POD or one of those Sansamp GT2 thingies

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asi9

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Here's the deal; I haven't been too pleased lately with the 'micing the amp' method lately, because it sounds to 'generic' and gritty, and I'm not like the 'room' sound as much as I thought I would. I'm finding that I like a direct signal more than micing the amp, but it doesn't sound reallistic. I've tried mixing direct and micing and still haven't been really pleased with the results. Now here's what I'm considering and my delemna:

First of all, I'm going for a really heavy "new metal" tone, bands like Sevendust, Machine Head, Ultraspank. I'm debating whether to get a POD, or just maybe use a distorion pedal and go through a Sansamp GT2. I've heard POD's sounds, and they are fairly good, but they have a little too much of that 'room' sound. Is there any setting on the amp modeling that you can turn down the 'modeling' so that it sounds a little bit more direct, but without losing the 'warmth' totally?

If not, does the GT2 make going direct sound a little more 'believable'?

I'd like to know before I spend several hundred dollars to find out.....
 
It sounds like you need a compressor to boost and tighten your tone.

The POD sounds like a good tool for you and it has compression built in as well. Just plan to take some time learning it. It takes a while.
 
if your goal is recording, the POD wins out hands down.

the GT2, IMO, is not great direct. i use my GT2 through my Marshall and Fender Princeton - mic'd. this setup works OK.

i've got a POD Pro too and it's pretty good. it's versatile and yep, you can get the room out of the guitar.

-kp-
 
POD...... POD..... POD.......... tell me this, what's the difference between POD Pro (that's the rack-mountable one, right?) and a regular? Is there a huge difference that it's worth the extra 200-300 dollars? Is the tone better, or are there just more features, toys, etc
 
Probably the biggest differences are the digital I/O and the balanced stereo outs.
 
POD !

I 'm a tube amp guy all the way, but i still record with the pod. You can also move that room sound alot by selecting a different speaker for the amp you select. I couldn't live without it.
 
I can't speak on the POD, but I do use the GT-2.

The GT-2 is not bad by itself, but I just discovered a couple of weeks ago to go through my ART MP preamp first. It really warms up the little sansamp and get a much better (i.e. enjoyable), modern sound.

I'm a budget minded person - so the $80 for a used GT-2 won hands down over the POD.

Rick aka fusion.
 
i listen to all those band mentioned (the old machine head rules! don't like their new stuff as much though) and i get a pretty good heavy tone w/ the j-station.... i know some people don't like it as much as the pod, but w/ the rectified setting w/ the marshall cab, it sounds pretty close to the "nu metal" sound.... (although their is still a little warmth to it.... turn off the cabinet sim though and it changes it to a very harsh industrialized distortion which i use for distortded bass at times that goes very low in the final mix and really sounds cool with the cabinet simulated guitars.)
 
Do you know what most of those bands actually use in the studio (do you know of any that actually use a POD, J-station, GT2... whatever)? Do they use similar equipment, or do the studios they go to for major label releases have stuff that's just completely way over our head/price range?
 
As much as you can get decent results with the POD, SansAmps, etc... they will NEVER compare to the real thing - a properly mic'd amp, capturing the guitarist's sound.

I'm sure the big boys do make some use of 'em, but if you can have the real deal, why wouldn't you use that instead??

Bruce Valeriani
Blue Bear Sound
 
I agree. When I first got a POD I thought it was really great. I still like it, but now that I'm used to the sounds and can compare them to the real thing. A guitar (or bass) played though a good amp has a feel to it that's just not there with a sim. I mean it actually 'feels' different in my hands. I first noticed that 30 years ago when I would play my bass through a Fender 100 watt Bassman that had been on for a half hour or so. The strings and neck and instrument take on a feel that I'm sorry to say I haven't found with a POD or a Rockman or whatever. It's just got to be a real amp and speaker going through real air.

[Edited by monty on 12-02-2000 at 19:42]
 
I agree also but,

do you know how much it would cost to have just 1/4 the number of amps and cabs the pod has. I would rather have the real thing, but I will settle for the two tube amps I have and the pod. What does a vox ac30 go for nowdays, about $2000 or more, that leaves 31 more amps to go on the pod. IF I win the lottery I won't have to use the pod, but until I do, I 'm going to keep the pod. I do love my tubes though.
 
Why not go direct with electric guitar some of the time ?Look at what's available: POD, Amp Farm, SansAmp PSA-1, J-station, Roland VG, Yamaha DG, Rocktron RepiTone. It's been accepted practice to go direct with bass guitar for years. I still haven't been able to mic my guitar amplifiers and get a recorded sound that I like as well as my Sansamp. I record because I love to write and play and be creative with guitars. Being able to listen to my guitar sound coming out of the monitors instead of having to use headphones is so wonderful. These devices are a home recorder's dream. I will admit that they can and will get even better but some people shouldn't be such snobs about using this technology.
 
WA.... NO ONE in this thread is turning their nose up at these devices at all as far as I can tell. They are very useful tools to use in situations where the real deal can't be applied or is unavailable, or is too expensive, or 100 other reasons.

But given the choice of properly mic'ing up a guitarist and their amp, or making that guitarist go thru the modeler, the real thing will win hands-down...

But that's just me and my opinion.............

Bruce
 
bvaleria, you say that "micing an amp wins hands down " ? Since when is it a competition (no one wins today, not even Presidents) I used to be skeptical of anything other than tube amps because I tried a Roland VG8 ( I think that is what it was called ) and the Johnson digital amps and I really disliked those. I run everything through cheap analog pedals anyway....that's MY sound. I've only used/own a couple of these things but I find that if I use a particular instrument then the character of that instrument comes through...just like a real miced amp. This site is about home recording and I think every guitar/bass player should use these, in conjunction with their tube amps of course.....the variety of tones they offer is huge.
 
WA.... you are not hearing me at all... I agree - they are useful tools. But since when is a model or simulation ever going to be "better" than putting up the right mic in front of a guitar player and properly capturing the sound of the player and his amp???

Yes.. if you can't do that for some reason (gear, cost, noise affecting neighbors, etc...), sure, go for the POD - but the whole point of record engineering is to capture the "real-life" sound as accurately and effectively as possible. The POD et al will give you a very good impression of the "real-life" sound, but not as good as a real player in front of you, properly mic'd.

Your argument is like saying "yes, I know Billy Joel is sitting right in front of me with his grand piano mic'd up, but I'd rather record him direct playing this KORG/ROLAND/WHATEVER...." It would never happen - unless you didn't have the gear to record him live properly!

Geddit???????? ;)

Bruce
 
Recording is not just about trying to accurately reproduce or capture a real sound. What about the artistic side that says anything goes? Sometimes a model or whatever IS better than the real thing, depending on what kind of sound or effect you are going for. There are too many guitar tones available to say only this or that is a good sound. Many of my favorite albums have lousy guitar sounds to my ears but it doesn't matter because the song is good. Your analogy about the piano doesn't work because I'm not trying to mic an unamplified electric guitar....although some bass players do that to add the pops and noises to their existing bass tracks.
 
For someone who's Wide Awake, I think you're sleepy... :D

You're missing my point completely dude... but whatever... I give up!

Bruce
 
Hey bvaleria,
Have you used the POD 2.0 in the studio?
I'm wondering how much of a difference it makes once everything else is recorded and mixed.
By itself it doesn't "Breathe" like a tube amp, but it sounds pretty good. I'm planning on layering in another rhythm guitar part, with a tube amp, in a "real" studio prior to mastering.
We're recording as much as we can in the basemant using a Fostex FX-16 with POD's for the bass and guitar and V-drums.
Is this a reasonable approach?
 
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