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Post by jack1982 on May 5, 2014 5:58:32 GMT -6
Thanks guys, I'm so excited about my new Pod arriving I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning Not supposed to be here 'till Wednesday though. I found a video on YouTube that walks you through the whole setup and registering process so hopefully that will be fairly painless. And hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to use the recording software and drum machine (the Pod Farm itself looks really easy to use). I've kind of been working on Minor Blues, Delta Child and Chord-On Blue from More Blues You Can Use, so I'm hoping to get those recorded and posted in the relatively near future. With some great tones
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Post by jack1982 on May 5, 2014 19:33:26 GMT -6
Well I got my Pod and to be perfectly honest it sounds horrible. Everything is really thin and any sort of distortion is beyond awful, it sounds like static. I can get a halfway decent clean sound if I use a noise gate, pre-amp, EQ etc. etc. and fiddle with all 50 controls for long enough but the reverbs all sound horrible and thin. I'd record some of it so you could hear how bad it is but the Reason software that came with it tells me that somebody's already used my registration code and I emailed them but their customer service is apparently closed until god knows when due to Swedish holidays lol. And my computer speakers don't work since I installed it and if I unplug the USB cable from it it locks up my computer completely, can't even ctrl-alt-del.
Meh, I uninstalled the software and I think I'll just send it back and get one of those Fender Mustang 1 amps instead. I guess I can record with it using Audacity. I was listening to Justin from Justin Guitar playing through the presets and that thing sounded absolutely awesome with no tweaking at all.
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Post by Phil on May 5, 2014 20:36:12 GMT -6
Well I got my Pod and to be perfectly honest it sounds horrible. Everything is really thin and any sort of distortion is beyond awful, it sounds like static. I can get a halfway decent clean sound if I use a noise gate, pre-amp, EQ etc. etc. and fiddle with all 50 controls for long enough but the reverbs all sound horrible and thin. I'd record some of it so you could hear how bad it is but the Reason software that came with it tells me that somebody's already used my registration code and I emailed them but their customer service is apparently closed until god knows when due to Swedish holidays lol. And my computer speakers don't work since I installed it and if I unplug the USB cable from it it locks up my computer completely, can't even ctrl-alt-del. Meh, I uninstalled the software and I think I'll just send it back and get one of those Fender Mustang 1 amps instead. I guess I can record with it using Audacity. I was listening to Justin from Justin Guitar playing through the presets and that thing sounded absolutely awesome with no tweaking at all. Whoa, Jack. Cool off and take another look at this thing tomorrow. The day I got my Behringer Guitar Link I was so frustrated I threw it in a drawer convinced it didn't work. A week later I took it out, somehow figured it out and got it too work. I'm very happy with it now. The Line 6 unit you have has got too many positive reviews to dismiss it just yet. Did you check to see that you are using the ASIO audio driver and not your sound card? I know nothing about the unit you have or even much about any of this technology, but I know that every problem I've had was due to my ignorance. These things do not always work as advertised, but will work once you discover the 'secret'. Don't install any software. Plug it in and see if you can access a setup menu and make sure you're using the correct audio driver. I hope this helps. If you are a technical wizard and already know all of this then please accept my apologies for assuming that you didn't know. Phil
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Post by bluesbruce on May 5, 2014 22:16:29 GMT -6
Jack,
If it is the UX1, the speakers need to connect to the output on the back of the UX1. Here's a Line 6 video on setup of one of these:
I've never found these to be "plug and play", but I expect it can be made to work. Like Phil, I don't know what kind of computer and OS you're working on, what you've done so far, etc., so it's hard to offer specific advise. You can also use Audacity with the Line 6 unit - you don't have to use Reason (or don't need to if you have some other DAW software).
Bruce
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Post by joachim on May 5, 2014 23:10:20 GMT -6
Jack,
I am recording using the USB interface from a Fender Super Champ x2. The sound is wonderful, and it makes recording extremely straightforward. I suppose the USB recording interface on the Mustang and Super Champ are largely identical.
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Post by jack1982 on May 6, 2014 6:08:07 GMT -6
Thanks for the advice everybody, I've cooled off a bit and even though I had it all boxed up and ready to return to Amazon, I decided to give it another shot. Let cooler heads prevail as they say Phil - yeah I must just have something really screwed up. I don't have a separate sound card, but my motherboard has some MSI audio thingie; maybe I need to look into those drivers and make sure it's using the ASIO ones or whatever is correct. I don't know anything about software for these audio products so undoubtedly there's a lot of stuff I need to learn. Bluebruce, I actually followed that video when installing it. I had to input my registration numbers about a dozen times before it finally took me to the page that let me register my devices. I don't know what was going on there. I downloaded the Pod Farm from the Line 6 site (as it says in the video), and it seemed to work properly, I just got really bad sound. But I'll re-install it today and see what I can figure out. I'm using Windows 7 with an i5 CPU and 8 GB RAM. Joachim - yeah I must be doing something wrong and I probably just need to Google some stuff and do some trouble shooting. Everybody but me seems to be getting great sound from this rig. Anyhow now I've got a project to work on LOL. Thanks again for the advice everybody, I'm totally new to doing anything guitar-related on the computer and have a bad habit of getting really impatient with anything software related. I'm the guy who had to take his computer and printer to the Geek Squad at Best Buy to get them to work together lol.
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Post by bluesbruce on May 6, 2014 7:06:57 GMT -6
Jack, I think that video may be a couple of years old, and that Line 6 now uses a program called "Line 6 Monkey", which will download and install all the software for your device. They have another program called "Licence Manager" that I think "authorizes" your devices. Both of these can be downloaded from Line 6: line6.com/software/Running these should get you "set up" as far as up to date drivers for your operating system. You really don't need (or probably even want to use) whatever disks it came with. Bruce
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Post by jack1982 on May 6, 2014 8:33:48 GMT -6
I think I've sort of solved it, my motherboard has this MSI audio manager program and I switched it from speakers to digital output or something and it seems to have helped quite a bit. It still sounds so thin and delicate, though it has a lot of detail in the sound. The handful of distortions available are pretty weak. But I don't know, I probably just need to fool around with more settings and equipment combo's and stuff. I'm used to my old Digitech DF-7 Distortion Factory, that thing sounds so thick and rich and has plenty of character. I plugged that into it and it sounded a lot better than any of the Pod Farm distortions. That Reason recording / drum machine software still has me completely flummoxed though. It has some "phrem" file, and when I go to a page on the Reason site it's supposed to - in some way shape or form - allow me to associate that with some authorization program so that I can open it. Like this: Problem is it doesn't do any of that, I just get a blank error page and Firefox tells me it has no idea what to do with that file. So I can't authorize my copy of Reason and therefore can't use it at all. Typing "phrem" into Google just takes me back to the stupid Reason site - apparently they're the only people in the world who know what this thing is. Good grief. I dunno maybe I'll try downloading their trial version, though I guess you can't save any of your work in it. Or maybe I'll try using Audacity though I've read that it doesn't support the graphics interface of the Pod Farm, or maybe it didn't but does now, or maybe I can get it to work with a simplified graphics interface. Who knows lol.
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Post by Phil on May 6, 2014 11:28:37 GMT -6
Jack,
Glad to hear you're making progress. It's pretty frustrating when you have to dedicate so much time to this stuff instead of practicing. You might want to give Reaper a try for recording. It was recommended to me by someone on this forum who was using it with some Line 6 unit. The trial version is fully functional for 60 days and then it's $60 - one of the best deals out there.
Phil
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Post by jack1982 on May 6, 2014 16:28:02 GMT -6
I downloaded Audacity and much to my astonishment, Pod Farm works just fine with it. Will wonders never cease?!?! Audacity seems fairly easy to use, I recorded a few little things and that worked fine. Still tons and tons to learn though.
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Post by bluesbruce on May 6, 2014 17:33:49 GMT -6
Glad you're up and running! I've never used Audacity, but it's generally well-spoken of on forums I'm on.
Bruce
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Post by stratoblue on May 7, 2014 15:56:11 GMT -6
Hi All, Getting back into playing guitar after a 20 year break. I am pretty impressed with Joachim's recording. I need to round up some more gear so I can do some recording of my progress. I have 3 electric guitars and 2 acoustic guitars. Are you guys more into tube amps or the digital variety? I am kind of leaning towards the newer digital amps because of all the bells and whistles for recording etc. What amps would you guys recommend for using with "Blues you can use lessons" I'm finishing up a Stratocaster build, I am saving up for some David Allen "Texas Flood" pups. Right now I am practicing on my G&L Tele and Epi, Riviera. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
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Post by bluesbruce on May 7, 2014 16:36:43 GMT -6
Welcome to the forum, Stratoblue. That's a sweet looking strat you got there. The old tube amp versus modeling amp controversy... Well, history has shown us you can make some really good recordings by micing up a good tube amp. But for sheer ease of use, modeling amps or modeling software are hard to beat. If price is no object, then you obviously need both. If you want probably the smallest investment with the most "bang for your buck" in terms of versatility, I'd look at one of the smaller Fender Mustang amps. You might also start a new thread with this question, might get more input that way.
Bruce
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Post by stratoblue on May 7, 2014 16:50:58 GMT -6
Thanks bb, Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I do like the Fender Mustang modeling amps.
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Post by joachim on May 8, 2014 0:08:58 GMT -6
Thanks stratublue, and welcome to the forum. I am a new member as well, and I've found the forum to be very friendly and supportive. There are guitarists at all levels here sharing recordings and offering advice on playing and related issues.
I have a Fender Super Champ x2 amp, which is a little more expensive than a Fender Mustang, I think, but still reasonably priced. It gives you the best of both worlds - it's a really good sounding tube amp for home use (not too loud), but it's also a modeling amp, so you can get almost any sound you like. And it has a USB interface that lets you record directly to a PC.
Joachim
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