Line 6 POD PRO

This thing handles amp models beautifully. It has like, 32 amps, 16 effects, and 16 cabs, I think. Quite a bit. The backside has more inputs and syncs, and MIDI stuff, than most any other rackmount I have seen, and I work with a lot of rack gear!

Damn this thing smokes. Anyone who says it sucks or has harsh tone must be using a poor power amp, speakers, or something. I have never had that problem when coupled with good gear (Roland, Mesa/Boogie). Absolutely insane distortion for the Mesa/Boogie, Soldano, Marshall JCM 800, and Line 6 Insane. You throw that down with a good power amp, forget it son, that's gonna level buildings. For overdriven and clean amps, same deal, beautiful. Just get this badboy a good power amp.

This thing has done gigs and bedroom, and it withstands the rigors of shows and wear and tear. Only problem is that my digital sync switch on the front broke off, which lets the POD sync with Pro Tools and other HD recording system (very cool), but this is easily fixed for like, $2.

No problems yet.

I have been playing several years, and play in a black/thrash/oddball ultra-heavy metal band, and this thing suits my every need. Just be wary of the footswitch cable...it's a T1, and it has trouble holding up if handled rough, but if you get a good cable, it's no big deal. I have compared the models against some of the real deals. The Roland JC-120 sounds the same, Fenders sound the same, and the real Mesa actually gets ROMPED by this. This hold together a lot better. Marshall JCM 800 is the same deal. My buddy, who plays in a death metal band loves it too, but he wishes they made a VHT model, or even some Peavy (5150, Triple XXX, etc...). Knowing Line 6 they will. He says it's a great buy too!

Does 95% of what a preamp & FX-unit should do. If you want to do extreme processing to build out-a-space sound-scapes, you'll need an extra FX-processor.
All the hardware-features (inputs & outputs) are extremely pleasant, both for me as for the band's FOH-engineer as in the (Pro-Tools based) studio.
The one thing that REALLY sucks is the fact that (when playing in Live Mode) the balanced outputs don't carry a representative speaker-compensated signal to the mixer. Sounds strange, doesn't it?
When switched to studio-mode, the balanced outs carry the speaker-emulated sound I want; the unbalanced outs then carry the same signal.
When in live-mode, the unbalanced outs carry a signal that is optimized for feeding a power-amp + guitar-cab; the balanced outs now only carry a simple filtered sound (comparable to a Hughes and Kettner Redbox), because the POD-Pro needs its processing-power for feeding the right signal to the unbalanced outs.
Well, to really fullfill both my guitar-cab's needs as the FOH-mixer I will need TWO Pod-Pro's. Mmm, that's not what they promised me ...

I can almost get any sound out of it that I want, except for really clean sounds. Even when switched to a Fender Twin Reverb, you'll always end with some form of distortion.
For the rest, if you're willing to do "deep editing", you'll get the sound you'll want. Please use <a href="http://www.patchwizard.com/">PatchWizard</a> though, because SoundDiver for PC is such an unreliable piece of software.
The front-panel of the POD-Pro REALLY sucks big time; it looks very cool, the designers did their job very well, but functionally I'd prefer a menu-driven screen. Knobs seem a cool idea, especially for beginners, but they're useless if you cannot reach all the parameters. The "Pro" extension in this device's name, should also lead to a Professional user-interface in my opinion.

Be willing to make some strange decisions about amp- and speaker-choice, because very strange combinations can do the job. For example "1x12'' Vox AC-15" is a bit of a whimpy description, but I use it as as speaker simulation for all of my Heavy Metal sounds.

The sound is not as direct as an analog setup, processing power needs a little delay, but it's not hearable, only feelable. I'm willing to live with that.

I agree with the sound-purists about lack of real tube "TONE", but making the guitar sound wonderfull is one thing; getting the right sound on tape is another. Only if I become a pro with 10's of thousands of budget for making our CD, I'll go the purists-way. Untill then (10K is our budget) ... modelling works right for me, because it save me a lot of time to work on things that are really important, like mixing and making the song work.
If you've ever tried to make a guitar sound fall into its place in a professional mix, you'll know that all the effort that you've taken to record that wonderfull analog tube-sound can be useless, considering the decisions that you'll have to make to make the song work. Same thing that I say to hifi-purist nerds: let's make some music.

There's not a lot of analog components in there that can break and the housing is VERY sturdy and reliable. No backup needed.

Never had real problems. I updated my firmware to 1.3 just by mailing the European Line6 department. One week later it came in my mailbox in an envelope ... for free.

Line6's website and user community are splendidly organized; they're also not afraid letting people complain on their bulletin boards, even when someone completely pisses the company off.

I play guitar for 20 years, 5 of them (semi-) professionally in a Heavy Metal band called <a href="http://www.orphanage.net">Orphanage</a>. If it was stolen, I would definitely buy another one and upload my own sounds; my sound relies on it for 100%.

I love it for it's sounds, it's reliability and it's looks.
I love it for the fact that it doesn't offer features that 95% of the guitarists never uses.
I hate it for the lack of real clean sounds and the lack of a menu-driven interface.

Sometimes I long for analog equipment again, I recently tried an Engl-amplifer for example. Analog guitar-amps sound more direct, a bit less harsh and more musical (very noticable for example when you play chords and listen to all notes individually), but the sounds of the POD are ALMOST AS GOOD and the one thing that keeps me playing my POD-Pro is that it's PRACTICAL and very RELIABLE.

I'll guess I'll stick with it.

~I'm writing this as an afterthought....

I owned it, recorded with it, then dumped it on ebay within a few months...
(see below)

I made quite a few recordings with the Pod Pro before I sold it.

Looking back now, I'm really impressed with the tracks that I laid.
So much so, that I'm back here checking opinions before possibly
re-buying another one.

It was somewhat uninspiring to listen to on it's own...
But, thinking back, it really fit well into my tunes.
And most of the time, recorded better than my amps.
(thru: Equitek C-350/Joemeek VC1/Maudio1010/Logic Audio)

It just seems to "fit" into the mix.
After a little LAP coercion...

I'm not a technically proficient player, but I'd like
to think that I have a good ear. Specializing in mixing.

So, I have to give the thing credit.

Also, I should say that (if I remember correctly) I didn't
find much to love in the default presets.
But, I was able to cook-up a few sounds that pleased me.
Clean wasn't one of them.
I ended up turning to the Joemeek VC1 direct with a 80s Yamaha 335 w/Gibson P90s.

Maybe the technology still has a way to go.....

But, for what it is, I find it hard to fault.

I bought it new, and didn't have any issues....
???

Well....

I contacted sales to see if they would be coming out with a
Version2 any time soon.
It was a very respectful letter.
But, going on well over year now, they've never responded.

I gave them an out by conceding that they may not be able to comment
on upcoming products, but I was still disappointed by the lack of reply.

Playing dreadfully for about 12 years, I've consumed way more
than my legal limit of gear....

The PP is OK at $550, but for $350... I'd probably love it.
For less than $500, my Mesa/Boogie Quad pre-amp outlasted the PP
by years, until it too went to the chopping block.

When reading these reviews, you need to examine the reason why the item was purchased. Everyone has different needs and certainly different opinions!! Based on that statement, the Pod Pro really doesn't have the features I need. I've been playing guitar for about 30 years, and I presently write and record my own music. I also play live with a band. The music can be classified as "progressive rock"
similar to the music of King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and others... My music requires pretty wide range of guitar tones. Everything from totally clean to heavy distortion.
I am EXTREMELY critical of my distortion tone I get out of my setup.

I've always used tube amps. I have tried over and over and over again through the years to use solid state and tube emulation devices. They just can't emulate tube distortion!! period!! "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!" If you can't hear the difference, then you have tin cans for ears!!! I bought the Pod Pro to replace the ADA MP-1 in my rig, forget it!! Of course the features of the MP-1 are not up to the modern technology of the Pod-Pro but I'm strictly judging on guitar sound, tone, and critical distortion....

If you're into speed metal, death metal, etc.. then please ignore the following comments about the sound of the Pod-Pro... As I said, everyone has different "loves" and "hates".... I hate what I frequently refer to as "buzz saw distortion" Of course this type of sound is very popular with many metal players, they absolutely love it and I have no problem with that, it just aint me!! I can't stand that high frequency buzz!... 90 percent of the amp models in the pod-pro have that god-awful nasty distortion!.. Yes, I have spent hours tweeking and programming.. No creamy, smooth TUBE distortion!, If you don't believe me (and I'm sure there are many out there!!) set up the Pod-Pro side by side next to an MP-1 or Chandler Tube driver and do an A/B comparison... make sure you play CHORDS for this test, not just single note leads.. that's where you can really hear the difference!... When you play certain chord combinations through the Pod-Pro using a semi-distorted setting you can hear the offensive intermodulation digital artifacts coming through.
I can hear it... I'm not crazy. You'll read the following statements from others... they are total BULL-S*** !

1) Famous guitarist Joe Blow uses one, it's gotta be good!
2) Multi-million dollar studio xyz has one, it's gotta be great!
3) Our digital distortion modeling sounds just like tubes!

Yea right!!

Don't know..... returned it!

??

While the Pod-pro to some degree manages to emulate the overall "sound" of some amplifiers, it falls short in the distortion catagory. Also, it is not very user friendly in the programming department.

made early 2001, play mostly heavy stuff, however love blues and sparkling clean too
We all know the features, basically all you need. However as someone else mentioned, it would be good if all 32 amps were listed, not just the first 16, having to go through the manual is really annoying.
I use it for both live and recording.
This baby conquers in the studio, almost too easy. Very cost effective not having to fuck around and get the sound right.
Live it's great too, however make sure you have a deasent power amp cos if you dont it wont perform to well when you really crank it.

set-up as follows
Greg Bennet Signature Series Ultramatic with DiMarzio Evolution Bridge >POD Pro >Behringer Dualfex Pro Sonic Enhancer >Yamaha P1600 Power Amp > Marshall 1960A Box
Suits my style perfectly.Gain and distortions absolutly scream. I would go on about the recto and JCM800 settings, but everyone else has so enough said on those. Basically they are pretty damn convincing.
Some people in other reviews have said they cant get clean sounds. Come on, it's really not that hard. Line 6 Clean? Roland JC120? - the sounds are in there, just have a little patience and tactic to your dialling and perfect, shimmering clean tone is awaiting. Add a little chorus and delay and magnifique!! - oh, make sure you neck pick-up is selected for extra warmth.
Vox AC30 Fuckn roars. Really jumps out and bytes you in the arse - cranked some wicked Queen tracks on that setting. Modern High Gain - Gary Moore in your pocket, Boogie Models are great and the Plexi gives a great Hendrix tone, use a cry baby and hell yeah.
This thing shines on both clean and distortion.And yes, the distortion is very brutal.
Now, the sonic inhancer is the icing on the cake.With that running to, no one I know can touch my sound. This is great when the volume is moderately loud. When I really push it I bypass the inhancer cos it's not good when loud. Definition breaks up, and basically becomes a bit messy. So yeah, I bypass it, turn down the gain a bit, punch the mid up a bit, and turn that little knob to the right until I feel my bones vibrating.

Seems fairly rock solid. Have it in a rack case (duh) so not a problem. I'd gig with it without back-up, but I'm gonna get something incase. that can sit in the rack as a reserve.
Never broken down, and I hope it doesnt cos I live in Sydney Australia and bought it in South Africa so my warranty isn't valid!!! - big time shit

Never had to deal with them, but when I do, if my dealer cant help me, it's gonna cost a shitload in international phone calls.

Been playing for eleven years. Now unlike most of the guys reviewing this, I don't live in the US, I live in Sydney, so I don't exactly have the variety and strong currency of yankee players, and unlike some of these guys, I haven't owned every piece of equipment under the sun. But, I have heared lots of different amps. My lasy amp was a Marshall VS100 Combo, which was alright but didn't cut it. I was playing an RG450 at the time. Then I got a V-Amp, that was fun, I researched amp modelling, and the rest is history.
Here in Australia we get mostly Line 6,Marshalls, Fender and Peavey. Very hard to get top end American gear. All Boogies, Soldano's are virtually impossible to find and gear like VHT or smaller companies are basically unheard of. Probably cos if it's expensive for people in the US, it's gonna be twice the price here.
So me having my POD Pro, I'm happy, for now, I know I never will be, but hey, are any of us ever going to be totally happy......

I heard a band use the Flextone Amps ones, when they were warming up, i though...."god why?" I dont buy into this hype about computers emulating the guitar sounds of classic amps and effects.

The band then started in on their set, and it sounds really amazing, so i gave it a change. This is where i made a mistake. This thing is a toy....by no means a professional peice of gear. After all the technological advances, you can, in no way, pass this off as the "last peice of gear you will ever need".

I use all Jackson's and les Pauls, with EMG-81's. Ths unit is not particularly noisy, but it also does not re-create any type of a usable tube tone. It does offer a wide variety....but dont let that fool you, after weeks of tweaking, its still sounds to me like a waste of money. The effects are a joke, and the distortions are a waste of time. The recording outs arent worth my demos, as it sounds like your plugging a zoom multi effects into a pc card.

I wish it would die....

These guys are @#$@'s. I feel like im calling a call center, and they are looking up the answers to my questions on a computer menu. Your fired.

ive been playing for about 9 years. Right now, i use a Mesa Boogie Triaxis, a 2:90, and a bunch of stomp boes through a Ground Control switching system, mesa and amrshall cabs. Never again will a computer try to bring me down!!! DONT BUY INTO THE HYPE. Playing guitar isnt cheap, invest in quality, not the newest computer trends, youll never be happy with crap!!!

Look people. This thing rocks. Counter to other people, i've found it very very good for live situations. There's just one little thing that annoys me. After having it in LIVE MODE the sucker still emulates cabinets. If i turn the emulation off then the XLR outs will not emulate so the direct out for the house mixer will be A.I.R. emulated but not cab emulated so that's a prob cuz there are no dynamics in the house speakers.

Another flaw this thing has is that, for detailed adjustments you HAVE TO get midi cables and plug it to your PC. The noise gate is VERY VERY good but it cant be adjusted via FINGERS haha!. So i'm stuck with that now.. i have to be careful with gain so i dont get hiss when i play.
If the noise gate was adjustable from the front or rear panel it would be GREAT!.

every amp you ever want or need i dont ues effects so no coment their

i was in the stuido the other week with my band and my fender blues juinor blew a tube so the engener toled me to plug in to his pod pro and now i will never bring another anp to the studio agian and i will buy my self a pod 2.0
the amp iused were the twin reverb and ac30 for all my dirty rethem and jcm800 for lead i must be one of the bigest tube snobes on earth but i have no erson to complain becaus this it nerly if not as good as the real things

kick ass tone all the amps any one needs i only wish i could have mesed with the boogie mark11

this amp has all the features I need.
I'm in a band that makes modern heavier metal (nu-metal, if you will, I wouldn't wanna call it that) so I need a lot of hi-gain distortions and sparkling clean and everything in between. and this amp has it!
the effects are great once you learn how to model them and the distortions are great too, especially the "modern hi-gain" amp model really does it for me, it sounds almost like a rectifier or something. the "rectified" amp however, does not sound like the latest mesa boogie dual rectifiers to me (line 6 says so), but more like the first edition rectifiers from like 1995 (props to mesa, they're getting better and better!), this one sounds less agressive, but still a lot of gain, only with a warmer edge...
it also has a live/studio switch which is just awesome. it's a great solution and if we're ever gonna record, I will use my pod. I've heard songs that were recorded with this thing and it can sound like anything a guitarist desires: from raw and crunchy to modern and punchy!

at the moment I'm using a Yamaha rgz312 guitar with the original pickups (ordered single-single-hum).
the pod goes trough a marshall valvestate 8008 poweramp (this thing sucks: I need tubes!!!) to a Stage Accompany custom cabinet-case with 4 x 12" 75 watt Celestions.
for now my band is tuned in drop-D, but soon we're switching to 7 string guitars and 5 string bass.
the Pod is just great for the style of music that we play. we're influenced by bands like Tool, Mudvayne, Meshuggah, Dream Theater, RATM and so on... for a lot of our guitar riffs we demand groove, punch and heavyness (except for the clean parts ofcourse).
and the pod lives up to all those things. when modelled correctly, I can produce the punchiest distortions, the crunchiest crunches and the most sparkling clean sounds.
one thing that amazed me the most was the noise gate! this thing really takes away all the feedback and noise you get if you add more gain.
the varieties on this baby are endless really, no matter what style you play: Jazz, Blues, Funk, Grunge, Rock, Death metal, heavy metal, hardcore, nu-metal what evaaah!!!
the clean channels need to be adjusted at higher volumes though, because it will sound like it's got a bit too much treble.
the distortions, as mentioned before, are just perfect and perfectly adjustable.

I certainly would use this amp any time at any gig. it hasn't failed me yet, and as long as it doesnt fall out of my rack-case or something, I think it never will.

be careful with transportation though, I took it with me on a train when I did not yet have a flightcase for it. ofcourse the trainrails were bumpy and I packed the pod wrapped in towels in a cardboard box.
when we unpacked the thing, the guitar plug-in got screwed out of it's socket because of the bumpy ride (i think). so we had to open the pod and screw it back in.
it never happened again, though...

but after all I think the most important issue here is the poweramp. please, work hard and get yourself a tube poweramp! it'll make the pod sound even better! I've heard it trough a marshall jcm 900 head and it blew me away! It's better quality and way more reliable than a valvestate amp...

i never had to contact them...

I've been playing guitar now for like 3,5 years and the pod suits me fine.
I've worked my way up from a one channel 150 watts homemade combo with a zoom1010 fx-pedal to the rig I'm using now.
Before I went looking for a new amp I saw that the amps that had the sounds that I desired were unaffordable.
the pod seemed a perfect solution to me...
If it were stolen or lost, I hope I can get another pod pro.
The only thing I need to replace in my rig is the power amp. I really want a tube poweramp, which will improve my overall sound big time.
One of the many things I love about the pod is the variety of sounds and the fact that it's adjustable for any situation.
There's really nothing I hate about the Pod (I only hate my poweramp ;).

The other guitarist in my band has a Boss GT-6 amp/effects modeller. He can get some pretty cool sounds out of it, but I noticed it's hard to (quickly) adjust the settings for another amp or guitar, so I'm pretty satisfied with my pod...(besides that, the GT-6 has way too many buttons for me ;)

one thing that I would like to have in addition is the floorboard, because of it's wah AND volume pedal and it's better than a midi-controller: it's easier to connect and handle because it's made especially for the Pod (and Flextone amp).
Right now I'm using the fb4, so I'm not able to do some serious
wah-ing ...

Won't go into that because its been covered extensively.

Some of the sounds/models are good and some are not. This is an OK system trying to be all things to all players. It just doesn't work that way. Sometimes I am happy with it and sometimes I get that sick feeling like I fell for the bullshit advertising hype again.

Hasn't broken yet.

Tried to contact and talk to company when Line 6 first came out. They were not very helpful.

OK, this is what pisses me off about Line 6 in general. They get you to buy this stuff by telling you that this is the last piece of equipment you will ever have to buy and that all you have to do is download upgrades from now on. We all get it now. That goes on for one or maybe two upgrades if you are lucky. Then that model is discontinued and they come out with another one that they claim is the newest and best ever with super duper sequential amoritized musical acoustic antistatic high voltage precision modeling. Of course the new model is the last effect or amp you will ever have to buy because it has everything and it is the new "flagship." One year from now the cycle will repeat again and sucker in a bunch of new players. At least we can use our old computers for boat anchors. These POD pros aren't really heavy enough for that.