This guide is too long. Here's some quick tips to get you dialed in without having to bust out your reading glasses. Note that all of these topics are covered more in-depth throughout the guide if you want more info.
To be brief...ish
I start with the amp model that I think I should use. Usually it's the same one or the closest to what the artist actually used. I set the amp drive around where I think it should be to get the right amount of distortion.
Next I get to cab/mic selection, which I cover in more detail here. If it's a high-gain tone that needs a thick tone more than it needs lush reverb or plentiful effects, I use a dual amp configuration instead of a single amp config (I use the same amp model for both). I usually start with the Hiway and XXL 4x12's, usually with both using the SM57 on axis mic. If i'm just using the single amp config, I almost always use the Hiway 4x12 with 57 on axis. For more on dual cabs, see here.
If the tone is a bit off, I'll try adjusting mics. For dual cabs, I generally like to keep the Hiway using the 57 on axis, because it gives a good presence and treble response - crisp, clear highs. When changing mics, you have to watch for phasing between the two amps. It seems the Hiway always needs a slight delay to keep its highs from getting decimated. So I add a Parametric EQ with default (null) settings behind the amp with the Hiway. I toggle it on/off and see if it improves the tone, particularly listening for the highs getting washed out. For some mic/cab combinations, you may need 2-3 EQ's to get this right. I generally first try the 57 off axis, then the 409 Dynamic, then then the 421 Dyn, then the 67' Cond.
Be aware that different mics can radically alter the frequency response of the tone in a favorable direction leading you to believe this is a tonal improvement, yet it might be preferable to use EQ effects to achieve the desired frequency response. I find I can often get the 57 on axis to be fat and warm (and not fizzy), and get a tone that sounds less noisy/washed out than using a '67 Cond, for instance. Is more about the nuances of the high-end than the overall response.
Once I've got that sounding good, I try to tweak the amp distortion tone, which I cover in more detail here. I'll either use EQ's or Distortion effects in front the amp(s). I find I usually want to roll-off low-end and maybe some high-end, so I've got a nice mid-boost going into the amp. Lows tend to get you a fuzzier distortion, and highs can be rattly or gritty. The best EQ for this is the Mid-Focus EQ. Occasionally I'll mix a Mid-Focus EQ with a Parametric EQ, using the Parametric to do a narrow boost or cut, generally in the presence/trebly area - this is useful if the tone is 90% there but isn't crispy enough or is getting a little crackly/rattly/splatty. If I want more compression, or to make the tone even colder or warmer, I'll try a Tube Drive or Screamer instead of EQ. The Tube Drive seems to make the tone warmer, whereas the Screamer colder. The same EQ rules apply, but you have a bit less control, so these effects are only useful if they get a decent sound with default settings - you don't have tons of room to tweak. However, the Drive controls can help add some compression to your tone. I usually start with these at 5% drive and move upwards from there. Occasionally, I'll mix a distortion effect and EQ - this is more about experimentation than simple logic.
Next, I'll set the amp EQ around where I think it should be. For dual amps, this means experimenting with ratios between the two. For example, one amp usually sounds better for a given control, such as bass, but it doesn't sound right to completely 0 out the bass on the other. Since the cabs have different EQ responses, the controls don't exactly control the same ranges either. Usually I end up using a lot of mids, medium/high treble and presence, and low bass on the Hiway amp. For the XXL, I keep the mids, treble, presence around or slightly below 50%, and I set bass to taste, usually between 30-60%. Then I play around and find little improvements.
Then I'll move onto Cab DEP's. Generally I reduce the res level of the Hiway, and add a little res level or leave alone the XXL. Reducing resonance seems to make the tone a little less warm but more crispy. Then I play around with Thump to see if I can't get a little improvement in the bass. I generally leave low cut alone (for now), and never touch decay.
Now I'll add a mid-focus EQ after the mixer to roll off the ultra high and low end. I start with HP at 0% and LP at 100% so they're basically doing nothing. I make sure the output level is 0%, which keeps the EQ from boosting the signal. Then I turn the Q's down to around 15%, so the roll-off is fairly gradual. I usually end up with HP at 5% and LP around 80%, and I usually have HP Q at 5-10% and LP Q at 0-20%. If the bass response is still a little off, you can use the low cut Cab DEP's to try to clean it up. So I might set the XXL at 60 HZ but the Hiway at 85 HZ or vice versa - just trying to make sure they don't interfere with each other in the very low end, which can make it sound boomy or droning instead of tight. If you need more info on EQ's, see the eq page.
There's a few more EQ treatments we can contemplate, but they're usually not worth the DSP, if that is even available. Basically, I'll use Parametric EQ's to do any further EQ'ing I can't get from the amp EQ controls. For instance, I may want a small mids cut to get rid of some honk, or cut some warmth to make the tone colder. Or there's a fizzy spot up high I want to eliminate. Sometimes the entire tone is just a bit too warm or midsy, so I'll use a wide Q and cut, essentially flattening out the tone. Or I'll do the opposite to warm it up.
As far as amp DEP's go, I generally don't mess with these TOO much. It's more about experimentation than logic. But if I'm using a JCM, I know I want the master DEP around 65% to get some power amp break-up. Sometimes I want to boost or reduce master DEP to get more bite or make the tone smoother, respectively. Occasionally, I'll mess with Bias, depending on how smooth I want the tone - higher values sound like you've got the volume on 11 and the amp is dying. Also, I might reduce Sag a tad to make the tone a bit more percussive than spongy. Hum I tend to only change on the Uber. I bump it up just a tad to get a more Mesa Mark tone, and I bump it up to like 75% to get a more 5150 tone. But anything at or above 60%, depending on how much distortion and how you pre-EQ (and how wet your effects are) can cause ghost notes to appear. Almost like an out-of-tune radio - so beware. For metal rhythm tones, you won't notice it, but for softer leads it quickly becomes apparent. Bias X doesn't have much effect on many amps, but it can make the notes more vowel-y on the Uber, which I like for the fake Mesa Mark tone.
Finally, there's the effects. The main ones are a noise gate, delay, and reverb. Occasionally I need a mod, or a pitch shift. Since DSP can be an issue, I add effects in order of importance. I generally save the noise gate for last, unless it's an integral part of the tone. For instance, Periphery/Meshuggah tones need actually two gates to get the tone REALLY tight and dynamic between playing and silence. For space, I prefer reverb, but it can be DSP intensive, so sometimes I use two overlapping delays, or one short delay instead. For reverbs, I prefer the spring verbs over the others, but if I can't fit it, chamber or hall works well. I tend to use the digital delay, but the ping pong delay takes less dsp and can be set up to get a non-ping pong effect.
Boosting around 500-1200 HZ before your distortion will bring out the djent. Cutting around 100-300 HZ before your distortion will reduce any muddiness or flub in the tone. 200-500 HZ can thicken or thin the tone without as much risk of muddiness. Cutting around 3000-5000 HZ before your distortion can help reduce any grit in the tone and make it smoother. This is basically what a Tube Screamer or other "boost" or "overdrive" pedal does. If you can't get there with such a pedal/effect, use EQ's - you'll have more control.
Top of PageTo find fizzy/hissy spots, start with an EQ that is boosting a narrow frequency range (high Q). As you play (or better yet have a looper play), move through the frequency range, starting at 3kHZ and moving upwards from there. Find the spot where tone sounds noisiest and harshest. Then try to make as small of a cut there as possible. You don't want to completely remove it from the tone, just make sure it is de-emphasized to the point where it doesn't stand out. If you totally kill the frequencies, your tone will sound like it's missing something. I usually cut around 4.5 kHZ on the Pod HD, and additionally around 3.8 kHZ if I can.
In short, my Parametric EQ settings are usually freq 95%, Q 90%, gain 35% if I use the XXL cab + 409 Dyn mic. If I use XXL + SM57 on axis, it's freq 92%, Q 85%, gain 40%. Sometimes I also cut around freq 83% depending on the amp used.
Top of PageThe key aspects of a metal tone are punch (200-350 HZ range), warmth (350-550), and "cold djent"(850-1400). Without these, your tone will simply sound weak or harsh when cranked up; and it won't cut through a mix. Which of these is most emphasized will define your tone; but even with one emphasized, you still want the others to be there.
I like to cut around 650 HZ (what I call "honk") to make the tone sound more metal and scooped, but if you cut too much your tone disappears, especially in a mix. Try to make the cut somewhat narrow - not too narrow or it'll sound off, and only cut a bit - don't completely kill those frequencies. I'll often complement this with a wide boost of all the midrange, with a peak around 1 kHZ.
If you want a good metalcore tone, you need plenty of punch. Old Metallica tone emphasized the hot djent area around 2 kHZ, which gets a good palm mute bite but can be a bit harsh. Warmth is the key to a really creamy lead tone.
Top of PageI've found the best tone from the onboard cab/mic sims comes by combining a bright cab that has good upper mids and high end definition and clarity with the SM57 on axis mic with a cab that has good low end punch and lower mids warmth. I like the Hiway 4x12 + SM57 on axis mic and the XXL 4x12 with SM57 off axis, but I also like 409 Dynamic on the XXL sometimes.
For dual tones, I like to use the same amp on both tones, only varying the cab/mic. Mixing amps can cause a tone that sounds like the amps are "fighting" each other, causing interference and making the tone sound washed out. I'll often even use the exact same settings on both amps. I also make sure both amps are panned to center to truly mix them. Be sure to adjust the volume of one amp to get a balanced blend of both amps - depending on the amp and cab/mic, one is usually a little louder than the other for the same settings.
Top of PageYou can get a great Mesa/Boogie Mark tone from the Uber model by putting some EQ in front the amp. My latest success involves the Mid-Focus EQ. I like the high pass frequency at around 65%, with a Q of around 20%. This gets rid of any muddiness to the distortion.
I do two different techniques for the low pass. For my Mark IV tone, I like to set it to frequency ~85% and Q 25% to gradually roll-off the high end, but I'll additionally use a Parametric EQ to boost around freq 85% with gain around 60%, so I get a very focused high-end peak, but the low pass rolloff keeps the tone from getting quacky or splatty or gritty, etc.
My other use for the low pass is to simply set low pass freq to 100% and Q to 60% - basically set to do nothing. Here I don't have any high end peak, but I don't roll off any highs either. I find this produces a smoother, less-aggressive tone, more similar to a Mark IIC+.
Now for the DEP's. I can't tell if I like to push the amp using Master or not. I generally go between 30-60% - I definitely don't want to push it too hard; however, the Uber has plenty headroom. Hum I keep at 50% - I used to boost it but I found it would give me a softer digital-sounding doubled signal that drove me nuts once I heard it. Bias can be turned up for more aggression, but real high it gets too crispy IMO. I like to turn up the Bias X fairly high (~80%). This seems to make the amp have more "bloom" as you sustain a note, which I think is integral to the Mesa Mark tone. I like to reduce Sag to make the amp more responsive for the Mark IV tone, but going lower than 30-35% is going to start impacting tone. I leave Sag at 50% for the Mark II, to keep the tone very smooth and a bit squishy.
The big deception here is to try to mimic how you'd set the Mark's graphic EQ. Marks are very midsy amplifiers, much more so than the Uber model. Trying to approximate that middle slider cut using the Pod's EQ effects is going to give you a super-scooped tone. If you want to scoop at all, I'd use a Parametric EQ with frequency 45%, Q 65%, and gain between 35-45%, preferably on the higher side of those numbers.
Top of PageWith the Tube Screamer, turning drive to 0% won't completely clean up the tone. This can make a lead tone sound less smooth than you want. I like to use the Classic Distortion instead, because it's completely clean at lower values - I find it sounds best a lil higher than 0%. The filter control is perhaps the opposite of what you might expect - turning down adds more bite, while turning up is less crunch and more smooth, full, warm mids sound. You have to find a good mix between the filter and treble parameters. I generally turn up the filter a bit more than treble.
This doesn't mean the Classic Distortion is "better" than the Screamer. I just use it more often for tones where I want a very quiet filter but want something more extreme than an EQ effect. For a metalcore tone where you are more likely to pile on the gain, I can live with a little distortion in the signal before hitting the amp model. Then I have to go with whichever filters the way I want, which is usually the Screamer. The Screamer has a bigger midrange response that you can't dial in the Classic Distortion. This can lead to a thicker and more saturated distortion.
Top of PageDon't use a noise gate if you don't have to. If you do, don't set it so high so that it unnaturally cuts off sustaining notes. Try to set it so the softest note you want to play opens it and a decent mute closes it. The regular noise gate can additionally suck tone. I find the Hard Gate is preferable - it's either open or closed. If I have to use the regular gate, I keep its settings low so that it's only sucking out some of the noise when I'm not playing, making sure it isn't sucking out tone when I am.
Top of PageEQ is great, but it won't get you everywhere. If you try to dial in a frequency via EQ that isn't there to begin with, you are only boosting noise, not tone. I prefer to start with dual tones and good cab/mic choices, then EQ in a more subtle fashion, usually making narrow cuts to suck out the "warts" or wide subtle boosts/cuts to set the overall brightness/darkness or mid-emphasis.
Top of PageIf you are building a patch, the ABSOLUTE BEST thing you can do is find an artist whose tone is the closest to what you want to achieve, and finding a section in their music where the guitars are playing without any other instruments. If you can find one where it's only one guitar, not a double-track or quad-tracking, even better. Even if this clip is only 2 seconds long, it's an incredible reference point.
Top of PageUse headphones or re-amp to find your tone, especially if you are trying to dial in tone at lower volumes (which is generally a bad idea). The acoustic tone from your electric guitar will mislead you as to what your recorded/amplified tone actually sounds like. Using the HD's looper pre-position is a great way to dial in a tone. Or you can record a dry guitar, output it to a mp3 player, then play the clip on repeat from your mp3 player into your Pod. I use a 1/8" male to 1/8" male cable into a 1/8" female to 1/4" male converter into the guitar input of the Pod. You may need to adjust the gain, because your mp3 player's output level may vary from your guitar, but that's a simple adjustment. It's a good process that works.
Top of PageSimilarly, take note of the crappiness of whatever monitoring device you are using. If you are using headphones with low bass response, and you dial in your tones so they sound full-range on those headphones, your tones will probably sound dark as can be on other speakers. The best you can do is match how another artist sounds through those same headphones. Don't tweak from memory, especially when you have monitors that clearly do not have a flat response.
Top of PageAlso watch out for bass traps and other madness in the location you are tweaking. I was going crazy thinking the Pod just had crazy issues with the 120 HZ frequency spot, as all my low B notes had a lot more bass than any other notes. I blamed the Pod and was setting up all my patches to suck out bass in that range, then my patches sounded like crap in other settings. I blamed my monitors. Only recently did I figure out it's my room. I've limited myself to mastering my patches using good headphones, or by walking around the room to listen at different places. The tone has drastically less bass across the room.
Top of PageThe best process for making a patch is to use the Edit computer editor. Start by dialing in a tone you like. Rather than editing that patch, Ctrl+mouse drag the patch to the next patch slot to copy it. Make your changes to the copy. Now you can A/B your edits to your initial patch. I'll repeat this process anywhere from 4 - 20 times before I finalize my patch (no stoner reference intended). You can compare a number of cab/mic options, as well as EQ'ing tweaks, or compare effects models.
Top of PageA lot of people ask me where they should set the power amp DEP's. There's no single answer. They have different effects in the different amp models. The effect each one has on the tone varies based upon how the other DEP's are set. And settings that work for one target tone won't necessarily work for a different tone, even if using the same amp model.
Approach these parameters like you would on a real amp. You can readily use the Master Volume knob to crank the power section, although you're rarely cranking it all the way to 100%. All the others generally require opening up the amp. Some require modifying the amp entirely, rather than simply making an adjustment. Most amp adjustments regard bias. So the Bias parameter is another knob you should start experimenting with before the others.
Master Volume sets the amount of power amp distortion. At lower values, the tone is nearly the same as the pre-amp only model. At maximum values the power amp model is likely pushed to distortion, or at least compression. The amount of impact all the other DEP's have on the tone depend on how high this is set. At 0%, the other DEP's should do nothing.
Sag mainly controls the feel and response of the amp. Lower settings can make the tone tighter and bitier; but it's harder to get a thick, saturated tone.
Hum adjusts the AC ripple plate voltage, which can change the tone of the amp, especially for a distorted tone. There's no real rules here. Some amp models this has little effect while others can make a strong change. The tone doesn't necessarily go in any continuous direction. Moving from 50-60% might sound opposite or different than moving 60-70%. Be aware that I was getting a ghost signal when moving this upward on the Uber model. I recommend keeping it at 50%.
Bias adjusts the amp's bias. Lower settings mimic a Class AB sound - you get more headroom but the feel is a bit looser. Higher settings are the opposite. You can hear the difference in the "cold" mids response, at least when the Master Volume setting isn't pushing the power section into heavy distortion. When the amp model's power section is distorting, a high Bias setting generally makes the distortion grittier and more-crackly like the tubes are being fried, whereas lower Bias settings give a more natural tone to the breakup.
Bias X simply describes how much the bias can float from its designated setting. For some amps, turning this up can give notes more bloom. It can also increase headroom. Turning it down can be helpful to "lock-in" the bias setting, regardless of how hard the amp is being driven.
For live tones, I like to use the Full amp models and turn down the "Master Volume" deep-editing parameter (to 10-30%) rather than use the pre-amp models. For the J800 model, you can get a good power amp distortion with Master Volume in the 60-70% range, and turn down the Bias and Bias X parameters. This is how I get that nasty EVH distortion that sounds like the amp is being pummeled. Sag and Hum are usually pretty subtle. Don't expect magic from them. Save them for last on your list of fine-tuning.
Top of PageWhen using "no cab", all of the output modes function identically.
When a cab is selected...
studio/direct is the only mode that applies true speaker/cab/mic simulation.
The other modes apply "live-voiced cabs" which are mild EQ effects, designed to make whatever actual cab you are using sound more the cab you selected in the pod. It doesn't matter what mic is selected.
The front modes activate a global EQ that can be tweaked from the system menu to try to cancel out coloration when running into a real amp's pre-amp.
The combo modes include a bass boost to the live-voiced cabs. this is so if you switch between a combo to a half/full stack, you can theoretically change output modes and keep the same amount of bass in your tone, even though half/full stacks usually put out more bass than a combo.
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