Line 6 POD User Manual

Download

Pilot’s Handbook

An in-depth exploration of the revolutionary technologies

and pulsing tonal pleasures of POD, plus insider info on the

optional Line 6 foot controllers: the

Printed in the USA - Line 6 Part Number 40-00-0070 – Rev D

Electrophonic version on POD Tools CD and at http://www.line6.com

Floor Board

and

FB4

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

POD, TubeTone, Line 6, and the Amp Farm, TubeTone, and Line 6 logos are all trademarks of Line 6. Pro Tools and TDM are trademarks of Digidesign. Emagic and SoundDiver are trademarks of Emagic Software. Arbiter, Fender, Marshall, Matchless, Mesa Boogie, Soldano, Vox and other ampliﬁer and effect models are all trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way afﬁliated or associated with Line 6. These trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely for the purpose of describing certain ampliﬁer tones modeled after some of the most popular sounds of these classic amps and effects.

Reduced Size for Electrophonic Edition

POD Pilot’s Guide Back Cover Foldout Illustration

A Big Rectifier B

Black Panel with Compression & Spring Reverb C POD Clean with Chorus & Delay D POD Drive with Delay & Verb

BANK 1BANK 2BANK 3BANK 4BANK 5BANK 6BANK 7BANK 8BANK 9

A Small Tweed Driven with Room Reverb B

Dumble with Rotary C POD Clean Auto Swell with Delay D Bassman with Slapback Echo

A POD Clean with Compression B

POD Crunch with Room Reverb C POD Drive with Delay D POD Layer with Light Chorus & Delay

A Small Tweed with Room Reverb – modelled after 1952 Fender Deluxe B

Tweed Blues – modelled after 1959 Fender Bassman C Black Panel with Tremolo & Spring Reverb – modelled after 1964 Fender Deluxe D Modern Class A – modelled after Matchless Chieftain

A Brit Class A – modelled after 1960 Vox AC15 B

Brit Blues – modelled after 1965 Marshall JTM-45 C Brit Classic – modelled after 1968 Marshall “Plexi” D Brit Hi Gain – modelled after 1986 Marshall JCM 800

A Rectified – modelled after Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Tremo-O-Verb B

Modern Hi Gain with Echo & Verb – modelled after Soldano X88 Preamp C Fuzz Box – modelled after Arbitor Fuzzface D Tube Preamp –

for direct recording of non-guitar instruments

Fender, Marshall, Vox, Matchless, Mesa Boogie, Roland, Soldano, Arbiter, and other

amplifier and effect models are all trademarks of their respective owners, which

are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These trademarks of other

manufacturers are used solely for the purpose of describing certain amplifier tones

produced using Line 6's TubeTone modeling technology. Line 6's TubeTone modeling

technology provides POD with a wide variety of sounds and effects modeled after

some of the most popular sounds of these classic amps and effects.

A Jazz Clean with Chorus – modelled after Roland JC120 B

Small Tweed #2 – modelled after 1961 Fender Champ C Black Panel #2 – modelled after 1965 Fender Twin D Brit Class A #2 – modelled after 1960 Vox AC30

A Brit Class A #3 with Echo – modelled after 1966 Vox AC 30 Top Boost B

Boutique #1 with light slapback – modelled after Dumble Overdrive Special Clean C Boutique #2 – modelled after Dumble Overdrive Special Drive D Boutique #3 – modelled after Budda Twinmaster

A California Crunch #1 modelled after Mesa Boogie Mark IIC B

California Crunch #2 modelled after Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ Crunch C Rectified #2 modelled after Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Head D Modern Hi Gain #2 modelled after Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive

+ Clean

Line 6 Part No. 40-00-0072 Rev B

POD PILOT'S LOG

Draw lines in the empty circles to indicate the knob positions for your favorite original sounds

AMP MODELS EFFECTS

MODERN CLASS A

BLACK PANEL

TWEED BLUES

SMALL TWEED

POD LAYER

POD DRIVE POD CRUNCH

POD CLEAN

BRIT CLASS A

FUZZ BOX

TUBE PREAMP

BRIT BLUES

BRIT CLASSIC

BRIT HI GAIN

RECTIFIED

MODERN HIGAIN

PATCH NAME

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE

TAP TEMPO:

HOLD TAP TEMPO & TURN EFFECT TWEAK TO SET

CHANNEL

VOLUME

010 010

REVERB

LEVEL

NOISE GATE

ON OFF

EFFECT

TWEAK

FLANGER 2 FLANGER 1 CHORUS 2

CHORUS 1

TREMOLO COMPRESSOR

ROTARY

DELAY

DELAY/COMPRESSOR

DELAY/SWELL

BYPASS

DELAY/TREMOLO

DELAY/CHORUS 1

DELAY/CHORUS 2

DELAY/FLANGER 1

DELAY/FLANGER 2

FLOOR BOARD EFFECT ON/OFF: CHECK BOX IF EFFECT IS ON

DISTORTION DRIVE/BOOST EQ TREM/CHORUS DELAY REVERB

NOTES:

AMP MODELS EFFECTS

MODERN CLASS A

BLACK PANEL

TWEED BLUES

SMALL TWEED

POD LAYER

POD DRIVE POD CRUNCH

POD CLEAN

BRIT CLASS A

FUZZ BOX

TUBE PREAMP

FLOOR BOARD EFFECT ON/OFF: CHECK BOX IF EFFECT IS ON

BRIT BLUES

BRIT CLASSIC

BRIT HI GAIN

RECTIFIED

MODERN HIGAIN

PATCH NAME

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE

DISTORTION DRIVE/BOOST EQ TREM/CHORUS DELAY REVERB

TAP TEMPO:

HOLD TAP TEMPO & TURN EFFECT TWEAK TO SET

CHANNEL

VOLUME

010 010

REVERB

LEVEL

NOISE GATE

ON OFF

EFFECT

TWEAK

NOTES:

AMP MODELS EFFECTS

MODERN CLASS A

BLACK PANEL

TWEED BLUES

SMALL TWEED

POD LAYER

POD DRIVE POD CRUNCH

POD CLEAN

BRIT CLASS A

FUZZ BOX

TUBE PREAMP

FLOOR BOARD EFFECT ON/OFF: CHECK BOX IF EFFECT IS ON

BRIT BLUES

BRIT CLASSIC

BRIT HI GAIN

RECTIFIED

MODERN HIGAIN

PATCH NAME

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE

DISTORTION DRIVE/BOOST EQ TREM/CHORUS DELAY REVERB

TAP TEMPO:

HOLD TAP TEMPO & TURN EFFECT TWEAK TO SET

CHANNEL

VOLUME

010 010

REVERB

LEVEL

NOISE GATE

ON OFF

EFFECT

TWEAK

NOTES:

AMP MODELS EFFECTS

MODERN CLASS A

BLACK PANEL

TWEED BLUES

SMALL TWEED

POD LAYER

POD DRIVE POD CRUNCH

POD CLEAN

BRIT CLASS A

FUZZ BOX

TUBE PREAMP

BRIT BLUES

BRIT CLASSIC

BRIT HI GAIN

RECTIFIED

MODERN HIGAIN

PATCH NAME

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE

TAP TEMPO:

HOLD TAP TEMPO & TURN EFFECT TWEAK TO SET

CHANNEL

VOLUME

010 010

REVERB

LEVEL

NOISE GATE

ON OFF

EFFECT

TWEAK

ROTARY

FLANGER 2 FLANGER 1 CHORUS 2

CHORUS 1

TREMOLO COMPRESSOR

ROTARY

FLANGER 2 FLANGER 1 CHORUS 2

CHORUS 1

TREMOLO COMPRESSOR

ROTARY

FLANGER 2 FLANGER 1 CHORUS 2

CHORUS 1

TREMOLO COMPRESSOR

DELAY

DELAY/COMPRESSOR

DELAY/SWELL

BYPASS

DELAY

DELAY/COMPRESSOR

DELAY/SWELL

BYPASS

DELAY

DELAY/COMPRESSOR

DELAY/SWELL

BYPASS

DELAY/TREMOLO

DELAY/CHORUS 1

DELAY/CHORUS 2

DELAY/FLANGER 1

DELAY/FLANGER 2

DELAY/TREMOLO

DELAY/CHORUS 1

DELAY/CHORUS 2

DELAY/FLANGER 1

DELAY/FLANGER 2

DELAY/TREMOLO

DELAY/CHORUS 1

DELAY/CHORUS 2

DELAY/FLANGER 1

DELAY/FLANGER 2

FLOOR BOARD EFFECT ON/OFF: CHECK BOX IF EFFECT IS ON

DISTORTION DRIVE/BOOST EQ TREM/CHORUS DELAY REVERB

NOTES:

AMP MODELS EFFECTS

MODERN CLASS A

BLACK PANEL

TWEED BLUES

SMALL TWEED

POD LAYER

POD DRIVE POD CRUNCH

POD CLEAN

BRIT CLASS A

FUZZ BOX

TUBE PREAMP

FLOOR BOARD EFFECT ON/OFF: CHECK BOX IF EFFECT IS ON

BRIT BLUES

BRIT CLASSIC

BRIT HI GAIN

RECTIFIED

MODERN HIGAIN

PATCH NAME

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE

DISTORTION DRIVE/BOOST EQ TREM/CHORUS DELAY REVERB

TAP TEMPO:

HOLD TAP TEMPO & TURN EFFECT TWEAK TO SET

CHANNEL

VOLUME

010 010

REVERB

LEVEL

NOISE GATE

ON OFF

EFFECT

TWEAK

NOTES:

AMP MODELS EFFECTS

MODERN CLASS A

BLACK PANEL

TWEED BLUES

SMALL TWEED

POD LAYER

POD DRIVE POD CRUNCH

POD CLEAN

BRIT CLASS A

FUZZ BOX

TUBE PREAMP

FLOOR BOARD EFFECT ON/OFF: CHECK BOX IF EFFECT IS ON

BRIT BLUES

BRIT CLASSIC

BRIT HI GAIN

RECTIFIED

MODERN HIGAIN

PATCH NAME

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE

DISTORTION DRIVE/BOOST EQ TREM/CHORUS DELAY REVERB

TAP TEMPO:

HOLD TAP TEMPO & TURN EFFECT TWEAK TO SET

CHANNEL

VOLUME

010 010

REVERB

LEVEL

NOISE GATE

ON OFF

EFFECT

TWEAK

NOTES:

ROTARY

FLANGER 2 FLANGER 1 CHORUS 2

CHORUS 1

TREMOLO COMPRESSOR

ROTARY

FLANGER 2 FLANGER 1 CHORUS 2

CHORUS 1

TREMOLO COMPRESSOR

DELAY

DELAY/COMPRESSOR

DELAY/SWELL

BYPASS

DELAY

DELAY/COMPRESSOR

DELAY/SWELL

BYPASS

DELAY/TREMOLO

DELAY/CHORUS 1

DELAY/CHORUS 2

DELAY/FLANGER 1

DELAY/FLANGER 2

DELAY/TREMOLO

DELAY/CHORUS 1

DELAY/CHORUS 2

DELAY/FLANGER 1

DELAY/FLANGER 2

CHAPTER 1: Q

ANUAL

NTRODUCTION

? I DON’T N

Register and Get Great Free Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1•1

Get On-line: Line 6 Internet Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1•2

TubeTone Modeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1•3

Amp Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1•4

There’s Magic In The A.I.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1•5

UICK START GUIDE

EED NO STINKING

: W

ELCOME THE

POD...

ANUAL

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1•1

CHAPTER 2: C

CHAPTER 3: G

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

CENARIO ONE

Mount Up: Mounting Accessories Available for POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•1

Gimme Some A.I.R.: The All Important Air Switch and How To Set It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•2

Picking The Right Inputs: Line Level Inputs Are The Ticket!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•2

Ready To Play Anywhere: The Versatile POD Works With Systems Large & Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•2

Boom Boxes & Small Portable Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•3

Big Time Connections: POD Setup In High-End Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•4

First Time’s A Charm: Simple POD Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•4

Changing History: Setting Up POD for More Versatile Processing & Later Tweaking . . . . . . . . . . . .3•4

Direct Injection: Direct Guitar Signal Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•5

Return To Sender: Setting Up POD in a Send-Return Conﬁguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•5

Level Headed: Setting Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•7

Radiation Alert: Computer Monitors as a Source of Hum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•7

Pedal Power: Foot Control Options for POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•8

Not So Big Time Connections: POD Setup in Small Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•9

Stomp Boxes: Using Them With POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•9

MIDI Mania: Controlling POD with MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•10

CENARIO TWO

Mount Up: Mounting Accessories Available for POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•11

Gimme Some A.I.R.: The All Important Air Switch and How To Set It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•11

POD Takes Over: Using POD as a Tone-shaping front end for a Guitar Amp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•12

POD Master Volume: A Word of Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•12

Tuning Your Ampliﬁer: Setting Up Your Guitar Ampliﬁer to Host POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3•12

Stomp Boxes, Live Setups, & You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•13

Pedal Power: Foot Control Options for POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•14

ONTROLS

ETTING SET UP

– IN THE S

– POD P

& C

TUDIO

LAYS LIVE

ONNECTIONS REFERENCE

2•1

CHAPTER 4: M

ODELED AMPS

CHAPTER 5: POD E

Deep Editing: Where To Look for More Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•1

POD Onboard Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•1

Reverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5•1

Compressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5•2

Tremolo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•2

Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5•3

Flanger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5•3

Rotary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5•3

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•4

Noise Gate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5•4

Combined Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•5

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

FFECTS

CHAPTER 6: C

Using The Manual Mode Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•1

Using The Channel Program Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6•1

Swapping POD Channels With Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•2

Edit Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•3

The Preset Reset Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6•3

CHAPTER 7: T

Using the Floor Board with POD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•1

Getting Connected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•1

Two Modes:

Using the FB4 with POD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•9

CHAPTER 8: D

MIDI Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•1

What’s MIDI? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•1

In/Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•1

MIDI Channel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•2

MIDI Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•2

Emagic SoundDiver Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•3

POD-to-POD Sound Transfers Via MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•4

Backing Up POD Programs To Other Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•5

Other Things You Can Do With MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•6

Changing POD Channels with MIDI Program Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•6

Tweaking POD Tones with MIDI Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•6

Exchanging Sounds Between Two PODs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•6

Full MIDI Automation of POD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8•7

SoundDiver Setup Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•8

APPENDICES

Amp Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix A

Effect Parameters: Tapping, Tweaking & More. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix B

MIDI Program Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix C

MIDI Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix D

Cabinet Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix E

Bright Switches: Which Amp Models Have Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix F

Line 6 Contact: Customer Service & Other Line 6 Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Appendix G

REATING

HAT’S USING YOUR FEET

EEP EDITING

MIDI Program Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•2

MIDI Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•2

MIDI Sysex Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8•3

& S

TORING PROGRAMS

1. Channel Select Mode

Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•2

Channel Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•3

Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•3

Editing and Saving POD Channels with the Floor Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•3

Tap Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•4

Tuner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•4

Wah Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•5

Volume Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•5

2. Effect On/Off Mode

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

Drive/Boost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•6

EQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•7

Tremolo/Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•7

Delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•7

Reverb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•7

Effect On/Off Setting Stored With Programmed Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7•8

& MIDI C

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7•2

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

ONTROL

UICK START GUIDE

“M

ANUAL

DON’T NEED NO STINKING MANUAL

? I

!”

UICK

“M

ANUAL

1. Turn the POD O

2. Plug the POD L mixer’s input, or the left output into your guitar ampliﬁer’s input. Or connect headphones to the PHONES jack on your POD.

2. If you’re plugged into a guitar amp, set A.I.R. switch to ‘AMP.’ Otherwise, set it to ‘DIRECT.’

3. Plug the power adapter into the POD P plug the other end into an AC wall socket.

4. Connect your guitar to the POD I

5. Flip the P

6. Select an A

7. Set the C to your heart’s desire. O

8. Pick an E TWEAK so you’re happy with the sound. Tap the TAP TEMPO BUTTON to set the speed of the selected effect.

9. To browse pre-programmed settings use the up and down arrows. Press the M how-it-sounds operation.

10. What number 10? You’re already up and running!

TART

DON’T NEED NO STINKING MANUAL

? I

UTPUT LEVEL

EFT

switch near the POD power connector to ﬁre up.

OWER

MP MODEL

HANNEL VOLUME

FFECTS

setting and adjust the R

ANUAL BUTTON to return to where-the-knobs-are-is-

and R

IGHT OUTPUTS

UTPUT LEVEL

UIDE

or:

control all the way down to zero.

into your recorder or

OWER CONNECTOR

NPUT JACK

to max and the B

sets the output level (duh).

, MID, and T

ASS

EVERB

LEVEL and EFFECTS

, then

REBLE

1 • 1

!”

But wait, before you go any further, ﬂip to the inside back cover of this manual and notice that it folds out. The idea is to have this handy pictorial reference always opened out while you’re thumbing through the manual. And then you can photocopy the back of it, and you’ll have a handy template for making a note of

your favorite POD settings. Now then, before you run off....

REGISTER AND GET GREAT FREE STUFF!

Included with your POD is a handy, postage-paid card for you to send back to us to register your purchase, and let us know a little about yourself. It is

very important

QUICK START GUIDE: GET ON-LINE

1 • 2

that you ﬁll that registration card out right now, and send it to us in the mail or jump on the internet and register at the Line 6 Support Center – www.line6.com.

How come? Well, for one thing, it gets you all set up for warranty service should you ever have a problem with your POD. It also insures that we will be able to contact you if new software versions or other enhancements are offered – cutting edge technology and all that.

Registering also gets you access to special resources available only to Line 6 registered users. Things like a periodic free newsletter with tips & tricks and POD and Line 6 news. There are also special accessories like Line 6 wear that are available to the registered owners of Line 6 products.

GET ON-LINE

Here at Line 6, our mission is to bring powerful new technologies to musicians. As part of that mission, we are focusing great effort on making the internet a valuable resource for every one of our customers. You may have already surfed the Line 6 site at http://www.line6.com when you were considering your purchase, and found all the information already there on Line 6 products and technologies.

The Line 6 web site is one of the most effective ways for us to bring you what you need. Through the internet, we can give you instant access to all kinds of great, free stuff to make you and your POD ever more powerful. Like easy email access to our product support experts, handy tips & tricks, electronic versions of this and other documentation, the latest news of what’s happening with Line 6 and the

products we make for you, and....

Line 6 Exchange Boards: Visit the web site to check out the Line 6 Exchange Boards, and you’ll ﬁnd a powerful way to connect to other POD users. Swap sounds, get and give advice, and generally hang out and get POD-a-licious, all from the privacy of your own comfy computer chair!

Already on the internet? Great! Visit us often and check out the late-breaking news and the other resources there. Not on the internet yet? This may be the time to make the big jump, and thereby insure that you will get all the great resources we can offer for you and your POD.

INTRODUCTION: WELCOME THE POD....

INTRODUCTION

WELCOME THE POD....

Thank you for inviting POD home with you. Whether you use your POD as a direct recording miracle, a stomp box on steroids, for practice, or as a creative digital signal processing tool – and heck, why should it be just one? – we think you’ll agree that POD is about the most amazing thing to happen to electric guitar since – well, since the guitar ampliﬁer itself. POD mines the tonal heritage of the past forty years of guitar ampliﬁer design and matches it up with the kind of digital signal processing magic that will still be ahead of its time in the next century.

How does POD help you create a guitar tone that is out of this world? Easy! It’s…

TUBETONE™ MODELING

Well, just what is it, and why is it so important? (By the way, you sent in that registration card or did it on the web, right? OK, just checking.)

Tubes, we can all agree, are the heart and soul of every legendary guitar amp and are responsible for the warm, harmonic-rich tone quality of those amps. Solid state devices (transistors) are simply unable to duplicate tube warmth and performance. And “hybrids” – a tube in a circuit along with a bunch of transistors – are really a vain attempt at warming up a transistor-based tone. They fall short in any comparison to a 100% tube circuit. So that’s it – tubes or nothin’, right? Well, not

any more....

1 • 3

You see, the engineers at Line 6, being an adventurous lot, and totally pumped about this whole guitar tone thing as well, decided to stock up on the coffee, bust out the engineering equipment, and get down to learning everything there is to know about tubes. Riding high on the caffeine wave, they began a three-year project to analyze and map out exactly how different types of tubes respond under various conditions typical of guitar ampliﬁer design. How tubes process an input signal, how the signal is colored and shaped, at what point it begins to distort, the quality and characteristic of the distortion – complicated stuff, but all analyzable as electronic data. A guitar pickup output, after all, is an electronic signal, and tubes are really just a complex form of signal processing.

Having sussed it all out, the Line 6 engineers were then able to apply their digital

INTRODUCTION: WELCOME THE POD....

1 • 4

expertise to develop software which simulates the tube and other circuitry’s signal processing entirely within the digital domain. Cool, huh?

This revolutionary DSP (digital signal processing) software-based modeling technology, called

TubeTone, gives Line 6 the power to create super silicon-

based life forms like POD: a tonally mind-blowing, multi-FX packed, shiny red

wonder box with ultimate ﬂexibility for creating awesome guitar tone....

AMP MODELS

The TubeTone process allowed Line 6 to create software Amp Models modeled after a collection of ampliﬁers recognized by guitarists the world over as true “tone classics.” We got these amps together, cranked ’em up, and had a look at the electronic data generated by the tubes, transformers, capacitors, plate and grid voltages, tone control curves – and the whole mess of components and elements unique to each ampliﬁer design. This research led to the creation of TubeTone software Amp Models. These Amp Models were tweaked up through careful, scientiﬁc A/B comparisons to the amps 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 amps were carefully measured so that changes to amp 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, and we also carefully attended to the effect of presence switches, “bright” channels, and other model-speciﬁc factors. Not only that, but since these old amps had highly interactive circuits, we paid careful attention to the way that the setting of one knob will change the way that another knob on the amp will behave. All in an effort to make our Amp Models as much like the amps we modeled as possible.

The resulting TubeTone Amp Models are the foundation of POD. Now, then– here are a couple of things we want to be completely crystal clear on:

1. The TubeTone modeling process is a patented, 100% digital software-based technology exclusive to Line 6.

2. TubeTone is not sampling, nor is it solid state; no special guitar, pickup, or cabling is needed.

INTRODUCTION: WELCOME THE POD....

THERE’S MAGIC IN THE A.I.R. . . .

POD delivers its TubeTone modeling tones through our latest 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. These cabinet simulations cannot reproduce the markedly different tones of different cabinets which arise from the choice of speakers, wood, and other design elements. They also fail to reproduce the signiﬁcant tonal contribution of microphone selection and placement, and do nothing to reproduce the subtle ambience of the recording space.

The result is the familiar dissatisfaction with direct recording products - even those that deliver a reasonably usable basic tone fail to reproduce the “life” of the guitar sound, and destroy the proper feel in the process. It is as if your guitar strings became heavier and less responsive, like they just went up a couple of gauges when you plugged into your direct box. And your sound lost its life.

POD's combination of TubeTone Amp Models and A.I.R. technology provides superior direct tones by recreating all the elements contributing to a great recorded guitar 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 guitar ampliﬁer electronics is emulated by the TubeTone Amp Model you choose. Each model was developed from extensive study of a classic ampliﬁer treasured as a tone classic.

• In a guitar amp, once the guitar 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 guitar tone, as does the construction and resulting tone of the wood box itself. A Marshall head driving a single 12-inch speaker in an open-back cabinet, for instance, will sound dramatically different from the same head driving a 4x12 closed-back cabinet. Line 6 has carefully constructed virtual software speaker cabinets that emulate the contribution made by real speaker cabinets to great guitar sound.

INTRODUCTION: WELCOME THE POD....

1 • 6

• 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. Guitar 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 standard microphones add to the guitar sound, as well as the effects of different mic placement techniques, and developed a set of cabinet simulations that give you the tone of great speaker cabinet and microphone combinations.

• The guitar amp, cabinet, and microphone don't just sit in empty space. The room that they are in contributes importantly to the guitar 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 guitar 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 Line 6's POD. Turn the Amp Model knob to call up the ampliﬁer emulation you want. POD 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. You can add reverb to taste, and start recording incredible mic'd up sound. The included SoundDiver MIDI-control software lets you use a Macintosh or Windows computer to do “deep editing” of these and other POD parameters. With it, you can design your own custom rig, making new combinations of Amp Model and cabinet/microphone emulation, and adjusting the contribution of the “spread” of the sound as well.

The A.I.R. direct recording output is exclusive to Line 6. In combination with Line 6's TubeTone Amp Models, it is the key to POD's phenomenally satisfying direct recording sound.

So, now that you know what’s in store, it’s time to experience the TubeTone Amp Models for yourself. Grab your favorite axe, plug in to POD, 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, press ahead to the POD Grand Tour....

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

If you haven’t already done so, turn to the inside 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. And then you can photocopy the back of it, and you’ll have a handy template for making a note of your favorite settings. The boxed numbers that pop up throughout the manual correspond to the numbers on the foldout’s illustrations.

Power Switch - Right edge of POD. Flip this to bring your POD to life.

Input - Bottom right side of POD illustration. Plug your guitar in here. (You

techies will want to know this is a mono, unbalanced connection).

Phones - Bottom left side of POD illustration. Plug in your headphones here

for silent practicing. Volume’s set by the Output Level knob. The headphone ampliﬁer is designed to provide hot signals for a variety of headphones. As a result, you can get very loud output from this connector. Be sure to set levels carefully so you don’t blow your head off when listening to your POD through your phones.

2 • 1

Output Level - Far left knob on the POD illustration. Controls the

overall output level of POD. Also sets the headphone level. This setting is not saved when you store settings into one of the POD’s memory locations. Changing the Output Level level does not change your tone. So you can get the tone you want at any volume level.

POD will give the best signal-to-noise ratio performance when you have the Output Level control at max. With the Output Level control turned down low, you may get extra hiss that obviously ain’t what you want. In order to allow you to set the Output Level as high as possible with recording, mixing, and other studio gear,

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

be sure you are plugging POD’s outputs into line level, not microphone or

guitar level inputs. Line level inputs should allow you to turn POD’s output level up all the way (or close to it) and thereby get the best sound possible. If your gear has

2 • 2

inputs that function as mic/line level inputs, try to set the trim for those inputs to the minimum level, and POD’s Output Level to maximum, when setting levels.

Left & Right Output - Top left of POD illustration. These are

balanced 1/4" TRS connectors, and ready to rock with pro +4 dBu balanced equipment. They will also work happily with unbalanced -10bBV equipment and standard guitar cables. If you are running POD mono, use the Left output. (POD is smart; if it sees that only the left output and no headphones are connected, it will switch to mono, summing the effects processing properly so you hear things like the Rotary Speaker emulation correctly in mono. If you have headphones connected, POD will always run stereo.)

A.I.R. Mode - Between Left and Right Outputs. We discussed the

beneﬁts of POD’s A.I.R. output in the ﬁrst chapter of this handbook. When you’re setting up with POD, here’s the thing to know: if you’re plugging your POD into a guitar ampliﬁer to use POD as a “front end” to change the amp’s tone, ﬂip the A.I.R. Mode switch to AMP, and set your amp for a clean tone. This defeats the speaker-microphone-room tone simulation of the A.I.R. processing. If you’re using POD in almost any other setup (plugging direct into a mixer, recorder, PA, power ampliﬁer, etc.) you want the DIRECT position of this A.I.R. switch. When running into an amp, be sure NOT to plug in headphones, as they will override the A.I.R. switch position and turn A.I.R. on so that things sound right in the headphones, but wrong on your amp.

Foot Pedal Connector - Top of POD illustration. Looks like a

telephone connector on steroids. This is where you connect the optional Line 6 Floor Board or FB4 foot controllers.

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

MIDI In & Out - Top right of POD illustration. Connect POD to your

MIDI equipment to select channel memories (via program change messages) or automate POD settings (via controllers and/or Sysex). Emagic SoundDiver software is included on the POD Tools CD for sound editing/storage on a computer. The POD MIDI OUT connects to another device’s MIDI IN; its MIDI IN goes to another device’s MIDI OUT. Please also see Chapter 9, Deep Editing and MIDI Control, to setup your MIDI gear with POD and ﬁnd out what MIDI can do for POD and you.

Manual Button - In the middle of the POD. Press this button to light it

and activate Manual Mode. In this mode, wherever the knobs are set is what you’re

hearing. Move knobs around to change sounds. Or....

Channel Up/Down Buttons - To the left of the Manual button.

The POD has 36 channel locations (POD is like a 36-channel amp) that store a huge variety of complete amp-and-effect selections pre-programmed by the tone mavens at Line 6 to rock your world. They are arranged as nine 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 guitar amp – and you’ll ﬁnd that the same layout is used on the optional Line 6 foot controllers for POD (the Floor Board and FB4) which are discussed in their own later chapter. You access POD channels by pressing the Up or Down buttons. Tap either button to move to the next channel in the bank; press and hold down either Up or Down button to jump from bank to bank. The Manual button’s light goes off to let you know you’re not in Manual – the “wherethe-knobs-are-is-how-POD-sounds” – Mode anymore. When recalling a channel, its settings will not be reﬂected by the present knob positions – like you may have left the Bass knob at minimum whereas the just-recalled channel has this control set to max. To change anything, just grab the knob you want and tweak. More on all that later.

2 • 3

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

Amp Model Selector - Bottom left knob on the POD with words all

round it. When you spin this knob, it’s essentially like changing what electronic “circuitry” is running inside the POD to make your amp sound (also see Modeled

2 • 4

Amps in Chapter 4). We’ve arranged the Amp Models around the knob so you get

POD’s four custom sounds ﬁrst. Then the models go clockwise from “cleanest” (Small Tweed) to “dirtiest” (Fuzz Box). And then we ﬁnish up with the Tube Preamp for processing non-guitar sources.

Drive - Knob to the left of the button panel. This knob controls how hard

you’re driving the input of the chosen Amp Model. Think of it like the input volume control on a non-master volume guitar amp; the higher the setting, the more “dirt.”

Tone Controls - Following the arc of knobs up and to the right. Bass,

Middle, Treble. Just like a regular guitar amp, only when you change Amp Models, the response and interactivity of the controls changes, too – to act like the tone controls of the original amp that inspired the Amp Model you’ve selected. POD also has a Presence bump that can be switched on and off when you hold the Tap Tempo button and turn the Treble knob. The detail is in the Tap Tempo “Extra”

Functions section that begins in another couple pages or so.

Channel Volume - This knob controls the relative volume level of the

“channel” you are playing through. Use this to balance levels between the sounds you store in two different POD channels (say between your backing and lead tones). In general, you want to set the Channel Volume as high as possible to insure you’re getting the best signal-to-noise ratio performance.

Please Note: The Channel Volume is automatically set to a default level as you turn the Amp Model knob to select an Amp Model. This is done so that you will hear each Amp Model at a similar volume level, making it easy to compare them as you browse. If you have your Channel Volume set very low when you ﬁrst turn the

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

Amp Model knob, you may, therefor, ﬁnd that your volume level jumps up when you turn the Amp Model knob. On the other hand, if you’ve twisted the Channel Volume up to max, you’ll probably ﬁnd that your level drops a little as you browse through alternative Amp Models. Once you’re done browsing and have decided on the Amp Model you want, set the Channel Volume as high as possible to ensure that you are getting the best possible signal-to-noise ratio, and the hottest possible output to your recorder or other equipment that is receiving POD’s signal.

Reverb Level - Pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? How much reverb do

you want today? Two ﬂavors of reverb live inside POD; a TubeTone-created model of a spring reverb, and a room reverb tone. Which you get depends on which Amp Model you select. Generally speaking, if the amp that inspired a given Amp Model had a spring reverb, that’s what you’ll get. If the amp didn’t have a reverb (like the 1968 Marshall “Plexi” which inspired the Brit Classic model), you’ll get the room. The back cover foldout, Chapter 4, and Appendix A run down the details.

Effect Tweak - This knob will always change something, but exactly

what it changes will vary depending on which effect you have chosen. Turn it up and something will go deeper or louder or just plain more. The speed of the effects (delay, tremolo, chorus, ﬂanger, rotary speaker simulation) is set by the Tap Tempo switch (coming up in a page or two). For all the inside poop, look at the back cover foldout, Appendix B for Effect Parameters, and the POD Effects chapter. If you set the Effects knob to Bypass, Effect Tweak will of course not change anything.

2 • 5

Effects - Selects which effect or combination of effects you get. Once

again, all the details will be in the POD Effects chapter.

Tuner - Button in the middle of the POD. Press that puppy and – shazam!

Instant digital chromatic tuner. All TubeTone 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 guitar and POD will show you what it is on that handy single-character display; all notes are displayed as naturals or ﬂats, so you’ll see A instead of G . Play that string you’re trying to tune again, spin its tuning key so it

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

goes sharp and ﬂat, and two little red arrows below the Tuner button will give you a light show. The idea is that the left pointing arrow will light if you’re sharp. The right pointing arrow will light if you’re ﬂat. And both arrows will light at the same

2 • 6

time when you’ve got it just right. Give any one of POD’s buttons a push and the tuner disappears just as swiftly as it came and you’re right back to normal POD operation.

Tuner Volume - You can adjust the tuning volume of your POD by turning the Channel Volume knob while the tuner is active (this doesn’t affect the Volume

of your not-in-tuner-mode POD sound). Alternatively, if you have a Floor Board connected, the volume pedal will control the tuner volume, too.

Tuner Reference - What if you want to tune to a different reference than A=440Hz? When you’re in the tuner mode, turn the Mid knob on POD while watching the display. Hey, it changes! You can set the reference frequency anywhere from 436-445 Hz. This setting is stored so you don’t have to reset it every time you turn on POD if you decide you want to be different (or if that piano in your rehearsal room has decided to be different). Since there’s only one digit in the POD display, all we display is the last number, so if you set the tuner to reference 441 Hz, you’ll see “1”.

Noise Gate - Turns on and off the POD’s built in Noise Gate. More

Noise Gate details in the POD Effects chapter.

Tap Tempo - This control sets and displays the current tempo or speed of

delay or tremolo/chorus/ﬂange/rotary speaker. For Chorus and Flange effects, the speed is actually displayed by the blinking of the button and set at twice the speed of the effect so you don’t have to count to 23 between taps if you want to set up a really slow chorus. And for Tremolo the Tap Tempo is displayed and set at half the speed of the Tremolo effect, so you can get fast tremolo settings even if you can’t tap as fast as Bruce Lee. To use the Tap Tempo control, just tap the button at the tempo

you want. Hmmmm... Tap... Tempo.... Pretty clever naming there, huh? You can

also simply hold the Tap Tempo button and turn the Effect Tweak knob to change the speed or tempo of your effects. This is especially useful if you are trying to nudge your Tap Tempo setting to just the right value. See the POD Effects

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

chapter, the back cover foldout, and Appendix B for Effect Parameters to learn exactly what Tap Tempo controls for each of the Effect settings.

Tap Tempo “Extra” Functions - The Tap Tempo button also lets

you access a few extra POD features: a Presence Boost, a Volume Boost, and a Drive Boost. When you hold down the Tap Tempo button, you can use some POD knobs to access extra features. Here’s the detail:

Hold down, and keep holding down, the Tap Tempo button as you turn the Drive knob up past twelve o’clock, and you get the kind of extra ‘dirt’ that you’d expect from a Distortion pedal with the distortion control set low and the output control set high. It boosts your guitar signal before it reaches the Amp Model, so that you hit the model harder and get a dirtier sound. This is just the same as kicking on the Distortion at the Floor Board (details in Chapter 7). As you do this, the Channel A light comes on momentarily if you turn the Distortion on.

Hold down, and keep holding down, the Tap Tempo button as you turn the Channel Volume knob up past twelve o’clock, and a Volume Boost kicks in. This boosts volume without extra ‘dirt’ – like for a lead boost. This is the same as kicking on Drive/Boost at the Floor Board (details in Chapter 7). As you do this, the Channel B light comes on momentarily if you turn the Drive Boost on.

Hold down, and keep holding down, Tap Tempo as you turn the Treble knob up past twelve o’clock, and you get a Presence boost, brightening your tone. Same as the EQ boost on the Floor Board (details in Chapter 7). As you do this, the Channel C light comes on momentarily if you turn the Presence “circuit” on.

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

this button is the key. Exactly how it works is detailed in Chapter 6: Creating & Storing Sounds. But you’re probably impatient, so here’s the basics:

When you are using one of the pre-programmed POD sounds, the POD’s singledigit number display will be lit telling which bank you are in – one thru nine – and one of the channel letters – A thru D – will be lit also. If you turn one of POD’s knobs, you’ll notice the word “EDITED” will be lit to the left of the POD single-

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS

digit display. This is a reminder to you that you have tweaked the memorized channel, and that you should save it if you want the memory to remember the tweak. To save your changes, press the Save button . Save will start to ﬂash.

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Press the Up and Down buttons and you will see that you are switching through memory locations A, B, C, and D in each of POD’s nine numbered banks. Pick one to store your sound in, and press that Save button a second time. The Save button’s light will stop ﬂashing, and the sound is stored at the location you chose, replacing the sound that was stored there before. Doesn’t get much simpler than that. After the sound is stored, you can bring it back any old time by simply pressing the up and down buttons to call up the location where you stored it. (See Chapter 7 to learn how to do all this with your feet on the Floor Board).

If you aren’t using one of the pre-programmed POD sounds – 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 Save, use the Up and Down buttons to choose a place to save to, and press save again.

You may want to audition the memorized POD “preset” sounds before you start saving anything. Note the ones you can live without as locations you can save over.

Note: If you decide you don’t want to store the sound after you’ve started saving, press the Tap Tempo, Manual, Tuner, Noise Gate, or MIDI button to cancel the Save mode (The Save will also be canceled if you don’t press any buttons for 5 seconds after having pressed Save).

MIDI - This button is used to set POD’s MIDI channel and dump sounds

via MIDI. Details are in the Deep Editing & MIDI Control chapter.

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

GETTING SET UP

The numbers in black boxes below refer to the back cover foldout’s POD illustration.

ALL PURPOSE BASICS

Plug POD’s power supply into the wall, and connect it to the power input on the right edge If you want to listen to POD with headphones, plug them into the Phones jack. If you’re gonna be in the studio, check out Scenario One below.

If you’re playing live, ﬂip forward a few pages to Scenario Two.

of your POD. Plug the output of your guitar to the POD Input .

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SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

If you’re going to be using your POD in a recording situation, here’s what you need to know to get set up:

Mount Up

When you’re looking for the perfect spot to put your POD, you’ll want to know about the optional POD mic stand, amp top, and desk adaptors you can get from Line 6 – they’re described on the POD Tools CD and the Line 6 web site. We know this is a shameless plug to get you to buy more gear, but what the heck – you

just may want some! And a POD carry case....

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

Gimme Some A.I.R.

If you’re plugging POD’s output into anything other than a guitar ampliﬁer’s input,

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ﬂip the

DSP is active, and you are getting a virtual version of the speaker-cabinet-airmicrophone experience that’s so good you may never use a regular guitar ampliﬁer and microphone set up again. The POD 1/4" TRS outputs are versatile, merrily sending their magic tones into +4dBu balanced, or -10dBu unbalanced inputs. Quality cables are obviously recommended for best performance.

A.I.R. switch to its “Direct” position. In this mode, the A.I.R.

Pick the Right Inputs

If you’re hooking your POD 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 guitar level inputs. This will insure that you get the best signal-to-noise ratio (lots of juicy guitar tone, not too much hiss) with POD. Some equipment uses the same physical inputs for 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 your POD into one of these inputs, try setting the trim to minimum, and twisting POD’s Output Level and Channel Volume knobs up to 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.

Ready To Play Anywhere

POD makes friends easily. It’s right at home next to a multiple hundred thousand dollar, bajillion input SSL console, and will just as happily do its thing with your portable cassette recorder. Here’s how to hook up, starting from the simple stuff and working our way up the recording system food chain:

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

BOOM BOXES & SMALL PORTABLE STUDIOS

Connect the output of the POD to the input of your system. Ideally, you want to connect both right and left outputs to your gear and run stereo. Make sure the A.I.R. switch is set to “Direct,” plug your guitar into the guitar input, and away you go. Set your POD Output Level signal feeding into your gear, but not so loud that it’s overdriving your system and distorting. Try turning the Amp Model Selector to POD Clean, set POD’s Drive to the 9 or 10 o’clock position, and Channel Volume to Max. Now play with the POD Output Level knob and any input volume control on your system so you can get the maximum sound level out of your POD without going too far so that you overdrive the input and cause unwanted distortion. If you’ve got some headphones handy, you can plug them into the POD headphone output to compare that it sounds the same as what you hear through your system. Before you strap the phones on your ears, be careful that the headphones aren’t too loud, since their level is set by the Output Level, too.

so that you’re getting plenty of

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GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

BIG TIME CONNECTIONS

With bigger setups including a mixer and a multi-track recorder, or with new fangled setups like computer-based and stand-alone Digital Audio Workstations, you’ve got a couple choices. If you’re a MIDI computer user, you’ll also want to

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check out the Deep Editing & MIDI Control chapter to learn about the complete MIDI control available with the POD, including the Sound Diver editor/ librarian program that’s included on the POD Tools CD.

First Time’s A Charm

Make sure the POD A.I.R. switch is set to “Direct.” The “normal” thing to do is plug your guitar into POD, and then connect your POD’s +4 dBu stereo TRS 1/4" left and right outputs to the inputs of your system (the POD outputs are also perfectly happy connecting to -10dBV and unbalanced equipment). POD will process your guitar as you play, and you can print that processing to tape (or disk) as you make your tracks. For most situations, you may ﬁnd this is perfect.

Changing History

But there is another option that can give you the exciting ability to go back in time and change your amp and effect settings weeks after you’ve recorded your guitar tracks, bringing you ﬂexibility and creative control during mixdown that you could never get with a traditional guitar ampliﬁcation system. It’s like this: the simple setup just described in the preceding paragraph is basically like taking a reverb, running your vocal mic’s preamp into it, and printing the reverb processed sound to your recorder’s track. Now you’ve got that vocal performance, with that reverb setting, on tape (or disk). The more often used studio setup is to record the vocal to your recorder’s track dry, using an effect send on your mixer’s tape return channel to send the vocal to the reverb to audition the effect processing as you record your track. Then, when it’s time to mix, you can make ﬁnal decisions about the verb to insure that it’s ﬁtting in with the rest of your tracks. You can use a completely different verb if you want to, or no verb at all – all your possibilities are open. You can use POD like this – in an effect send/return set up – and get great advantages of ﬂexibility for your guitar tracks. Here’s how this conﬁguration works, plus other hook-up details:

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

Direct Injection

First thing to do to play the send/return game is get your guitar to deliver a direct input to your recorder or mixer, or the input of your computer-based audio system.

How about just plugging the guitar’s output into a mixer channel? Guitar pickups like to feed into a high impedance load – at least 300 KOhms impedance; 1 MOhm is ideal for the best results. Most mixer inputs are relatively low impedance, and therefore don’t deliver ideal guitar tone; you will tend to get a darker, “squashed” sound if you plug the guitar in directly. To avoid this, we recommend buffering your guitar’s signal before the mixer with a quality DI box or tonally “transparent” instrument preamp. Look for a unit that delivers clean, uncolored sound. Steer clear of amp simulators. You can use a guitar preamp, as long as it is clean, with a ﬂat frequency response – no tone shaping.

With that said, you can sometimes get acceptable results plugging direct into a line level mixer channel if you have a guitar with hot, active pickups (since the active electronics’ output can have relatively low impedance). For instance, we’ve sometimes plugged a guitar right into a channel on a Mackie 1202 VLZ, cranked up the trim, and gotten acceptable results. Don’t try to plug into a microphone level mixer input if you’ve got active pickups, because the extremely low impedance of mic inputs will load the active circuitry down too much.

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Return To Sender

Next, we’re gonna look at how you’d connect your POD to a send and a return from your system. Which you don’t have to do, but it gives the ﬂexibility we talked about in the ‘Changing History’ section a page or two back.

Conﬁgure things the way you would with a reverb: you want to be able to track your guitar unprocessed, and audition the POD processing as you are playing or tracking. So, for instance, if you have a mixer with direct outputs from some or all of its channels, along with a separate tape or disk recorder, you’ll do something like this:

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

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Return To Sender Illustration

Hooking up POD to a mixer send/return

Plug the guitar into your DI. Plug the DI into a mixer channel with a direct out. Set the trim on your channel so your input levels look good. Plug the direct output from the mixer channel into one of your recorder’s track inputs, and set the recorder to monitor the input to that track. Connect the recorder’s track output to another mixer channel input that has a direct output. Plug that direct output into your POD’s input, and plug the POD outputs into one of your mixer’s stereo

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

channel inputs. Make sure the POD A.I.R. switch is set to “Direct.” You should be all ready to play your guitar and hear it POD-processed, and lay down a track on your recorder. Then you can play back the track and switch amps, effects, whatever – welcome to the digital software revolution! And for an even more revolutionary experience, be sure to check out the MIDI Mania section below, plus the Deep Editing & MIDI Control chapter to learn how to automate it all. By the way: don’t monitor the pre-POD and post-POD guitar signals at the same time, as you’ll get comb ﬁltering that will mess up your sound. (Scary, huh?)

Level Headed

When setting levels in any of the above scenarios, watch carefully for the CLIP indicator to light on your POD (it’s just under the Bank Up/Down buttons). This lets you know you’re clipping the POD input and so you need to turn down the signal you’re feeding it. You should also be sure that you don’t send too little level to POD. As with any audio device, this will result in poor performance.

Radiation Alert

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You will also likely ﬁnd, especially if you are using a guitar with single coil pickups, that it is quite easy to pick up some serious noise from any computer monitor 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 guitar 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 guitar so it is does not face the computer’s display directly, 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 guitar part; stop your recording, ﬂick the monitor back on, and check out the buzz-free playback.

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

Pedal Power

POD has a couple of foot control options: the Line 6 Floor Board and FB4. While we’ll go into all the details in a later chapter, for now it’s good to know that the FB4 is a four-button foot switch that allows you to select between four POD channels and control Tap Tempo. Its big brother, the Floor Board, allows hands-

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free selection of any of the sounds programmed in your POD’s channels, plus a wah pedal, a volume pedal, stomp box-style individual on/off control of POD effects, and tuner control. Whichever Line 6 foot controller you choose, it will plug into the POD MIDI control pedal.

Pedal jack. You can also control your POD with a standard

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

NOT SO BIG TIME CONNECTIONS

You can run your POD in a send/return type conﬁguration even with a reasonably sophisticated four (or more)-track recorder or a “native” computer audio system (you’ll ideally want more than two channels out and in on your computer system if you want to mix guitar with other instruments).

Computer users: Plug your guitar into the computer’s input (preferably using a DI to get the signal level right). Make sure the POD A.I.R. switch is set to “Direct.” Plug the output of the computer into POD and send your guitar signal from the computer through that output, and listen to the POD output cranking out great amp tone as you play. Remember to check for the CLIP light to make sure you’re not overdriving POD’s input.

Multi-trackers: Plug your guitar into the multi-track’s input (preferably using a DI to get the signal level right). Make sure the POD A.I.R. switch is set to “Direct.” Take the output from the track on your multi-track and feed it into your POD, adjusting the level output to POD so you don’t light that CLIP indicator. In order to monitor POD through the multi-track, the recorded guitar signal has to be able to go from tape (or disk) to POD without you having to hear it; otherwise you’ll hear both the direct and POD-processed guitar at the same time, which ain’t no good. So you want a multi-track with direct output from one or more channels, or pre-fader effect sends (which means you can turn the monitor level for the track all the way down, while still feeding signal from it to the POD via its effect send).

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STOMP BOXES

Got some old stomp boxes you want to run your guitar through in addition to POD? No problem. You can place the stomp box(es) between the guitar and the DI box (if you’re using one) or between the guitar and your mixer input (if you’re feeling wild and running without a DI). Make sure the stomp box isn’t overdriving your mixer channel or DI, and make sure that the stomped and then DI’d signal doesn’t overdrive your mixer’s input. You can also experiment with putting your

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO ONE – IN THE STUDIO

stomp boxes just before or after POD – most anything might work depending on the speciﬁc gear you’re working with and the sound you’re trying to achieve. When setting your levels, be sure to try your loudest strumming, hottest pick-up combination, and your maximum volume boost from the stomp box(es) at the same time to make sure the resulting clamor gets through the signal chain cleanly.

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MIDI MANIA

And for yet more control (and who can ever get enough) those of you with MIDIcapable studios will ﬁnd that your POD lets you control everything via MIDI. This is especially powerful with the send & return setup described above. Using MIDI, you can automate any POD parameter. So, for instance, you could start recording a track (with your guitar going direct to tape, and POD’s MIDI output recording to your MIDI sequencer), and, as you track, you can switch from one POD memory to another from the front panel or your foot controller, tweak your reverb up a bit, twiddle the tone knobs, switch from one amp to another – whatever. Stop recording, and replay the track with the POD getting MIDI back from your sequencer, and POD will make all the same moves as when you were recording. You can even replay the track, this time with only the MIDI track record-enabled and the guitar track in playback, and now do all the automation tweaking you want right from the POD’s knobs and buttons or your foot controller. Or you can go in and edit those MIDI messages and make POD do something else. Pretty neat, huh? Be sure to read the Deep Editing & MIDI Control chapter if you plan to venture into this realm.

GETTING SET UP: SCENARIO TWO – POD PLAYS LIVE

SCENARIO TWO – POD PLAYS LIVE

If you’re going to be using your POD in a live situation, as either the “front end” for a guitar ampliﬁer, or for its direct output to a sound system, here’s what you need to know to get set up: