I agree boosting the bass and treble and cutting the mids will help also I would get an overdrive pedal in addition to your pod. Try the "crunch" setting on the pod. Unfortunatley you will probally need more gear to get that Malmsteen sound. All the guys you referenced are pro's with endless pockets of cash that are probally constantly furthering their tone with new and high tech gear. I would suggest sticking to analog pedals they sound so much better than the digital proponents.