Can someone tell me what my: drive, bass, mid, treble, channel volume, compression and amp model dials should be set at to get various sounds out of the Bass POD?
Also, does anyone have any interesting sounds?
Cheers
P.S. I'm running it thru a 1x15 speaker, does this mean I should bypass the cabinet models on the Bass POD?
Cheers
This is my rifle, this is my gun; this is for fighting, this is for fun!
Yes, when running it to an external speaker and amp, you should disable the cabinet modeling.
A question though: when you say you're running it thru a 1x15 speaker, is that a speaker by itself or is it an amp/speaker combo?
The channel volume I leave all the way up, the drive all the way down, then I adjust the master volume. My tone controls are always at 12 o'clock and the compression is the same.
Hope this helps.
My set up is -
American Fender Jazz > Bass POD > Carlsbro Bassline 150
The Carlsbro amp is a combo. 15" speaker, with the usual volume, gain, bass, mid and treble controls.
A friend told me I should only choose cabinets if going into a PA or summit.
This is my rifle, this is my gun; this is for fighting, this is for fun!
That's correct then, as far as I know.
Are you getting a bad tone or you just want a better one?
Just want various nice/interesting ones - thats all.
This is my rifle, this is my gun; this is for fighting, this is for fun!
I don't have any specific settings I could give you because, for one thing, your bass and how it sounds by itself (and the output of the pickups and strings and how you play, with flatpicks or fingers) would be different from mine. All I can suggest is doing it the fun way, the way I did it.
Take one of the amp models, and 'live' with it for a few days. Don't play any other model (just as if you bought that amp and that's all you had), and then play with the tone controls and effects and speaker cabs. There's also a lot to be said about playing with the volume control on your bass, as you probably already know: turn it down and you get a wonderful clear sound. It's all pretty sublte on bass and that's why it takes a little more work. Most people want the bassist to sound a certain way, and yah, it gets a little boring. "Just hold down the bottom." Or, "Just give us a nice fat sound."
Pretty vague.
But within the limitations of the role of bass player in a band, you can still have fun with it, if you focus on the subtleties of the sound. Well, your sound and your technique. Playing near the bridge, near the neck, picking with fingertips or flatpick -- all that kind of thing.
But that's what I would do: Just use one amp model at a time until you are familiar with every aspect of it, then move on to the next one. Most of the sounds will be pretty much the same, but with a little work and focus, you can get some very satisfying sounds out of your rig.
Guitar players have it much easier: the can go from fully cranked Marshall stack to super clean JC120, and echo and reverb are all part of their sound. Bassists might use a little 'verb (I love that sound!), but echo is normally right off the palette if you're doing anything but solo work.
The other thing you might concentrate on is the compression; a big thing for bass players. Finding just the right amount again takes work, but the end result is that you get to play full on without worrying about overdriving the system or your recorded tracks.
Anyhow, these ideas might seem a bit vague, but what it comes down to is 'you' inventing your sound and making it the way 'you' want it, no matter if you have one amp, or a whole selection of them as in the POD.
Best :)
