Recommendations for amp at home?

[izwei]

Hi, I am looking for a amplifier to go along with my pod HD300. I mostly play pop to rock. I just looking for a home practice amp to go with pod HD300 so any recommendations. Fyi, the guitar I using is a strato and my budget should not be more than 250. I don't want to spend so much on a amp that will kept at home.

 

[Cavett]

Instead of a traditional guitar amp, do consider some decent monitor speakers instead to make full use of your HD300.

This way you can fully make use of the amp modeling and stereo features of the POD.

 

[subversion]

PODs sound much more appealing through minitors than amps.

 

[izwei]

It sounds better but does it means it doesn't sound good with amp? Cos I prefer getting an amp.

 

[subversion]

as mentioned above, it's more appealing. on a personal note, i was never attracted to its use with an amp... more importantly, hear it in action with an amp yourself & judge accordingly- you might like it...

 

[Brenkoh]

Hi izwei, I happen to own a POD XT Live (so we are from the same pod family tree, I guess). One of the great features of the pod hd series is the amp modelling. I believe (in my opinion) why subversion said that it sounds much more appealing with monitors is that you're hearing the POD's onboard preamp directly through your speakers.

If you're gonna get an amp , then it'll be :
Guitar > POD (onboard preamp) > AMP.
rather than,
Guitar > POD > Monitors.

In essence, you'll be running the pre-amp through an amp.

But in any case, if you really want an amplifier, I suggest(with no knowledge of your budget):

VOX AC15 or VOX AC30.

[ Sidetrack : I really love the Greenback 25s on the POD ! ]

 

[omnomnomben]

The Roland Micro-Cube is a great practice amp. You'll be able to get great sound without any external effects, and when you need to be on-the-move it runs on batteries too. A great bang for your buck.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

i have the pod hd500 and i'm running them through a pair of kurzweil ks-40a. they are going for $93.75 a pair now at the cm sale. running modellers into monitors instead of amps is called going FRFR which stands for full range flat response. basically modellers were designed to model everything, from amp simulation to cabinet simulation to mic simulation, apart from effects. if you tweak your tones properly, they can sound close to the tones of your favourite guitar players you hear through normal speakers. and that's the whole idea of FRFR

If you own a POD HD, you're gonna wanna read this: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=989928

 

[fifafu]

I run my modellers via a HiFi amp thru a pair of horn loaded speaker...get more satisfaction out of it than thru a guitar amp and I can get exactly the same sound I heard thru a CD...something I cannot do a guitar amp.

i have the pod hd500 and i'm running them through a pair of kurzweil ks-40a. they are going for $93.75 a pair now at the cm sale. running modellers into monitors instead of amps is called going FRFR which stands for full range flat response. basically modellers were designed to model everything, from amp simulation to cabinet simulation to mic simulation, apart from effects. if you tweak your tones properly, they can sound close to the tones of your favourite guitar players you hear through normal speakers. and that's the whole idea of FRFR

If you own a POD HD, you're gonna wanna read this: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=989928

 

[izwei]

Wow thanks for all the input , I will consider getting monitor instead. Anyway I got an additional question, if you were to play live, connect through DI straight will be the best option better than thru an amp miking up? Thanks.

 

[VidaK]

Wow thanks for all the input , I will consider getting monitor instead. Anyway I got an additional question, if you were to play live, connect through DI straight will be the best option better than thru an amp miking up? Thanks.

I would say yes that is correct... just imagine yourself as a keyboard ha

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

yes, that is most ideal. however, if you gig often, you'll notice some quirks. many old school audio techs are not familiar / receptive to the idea of modellers going DI w/o amps. furthermore, some venues are stretching their mixer's input to the limit. there are a few work arounds to avoid opening up a new channel just for the pod though, eg requesting to plug in through one of the guitar amp's mic cable, or use the input that was meant for the keyboard (assuming your band has no keyboardist). you'll also need to ask the audio tech to pump up your guitar's signal through the stage monitors more than usual because you don't have an amp for your band to monitor you through.

some pros and cons though

as an audio tech behind the mixer myself, i'm very happy when someone wants to go DI, but as a pod hd user, i know of some audio techs who are unhappy with such arrangements. with such a set up, you'll never need to worry about crappy amps that venues can throw at you, don't needa worry if that small 10" combo will make your mesa dual rectifier / marshall jcm100 / bogner ubershall 4×12" sound whimpy. however, you need to pray that the venue's PA system is good. haha

 

[theunknown]

oh man oh man... tempted to buy the KS40A.. im using podhd on a tube amp. so wasted the tube amp..


BUT, what if i play the podhd through the return efx loop? but still the poweramp of my amp will colour the tone..
If i put it through the return ex, the sound is nicer but jamming studio amp dont have efx loop so the tone will go haywire so
im left with putting the input of my amp so as to make the tone at home and jamming similiar..

SO, if i play through the monitor speakers, it will be the same if i plug in through the DI? Cos i don't want to retweak again when i
jam..

 

[izwei]

Thanks for all the info. I also feel like getting the KS40A, is it quality good although I cannot expect something much from a $100 studio monitors. I can use it for mixing purposes also. Any other recommends?

To theunknown: I believe the tone will be sound around the same depending of the studio monitor and the speakers frequency response, sound system tuning u connected through DI. Both eq should be flat anyway, I'm not 100% sure.

 

[theunknown]

going jamming on wed! maybe i'll try.

i have 3 choices.

amp input both at home and jamming = not so nice tone, not so pure tone of the podhd

amp efx return at home = jamming amps may not have efx loop and cant confirm the same tone

monitor speakers vs DI at jamming = thats what i wanna know!

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

SO, if i play through the monitor speakers, it will be the same if i plug in through the DI? Cos i don't want to retweak again when i jam..

yup that's the whole idea. i've been doing that since 4 yars ago when the pod x3 live came out and i've been getting pretty good results except for a few jamming studios where the pa system was a total let down.

 

[theunknown]

ME GUSTA!

so u go 1/4" or xlr out?

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

1/4" is as good as xlr out if the runs are less than 10 meters. I prefer the 1/4" out on the pod hd as it sums both channels if you only plug one cable in. the xlr remains true stereo whether or not you plug one or two in, which might be a problem if you have a stereo signal chain. if we're talking about big stages with long cable runs, you'd most probably want to go xlr out, or 1/4" into a DI box on stage.