Welcome

This guide is not designed to be read front to back, and it is not a light read. If you are new to this guide, I suggest looking at the introduction section before proceeding. If you are looking for quick tips or troubleshooting advice, I recommend you go to the quick guide or troubleshooting pages. Each section is relatively-independent of the others and are linked when there are cross-references. It is best used as an on-hand reference for any given task you are attempting to accomplish with the Pod.

For a more general FAQ, see this helpful link provided by Line 6.

Also available in the following printable formats:

Update 3/23/15: Joel Fairman revamped the above .docx link to include various graphics/charts that were previously only available via the web and use correct internal linking. He also created a 7z/zip file of the guide plus all my patches for the Pod HD pro, which can be found at TOTAL_MEAMBOBBO.7z or TOTAL_MEAMBOBBO.zip. Huge thanks for Joel for this - it's way more work than you might think.

Brief Contents

• I. Introduction
• II. Quick Guide
• III. Guitar Setup
• IV. Pod Setup
• V. Amp/Distortion Tone
• VI. Cab/Mic Tone
• VII. EQ
• VIII. Tips and Pitfalls
• IX. Troubleshooting Guide
• X. FAQ and Links
• XI. Wishlist
• XII. Effects
• XIII. Glossary
• XIV. Change Log
• Patch Demo (Under Construction)

Full Contents

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I. Introduction

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II. Quick Guide

• A. Quirks
• B. How I Dial in a Patch
• C. High Gain Amp Round-Up
• D. Cab/Mic Round-Up
• E. Pre-EQ'ing a Distortion Tone
• F. Distortion Effect Round-Up
• G. Gain Staging
• H. EQ Effect Round-Up
• I. Top Ten Tweaks
• J. Killing Fizz
• K. Mids for Metal
• L. Dual Cabs
• M. Noise Gate Usage
• N. Amp DEP's
• O. Cab DEP's
• P. Output Modes
• Q. Input Settings

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III. Guitar Setup

• A. New Strings
• B. String Gauge
• C. Action
• D. Fret Buzz
• E. Intonation
• F. Pickups
  • i. Single-Coil vs. Humbuckers
  • ii. Pickup Position
  • iii. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
  • iv. Frequency Response
  • v. Actives vs. Passives
  • vi. All about Blackouts
  • vii. Pickup height on passives
  • viii. Pickup height on actives
  • ix. Pickup Suggestions
• G. Bridge
• H. Nut
• I. Body/Fretboard/Tuners/Neck-through/etc.

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IV. Pod Setup

• A. Understanding Output Modes
  • i. Simple Guide for Settings
  • ii. Where Confusion Sets In
  • iii. Global EQ
  • iv. Live-Voiced Cabs
  • v. Cab/Mic Simulation
  • vi. Bass-Boost
  • vii. Output Mode Feature Chart
• B. Internal Signal Routing
• C. Running "direct" (PA/board/computer or DAW/monitors/headphones)
  • i. Simple method (no real amp)
  • ii. Using a real amp as a pre-amp
• D. Running to an amp ("live")
  • i. Amp without effects loop
  • ii. Pod as Effects Only after pre-amp
  • iii. Simple setup for amp with effects loop
  • iv. 4 Cable Method
• E. I Tried This and It Doesn't Sound Good
• F. Dual Outputs
• G. Using Multiple Instruments
• H. Wet/Dry Output
• I. Input Settings
• J. The FX Loop
• K. The Mixer Block
• L. Effects Order/Position
• M. Gain Staging
• i. Principle
• ii. Practice

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V. Amp/Distortion Tone

• A. Distortion Types/Overview
  • i. Frequency Chart
• B. Pre-EQ'ing
• C. Gain Staging/Layering Distortions
• D. High-Gain Amps
  • i. Park 75
  • ii. Plexi Bright
  • iii. JCM-800
  • iv. Uberschall
  • v. Dual Rectifier
  • vi. Fireball
  • vii. Elektrik
  • viii. Dual Rectifier "Pre"
• E. Distortion Effects
  • i. Tube Drive
  • ii. Screamer
  • iii. Classic Distortion
  • iv. Overdrive
  • v. Facial Fuzz
  • vi. Line 6 Distortion
  • vii. Others
• F. Power Amp DEP's
• G. Dual Amps
• H. "Full" vs. "Pre"
• I. The Elusive Pure Clean Tone
• J. Noise Gates

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VI. Cab/Mic Tone

• A. Cab and Mic Selection for Direct Tones
  • i. My Favorites
  • ii. General Tips
  • iii. Hiway 4x12
  • iv. Tread V-30 4x12
  • v. XXL V-30 4x12
  • vi. Greenbacks 4x12
  • vii. Uber 4x12
  • viii. Other cabs
  • ix. SM57 On/Off Axis
  • x. Dynamic Mics
  • xi. Condenser Mics
  • xii. Ribbon Mics
  • xiii. Using Cab/Mic Choices for EQ Purposes
• B. Cab Selection for Live Tones
• C. Dual Cabs
  • i. Introduction
  • ii. Getting the Patch Ready
  • iii. Phase Correction
  • iv. EQ'ing the Tone
  • v. Other Amp Settings
  • vi. DSP Management
  • vii. My Favorites
  • viii. Theories About IR Quality
• D. Cab DEP's
• E. E.R.

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VII. EQ

• A. Classifying the Frequency Spectrum
• B. How to EQ a Hard Rock Tone
• C. The Pod HD's EQ Effects
• i. Graphic EQ
• ii. Parametric EQ
• iii. Studio EQ
• iv. 4 Band Shift EQ
• v. Mid-Focus EQ
• vi. Q Filter
• D. EQ'ing your Patch
• E. Fizzy Spots

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VIII. Tips and Pitfalls

Tips :-)

• A. Tone Matching
• B. Branching/ Evolving Patches
• C. Setlist Tips
• D. Effect Switching/Tips
• E. Recording Tips
• F. Monitoring
• G. DSP Allocation/Advice
• H. Mesa/Boogie Mark II/IV tone
• I. Clean Boost
• J. Leveling Patches

Pitfalls :-(

• K. Clarifying Confusing Volume Controls
  • i. The Pad Switch
  • ii. The MASTER Knob
  • iii. Ch. Vol./VOLUME Knob
  • iv. Mixer Levels
  • v. The Master DEP
• L. Clipping Guide
  • i. Input Clipping
  • ii. Signal Clipping
  • iii. Effects Clipping
  • iv. Clipping External Devices
  • v. "Digital" Clipping (Crossover Distortion) on "Full" Amp Models
• M. Bad Monitoring
  • i. Acoustic Tone
  • ii. Bad Monitors
  • iii. Bad Room
  • iv. Low Volume

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  IX. Troubleshooting Guide

  
  • A. Too much noise
  • B. Tone is fizzy
  • C. Tone is harsh
  • D. Tone has digital clipping
  • E. Tone is muffled
  • F. Distortion is muddy/fuzzy/farty
  • G. Distortion is dirty/gritty
  • H. Tone is thin
  • I. Software Knobs move on their own
  • J. I'm Getting DSP Limit Reached Errors

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  X. FAQ and Links

  • A. Frequently Asked Questions
  • i. Tone
  • ii. Output/Routing
  • iii. Usage
  • iv. Compatibility/Hardware
  • v. Misc
  • B. Links
    • i. General
    • ii. Forums
    • iii. Pod HD Reference Material
    • iv. Guides
    • v. Patches
    • vi. Artwork

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  XI. Wishlist

  • A. Output Modes, Cabs, and IR's
  • B. Amps
  • C. Utilities
  • D. Routing
  • E. EQ's
  • F. Footswitches/Controls/Midi
  • G. Effects
  • H. DSP Saving Features
  • I. Devkit

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  XII. Effects

  • A. Preferred Effects
  • i. Chorus
  • ii. Flangers
  • iii. Compressors
  • iv. Reverb
  • v. Delay
  • vi. Pre-EQ
  • B. Dialing in the Flangers
  • C. Substitutes
  • D. Ordering

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  XIII. Glossary

  • A. Signal-Based Terms
    • i. Clipping
    • ii. Distortion
    • iii. Signal
    • iv. Noise
    • v. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
    • vi. Impedance
    • vii. Signal Chain
    • viii. Mono
    • ix. Stereo
    • x. Field
    • xi. Balance
    • xii. Pan
  • B. EQ-Based Terms
    • i. Frequency Response
    • ii. Equilization/EQ
    • iii. Filter
    • iv. Band-Stop
    • v. Band-Pass
    • vi. Low/High Pass
    • vii. Shelf
    • viii. Peak/Valley
    • ix. Q
    • x. Cutoff
    • xi. Parametric EQ
    • xii. Graphic EQ
    • xiii. Notch EQ
  • C. Signal-Based Terms
    • i. Tone
    • ii. Fizz
    • iii. Buzz
    • iv. Grinding
    • v. Crunchy
    • vi. Chunky/Punchy
    • vii. Fuzzy
    • viii. Cold
    • ix. Warm
    • x. Hot
    • xi. Dry
    • xii. Wet
    • xiii. Dark
    • xiv. Bright
    • xv. Smooth
    • xvi. Squishy/Saturated
    • xvii. Djenty
    • xviii. Splatty
    • xix. Crackly
    • xx. Clanking
    • xxi. Ice-Pick
    • xxii. Harsh
    • xxiii. Muddy
    • xxiv. Thin
    • xxv. Brittle
    • xxvi. Thick
    • xxvii. High Gain

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  XIII. Change Log

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  Patch Demo (Under Construction)