Line 6 POD PRO

As far as doing what it's supposed to do, which is model amps, it's great. It has a total of 32 models, most of which are usable to some extent. It also got some basic built in effects--reverb, chorus, flange, delay, compression, tremolo. Has a noise gate too. 36 user-definable patches. I've seen some people complain that they need a lot more than 36 patches. If you ask me, these people have way too much time on their hands. There's a connection for just about anything you could want: 1/4" unbalance, xlr balanced, midi, etc etc etc. My biggest complaint with the features is their ease of use and programming; as everyone knows by now, just about every single control has a secondary function which is accessed by holding down the tap key. This is a pain in the ass. I bet that every single POD owner would rather have twice as many controls on the POD. In addition, there are a number of functions and parameters that are only accessible with a computer and a midi connection. I don't want to have to drag the POD home from my band's studio every time I want to change one of these "hidden" functions, and dragging a laptop over to the studio sucks too. Would it have been all that hard for Line6 to put a friggin bright switch on the thing? And the tap button is a great way to determine effect timing--unless you want an exact number. And that never happens or anything. Ha. No one likes cursors and arrow keys in a rack unit, but sometimes ya need em. And if you're planning on using the POD in a live situation, you NEED the $250.00 foot board. The overall features of the POD are great, but I'm giving them a 7 based on ease of use.

I play a Schecter C-1+ with Seymour Duncans and an Ibanez S-series with Dimarzios through the POD, for the most part. If I'm playing with it live, I run it through a BBE 482 Sonic Maximizer and a Behringer Ultra Curve eq into a Crate power amp and Peavey 5150 cabinets. It sounds awesome direct in or live. There are enough amp models to keep you busy for a long time and to suit pretty much any musical style I can think of. I mainly use Rectifier 2 (a 94 Mesa head) and the Line6 clean, but I've played around with a lot of the others. The Marshall JCM 800 and 68 Plexi models are really good, and the Soldano X88R and SLO are fun too. The Line6 Insane can get to be a little much, but it's useful if you want to get that heavy. I tend to use the Drive/Boost and Presence bump settings on a lot of my distortions; it gives them just enough edge. The clean is better than people think; if you want an absolutely clean sound of of the POD, you have to make sure the Drive is ALL THE WAY down, and turn off the Distortion and Drive/Boost if you have them on. The Presence bump works with some cleans, but it clips a bit at times. The effects are not great but not bad. They're definitely useable, but if you have a better effects unit, you can put it through the effects loop. I do this sometimes with a Boss GT-6. It's not noisy if you use the noise gate. Obviously, the more drive you use, the more it'll tend to feed back. The only models that really give me any feedback problems are the Line6 Insane and the Soldano SLO, and even those are controllable.

It's solidly built, all metal, and in a rack case, so I'm guessing it'll be pretty reliable. The foot board is pretty good too. The volume and wah pedals seem a little more fragile than the rest of the board, but I never use them anyway.

Line6 has probably the best website of any musical instrument manufacturer I've ever seen. Chances are, if you have a question, you can find the answer online. There's also a section where you can download patches that were created by other users and upload your own, if you want. Really great stuff. I've never had to contact customer support cuz every question I had was either on their FAQ or on the user message board. I wish every company had a site like this.

I've been playing for nine years now, and I've owned a lot of gear, including a lot of amps. This is definitely the best preamp or amp I've ever owned. I've tried cheaper modeling processors by other companies, and Line6 is the best by far. Be warned though: if you're looking for an "all in one" box with lots of multi effects and eq's and weird noises and stuff, this won't do it. It's an "Amp Modeler," not a multi effects unit. I look at the few effects it does have as a kind of bonus; the POD's real function is ONLY to simulate amps, and it does that very, very well. And keep in mind that while the POD may not sound exactly like the amps it's modeling, you're paying under a thousand bucks for it. Last time I checked, you could get about three or for PODS for the same price as a single Mesa head. As I mentioned above, the only things I hate about it are the control layout and the necessity of a computer for advanced editing; other than that, this is a quality box to build either a recording or live rig around.

It's really helpfull to read the manual first! The knobs are usualy pretty obvious, but for some amp models, they do different things depending on what options the amp had. It also takes a little getting used to the knobs since if you are making an adjustment to a saved patch, the knob is most likly to be in a different possition than the saved setting and you have to twist it a little to activate that knob for adjusting. It can be anoying if you don't know where you started from and you just wanted to make a little adjustment. If you have a computer hooked up to, you can actually see where the knobs are pointing and make changes though there. You can also fine tune or play with some options that are not accessable though the front panel or that are not easy to do. The tap tempo option is cool if you want to change speed of an effect to match the rest of the people you are plaing with. This is unit's way of setting things is all done though knobs or tapping, trying to get a natual sound. If you wanted to dial a delay to 425ms, it can be done like other processors, you'd have to use a computer to enter in exact values.

This thing sounds incredible. I bought this for the variety of sounds vs. how good they are compared to the real amps. I know they are not perfect repoductions, but I think for the cost, size, weight and ease of use to get all of those amps in there, it's a more than fair trade-off. I wouldn't spend the money to buy the real things and break my back luging them all around to gigs. I like being able to play U2 to Blues, Van Halen, Metallica, etc. I've used this with a lot of differnt amps to see how this sounds in different setups and it makes any amp and guitar sound great if you know the right way to route the signals and configure the unit. It has modes that you can change if you use it with a combo amp, a half stack or in front of a PA System. I use it mainly through my VHT Pittbull Forty-Five 1x12" Combo. I sometimes use a Carvin 2x12" Extension Cab to hang with people using Half or Full Stacks. I've used it with serval high-end PA's and some cheap little ones, just to show how good this things sounds by it self. People kept saying it was my amp that made it sound as good as it did. I then plug it straight into the PA and prove them wrong. It does sound a little better though my amp since it's a tube amp and I can dialed the amp in to where I can get the natural warmth of the tubes without destroying the tone of the amp model. I love the speakers and cab options. You can make combinations that don't exist. You can make up a comination like: the head of a combo amp with a half stack cab with some other size and brand of speakers. It also is incredible for recording. I haven't heard a better processor plugged straight into a recorder.
I like that is has effects with it, but I didn't buy this for those. They are sort of a bonus. They seemed to have left out a phaser, but I know they have all of those pedal modelers now. The effects do OK, but I use a Rocktron Intellifex LTD to do a better job with more control over delays, reverb, etc.

I use it without a backup. I have it in an SKB ATA rack and it has fallen off stage once and it landed face down with only a minor bend in one of the mounting tabs, that I was able to bend back straight. The floor board is pretty good, after I tighted up a few screws that loosened up, causing the switched to be unpredictable.

I have never talked directly to a support rep, but I frequently use the site for the FAQ, Tech Manuals, Pactch Libraries, etc. And I find everyting that I need.

I've been playing for over 15 years and have owned may effects processors, guitars, amps, etc. I've always loved having effects all together in a single package and I was captivated by the amp modeling technology. The effects are OK, I sometimes use them over my other effects processor when I'm lazy and don't want to bother with the extra setup. If it was stolen, my biggest delema would not be if I liked it enough or if it was worth the money, but weather or not I get the exact same one. Line-6 has recently add the Vetta series to their line, and I'd be tempted to check that series out, but I also would consider buying an AX2 or their Half Stack version too. But overall I would buy something from them if I had to replace something.

I realize that everyone and their mother has reviewed this item, but it seems like everyone who has reviewed it has done so with only limited exposure to the Pod Pro... and yes I think 6 months is limited exposure... So... here I go... I won't list features, since they are described adequately. Suffie it to say that there are features that I have stopped using and it has made all the difference. That said, how could this not get a 10 in features?

I got this unit about a year ago, and was immediately less than enthused by the factory sounds... They were good for that guy who plays the most distorted hi gain crap metal, and that guy only (must work great for selling them to kids whose parents won't shell out $1800 for a triple rectifier) ANYHOW... I set out to create new sounds. The basic problem I think people have with the POD PRO is not seting it up correctly from the start. I say this, because I read the book and set it up like they said and found that both the book and I were wrong. But I persevered... I dialed in a host of amps and effects and settings and just stuff that seemed like it should make sense... It was making me insane... To the point where "practicing" became about getting the pod pro to sound good... INSANITY

So then I pulled it out of my rack and went recording with it...

When I record, I record with no effects what-so-ever. Ahhh... I would dial up an amplifier and tweak the knobs and everything would be Golden... splendid... The Pod Pro reproduced the sounds faithfully and had the feel of the amp modeled... I was loving this thing...

I should explain that in my 16 years of playing the guitar, I have played on just about every amp that has been made. When in the studio, I make it a point to record with vintage amplifiers and stuff that might be way out of my price range when it comes to ownership. I have played many, many of the finer boutique amps made. I love them, and I think that when I played thru the pod pro in the studio, I heard the sounds of those amps coming thru the cabinet.

I was very impressed... It dawned on me there and then that the Pod Pro was a great PREAMP and I should treat it that way. It is not a processor, nor is it an all in one box like the digitechs and rolands and bosses I see on the floor in front of so many cover players... I took the Pod Pro home after the sessions and tried again to make it work... IT DID... I set it up to use as only a preamp(to clarify, I was using it for the amp sounds and matching cabinets only) no effects, no boost, no distortion, no reverb nothing... it worked...

I started using all my old stomp boxes in front of it... the response was just like the modeled amp would have been... I got a processor for time based effects and put it in the loop... Perfect... I got a lexicon reverb and put it in at the end of the effects chain in the loop... again... perfect...

So... instead of going on about everything I have done to my rig to use the Pod Pro I will say this...

I think the Models are outstanding, I think that the feel of the amps is right there, I love the clean sounds I am using, they are tight and punchy, I like the distortion sounds I am using, and recently I decided that I like the delay(as a digital delay should be...)

I do not like most of the effects, I do not like the reverb, I do not like the people who can't get over the fact that this doesn't use tubes to achieve the feel of a tube amplifier... Maybe those people didn't play well to begin with... maybe the amps they were using masked the fact that they had fingers made of stone... I don't know... maybe they should take a nice 6L6gc and stick it in their ass and see if that helps... Maybe they are just old and in the way... Maybe, just maybe, the rest of the equipment they use is garbage...

I will leave you with this... This unit is deep... Very Deep... So Deep that there is a lot to consider when you are thinking about using this in a live rig... consider what you are currently using... you may have to replace it with other gear... you may need to sell your Crate cabinet and $100 power amp and get something decent... Think about it before you go get one only to find out what you really needed to do was go get some lessons... I'm getting bitter and angry... I will move on... Just remember... you can only blame the technology for so long... at some point someone will realize that you suck and call you out...

I do use this on gigs without backup... I have never had a problem with it. It has never broken down, but then, I treat things with respect and care... Even when I am smashing my guitar or lighting it on fire, or spearing speakers with the headstock... it's all out of love...

I called them on the telephone to see why I couldn't get it to sound quite right and the fellow on the other end of the line sat there with me, while I tried his suggestions... they were very helpful... they were very kind... thank you to Dave(I think...) at Line 6

I love this thing... I have it down to where I am now using 7 of the Amp models in various states of gain and eq... and the Delay, which is nice and easy to control from the floorboard... Tuner is nice too... here is the one thing that line 6 should be smart enough to do... now that they have the separate effects modelers, take the effects out of the pod pro and make it a better preamp... let them pay for more things from your fine company... After all, you are a corporation and your main focus should be bilking us out of our hard earned american dollars... we are americans... we expect that sort of treatment...

One other thing that I don't feel I have stressed enough... And in the form of a question for all you freaks out there infatuated with yourselves...

How is it that so many people including that guitar player from Creed(who I'd like to get into a knife fight with), Bobby Weir, That dude from Soundgarden, and others who you can only imagine must have to have great tone use these things if the feel of them is so poor???

I will say it again... if you love tubes that much and cannot part with them, shove one straight up your ass and see if it helps...

Plenty of features, versatile, use only in the home studio.

I use a G & L Legacy (stock) and Zion Radicaster (SAs), play 60s, 70s. This unit can be a little noisy, but the gate does a pretty good job.

No problems yet.

No need

This unit was made for the studio. It does a very adequate job in that environment. I use a Triaxis, 2:90 and Intelleflex live and am totally satisfied. The POD Pro keeps me from having to lug all my stuff up the stairs.

Overall amp emulation sounds great, even better when cabinet emulation is off and you're running through a actual cabinet of your choice. The effects selection are few. Probably the only ones mentionable here are the reverb and echo, my even compression. Chorus and Flange appear bland in sound quality, and it does no help in the already great tone in the amp modeling mix. After six months of use and numerous gigs, it has not failed me. Even received comments on a nice sounding "Mesa Boogie" rectifier. When I told them what I actually had, they sh**! Recent recordings with the Pod Pro proved to be more than just another effects/modeling gadget. My recordings sound like they were done professionally. I would love to see Line 6 dudes produce additional effects such as acoustic sim, detune, as well as upgrade their current quality of effects. As for the floorboard, no complaints at all. No noticable clicks or breaks between patch switching. Volume and wah works as advertised. And a big hurray for durability on this floorboard. I think they built it from old tank parts. Dropped it numerous times (my clumsey ass) on the front side from an average of 5 feet, leaving only minor scratches. Overall, highly recommended gig gear. It's steep price well worth the investment.

The only downfall in the sound category is the clean channels. Slightly distorted and muddy at high volume, but you're able to touch it up and use it live. All other modeling sounds I used live prove their worthiness. I prefer to bypass the cabinet modeling and let my 4x12 cabinets do the actual talking. Friends who watch me play live are trying to copy the sounds with regular amps like Crate and Peavey, but to no avail. It's a versatile weapon on stage, allowing your tones to cut through.

Very dependable product. I have carried with me a backup amp, but never used it. The Pod has been dropped at least twice (the floorboard more than I can remember), and stills plays well. With fluxuating power sources in smoky bars and the like, I never had a problem of the Pod shutting down. Used it one time outdoors in 102 temperatures in the desert, and found no problems. Very well constructed.

Never used it

Overall rating - 10. I have used actual Boogies, Marshalls, and others, and for the price I paid compared to having all the other amps is worth it. Again, I would love to see improvements in their effects arena. I always recommended this product to all my friends and people who question my equipment. Hats off to Line 6 for even having a Zippo lighter with their logo! (haha) Awesome product! Stop thinking about it and get it with the floorboard!

This is the ultimate processor for "features". High quality amp emulation and effects too. The effects are not truely "high quality" but usable. The real awesomeness of this product is the realistic amp emulations - more than you could really use.

Sounds are great, can go from sweet 80's rock tones, to blues tones, to modern rectified tones, to clean. All the tones are great, but the clean is probably the poorest of them all - still good and usable. The effects are middle of the road, I suggest using very little effects and letting the amp emulation tone stand out, no need to screw it up by adding too much echo or flange, ect.

No problems yet, but only owned it for three weeks

Can't answer this one, haven't needed it yet.

I've only used it for studio/home applications. Have not used it live yet. But for studio you probably can't beat it with anything else on the market today. You can certainly find more expensive processors out there, but not one with more options or truely better amp emulation. I think Line 6 does rip you off for the $260 pedal board that you will eventually need (for live use), but thats just a credit to capitalism (bastards). Anyway, do yourself a favor and fork out the $600 for an awesome piece of equipment, you won't regret it. I read one guys review that says that he can't get any usable tones out of this unit - the only answer I have to that is that he MUST be a complete idiot. I've played many payed gigs in an 80's rock cover band about 10 years ago and have owned tons of equipment - this is the sh*t (for now anyway).

32 Amp models, 16 cabinet models, 16 effect options, various I/O options. Very Versatile! epecially for home recording purposes.

I am only going to write this review from a direct recording standpoint since that is what I use it for 99% of the time. I purchased the POD PRO after selling a JMP-1 6 months ago because I was in search of a wider range of tones for my home studio. After 6 months of getting familiar with the POD I can truly say I am impressed. I'm not going to make the claim that the amp simulations are dead on to the original amps, I havn't even played most of those originals, but most of the amp models do sound very good and dynamic in my opinion. The Fender models can get very clean with sparkle, and slightly overdriven for good bluesy rhythms. The JCM 800, Rectified, and Soldano models all have great distortion characteristics from downright edgy and scooped for metal to a more smooth or vintage crunch. And all the cab simulations provide a distinct voicing from darker to brighter. I use an outboard processor for most of my effects so I don't use the POD effects but they are usable but basic. The one point I would try to hit home about the POD is that it takes time to get the hang of finding tones in this unit but once you do its options are unlimited. I was frustrated for the first 2 months I owned the thing then one day it started to click. Now I can hear a certain tone I want to emulate and can usually do it within a few minutes.

6 months...works fine.

Great unit with good usable tone for direct home studio use. Very versatile and fun to play with.

The features are too much to mention - bags of fx, some perfectly usable, others less so. Digital out is handy for recording. My main gripe with features would be the fx loop as it is configured as stereo jack outs and ins, and I would have preferred seperates, maybe they were space saving - who knows. Don't want to pap on too much in this section as I think its been COVERED in previous reviews. So I give it a nine, deducting 1 point for the loop.

Bought the thing about one year ago in my eternal quest for the tone grail. Prior to this I'd been thru various amps and configurations - always tubes/ mainly boogies plus a brief stint with a 5150 head.I've been playing for around 25 years, 16 yrs pro/semi pro so I've been around the block a few times and know what I want from tone - but I've never really achieved it. So...I decided to take the stereo plunge, bought myself a reasonable power amp (Marshall 9000 series at the mo. with boog 295 on the way) and the pod pro. I have always been a bit of an impulse buyer and got the pod without really trying it - call it instinct or pure stupidity, I don't really know.... guess what my mrs thinks! When I got the thing home I spent hours trying to get even a half decent sound - this soon turned into days and then weeks but at last I began to make some headway.
Firstly, make sure you are in live mode (I spent two days in studio mode cos I didn't read the manual! - maybe the wife has a point!!)
2ndly, turn off cabinet sim, although the manual suggests you can get some good sounds with this option turned on this is bogus info in my opinion, unless you wanr a processed, crappy sound.
3rdly, invest in a decent o/board fx, I use a tc M2000 and this kicks the onboard fx nutless. Basically, the more pure and simple the signal from pod to amp, the better.
I think the main thing to consider is that the biggest problem with the pod is also its greatest strength - versatility. because you have so many options it is so easy to fart about for months without nailing the sound you are after. I've now achieved a glorious lead/crunch sound (modern high gain model) and champion clean setting (fender blackface!!) which I kind of happened upon after a LONG time trying to get what I wanted from the rectifier model. This model sounds great direct, but never quite right through an amp (in my opinion). It was after reading an interview with Ty Tabor of KINGS X that I plumped for these models, he has achieved some of the most inspiring tones ever submitted to tape and this is his configuration. Thats enough of that - my fingers are aching.

No probs.

To conclude, I really think the strength of this unit comes at the price of a simple solution/instant tone in a live, amped-up situation. It really does depend on what you use to amplify the bugger, plus HOW you use it.
Basically, if things aren't instantly right, persevere - the sounds ARE there, god knows.
There are a lot of mixed reviews on this page and you can bet your right ball that every reviewer has a different configuration/application, its just a case of finding what works for you. Now this isn't necessarily easy, but trust me it will be worth the effort.

Made in 2002.
It's a fairly versatile unit especially with the input and output options.

I've been playing guitar for 15 years. I play in a progressive metal band. I play a Steinberger 6 string guitar with Dimarzio Tone Zone/Air Norton pickups and a Carvin 7 String guitar with Dimarzio pickups as well. The POD pro was a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT for me. I took it back the next day after buying it at guitar center. I have Johnson J-Station that I play through for practice at home. I run it direct into my Pro Tools recording setup and I've always liked the sound of it and to tell you the truth the J-Station at a price of only $150 puts the frickin' POD Pro to shame in the sound quality department in my opinion. I've used a Mesa Boogie Triaxis and 2:90 guitar rig live for the past 5 years and have been satisfied but I'd always been able to get pretty inspired playing on the J-Station at home so thought the POD must sound as good or better and it's way more versatile with the ins and outs than the J-Station. I figured the POD Pro would have to work pretty well or "Good Enough for Me" in a live situation using In Ear Monitoring which is what I planned to switch to as well. Like an idiot I sold my triaxis and bought the POD only trying it through headphones at the store. I thought it sounded OK through the phones. When I ran the POD Pro into my power amp I was horrified at how shitty this thing sounded. I honestly cannot believe some bigger or well known musicians actually use these damn things. This thing has NO dynamics whatsoever! It feels like utter garbage to play on. I could've cried. I really wanted this to work for me and it was as worthless as a moldy stale turd. I took it back to guitar center the next day and got a refund and then got on Ebay right away and bought another Triaxis. If you've been playing through a tube rig for any period of time do yourself a favor and don't buy into the amp modeling hype for live performance. Stay with tube. You'll most likely be as disappointed as me.

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While I've heard people get ok "sounds" out of the POD in recordings, it "feels" so fake to play on. If you're a tube guy don't kick yourself in the nuts and abandon your tube rig for a POD like I did. Stick with what you got.

After initial problems with my pod -pro (sounds not storing/recalling properly . The service dept.were superb, sorted and returned between gigs .I now want no other .My one niggle is the lack of switching for the compressor .It would be nice to have this facility on the floor board,as soloing calls for more comp.and setting up a seperate patch is wastfull.

I play a wide selection of music ranging from country,Queen,jazz and standards.Main guitars are Fernandes with sustainer(lovethisaxe),A Brian May sig.,and a custom Westone 335 built like Gibsons should be .Bound F holes, flawless finish seymore-Dunc.powered.

So-far 100% reliable

Service and staff beyond reproach .Quick and helpfull .Warranty one year ,

Playing since rock was young ! had every make going .Vox,Fender,Boogie,Marshall(still play through rack marshall valve amp and cabs ) . Would like better effects options (mainly compression on/off . Also like it to rrun a bit cooler