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Bass with line 6 Pod


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Hey all,

I asked this on the bass forum - however its actually more about the technicalities of the system and i suspect i'll find more relevant expertise among the sound guys and i know theres a few bass players on here:

I have been mucking around with different stuff trying to come up with a flexible bass playing arrangement that works for me. Currently i only really play in church, and use my bass direct to the system with my line 6 POD with in ears. But i'm jamming with some guys, i guess you'd say a possible band, and the lead singer is keen that i have an amp.

I read a person on a forum talking about using a line 6 bass pod as a pre amp driving a power amp into a cab. I currently do this with a Sansamp bass driver DI when i need to use my amp. I dont mind the sound from the BD DI at all, but, certainly when i listen with my in-ears, i prefer the POD (more variety in sounds, more tweakability). The POD is a standard XT live with bass upgrade.

Good idea? Bad idea?

What i found when i used it to drive my power amp, is that its signal wasnt hot enough - even when turned to "line".... with the amp cranked i simply couldnt get the volume i need (no problem with the BDDI)...

Does anyone else do this? And what do you do about the extra gain? I could just use the BDDI, but that just adds a further complication/could go wrong factor. Why isnt the POD putting out enough signal in line level mode to drive a line level amp?

PS cab is a SWR Henry the 8x8 and the amp is a Yamaha P3200, they are both rated at approximately 500w.

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Quote Originally Posted by Unalaska View Post
Are you using unbalanced from pod to amp? That's what I'd do first. If you do replace the amp then look for one that has an input sensitivity of .77v to produce full power.
Are you suggesting i should use balanced? Currently i'm just using a guitar lead. So thats unbalanced.

What types of amp use a lower input sensitivity like that? I dont really plan to buy a new amp for this purpose - if i spend some money on an amp for bass, i'd rather buy a dedicated bass amp. Just can't make up my mind which one.
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Quote Originally Posted by Unalaska View Post
Are you using unbalanced from pod to amp? That's what I'd do first. If you do replace the amp then look for one that has an input sensitivity of .77v to produce full power.
Are you suggesting i should use balanced? Currently i'm just using a guitar lead. So thats unbalanced.

What types of amp use a lower input sensitivity like that? I dont really plan to buy a new amp for this purpose - if i spend some money on an amp for bass, i'd rather buy a dedicated bass amp. Just can't make up my mind which one.
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Now - I believe in the three Ts of music - Timing - Tune - and Tone - and clearly this issue of Sans Amp Bass Driver DI vs Line 6 POD goes to "Tone" - (and "Tone" is "Huge") - but I would say two things: (1) There has got to be an acceptable setting on the Sans Amp Bass Driver DI that will work for you - (I own one and it is a pretty nice pre amp) - and (2) - there has got to be a way to get an acceptable "level" out of a Line 6 POD (now here I am just guessing - cause I do NOT own one - but still - Line 6 is a good company - and this is JUST what they want you to do with their product).

Am I crazy???

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Might be a bit of topic, but, a bass player I do sound for plays through a small Ampeg bass amp - sorry I don't recall the model but it can tilt back like a foldback wedge. Its fairly low power but just loud enough to hear clearly on stage. The DI out from this amp works very well and the sound through my PA is excellent. It not quite as portable as a line 6 but the sound quality is excellent.

Cheers

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It isn't a tone thing always, I ran a bass pod pro into various power amps. I had to run the amps wide open since the output of the pod wasn't enough to drive a power amp to full power. I didn't use the pod for anything other than color so I bought another GK head and sold the pod.

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What about running the bass into the XT unit, mono out on amp setting to the sansamp, the on the output of the sansamp use a splitter. Send one signal to the PA and the other to the bass amp. Seems like that should work utilizing the stuff you have.

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Quote Originally Posted by Crownman

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What about running the bass into the XT unit, mono out on amp setting to the sansamp, the on the output of the sansamp use a splitter. Send one signal to the PA and the other to the bass amp. Seems like that should work utilizing the stuff you have.

 

I havent tried this - i think it would work.
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Quote Originally Posted by Unalaska View Post
It isn't a tone thing always, I ran a bass pod pro into various power amps. I had to run the amps wide open since the output of the pod wasn't enough to drive a power amp to full power. I didn't use the pod for anything other than color so I bought another GK head and sold the pod.
I definitely plan on getting an amp - the thing is i can't quite make up my mind. I kinda want a GK, and an ampeg, and to be able to switch between them because i love both, very different, tones.

I like the POD because it can do both sounds, sounds great in my headphones, and, importantly, it allows me to play in places like church, which is ampless, and then with my amp, and get the same sounds.
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Quote Originally Posted by stevemaude2

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I used a similar setup for my 6 string electric guitar and had way more power than needed. (guitar -> pod -> PV4C Power amp -> Speaker) My POD XT has an output setting for output to PA vs guitar amp vs Power amp. You want the Power Amp setting.

 

Its just that it seems to actually turn the volume down when you switch it to "power amp". I have the same problem running it to the FX return on my little combo amp... I am wondering if theres a setting, but stuffed if i can find it! All i can find that it does is turn the Mic emulator off.
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I've always had exactly the OPPOSITE problem with all the various Bass PODs I've used (and I've been using them live, direct to the board, since 2000 when the first one was released). They usually give too much output, not too little. I've always run mine balanced.

One question to help give a more specific response: Which POD are you using?

My suggestions (these are generic for whatever POD you have):
1. Leave it in "studio direct" or "studio" mode. It's the only mode I've ever used, and it's always worked wonderfully no matter how I'm running the POD.
2. Make sure the individual volume of your PATCH (not the master volume) is turned up, then adjust the master volume as high as possible.
3. Using a balanced cable will be better, for sure, especially if your amp's input is looking for a +4 signal (PODs output -10 when using unbalanced cables and out of the 1/4" outputs of PODxt Live and later-model floor-based units, but when run balanced run hotter).
4. Make sure your tone is tweaked for your show volume...there can be problems if it sounds good quiet and then gets cranked - it can get lost in the mix for sure.

Good luck!
Brian V.

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I agree with MusicalSchizo that the POD usually has plenty of output level, and in my experience it's way higher than the BDDI's output, which was never enough to fully drive a power amp.

Do you have the owner's manual? It's available on Line 6's website, and it has detailed instructions for setting up in nearly any studio or live situation, direct to a PA, power amp, or bass amp. I suspect you may be missing a setting that's affecting your output level. The POD is capable of +4dBu output, and the output jacks are TRS balanced.

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Quote Originally Posted by Craigv View Post
I suspect you may be missing a setting that's affecting your output level. .
Yeah... i'd assume so. I've read the manual i got with it - No joy. It seems to be all the way up. The manual mentions that it should be backed off so it doesnt clip - but i can't find any way you would know it was clipping (apart from the sound, which i've never heard). It has a physical volume knob on the back, which is all the way up, it has a "line/amp" switch, which i set to line, and it has a channel Volume - which is all the way up. The manual doesnt seem to have specs like "max output"

Its an XT live - a guitar one - and I've purchased the bass pack for it. Tone in my IEMs is great.

I will try the balanced cable - i must confess balanced cables are one thing i dont understand the science of - But i will give it a run. I know i have access to some at my church.
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I don't remember if mine was balanced or not, but if you have a balanced TRS output and you plug in an unbalanced TS jack, half of the balanced signal (the ring portion) will "short" to the ground on the Sleeve portion of the plug, and may even cancel out some of the output. I also don't remember if the POD has logic to know what kind of plug was inserted.
Let us know if just switching to a TRS plug on both ends of the cable between the POD and the power amp fixes the problem.

FYI as to how balanced works: A balanced signal cable has 3 wires. 1 is the ground, 1 is the signal, and the 3rd is the same signal but with the polarity reversed. When the 2 signals get to the power amp, it reverses the polarity back on the 3rd wire and adds it back to the other signal. The way that this helps to reduce noise is that if/when the noise is induced into the cable, it affects both signal lines with the same polarity. When polarity of one of the signal lines is reversed back at the power amp, it reverses the noise current with it, which then cancels out the noise in the other wire.

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Quote Originally Posted by heath_eld View Post
Yeah... i'd assume so. I've read the manual i got with it - No joy. It seems to be all the way up. The manual mentions that it should be backed off so it doesnt clip - but i can't find any way you would know it was clipping (apart from the sound, which i've never heard). It has a physical volume knob on the back, which is all the way up, it has a "line/amp" switch, which i set to line, and it has a channel Volume - which is all the way up. The manual doesnt seem to have specs like "max output"

Its an XT live - a guitar one - and I've purchased the bass pack for it. Tone in my IEMs is great.

I will try the balanced cable - i must confess balanced cables are one thing i dont understand the science of - But i will give it a run. I know i have access to some at my church.
Balanced cabling and the associated input and output of the devices it plugs into use what is known as "common mode rejection" to reduce the ability of the cable to receive RF interference. Using a guitar (unbalanced) cable on output/input of balanced devices will reduce the level received by the iput device by several dB's, so using balanced (TRS to XLR) cable will help you out a little.

By any chance is there an input pad engaged? I'm assuming this unit is NOT the XT-Pro, but just in case it is, that's something to check for.
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