When creating a dorm studio, you can only go as far as your software. Without a relative mastery of your programs, creating quality recordings can be very difficult. As I mentioned last week, my recording setup is driven by a small handful of computer applications, none more important than the one I will discuss this week: POD Farm from Line 6.

Before I get started on the actual software, I want to quickly go over the external interface that interacts with POD Farm. There are many Line 6 interfaces for sale that all work with POD Farm, ranging in both price and utility. I have found the POD Studio UX2 to be the most practical for my situation as the other models are either too large to fit in my designated area, or too small where the input and output specifications are not quite complementary to my equipment. One quick example of this is the lack of a “phantom power” toggle switch on the UX1 that is present on the UX2 that essentially powers my RØDE condenser microphone and allows it to record a signal. Anyway, as I said, there are many options to choose from in terms of your external interface, but it is up to you to pick the one best suited to your musical and creative specifications. For the sake of consistency, I will refer to the UX2 throughout the series when it is needed, but most of this information will be applicable to the smaller (or larger) equipment as well.

As I mentioned, the one universal component that all of these interfaces have in common is the POD Farm software. This excellent application allows any artist, in particular the dorm musician, to access a plentitude of sounds and tones that are fully customizable, just as if you were playing your guitar or bass (or singing) through an actual external effects system. When you first open the program, a window opens like the one here. On the first tab, called Gear View, you can scroll through various amp and cabinet models, as well as a plethora of distortion, dynamic, tremolo, and delay pedals, all based on actual existing models. You can either use these various models to customize your own sound, or choose from a very long list of preset sounds that are all based on well-known artist tones, songs, or typical genre and industry standards. Regardless of whether you choose the preset or custom approach, the second tab, Panel View, will definitely come in handy. On the second tab are where the actual amp control knobs are located for your virtual setup. This allows you to fully customize your sound so it sounds just how you want it. There is also a tuner available on the Show/Hide Tuner tab so that you can always make sure you’re tuned up before you start recording.

On the surface, POD Farm is very easy to use. However, some of the tricks of the trade are not so evident. One very important setting that I always make sure is set is on the fourth tab, Mixer View. On this tab you can select which external input’s signal running through the POD that you want POD Farm to process. The key here is to make sure that above the Send Mixers that the drop down menu is changed to “REC: Dry Input.” With this setting marked, POD Farm will send a dry signal to the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) while you hear a processed sound with effects. The significance of this is that once you have recorded all of your tracks and are ready to mix them together, it is much easier to manage an unprocessed signal because you can then go back and edit any levels or other settings on all the effects you want to use without rerecording the tracks.

Being familiar with POD Farm’s interface is very critical to the recording process. As I will explain next week when I begin talking about Reaper and using a DAW, many of the post-record editing of tracks will involve applying various effects to tracks, and many of these effect will come from POD Farm. More on this next time, thanks for reading!