OK, I've been looking for a more stripped down and price-effective solution for grab-n-go gigs, practicing alone or with others, and just having a lot of fun without having to haul tons of gear around. So... I bought that new Line 6 PODxt Live (the floorboard and POD combined in one unit).

I played it for about an hour in the store thru a PA, and figured I could just take it home and return it if it doesn't work out, but I don't think I'll be taking it back after all. There are some really good tones in this thing, and I'm as much a tube amp advocate as there is. Obviously the uniqueness and power of my full rig can't be duplicated with this piece, but I honestly wouldn't be embarrassed to take this along to a smaller show or to band practice.

I like how I can share patches for this online and download others' settings. One thing that is really apparent is how much Line 6 has refined some of these tones. Most amp models sound better than I remember previous versions of the POD sounding. Color me impressed.

We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast of gear whoredom.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gazeglow,

I had gotten a GT-6 (before embarking on my pedal odyssey this year) and a lot of the modulation and time based effects were pretty good, but I wound up needing to use the effects loop so I could use my tube screamer etc. The amp simulations and overdrives just didn't cut it. The POD2 I have sounds decent into my stereo.

I'm intrigued by the idea of a reasonably good grab and go solution as well. So I'm wondering, how are the overdrive tones in the PODXT Live? I'm pretty picky about tones these days (like everybody on this site) Does it get anywhere close to MJM Blues Devil, Menatone, Mosferatu, COT50, etc. territory? And how's the Uni-vibe sound?

I did a gig with an opening band a few weeks ago and the guitarist had a line 6 amp and was squeezing some good tones from it. I'm sure theres plenty of bad tones to be had but theres also good ones in there.

oh, don't get me wrong... there are still PLENTY of bad tones in there! the main thing i noticed is how much better the "okay" ones are. the great thing is that it is possible to tweak these sounds in a lot of great ways on a lot of different levels to get close to your desired tone...

IMO, the OD and distortion stompbox modeling is and has always been a pretty weak part of the POD. don't expect any boutique tones here - just half-assed approximations of old classics like TS808, big muff pi, fuzzface, and distortion+. i think the POD's strengths are in its amp modeling (with all the cab and mic options) and delays.

i'm not an experienced "viber" so i can't really comment on the vibe sounds of the POD. i just don't tend to use that effect.

one of the guitarists in a band i'm currently recording just went the POD XT route for personal tracking and songwriting. but, the damn thing sounds so good on some stuff we used it instead of, and with, his guitar rig.

he also bought one of the new Atomic Reactor 1x12 (Harry Kolbe designed) tube amps. this has the cutout for the POD to sit in on the top of the amp, and the amp is built to amplify the POD without introducing it's own eq or other coloring onto the POD sound. i was a bit dubious, but damn, it sounds really good too. nice warm, full tube sound, but with all the great POD models.

i don't usually like modeling equipment, but you can get some really great stuff from the POD, and with the Atomic as a "vehicle," it really comes alive.

jonc

I'm aware of a couple other things sort of similar to the Kolbe Atomic. http://www.g-audio.net/pages/products/mi_products/shock24/shock24.html is one product by this particular company & from this site, the Power Engine found at the bottom of this page http://www.musictoyz.com/guitar/pedals/tech21.php#amps

I've had a POD(first version) for a long time, mostly for headphone practice and travel, but I used it once on a gig and someone actually complimented me on my tone, said I sounded "exactly like Santana"... well I didn't, but the point is that it sounds good enough to the audience(non-guitarists especially) that I don't mind using it live if I have to. When I bought it I was impressed that it did sound significantly better than other digital fx I'd used prior, but I haven't compared it any other since, I wonder if they've gotten better... I know it'll never be my main rig but it is a light, cheap, versatile back-up. I like the idea of the POD being on the floor, I'll have to check that one out.

it ain't blasphemy man. i'm actually thinking about integrating a pod xt live into my rig. i may just run it through a loooper, and then straight into my amp. it has options to compensate the eq for that. that way i won't have to drop a grand on all of the effects i want, and i'll have way more options at my fingertips (well, feet...tips). the whole tone thing is really weird anyway.

for instance: today my band practiced in a new place. we were setting up for a show tomorrow night, and had a while to jam, so we went down into where the crowd would be to hear how it would sound. well, it sounded awful. all of our settings were set the way we like them, and on the stage it sounded great. once we got down on the ground, my rig sounded fizzy and harsh, and the other guitarists sounded boomy and mushy. the bass was thin and the only part of the drumset that was cutting through were the cymbals. after spending all of that time and money on our gear, we sounded like crap, and we didn't even know it. it may just have been the layout of the room (we were in a corner), or the stage that we were on (it was cheap plywood), i have no idea. all i know is, you wouldn't have known how nice our stuff is. now, if i had been running a pod into the p.a., it could have been what i expected, but it wouldn't have sounded as good in other situations. it's a tearing issue, and i haven't got an answer for it. i am going to post a thread for advice on how to change our tones so we don't sound like crap tomorrow night though.

i've never owned a plexi, ac30, hiwatt, bassman, twin reverb, or deluxe reverb, but to my ears these are some of the best sounding amp models out of the box. even if they don't nail the EXACT tones of those amps (what could?), they still sound great, and like avengerjimmy wrote, everything changes anyway once the PA becomes a factor in a performance. at the moment, i'm quite into the variac plexi model, it's just so nasty.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gazeglow,

I can't believe it, but I'm thinking of finally going POD too. Now that the new XT software has come out, pretty much everyone is agreeing that it's pretty good. I've spent a ton of money on choice amps and pedals, but it's just such a pain to lug the stuff around. And for home recording, home jams and home practice, I always have to worry about volume issues. I mean, I do crank it, but there's always this nagging worry about the neighbors in the back of my mind, even though they don't complain.

I feel like I've got a good enough handle on my gear and tone now that I no longer feel so restricted to being a tube/analogue purist. I'm ready to take the plunge. I already dipped my toe in the waters by buying a Korg Pandora PX-4B for my bass. It's only wetted my appettite for more and better. My wife and I are going to do a little weekend get away, and I'm going to bring the PX-4B and have something to play on -- I'm really looking forward to it.

It's only a matter of time before these kinds of effects demolish say a company like DOD or BOSS/ROLAND entirely as far as their pedal lines go, in my opinion it has already happened we just haven't seen it integrate down like cheapo ibanez and squire guitars to everyone who's only getting their feet wet into playing music yet

...the thing that I'm going to say on the record is that these simulations can't beat the real thing...I should know because I spent seventeen months making a record on TDM protools with sound replaced drums and *GASP* amp farmed direct lined guitar tones through a summit preamp.

Now I'm currently sueing my old record label...and that afformentioned record will never come out. *though if you guys ask nicely I will leak the whole thing for free somewhere and link it back to here sometime later this month.

In the aftermath of being a should-would-coulda indie band...I find myself really liking the new live versions of every song we've rerecorded for our new album that will finally come out wihout a crazy bad deal holding everything up.

I'm not going to complain about the music industry...it's messed up enough that all of you probably know it's a tough world out there. What I am going to say is that I'm a guy who writes songs, and I'm getting to the point where I can almost do it for a living without having to worry about my day job...I know that it's not just a good tune, it's how it was performed....and people notice things when they're spliced up on a computer...I think this portable and easy to use technology is great, IF IT'S NOT ABUSED BY PRODUCERS TRYING TO CASH OUT...we need far more bands that can actually play what they record to tape or whatever correctly in a live environmet than we need people who know how to splice up a guitar solo into 24 measures that can't be replicated live.

Just my two cents.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cary:
In the aftermath of being a should-would-coulda indie band...

---

Good post. As I'm also fresh out of a coulda-woulda indie band with an unfinished record. I'd just throw in that a lot can depend on the engineer. You can drag in the best gear in the world, and if your gear/sound doesn't agree with how they do things (mic'ing etc), and they aren't open to new ideas, it still won't sound good right. So while it's the tools, it's also the people (musicians, producers, engineers) that combine to make or break a record.

When you consider you can get a Pod XT for $300 (and alot of us here have spent the same or more on a single pedal) you get something that's good for late night practice, something that will help develop your ear when you don't have easy access to the real thing that can eventually guide you in picking up one of the real things - hey, this plexi sounds pretty good but I hate that Mesa 3X Rectifier sound - and with the new Guitar Port integration you have access to a bunch of lessons, backing tracks, etc (for $8/month), it's easy to pick up and run with, and could save your ass in a pinch.

I'd say it's well worth the price considering all that even if you only ever use it for practice and demo tracks to work out a song.

I'm not going to get rid of my tube amps and in fact am reading more and more to build more of my own (recently finished a 5E3 kit).

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

I'll be picking one up this weekend or early next week.

I bought an xt right before the floorboard version was anounced, wish I had known.

The sounds on this thru phones are great imo. I suspect it would do just fine live given the right amplification.

I could see using a couple tech21 power engines and the floorboard if I was in a cover band. That would be a versatile rig, maybe better than a fender clean amp with good pedals.

I agree with the above statement on the models of the variac plexi, deluxe reverb etc...

I am about to buy a Vox Tonelab SE for my church as a "house" amp. I'll still probably bring my rig in occasionally, but the Tonelab will be great as a backup and to use for anyone who doesn't have good gear (if any of you do the church thing you know what I mean . . . lots of cheap amps and BAD tone out there).

If you have a good monitor system (especially if you have IEM's ) and a good house setup then a modeling setup is fantastic. The only thing that keeps me from taking the plunge completely is that I like the interaction with my amp. I just can't seem to get that "feel" out of a monitor.

Couldn't agree with you more morgan...you're from philly?! Are you jammming with anyone new yet post breakup?! because we're all from NJ and we're looking for a new guitarist...*cough.*

I test drove a Tone Core Space Chorus yesterday (reviewed on another thread). But I tested it through a Flextone III and while I still had a few reservations about some of what I was hearing, I was pretty impressed with MUCH of what was coming out of that thing. After the Space Chorus test was over, I continued messing with the amp for a while longer and found some good tones in there. Good enough, in fact, that I have a renewed interest in checking the modelling options out a bit further. Scott Peterson did a very nice and thorough review of the POD xt live floor unit and the comparable Vox floor model. The POD XT won in almost every category (from Scott's perspective). And a couple of years ago I went to see Johnny Neel doing a show at a local club and the opening act was a local blues band. I was sitting with some of my guitar buddies in the back of the room but the blues band lead player was getting some great tones so I made way up to the front to see what he had going on. You guessed it - a Line 6 Flextone amp (first generation). These things are capable of getting some serious tones, you just need the right setup (like anything else) and the time to dial them in. The presets typically suck so you have to move away from those.

I have long been a critic of modelling technology. But I have also admitted that the minute they finally get it "right", the following minute would see me switching over as fast as I could. They are getting closer and closer and as Cerebralpaul said above, in a live situation it's close enough for the audience. I am giving some serious thought to picking something up and giving it a fair shot. I have to admit that I am getting pretty tired of the pedals/amp game at this point and the idea of pugging into an amp and using a controller is pretty damn appealing. It sure would solve alot of other problems with my live rig....

Brian, do you know where I could find a copy of that Scott Peterson comparison of the Podxt live and the Vox Tonelab se?

Soundhound: Yes. Scott's writeup is on the Gearpage and is quite detailed.

yeah but Tone Dog you'll always use a few pedals, they'll NEVER make a modelled digital overdrive or clean boost that will cover boutique units...and that's a personal preference kind of thing, your Oxygen Compressor is a specifically designed for guitar unit that is hand built...I doubt they will ever make a digital compression option in a rackspace or a pod style unit that will taylor itself to again..a boutique style preference.

As for like mass marketed and tried and tested sounds....yeah I'm betting they'll eventually get a lot of stuff right and digital will be the way to go just because it will be more flexible and sound just as good.