the lows, and almost all low
frequency content from the highs.

Press the second Soft Button from the left, below

FREQ, to select the frequency of the

Bi-Amp crossover, with a range from 250Hz to 1050Hz.

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

29

Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

To use the USB connector, visit www.line6.com to download Bass PODxt USB Driver Soft­ware which includes instructions for use.

Selecting An Input

Press the I/O & DIG SELECT button once to see this page where you select from
Bass PODxt Pro’s many inputs and digital options:

Press the far-left Soft Button below

BASS IN—Pick this when plugging your bass straight into the front panel INPUT

jack. When this is selected, audio from the rear panel’s line level input and digital
inputs is ignored.

LINE IN—Select this option when whatever you want to run through Bass PODxt Pro

is plugged into the rear panel Line Level Input . When this is selected, audio
from the front panel input and the digital inputs is ignored.

AES LEFT, AES RIGHT, AES L+R—Select one of these to use the rear panel AES/EBU

36

digital inputs. The

AES L+R option merges the left and right AES inputs to mono,

since Bass PODxt Pro only allows a mono input. When this is selected, the front and
rear panel analog inputs are ignored.

26

INPUT and select from these options:

2

3 • 9

SPDIF LEFT, SPDIF RIGHT, SPDIF L+R—Select one of these for the rear panel S/PDIF

36

digital inputs. The

SPDIF L+R option merges the left and right SPDIF inputs to

mono, since Bass PODxt Pro only allows a mono input. When this is selected, the front
and rear panel analog inputs are ignored.

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

Input & Digital Out Options

Press the I/O & DIG SELECT button once to see this page and select from Bass
PODxt Pro’s many inputs and several digital options:

FORMAT: Sample rate, word length (bit depth), and clock source

3 • 10

26

Press the Soft Button below FORMAT and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob to

14

choose to output any combination of 16, 20 or 24 bits along with 44.1, 48, 88.2 or
96 KHz. Bass PODxt Pro will use its internal clock to generate the sample rate you
choose.

Or choose

MATCH AES IN or MATCH SPDIF IN from the FORMAT options, to have

Bass PODxt Pro clock to the sample rate being received, and output data in the
same rate/bit format.

Clocking to external gear: Whatever you’ve selected as your input (including
analog Bass In or Line In), you can still pick
for

FORMAT to have Bass PODxt Pro slave to the clock of your other digital

MATCH AES IN or MATCH SPDIF IN

equipment. For instance, feed Bass PODxt Pro’s digital input with an output from
your digital mixer, choose that source for

FORMAT, and Bass PODxt Pro slaves to

your digital mixer’s clock and matches its digital audio format. Sweet.

MODE: Normal or Dry Bass

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

Press the Soft Button below
choose
digital outs) or

NORMAL (delicious amp-cab-fx-mic-room processed sound comes out of the

DRYBASS (unprocessed bass comes out of the digital outs). See

MODE and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob to

14

page 3•17 for more info on why this can be cool.

GAIN: Extra gain on the digital outs

Press the Soft Button below

GAIN and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob to add up

14

to 12 db of gain on the digital outs only. This can be used to increase the digital output
level of sounds that don’t have a lot of distortion or other settings that are driving their
levels up.

“Danger, Will Robinson!” Well, not danger, really, but important to know: If you are
recording the dry bass signal via the digital output and intend to re-amp the signal by
digitally feeding it back to Bass PODxt Pro later, DO NOT add gain—leave the
signal at +0db—and play the signal back from your recorder to Bass PODxt Pro’s digital
input without an increase or decrease in level. If you dash madly forward and don’t
follow this advice, you’ll be feeding the re-amp signal to Bass PODxt Pro at a different
level than the signal that was used while you were tracking the bass in the first place,
and the change in input gain to Bass PODxt Pro will make it impossible to get a clean
sound, or will give you a less gainy sound than you expect. Of course, if you’re a danger­lover looking for unpredictable versatility during re-amping, this may be just your

thing.... See page 3•17 for more on that.

3 • 11

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

What are you connecting to?

You can supply your Bass PODxt Pro with one of three answers to this question, and
thereby insure that your trusty tone partner gives you the best possible sound in any
setup. To start the dialogue, press the I/O & D
display ask, “What are you connecting to?”

3 • 12

STUDIO: DIRECT—When plugging Bass PODxt Pro straight into a P.A., or using in-

ear monitoring systems, press the Soft Button below
T

WEAK knob to select STUDIO: DIRECT for amazing tone, night after night.

Line 6 exclusive A.I.R. processing serves up a virtual speaker-cabinet-air -microphone
experience so good you may never use a regular bass amplifier and microphone on
stage again. You’re as powerful as the entire P.A.—and guaranteed to be in the mix!

LIVE: WITH/WITHOUT HORN—These modes are best when you are running into a

power amp that is driving bass cabinets. The Mic and Room components of A.I.R.
are turned off, and the Cabinet Models are revoiced to sound their best coming
through the kind of speaker you choose.

14

IG SELECT button twice to see the

DEST and turn the EFFECT

26

Bass PODxt Pro remembers the

DEST setting you choose, so you don’t have to re-set

every time you power up. If you change to a different setting when using a different
setup, don’t forget to change back to your standard setting once you’re back to your
regular setup.

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

FX Loop

Press the Soft Button below FX LOOP and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob to
choose

SERIES or PARALLEL operation for the loop.

14

3 • 13

Setting

LOOP to SERIES means that Bass PODxt Pro will send its full signal out to the

effect, and then output the signal that returns from the effect. If you turn the effect off,
or turn its output level all the way down, you won’t hear anything. Use the mix control
on the effect unit that’s connected to the loop to determine how much effect you hear
versus how much of the uneffected Bass PODxt Pro sound.

If you set

LOOP to PARALLEL, Bass PODxt Pro sends a parallel copy of its signal to the

loop, while simultaneously sending its signal to its own outputs as usual. Some people
prefer this type of setup, because only a small portion of their tone is run through the
effect, preventing some effect units from degrading their overall tone. When running
parallel, you should set the mix control on the effect unit that’s connected to the loop
to 100% wet. Then adjust the balance of effect versus uneffected Bass PODxt Pro sound
by adjusting the output volume control of the connected effect unit.

PLEASE NOTE: Many effects can result in compromised sound when run in
parallel, because the signal coming back from the effect unit is out of phase
with the signal that has stayed in the Bass PODxt Pro. This is generally not
a problem for delay or reverb, as long as the external effect is running 100%
wet. It is often a problem with modulation effects (chorus, phase, flange,
etc.), compression, or any other effect that includes some unprocessed
sound mixed with processed sound. For these effects, series is generally the
way to go with the effects loop.

ALSO NOTE: To loop on the D.I. only, you must still plug a cable into the
Model Send. Otherwise the D.I. loop will be sent Model + D.I. signal.

You can turn the loop on/off from a connected FBV foot controller or the loop on/off
parameter in the last E

DIT displays. This on/off state is stored with Channels that you

save, so you can have some with the loop on, and some with the loop off.

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

AES/EBU or S/PDIF Data Format?

Bass PODxt’s AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital outputs are both active at the same time,
and each have the electrical properties appropriate to their respective digital standards.
The ones-and-zeroes digital data that is transmitted in the AES/EBU and S/PDIF
standard is almost—but not exactly—the same.

3 • 14

Since both of Bass PODxt Pro’s physical digital outputs always sends the same data,
we’ve given you the

DIGOUT parameter to decide whether this data should be

formatted according to the AES/EBU standard, or the S/PDIF standard. In practice,
many pieces of equipment will accept either data format from either connector, but if
you want to be sure you are sending exactly the right format that you prefer, this
parameter is for you:

Bi-Amp Mode

Bass PODxt includes a Bi-Amp Mode. Bi-Amping is the technique of using a crossover
to split a signal into its higher frequency and lower frequency portions, and sending
each frequency range to a different amplification system. Lows would typically be sent
to a power amp setup with lots of wattage and large diameter speakers, while highs
would be sent to smaller diameter speakers and/or horns.

To activate Bass PODxt’s Bi-Amp mode and adjust its options, press the T

S

YSTEM button and then turn the SELECT knob until you see the page with

24

16

the heading “Bi-Amp Setup”:

UNE/

Press the far-left Soft Button below

SLOPE and select from the options:

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

OFF—Bi-amp Mode is off, and Bass PODxt functions normally, sending the Model

signal out its Model output, and D.I. signal out the D.I. output.
6dB, 12dB, 18dB or 24dB—Bi-Amp Mode is on. Text appears on the right side of

the screen to tell you that Lows are being sent to the D.I. output, and Highs are being
sent to the Model output. Each of the available slopes has different characteristics:

6dB This is a single pole crossover, a gentle slope that is phase and amplitude

coherent. The gentleness of the slope means that a fair amount of low
frequency content is left in the highs, and a fair amount of high frequency
content is left in the lows.

12dB: This is a 2nd order Linkwitz-Riley crossover, making a stronger separation of

the lows from the highs than the 6dB setting. The high frequency path is out
of phase.

18dB This is a 3rd order Butterworth crossover, making a still stronger separation

of the lows from the highs, while also retaining coherent phase and
amplitude.

24dB This is a 4th order Linkwitz-Riley crossover, making the strongest separation

of the lows from the highs (flat phase and amplitude). This strong slope
removes almost all high frequency content from the lows, and almost all low
frequency content from the highs.

Press the second Soft Button from the left, below

FREQ, to select the frequency of the

Bi-Amp crossover, with a range from 48Hz to 1440Hz..

PLEASE NOTE: When Bi-Amp Mode is on, Bass PODxt Pro’s effects send
is sent the Bi-Amped Model signal rather then the Model and D.I. signals, so
the effects loop lets you separately effect your lows and your highs.

3 • 15

Radiation Alert

You’ll probably find, especially if you are using a bass with single coil pickups, that it is
quite easy to pick up some serious noise from any computer CRT (which stands for
cathode ray tube) display you might have in your studio. CRT displays are, after all, just
special purpose ray guns that shoot photons at you all day long. Your bass pickups
receive and amplify the electro-magnetic fields that your display radiates, and you hear

GETTING SET UP • Bass PODxt Pro — Configurations & Connections

this in your audio signal as buzz and hum. Moving farther from the CRT, and turning
your bass so it does not directly face the computer’s display, will minimize this problem.
But if you find yourself in a tight studio setup, needing to lay down some quick tracks,
and being pestered by CRT-induced buzz, you may find it helpful to do as we have
sometimes done: set up your track to record and start your pre-roll; reach up and flick
your computer monitor’s power switch off; record your bass part; stop your recording,

3 • 16

flick the monitor back on, and check out the buzz-free playback. Flatscreen LCD
monitors generally don’t cause hum and buzz.

Pedal Power

Bass PODxt Pro has a couple of foot control options: the LINE 6 FBV and FBV
Shortboard. While we’ll go into all the details in a later chapter, it’s good to know

that both allow you to select Bass PODxt Pro channels, tap in your effect speeds/times/
tempos, and kick in the tuner, plus both give you Wah and Volume pedal control.
Whichever of these two Line 6 foot controllers you choose, it will plug into the Bass
PODxt Pro
will not work with your Bass PODxt Pro.

Pedal jack. Remember that the older Line 6 Floor Board and FB4 pedals

6

MIDI Mania

Those of you with MIDI-capable studios will find that your Bass PODxt Pro lets you
control everything via MIDI. Using MIDI, you can select any Bass PODxt Pro Channel
and automate any Bass PODxt Pro parameter. You are truly lord of your domain. Pretty
neat, huh? Read the Deep Editing & MIDI Control chapter if you plan to venture
into this realm.

GETTING SET UP • Re-Amping with Bass PODxt Pro

Re-Amping with Bass PODxt Pro

Having issues with commitment? Bass PODxt Pro address your needs with its support
for re-amping—the process of recording “dry,” unprocessed bass and then processing it
“live” during mixing so that you have totally flexibility to adjust your tone. This is
similar to the way most people record vocals without reverb—they may “audition”
some reverb while tracking, but the vocal signal sent to their recorder is generally sent
without the reverb, so they can make the final choice of reverb tone and amount during
mixdown. Even if you don’t plan to rely on re-amping all the time, you may find it
handy to record a re-amp-ready dry bass at the same time as your standard processed
bass signal, so the dry bass is standing by if you need to salvage what might otherwise
turn out to be an unusable take of a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

Analog Re-amping

Just like you would for normal recording, connect your bass to the Bass In jack on the
front of the Bass PODxt Pro. And connect Bass PODxt Pro’s Analog Outs to your
audio system to you can hear what’s coming out. Play a little bass just to make sure
you’re hearing it. OK so far.

Now, connect the rear panel Unprocessed Bass Out to an analog input of your
recording device, and route it to a record track. This is the signal you’ll be recording so
it can be used for re-amping during mixdown. You may also, if you wish, track Bass
PODxt Pro’s Model Output (and D.I., if you like) to your recorder at the same time.

3 • 17

Connect the monitor output from this record track that’s receiving the unprocessed
bass signal to the rear panel Line In jack of Bass PODxt Pro. Press the I/O & D

S

ELECT button once to see this page:

Press the Soft Button below

LINE IN. Bass PODxt Pro is now ready to process the signal that’s received at the Line

26

INPUT and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob to choose

14

IG

In, while simultaneously sending your unprocessed bass signal to the Unprocessed
Bass Out, so you can record it.

GETTING SET UP • Re-Amping with Bass PODxt Pro

Dial up your tone as you normally would, and record. The dry signal will be recorded,
and all the while you will hear the full Amp, Cab and Effects processing of your Bass
PODxt Pro coming out its Model output at the same time. Like listening to reverb on
your vocal while recording, without committing it to the recorded track. Pretty cool,
huh?

3 • 18

Now, as you mix, you can adjust the bass tone to your heart’s content. Turn up the
Drive a little, back off on the Chorus—heck, change the Amp Model and use a
different modeled microphone selection. When you are ready to commit a processed
sound to a track, you can record the analog or digital Model output of the Bass PODxt
Pro to your recording system.

Digital Re-amping

In this scenario, we’re going to track Bass PODxt Pro’s analog outputs, while also
recording a “safety” track of dry bass digitally, so the dry bass can be used later if you
need to make a tone change.

Connect your bass to the Bass In jack on the front of the Bass PODxt Pro. Connect
Bass PODxt Pro’s Analog Outs to your audio system so you can record them while you
are also listening to what’s coming out of them. Play a little bass. Hear it? OK so far.

Press the I/O & D

IG SELECT button once to see this page if it’s not already

shown:

Press the Soft Button below

BASS IN. Select DRYBASS for the MODE option. Connect Bass PODxt Pro’s AES/EBU

INPUT and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob to choose

or S/PDIF digital outputs to your recorder. Do not monitor this signal while
recording—you’re simply “saving it for a rainy day” so that you can “fix it in the mix.”

26

14

Also, be sure

GAIN is set to +0dB; adding gain to get a hotter signal to your record track

won’t improve signal to noise ratio or any other aspect of audio quality, and will cause
problems when you actually attempt to use this signal later for re-amping, so take our
advice: don’t do it!

GETTING SET UP • Re-Amping with Bass PODxt Pro

Now, the idea is to record the Model (and D.I. if you like) analog output to your
recorder, while the dry bass is also being recorded on a separate track. Monitoring the
processed bass signal and punching in/out works exactly as you would expect it to if you
were recording any other analog signal into your recording app/device. The bonus here
is that you also have a digitally recorded unprocessed bass signal that can be used to
create a new (or additional) sound that you can use later. Speaking of which...

When you want to make use of that digitally recorded dry bass signal, send it out of your
recorder to one of Bass PODxt Pro’s digital inputs, and select that

INPUT as AES RIGHT

has been selected here:

Don’t change (increase or decrease) the playback level of the dry bass track; send it out
to Bass PODxt Pro at exactly the same level it was recorded at. Then connect Bass
PODxt Pro’s analog or digital Model Outputs (and D.I., if you like) to your recorder,
and you can record processed bass sound while making whatever tone changes best fit
the needs of your final production.

3 • 19

Creating & Storing Sounds • Recalling Channel Memories

CREATING & STORING SOUNDS

This chapter gives you the inside scoop on editing your new Bass PODxt. Here, we’ll
take you through everything from loading and changing sounds to full customization of
Bass PODxt’s Amp and Effect Models. Even you power users will want to read on and
learn the tips and tricks to the quickest way around for instant tonal satisfaction.

Recalling Channel Memories

When you first turn your Bass PODxt on, the display will look something like this:

4 • 1

Use the S
Banks, where each Bank has four Channel Memories: A, B, C, D. (Chapter 8 tells
how to do this and more with your feet to make your bass-playing hands happy!)

Try spinning that S
perhaps lots more drive? No problem! Simply reach up, grab a knob and twiddle away,
my friend. In addition to the tone, volume and C
handy on/off buttons for the effects, plus the smart E
ready to change the most important effects parameter.

ELECT knob to spin through the channels, which are organized into 16

ELECT knob to find something you like. Need a bit more bass, or

OMPRESS knobs, you’ve got those

FFECT TWEAK knob that is always

Recalling Effect Setups

One of the handier functions of your new Bass PODxt is the ability to create and save
custom Effect Setups. Think of them like pre-wired pedal-boards, or pre-programmed
rack gear. Your Bass PODxt sports 64 of these setups, and they are accessed by turning
the E

FFECTS knob. Give that knob a spin to see the names and hear the sounds of all

those Effect Setups as you turn. Later in this chapter we’ll show you how to save your
own custom Effect Setups for use anytime, anywhere!

Creating & Storing Sounds • Stompbox-style Control

Stompbox-style Control

The Bass PODxt lets you turn four Bass PODxt effects on or off just as you would any
other stompbox in your arsenal. The buttons above the Bass PODxt display are the key:

EQ—This turns Bass PODxt’s 6-Band semi-parametric EQ on or off. Double press for
the E

DIT pages that have the adjustable settings for the EQ.

Stomp—This is where the distortion boxes, some stomp box compressors and Auto

4 • 2

Wah live. Like all the other effect buttons, press to turn on or off, double-press to

E

DIT.

Mod—Bass PODxt comes with several flavors of modulation effects. Use this button
to turn the loaded one on or off, double-press to E

Delay/Verb—The delay and reverb models are found here. Press on, press off,
double press to E

DIT.

Editing Basics

In this section we’ll take a trip into tweak. A Deep Dive into the way your Bass PODxt
works, and how to make it best work for you. Bass PODxt’s knobs, buttons and display
give you direct access to absolutely every detail. No need to connect to a computer for
detailed editing as is required for the original Bass POD.

DIT.

To begin your editing adventure, all you have to do is press the E
up. Now turn the S

ELECT knob. Well lookey here, everything you’d ever want to tweak

DIT button to light it

on your Bass PODxt is right there in front of you. To change something shown on the
display, simply press the S
Everything you tweak here, by the way, is remembered when you press S

OFT BUTTON directly below it and spin EFFECT TWEAK.

AVE and

choose a Channel Memory to save to.

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

Double Press for Easy Access

Want to change the Mod effect, or pick a different Delay/Verb model? No worries!
Press twice quickly on the EQ, S

TOMP, MOD or DELAY/VERB button any time to go

straight to the first page of parameters for the associated effect. Another double-press
will pop you right back out of E
button just takes a single press to select its page, or leave E

DIT, so you can surf for more tone. (The CAB/A.I.R.

DIT.)

Inside the Edit Menu

When the EDIT button is lit, you’ll see that there is a graphic representation of the
E

DIT “menu” on the left side of the Bass PODxt’s display. Turn the select knob, and

notice that the box in the graphic slides up and down the menu, with each dot in the
graphic representing one of the available E
you keep your place in the great circle of life, er, E

DIT pages. This “scroll bar” is there to help

DIT pages.

Amp knob settings

With the EDIT button lit, spin the SELECT knob counterclockwise to select the first
page from the E
It looks like this:

At the top of the display you’ll also see the Amp Model name. Now, spin the A

M

ODELS knob. See how the tone controls change? This shows you the settings that the

helpful elves at Line 6 have programmed for each Amp Model. Read on to find out how
to customize them for your taste.

Look carefully now... do you see the little ‘dots’ by the knobs? These tell you where the
knobs were last saved. Reach up and spin the Drive knob. Notice that the knob moves
on the display. Cool, huh? And notice that the little dots are still where they were. This
allows you to compare your edit with the saved settings for this Channel Memory.
Now, that’s handy!

DIT menu. This page shows the knob settings for the current channel.

MP

4 • 3

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

Cabinet and Mic settings (There’s magic in the A.I.R.!)

From the Amp Knob display, turn Select one click to the right (you can also get here

4 • 4

directly by pressing the C

These are the advanced A.I.R. settings where you can mix and match any cabinet
model with any amp, as well as dial in the perfect microphone setup.

AB/A.I.R. button). You’re now looking at something like this:

Press the button under the displayed word

CAB, then use the EFFECT TWEAK knob to

spin through the available Cabinet models.
You can change the microphone selection or spread of the room the same way. Press

the button under the displayed word
the Mic options, or press the button under

MIC, then use EFFECT TWEAK to spin through

ROOM and dial in more or less room.

These settings allow you to completely customize the sound of the virtual recording
environment we call A.I.R. — all without leaving the privacy of your own mind!
Remember, you can get to this page at anytime from anywhere with a single press of the

C

AB/A.I.R. button.

Effects Editing

You edit all of Bass PODxt’s Effects the same way. Simply double-press any effect on/off
button to jump directly to the first page for that effect, press a button beneath the
display to select a parameter, and twiddle the E
selected. To get to any other page, whether for Reverb or whatever, turn the S
knob while the E

DIT button is lit. And your handy “scrollbar” on the left of the display

lets you know where you are. See? We knew you were a power user, deep down inside.
In general, most effects only have two pages worth of parameters to keep it simple, and

the most common parameters are on the first page. So if you can’t find what you’re
looking for on the first page, turn S

ELECT one click clockwise and you’ll probably see

what you need there.

FFECT TWEAK knob to tweak what’s

ELECT

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

Double-press the EQ button to see its first edit page, which looks like this:

The 6 graphic sliders on the left side of the page show you the gain settings of the six
bands of Bass PODxt’s 6 Band Semi-Parametric EQ. The bands toward the left are for
lower frequencies, the bands toward the right are for higher frequencies, and you can
adjust the gain and frequency of each of them. The far left band is a low shelf, affecting
all the sound at and below the frequency you select for it, and the far right is a high
shelf, affecting the sound at and above its frequency. The middle four are band pass
filters, affecting the sound centered on their frequency. The currently selected band is
shown with heavier graphics, like the sixth band in the illustration. Press one of the
two Soft Buttons on the left to SELECT one of the six bands for adjusting.

Pressing the two left Soft Buttons simultaneously for a half second will set the EQ
“flat,” so all bands have a gain setting of 0 and a default setting for frequency. Press the
third Soft Button from the left and turn the E
the correctly selected band. Press the far right Soft Button and turn the E

T

WEAK knob to adjust FREQ for the correctly selected band. As you do all this, you can

FFECT TWEAK knob to adjust GAIN for

FFECT

press the EQ button any time to turn it off (light off) and on (light on) to see what
difference the EQ is making, and insure that the changes you’re making are improving
your sound.

4 • 5

Config

From the first EQ edit page, turn the SELECT knob to show a second EQ edit page. The

CONFIG parameter on this page determines whether the EQ will come before (PRE) the

amp or after it (
also have this option. The fold-out rear cover of this book shows you Bass PODxt’s full
signal flow.

Here’s what’s happening when Mod and

Delay are both

POST) in the signal flow. The Mod, Delay/Verb and Volume Pedal

PRE:

AMP/CABMODULATION DELAY

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

And here’s what’s happening when
Delay is changed to be
still

PRE:

POST, and Mod is

Selecting Models

4 • 6

The STOMP, MOD and DELAY/VERB effects all allow you to choose one of several
models to run in that effect slot. Double-press the S
page for stompbox effects, and you’ll see that it has a

AMP/CAB – A.I.R. II DELAYMODULATION

TOMP button to see the single edit

MODEL parameter on the left:

Press the far left Soft Button below

MODEL and turn the EFFECT TWEAK knob to

choose from the various models. As you select a model, it loads up with default settings
that should mean its all ready to so with a standard sound for that model. You can then
make further adjustments to fit your own tastes. Custom Save Effect Setup on

page 4•13 tells you how to save your own settings for these model defaults.

Setting your Tone to Tempo

You’re probably wondering when we were going to let you in on the secret to giving
your effects some groove. Well the secret is Note Values. Note values take the current
tempo and apply a common set of calculations to derive delay times or modulation
speeds that are perfectly in time with your music. Let’s put it this way: Ever wanted to
have a 16th note Tremolo feeding into a dotted-eighth note Delay? Now you can.

Whenever you want to set a Mod Speed or Delay Time to be groov-a-licious:

1. Select the Delay

2. Spin E

FFECT TWEAK counter-clockwise until you start seeing little notes in the

place where milliseconds or Hertz used to be.

3. Tap twice on the T
match the tempo you tapped.

TIME or Mod SPEED by pressing the button below it.

AP button to set your tempo, and your Delay and/or Mod now

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

When you set your Delay time to match dotted-eighth notes, for instance, the

TIME

control will look like this:

If you know exactly what the tempo is and don’t feel like tapping today, press the E
button if it isn’t lit already, and spin S
pages. Well look at that! There’s a

ELECT to go all the way to the end of the EDIT

TEMPO parameter for you to adjust. This is the

DIT

tempo, in Beats Per Minute, of the current channel, and you can save it so that all the
effects in this channel that you’ve told to use a note value will follow this tempo.

Mod and Delay/Verb X-Overs

While effects are great, they can sometimes cause a lack of tonal definition. The biggest
problem is often what they do to the bass frequencies, where things can get real muddy
real fast when you’re laying on effects. To help you keep your tone’s punch even while
bathing it in wetness, we’ve included a set of crossovers in the wet path of the Mod and
Delay/Verb effects of your Bass PODxt.

From the last Delay/Verb edit page, spin the S
you’ll see them:

ELECT knob one click clockwise and

4 • 7

Press the Soft Button below MOD and turn the knob down to the minimum setting to
select OFF and disable the Mod effect’s crossover. Or turn the knob clockwise to select
a frequency range from 25Hz to 800Hz. The portion of the signal below the frequency
you choose will not have the Mod effect applied to it. As you’d expect, things work
basically the same way for the Delay/Verb crossover: press the Soft Button below

VERB and choose OFF or set a frequency.

DELAY/

Since the crossover point only affects the effected part of your sound, changes will be
most noticeable when the mix of the Mod or Delay/Verb effect is set high.

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

Wah and Volume

From the Mod and Delay/Verb X-Overs edit page, spin the SELECT knob one more
click clockwise and you’ll find the W
looks something like this:

AH and VOLUME parameters. The display now

4 • 8

Let’s check out the wah first. Over the last few years, many POD users have requested
the ability to save the on/off state of the wah with a Channel Memory. That way when
you recall that channel, the wah comes on automatically. Rejoice! Rejoice! Your wish
has been granted by the all-merciful tone gods. And you didn’t even have to sacrifice
your 60’s P-Bass in a fiery devotional ceremony! (Whew.) In fact, you can even save
the position you want the wah to be set at when it comes on — by pressing the button
below

POSI and twiddling that EFFECT TWEAK knob.

Moving on to the right side of the Wah/Volume page.... Here you can determine the

behavior of an expression pedal (like the Line 6 EX-1) connected to the optional FBV
Shortboard. When

ASSIGN is set to VOLUME, the EX-1 will control Bass PODxt’s

Volume and the Shortboard’s built-in pedal will be dedicated to Wah. You can also
choose the position of the volume pedal:

ASSIGN is set to TWEAK, pedaling the expression pedal from heel to toe will move the
FX TWEAK assigned parameter from its minimum value to its maximum value.

PRE (before the amp model), or POST. When

FX Tweak Knob Assign / Tempo Assign

Imagine this: you’re in the middle of the most inspired gig of your life and you wish to
tweak the one effect parameter that would send you over the top and into sonic
nirvana...

Shazam! Your wish has been granted. Follow me to the next E
the E

FFECT TWEAK knob assignment. It looks like this:

DIT page that controls

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

From this page, you can decide what the E
Channel Memory. Just press the button under the display that’s labeled
use the E

FFECT TWEAK knob to choose the perfect parameter. The right side of this

FFECT TWEAK knob will be adjusting in this

TWEAK, and

display shows you the tempo for this Channel Memory. This tempo is used to calculate
the time/speed of any Delay and Modulation effects that you set to follow tempo. You
set the tempo by tapping the T
beneath

TEMPO and spin the EFFECT TWEAK knob until you get exactly the tempo

AP button a couple of times, or you can press the button

that will make your heart beat with passion and joy!

Gate Settings

The final edit page lets you adjust Bass PODxt’s noise gate and D.I. settings. Spin the

S

ELECT knob fully clockwise to see it:

The two parameters on the left side of this page are for the noise gate, which helps
eliminate unwanted noise when you’re not playing, and can be especially valuable
when using high gain sounds. Like a security gate, it’s supposed to quickly open to pass
the things that you want, and then swing closed to keep out the things that you don’t
want. Turn the
value will then be
your playing has to be to open the gate. More negative numbers (where the knob is
near its fully-counterclockwise setting) mean that the gate will open and allow sound
through even when you are playing quietly, and less negative numbers (where the
knob is near its fully-clockwise setting) mean that the gate will only allow sound to
pass when you are playing pretty hard. The
will swing closed. Like a gate in the real world, a fast decay means the gate might catch
your trailing foot as you pass through—in this case, that means the gate will chop off
the decay of your notes. And a slow decay means that as the gate swings slowly closed
behind you, someone might have time to slip through behind you—in this case, that
would be the unwanted noise that you hear as your notes decay. You’ll have to
experiment with the
guitar, playing style, and sound settings.

THRESH all the way down to minimum to disable the Gate (THRESH’s

OFF, as shown above). The THRESH knob determines how loud

DECAY knob determines how fast the gate

DECAY to get just the right happy medium for your particular

4 • 9

Creating & Storing Sounds • Inside the Edit Menu

D.I. Settings

Spin the SELECT knob fully clockwise to see the edit page with D.I. settings:

The two parameters of the right side of the page let you adjust the D.I. signal for mixing
with the Model signal. The first of these lets you mix some of the D.I. signal into the

4 • 10

Model signal path, so the resulting blend is fed to Bass PODxt’s Model output. Press the
Soft Button below DI>MDL and turn the knob down to the minimum setting to select

OFF and no D.I. signal is added to the Model signal path. Or turn the knob clockwise to

mix some D.I. in. This doesn’t affect the level of D.I. signal output by Bass PODxt’s D.I.
output.

The far right parameter on the page,

DI DLY, lets you add a very small amount of delay

to the D.I. signal relative to the Model signal. We give you the ability to delay the D.I.
signal in.1 millisecond steps, which is so small a portion of time that you won’t hear it
in terms of timing. The point of this delay is to throw the D.I. signal out of phase with
the Model signal, because combining the two signals with a shifted phase relationship
can give you some great sounds that you can’t get from the normally phase-sync’d
Model and D.I. signals output by Bass PODxt. This delay is applied to the D.I. signal so
that you’ll hear it at Bass PODxt’s Model output, and the D.I. signal that

DI>MDL can

feed into the Model signal path.

Creating & Storing Sounds • Saving Yourself

Saving Yourself

Bass PODxt lets you save as many as 64 tones that you create as described earlier in this
chapter. And even though we ship it to you chock full of some of our favorites, go
ahead and save over whatever you want. We recommend spending some time with
each of the factory sounds so you’ll know which you want to keep, and which you’ll
want to save over. And don’t worry, because we’ll soon show you how to recall that
favorite factory sound you just saved over and simply have to get back. You can also
visit www.line6.com to check out the ToneTransfer database, surf around, pull a few
down, and even add your own masterpieces to the lot.

Saving a Channel Memory

One of the simplest things to do with Bass PODxt is call up a Channel Memory, make
a few tweaks, and save that Channel without changing its name. To simply save a
Channel you’ve changed, press S

Of course, you might want to stick your sound somewhere else, or at least change the
name so you know which one it is. Bass PODxt lets you do that just as easily.

AVE, then SAVE again. That’s it.

4 • 11

To save your edit to a new location - Make your edits, then press S

AVE. This

calls up a screen that looks something like this:

Now, press the button under the display that reads
then use the E

S

AVE again will confirm your decision, and save your sound to that Channel

FFECT TWEAK knob to pick a different Channel Memory. Pressing

DEST (short for destination) and

Memory, replacing what was there before.
Give your tone a name - Make your edits, then press S

display like the one above. Now, use the

CURSOR < and > buttons to move the cursor

under the letters you want to change. Press the button under
character) and then use E
you’re done, press S

FFECT TWEAK to change the selected character. When

AVE again to complete the job. See, that wasn’t so bad.

AVE. Again, you’ll see a

CHAR (short for

Creating & Storing Sounds • Saving Yourself

Custom Save Amp Model

Using this powerful feature, you can pack your Bass PODxt with all the special
amp- tweaking genius that only you possess. This brilliance will then be available
instantly at the turn of the A
the Amp Model, including your chosen Cab Model, Mic selection and your
personal tweak of the ‘room’. This way, when you turn the A
load the Sub Dub model, you’ll get your personal Sub Dub, with all the controls
set for your very own version. Here’s how it works:

MP MODEL knob, loading your customized version of

MP MODEL knob to

4 • 12

Choose an Amp Model, change the cab, tweak the room, and even use a different
microphone. Press the SAVE button, then use the SELECT knob to show the display
that looks like this:

You have entered the land of Custom Save. Now, if you want your current settings
to be recalled with this Amp Model, simply press S

AVE again.

Bass PODxt saves the following controls with an Amp Model, and loads them when
you turn the A

MP MODELS knob:

Controls you can customize

Amp Model
Cabinet Model
Microphone Model and Room amount
Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence controls
Channel Volume

Creating & Storing Sounds • Saving Yourself

Custom Save Effect Setup

As we mentioned earlier, you’ve got easy access to as many as 64 pre-wired pedal-boards
and racks in your Bass PODxt just by spinning the E
these for you, but if you always use that tweaked-up fuzz box feeding into your favorite
settings of an analog delay pedal, then phase it all up after the amp, and you use that
over and over with different Amp Models, just make it your own custom Effect Setup.
Then, you can mix it with any of your customized Amp Models any time you want.

It’s easy, just:

Press Save and use the Select knob to scroll down to the page that looks like this:

FFECTS knob. We’ve setup 64 of

4 • 13

Where to put it — Press the button under the display that’s labeled
(destination) and then use the E

FFECT TWEAK knob to select a location to store it.

DEST

You may decide to save these settings in the current location, or you can choose any
of the 64 total spots.

What to name it — If you want to give your new Effect Setup a name, now’s the
time to do it! Use the
you want to change. Press the button under

E

FFECT TWEAK to change the selected character.

Commitment — Pressing S
C

OMPRESS, EQ, STOMP, MOD, DELAY/VERB and Gate settings, and keep them

CURSOR < and > buttons to move the cursor under the letters

CHAR (short for character) and then use

AVE again will now take a snapshot of your current

forever and ever.

Creating & Storing Sounds • Saving Yourself

Single Channel Recall

Imagine this: you’re in the middle of massive inspiration, moving at the speed of light,
and before you know it... you just saved an edit over one of your favorite factory presets.
Perish the thought! Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. To recall that favorite preset:

4 • 14

Press S

You can now press S
Memory, or turn the E
you’d like to retrieve. Press S

Complete

AVE, and then use the SELECT knob to get to the page that looks like this:

AVE to recall the factory version of the chosen Channel

FFECT TWEAK knob to choose another Channel Memory

AVE again, and you’ve safely recovered that lost gem!

Factory Recall

If for any reason, or just for the sheer mad joy of it, you decide you need to reset your
Bass PODxt’s entire memory to its factory-programmed state, then boldly do this: Press

S

AVE once, then use the SELECT knob to scroll to the page that looks like this:

Now ask yourself, “Do I really want to do this?” Now, ask it again. How about now? If
this is truly your heart’s desire, then press S

AVE again and you’ll have accomplished

your goal. That’ll wipe your Bass PODxt’s memory and reset it just like it was when it
left the Line 6 factory.

Warning: This will erase ALL the channels, as well as the custom amp and effect settings

you might have created. Everything. So be sure and ask yourself again, “Do I really want

to do this?” If the answer is yes, go on ahead with your bad self.

Creating & Storing Sounds • Saving Yourself

MIDI Dumps

If you want to transfer one or more tones directly from one Bass PODxt to another
Bass PODxt, or between Bass PODxt and a MIDI data recorder, workstation,
computer or sequencer, read on. You’ll need a standard MIDI cable to do the deed.
Connect the MIDI Out of your Bass PODxt to the MIDI In of the receiving
device.

You can then transfer:

•All Channels

•The Current Channel

•The Effect Setups

•The Amp Setups (including your customizations)

Transferring All Channel Memories - This feature will let you send all of your
Bass PODxt Channel Memories out via MIDI for a complete back-up of the 64
Channel Memories:

4 • 15

Press S

Press the button under

AVE once, and use the SELECT knob to scroll down to this page:

SELECT. Turn the EFFECT TWEAK knob to the left

(counterclockwise) until the display reads:

Now, if you press S

AVE again, the entire set of 64 Channel Memories of your Bass

PODxt will be dumped out of its MIDI jack. If another Bass PODxt is connected, its
brain will be taken over by this data, making it a virtual clone of your own Bass
PODxt channels! Who knew cloning was so easy?

Creating & Storing Sounds • Saving Yourself

Transferring Only Some Channels - To transfer only one or more Channel

Memories, Effects Setups or Amp Models from a Bass PODxt to another, do this:

4 • 16

Press S

AVE once, and turn the SELECT knob to show the page that looks like this:

Turn the E

FFECT TWEAK knob to tell Bass PODxt what to transfer:

Any Channel Memory:

All Channel Memories:

All Amp Models:

All Effects Setups:

Now, if you press S

AVE again, the MIDI dump you’ve selected will be transmitted out

the MIDI jack, into the brain of a receiving Bass PODxt, or into your computer or
other MIDI device for backup.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Which Amps and Cabs Are Modeled?

MODELED AMPS & CABS

Which Amps and Cabs Are Modeled?

General Notes About the Models

As you may have guessed, we’re tone fanatics here at Line 6. Once we’ve set our sights
on creating a software emulation of a particular kind of amp, we will (and have) scour
the globe in search of just the right specimen—that one, very particular amplifier that
has the magic. We are also intensely mindful of the fact that, although amp model
names may stay the same over the years, the circuit designs sometimes change radically.
Amps from ’57, ’62, ’65, ’67, ’75, and 2001 may all bear the same model name, yet
sometimes have totally different sound and response, and quite often a different look as
well. And as we all know, even two amps with the same circuit design, from the same
era, can sound radically different, just on the basis of variance in component tolerances,
among other things. Plus, there’s the fact that every amp has its own special way of
settling in over the years. And, just like people, some of them only get better with age.
That’s exactly why we went to so much trouble to find the very best examples we could
of every amp that we wanted to model for Bass PODxt. And it’s why, when describing
the software amp models that are emulations of other amplifiers, we’ve included photos
here of the actual, individual amps that we lovingly selected, studied and measured—
so that you’ll know exactly which amp we’re talking about.

5 • 1

When you turn the A
can then mix’n’ match different cabs with the amp by pressing the CAB/A.I.R. button
and choosing any Cab model you like with the E
you how you can customize Bass PODxt to call up your favorite Amp/Cab
combinations.

Let’s take a tour of the amp models that live inside your Bass PODxt, and the original
equipment that helped to make them possible...

MP MODELS knob, you select an Amp/Cab combination. You

FFECT TWEAK knob. Chapter 4 tells

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Amp 360: Based on an Acoustic 360

Amp 360: Based on an Acoustic 360

This amp was modeled after an Acoustic 360, as used by
Larry Graham, John Paul Jones, and Jaco Pastorius. We
modeled an early 70’s Acoustic 360, featuring a separate
preamp “head,” plus a powered cabinet with a single 18­inch speaker in a folded horn. The 360 with the built in
fuzz and tuner was the choice was John Paul Jones’ choice
for Led Zeppelin’s Low end—he can be seen playing thru
two in the film, The Song Remains the Same. But Jaco’s work
with Weather Report really showed us what a versatile amp
the 360 really was. When the band left him alone on stage

5 • 2

the Star Spangled Banner. He got everything out of that amp, from mellow jazz to
speaker shredding feedback, and thanks to your Bass PODxt’s Amp 360 model,
now it’s your turn!

for his bass solo, he really wrenched everything he could
out of his gear which included two Acoustic 360’s, a wah
pedal, a rackmount “blue” MXR digital delay and his trusty
Jazz bass. Towards the end of his solo he would stomp on
the wah pedal, turn on the fuzz and do a great rendition of

Jaguar: Based on an Aguilar DB750

This monster is a relatively new addition to the
high-end bassist’s tone menagerie. And by high-end,
we don’t mean “turn up the treble,” we mean high-

end as in Rolls Royce, Ferrari or AC Cobra! These
hand-built babies are super-clean and super-warm and especially cool for players who
have super-discriminating ears and need to hear it all…You know, those guys who like
to hear the ridges of their calloused fingerprints scraping across the strings! Particularly
popular with high-end session bassists in New York and LA, the Aguilar DB750 can
also be heard doing serious bass duty with Chris Chaney as he powers the likes of Jane’s
Addiction, Alanis Morrissette and Methods of Mayhem.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Alchemist: Based on an Alembic F-2B

Alchemist: Based on an Alembic F-2B

Back in the mid and late ‘60’s, the San Francisco
Bay Area was quite a cultural hot spot. And as the
“San Francisco Sound” became the soundtrack for
the Summer of Love, many local San Francisco-area

musicians were thrust into the international
spotlight to find themselves leading the Hippie “Peace and Love” charge. Behind the
scenes there were more than underground chemists hard at work making things
magical! Electronics expert Jim Furman (of Furman Sound) was right there in the
middle of that cultural crucible, cooking up gizmos for the Jefferson Airplane and the
Grateful Dead. If you take a close look at archival photographs of the Dead, the
Airplane and other Bay Area bands of the time, quite often you see bassists and
guitarists playing through Fender Showmans and Dual Showmans chained in front of
audiophile Macintosh power amps. The Alembic F-2B was Mr. Furman’s wildly
successful attempt to better the front end of that sweet signal chain by creating a
cleaner, sweeter version of the Showman sound. So turn to the Alchemist model in
your Bass PODxt, and you’ll be able to jump between various tones from the Summer of
Love faster than a hippie can change his tie-dye t-shirt! Oh, and don’t forget—
Alembic F-2B’s have often found their way into Stanley Clarke’s rigs, and you’ll also
find them in frequent use in many a world-class studio’s rack, ready to guarantee
bassists, engineers and record producers everywhere world-class tone.

5 • 3

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Rock Classic: Based on an Ampeg SVT

Rock Classic: Based on an Ampeg SVT

For 30 years now, we’ve heard the tone and felt the power of the
mighty Ampeg SVT. This workhorse has appeared on
innumerable recordings and arena stages worldwide – there is no
equal to the original SVT and its 300 watts of pure tube magic.
(FYI – replacing the tubes in a SVT nowadays would cost you
more than you paid for your Bass PODxt!) First introduced in
July 1969, the SVT set the tone, punch and arena-rattling
standard for all future big gun bass rigs. Its users have included
everyone from The Rolling Stones to Van Halen, and pretty
much every “rock” bass player in between. For your Bass PODxt,

5 • 4

we selected a 1974 Ampeg SVT to model, and we’ve also given

you a 70’s SVT 8x10 speaker cabinet to pair it with. The sonic
combination of this head and cab is beyond big, but you had to pray that your
bandmates would help you move it! Thanks to Bass PODxt, you can now get big
classic rock bass tone without frequent visits to the chiropractor.

Flip Top: Based on an Ampeg B-15

This is modeled after a 60’s Ampeg B-15 Portaflex – one of
the most popular studio bass amps of all time. It’s tuned
and front-ported, has a closed back, is 25 watts with a
single 15-inch speaker, and set a new standard for cabinet
and speaker efficiency, tone and convenience in bass
amplification. If we had to sum up the amp’s sound up in
one sentence, we would simply say: Listen to James
Jamerson’s bass playing on the Motown/Tamala records of
the 1960’s—The Supremes, The Four Tops, The
Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and many
more. Jamerson played bass on more Motown hits than

anyone else, and his choice for amplification was the
Ampeg B-15. We think you’ll agree that the sound of his P-bass through that amp
on those records is as fresh and exciting today as it was 35 years ago. And if he’s not
enough to convince you, how about “Duck” Dunn? Don’t get us started...

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Adam and Eve: Based on an Eden Traveller WT-300

Adam and Eve: Based on an Eden Traveller WT-300

After David Eden made cabs for SWR for 3 or 4 years, he
went into the business of making his own bass amp and
cabinet line. Jim Demeter designed the electronics of the
first Eden amps, and they were quickly adopted by a
veritable who’s who of modern bass society. The inspiration
for Bass PODxt’s Adam & Eve model was the WT-300, one
of Eden’s latter offerings which produces a clean, clear and
rich tone.

Tweed B-Man: Based on a Fender Bassman Combo

The classic ’58 Fender Bassman 4x10 combo was the amp that
started it all—instant rock and roll tone. Originally a bass
guitar amp, the Bassman also became a Blues staple for 6-string
guitarists. Try using it with the Drive control maxed out for a
real sweet bass overdrive. And if you feel you could use a little
more low end, select one of the bigger cabinet models like the
8x10. It has the fat bottom end you'd expect from a bass amp,
but also has the Fender twang on the top. Incidentally, when
Jim Marshall built his first amps with Ken Bran they were

heavily influenced by the early Bassman. One of the
interesting things about the Bassman is just how interactive the Middle and Treble
controls are. The Middle control isn’t a bandpass, as in most tone control setups.
Instead, it’s almost like a second treble control. The two are additive, so if you’re
running Bass PODxt’s Middle knob higher than halfway up with this model, you’ll find
that the Treble control might give you more bright than you really want. On the other
hand, when you turn the Middle knob down, you’ll probably want to boost the Treble.
For a bass tone of doom, try the afore-mentioned maxed-out Drive setting and dredge
up the heaviest licks you know!

5 • 5

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Silverface Bass: Based on a Fender Bassman Head

Silverface Bass: Based on a Fender Bassman Head

Modeled after a 1967 Fender Bassman. By ’68, when the
Beatles went in to record The White Album, they had
pretty much done away with their Vox amps in favor of
the new “silverface” Fender line. John and George played
through Twin Reverbs and Paul through the 2x15 “tall
cab” Bassman. This amp remained his favorite through
the end of the Beatles’ recording career, and can be seen
in the Revolution video (the cab is laying on its side), and
all over the Let it be movie – including the infamous
“rooftop” concert which closes the film. Paul went on to

5 • 6

use the amp for his first solo recordings, and live during
the early Wings period. We’ve paired this Bassman head
with a 2x15 closed back cab loaded with JBL’s. The

sound of this cab also reminds us of the theme music from
Barney Miller, and all of those days practicing with the high-school jazz ensemble.

Try playing a little of the Peter Gunn Theme....

Double Show: Based on a Fender Dual Showman

Have you ever wanted a Fender Bassman that
wouldn’t distort once you turned it up loud enough
to hear yourself alongside any self-respecting
drummer thumping on any decent drum set? Like a
Genie in a bottle, the Fender Dual Showman

answers your wish. Many Bassman users, most
notably Phil Lesh, have used a Dual Showman at one time or another for that extra
“whoomph” necessary to be heard. Voiced slightly brighter than the Bassman, the Dual
Showman paired with a 2x15 cabinet was the rig of choice for many a classic Rock and
Roller. And as all types of bands got bigger and louder, Dual Showmans became quite
popular with Funk and R+B players too.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Eighties: Based on a Gallien-Krueger 800RB

Eighties: Based on a Gallien-Krueger 800RB

What would any collection of bass amps be
without a Gallien-Krueger 800RB, whose great
tone was modeled for your Bass PODxt’s
Eighties amp model? After all, this solid state

amp helped define what new bass amps sounded
like for the better part of that decade. Geddy Lee had one. Will Lee used one on
Letterman. And bands like Def Leppard powered through a decade of pop metal
with the 800RB. The GK 800RB produces a very scooped sound, and doesn’t
really distort. Try pairing this amp with another legend of the Eighties, the Hartke
410 cabinet. This rig is known for producing what we call the “mid 80’s metal

bass” tone. It’s the perfect choice when you’re ready for a little Pyromania....

Hiway 100: Based on a Hiwatt DR-103

Long before instrument amp designers copped to the
fact that you need a ton of wattage for “real” bass, we
bassists were stuck with the unenviable task of
sorting through a very limited selection of
underpowered bass amps in an effort to try to find
one that could at least be heard. Sometimes the
search would lead us to a powerfully clean guitar
amp and it would find its way into a bass rig and do
the job just fine. Imagine that day when the late,
great John Entwistle walked across the stage in front
of Moonie’s drums to inquire, “Pete, would you mind
if I tried your lovely Hiwatt for a bit? I can’t hear
myself over the racket you two make…”

5 • 7

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Hiway 200: Based on a Hiwatt 200 DR

Hiway 200: Based on a Hiwatt 200 DR

Imagine a brighter SVT with a little more attack and
you’ve got an accurate aural image of this 200-watt, 75
pound tone monster. And while you’re listening to that
lovely sound inside your head, think back to that era in
the late ‘60’s when Rock and Roll morphed into Hard
Rock. Back then, as music got louder and louder, and
hair got longer and longer, this was the bass amp of
choice for many a low-ender across the Atlantic. Just as
we Americans fondly remember our silver-faced SVT’s,
our British cousins happily recall these Hiwatts! Rumor

5 • 8

an “amp of choice” for Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, and crucial to the distinctive
growl roaring from his 8 and 12 string basses. So, select Hiwatt 200 DR on your Bass
PODxt, grab your aqualung and take the heavy, deep end plunge, British style!

has it that Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler was quite fond
of his and Glen Cornick of Jethro Tull used a 200 DR
quite a lot in his band’s heyday. To this day, many an
American rocker, particularly those heavily influenced
by all things English, favor the Hiwatt 200DR, too. It’s

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • British Major: Based on a Marshall Major

British Major: Based on a Marshall Major

For this model, we studied our 1969 Marshall

Major. While doing the initial research, we

discovered our amp had the wrong tubes in it,

and that sent us on a quest to find some NOS

(new old stock) vintage KT-88s. We called

experts across the country looking for “new”

thirty year old tubes. Several months and a

king’s ransom later, our search paid off, and we

started over with an original set of vintage

Mullards in the amp. What an incredible

difference the “right” tubes in the “right” amp

can make! We “jumped” the channel 1 input to

the channel 2 input, thus combining the high

and low channels (this was a common practice

for bassists and guitarists alike.) Wow! Stand

back and bow down to the royalty of British

Bass Tone. If this sound doesn’t cause your
neighbors to come looking for Jack Bruce, nothing will. Higher drive settings will
get you those warm, natural overdrive tones heard on Cream records and many
others from that era. The cabinet we’ve paired with the Marshall Major is a ’76
Marshall 4x15 cab. The 4x15 sound is unique and awesome, and the combination
of the Major and this cab is somewhat darker that the Brit Bass model that’s

coming up next....

5 • 9

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • British Bass: Based on a Marshall Super Plexi

British Bass: Based on a Marshall Super Plexi

This is modeled after a 1968 Marshall Super
Bass “plexi” with vintage EL-34 tubes. In
general, the Super Bass is brighter than the
Major, and sounds a little “fuzzier” with higher
Drive settings. Marshalls of this era became the
signature backline for most of the British
bands, so you would have seen and heard them
with John Entwistle (The Who), Andy Fraser
(Free), Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix
Experience), Ron Wood (Jeff Beck Group),

5 • 10

treasure proves it has earned its way on many a road gig, and its signature
basketweave grille, gets every bassist and guitarist that passes through our shop
stopping to plug in and learn what we have learned: this is the best cab we’ve ever
heard. Warm and woody, this cabinet has every player in the building bowing
down to the gods of great tone. And now, of course, thanks to the wonders of
modern technology , your Bass PODxt brings you cab tone modeled from this same,
truly remarkable piece of tone history.

Jack Bruce (Cream), Tim Bogert (Vanilla
Fudge), and Roger Glover (Deep Purple).
We’ve matched this amp model up with a
cabinet model crafted from our studies of the
1967 Marshall 4x12 with pre-Rola 20 watt
Celestion greenbacks. This speaker cabinet
occupies an especially respected place in our
studio. The ragged vinyl on this vintage

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • California: Based on a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+

California: Based on a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+

Introduced in the late Eighties, the Bass 400+
features 500 watts of Class A/B operation, with
twelve(!) 5881 Output tubes and four12AX7
Preamp tubes. The Bass 400+ has been the
mainstay of Boogie’s bass line for over a decade.
Both Michael Anthony (Van Halen) and Flea

(Red Hot Chili Peppers) have toured with the
Bass 400+, which produces a warm, dynamic, and earthy tone that’s well suited for
many playing styles.

Jazz Tone: Based on a Polytone Minibrute

With this model, you now have your very own
place to go for the classic tones modeled after the
Polytone Mini-Brute. This amp is known as the
combo that knows every wedding standard and
lounge hit from the last 40 years. The original amp
houses a single 15-inch speaker that can best be
described as intimate and subdued. Plug in here
when it’s time for your more introspective mood
indigo moments.

5 • 11

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Stadium: Based on a Sunn Coliseum

Stadium: Based on a Sunn Coliseum

This model is based on the Sunn Coliseum 300—the
amplifier that spawned the explosion of power line-ups
throughout the 60’s and 70’s. The amplifier used by Jimi
Hendrix and Noel Redding, by Pete Townsend and John
Entwistle, by Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, by... well...
take a look at the inside cover of your Woodstock album,
and you’ll get an idea of the impact that Sunn amplifiers
had in revolutionizing early rock music. Oddly, this amp
was developed by Conrad Sundholm for his brother Norm,
who was the bass player for the Kingsmen of “Louie Louie”

5 • 12

fame. Pair the Stadium model with our model of Sunn’s
unique cab that features one front mounted 12-inch
speaker and one upward-angled 18-inch speaker and you’ll
experience the Mojo first-hand!

Studio Tone: Based on a SWR SM-500

A beefier, redefined version of the SM-400, this is
one of the latest of the “contemporary classics” to
come out of SWR. As one of the most, if not the
most recognizable and popular of all contemporary
bass amps, the SM-500 delivers a full range of tone
and is especially known for its very defined high
end. This makes the SM-500 a favorite amongst
“slap and pop” players in all genres. These amps are
so popular, they’re used on concert stages and in
studios everywhere. Led Zeppelin alumnus John
Paul Jones is one of their current users.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Motor City: Based on a Versatone Pan-O-Flex

Motor City: Based on a Versatone Pan-O-Flex

While researching the legends of great bass gear,
we discovered a true lost gem: the Versatone Pan­O-Flex! This single 12-inch combo was designed
by Bob Hall in the late 60’s and was a hit among
the LA Studio scene – in particular, at RCA
Studios. Carol Kaye used a Versatone amplifier
on countless sessions, and Jack Casady still uses
one with his SWR amps. It’s a sealed back combo
with some cool internal baffling that makes it
sound much larger than it actually is. Turn it up
to about 1/3, and it has a warm tone. Turn it up a

bit higher, and it will distort with a sweet sustain.
Turn to the Motor City model, and this range of tone is available via the Drive
knob of your Bass PODxt. We think you’ll agree that it really delivers: this model
may well become the secret of your sound. Its Bass and Treble knobs give you the
classic Pan-O-Flex tone, and you can set its Low Mid and Hi Mid knobs to their
12 o’clock positions to keep things traditional. Then, try creating your own
variation on the classic Pan-O-Flex sound by turning the Hi and Low Middle
knobs up or down for post-Model boost/cut.

5 • 13

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Brit Class A100: Based on a Vox AC100

Brit Class A100: Based on a Vox AC100

The Brit Class A100 model in your Bass PODxt is
modeled after a Vox AC-100, the rig Paul McCartney
began using in 1965 when he had outgrown his Vox T-60.
This rig was used for recording and touring thru 1965 and
can be seen in countless pictures and videos of live
Beatles performances such as the Shea Stadium concert,
the Hollywood Bowl concert and, of course, the 1965 Ed
Sullivan show . It’s characterized by its low-down lows and
sweet high end. Now, those of you who have had the
chance to get intimate with a Vox AC-100 may know

5 • 14

same response curve and frequency control as the AC-100’s knob would have
given you, but now you don’t have to learn how to work things backwards. And
thus, balance and harmony have been maintained in the Line 6 product design

universe....

that, true to Vox form, it’s got its quirks. One of the more
obvious ones is that the Bass knob works backwards
because it’s technically a “Bass Cut” knob. While we
strive for authenticity when creating out models, we
decided that this time it was appropriate to opt for ease of
use by setting this knob up so that you get more bass as
you turn up, and less bass as you turn down. You get the

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Line 6’s Original Models

Line 6’s Original Models

Long ago, in a land that time forgot, electric basses existed and bass amps didn’t! That’s
right—bass players had to plug into anything they could find to amplify that new­fangled electric bass. Couple that knowledge with the gigantic model library at Line 6
and the intrepid spirit of musicians in general, and pretty soon you start trying crazy
stuff. Like plugging into guitar amps to see what basses sound like through them, then
doing some high tech tweaking to make that marriage really work. After all, many
successful bass amp designs originally started as guitar amps, and visa versa. Unfettered
by the rules of physics and good sense, this led us to stich what were originally guitar
amp models and other tonal oddments into some brand new bone-shakin’ bass tone

makers that await you in the Line 6 section of the model lineup....

L6 Classic Jazz

Join us, for a moment, in contemplation of the Roland JC120. If you think about it, it’s
easy to follow our logic – it’s an amp that has a great reputation for cleanliness and
accuracy. Now aren’t those two tonal characteristics often sought after by bassists in
every genre? Grab a bass, plus in, and behold—it definitely works for us! Push down
that CAB/A.I.R. button and try pairing the L6 Classic Jazz Model with the 8 x 10 SVT
cabinet model. You’ll be glad you did.

L6 Brit Invader

Since Class A amps overdrive differently than their Class B cousins, we just had to jack
our trusty basses into our favorite Vox AC 30 Top Boost. Out of respect for those ultra­rare blue back speakers (and fear of the repercussions of blowing one of ‘em!) we set our
beloved Vox on top of a Marshall Major 4x15 cabinet. We happily found this unlikely
combination produced a very furry tone that readily responds to any tonal adjustments
you may make on your bass or your Bass PODxt. And with a little tweaking we went
from a top end that could cut through anything to a pleasurable vintage “woofyness”
that would make Joe Meek proud.

L6 Super Thor

If you were in a roomful of vintage gear, an open back, little ol’ combo amp is probably
the last thing you’d choose to play your bass through, right? Well, its one of the first we
plugged into, but we like doing the unexpected. Anyway, this tough little cookie we
call the Super Thor is based on the Supro Thunderbolt, the bass-minded love child
Line 6 and the infamous Supro S6616 of early Led Zeppelin fame. Our very reliable
sources also tell us that Jimi Hendrix occasionally played through a Supro Thunderbolt.
We figured that if that little amp, mic’d up right in a studio, could churn out big guitar

5 • 15

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Line 6’s Original Models

tones for the big Jim’s, maybe a bass-loving cousin could do something similarly huge
for us. After you’ve dialed in a tone to your liking, notice that the harder you hit your
strings, the more fuzz on the peach! We’ve also found that Super Thor adds a very warm
character to Bass PODxt’s Synth/Filter models.

L6 Frankenstein

Are your dreams filled with warm and fuzzy bass tones with lots of sustain? If so, the
sound designers here at Line 6 are in the business of making your dreams come true.
We’re not sure what they used to cook up the JTS 400-S, but based on the secret
apocryphal codex created by those afore-mentioned sound designers, our guess is that
this is one of their Marshall/Fender Frankensteins. Could it be the front end of a 100
watt Plexi grafted on to the power section of a Dual Showman? Or something like that?

5 • 16

Whatever this is, our tone wizards (who, by the way, are seen occasionally inside the
Line 6 Tone Lab wearing capes and funny hats) concocted it with sweet, fuzzy bass in
mind. The first time we plugged in to this dream machine, we, as Captain Beefheart
used to be fond of saying, “…hit the lunar note and let it float….” Man, we’re still
happy we did.

L6 Ebony Lux

This original creation was inspired by a Fender black face Deluxe. Although not
commonly used for bass, plugging a bass into this Holy Grail of guitar tone yields a most
pleasurable experience to say the least. Imagine a clear top end, transparent bottom and
a nice mid scoop that makes your bass wonderfully unobtrusive. This amp model makes
it easy to find the proper space for your bass when accompanying those finicky singer/
songwriters who don’t want anything getting in the way of their precious guitar or
dainty piano!

L6 Doppelganger

Loosely based on a Fender Twin, this original Line 6 creation gives up the low end with
a nice, friendly rattle in the high mid’s. To enhance the Doppelganger and its unique
sonic character, choose a speaker cabinet of the open back variety.

Sub Dub

This fabulous tone was brought to us by Justin Meldal-Johnsen currently in his own
band “Ima Robot”, who’s also played bass with Beck, Tori Amos, Air, Macy Gray and
other luminaries. When we were creating the original Bass POD, he brought his rack
full of esoteric gear into the studio for us to poke and prod and model. The resulting
Amp Model was included in the original, pre-XT Bass POD, and has become a
particular favorite of the Bass POD faithful. It’s perfect for Hip Hop, Electronica,

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Line 6’s Original Models

Trance, Eurodance, Rave and all of your Alternative tone needs. Lower Drive settings
produce virtually no clipping (distortion), while higher Drive settings will produce
massive square wave distortion (thus giving your synth player tone envy). Dig Justin’s
own description...

“Dark and oh so deep, this is the sound you pull out when it’s time to go lower than
low... to hit deeper than the Moog line, to rock harder than the 808 kick. The sound
of this model is a particular, well-tuned, fundamental tone which gives you a lot of
serious pure “note” without the muddiness you get when you try and make your amp
do it. For myself, the sound creates a similar effect to standing in front of a well­executed bass rig with a few 18-inch speakers involved to handle the low parts of the
sound spectrum (which is what I do playing live). Inspiration for this sound for me
came from everyone from Massive Attack to Dr. Dre, DeAngelo to Aphex Twin, King
Tubby to Future Sound of London, and all other champions of the ultra-low.”

Thanks Justin – we couldn’t have said it any better!

Tube Preamp

The thinking went like this: ‘Once people get this Bass PODxt thing, it’s gonna be so
great that they’re gonna wish they could use it for everything—warming up keyboards,
crunching up drums, fuzzing up vocals. We’ve gotta give ’em something to do that
with!’ So we did. Tube Preamp lets you warm up any sound source the way producers
and engineers often do in the studio with vintage tube gear. For more “edge” on vocals,
send your vocal tracks through Bass PODxt. Punch up (or munch up) a synth bass track
by sending it through Bass PODxt and cranking up the drive and EQ controls to suit
your taste. And, although this is not actually a bass amp model, you can certainly get
some great bass tones out of it. When you do this stuff, you want to use the Drive
control like a mix knob on a reverb to control how much processing you want to hear.
You generally don’t want to mix the pre-Bass PODxt sound with the post-Bass PODxt
sound because of the comb filtering that results. Instead, jack the sound source right
into Bass PODxt and then only monitor the sound post-Bass PODxt processing. With
the tone controls at 12 o’clock, the EQ is “flat.”

5 • 17

Bypass

Choose Bypass when you don’t want any amp model at all. This lets you use only the
effects of your Bass PODxt, without amp tone.

Modeled Amps & Cabs • Line 6’s Original Models

Cabinet Models

The following Cabinet Models are available on Bass PODxt, and are accessed by

5 • 18

pressing the C

Cabinet Model Based On...
1x12 Boutique 1x12 Euphonics CXL-112L
1x12 Motor City 1x12 Versatone Pan-O-Flex
1x15 Flip Top 1x15 Ampeg B-15
1x15 Session 1x15 SWR Big Ben
1x15 Jazz Tone 1x15 Polytone Minibrute
1x15 Amp 360 1x18 Acoustic 360
1x18 California 1x18 Mesa Boogie
1x18+12 Stadium 1x18+12 Sunn Coliseum
2x10 Modern UK 2x10 Ashdown ABM 210T
2x15 DoubleShow 2x15 Fender Dual Showman D130F
2x15 California 2x15 Mesa Boogie
2x15 Class A 2x15 Vox AC-100
4x10 Line 6 4x10 Line 6 Original Model
4x10 Tweed 4x10 Bassman Combo w/ new speakers
4x10 Adam Eve 4x10 Bassman Combo
4x10 SilverCone 4x10 Hartke 410

4x10 Session 4x10 David Eden
4x12 Hiway 4x12 Hiwatt Bass Cab
4x12 Green 20’s 4x12 1967 Marshall Basketweave with Greenbacks

4x12 Green 25’s 4x12 1968 Marshall Basketweave with Greenbacks
4x15 Big Boy 4x15 Marshall Major
8x10 Classic 8x10 Ampeg SVT Cab
No Cab

AB/A.I.R. button, then turning the EFFECT TWEAK knob:

You will probably want to use this Cabinet model with the Tube
Preamp model for non-guitar sources. It is selected by default
when you pull up the Tube Preamp Amp Model.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Effect Junkies Welcome

S

TOMP

, M

OD

& D

ELAY

/V

ERB

M

ODELS

Effect Junkies Welcome

What bassist doesn’t like effects? Bass PODxt’s got a bunch of great Stomp, Mod and
Delay/Verb effects adapted from Line 6’s DM4 Distortion Modeler, MM4 Modulation

Modeler, and DL4 Delay Modeler pedals, some brand spankin’ new models that come
straight from our flagship combo, Vetta, and a few that our making their first
appearance in a Line 6 product. Who says you can get too much of a good thing?

In this chapter, we’re not only going to take a look at just which Stomp, Mod and
Delay/Verb effects are modeled. We’ll also be talking about how you go about
tweaking them. We’ll assume you’ve already got the basics from Chapter 4, Creating
& Storing Sounds, and are now ready to dive into the detail on the individual
models. So hold onto your hats and glasses, and please keep your hands and feet inside

the car at all times....

Stomp Models

Bass PODxt’s Stomp effect slot give you a whole line-up of delicious stompbox effects.
There are several types of effects here: (1) Distortion and Overdrives, (2) Stompbox
Compressors, (3) an Auto Wah and (4) Synths. Let’s start with a few words on each:

6 • 1

Distortions and Overdrives

Can you remember that magic moment when you first heard a distorted bass? Was it
McCartney credited as “Paul on Fuzz Bass” on Rubber Soul’s “Think For Yourself?”
Could it have been Jack Bruce overdriving his Marshalls to fill up Cream’s low end, or
was it on some post-modern classic by Spiritualized or My Bloody Valentine?
Regardless, the mesmerizing power of real low end growl cannot be denied. Distorted
and overdriven bass sounds are all over contemporary music. From Hip Hop to Trip
Hop, through Psychedelic Trance and all things in between, distorted or overdriven
Bass is gaining prominence in every mix and every live performance. You must have
been asleep for the last ten years not to know there’s a popular musical idiom known as
Drum and Bass! Need we say more? Now with all the Distortions and Overdrives
available in Bass PODxt and Bass PODxt Pro, we have more ways to furry up that Funk.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Stomp Models

Stompbox Compressors

A compressor takes quiet sounds and loud sounds coming into it, and makes them have
a more similar volume, so the loudest sounds aren’t so loud versus the quiet sounds, and
the quiet sounds are closer to the level of the loudest sounds. The result is that a
compressor can be set to keep boosting the level of your bass signal as a note dies away,
giving your bass a longer note decay. In other words, plop a stomp box compressor
down in front of an amp and you’ve got an instant sustain enhancer! As a side benefit,
the compressor evens out your attacks and enables you to make up some gain (so you
can hit the front end of your amp a bit hotter, but without extra before-the-amp
distortion that a distortion box would create when boosting input level to your amp).
We’ve provided you with a number of stompbox compression options in Bass PODxt,
so you can squash your signal ’til the cows come home.

Auto Wah

In a class of its own, the Auto Wah is the perfect choice when you want to funk it up.

6 • 2

For complete detail, see Auto Wah on page 6•7.

Synths

These effects give you a wealth of tones inspired by synthesizers of the past, present and
future. To get the most out of them, there are some things that are handy to know, all
of which are covered in glorious detail under the heading Synth and Filter Effects
on page 6•13.

And now it’s time to meet our Stomp models, starting with those overdrives and
distortions:

Bass Overdrive

This model was inspired by our look at the Tech 21 Bass Sans Amp, plus a few extra
liberties taken by the Line 6 sound design team. The Sans Amp is famous for delivering
a very quiet and crisp signal under all circumstances, while also serving up a very
distinct distortion. Is pleasingly metallic quality makes it a favorite with the Post-Metal
crowd and Industrial bands, and producers in all genres of music have come to favor the
Bass Sans Amp for crunching up loops. The Bass Overdrive covers the same sort of
territory, with a bit of a uniquely Line 6 bent. Choose this distortion for your bass or
any other signal and it will immediately become a very close and furry friend.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Stomp Models

Screamer

From Stevie Ray Vaughan to Michael Landau, the simple Ibanez
Tube Screamer is the overdrive heard ’round the world. This
medium-gain pedal was introduced in the early ’80s, and in many
blues circles, you’re not allowed to solo without one. Over the
years, Ibanez issued several variations of the venerable Tube
Screamer, but none have reached the fabled status of the TS-808.
Of course, we obsessed over which of our vintage 808s to model,
and in the end we think you’ll agree that our model of this green
jewel makes a precious addition to Bass PODxt.

Classic Dist

Born and bred in the late ’70s, the ProCo Rat was
the beginning of a new generation of distortion
boxes. With a sound that was angrier and more
aggressive than a fuzz, the Rat put teeth into a new
breed of metal that was beginning to crawl to the
surface of the music scene.

Through its life span, the Rat has seen several

changes, and the unanimous choices for tone are the
originals pictured here. Inside, these two Rats use the same board, and their circuits are
identical. (For those that need to know, we modeled the smaller one.)

6 • 3

The TONE knob on Bass PODxt’s Rat model functions like the original Rat’s “filter”
control, which gives you brighter tone at lower settings, and darker tone at higher set­tings. Once bitten, you’ll know why we call this one tone with teeth!

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Stomp Models

Facial Fuzz

Sometime in late 1966, an infamous circular stompbox
hit the London music scene. Designed and built by
Arbiter Music, the Fuzz Face would soon begin its famous
association with guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. It would
also come to be known as a great bass effect because of
it’s association with Soft Machine’s Hugh Hopper.

Like all stompboxes from the early era, the Fuzz Face
would see many design changes, as well as re-issues. Our
model is based on the germanium diode-powered
treasure pictured here: an original, very early “gray with black screening” Arbiter Fuzz
Face. Call the Bass PODxt Facial Fuzz model up, and treat yourself to our faithful re­creation of the original’s fuzz and glory. Crank up the drive, and you’ll be seeing Purple
Haze right before your eyes.

6 • 4

Fuzz Pi

Not to be outdone by the Brits, the colonies came
up with their own twist on the fuzz rage. Mike
Mathews and his band of merry men at Electro­Harmonix had been cooking up all sorts of nifty
effects when their attention turned to the
distortion/fuzz pedal. Their most popular offering
was the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, known
more for its sweet sustain than for its buzz.

Electro-Harmonix was famous for their use of
surplus parts, and the results of this practice were

ever-changing circuit designs and parts specs. As
you can see in the picture of our collection of Big Muffs, these pedals had several looks
determined by the parts that Mike and the gang found at hand. Our sweetheart of the
bunch is the one in the middle, known as the “triangle knob pattern” model. We know
you’ll agree, there’s nothing like a slice of Pi.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.
All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Stomp Models

Octave Fuzz

What was that? If it sounded like a phantom guitar or bass
possessed by The Ghost of Great Guitarists Past, then it
probably was a Tycobrahe Octavia.

The Octavia is an example of a fuzz+octave effect. One
pioneering user of this type of effect was Jimi Hendrix.
The Tycobrahe Octavia in particular was used by Jeff
Beck, and continues to be an essential part of Michael
Landau’s tone making tool kit.

The Octavia uses an audio output transformer and two germanium diodes to rectify (a
fancy word for whack) the bass signal, thus creating the high octave type sound. For our
model, we studied the sweet-sounding original pictured here. We knew we had a keeper
when every guitarist and bassist in the building wanted to take it home for a little of
their own after hours “research.”

Bronze Master

The Maestro Bass Brassmaster is considered by many to be the Holy Grail of bass
distortion units, and ultra-rare bird designed in the early ‘70’s for Maestro by synth
genius Tom Oberheim. It showed up on Chris Squire’s gear list in a mid-70’s Yes tour
program. In fact, the Brassmaster was the first distortion unit we can think of designed
primarily with the bassist in mind, and man, did Mr. Oberheim get it right! The
original has a fairly elaborate set of controls, include two separate volumes and toggles
for accentuating different harmonic voicings. We weren’t able to make an exact
duplicate of some of that complexity when creating the Bronze Master for your Bass
PODxt, but you’ll find that this model does give you a luscious palette of super-sweet
bass fuzz in the style of the BrassMaster, with righteous distortion that doesn’t take
away that all-important low end.

6 • 5

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Stomp Compressors

Stomp Compressors

Compression is supposed to be the bassist’s best friend. By including more than just one
compressor in the Bass PODxt, we hope to give you, the discriminating bassist, who’s
obviously hip enough to own a Line 6 Bass PODxt, a few new best friends. Along with
the amazing sounding and highly popular LA 2A model that is controlled by the Bass
PODxt Compress knob, we’ve provided a few extra compressor gizmos in stomp box
configuration.

A friend of ours likes to say, ‘If less is more, think how much more more must be!’ With
that in mind, try this little trick for more compression: turn off the Stomp effect, select
the Tube Preamp Amp Model, and dial up a clean world-class bass sound that your ears
tell you would sound great on a hit record booming out of radios around the world. Set
the Compress knob at about ten o’clock, so it tames your dynamics a bit the way a
producer would do it on a recording. Then press the Stomp button to light it up,

6 • 6

double-press it to call up the Stomp edit page, and start picking from the other
compressors we’ve made available for you to run at the same time as the LA 2A model
controlled by the Compress knob. Used by leading producers the world over, this is
what’s known as double compression. While the front-end compressor of the Stomp
effect shapes your basic tone and dynamics, the second compression stage of the

Compress knob gives you the extra grace and polish of studio-quality smoothness....

Blue Comp

Roland/Boss made their first contribution to the compressor
stompbox world with the CS-1 Compression Sustainer, which still
remains a favorite of many players. Like the original, the Bass
PODxt model based on it has a SUSTAIN control varying the
threshold of the compressor circuitry. LEVEL does what you’d
expect.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Auto Wah

Red Comp

Back in the ’70’s, this was one of the most popular stomp
boxes for bassists. Quite often, it was a bassist’s first purchase
because it offered affordable, world-class compression in a
stompbox. It was a crucial part of bass signal chains on stages
everywhere from tiny clubs to monolithic stadiums. Probably
the most widely used stompbox compressor, and pretty much
the standard against which others are judged, the MXR
Dynacomp has a fixed compression ratio with variable
threshold and gain, which is what you get in the Bass PODxt
model.

Vetta Comp

A Line 6 original, Vetta Comp has a fixed ratio (2.35:1, in case you’re asking) with the
threshold (that would be your SENS knob) adjustable from -9dB to -56dB and up to
12dB of gain available at the LEVEL knob. In other words, turn the Sens knob ’til you
like the way your signal’s compressed, then set the volume with Level. If you’re into
multi-tasking your Bass PODxt, try using this in line with the Tube Preamp model to
create a very expensive sounding vocal processor…hmm, delicious!!!

6 • 7

Auto Wah

Do you want the Funk? Do you need the Funk? Well, we’ve got
the Funk, right here for you! What self-respecting, bass-playing
filter-junkie would be without a Mu-Tron III envelope follower,
as used by the mighty George Clinton and others?

Part auto-wah, part triggered filter, it’s all about wacky, and this
model based on the Mu-Tron III gives it to you both coming
and going. Go ahead—unbutton that shirt, put on the flares,
and get down with your bad self! The SENS knob varies the
filter’s response to your playing, and Q adjusts the filter’s width.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Synth Models

Synth Models

To learn about the Synth Models, see Synth and Filter Effects on page 6•13.

Modulation Models

Modulation effects are things that swoosh, pulse and warble—from phase shifters to
flangers to choruses to filter effects. Why are they called modulation effects? Well, if we
consult a dictionary, we discover that ‘modulate,’ in the electronic world means to
“alter the amplitude or frequency of (a wave) by (using) a wave of a lower frequency to
carry a signal” (definition courtesy of The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, Third
Edition, thank you very much). That modulating wave is what causes all that
swooshing, pulsing, and warbling.

6 • 8

There are two set of effects in the Bass PODxt Modulation models line-up. The first set
includes Chorus, Flanger, Phase, Vibrato, Tremolo and Rotary Speaker effects. All of
these include controls for
modulating waveform sweeps.

SPEED and DEPTH. SPEED controls how fast (or slow) the

DEPTH controls the overall amplitude of the modulating

wave, which usually determines just how intense the effect will be. There’s always a

MIX control, and sometimes there are also other controls. Refer to the individual effects

listed in the following pages of this chapter for details.
The second set of Modulation effects are the filters. To learn about them and the Synth

Models in the Stomp effects slot, see Synth and Filter Effects on page 6•13.
And now, it’s time to meet our models...

Deluxe Chorus

This is your basic digital chorus (as opposed to the analog type vibe of the CE-1 chorus
model), with a sine wave as the modulator. Smooth going down, with BASS and
TREBLE controls for bassing and trebling. Using this effect the next time you create a
part with harmonics, ala the late great Jaco Pastorious. Sine Chorus has a way of adding
a very pleasing, liquid-like character to high register double stops too.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Modulation Models

Analog Chorus

After the CE-1 came onto the music scene in
1977and made waves with its big, warm and
groovy chorus tones. One of the first bassists to
incorporate chorus effects into his sound was
Geddy Lee of Rush, so the Bass PODxt wouldn’t
be complete without paying homage to the
original stompbox chorus, the Boss CE-1 Chorus
Ensemble.

It quickly found its way onto many a bassists’
pedal board. The CE-1’s controls included
SPEED and DEPTH and Vibrato switch. The
CE-1 is spacious, and sounds great feeding into a distorted amp. Our model is every bit
as warm and gooey as its inspiration. Dial up some lush landscape and enter into chorus
heaven. “Hey, wait a second!” you say, “The original CE-1 had a cool pitch vibrato
mode, too. Whatcha gonna do about that?” Well, no worries, mate, we’ve got you
covered. Since a chorus is, when you come right down to it, a pitch vibrato mixed with
a dry signal, what the vibrato mode switch on a CE-1 did was simply turn off the dry
signal. To get that effect here, just set the MIX knob to 100% wet (in other words,
crank it all the way up), and, presto change-o, you’ve got vibrato. You can use the

DEPTH knob to get as seasick as you want, too.

6 • 9

Deluxe Flanger

Cooked up in the Line 6 labs, this creation really shines when you set CONFIG to
POST, letting its stereo sweep offset serve up luscious harmonic shimmer.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Modulation Models

Jet Flanger

This is our model of the A/DA “studio quiet” Flanger. Mars
Cowlong, who made lots of waves as Pat Travers’ bassist in
the ‘70’s and 80’s made great use of this box on his bass
immediately after it was introduced in 1977. Check
Travers’ “Go For What You Know” live CD and you’ll hear
what we mean! This stompbox has a sweep range of 35-to­1 and a built-in compressor that work together with the
tone circuitry to give the A/DA its signature jet-like sweep.

It can be very dramatic with its unique wave shape and
ability to create almost ring modulator-like effects at extreme settings. When the model
of the A/DA Flanger is selected for editing on the Bass PODxt, the knob below
DEPTH controls the sweep range. FDBK adjusts feedback (in other words, how much
of the effected signal is fed back to the input of the effect), and the MANUAL knob
controls the length of the very short delay that’s applied to the sweep to make the

6 • 10

flanging effect happen. Plug in, spin up depth and feedback, and get ready for take-off!

Phaser

The unassuming metal box pictured here is the phaser
that changed the world—the MXR Phase 90. The Phase
90 is relatively subtle compared to other phasers, and
when you use it, it becomes part of the overall guitar tone
rather than trying to grab the spotlight all to itself.
Perhaps the best demonstration of its lush, organic, and
groovy swirl is on Anthony Jackson’s amazing bass line on
the O’Jays’ “For the Love of Money.” The Phase 90 is a
four stage phaser; its single knob controlled only speed.
Bass PODxt’s Phaser model gives you additional
flexibility with a MIX control and a FEEDBACK
control to adjust the intensity of the effect.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Modulation Models

U-Vibe

The now-legendary Uni-Vibe was put on the
map in 1969 by Jimi Hendrix. Essentially a
four-stage phase shifter, the Uni-Vibe is best
known for its watery texture and sultry tones.
One listen to “Machine Gun” and you’ll know
what we mean. ‘What,’ you ask, ‘does this have
to do with bass?’ Everything, Grasshopper!
More than any other instrument, the bass has
risen to the challenge presented by Jimi every
time he cracked a new cranny in the sonic universe. Just check the out front, heavily
effected bass lines put out there by heavy hitters like Billy Sheehan, Doug Wimbish and
Mike Elizando, just to name a few. Use your Line 6 U-Vibe effect on your next sultry
post- Trip Hop bass line and you’ll immediately know exactly what we know—its
watery sultriness cannot be denied! As with the CE-1 model’s stealth vibrato mode, you
can recreate the effect of the original Uni-Vibe’s vibrato switch by turning the MIX
control to 100% wet. (That’s what the switch did on the original.) The DEPTH
control acts like the Uni-Vibe’s “Intensity” knob.

Opto Trem

This one is based on the optical tremolo circuit that was used in the blackface Fender
amps, like the ’64 Deluxe and ’65 Twin Reverb. Basically a light bulb and a
photoresistor, when the light got brighter, the tremolo got louder. It’s a very smooth,
even tremolo, and the obvious choice for use with the amp models that are based on
Fender originals.

6 • 11

Bias Trem

One of our long time favorite pieces of ‘Rube Goldberg’ engineering, the old Vox
tremolo (and a similar circuit in some blonde and brown Fender amps) got its pulse by
literally varying the bias of the power amp tubes. While this tended to reduce the life
span of the output tubes in these amps, it gave a beautifully liquid, uneven, and rather
‘lumpy’ sound that bears a distinct resemblance to a Uni-Vibe or other phase shifter
(mainly because treating the tube bias in such a cavalier manner actually caused some
phase shift to occur).

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Stomp, Mod & Delay/Verb Models • Modulation Models

Rotary Drum

Leslies—cabinets with rotating speakers in them—
were originally created for organists. When they
noticed that guitar players had started using Leslies,
Fender decided to come out with its own, guitar­specific whirling dervish of a tone machine. Dubbed
the Vibratone, it used a styrofoam baffle spinning in
front of a 12-inch speaker, kicking all the sound out
the sides of the box, and one of the best known uses of
a Vibratone is Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar classic
‘Cold Shot’. Now we figure its bassist’s turn to take
the mighty power of the rotary horn for themselves!

6 • 12

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.