Using the 2101 analog front-end in front of a Line6 PODxt pro
2006-03-31 by revansx
Hi folks, I request your collective thoughts and wisdom on how (and if) my 2101 can be used in my 'new' gear, namely my PODxt pro. They look so good together ;-) If you want to skip all the narrative, scroll down to the bottom of my post for a bare-bones list of my questions for you. Otherwise, here's my long winded story: [Begin long-winded story telling] ------------------------------------------------------ I have been a 2101 fan since Aug. 1994 when I first bought one along with my first guitar. 12 years later, I am neither a GSP expert nor a geat guitarist, but i have always loved playing and especially through my gsp. I have only ever been a studio ryhthem player. Mostly because I have never been very satisfied with the sound of my lead playing and have always attributed it to 'MY' lack of talent. Recently though, I have done some live stuff with a 12-string electro- acoustic and with thoses experiences under my belt, I have gone through a sort-of growth-spurt in my playing ability. I have finally started to bunker down and learn both by research and by playing, how to build great tone for electric guitar and especically for soloing. Here is where I face the fact that the 2101 is a only a studio pre-amp and all I use is a nice clean PA system. I have never experimented with guitar amps and all the issues of how to mic them. And I have no interest in adding more bulky gear (heads and cabs) and complications to my hobby.....HOWEVER :-) I am willing to spend money.......so, I got me a rack mount Line6 PODxt PRo....its great! So is the 2101. I love them both.... But I have now chosen to find my sound with the POD. Because clearly, the POD solves my problem of not wanting to get involved with finding an amp model and cabinet and having to mic it. Now I get to go right into my PA and sound better than I ever imagined I could have, but I still haven't achieved the sounds I am interest in, for this i became conviced that I will still need stomp-boxes. Now, the POD models many great stomp boxes, but it is very limited in the order of the effects and how many can be used. For example, if I want to use a "Big Muf Pi" distortion, the POD can do it, or if i want to play through a "Tube Driver" distortion, again the POD has it. But, I can't put them together and create a combined distortion (as I would like to) let alone eq them seperately. This is stomp-box city I'm talking about -eh? Also, I play through an Ibanez S540 (yep - from 1994) and i need to compress and EQ before I even get to the POD. And so I was planning to go out and buy pile of EQ, compressor and distortion pedels to play with when the though hit me.....my 2101 has a reasonably close "Big Muff Pi" distortion, compressor and EQ, maybe the 2101 can play a role in builing my sound with the POD instead of more pedals........ [end of long winded story] ------------------------------------------------ OK.....so thanks for reading (or not) here are my questions: Q#1: Does anyone see anything wrong with using the analog front-end of my GSP-2101 and a big pedal to feed my POD? From my guitar, I would plug into the 2101 first and then connect the FX send of the 2101 as the instrument input to the pod. This would allow my to sculpt my sound with the 2101s analog compressor, distortion and EQ before it hits the POD. Does that sound smart -or- does that sound dumb? be honest..... please ;-) Q#2: Is there any way to use the full capabilities of the 2101's DSP section? It has a GREAT 8-tap chorus that I would love to continue to use. So....the basic question is: Any thoughts on how to get the most out both pieces? How to wire them to get the best of all worlds? I can't wait to hear your thoughts thanks gang. -revansx http://members.cox.net/oddesy/