Line 6 POD

No problem with using the Line 6 except choosing one. There are so many sounds to choose from.

I have a Am. Std. Strat, a Tele and a Les Paul Studio. I generally always use the Strat directly into the POD, and then, I run the Pod into the main 6L6 output stage of a Fender Evil Twin amp. I use the "amp thru" jack or the input of the effect loop if I want to adjust the signal level so that I can increase the output level on the POD without increasing the volume level of the amp. The POD seems to simulate the output stage distortion of a tube rig when the output level is cranked. I don't know about you, but I like to play LOUD. My favorite set-up is the PODs Marshall sound, a little compression, some digital reverb with the POD Output Level close to full on, slamming into my 6L6's and distorting them as well. If you think about what I'm doing; you'll see why it sounds soooo good.

I haven't had even the slightest problem.

I haven't had to deal with any of the people, but I love the web site. I've downloaded the manual since I lost mine.

OK. One day, I'll have a Marshall DSL 100, full stack, with a Lexicon effects rack, and maybe a couple good pedals to help that Marshall jump over the moon. But, until then, My Strat-Les Paul-POD-Fender combination is doing the job just fine. The metal holder for the POD slides under the hand strap on the top of my combo amp and it looks good sitting there. If I'm playing 80's rock, I can load two Marshall sounds, one louder for solo's, and then, maybe, a VOX 30 Top Boost with echo and a Fender Twin with compression into one bank and choose them at will with the selector pedal. Or, if I'm playing Modern Rock, I can substitute the Marshall?s for some Mesa's and load all that into another bank. Pushing one button has me ready to play out of that bank of four amps. And then there's this awesome amount of shit that I never get around to mess with. So, lez see, Marshall, Fender, Mesa, Vox..... Rock, Classic-Rock, Modern Rock.... Is there anything else? Nope. I don't think so. Oh yeah, I've been playing 25 years and if my POD got stolen I'd buy a PODxt.

You have to play around with it for a while but with something with such depth it will obviously require a bit of tweaking to get to the best sound. However, a good sound is easily found. One problem I did find though was that in the manual it didn't advise you to turn off the speaker cabinet simulation when running it directly into an amp - it sounded funny for a while when using it as a pre-amp. This is necessary if you are going to use it as a pre-amp as I often do.

I use a Texas Special Fat Strat with a Boss Blues Overdrive, Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe, Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz and a Budda Wah. This goes into a Marshall DSL-201 Valve amp. For headphones I use a great pair of #100 Seinnheisers.

The POD sounds best when used as a pre-amp plugged into a cranked valve amp. However, you HAVE to turn off the cabinet simulation - this should only be used if you're plugging it into a hi-fi, a direct recording device or headphones. Otherwise it sounds muffled - it's simulating the sound of a cabinet when u're already using one so what's the point? I can't stress the importance of this.

I can get pretty close to Hendrix sounds (only clean hendrix sounds cos when you crank it it sounds a bit fuzzy). Stevie Ray Vaughan is easy to get, - ANYTHING! In particular the Mesa Boogie Dual rectifier and the Marhsall JCM-800 sound amazing. However, note the Fuzz box sounds crap. The tones on this machine sound amazing - I swear when you tap into it's extra amp simulations via computer you can get a PERFECT Santana.

As for effects, I don't really know - I don't use them much. I know that the delay sounds very good, apart from that I'm not sure.

It's worth noting that if you want to use the POD with headphones, it sounds SO MUCH BETTER when you turn on the 'chorus 1' effect and turn the effect intensity to minimum. This changes the output to Stereo (I don't want it to come out in Chorus). I don't know why anyone hasn't mentioned this but TRY IT! It sounds amazing.

As for recording, I would imagine that it is only useful to those who don't have the luxury of cranking their amp and recording it though a microphone. How can the simulation of a cranked amp ever sound as good as the real thing? I don't think it can.

It has a slight delay between changing channels but this is fixed considerable if you buy a POD V2 or get the upgrade. I wouldn't ever gig it without a footswitch though (I've heard that is a bit flimsy though - apparently you can get a much better pedal for the PODXT). however, the POD itself is chunky aluminium and mine looks like it has been well used before I got it and it still works perfectly.

Never tried

I like to play rock and blues. The POD is the ideal solution for those who want to have several amp sounds available by just taking this thing around and plugging it into any valve amp. I take it to practice rooms to different amps and I crank it on a clean channel and just use the POD as a pre-amp (remember to take the speaker cabinet simulation off). Obviously, owning several amps and using them and taking them everywhere would be better but for a price tag of around #300 - (or #100 for me) who can argue. I don't think anyone in the audience or anyone listening would actually notice the difference between a decent valve amp cranked with the POD set on a Mesa Boogie Dual rectifier and the real thing.

Also ideal for headphones, or non-serious recording.

OK...I've had my Pod version 1.0 since it first came out (I actually had to specially order it at the time because no music stores carried it). I write and record my own stuff, and have also used the pod to record demos for bands I've been in, so I've used it an awful lot over the last few years and I think I can finally give a fairly objective, unbiased review. The pod is VERY easy to use. The interface is about as intuitive and user friendly as can be and the manual was very well written. One huge help is the fact that the manual offers you insight into how the controls worked on the original amp. For example, I thought the vox amp was really muddy until I realized that the original has a "high cut" control instead of treble...so if you have the treble control at 12 o' clock you're actually cutting highs. On most amps (fenders, marshalls) having the treble control at 12 o clock would have you neither boosting or cutting the highs. It helps to read the manual and get acquainted with how the original amps worked. I use the vox model all the time now...I love it. There have been upgrades since my version but I've never been dissatisfied with the tones so I've never bothered to get them.

I don't own any of the amps modelled, so I don't know how accurate they are, but I don't really care. I can pretty much approximate any tone I hear in my head with this giant kidney bean and I'm consistently impressed by how it sounds on tape. For a solo project, I recorded the basic track live at my rehearsal space using a reverend hellhound and then used the pod for overdubs and I don't hear a real appreciable difference between the feel and realism of the pod tracks vs. the "real" ones. This is a tool, and like every tool how successful you are with it has alot to do with you. I've spent alot of time experimenting and I'm finally at the point where I feel confident that I can dial in just about any tone I need using the pod's controls. After reading lots of HC reviews, I feel like people are sometimes too quick to blame the equipment. My favorite models are Line 6 Clean, Line 6 Crunch, Brit Class A, Small Tweed and the Soldano model.

I've had it for years and it hasn't given me a single problem. It's been treated pretty nicely though. It's never left my "studio*"
*also known to my wife's cat as "the room I like to go into when I'm about to vomit a hairball."

I never had to call them about the pod but they were very nice when I called and asked them a question about a flextone amp a few years ago.

I can honestly say that this piece of equipment had a greater impact on my creative growth than anything I've ever bought. With the pod, a guitar, a zoom rhythmtrack drum machine and a tascam portastudio I feel limited only by my own creativity. It's a truly wonderful tool. Some will quibble that it doesn't sound as good as a carefully mic'd amp but some people don't mind spending 4 hours pounding on a snare to get the right "snap." I think that sort of thinking gets in the way of creativity. I mean, there's definitely a difference in tonality between a soundtank digital delay and an echoplex, but is it really THAT noticible in the context of one part in an entire mix? I know lots of people won't agree with me, this is just my opinion. The pod allows you to sit down, twiddle some knobs and you've got your tone. Lay down a track and move on to the next. Erase it and try it again or try something else. It really helps me create music.

This preamp couldn't sound good if you tried for a hunderd years.
Sure it sounds O.K. especially at low volume, but try to go live
with this thing at high volume and you will understand why this product is garbage.

This medeling amp will attempt to sound like many different amps with
many different features.

I'm sure this thing will last a long time, unfortunately.

Don't know, don't care

The vunue that I play bought one of these and insists people use it
for live performances in a large auditorium. It flat out sucks. If
you think this thing will give you great tube like distortion at any
volume you're don't know what a real amp sounds like.;

The pod, once you read the manual, is extremely easy to use, but don't just take it out of the box and think you're gonna know how to do everything, because I did that and didn't even realize I was missing out on like 16 alternate amp sounds that aren't listed on the face of the unit, just in the manual.hehe

I was EXTREMELY impressed with the sound quality this thing gave me. I was in the market for a new amp and I simply did not have the money for an amp, so instead I began looking at these PODs, picked one up on ebay for about 180 dollars, plugged it in, and MAN did it sound amazing. I have a Fender Ultimate Chorus 2x 12 160 or so watt amp, (I would NOT reccomend getting that amp) but when I plugged the pod in I could get any tones from Brian May playing a bohemian rhapsody lick all the way to a metallica sound with a bottom heavy chunky distortion, up to randy rhodes and zakk wylde, not to mention clean tones and great effects!

definately would use this on some upcoming gigs I have, great investment, havn't had any trouble with it

Havn't had any problems

I play metal, punk, classic rock, neoclassical, jazz, blues, anything, this is your effect kit, get one, I highly reccomend it

im using a jackson dxmg with stock EMG hz specially designed for jackson pickups. it sounds pretty decent at lower volume but the louder you turn it the worse it sounds. id really like to play this through two actual real 4x12 cabs to see what it REALLY sounds like but as for now im using a 1x12 marshall and its just too nasty sounding loud at band practice.

as far as features go this is a pretty good little deal. its got several effects that are mixed with swells that id like to have just the effect without the swell. its got really decent amp models from a vary wide range of sounds. the only good cab models are the 4x12s however.

it's urvived several tours of duty in my drummers room and only has a few scuffs so it seems to be built fairly well.

never dealt with them

Ive been playing probably 6 years now and own a crappy jackson js 20 with active EMGs and a bc rich warlock with emg hz's in it. if it were stolen id probably pitch a bitch but i doubt id buy it again. id invest in a new half stack. i love that it has so many features and does have some good sounds but it just sounds AWFUL the louder you turn it. i wish it did have a few different amp models like more heavy metal based stuff but i think the hd 147 covers those fairly well.

Pretty easy to use, PC software is also very nice.

If you want the POD, understand what you are getting into. If you want to sound like a wide array of guitar players, or are curious about multiple amp types and want to play them before you settle to a big tube amp purchase, then this is for you. The POD is also for you if you like to record, but live in an apartment where you can't easily mic a cranked Fender. Keep one thing in mind however, when was the last you saw your favorite professional band live that used a Marshall, and Vox and a Fender, switching between them for each song.

For the money, it is an amazing solution, however, the sound can be very digital if you compare it to the real things (especially the reverb and overdrives). For live performances, I've used a Fender Twin, a Fender Deluxe, and am currently using a Fender Super Reverb. I would not even think of using the POD live, as I already have the amp sound, and my effects (Boss BD-2, Boss OD-2, RAT, Boss RV-3, Line 6 DL4, and MXR Phase 90) are much more superior to the POD effects. For home recording, it scores an A+ for the quick and dirty, as you just plug it in (for quality recording, I still prefer renting a couple of $600 microphones). I would have given it an high mark for practicing, however I now have a much better solution. I bought a 1970s Fender tube champ (amazing a low volumes) and a Tascam CD-GT1 for headphones (allows you to slow down CDs to learn all those difficult parts). The POD is great for beginners and simple recording, but should not be considered a professional sounding tool. That being said, it blows away all the other cheap ?all-in-one? effect boxes.

Seems nicely built, and high quality/impresive emulations (keep in mind, they are still emulations and do not compare to the real thing).

If you have the money, buy a real Fender/Marshall/or Vox amp. Get something like a Fender Tube Champ and Tascam CD-GT1 for practice, and rent a $600-$1000 mic for recording ($30 a month at a local store, or if you record frequently buy one). I am impressed with the home recording aspect for its ease of used (the POD sounds not bad here), however, nice mic to a high quality tube amp will make you happier.

The clean sounds are not bad, for example the blackface model. The effects are the best part of this machine.
However I play hard rock. And the high gain sounds like fart. The fuzz sounds like fuzzed out fart. If you need a farting machine this will work fine. If want a real simulation get Johnson J station and you'll have a mesa boogie at your finger tip.

VErtile amp for mellow rock, country, R&B, hip hop. But not useful for hard rock, metal or anything else heavy. The effects on the other hand are very good.

Works well. Farts on que.....

I'm sorry, But the Johnson J station is only $99 at the time of writing and sounds 10 times better. I can't recommend this thing at all. I give this a 5 out 10 because the effects rocks....

I cannot, for the life of me, understand how some reviewers say that the POD doesn't sound good through an amp. Maybe I just got lucky with my set up (since I'm not running it through a Peavey Bandit), but this is my dream sound. Not close to it, but IS.

I'm running an Ibanez or ESP into the POD (set to "Amp"--duh), into the effects return of a Marshall JCM900 100watt head, into a Marshall 4-12 cab. Also using the floorboard. The core tone of any amp or cab model in the POD is amazing. I guess having a pure tube power amp doesn't hurt either...

Honestly, the whole "it doesn't sound like it" deal is getting tired. Some of the sounds in the POD (regardless if they sound like the real thing or not) are simply amazing. The cab modeling really adds to shaping your tone, or tweaking some funky combinations.

Effects are nice. Not "wall of racks" nice, but usefull. I like a relatively uneffected tone - delay, some reverb, a little compression, occasional chorus. For my tastes, the effect section suits me just fine. Stomp boxes in front and rack effects after the POD still sound great, though.

Haven't recorded extensively with it yet, but it does sound better than my Flextone (1st generation)direct into the 4-track (I used to think that was the tits). The amp and mic placement modeling is exceptional.

The stereo spread, when running in this environment, is extremely wide (ie. in headphones). This is great for silent practicing or recording, but I'll definitely go with the mono signal for live sounds (sound-men seem to have problems putting 2 mics to one cab--no offence).

One more note: I also own a JCM800 head. I A/B'd this and the set-up with the POD (above), and the Brit Hi Gain model actually sounded BETTER to me than the real thing. And I didn't have to crank it. The bass was tighter, highs were more controlable, gain was more sweeter.

Ver2.3 Too many features to list. More than I'll ever need. Definitely get the bang for the buck on this one. The only feature I wish it had was a USB port, to go directly into the computer (ie. without the midi adaptor), but not a big deal at all.

To new to rate. But I still have the first generation Flextone that I bought like the second week it was available. I beat the hell out of it, played numerous gigs with the volume literally maxed (it's the 1-12, 60 watt version), and have had absolutely no problems with it at all. So if that's any indicaiton...

N/A

I've been playing for 20 years (I'm 29, so don't consider this an old-fart review from your grandpap). There are so many great things about the POD. It really should be a requirement for all guitar players. Guitar players need picks, strings, beer, and a POD. This is the best sounding live set-up I've had, and I went through alot of gear changes over the years. Who care's if it doesn't sound EXACTLY like a '68 Plexi. It sounds damn good, and that's all that should matter. The POD makes me want to spend hours playing, and running through all of the fantastic sounds. I think of all of the time I wasted on my stupid tube amps crapping out, not sounding good below 163db, or only having 1 or 2 sounds to work with, and it reminds me of an ex-girlfriend...like, man that relationship sucked. I'm glad I dumped that bag. Sure, there will always be those closed-minded people that say "tubes are the only way to go; digital sucks; if I could power it, I'd stick a tube up my ass"...just give it a listen, and experiment, both with the sounds and the connections. There is definitely something in the POD for everyone.

If it were stolen, I'd buy some tubes, find the guy who stole it, stick them up his ass, and say "these sound better anyway, right?" Then I'd take my POD back and blow his ass-tube tone out of the water.

Very easy to use (compared to some rack unit like a Lexicon mpx-1
witch for me as one of the badest menu design).
very easy to find good sounds.
MIDI editing is also not a problem
only thing I don't like is the way it handle volume change
when changing preset. (but could be me...)

I play this unit trough a fender US Strat. and a Gibson ES-135
I only use that thing for direct-recording on my computer,
and for that purpose, this is a fantastic tool !
For live situation, I still prefer a real amp.
my favorite settings are Modern HIGAIN (modeled on a soldano)
and black panel (modeled on a fender).
other amp settings are good too.
they are also some effects that I don't use a lot (I prefer
computer's plugin for that purpose)

2 years, no problems

never called them

very good tool for recording on a computer.
If stollen, I will first check the Vamp from Behringer
cause it seems to be good too, for less money than the
POD.