Line 6 Pod HD MIDI

The Pod HD can function well as a MIDI controller, with very flexible assignment of its footswitches and expression pedal. It can also receive MIDI to do anything you can do via its footswitches or expression pedal.

For more about MIDI, see the MIDI page.

Contents

System Menu

The system menu allows you to set a few global options:

  • MIDI Channel - this determines which MIDI channel the Pod will respond to, as well as the one used to send bank select and PC changes. (Footswitches used for CC's and Exp-1/2 can be assigned to different MIDI channels per footswitch.)
  • Out/Thru - determines if the pod will simply output MIDI messages originating in the Pod (out) or it will output original messages plus pass through messages sent into it (out/thru)

Controlling the Pod via MIDI

CC # Value Function
Pedal & Footswitch Assignments
001 0 - 127 EXP-1 Pedal Assignment
002 0 - 127 EXP-2 Pedal Assignment
051 0 - 127 Toggles FS1 Assignment On/Off
052 0 - 127 Toggles FS2 Assignment On/Off
053 0 - 127 Toggles FS3 Assignment On/Off
054 0 - 127 Toggles FS4 Assignment On/Off
055 0 - 127 Toggles FS5 Assignment On/Off
056 0 - 127 Toggles FS6 Assignment On/Off
057 0 - 127 Toggles FS7 Assignment On/Off
058 0 - 127 Toggles FS8 Assignment On/Off
059 0 - 127 Toggles EXP Toe Switch Assignment On/Off
Looper Controls
060 0-63 = Overdub, 64-127 = Record Looper Record/Overdub Switch
061 0-63 = Stop, 64-127 = Play Looper Play/Stop Switch
062 64-127 = Play Once Looper Play Once Switch
063 64-127 = Undo Looper Undo Switch
065 0-63 = Forward 64-127 = Reverse Looper Forward/Reverse Switch
067 0-63 = Pre 64-127 = Post Looper Pre/Post Position Switch
068 0-63 = Full 64-127 = Half Looper Full/Half Speed Switch
099 0-63 = Off 64-127 = On Looper Mode On/Off
Additional Controls
064 64-127 = Tap Tap Tempo - Enter Tap Tempo
069 0-63 = Off 64-127 = On Tuner Mode On/Off

Sending Bank Select and Program Change

Changing the setlist via the knob on the unit will trigger a bank select message (MIDI CC 0 + MIDI CC 32). MIDI CC 0 will always send 0 while CC 32 sends the setlist number -1 (0 for setlist 1, 1 for setlist 2).

Changing patches in the Pod either via the d-pad or the footswitches will trigger a program change message (0 - 64 are sequenced from 1A to 16D (1A = 0, 1B = 1, 1C = 2 ... 16C = 63, 16D = 64)).

Footswitch Options

Footswitches FS1 - FS8, Tap, Bank Up/Down, Looper, and Exp Toe can all be set individually to different MIDI functions per patch (FS5 - FS8 are only configurable this way if setup in pedalboard mode in the system menu - ie, they do not change patches unless you first press bank up/down). Each switch can be assigned not only a function (and associated values) but also a MIDI channel number, so you can set different switches to control different devices (select "base" to use the global MIDI channel specified in the system menu).

Footswitches can be assigned to one of five different MIDI functions:

  • CC Toggle - Send CC value 127 when tapped on, CC value 0 when tapped off to the specified CC #
  • CC - Send the CC value specified to the CC # specified when tapped
  • Bank Select - Change to the specified bank # 0-127
  • PC - Change to the specified Program Change # 0-127
  • Note On - Sends a MIDI Note On; can control the note value and velocity

Looper Mode

While the Looper is engaged, the footswitches behave differently. These are global settings that cannot be configured and will be transmitted over the MIDI channel specified in the system menu:

Footswitch MIDI CC # Value
FS1 (Undo) 063 127
FS2 (Play Once) 062 127
FS3 (Pre/Post) 067 Toggle: Pre = 0-63, Post = 64-127
FS5 (Rec/Overdub) 060 Toggle: Overdub = 0-63, Record = 64-127
FS6 (Play/Stop) 061 Toggle: Stop= 0-63, Play = 64-127
FS7 (1/2 Speed) 068 Toggle: Full = 0-63, Half = 64-127
FS8 (Reverse) 065 Toggle: Forward = 0-63, Reverse = 64-1

Expression Pedals

Exp 1 and 2 (whether an external pedal or the onboard pedal) can be used to control a specified CC # for a specified MIDI channel. You can additionally set the min/max values, so rather than heel to toe sending values of 0-127, you could set it to 64-127, etc. This would be good for instance if you want to use the pedal to go from rhythm volume to solo boosted volume.