Need advice on Bass Rig + POD.

[JouniL]

A funny thing happened on my way home yesterday, an old friend called me and asked me to play bass in his band. So I went home, dusted of my ol'bass and played some bass which resulted in blistered fingers (well worth it :->). I'm not shure I'll accept the invitation but I will certainly enjoy a couple of jam sessions with the band.

I have one problem though, I don't have a rig and I need to start planning for one! I've not played with bands for 16 years so I am totally clueless on how these things are done nowadays, all I know is that I really like my Line6 TonePort so I was thinking there must be some clever way of having a POD for bass that you bring to your sessions and also use at home. I would like to be able to use it with gearbox, download and edit patches, soundbanks etc.

Is it possible to use a POD directly with a PA or a power amp+bass cabinet. What kind of amp + cabinett do I need? I presume that the amp should be fairly neutral in tone (not color the sound to much) since the pod allready models an amp+cabinet for me.

Which POD would be suitable? I've browsed through Line6's homepage and there seems to be a fair amount of different alternatives. Upgradable and PC connectivity is a must.

Are there any other alternative manufacturers that are more suitable? I know I propably should ask this in a music store but I am tired of being insulted and treated like an idiot only because I've been out of the biz for 16 years so I won't even try this time.

[atalwar]

if you looking for a complete rig i think the new pod x3 beans or floor would be the best choice as it has all the model packs including bass packs and a lot of connectivity options. and since you are already a line 6 gearbox user you won't have anything new to learn about setting up the tones and should be able to load your already created tones into the unit).

I have a podtxt live floor unit, as it also acts as my secondary sound card. i only use gearbox to do with my tones and etc and have not even removed the plastic cover off the unit and it's more than 2 years old now. so editing and connectivity of pod units are great.

Pods were ideally meant for use with PA's Beans more or less home recording use and floors units for Live Use. When connecting to other amps (guitar and bass amps you would require to set the pod accordingly to what you are connecting to. in its settings.)

The only thing i don't like in pods is the fixed signal chain other than that they are quite good.
Oh and if you have some tube pedal or tube preamp or a vintage amp with fx loop pods can sound heavenly with tubed signals.

Other manufactures (notin any particular order) you can try are Boss,Zoom, Vox and Tc. electronics all have their pros and cons.

Pods have some of the best pre-amp emulations. Boss have some of the best fx emulations. zoom ones either you like em or hate em. tc ones are bit too much priced.

[pooterpatty]

You definitely can run out of a Pod direct into a PA. However, with the limited amount of time that I've played with it, I can't get it to sound very good. IMO the Pod sounds much better when you run it through an amp.

Which brings me to my next point. I don't know what kind of PA this band has, but you'll want some kind of amp on stage with you so you can hear yourself, because if the PA is set up right, your bass won't be coming through the stage monitors much at all - most will be crossed over going to the sub bins.

Now as far as which amp is right for you, that's a personal call. You didn't really mention what type of music this band will be playing. If I can assume you'll be playing rock music, you'll want something with plenty of power - 300 watts at least. Hartke makes some great bass combos with 4x10 speakers, with all the low end thump you could want. Most of them have direct outs that you can run into a PA.

[JouniL]

Thnx for your help! Much appreciated!

Regarding POD, exactly what is the difference between a regular POD and a bass POD. In my naïve mind I assume that when you have a POD you can pretty much add any amp and tone to it or are the amp-models untouchable in a POD?

[pooterpatty]

Nah you can use bass amp models on a regular guitar Pod, no problem.

[blue4u]

This might fit the bill nicely: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Acoustic-AB50-Acoustic-Bass-Combo-Amplifier-104622675-i1385075.gc

Might not be loud enough at 50w though?