Line 6 Floor Pod Plus

The modelling is not too bad and is typical of the POD sound. The effects I think are a little weak but I do not use a lot of effects anyway so this is not a big deal for me. When you download and edit via the VYZEX editor (Computer software that is free from Line 6 - you do need a midi cable that is not supplies) makes the unit very easy to use and edit. Editing directly via the unit I think is a little fiddly and anyone wanting to purchase this unit purchase a midi cable as well and learn the unit via the VYZEX editor and not the manual. The Manual is to me an extension of the sales spiel and craps on about the crazy sounds a what a great purchase you've made. I think the manual is just stupid and I feel like writing to Line 6 and saying if people are reading the manual they have already purchsed the product and thus make the manual about how to use the unit. I also find there are several mistakes in the manual - how to calibrate the volume/Wah for a start.Throuh the manual away it is useless.

I do a bit of restaurant gigging and duo work and as previously stated I like simplicity in a effects unit. I have 4 main patches a Jazz, Funk/Disco, Blues & rock and really only use these sounds. Within each patch you have 4 seperate settings that you can quickly isolate within the patch eg 1.Solo - volume or gain boost 2. delay many choices including digital and tape delay (which I like best)3. effects, 4, standard. I think the clean sounds of the unit are pretty weak and as such I tend to use the tweed blues for my clean sounds Jazz etc and this works nicely. I don't tend to try and go for the sounds of other artists and tend to use the sounds that I like. I never even bother to adjust the unit manually and if I want to try and change a sound I go straight to the editor as this makes the process so easy. The sounds are good and typical of line 6. You would need to pay a lot more to get something better.

I use this without a back up all the time and have never had any problems. Mind you if it did die in the middle of a gig it wouldn't be the end of the world for me and I wouldn't be too stressed out. I find the power cable convertor although I have had no problems with it, it looks pretty weak and junky but mind you it hasn't given me a problem yet.

The unit I got out of the box was stuffed and wouldn't start up and I had to get a new one which was a bit annoying. This could have been caused by anything and as such wasn't a huge deal.

I tested this against other similar price boards and without a doubt it represented the best value for money. This unit is really only an effects board and all the other stuff you can do such as recording etc I am not remotely interested in and didn't need.As such this was perfect. I think the model is being discontinued which is a shame for me as I would definatly buy another one when this one dies. My previous board was a GT5 and I think the sound quality is better in this unit. The good thing about the GT5 however was you could of used it to drive in fence posts all day and gig with it that night, I feel like due to the plastic casing you do need to treat this with more care. But this casing does keep the cost down I guess.

Ok I am writing this review from a point of view of already owning a POD X3 Live (See my review in that section). I will try and not let that colour my review because the X3 is more than double the price of the Floor Pod and hence any comparison (unfavourable) is just not realistic.

Right then, being familiar with the X3 learning to use the Floor Pod for me was straight forward enough. It???s a different interface but once you???ve got the Line 6 mind set you pretty much know what to do. But I still had to give the manual a once over.

Annoyingly some of the features are not available to change, such as minimum volume for the pedal unless you download (for free) the Vyzex software from Line 6 and interface from your PC to the pedal. Other features you have to get to by pressing another button first (shift key) ??? this is a bit quirky, but with practice you soon learn to get round this.

However these are very small gripes, the interface is still very good; in fact I believe it???s quicker to create patches on the Floor Pod than it is on the X3.

With all modelling pedals I believe that patience is the key. Line 6 always puts on loads of stock patches however I never use them in their entirety, just use them as a starting point. It takes many hours of tweaking to get the right sound to be honest. When I got the Floor POD I had the advantage of copying the sounds from the X3, so I was set up for a gig within a couple of nights work. However had I not had the X3 I would have spent a considerable amount of time working out what sounds I wanted.

For the price I think the Amps and FX are pretty good, you want a Marshall sound ??? then dial it in - you know the score. OK side by side with the real thing it???s not going to sound the same (I know I had Marshall amps for years) but it???s not bad. Most punters won???t know the difference.

Clearly the X3 being a newer more expensive product, the patches have been improved but I am happy to use the Floor POD for everyday use and as a back up for my gigging rig.

OK it???s at this point where ALL modelling pedals have an achilles heal. You???ve sorted your sounds out and they sound brilliant through the cans. You then plug into your cheap 50 watt combo and expect it to sound like a stack of Marshall 4x12 and it sounds just crap to be frank.

The solution is to put the Floor Pod through something that is going to reproduce the actual sound rather than putting it through another pre-amp which colours the sound and ends up being driven to a horrible scream. The way I do this is to put one output into the PA and the other output into my Tech 21 power engine 60. The power engine is supposed to be transparent, and it largely is ??? it provides fill and acts as a monitor. EQ the PA correctly and you will get the big sound you???ve always wanted.

Sorry to all you guys who know this ??? I kinda get upset at reviews where modelling gear is rubbished because 1 the reviewer can???t be bothered to spend time getting the best out of the pedal and 2 because they aren???t really using it in the right way.

So far so good

I think the support is pretty good to be honest, the Line 6 site has a large discussion section and my questions have been answered quickly and accurately.

Ok for someone who needs loads of different sounds, or cannot afford to buy loads of boutique pedals then this is for you. You just need to spend a lot of time tweaking to get the sounds you want - don???t expect instant results.

I don???t like these products when used in front of a standard amp ??? the preamps skew the sound too much ??? but I guess you can work with this each to their own.

I am 100% happy to use this product for everyday practice and as a backup for the X3 in my live rig so I guess that???s a pretty good endorsement.

Very easy to use right out of the box. Some things require a look into the manual like to calibrate the vol/wah. The manual is thick but most of it is nonsense about the amp and cab models and what kind of effects it has. Lots of things to customize and you can save it all it has over 30 presets each with four channels. Overall very easy to use anyone could use it. some dialing in is more complicated but not too bad.

I use a strat and an es335 through it into either my crate 2x12 or into the sound board. I have also used various ibanez guitars too an art300 and some kind of rg. The amp models are good the sound reasonably close to what the say and the distortion is close too. The modern high gain setting is good with the ibanez guitars. also the thing about the compressor and the noise gate. dont touch either of them they are useless if you turn up the compressor you will get feedback, the bad kind and if you turn up the gate to stop it it will sound like all your tone settings are at zero.. very flat. the effects arent bad but arent great either and you can only use one at time. bottom line is it sounds close but it wont sound just like the amp it is immitating. and the wah is weak

I have gigged with it but i dont really use it for too much but it has been around (i use it mostly for church where its ok if you sound generic) the only unreliable thing is the vol/wah pedal. If you use it alot it will loosen and the nut holding it on will work itself off rendering the expression pedal useless untill you take off the whole bottom panel and put it back on which is a pain because it has twenty or more screws all with rubber washers.

never had to deal with them...

I play blues, rock, metal, some jazz and contemporary christian music this thing will do it all its great for practice and adequate for gigs but if your picky about your tone look else where like real fx pedals and a good amp. can get alot of tones some better than others some completely worthless and the tone controls could be more responsive but for the price its alot of fun and will do most of what you want it to. If something happened to it i would replace it.

This product is fairly easy to use. As far as editing the patches goes it is slightly annoying having to hold buttons and press knobs for alternative settings. I wish that the EQ of the patches was more in depth. The instruction manual is mediocre, most of it just tells you what amp models you have (w/ pictures no less) and the FX list.

I have used this device on several 4X12 cabs w/ either a Marshall, Hartke, or Peavey Head. Playing on either one it sounds almost identical. There are alot of useless factory patches. The distorions are decent. The cleans are nice. The noise gate kinda dissapoints me. The higher you put it the less beefy your tone. To be honest im still discovering new things that can be done w/ this so Im not gonna write off the delay list as "useless".

Yes you can depend on it. I feel very comfortable doing a show with this and not having a back up.

Never had to deal w/ them

I play lots of styles of music and have been doing so for 8 years. This device is very versatile and can take writing into different directions on its own.

I spent some hours with this unit and, though one can modify some bits of the preset effects, it is not easy to go without the manual. Most of the features are written on the board, but you need some clicks here and there in the right order to do what you want, so, read the manual.
It has 1 input for guitar, 2 outputs for stereo, power, MIDI IN/OUT, volume output (to control the amount of punch you send to your amp), phone and AUX jacks. Everything located at the back of the unit.
There is a handle in the middle of the board to carry it, and it also avoids accidental steps on the control knobs.
There are a total of 13 knobs, 9 buttons (7 of which you step on), an expression pedal and a display. The writings on the board can't be read if you are not close, so you better have them by memory when playing live. There are also leds to indicate what is activated, like the amp simulation, effects, delay...
It has good visual identification of the stuff.
I gave it a 7 because there is always room for improvements. If you compare it to similarly priced pedalboards, like the Boss ME50, you will find it easier to program than this particular Line6.

I play on an Ibanez RG270 (while the Wolfgang doesn't arrive) and a Fender Frontman 15R. Pretty much a starter's setup.
The first thing to notice is that when the volume potentiometer on the guitar is not fully on or fully off, there is a hiss that the noise suppression feature can't eliminate unless you crank it... that is, it also mutes you guitar.
Once the volume is full, setting the noise suppression to 12 o'clock left no noise. The thing works.
The amp simulation is incredible. Though I haven't messed up to exhaustion, it is clear that they have an excellent processor. On some amps, the gain is so high that the noise gate needs to be almost cranked to silence the hiss. There are amps that you will use more than others, so it is just a matter of taste.
The Effects session, well, you will most likely spend much of your time here once you choose your favorite amp. Auto-Wah, Vibe, Phase, Flange, Chorus, Octave Fuzz, Tremolo, Ring Modulation and more, it is all there. Again, you will use some effects more than others. For example, I like the Phaser, the Tremolo, the Flanger and the Swell. They are good enough for me, even comparable (if not better) to stompboxes. You will have lots of parameters to modify.
The Delay section is also something cool. You got Digital, Analog, Multitap, Tape, Sleep Echo and Reverse. Pretty much everything. The Delay section leaves nothing to be desired when compared to Boss stompboxes, at least for me.
The expression pedal can be volume or Wah. The wah, well, it will never be like a real Wah, Vox, Crybaby. Just get over it, but it is good enough.
Talking about the sound:
Distortions - they are excellent. You can go from low gain to high gain without loss of quality. The crunches are really good, and, though you have emulations of famous amps, keep in mind that it will never sound like a valve amp.
Delays - I liked them, really. They are good for me.
I can't do an extensive review because I have it for a few days. But I'm impressed with what I saw.
There is room for improvements too.

I don't gig, so I will never have a backup.
The unit is made of a rugged plastic with a metal plate on the bottom. It is not as "brute" as a fully metal pedalboard, but it looks resistant enough if you don't throw it on the wall.
It is lightweight, so it's easy to carry back and forth.

Never dealt with the CS.

The FPP has a wide range of tones. I play mostly metal, and the distortions are very nice. I thought of buying stompboxes, but I don't regret getting the FPP instead. The effects are very good, and if you don't want to 100% nail a guitarrist's tone, they should be enough. The delays, well, I'm not picky with them, so can't judge. But they just work good. The wah is something that I rarely use, but from what I heard, it is not like the real thing, but I don't care.
I can play Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Deep Purple, AC/DC and even Megadeth with it. Since I'm not concerned about chasing EVH's tone or the like, this pedalboard satisfies me.
I got it second-hand from a friend, so the price was a bargain. If it was stolen, I would probably buy one of the XT series, because of the better integration with the PC. You can program it easier.
If you can get it for a good price, and is ok to not have USB but MIDI instead, and you want more versatility instead of tonal chase, this toy is for you.

This was easy to use straight out the box. It Just worked, everything except the wah pedal. Remember if you are going to get one of these then there is a toe switch which you have to push HARD to get the wah on. Other than that it worked excellently. The manual isn't required but it can be useful in telling which amp model is which etc.

I'm not using this with a particularly amazing setup. My good amp broke so i'm using this with the first amp I ever got (A 15w Squire) And i'm using a Strat. It sounds excellent, there's no background noice unless you go nuts with compression and every effect sounds good. I even brought some headphone for playing late at night and it sounds brilliant through those. Haven't tried it through a PA though. All the amp models sound brilliant in my opinion.

I would always take a backup with me to gigs regardless (My Backup is a Zoom 505 =) and i would still take a backup with me but I'm not sure I'd get much use out of it. this pedal seems well built and though it's a bit plastic I don't think it will break.

Never had any Problems

I Playing music ranging from acoustic to metal and think this pedal is brilliant. I was thinking of getting a spider III but then realised it was all built into this. If someone stole this from me I would definatly go out and get another one. I think that the effects are all good and the amp emulation is brilliant. This is the best thing i have brought for my guitar ever.

I had to say I have been disappointed in FFP in my first round of review, but and but I have to say after a few weeks i'm more than a revived man having the floor pod plus setting my own effects on banks. Yes, manual is that important unless your neighbor tells you how to use the correct way to a floorpod plus.....Now I found it more cooler to use...yeah!

Floorpod plus is amazing, good thing I continue my patience figuring out the correct settings. Now all of the tones i created distortions,mods and delays are up to standard and goes very well.

Yes, as long you've got a good cable, and its very easy set-up packed & go thing.

All I can say from now on is that I will never leave home and go to gig without it.

Yes easy to use, but not easy getting the right sound. The amp models on the manual well written... BLAH BLAH BLAH doesnt sounds like it.

I'm using a yamaha RGX 420 DZ/Squier Fender stratocaster and line 6 spider 30 watts amp. All of the amp models doesnt feels right,mods/delays are ok. Amp models are weak and not that aggressive and impressive, on the other hand modulation & delays are good & bright, only don't have much of the parameter. Wah is not to impressive but is still ok to play around with.

I dropped it once with the stupid line 6 carrier bag strap gave off, but no damaged done. The body is made out of plastic , which light and rugged. But would rather have backup for gigs.

Why I bought this effect is that I found it cheap, better at that price range & I did not did my homeworks . Sobbingly realized vox tonelab is better just for a few more bucks....else have to be more creative!!!

For starters, I'm a professional guitarist (40+ years). I make my living still playing and writing music. I have used many effects pedals in my time. Recently, I decided to purchase the Plus after I gave it a brief run through in a store. So, by now, it has been about a year that I've had it. Let me say the ease of use for me is basically the same as the reviewer lpdeluxe. I find it a bit non-intuitive. It would take a very long time to become a "power user", at least for me. Whenever any unit is replete with multiple-function buttons and switches, it can quickly become a steep learning curve. I don't know about you, but just because I dig into a manual and learn something once and on the fly, it doesn't mean I'm going to absolutely remember it later. By the way, highly intuitive to me means "don't have to look in the manual a lot."

I'm playing a strat and a custom guitar through a Matchless amp. I love the basic sound of my guitars through the Matchless amp. I do think the Plus slightly colors the natural tone of the guitar/amp. But in general, the f/x sound ok. They are somewhat tweakable, although not easily. The only f/x I'm not thrilled with are the distortion filters. They are not all that warm and have to be altered a lot to get tone.

So far so good.

CS is fine.

The one thing I would like to have onboard this fairly pricey pedal board that is sorely absent is a second controller pedal that could do things like alter the speed of the rotary effect. I mean if you're going to go to the trouble of putting a rotary effect onboard, how could there not be a "Leslie On/Off" switch? I will probably not stick with this unit much longer.

I find the Floor Pod Plus non-intuitive, although as I get used to it, it's easier to find what I want.

Particularly confusing are the pedals marked "Amp", "FX" and so on: you would think that you'd turn the dial on the effects section, and step on the pedal to engage or disengage it. Not so fast -- first you have to reach down and press two pedals simultaneously until a red light comes on, then you can use that effect...or can you? With at least several I've tried, the box defaults to "all the way off" on the intensity knob. So you learn to press the "manual" knob (or one of a couple of others that act as shift keys) while you turn the intensity to where you want it. Good luck on stage.

Now, the manual says you can save your settings, but that the settings are saved according to the position of the amp knob. What? Meanwhile there are two pedals that allow you to scroll up and down through preset banks but I'm afraid I can't tell you what they do. Apparently they route you to arbitrary combinations of amps and cabs and whatnot. I don't understand why they didn't configure this thing so that stepping on the pedals would take you to a setting you had saved.

Or maybe it does -- I can't figure it out from the manual.

The manual appears comprehensive: it's simply that there's something about the rationale that I don't get. I'll keep at it, for the reasons given below.

The thing is quite versatile, so I'll give it a 5, taking some away for its inability to tell me what it wants me to do and giving some for the depth of its capabilities.

I use this with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and a Pignose G40V, a 1963 Sears Silvertone Twin Twelve, and into a digital mixer and solid state amp, depending on the venue. I have not yet gigged with it, and I won't until I can discover more of its secrets.

It seems to pick up a fair amount of RF, but it's hard for me to tell what triggers it. It's dead quiet in my studio, but at a friend's, we had to turn off the computer in the room due to static from the speaker. The "intensity" knob aggravates the noise, and the "delay" knob caused a pulsation in it. I recorded another guitarist with a Floor Pod, and it was totally quiet -- but that was in my studio, which is not problematic.

My LP has Seymour Duncan mini-humbuckers and is the only really good sounding Les Paul I've ever played. Most of the amp settings sound excellent, but I find myself rolling off the treble (on the Floor Pod Plus) on several of the choices. Since I'm only using it for rehearsal, I tend to move the knobs around a lot, something I would not do if I were gigging. The Fender emulations sound equivalent (not identical) to a friend's '67 Super Reverb, the single best sounding amp I've ever played through.

Disclaimer: I don't try to emulate other artists, so I have no opinion of what imitations you can accomplish with this box. That said, it is capable of many useful tones, some of which are awesome. I'm very glad to have the amp choices, since I am in the process of thinning the herd and getting rid of all my old, great sounding, but very heavy, tube amps. This device is certainly a viable alternative to humping a 100-lb amp up a flight of stairs.

All of the effects I have used work for me, but then I'm not into effects a whole lot. I use the tremolo on one song, and I may find songs where I'll use the chorus, not because I'm crazy about that effect, but because it sounds really lush. I bought this so I'd have an integrated wah and other options without hooking up a string of battery-eating boxes (I have a Cry Baby, which has arrived at the point in its life when it is unusable due to a scratchy pot. Yeah, I could fix it, but in this modern era I wanted something less clunky).

Speaking of which, the wah is great, and the pedal doubles as a volume pedal, both of which functions get used a fair amount.

I'll give it a 9, because it really does the job I bought it to do.

I have no qualms, but I could be surprised. I'd hate for it to die on a gig, because I can see that I'll come to depend on it to add spice to my playing. I don't have a backup.

No opinion, no experience.

I am playing rock-, folk- and blues-influenced original music in a duo. I play lead, typically. I've always felt that duos (and trios) need some extra oomph in the way of effects to get the musical point across. Obviously, I'm playing exclusively electric guitar with it. The Floor Pod Plus works quite well, but, as noted, once I get a handle on its workings I'll be happier.

I started playing in 1971; I have been a lead guitarist, harmonica player, Dobro player and even a full time bass player in different bands over the years. I once had a pedal steel, but never had the nerve to gig with it. Material has been blues rock, folk, country, and pop, depending on the band, which have ranged from duos where we played at parties to full-blown working bands. I have a computer based project studio, with all its attendant gear, a couple of acoustic guitars, two resonator guitars, the Les Paul (I recently added them all up,and found I have had 29 guitars and basses in all) and currently four Fender basses, two fretted and two fretless, and a small selection of amps (the Pignose, the Silvertone, a Music Man HD130 Reverb stack, and an Ampeg B100R) and I've owned quite a few more in the past.

If something happened to it, I'd look long and hard at alternatives, with an eye to finding something easier for me to figure out: I'm an old guy, so maybe that's a futile quest! I would certainly consider buying another example of this one. I checked out the reviews here for the Floor Pod Plus and several other similar products, and I'd do the same again. However, I'd find a dealer where I could try one out before I committed.

I love the wah, love the amp tones, love several of the effects and the overall versatility; but I truly wish all its features were more immediately accessible.

What do I wish it had? A "Floor Pod Plus for dummies" manual. An internal power supply would be nice, but Line 6 has taken the extra step of providing a transformer with an AC lead from it to the plug, so it doesn't fill up a power strip like older ones do.

Despite my gripes, I really like using it...I just feel like there's a lot in there that I can't access due to my own ignorance (or something), and that what I can access I can' get to as quickly as I'd like. So, overall, it gets an 8.