Jackson DK2M with EMG's and Pod XT live.

[gordomenz]

Ok, first off. I'll list off my gear, and what I paid for it all. Then, I have a few questions on tone, and what I am aiming for.

Guitar - Snow White Jackson DK2M, with EMG 81/85's. Was a Kerry King set, but haven't wired in the PA-2 yet. Wanted to see what the EMG's sounded like by themselves and didn't want to drill a hole in the guitar. Paid $630 Canadian. And $280 for the EMG's.

Amp - Marshall MG80RCD. I Paid $200 for it used off a friend. The treble knob is broken off the on the clean channel, but i haven't had to tweak it so I'm not too worried.

Effects - Pod XT live. Paid like $390 or something.

So I've been running the XT live in through the return? I think on the amp. Basically if I just plug the guitar in itself it's super clean. So I'm just running the effects only. I find if I run it straight through line in it's too muddy.

Has anybody played with this kind of rig? I play mostly old metallica. And am striving for that kind of tone. I don't have lots of time on my hands to play around with all the settings as they are virtually limitless.

Any suggestions as how to set my rig up better? Tips on the XT live?

[Newc]

The amp should have 2 channels (at least) - Clean and Crunch/Distortion - which you select by a footswitch or a button on the front.

If all you're getting is clean tones when you plug into the front of the amp, you'll have to find the channel select button or footswitch.


As for the XT, the proper way to run it into the amp is indeed through the Return, since you want to bypass the amp's preamp section (where the Distortion is). You don't want to run a distortion box like the XT into an existing distortion box (the preamp). Trust me. It's just not good.

Running into the Return also bypasses the EQ of the amp, so the broken knob wouldn't be an issue.

The Line In on the amp is more for CD players so you can jam along.


On the other hand, you can run the guitar into the amp's Input, then run the amp's Send into the XT's Return, bypassing the XT's preamp, and then run the XT's Output back into the amp's Return. This way you use the amp for distortion and clean and the XT for effects (Chorus, etc - no distortion).

Since you're going for older Metallica, I don't think you want the amp's distortion.


So, guitar into XT Live, XT Output into amp's Return.

As for getting the tones you're after, you're better off checking the XT Live forum over at Line6.com.

I think the Insane distortion patch is supposed to be a Dual Rectifier, maybe a Triple. It's been a while since I had an XTL, so I can't recall offhand.

[DonP]

A cheap way to do it is to get the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone pedal.

A better way is to get a Mesa Boogie amp.

[levantin]

Welcome. If you don't want to mess around with the pod settings get rid of it and get a straight forward distortion pedal like a mt2 or od20. You really need to spend time with modellers to coax out the full potential.

[dirtyroadie]

I have an Xt Live and used it for quite a while through an old solid state Peavey. If you're looking for metal tones and aren't digging the Rectifier model on there, you can buy the Metal Expansion Pack:

http://line6.com/modelPacks/metal.html

It's got loads of Metal tones on there. As far as time is concerned, it shouldn't/doesn't take long to dial in something you like on the XT. The owner's manual is well written and pretty comprehensive.

[gordomenz]

I think my biggest problem is not spending enough time sitting down with the XT and tweaking knobs, and presets. IT's a bit tough with an old lady and a new baby.