Help with recording guitar using Line 6 pods

[badondy]

Hi, I've recently purchased a Line 6 Pod Hd 500 to record guitar with on Logic express 9, I have used pods before through logic but have never been happy with the sounds, I thought that maybe it was possibly down to the pods quality, so after hearing good things about the hd I thought I'd give it a try. I've since created a heavy rock style patch and it sounds great if I plug my headphones direct into the pod. Yet if I record via USB it doesn't sound as good when played back, it's quite muddy and some of the quality seems to have been lost, I've even tried recording using the 1/4 out into my apogee one but again it doesn't sound great.

 

So I don't know if it's just me doing something wrong but I've generally had this problem now with 3 different pods, yet I've heard a lot of clips online from other Pod Hd users and there getting nice clear sounds. I'm guessing it could just be a matter of adjusting certain settings In logic?

 

If anyone could give me some advice on this then it would be much appreciated.

[David Nahmani]

Logic is a transparent recording device: it records zeros and ones that are fed to it by your audio interface. As such, it doesn't have settings that affect the quality of the recording.

 

I would look at your connections and levels: make sure you're not clipping, and when using analog, make sure you're connecting line out into line in, instrument out into instrument in, etc.. (not sure what format the Line 6 HD out is?).

 

FWIW I have a Pod that I never use because I can achieve much better results plugging the guitar straight into my interface and using Logic's amp designer.

[badondy]

Thanks so much for your feedback, I'm guessing I'll probably just have to try and mess around a bit more and hope i can get a better sound. Since using Logic the way I've gone about recording guitar is by simply inserting a new track and selecting it as stereo in the options, I don't if that's the method your supposed to use though? Also when I go into audio settings for the Pod HD, theres all different options like sample rate etc, again I don't know if its worth messing around with stuff like that?

 

Cheers

 

badondy

[thindave]

I have an HD500 as well. Are you playing back through the same headphones or are you monitoring through speakers?

[Rev. Juda Sleaze]

Thanks so much for your feedback, I'm guessing I'll probably just have to try and mess around a bit more and hope i can get a better sound. Since using Logic the way I've gone about recording guitar is by simply inserting a new track and selecting it as stereo in the options, I don't if that's the method your supposed to use though? Also when I go into audio settings for the Pod HD, theres all different options like sample rate etc, again I don't know if its worth messing around with stuff like that?

 

Cheers

 

badondy

 

If you're using one 1/4" output then you want a mono audio input to logic, so create a new audio track in mono. I don't know if the Pod USB out can output stereo, never used one. Sample rate and bit-depth on the Pod should match whatever you have your audio I/F set to, 44.1kHz/24bit should be fine for starters, though once you get it sounding satisfactory with those settings you may wish to try 48kHz or even 96kHz, but make sure the Pod and your audio I/F are singing from the same songbook.

 

If you want to create stereo guitar tracks, insert a stereo plugin on the channel strip, possibly DirMixer to widen the stereo image.

[badondy]

Thanks again for all the Info guys, Im going to have a mess around tomorrow and see if i can try some of your suggestions.

 

@thindave When I recorded using the pod I plugged the same headphones into my apogee one and set the pod as my input device and the apogee one as the output. When played back though it didn't sound as good as the sound I was getting from plugging the headphones directly into the pod.

[mjpwall]

I use pod farm rahter than one of the HD units, but the principal is the same. When I record I always record a dry track, that way I can "reamp" if the original sound is lacking. Often what sounds great in isolation sounds poor or won't cut through in a mix.

 

Also, in USB mode the POD becomes a sound card, providing ins and outs so you can use it as the monitoring device. As others have said, make sure you're not clipping, make sure the POD is set to the same rate as the projects audio settings and possibly adjust your patch while using logic so it sounds the way you want there.

[thindave]

Another thing to check is the 1/4" settings on the top of the HD500 near the foot controller - it can be set for line level or amp...

 

I record using USB - seems to work pretty well - very low latency...

 

D

[BarryLegg]

Hi there, I'm also having trouble getting really good guitar sound with my Pod.

 

My setup goes thus:

 

Pod HD500 > XLR > Alesis MultiMix16 FireWire > G5 PowerMac.

 

So, here's what I don't understand and maybe you could help me:

 

I dial a tone into the Pod that I'm happy with. This runs into the mixer and out to my studio amp/speaker setup. I get it sounding crisp, biting, with the right frequencies, no clipping, no unwanted breakup.

 

The moment I hit 'R' in Logic and play back, the sound that comes from Logic is not what I dialled in. It's weaker, and not as bright or clean. Previously I've only been recording really dirty guitars, so I've not been too bothered; just sort it out with some eq and compression.

Now I'm recording a much cleaner part, this isn't doing it for me.

 

So, I don't get it - what the mixer is putting out to my amp (which sounds good) should be exactly the same signal as makes it into the computer, right?

 

So why am I hearing such a different outcome when I play back?

 

I would try direct USB recording but; G5. Pod not supported. Weak. They could build a driver under the PPC architecture in like, 5 minutes but they can't be bothered.

 

(That said, Logic 9 isn't supposed to run under PPC architecture but it does... thanks Apple).

[BarryLegg]

Perhaps I should add that I'm running a two amp, stereo signal. Each amp mixed hard left/right and run XLRs out of both outs on the Pod to their own channel on the mixer.

 

Don't know if that makes a difference.

[BarryLegg]

Hi,

 

So I switched to a MacBook Pro so I could record via USB from the Pod. This obviously gives me a far more transparent representation as far as what's going into the computer which I'm happy with.

I'm using the 1/4" outs to my amp for monitoring.

 

So now I've got another small problem. When I record enable a track in Logic I'm getting both the input monitoring signal which is passing through Logic as well as the original signal from the Pod coming out the monitors. Obviously I can mute the tracks in Logic so I just hear the Pod, but what if I want to monitor the other way round? How can I stop the original Pod signal coming through if I just want to hear what the computer is getting?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Barry

[Eric Cardenas]

Lower the Hardware Monitor Level in the Line 6 system preferences.