This guide is not designed to be read front to back, and it is not a light read. If you are new to this guide, I suggest looking at the introduction section before proceeding. If you are looking for quick tips or troubleshooting advice, I recommend you go to the quick guide or troubleshooting pages. Each section is relatively-independent of the others and are linked when there are cross-references. It is best used as an on-hand reference for any given task you are attempting to accomplish with the Pod.
For a more general FAQ, see this helpful link provided by Line 6.
Also available in the following printable formats:
.pdf/Acrobat
.docx/Word
Brief Contents
I. Introduction
II. Quick Guide
III. Guitar Setup
IV. Pod Setup
V. Amp/Distortion Tone
VI. Cab/Mic Tone
VII. EQ
VIII. Tips and Pitfalls
IX. Troubleshooting Guide
X. FAQ and Links
XI. Wishlist
XII. Effects
XIII. Glossary
XIV. Change Log
Appendices
Full Contents
I. Introduction
Section Overview
II. Quick Guide
A. Quirks
B. Patch Building Tips
C. High Gain Amp Round-Up
D. Cab/Mic Round-Up
E. Pre-EQ'ing a Distortion Tone
F. Distortion Effect Round-Up
G. Gain Staging
H. EQ Effect Round-Up
I. Top Ten Tweaks
J. Killing Fizz
K. Mids for Metal
L. Dual Cabs
M. Noise Gate Usage
N. Amp DEP's
O. Cab DEP's
P. Output Modes
Q. Input Settings
III. Guitar Setup
A. New Strings
B. String Gauge
C. Action
D. Fret Buzz
E. Intonation
F. Pickups
i. Single-Coil vs. Humbuckers
ii. Pickup Position
iii. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
iv. Frequency Response
v. Actives vs. Passives
vi. All about Blackouts
vii. Pickup height on passives
viii. Pickup height on actives
ix. Pickup Suggestions
G. Bridge
H. Nut
I. Body/Fretboard/Tuners/Neck-through/etc.
IV. Pod Setup
A. Understanding Output Modes
i. Simple Guide for Settings
ii. Where Confusion Sets In
iii. Global EQ
iv. Live-Voiced Cabs
v. Cab/Mic Simulation
vi. Bass-Boost
vii. Output Mode Feature Chart
B. Internal Signal Routing
C. Running "direct" (PA/board/computer or DAW/monitors/headphones)
i. Simple method (no real amp)
ii. Using a real amp as a pre-amp
D. Running to an amp ("live")
i. Amp without effects loop
ii. Pod as Effects Only after pre-amp
iii. Simple setup for amp with effects loop
iv. 4 Cable Method
E. I Tried This and It Doesn't Sound Good
F. Dual Outputs
G. Wet/Dry/Wet Output
H. Using Multiple Instruments
I. Input Settings
J. The FX Loop
K. The Mixer Block
L. Effects Order/Position
M. Gain Staging
i. Principle
ii. Practice
V. Amp/Distortion Tone
· Distortion Types/Overview
· B. Pre-EQ'ing
i. Frequency Chart
C. Gain Staging/Layering Distortions
D. High-Gain Amps
i. Park 75
ii. Plexi Bright
iii. JCM-800
iv. Uberschall
v. Dual Rectifier
vi. Fireball
vii. Elektrik
viii. Dual Rectifier "Pre"
ix. SLO Overdrive
x. Doom
xi. Epic
E. Distortion Effects
i. Tube Drive
ii. Screamer
iii. Classic Distortion
iv. Overdrive
v. Facial Fuzz
vi. Line 6 Distortion
vii. Line 6 Drive
viii. Others
F. Power Amp DEP's
G. Dual Amps
H. "Full" vs. "Pre"
I. The Elusive Pure Clean Tone
J. Noise Gates
VI. Cabs and Mics
A. Cab/Mic Overview
B. Cab Selection for Direct Tones
i. My Favorites
ii. General Tips
iii. Hiway 4x12
iv. Tread V-30 4x12
v. XXL V-30 4x12
vi. Greenbacks 4x12
vii. Uber 4x12
viii. Brit-T75 4x12
· C. Cab Selection for Live Tones
D. Mic Selection
i. SM57 On/Off Axis
ii. Dynamic Mics
iii. Condenser Mics
iv. Ribbon Mics
E. Dual Cabs
i. Introduction
ii. Getting the Patch Ready
iii. Phase Correction
iv. EQ'ing the Tone
v. Other Amp Settings
vi. E.R. Settings
vii. DSP Management
viii. My Favorite Combinations
F. Cab DEP's
G. E.R.
VII. EQ
A. Classifying the Frequency Spectrum
B. How to EQ a Hard Rock Tone
C. The Pod HD's EQ Effects
i. Graphic EQ
ii. Parametric EQ
iii. Studio EQ
iv. 4 Band Shift EQ
v. Mid-Focus EQ
vi. Q Filter
D. EQ'ing your Patch
E. Fizzy Spots
VIII. Tips and Pitfalls
Tips :-)
A. Tone Matching
B. Branching/Evolving Patches
C. Setlist Tips
D. Effect Switching/Tips
E. Recording Tips
F. Monitoring
G. DSP Allocation/Advice
H. Mesa/Boogie Mark II/IV tone
I. Clean Boost
J. Leveling Patches
Pitfalls :-(
K. Clarifying Confusing Volume Controls
i. The Pad Switch
ii. The MASTER Knob
iii. Ch. Vol./VOLUME Knob
iv. Mixer Levels
v. The Master DEP
L. Clipping Guide
i. Input Clipping
ii. Signal Clipping
iii. Effects Clipping
iv. Clipping External Devices
v. "Digital" Clipping (Crossover Distortion) on "Full" Amp Models
