Gear and tone: triaxis? POD?

[zalmoxis]

I used to know from somewhere that Nevermore practically always used to use a pod (I think 2.0) to record their albums. Now it kind of sounded like it to me although digital sounds more plastiky normally. So I was always impressed by the high quality they had. Now recently I hear that politics was recorded with a mesa triaxis.

Anyway, the sole purpose of my post is to ask for help as I can't get any awsome tone outta my PODxt .. prefferably Nevermore-ish (TGE or POE or DNB). So if someone could help me.. reply or contact me at pdarie at yahoo dot com. I mean I use a mesa .50 cal + through a vintage 30 speaker (combo) and get my dream tone .. literally the right smooth/crunch ballance with the right amount of mid and fatness and all the required agression... and thump. Thing is I want to record something that sounds at least a bit like it (thats why I got the podxt).

sorry if a thread on the topic exists.. I could not find a search feature.

and btw.. TGE F-ing OWNZ!!!

 

[zalmoxis]

bump
checking for replys just to be disappointed

 

[DreamNeonBlack]

I'm amazed, the POD normally gets amazing tone when recorded.

It does often end up sounding more Zakk Wylde rather than Nevermore though.

Perhaps someone can offer up some EQ settings etc. to help.

 

[drewski]

I have a POD 2.0 and I use the Mod Hi Gain amp model. To give you my honest opinion: the PODxt has better effects and features than the 2.0 but the amp models on the xt sound VERY wimpy and small compared to the 2.0. So you might consider at least trying out the old 2.0. Anyhow good luck in getting that "right" tone.

Here's A clip of the type of rhythm tone you can get with the 2.0
POD 2.0 Rhythm Tone

 

[eaeolian]

Nevermore don't use PODs to record. In the Kernon days, it was a Mesa TriAx and 2:90, and with Sneap it's been Mesa Dual Rectos, with Kranks on TGE, as well.

You may well get a POD to sound *similar*, but that's not what they used. They did have a Line 6 endorsement for a while, which may be where the confusion arises from...

 

[Fragle]

well, jeff loomis used to use a pod pro LIVE.

for recording, it always was all-tube, except for the self titled album that was recorded using an old solid state rack setup i forgot.

poe and in memory were recorded with pat's old mesa mark IV
dnb was all triaxis and 2:90
dhiadw was an old 2 channel dual rectifier boosted by a tubescreamer (i have the exact settings somewhere)
eor was pretty much the same as dhiadw, although it was a triple recto
tge is also a 2ch dual recto and a krank revolution mixed together, both boosted by a tubescreamer

 

[DreamNeonBlack]

I know it was listed at one point in Jeff's gear that he used the POD, whether it was live or for recording I have no idea.

 

[[_NevermorE_]]

Jeff said he used to use POD for concerts in the past but he ditched it cause it wouldn't cut through the mix
(I think there's a relevant topic at Steve Smyth's forum)

I've heard that Meshuggah play live with POD (or the line6 vetta?) with great results.

Also, My Dying Bride use an older version of POD (don't ask which one...) for their distortions and effects, but I haven't seen them live so I don't know how it works for them

 

[zalmoxis]

I have a POD 2.0 and I use the Mod Hi Gain amp model. To give you my honest opinion: the PODxt has better effects and features than the 2.0 but the amp models on the xt sound VERY wimpy and small compared to the 2.0. So you might consider at least trying out the old 2.0. Anyhow good luck in getting that "right" tone.

Here's A clip of the type of rhythm tone you can get with the 2.0
POD 2.0 Rhythm Tone

thanks for all the help everyone.

And yep.. this is kinda the sorta tone I get outta the XT (but at every firmware patch they had there was a HUGE and radical difference in tone.. newest version is very midrangey and fat).
Thing is it sounds kinda plastiky to me... lacking presence.. but if I put in POD presence, it doesnt put in presence, instead it adds some sort of high pitched harsh zing ...

I guess I have to just ignore the fact as its not all too noticeable when cymbals are in, but when playing without cymbals strings feel kinda plastiky which is not fun. Really good sound you have there: I wonder what would be the equivallent amp model for the XT.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Chromatose]

I don't have a POD.. but from my limited experience using one..

the tone you get when you use it to record is GREAT

the tone you get running it through an amp? it doesn't cut through, and when it does, the tone is horrendous

if you use it to play live, you need to completely forget the traditional guitar rigging, run it straight through a PA system- guitar amps/speakers have too much of their own voicings and this conflicts with what is coming out of the POD

 

[eaeolian]

poe and in memory were recorded with pat's old mesa mark IV

Hmm. Neil seemed to remember that Loomis rented a TriAx & 2:90 for POE. However, he's old.

 

[zalmoxis]

Yep I run it through a Quad setup.. some regular speakers on front and some koss monitors on back with SS sony and pioneer amps... they should be pretty transparent tonewise(and regardless, through the same setup, the clip I heard from this thread sounded awsome compared to my stuff). But it seems utterly retarded that line 6 would not make available the same sort of high quality high gain models from their pod2 as the xt is sooo easy to update etc (Im a programmer and I know)...

 

[Fragle]

hey there, nice to see another jcf bro

he did indeed rent the triaxis setup, but i'm 100% sure it was for dnb. neil said that in memory and poe were recorded pretty much during the same sessions, and that they used pat's mark IV head.

 

[eaeolian]

I don't have a POD.. but from my limited experience using one..

the tone you get when you use it to record is GREAT

the tone you get running it through an amp? it doesn't cut through, and when it does, the tone is horrendous

if you use it to play live, you need to completely forget the traditional guitar rigging, run it straight through a PA system- guitar amps/speakers have too much of their own voicings and this conflicts with what is coming out of the POD

I think the recording tone can be quite good, with the proper tweaking. Not as good as a good mic/pre and cab/tube amp combo, but more than passable.

Live, definitely right into the PA, unless you use a modeler-specific amp, or it will sound like crap. Of course, then you have to worry about monitors...

 

[Fragle]

quote neil kernon:
"On the first album (which was two sets of demos sellotaped together in fact) we used Jeff's old solid state amp. I can't remember what it was though, I'm afraid. On POE we used Pat O'Brien's Boogie Mark IV, and on DNB we did in fact use a Triaxis /2-90 combination. I think we used cabinets with celestions in for all of them (on DNB it was one with vintage 30s).

As far as mics go, I expect I used either a Shure 57 or Sennheiser 421.

Hope this helps at least a bit..

Neil K.
"

 

[eaeolian]

quote neil kernon:
"On the first album (which was two sets of demos sellotaped together in fact) we used Jeff's old solid state amp. I can't remember what it was though, I'm afraid. On POE we used Pat O'Brien's Boogie Mark IV, and on DNB we did in fact use a Triaxis /2-90 combination. I think we used cabinets with celestions in for all of them (on DNB it was one with vintage 30s).

As far as mics go, I expect I used either a Shure 57 or Sennheiser 421.

Hope this helps at least a bit..

Neil K.
"

Huh. He misremembered when I asked him in chat one night, then. I stand corrected...

 

[drewski]

thanks for all the help everyone.

And yep.. this is kinda the sorta tone I get outta the XT (but at every firmware patch they had there was a HUGE and radical difference in tone.. newest version is very midrangey and fat).
Thing is it sounds kinda plastiky to me... lacking presence.. but if I put in POD presence, it doesnt put in presence, instead it adds some sort of high pitched harsh zing ...

I guess I have to just ignore the fact as its not all too noticeable when cymbals are in, but when playing without cymbals strings feel kinda plastiky which is not fun. Really good sound you have there: I wonder what would be the equivallent amp model for the XT.

Thanks again everyone.

The one I used for that is based on a Soldano X88 preamp. So try using a Soldano patch on the XT and it'll probably get you pretty close.