how can i get my pod to sound better?

[Erocku]

The pod is going to require alot of EQ shaping to get distorted sounds to sound decent. If you are wanting those patches to sound great "live", having the pro model and throwing an EQ in the loop works wonders. I've heard good djenty sounds from people using the big bottom amp. Treadplate and Uber amps can get you good results too.

+1 on amp sims + impulses for recording... they are going to get you there much quicker.

 

[Incognito Man]

thx guys!

 

[Skinny Viking]

Oh yeah, I love this one.

Always reminds me of slippermans answer to this which was, give someone a tele and a twin reverb, and make them have the same tone as they had, but with a LP and a dual recto.

No offense man but I think you're missing the point ...

its not about reproducing a Rec's tone on a Twin Verb (as in Slipperman's example)... its more to say that the tone captured by a person on a song or album is dependent on the player's technique ... at that moment

Point being that Alex Skolnick is gonna sound just as badass playing through a Pignose (or POD) as he would through his normal gear. Getting Alex Skolnick presets for a POD is not gonna make you sound like you have Alex Skolnick's sound because 80% of his "sound" is from the man's hands

as for the OP:

Start from scratch man, all you can really do and it will yield the best results

 

[Fama]

No offense man but I think you're missing the point ...

its not about reproducing a Rec's tone on a Twin Verb (as in Slipperman's example)... its more to say that the tone captured by a person on a song or album is dependent on the player's technique ... at that moment

Point being that Alex Skolnick is gonna sound just as badass playing through a Pignose (or POD) as he would through his normal gear. Getting Alex Skolnick presets for a POD is not gonna make you sound like you have Alex Skolnick's sound because 80% of his "sound" is from the man's hands

I can't speak for xFkx, but I feel the same way as he does. It just annoys me when people say that the tone is 10% in the gear and 80% in the hands, which would mean that you could approximate that heavy distortion on a tele & twin reverb up to 10% accuracy. I know it's an exaggeration, and what it really means is that you won't get the guys tone just by having the same gear he does, but it's still annoying as hell.

 

[Skinny Viking]

I know it's an exaggeration, and what it really means is that you won't get the guys tone just by having the same gear he does, but it's still annoying as hell.

You basically just said the same thing I did

 

[Fama]

You basically just said the same thing I did

I think I explained what xFkx meant (or, well, tried to, and again I can't speak for him).

Yes, I know what it really means.

But also yes, it annoys me a lot, and I agree with what Slipperman (apparently) said.

The point is that I agree with the point, but strongly disagree with the way it's being conveyed (80% hands my ass).

I think it's all semantics in the end, but yeah.

(Oh and to not drift THAT far off topic, I'd like to give another +1 to Lepou, and especially Lecto. That thing just sounds so awesome, I love the clarity even when playing open chords with heavy distortion. Try orange_2, Greg's ASEM and s-preshigh from CatharsisIR for impulses.)

 

[ahjteam]

Comparing a high gain amp like Recto to a low gain amp like Twin is not the same thing as comparing a Pod to Recto, as they both can deliver high gain sound. The tone is still 80% in the fingers.

 

[egan.]

Let's concede that it's only 20%, but it's the 20% that the OP asked about.
The fact is, as producers and engineers the guitar player is generally a variable we have very little control over while the gear settings are variables we have 100% control over. Loomis sounds a lot better through a dual rec dialed in by Sneap than he does in that video after all.

 

[arv_foh]

Could we set aside the "learn how to play guitar" comments? The fact is, as producers and engineers the guitar player is generally a variable we have very little control over while the gear settings are variables we have 100% control over. Loomis sounds a lot better through a dual rec dialed in by Sneap than he does in that video after all.
The OP asked for settings tips, not for assumptions that he's a shitty guitarist.

+1, shit's getting old

I honestly have a much easier time throwing a few mics up to a good 4x12 and head, then spending a decent chunk of time dialing in a good, solid tone. I have played with amp sims for hours and not been able to dial in anything as good as I can dial in relatively quickly just using a real amp, throwing up a few mics, and playing with the faders and moving mic positions til I have a satisfactory tone. Amp sims just don't do it for me.

 

[Terminus]

i have a pod x3 and the stock presets sound like hell so i went to the line 6 site and grabbed their software and downloaded a ton of user made presets and they all sould like hell too.

is it possable to get a pod to sound good at all? i have read that you can get different impulses for it and i have heard of something called thx, what are these things? this is my first pod so i am a pod/line 6 noob.

Are you playing through decent monitors? Speakers matter.