[Harp-L] amp simulators in live mode (long)

[William Jennings <will@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've used both the Line 6 POD and the POD-XT versions in a couple of 
different
live stage set ups.  These versions deal with 'live-direct to PA' and 
'live to amp (which is mic'd) for stage & house sound'
in slightly different, though also slightly similar ways.  The 2.0 
version uses two different 1/4 inch output jacks,
one for direct-recording/PA and the other for running to an amp. The XT 
handles the setting elsewhere and
adds an option: direct to recording/PA, direct to power amp w/cabs 
(closed speaker cabs), direct to combo amp (open back cab).

The variations use or override Line 6's A.I.R. processing that is 
supposed to simulate the variations in sound
created when you mic a stage amp cab for your house sound. You are 
allowed to further tweak this by selecting
different mics used, and how they are placed relative to the speaker 
(on or off axis).

That said, I'm not entirely convinced that my ears notice a remarkable 
difference between the various settings.

The knock on most digital simulators and all-in-one boxes is that they 
do not deliver the Holy Grail of tone.
Well, no kidding.  Neither do most stock guitar amps, nor guitar fx 
pedals, nor guitar anything.

As has been discussed at some length on this list, tone tends to be a 
combination of player/technique,
tweaked amplification chain-sequence (amps to tubes to circuits to 
speakers to cables to transformers to resistors
to mics to cartridges to subjective ears to size & shape of the venue 
itself). And tone is as tone does, meaning
an unrelieved and unvarying 'tone' tends to tire the ear of the 
listener...there needs to be some relief, some
ability to shift and put that tone to expressive, evocative use...it 
isn't some fixed location to be attained...it
moves and it should move.

Digital Simulators give us something to play with. Some give us more 
than others, some give too much
of this and not enough of that, etc.   Not all features are equally 
well-done on any given product, either.

I think these devices serve a few noteworthy purposes to players:
1) they allow a wider range of experimentation with sound, and suggest 
possibilities that might otherwise
be limited or impeded. They allow this experimentation at relatively 
low cost and ease of transport;
2) some can be dialed in and tweaked at deeper levels of editing to be 
more appropriate for harp/mic amplification vs.
their default design for the dynamics of guitar pick ups (and this 
takes some time & patience, but hell if y'all are replacing single 
reeds
and re-tuning, gapping, embossing, sealing, and painting flame decals 
on your harps, then that train has already left the station, Bubba).
The Line 6 POD products allow for this sort of tweaking and the XT 
version is extensive in the parameters to be tweaked.
3) they can expand the role a harp player takes on within a band....and 
that's where it's been of help to me.
It's nice to have a series of pre-set mixes that I can snap in with a 
few touches of the foot...and then add or delete layers
without totally shifting the core tone of the set-up.  This allows me 
to play keyboard/organ back up, long sustaining sounds
to fill in, then shift to a sharper attack for a solo, then back.  The 
expression pedal can also be set.
I've got 16 banks, each with four slots, for a total of 64 possible pre 
set sound combinations.
If I wanted to be truly picky, I could probably program three sets 
worth of material and just click down
the slots as we went along....

You can go to the Line 6 website and dl their owner's handbook for the 
XT.
I have no affiliation with them, don't sell their stuff, am not an 
endorsed player, blah blah.

My knock on the PODs and all digital simulators is that, indeed, the 
sound tends to be brittle & thin, sometimes harsh,
and/or boomy & mushy on the lows.  So...you do have to tweak. And one 
set up for going into your combo amp on stage
will not directly translate into a direct-to-pa set up.  So...wise to 
set aside some sound banks for live to amp and live to pa
versions of your favorite tone/fx/amp combinations.  Sometimes the 
venue itself will alter the sound and require on site, on the fly 
tweaking.
Guitar players do this, no?  And if you have an outlet plug that says 
"To PA", it's not a guarantee that the PA on the other end
of the cable will be high quality, dogmeat, or run by a guy who thinks 
'more cowbell' is the answer to any song's missing ingredient.

Your mileage will vary.  Not interested in a 'love me love my amp/rig 
pissing contest', either.

Will