Line 6 Bass Pod

I am a guitar player and use a Johnson Millenium amplifier. That unit has very easy and intuitive control over parameters. You can save your presets, and recall them at any time and see ALL of you parameters.

I bought the Bass POD to extend the range of voices for my bass work in my home studio. The Bass POD interface doesn't cut it. What was my EQ settings on preset "5b"? Why can't I name my presets? What cabinet did I use? Let me change the cabinet now... how did that work again? Wait, is there a difference in sound?

Interface just sucks. Pure and simple.

OK, I bitched about the interface... and that is a situation I would have lived with had the tones been there. After all, it's all about the tones, right?

Well, I kept my BASS Pod almost a month. I tried and tried to get a good tone out of it. My bass is an Alembic, and I got great sounds out of it using my BP-8. What's going on here?

I tried all teh different amps, played with the "Drive" setting, compressors, and cabinets settings, but I always, and I mean ALWAYS! got a fuzzy breakup on the low "E" string. And it was a gritty noise too, not at all pleasant. I don't know how some of the other reviewers on this string got "fantastic" tone out of this thing... either they are tone-deaf, or I am an idiot, because this thing just sounds VERY sub-par. What an immense dissapointment.

So, even if I'm an idiot, I traded this POS back in (the rack-mount version is $600.... why is it 2x the Pod version?) and got a Johnson J-Station... which is almost a redundant module to my Millenium. However, the three bass amp models on the J-Station sound MUCH MUCH better than the POD. MUCH!

Didin't keep this POS long enough to establish a reliability opinion.

N/A

I give this thing a three. I should give it a "1", but I'm feeling generous today. Here's how I would improve it:

1.) DigiTech buys Line 6
2.) DigiTech throws away the schematics and firmware for the Bass POD!
3.) Johnson comes in, models 20 different bass amps correctly. Use the Millenium interface for chossing amp models and effects. Allow for 100 user presets, with teh ability to assign names.

Well, before I owned the basspod, I already had the POD2 (I am playing the stick, so I need 2 different kinds of amplification) and I have to tell that Easy to use should be printed in gold over the line6 models.
Getting started is no problem since the manual (sometimes hilarious)is crystal clear; I know that some people don't get acustomed to the emagic soft.though u don't need to be a computer engineer to use it.
Finally, getting a good sound out of it is no pain in the ... since the presets are gorgeous (sometimes a little bit over the top) and thanks to the user library (on line6.com) you can get a good basic sound where you can start from.The criteria described above applies both to the BASSPOD and POD2.The only "setback" is that fumbling through the different amp models without the soft is not that easy.hence I won't give a ten.

I used to swear that Marshall were the best amps for guitar and trace elliot the best bass amps (T.Levin).
My stick being a stereo instrument, I had to have a versatile sound system (that gives me a maximum choice of sounds).
Thanks to the bass pod, I have finally found the sounds I was looking for (I used to play a custom hand made 6 strings bass with a trace elliot and was quite disappointed by the coldnest of the overall sound): warm, well-defined, plenty of parameters that help you to customize your sound.
I only regret that there is no reverb (instead of that non-sense synth -bass..beurk! they should have tried to emulate a moog taurus pedal sound instead).
The other effects are quite good (the chorus especially)and once again easy to use.Too bad you can't link more than 3 in a row.

Is it necessary to remind my fellow musicians that you have to use the BASSPOD with a PA or a full range keyboard amp.?

Cos if you don't, there is no doubt that you 'll be tempted to throw the device in the trash bin...regardless of the price you paid for it.

it seems to be armoured against the worst contengencies

so far so good; their site is very helpfull. and since I only have the BASSPOD for a month,I did not experince any problems..yet.

I am playing prog rock (Dream Theater oriented) mixing dance, hiphop sounds; I am a guitar player (playing on custom made fretless) and a bass player (STICK); You already guessed that I'm a schizophrenic musician so I have to have the best of both worlds.
The BAsspod has fulfilled my desires to get a more than decent bass sound; of course, don't expect a miracle from this unit: it won't turn your 300$ bass into a 3000$ one; My tap guitar (12strings) is made out of the finest exotic woods (bird eye maple- padouk-asian , ebony), so even on a "regular" mixer, without anything, it souds great; let just say that the BASS POD enhances the inherent qualities of you instrument

When I got my Bass POD home I first tried it through my Hartke 5000 head thru 2 4x10's. I set the EQ flat and set the solid state preamp on half, not using the tube preamp on at all. Using Hartke cabs is great because they are very crystal so the tones of the Bass POD really come through well. I used two very differnt basses. My old 72' Fender P-Bass and a Tobias Toby-Pro 6-string. I used the same basses when recording also.

I used the P-Bass with the retro amp models and cabs to start off. I played the Sunn Colliseum amp with the 8028 1x18+1x12 cab. Instantly I got the classic sounds of John Entwhistle. I had so much fun just playing with this setting. I mixed the cabs with a Fender Bassman cab and even a SWR Goliath and the tones were still very good. Then I went nuts (after playing with the retro settings for almost 5 hours!) by using my Tobias bass with the Mesa Boogie, Ampeg and SWR models. Using the complimentary cab models I was truly blown away! I have previously owned a Mesa Boogie Bass +400 and I could not tell the difference. Made me wonder why I should the rig in the first place! The Ampeg SVT-1 and SWR SM-400 models were equally authentic and a pleasure to hear.

The unit in general is very noise free no matter if I put on some slap or gentle chord playing. All the amps, cabs and FX worked very well no matter what sort of concoction I was plundering with. I used the same settings with some minor tweaks here and there through my Mackie mixing desk into a pair of Alesis Momitors and the sound was great, if not better. The true colours are definately shine through when hooked up for studio use.

For the past year or so, I have seen many guitar players (including my own!) buy and use the now illustrious and indespensible Line6 Guitar POD v.1.0/2.0. Being a guitar player as well as a bass player myself I have found no better amp and fx simulator on the market as of yet. So impressed was I by the constant flow of rich, mind blowing guitar tones coming from my guitar player I also bought a Guitar POD for my home recordings. The ease of use for both live and studio is childs play. Dare I say, if the guys at the Line6 labs took one of these things into a Zoo and let the apes fiddle with it we would find a guitar tone virtuoso!

The Bass POD was under a lot of scrutiny on my part. Being more favorable towards the Bass as an instrument, I put the unit under the microscope in some what could be unfair comparison against the Guitar POD. But I bought ths Bass POD without even testing it at the store. I thought my analysis could be concluded better at home, with my own amps and basses and studio equipment. Bit of a gamble, but I thought the Line6 name would give me the pay off as it has done with my Guitar POD.

The technical features presented are identical to the Guitar POD. 36 programable and editable patches, 16 amp models (including tube preamp bypass), 15 cab models and 16 fx models, input/output jacks, D.I. output port, MIDI in/out ports (more on that later!), direct out/A.I.R mode switch (more on that later too!), footswitch port. Almost all of the EQ controls have been maintained - Drive, Bass, Treble etc..., but the "Input Level" control has been compensated for a "Compress" control. Headphone port inculded for silent use. All of this held inside a kidney shaped die-cast metal shell! Powered by a 9v power supply provided with the unit.

This unit uses the same Line6 patented 'Tubetone' tube emulation software as the Guitar POD. This enables the bass player experiment with solide state and transitor retro and modern amps and cabs with accurate results. Famous names include SWR, Mesa Boogie, Ampeg, Vox, Eden, Marshall, Fender, Gallien Krueger, Versatone, Acoustic and Polytone. Enough amps to last any bass player to his grave and without the expense! But I am a tad dissapointed not to see other names such as Trace Elliott, Hartke and Ashdown there. I expected at least one of these name to be there, although there is a Hartke cab model, but seems a little pointless without the Hartke head model. Also, there seems to be a misbalance of retro and modern amps. Though it is great to have a realistic emulation of amps such as the Vox-100 not many bass players would really use these model types unless they were in a caberet or covers band. Heck, even the great Paul McCartney has ditched his Vox-100 for a Mesa Boogie rig! It could be possible that the guys at Line6 took a nostalgic approach to the Bass POD, great, but not needed in some cases.

As far as the cab models, this is where the fun starts to happen! the 15 cab models give you 6 15" cabs, 3 18" cabs, 4 10" cabs and 12" cabs. You can combine any amp with any cab thus creating your dream rig! There is a good selction of closed back and open back models, but I could only hear the noticible changes when I put my Bass POD through a desk the into a pair of stereo monitors. Unless you are a coniseur as far as cabs are concerned, you could loose the plot a little here.

I was please to see some very useful FX on the Bass POD. Lets face it, there is not a lot of good FX out there for a bass and a lot of previous bass FX units has fallen down in this area. But the Bass POD really shines. I was glad to see some of the pedals that I use currently too such as the ProCo RAT, Big Muff and Boss OC-2. Pedals I have used for yrs...and guess what? There is very little difference to the real thing! Not that I can hear. All the pedals emulated on the Bass POD have the same EQ and other tweaking capabilities as the real McCoy. There are some o

I have yet to use the unit in a live situation as I am curently working as a guitar player for a solo artist. I use the Guitar POD i have all the time and it has not let me down yet. I trust the Bass POD will be the same.

The customer service and technical support for any Line6 product is second to none. I have not personally use their services, but my tech clumsey guitarist has emailed them on several occasions and hae always fixed his problems in no time.

I have used, abused and shit-canned a lot of bass equipment over the years, but this unit will stay with my for life. I have never, and probably will ever, heard a product like this. Its flexibilty and mind blowing tone quality is truly masterpiece. I am just pissed off that i have spent the past 10 years spending thousands on gear that I could have got in this very simple package.

The lack of other well known and used amps such as Trace Elliott is a bit shamefull, but this fact is quickly over shadowed when you play with one of these for a couple of hours. You would be insane not to go to your local guitar store and bring back home a Bass POD....period!!!

just to start off, i do alot of studio work with alot of well known artist in the music industry and i have to say that i have played and tried just about everything that has been made for bass guitar and what i have found is this... less is more. i use only three effects i never use chorus pedels i just have never liked them. i use an envelope filter an octave pedal and a sans amp bas driver di, thats it. i play all music man basses and use swr 900 amps and goliath senior cabs..... i tried the bass pod and found it to be completly dissapionting to the piont that i asked line 6 to release me from my endorsment contrct because i could not endorse a product that i didnt beleave in.... any way to make this short keep it simple. the san amp bass driver di is awesome for recording... and the cost is around $150.00 to $175.00. if you have'nt checked it out do so..........

This is a follow-up to my previous review, since I feel like I didn't address a major issue and may have given a lopsided and misleading impression of the Pod's capabilities. The issue is live vs. digital recording applications. My praise of the Pod is centered around it's uncanny versatility and musicality *in the recording sphere*, particualarly in the company of other bass direct-recording resources. I've experienced sizeable frustration in the past with D.I. for bass, finding even a good, well voiced bass preamp can sound murky and undynamic going straight into a board. My experience so far has made me feel that, with the help of some good warm tube preamping, the Bass Pod works wonders at getting over this hurdle and laying down a direct bass track with much of the punch, warmth, and definition, as well as the substantial low end, of a good mic'ed bass rig.

That said, I have to stress that I have mooney eyes for this product mostly just as it fits into this troubling and limited area of music making. In that context it is unique and amazing. However, I can't necessarily support the promotional claims made about the live applications of the Bass Pod. I think if you have experience with high quality bass rigs, particularly with some of the fine old vintage pieces represented on the Bass Pod, you are likely to be disappointed with it as a tool for live applications. Remember this piece is not only not analog, it's not even an amplifier---it's more like a very subtle and complex "sketch" of one executed solely within the realm of software. I think people who are taken aback at how far short of their actual SVT or Eden heads and cabs, etc., the Pod falls are not being fair. This is obviously partly the fault of the advertising blitz, but come on, what else do you expect? Every manufacturer known to man hypes it's products, particularly innovative ones, from here to Pokatella and back (some may remember the ads for the Tech 21 XXL distortion pedal, which was promoted as going from "Highway to Hell to Bohemian Rapshody at the twist of a knob" Mmmmhhhmmmm....). I think, hype or no hype, all one has to do is look seriously at what kind of technology this is, even if you haven't heard it, and intuitively it's not hard to understand that this thing has too many "virtual strikes" against it to be expected to measure up to real'69 Marshall Major bass amps or SWR Goliath cabinets. But if it is only intended for use in the virtual world, then we're going to get somewhere.

At any rate, I would strongly suggest looking at this unit *not* as a bass preamp or effect unit for use with an actual bass amp in a live setting, but rather always as a "virtual amp/cabinet" box which is to be fed into a hi-fi (p.a.) system to faithfully translate it's output into high volume applications, and not to add anything of its own. The Pod loves a good clean tube preamp in front of it, but other than that, it really wants a transparent sound reinforcement system with soild bass response to make it useful for live applications.

because each knob serves more than one purpose, it is very confusing to recreate settings.the postion of the knob also does not give visual indication of the knobs actual setting. the software crashed my computer, and the cable for the computer was another 20 bucks.it did not handshake with my pod so i finally gave up.
so until i can utilise the patch transfer capabilities i don't want to waste time creating new patches and delete factory ones.the manual seems to have been written for a child. not that it is particularly clear or organised, just a juvenile writing style. the web site is just lot more of the same spin.my pod didn't come with a cd, explained in the literature as an enhancement, because then you're sure you got the latest revisions off the web. that's a lot of crap. i have not seen any updates in the bass pod library yet.there ain't any patches at all for the pod that i've noticed on the website.about half the patches were put together at the last minute, and don't use all possible knobs. there is no 'mix' switch or fader, so you cannot bypass.the bass synth effect is so overwhelming that it's pretty much unusable in my band, they told me to lose the pod, but screw them this thing cost me a few hundred.
there is ostensibly a control which allows the user to keep the effect processing above a certain frequency if you want to keep your bottom tight, but it is not that apparent nor useful to my ears.
there is a 'send efx to output' button which lights up and everything, and is supposed to give you a choice between dry or wet, but it has no control over whether the effects are on or off on my pod. they remain on.
the controls do not all work as described in the manual either. this is supposed to be a direct box and a preamp, but unless i put the pod in an effects loop, neither of my basses could get the tron effects to gate consistantly, or the synth either.
but when used in the effects loop of my sc-40, the trons at least gated consistantly, and the pods low output at full on stopped being a problem since there is plenty of gain available in my instrument preamp. getting sound out of the pod is very easy, just getting good sound is tough.although this is ostensibly a modeling unit, don't expect it to make a poor sounding amp or speakers better. it can be used to enhance a crappy amp if you work at it, but only in a very limited number of settings, forget using all the effects.it was remarked in another review that since pod will only 'do one effect at a time, you still need outboard effects if you're that kind of player. and this is true, and besides, the onboard effects are no match for my ebs octave, my dunlop bass wha, and my old all-test-devices theta phaser. although the on board phasing sounds are pretty good, there is little ability to control parameters. a call to line6 tech support yielded the explanation that if one of the effects sounded crappy, it is because the effect which was modeled sounded crappy. this is the kind of dreamlike spin i feel surrounds this product. i love the concept of dsp, especially for bass, but this thing does not deliver adequately as far as i'm concerned.it is as far as i can determine, essentially a one of kind in many respects, nothing else out there now has a ambitious a feature set or controls, and pod is way better than this lesser competition, but does not reach its own potential or line6's stated mission, and up until this point,the tech support has been real bad compared to other musical manufacturers, as certainly weker than competant computer tech support available if you look for it and demand it. so bass pod is an underachiever with dim prospect of improvement. i gave up waiting for the bracket, so i designed my own, only for mounting on a mike stand where you can tweak pod without turning you back on the audience, or show your crack if you are dumb enough to park it on the floor next to your other door stops. if i get a mo bass or an aquilar, i'll probably

i use a schector 5 string (a j-bass style with superb passive pickups) and a ibanez fiver with active emg p/us and eq.
i go through my ashley sc40 preamp because the bass pod can't cut it without preamplification. the choruses are pretty good, but the rest of the effects suk, and cannot be mixed or adjusted with same degree of control avaialable on a similar discrete effects unit. how anyone can predict how a modeling effect will sound without knowing what form of amplifier the musician will use baffles me. most guitarists, and many bassists, rely on the interaction between the instrument the pre-amp/amp and the speakers for their tone.with effort you can use the bass pod to find the sweet spot and get your speaker cab to ring. i never go thru a house PA, and do not think this is that great as a d.i.box. i saw blue oyster cult two weeks ago, and they had pods on stage, but not using them.
when i get the pod set up in a room so it cuts, i stay with that setting the whole night because if i go to a different channel i can't go back and tweak for 20 minutes while the band stands there.
when used in the effects loop, it is easy to overdrive the pod, and then it sounds bad. also having a little eq after pod is necessary to avoid the brittle digital sound. once all settings are ok, then it is clear and well defined sound, the eq doesn't seem to be able to create as dramatic an effect on the signal as one would expect based on what is theoretically being swept and boosted. the zippering effect and the popcorn noise are not as bad as the manual warns, the pod has more serious defects than these things which makes me think it is put in the manual as a distraction.
i seem to go back to the svt model most.

my pod only crshed once, and was easily reset. i think it is solid and reliable as far as that goes; it will power up and function everytime. it is also well made, although i have not popped the top in case i decide to go back to mars music and bitch until they give me a refund

i think tech e support is spaced out and running on empty. the website is just ads for newer and more expensive products, and a portal to promote their endorsers. the software suks, and the company who makes it are aliens and alienating.

pod is in a class by itself, so comparisons do not present a clear picture. i am not a computer geek, so some of the magic and novelty of the unit are lost on me. i am a gear head, and this piece only has one foot in the winners circle. if it is purchased on the stengths of the line 6 hype, i got to belive there are a lot of other disappointed bass pod owners out there who feel stupid because they don't love their pod like everyone else on the lune6 site says they do.

This is a mixed bag because, on the one hand, the practically nonexistent readout and shared knob space make the manual an everpresent companion until you've really had a number of hours on this thing and can remember what's what. There are 16 distinct amplifiers modeled, but each can use one of 15 cabinets, and one of 15 effects. There's an eq section (bass, mid, treble), but in an alternate mode the same knobs become a parametric mid. It gets confusing because when you enter a certain mode and make an adjustment, then change modes, the previous adjustments stay and are then added on to, so you have to keep track of what you've done, either in your head or on paper, unless you constantly have it hooked up to a computer with the Sounddriver CD, then everything is comprehensively displayed. There's also only one knob, called "effect tweak" on the Pod itself for changing the effect sound, and it has a different function for each effect, so you have to learn those.

BUT, there are so many great tone combinations available at the experimental twist of a knob, and a number of good presets, that if you aren't too picky it's actually quite easy to get up and running with a solid bass sound right away. I didn't even look more than once at the manual for the first couple hours with it and was experiencing little frustration and much pleasure.

Now, here's the deal: this is also a hard category to rate. When I first got the unit I plugged my high-end bass (semi acoustic; alder, walnut, rosewood body, mahogany neck, Lane Poor passive pickups) straight into it and used the headphone out with high-end studio phones, and was immediately impressed. All the models had distinct character in their overall tonal structure, dynamics, and cabinet response feel. The tube amps had tubey warmth and gloss, and the solid state amps had smooth, compressed tone.

However, everything shot through the roof when I set up the Pod in the chain I had set aside for digital recording. It was bass--->Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor preamp, clean channel, with RCA blackplate 5751 tube (extremely high quality lower gain 12ax7)--->Bass Pod--->Joemeek studio mic preamp/optical compressor/exciter--->mixing board.
Astounding! I'll put it this way, if the Pod on it's own captures 70% of the mic'ed sound of the amps/effects/cabs it emulates, the high quality tube preamp at the input and the studio pre/comp at the output push it to 95% realism, easily. I can't even express how lifelike, tubey, punchy, and well-voiced the presets sound on my hard disk recorder. And I'm picky picky about tone. My guitar amp is a Victoria (point to point, highest quality components, etc.). I record my Carvin and PRS guitars through Weber VST and '50's Celestion speakers with a large diaphragm microphone and I can tell you that the Bass Pod in a chain with the other units I mentioned puts a bass tone down that has NO PROBLEM sitting neatly in a mix and reinforcing the excellent guitar sounds I already have down. If you already own a nice tube preamp and you plan to record with the Bass Pod, I am willing to almost guarantee you will be quite pleased with your mixes, provided you start with a good bass.

Now, to the sounds. There's a nice spectrum of amps, both tube and solid state, modern and vintage. There's an SWR, Mesa/Boogie 400+, and Polytone among the modern amps, and a Marshall Super Plexi, Ampeg SVT, and Sunn Coliseum among the vintage amps. There's also obscurities like the Versatone Pan-O-Flex, a small session amp used in the '60's, classics like the Ampeg B-15 (which is all over the old Motown recordings) and the Vox AC100 (think Paul McCartney at Shea stadium) and a neat rack-derived sub-harmonic amplifier called Sub Dub for floor shaking fundamentals.

So far my favorites are the Marshall Super (awesome vintage tube tone with heavy duty low end and sweet sparkle), the Acoustic 360 (a huge Zeppelin style tone coming from a 1x18/1x12 cabinet), and the Vox, which has the smoothness and warmth that Vox is known for and also it's high end chime (in a bass version, that is).

There's also 15 useful and highly varied cabinet models that can be assigned to any amp, including 4x12 Marshall with vintage Celestions, 4x12 Eden, 8x10 Ampeg, and 2x15 Vox cabs, among others. All the cabs have distinctive tones and resonse, not just varying degrees of low and high end. They also each have their own "spread", which brings me to the next feature on the Pod, the A.I.R., or "acoustic integrated recording". This is a catch-all for a final tone-shaping model which combines the effect of cab type, mic type and placement, and what Line 6 calls "spread", which is like a subtle form of room reverb, all of which help make the direct sounds more "live" and less sterile and "D.I." sounding.

There's also 15 effects, including awesome Boss and T.C. chorus emulations, a great MXR Phase 90, and adequate Mu Tron up and down simlations. A number of people have complained about the Mu Tron, but I found that it needs a good strong signal, in other words heavy pick attack, and then it starts to quack more like the original. Same with the bass synth, which can be a trip. My only complaint is that there are four driver/fuzz effects, which to me is two too many. A nice dela

I've just received it but the overall impression is one of quality and close inspection. It's got strudy pots and buttons and I think, for studio use at least, it will last a long time.

I've only heard good things about the people at Line 6, but have had no dealings with them yet. I can say that the manual is the size of a short novel and is exhaustively written, but also entertaining.

I really have to repeat myself and say, with the help of a higher end tube preamp and studio compressor, the Line 6 Bass Pod blows doors down. After a little tweaking my recorded bass sound is really much more amazing than I could have expected considering what it's coming out of. This is like the magic "stack in a box" for bass, and with almost endless variety for every kind of recording application. Once again, add that tube input stage (which is critical for helping along the modeled sound with richer harmonics and a more dynamic feel), and you will have a little secret weapon for recording that will never let you down, and will inspire new ideas and accomplishments in your writing and recording process.

I think it's pretty easy...most of the presets that Line 6 included with the unit are useful and/or cool. I was up and running at a gig with a great sound without ever editing a patch. It's plug in and play...I love it!

I play Fender Jazz basses and a (don't laugh) Kramer Baretta 522s, and despite the differences in electronics, they both sound GREAT! I haven't had a single hum or buzz from the unit (I run it direct to our PA with a 1/4" TRS to XLR adapter). The effects are pretty cool, especially the choruses and the fuzzes. I really like the phaser, too...it totally nails that Phase 90 warble. For my own stuff, I try to get a tone that is a cross between John Paul Jones' and Geddy Lee's...fat bottom, crunchy midrange...and I have had absolutely no problem finding infinite variations on the theme, using all the different amp models on Bass POD. The only complaint about the effects I have is that the Mu-Tron effects are too quiet and not editable enough. Seems like some half-assed programming on Line 6's part (which is TOTALLY out of character).

I hate to complain, but I'm really sick of people who slam Line 6 stuff without really giving it a chance through an appropriate sound system. One thing that people who buy PODs (both Bass and Guitar) tend to forget is that they have to make sure they're playing the stuff through a full-range system. I know that Line 6 provides instructions for using the stuff through amps, but it never sounds as good (to my ears, at least) as sending it directly to a PA system or a pair of studio monitors. The key that I've discovered about getting a good sound out of Bass POD is making sure that you have the output level cranked (as high as you can without distorting)...you really get much more detail out of the amp models. Getting to know SoundDiver is a good thing, too, since it puts all the controls for the different effects and amps right in front of your face.

I have not had a single problem with Bass POD in 4 months of weekly gigging. I have used it on gigs without backup probably 30 times without fear.

Line 6 sets the bar for Customer Service in the guitar world. I had a question about the mounting bracket and the rubber feet (I lost one and wondered how to get new ones), and I got new ones in the mail in less than a week. There was an EPROM upgrade for the unit (a bug in the early Bass PODs that made them crash when you turned it off with a patch that had the "Analog Chorus" effect on it) and I got a new EPROM and info on how to install it less than a week after I notified them of the problem...these guys are great, and the Line 6 Utilization Party Patch Exchange (their discussion boards) are very helpful as far as getting inside info and helpful tips from other Line 6 users.

I play in a cover band, and I have been able to get every sound I have needed, from the funky Mu-Tron sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' version of "Higher Ground" to that huge, round thump that Paul McCartney had on all those Beatles tunes. There are so many different bass tones in the unit...I've been able to get everything from melodic and trebly to fat and funky for my original music, too. If it were stolen, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. It's a very inspiring unit, and I just can't understand why anyone wouldn't see it as a useful tool...besides, it beats carrying around a 100-lb combo amp (or a truckload of vintage amps that'll blow tubes)!

Plug and play, if your bass sounded good to start with it will sound even better with the available selections of amp setups here. I like that even though this modeller works in the virtual world Line 6 has provided old fashioned knobs for tweaking. Editing patches is pretty easy and even more in depth if you hook it up to a computer. The manual is probably one of the best I've ever read it is entertaining and intuitive(almost every question was answered in the next section). The included effects are hit and miss to me, They are handy and reasonably faithful but not replacements for the "real" units. The tuner is OK but I'll still carry my Korg BT. I give it a 9 because I would have liked a 1/4" and XLR for both outs luckily I had a good stereo tube direct box already.

I haven't used it live yet but have made several recordings and used it for practice with headphones and it just sounds great. It retains the character and sounds of my different basses from a short scale Harmony with flatwounds, to a modern 5 and several neo-vintage 4 stringers. All of the amp models sound like the originals (I have or am familiar with most of these amps). There are some real surprises (Motor City) and jewels(Flip top, Brit Major and my fave California)here. Trying the different amps with different cabinet combinations reveals some cool variations with out speaker damage or getting the cops called. I would have liked a little more ambience on the AIR but it is a true sounding reproduction of an amp close miked in an iso booth and it is esy to add a little reverb if wanted. The effects are usable and noise free except for the distortions when cranked. I'm not really sure why some of these effects were chosen over others out there. Sample & Hold just flat sucks and it has 3 spots. I would have liked it if the distortions started a little less crunchy, like from warm to hair on fire. But I did not get it for the effects so I don't hold it against the POD. This also has one of the best sounding headphone outs I've ever used.

It is really built well and everything seems solid and the jacks are good quality, I wouldn't really worry about it on a gig and haven't any problems so far. I give it an 8 because it is too soon to declare it bulletproof, we'll see in a couple of years.

I have e-mailed several inquiries and have gotten adequate response, it took a little longer than promised but they were really hard and specific questions. I do like the web site and value that it is possible to get direct answers with out going through a dealer or a bunch of channels.

I do session work in home/project and professional studios in styles ranging from jazz to rock, blues country and folk and was looking for a way to improve my recorded sound and get more authentic tones and the BassPOD is working out really well. I am going to try it in performance when I get a Floorboard and see how that works out. Considering it's price, portability, usability, sound quality and just goddam fun it's a 10 to me.

I give it a 6 because the knobs have just a little to many functions
to my taste...but of course if you are computerized thats not a problem.
Anyway you'll learn your way around this thing fairly easy as you
work with it.

Because this is THE ANSWER i've been looking for.
So many years have I tried to get a good bassound ,and there it was.
Not at first though ,when i unpacked it and hooked up in my mixer
i made the wrong connection(using only the D.I output,not that it
was a bad sound ,but switching models didn't do anything much..)..
...so i began reading the manual and boy I'm glad I did.
Blending D.I output and AMP model output made all the difference
in the world.
There they all were , the sounds from my records...

I've had this thing for a month,and no breakdowns yet..
(I also own a guitarpod,one of the first that came out,
and i've never had any trouble with that one either except
from midiproblems but thats been taken care of,something in the
upgradechip and the new software I think...)

I live in Sweden and it feels pretty sour to read about
all the goodies on the line6page only to able to get
your hands on them 5-8 months later,as with the upgradechip
to my Guitarpod...I waited and waited and waited....
Maybe Sweden is a to small market,we have to wait until other more
importent markets have gotten their demands fullfilled...
Nevertheless..if I've got anything but a general breakdown on one
of my PODs I can always visit the line6page on the net 24 hours a day..doesn't get much better then that does it?

I listen to and play any form of music with a little more
focusing on pop/rock , I truly admire a good song In ANY genre,
be it Cyprus Hill or Mahler.
I have a Compuerbased homestudio, LOTS of guitars ,mics,syntherzisers
a 32 channel board ,drummachines,etc,etc..
Over the years I have tested many preamps and other solutions
to get a good bassound directly in to my board.
(I dont talk about micing up the real thing here)
So for me, that has been a homestudioguy and audiofiliac for
25 years this is a Quantum Jump towards the solution of good
homerecording of bassounds..
It inspires me and i would by it again,and again,and again if
it was stolen.
I really have to thank the Line6 people.
I dont have any objections on them making a lot of bread
as long as they supply me with things I have dreamt of..
BUT I think the BassPod is better than the GuitarPod
mainly because it has a separate Compressor AND I would
rather have had a rackmountable standardversion than the beanshape..
When it comes to SOUND as i value as the important thing
it is a 10.


M.Sjoberg in Sweden