Nelskie
March 13th, 2006, 01:46 PM
Well Fretters, I need another amp like I need a hole in my head. My recent fixation with the Pod XT has led me down yet another path on my personal quest for the "grail tone". Simply put - the tones I've been grooving on with my Pod XT are really quite substantial (yes, even to my surprise!), and with that being the case, I felt it was something that I needed to explore further.
Initially, I'd treated my Pod XT like a pedal effect, or multi-processor. I'd tried various configurations using all (3) of my amps (effects loop, and pre / post-signal), but somehow, wasn't getting the same killer tones with it as when I was using it direct. This kinda' bothered me. :confused: So I did a little research, and found that the natural tonal characteristics of the amps I was using were coloring the POD's own sound. In other words, the signal was being "re-processed" by the amp's circuitry, and running it through the amp was taking away from what the POD was already doing with its own digitally-generated amp / cabinet emulations. Sorry if this sounds confusing - it took me awhile to digest, too. Anyways - while I was at the POD User's Group website, I saw a thread on "live sound", so I took a look, and found that at present, there were (2) amps that worked really well with the POD - the Atomic Reactor (18W tube amp), and the Tech 21 Power Engine (solid state). The trick with these amps is that they offer an uncolored, transparent power source, which is what you want when using a Pod, V-Amp, or similiar pre-amp device. Since the Pod is already providing the digitally-created drive, cabinet, and effects paramters of your tone, all you need is an amplification source that takes those things, and just makes them louder.
So, off I went to Harmony Central, where I read glowing reviews about each. Next stop - Musician's Friend. The Atomic Reactor ran about $500, but was only 18W. Yeah, I know that doesn't necessarily mean it couldn't get loud. Still, I wanted something could get over a band without having to be mic'ed, or lined into the soundboard. Or something I'd have to replace tubes in. Seeing that I already had (2) great tube amps (my Peavey and my Epiphone Valve Jr.), I decided that maybe a solid state was the way to go. At $300, the Tech 21 was also an attractive buy. So, before I did did anything else, I did an Ebay search, and found a few of each. Still a little hesitant to buy yet another amp, I held off.
Well, this past Friday AM, before I left on my road swing for work, I decided to inquire on one I'd seen on Ebay for $249. I had a few questions about the amp, so I e-mailed the dude selling it that morning, and left the house. Well, what I didn't see was that the auction was going to end in the afternoon - before I'd get back. So, when I did check Ebay later in the afternoon, I then found that out (*insert classic "loser" cartoon music effect here*) Fortunately, the guy selling the amp did get my e-mail, and left me his phone # to call. So I did, and we had a nice visit about the amp. After we'd chatted for a few minutes, he says, "since I'd like to get rid of this thing, how does $225 + $15 shipping sound?" My head swooned slightly following his offer, and before I could muster even the slightest sense of control, I blurted out, "yes, I'll take it!" So anyways, there's the long and short of how I acquired my fourth (and hopefully last) guitar amp.
Lately, I've really been really getting into the POD thing - designing tones, recording with it, etc. It's such a useful tool, esp. using it alone as a pre-amp (which it does beautifully) to warm up vocals, and live mic'ed guitar tracks. Now that I'll have an amp w/ a transparent sound (and 60W to boot!), I can utilize all of the killer amps / cabs in my POD XT when playing live, and it will sound just like what I hear in my headphones / monitors! Saaaahhhh-weeeeet! :D
Here's a few links to check out:
http://www.tech21nyc.com/pe60.html
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Tech_21/Power_Engine_60-1.html
http://www.line6.com/podxt/overview.html
http://www.line6.com/podxt/sounds.html]
Bottom line: sometimes you cannot ignore the sounds in your head.
Initially, I'd treated my Pod XT like a pedal effect, or multi-processor. I'd tried various configurations using all (3) of my amps (effects loop, and pre / post-signal), but somehow, wasn't getting the same killer tones with it as when I was using it direct. This kinda' bothered me. :confused: So I did a little research, and found that the natural tonal characteristics of the amps I was using were coloring the POD's own sound. In other words, the signal was being "re-processed" by the amp's circuitry, and running it through the amp was taking away from what the POD was already doing with its own digitally-generated amp / cabinet emulations. Sorry if this sounds confusing - it took me awhile to digest, too. Anyways - while I was at the POD User's Group website, I saw a thread on "live sound", so I took a look, and found that at present, there were (2) amps that worked really well with the POD - the Atomic Reactor (18W tube amp), and the Tech 21 Power Engine (solid state). The trick with these amps is that they offer an uncolored, transparent power source, which is what you want when using a Pod, V-Amp, or similiar pre-amp device. Since the Pod is already providing the digitally-created drive, cabinet, and effects paramters of your tone, all you need is an amplification source that takes those things, and just makes them louder.
So, off I went to Harmony Central, where I read glowing reviews about each. Next stop - Musician's Friend. The Atomic Reactor ran about $500, but was only 18W. Yeah, I know that doesn't necessarily mean it couldn't get loud. Still, I wanted something could get over a band without having to be mic'ed, or lined into the soundboard. Or something I'd have to replace tubes in. Seeing that I already had (2) great tube amps (my Peavey and my Epiphone Valve Jr.), I decided that maybe a solid state was the way to go. At $300, the Tech 21 was also an attractive buy. So, before I did did anything else, I did an Ebay search, and found a few of each. Still a little hesitant to buy yet another amp, I held off.
Well, this past Friday AM, before I left on my road swing for work, I decided to inquire on one I'd seen on Ebay for $249. I had a few questions about the amp, so I e-mailed the dude selling it that morning, and left the house. Well, what I didn't see was that the auction was going to end in the afternoon - before I'd get back. So, when I did check Ebay later in the afternoon, I then found that out (*insert classic "loser" cartoon music effect here*) Fortunately, the guy selling the amp did get my e-mail, and left me his phone # to call. So I did, and we had a nice visit about the amp. After we'd chatted for a few minutes, he says, "since I'd like to get rid of this thing, how does $225 + $15 shipping sound?" My head swooned slightly following his offer, and before I could muster even the slightest sense of control, I blurted out, "yes, I'll take it!" So anyways, there's the long and short of how I acquired my fourth (and hopefully last) guitar amp.
Lately, I've really been really getting into the POD thing - designing tones, recording with it, etc. It's such a useful tool, esp. using it alone as a pre-amp (which it does beautifully) to warm up vocals, and live mic'ed guitar tracks. Now that I'll have an amp w/ a transparent sound (and 60W to boot!), I can utilize all of the killer amps / cabs in my POD XT when playing live, and it will sound just like what I hear in my headphones / monitors! Saaaahhhh-weeeeet! :D
Here's a few links to check out:
http://www.tech21nyc.com/pe60.html
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Tech_21/Power_Engine_60-1.html
http://www.line6.com/podxt/overview.html
http://www.line6.com/podxt/sounds.html]
Bottom line: sometimes you cannot ignore the sounds in your head.