Its so trebly that u cant make stuff out except for the artificial harmonics and breakdowns. Ive been messing around with the pod xt to get a clearer sound but it all sounds too weak.

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high volume = high sensitivity to trebel. You have to change your EQ for change in volume... my suggestion, lower the trebel.

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Crank those mids too.

Could be the cab/speakers that they have too much treble response. My MF400 cab is kinda like that, it has a slightly scooped frequencey response so it gets a bit too trebley for my tastes at high volumes, Which I frequently find myself cutting a LOT to get good clarity on my Engl. The cheap stock 6l6 tubes I have in the amp could be a source of that too tho, most 6l6 tubes are generally trebley(hence why I have JJ/Teslas laying around for a replacement).

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It all sounds too weak because you are dealing with digital modeling stuff. By the time you get the treble under control, everything is going to be mush. I would invest in a better setup.

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Incorrect, but nice try. This is particularly wrong with metal, which is what today's modelling technology does best, imo.

Check out the PODxt's nice EQ features if you're having problems with treble. Also, I don't know of that crate amp can bypass the preamp some way, but if it can, and you're not doing it, then you really need to. Check out the various output settings, such as head front if you're going into the front of an amp head, instead of plugging into an FX return on the back.. if you're doing that, then use head power, since you're only using the head's power amp. Try all of the different combinations with EQ tweaks to find out what works with your crate. I hope you're not just getting frustrated with presets, because remember, your amp will make a huge difference in sound, and they didn't make the presets to work well for your specific amp, so they're basically worthless for any kind of quality tone.

If you're still not satisfied, then I would ditch the crate, buy a power amp and a full-range speaker or 2, set your podxt to "studio direct" output, and enjoy the great sounds you'll get. That's the optimal way to play through a pod!

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Well just cause you own a POD dosent make me incorrect. POD's can sound decent, but if his issue is an unmusical harsh treble presence then switching to a decent tube amp or even some of Tech21's stuff would go a lot farther than tweaking some EQ settings.

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The issue seems to be a common one with modeling preamps and people who try to use them without a poweramp or totally flat-EQ system...

Here's some things to consider, Bones:

1. I assume you're running all this through a stack of some sort since you have a head...
a) The optimal siuation : if you can figure out a way to bypass the preamp like McTriple suggested, with FX return or whatever, set the PODXT's out put type to '4X12 PWRAMP'.

b) If you can't bypass the Crate's preamp, then you'll have to set the Output Mode to '4X12 FRONT.' You'll be plugging the PODXT's output straight into the amp. Go to the Crate's clean channel and set the tone controls FLAT. This means the mids set to full, and bass and treble on 0.

2) Now that you are properly hooked up to the amp in one of those two ways, keep in mind that all your presets will probably sound like shit. You'll need to go through re-tweaking and most likely creating some new tones from scratch, BUT keep the peace of mind that at least you will hear things the way they are supposed to sound.

3) Now I highly recommend you try bypassing the preamp just like MCTriple suggested, because the only true source of your tone will be the PODXT with nothing interfering in the shaping of the sound. Going into the amp on the clean channel with flat EQ is still not going to give you the 'REAL' sound but at least it's better than what it seems like you have now! May I suggest selling off the Crate head and checking out one of Carvin's power amps... cheap, enough, and right (for $350 from their website you can get an awesome 600 watter. DCM 600 is the model.)

4) As I've gone through the same experience except with a piece of crap practice amp, a couple more things to look out for:

a) take breaks when creating your new tones, or after a while your ears will go nuts. Also, keep in mind that your ears will always remember the last guitar sound they heard and you'll try to go for that.

b) The tone knobs for each amp model can only go so far. If you're going into the amp's clean channel, and you just wanna add a little more bass or treble [for oomph or high end bite] don't hesitate to tweak the bass and treble controls on the amp to do this.

c) The PODxt's 4 Band Parametic EQ on each individual tone is insane. If you ever feel the urge to add more mids to high-mids to your tone this is how you should do it. If you don't know how to use the parametic EQ here's a little crash course...

The FREQ = the frequency you're going to affect... the GAIN knob says how much db that certain frequency is lowered or raised... 0.0 Gain = flat, the frequency is not affected. For the frequency... 100 = bottom end, 500 = body of the tone , 1k = midrange, 3k - 9k = higher midrange [very interesting range, can totally change an amp model's sound], 10k = high-end [but not exactly TREBLE], 10k and above = only bats can hear that shit. So fiddling with the gain knob on any of these frequenices or between will either raise or lower that frequency, and I described generally what FREQ does what.

Still, for simple bass or treble adjustments if you're not bypassing the amp's preamp, just work the bass and treble knobs on the head. The mid knob is nothing to worry about, I'd just leave it at max if you're doing it 4X12 Front.

5) Other things to ask yourself

- what is the NORM/PAD switch set to on the front of the PODxt... that makes a difference in how amps will respond and feel. I like the NORM setting the best. PAD compresses the sound a bit.

- make sure if you're using only one cab, to have the cable coming out of the PODxt and into the amp plugged from the MONO OUTPUT. If you have one cab and have it coming out of the STEREO output, alot of the effects, especially the delays, will come out sounding wrong.

- Don't forget to mess around with the different cabs offered, they can really make or break a tone.

- Just remember Line 6 is asking you 'what are you plugged into' for a reason... don't have it set on 'STUDIO DIRECT' if you're using a cab, everything will sound like there's birdshit all over it! In Guitar Center they have them set on studio direct because the output isn't even coming through a cab, but rather some monitors.

- All the factory presets are bullshit, except maybe for 'Chorus Shimmer'.

EDIT : Forgot to mention in all that madness that the proper way to use a PODxt live or any preamp for that matter shall ALWAYS BE:

Guitar [You] ------- PODxt or whatever preamp you have ---- poweramp - Cab[s]

And if you wanna use any pedals with it plug them in between the poweramp/amp and the PODxt.

Hope this all helps you Bones!

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Hey man that's not always true, go listen to that dudes samples with the V-Amp Pro preamp(the "Death Metal recording" thread), the sound amazing and he wasn't runnin anything complex, just straight into the comp. Sounds better than some tube amps I have tried.

I agree with the tech 21 shit though, they make some of the greatest SS/analog stuff around. Especially their preamps/preamps in a pedal and Trademark combos, but I'd stay away from their TM head because the extra features it has(ie: DI) are pretty buggy.

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By the way I find my favorite amp models are:

Jazz Clean
Soldano SLO-100 [aka Solo 100... needs a little messing around with]
Line 6 Lunatic
the Powerball
the 5150 II
JS-900 Dist [totally metallized Marshall, love this to death. Gotta mess with it though!]
Spinal Puppet

..but I'm sure I haven't fully seen the entire ocean of tones this baby can put out.

My least favorite amp models would have to be the Uberschall [never enough mids!!] and all the MESA Rectifier ones... there's like 3 of them. Just don't like the tone of the MESA models, even as far back as when I had the Flextone II head from 2002 until it died.

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I fixed the sound a bit and got a decent dist sound by pressing the tune system button then scrolling down to "What are you connecting to?" and then I put 4x12 front and did some tone correction. Lows at 50%, 400focus and 0% highs.

thats what worked for me. But I plan on getting a new cab cuz my shit is old and rotting.

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This is actually the best way to get sounds out of a modeling device. Recording direct from the POD/V-Amp/whatever yields pretty good results if you know what you are doing. Its when you hook them up to guitar amps that they start sounding like shit. Any modeling stuff needs to be put through something with as flat an EQ curve as possible.

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Hell yes Valitel, for recording I don't see WHY you would even mic a Line 6 or whatever to begin with! I'll say it once and I'll say it again... people who just plug into a Line 6 and try playing it when it's all configged for a particular setup and fiddle through a couple presets... will ALWAYS say it sounds like shit. This is generally due to guitarists being used to the whole 'plug and play' thing...

Bones I'm happy to hear you got a better tone out of your setup...
A new cab is a beautiful thing but keep in mind what I said about getting some kind of poweramp... then set it to STACK -> POWERAMP and you'll be amazed at the difference.

Also Bones, check this out... it's a guide by Line 6 themselves on what your tone correction setting should be based on what amp you're plugging straight into. Of course they do not list a setting for every amp [nor have I seen one anywhere] but it covers the basics pretty good. Just choose the amp the Crate is most similar to [I'd say probably the Marshall DSL 100 or maybe the MESA Recitifier from that list], try those tone correction settings and compare those to your own.

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At least you're not just bashing it for being digital, now. Digital stuff doesn't sound like shit necessarily. You're right, it needs to be amped through a flat response amp. It should also ideally be played through full range speakers, and the speakers in guitar amp combos and cabinets are not full range, so they tend to sound much worse. I just run mine through the FX return on my combo amp, but at least that bypasses the preamp's coloration. On occasion, though, I'll whip out my tiny 1x10" combo (amp I started with years ago) and it still sounds alright through the amp's normal guitar input, but I have to retweak any presets that I have, because they won't work correctly with the preamp's sound coloration and a 10" guitar amp speaker. After that, though, I can get it to sound pretty decently.

Direct recording does get the best sound out of modellers, but you still have to be mindful of the output mode your modeller is set to. If it's set to play through a combo's front input, it will sound terrible. With the POD, you have to set it to studio direct.

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I just found out about THE FX loop in back of my head unit. The sound is alot better now. Im hoping to get a 4 speaker cab so I get more output and bass

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Actually, I'd recommend this:

Guitar [You] ------- PODxt or whatever preamp you have ---- poweramp - Full Range Speaker[s]


Again, I'd recommend against getting a normal cab. Check out some full-range speakers. They work much better for digital gear than guitar cabinets. I'd bet that you would be much more pleased with 2 12" loudspeakers and a power amp than your amp head and a 4x12 cab.

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Did you change the "what are you connecting to" to power instead of front? That'll be even better. Check out 15" loud speakers or monitors if you want more output and bass.

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I have a b52 AT412 and do u think the POD would sound good with a Tech21 power engine 300?

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I ran my PODxt Live through a Carvin DC-600 poweramp and my Marshall 4 X 12 set to Stack & Poweramp and it sure sounded a hell of alot better than plugging it in front of an amp by FAR. Get that Tech 21 with a decent cabinet and you'll be fine.

EDIT : Yeah Soeru, Peter/Bloodsoaked666 got some awesome results with his V-Amp!

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what do u think of B52 AT412s? They handle 480watts. This is what I have at the moment.

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Well I mean if that's what you have at the moment you don't have much of a choice anyways, lol. I never played through a B52 cab, but I'm sure you'll be alright. Like I said, POD through a poweramp to a cab is a million times better than running it straight into the front of an amp anytime.

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MAN! thanks for ur patience. I really appreciate it.

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