[JoeWagon]

I think everyone will tell you that you are too vague to diagnose anything particular.. so all I can tell you is that a tick is the valvetrain (my lifters tick when i start cold for about 5 minutes) and if it's something like a rod, you will be able to tell or ask any semi-knowledgable technician.
The difference between the two is night and day, which one of those is it?

Unless I missed some crucial information, there is no way to really tell what your particular noise is, you can locate it to a general area maybe.. but only a mechanic looking at it can tell you exactly what it is.