XTLive....Live?

[saulhudson]

I've asked this in the past and received no real responses, so now there's a few more members I'll try again.
I play in an Indie/Classic rock duo, the set up is slightly unusual in that I run a Pod XtLive direct to desk using the amp sims.
What I wondered was if anyone else has this kinda set up and how they find it?
I'm happy with it and certainly my peers around here are very complimentary about the sound but as like most guitarists I'm always looking for better?
At demo's and suchlike the demonstrator always go to great pains to point out it's direct to desk with no other trickery involved?
Why then when I use the same patches, do my sounds sound NOTHING like!?
In theory through the P.A. it should sound pretty much the same but of course never does, just wondered how other folk found this, and any advice or playing experiences using similar set up's?

[RolandG]

Here's a similar situation. I use a GT-8 in a wedding band. For small gigs it goes into the power stage of a 2x12 valve combo. For medium and large gigs it goes straight into the PA. (You might ask why I don't use the valve pre-amp. It doesn't have the wide range of sounds I need, and it would not work in the larger gigs where I am balancing the pa from what I hear through the monitors).

How do I find it? Much easier than lugging a valve amp around. It doesn't have the dynamics of the valve amp, but for weddings that's not a major concern.

When going into the pa I add 10 to 20 decibel mid-boost to the GT-8 global EQ, which goes across all the patches. It doesn't sound exactly like the valve amp, but close enough to a close miked amp. All the patches were built from scratch for live work. In the early days I had to tweak patches between and during gigs because the live sound is never the same as the rehearsal room, even at live volume.

[sticker]

I use my XtLive straight to the desk and get a retun fed to my AER compact60 for onstage monitoring for the functions band I play in - It sounds excellent and I've never had problems with the sounds or patches - you have got it set up to go to a PA with the AIR thingy on i take it?

[the-crust]

Not sure about trickery involved but sound does change with volume and distance... patches that are carefully crafted at bedroom practice level don't always stand up to the appliance of lots of lovely wattage nor do they sound the same into the back of your legs on stage versus being out front.

The changes -v- decibel level thing is called the fletcher munson effect. Here is an article on it from the Pod support forum

http://line6.com/support/entry!default.jspa?categoryID=5&externalID=3787

[thereformant]

Thats a really interesting article actually.

[aslefnapkyn]

I use a Pod XTL and have tried various 'solutions', into a Fender HRD, a keyboard amp, and Atomic Reactor and straight to the PA.

Ideally, I'd like to hear the sound as it is through headphones, but I fear that holy grail will remain elusive for a while. Into the PA was good, but not much like a 'real' guitar should sound. The Atomic I didn't get on with at all and the keyboard amp (a Laney) was just wrong.

I've had most joy using the XTL into the front of the Fender amp, but with the amp modelling turned off. I just use the effects now.

As stated above, there are just too many variables with setting the unit up, so getting rid of one of them seemed like a good idea. I used Fender modelling most of the time anyway, whats the point of modelling something I already have?

Still great for recording though!

[Pbassred]

I use a bass podXT Live from the model out socket straight into a DI box. From there it splits into my amp and into the desk. Its important to understand that the amp is only a monitor. The real sound comes from the FOH speakers. It means that I control the tone and volume. It sounds fine.

However, I have found that I actually use very few different sounds and effects. I bought it because I wanted a robust compressor, and I wished I had a valve amp. I mostly use a sort of motown sound and sometimes throw autowah or a dirty compressor in the mix.

[fatherjack]

I have in the past used an XT Live straight into the PA - it made life easier, had no complaints about sound quality from punters, and it meant that if a venue wanted things quieter, it was easily done while keeping its rightful place in the overall sound. Less weight to lug about, too.