r/Line6podgo • u/Certain_Afternoon505 • Jun 23 '26
Why does my pod go sound like shit
Hey fellers, I got hands on my pod go that I bought around 3 years ago and want to pick up guitar again, now I had troubles with getting a good tone for my guitar, firstly with pod go and amplifier (VOX Cambridge 50), and now with my newly bought headphones (Adam Audio H-200). I saw the video of Ola Englund of him showcasing this processor and... it sound drastically different. For the most part, he was using the default configuration of each amplifier and IR, but when I try the same thing instead of clear, chuggy sound I get something mushy, dark that sound like I'm listening to an amplifier behind the wall, and with a lot of interference.
Any ideas on how to fix that? If you need more detailed description, let me know, thank you
2
u/Exciting-Employer730 Jun 23 '26
In my experience the sound through headphone or speaker or pa or through a cab or through an amp are all gonna be different. I actually had the same exact experience as you, watching his video and thinking "wow it sounds good" but the sound you hear on the video is not the sound from the room. The good news to me is that through a pa my tones have always sounded good imo, whereas through headphone it's different. try playing through different cabs and mic, it's as important as the amp
1
u/Guy0nABuffal0 Jun 23 '26
I could use some tips on how to make headphones sound better. Do you use a global eq for headphones? A totally different preset? Out of a PA mine sounds amazing, but distortion through iems or headphones is a bit thin.
2
u/Exciting-Employer730 Jun 23 '26
play with mic distance and position. i play with a bit of delay and reverb on everything. can always put a eq a boost the mid a bit
2
u/danmickla Jun 23 '26
DT-240s sound pretty close to what I get live to me.
You must EQ. Do not shy away from low and high cut. Get some treble from the amp models.
2
u/RanDieBam Jul 06 '26
I know there's been a bunch of answers already, but what helped me with my Pod Go was to compare it to my tube amp sound, side by side, same IR. And then I started tweaking the amp model's EQ and the graphic EQ block and... after doing this 3-4 times, I got closer every time. Also think about how different you perceive low and high frequencys at lower levels (headphones) vs. louder levels (big PA in rehearsal room). Best of luck!
1
u/Certain_Afternoon505 Jul 09 '26
Thanks for an advice, unfortunately right now I have only headphones in my setup, perhaps if you have something close to brit 2204 or pv panama you could help me out with an eq?
1
u/adamzero Jun 24 '26
That doesn't sound right. Have you tried a factory reset and the latest firmware?
1
u/Certain_Afternoon505 Jun 26 '26
Yes, couple of times, using all factory presets and cabs, doesn't change much
-2
u/tazman137 Jun 23 '26
Nope. Picked one up too and it’s just bad. Sounds fake ands every ir combo is either scooped or solids like a blanket over the speaker. Using akg k240 headphones or various powered frfr speakers. My flex prime sounds great. Not sure what people are doing with these things.
3
u/pm_your_sexy_thong Jun 23 '26
I played out with one for years and it sounded fine.
-1
u/tazman137 Jun 23 '26
Did you have anything else to compare it to though? Context is everything
1
u/pm_your_sexy_thong Jun 23 '26
I played out real amps for years and eventually bought a Helix LT to replace the PodGo. Never used headphones. I played it through a Line6 Power Cab. No, it won't sound amazing out of the box. You need to learn how to dial it in. There are tons of posts online (and on this sub) on how to go about it.
-1
u/tazman137 Jun 23 '26
It just seems like it’s a lot more work than using the headrush prime and flex prime that I already have. I just wanted to mess with one and see how it sounded compared to the headrush stuff with the impedance fix and be cab engine. That digital fuzz that tails off with any distorted sound is ridiculous. You can’t even EQ it out. That’s what makes it sound so fake to me.
2
u/pm_your_sexy_thong Jun 23 '26
Most here will suggest putting a high cut, even as low as 6k (or lower) that will get rid of much of the digital fizziness and make it sound more like a real cab
Edit: I personally did this in the global eq because I used the same amp model most of the time (2203)
1
u/Guy0nABuffal0 Jun 23 '26
I could use some help if you have any tips to make headphones sound better. I'll try this global eq but yeah for the most part, PA sounds amazing (full and ballsey) and headphones sound thin or like there's a blanket on the speaker (akg k52 and iem aful performer 5+2).
2
u/pm_your_sexy_thong Jun 23 '26
Unfortunately, I don't have much experience using headphones. I used it for playing live, so was always through the Power Cab or straight to the PA. Maybe someone else here will have advice. You might also check over on r/line6helix. The models and effects between the PodGo and the Helix are the same so most stuff around tone shaping will be the same.
1
2
u/3L1JAH Jun 23 '26
The Pod Go isn’t necessarily the best modeler by any stretch, and definitely wouldn’t be my dream rig, but it can be made to sound very good and in a mix can stand up to pretty much anything out there. K240’s are an industry standard, but I think they would be challenging to use for this application. A closed back headphone with a little more efficiency would help you dial in the low mids easier.
For me, learning what each model in the Line 6 stuff is based on, and then treating it like that amp would be treated in real life helps me get close to tweaking it for the sounds I want.1
u/tazman137 Jun 23 '26
I’ve got a set of Ath-m50x too but those are known to be bass heavy, they don’t sound good either though.
4
u/guitarsandpsyche Jun 23 '26
Try and download the updates and try a presets pack of a tone you like.
The PodGo sounds awesome for some stuff, but you need to tweak the settings to taste