Line 6 POD PRO

First thing! This is an amp modeling tool and should be treated as a tool! Just as you would have to tweak an EQ or digital delay/reverb. You think The Edge simply plugged into his pre-programmed SDD3000 or AMS and busted out Streets or The Unforgettable Fire.

The Pod Pro v1.3 rack mount has a model for just about every popular amp. And yes the pre programmed settings are simply YUK! So turn a knob and tweak it! 36 user editable programs based on 1 thru 9 each having an A,B,C,D sub. The controls are analog! Dialing in a sound you want is very quick and easy no scrolling through menus!!!

Metal, Blues, Overdrive, Clean, Yep. Pod Pro has nice delay, reverb and modulations. It is very easy to get your own sound, crazy distortion or clean acoustic. And the cleans are clean.

Amp and cabinet modeling as well as a live or studio switch. The processing is so clean they even recommend re-amping guitar tracks while mixing down via the re-amping in/out jacks.

Turner and stereo effects loop.

My Pod Pro came with a floor board allowing for full control of the rack unit and expression pedal

Rock, Blues, Warp, Confusion, Loud, Edgy, Garage kind a playin.. Single coil and Humbucker. Have played thru and tried many many Tube, Solid-State and Digital pre-amp on the market. The Pod Pro has made me a believer! I did not want to but no Tubes in my rack! The models are awesome, and no noise at all!!! It sounds great cranked on all settings Metal or Clean. Although some of the stock patches are too punchy and come off very muddy especially with single coil pickups.

The distortion is as brutal as you want it to be!

Simply Awesome, and if you only use basic effects and mainly rock this is probably all you need. I use the pre amp modeling as I don???t really have a need for the effects as my effects are listed below. I have resisted the move to a digital Pre-Amp as long as I could but here I am with no noise.

The delay, reverbs and modulations are really very good and easy to dial in. Again the analog controls make this baby easy to program.

CLEAN POWER Amps are a must as Pod Pro generates all the harmonics you need. If you used colored amplification (distorted) you will have to really work with the Pod to soften its color. I am a Tube purist and Tubes are to only way if you have bottomless pockets, here is the Butt Monkey, Solid-State power is the way to go with this baby.

I do run a Fender Super Twin Reverb w/ purple Jensen???s that is ear bleeding cleaning with monster bottom end because of the (6) 6L6 power tubes. The Rectifier model 9A, well, sounds like Ben Franklin dropped a Mesa Triple right in my garage.

I also run a vintage 80???s Roland JC120 w/ vintage JBL???s that is Solid-State and also ear bleeding clean. Well this is a side by side comparison??? The Jazz Clean 9D, well, yes guess, it is running through one.

If you like Metallica try memory preset 9A/9B you are there.

Built like a tank...

Free upgrade to v1.3 at no cost.

Playin since 1980, I would have to replace it, I love it. Compared the Pod Pro to every pre amp I have ever used, mainly Tube based. The Pod has risen above them and I tried so hard to fight it!! It is really a great guitar pre amp as I do not need its delay, reverb or modulation. I run a 3 amp stereo setup; the Line 6 feeds the effect path via loop where a Korg A3 mixes stereo to hard left/right. Any effect that is not true stereo is doubled.


Here is my setup:
Guitars: American 80???s Charvel, Fender Strat???s/Tele, Gibson Explorer, Custom built 12 string Strat and Martin acoustics.
Effects Setup: (Floor)Boss Volume, Ibanez PUE5 w/Dunlop Wah looped, left to rack right to Ibanez PT5 to Vibratone.
(Rack)from floor to Korg SDD3000 (true bypass), Line 6 Pod Pro, Korg A3 (Pod E Loop), Left/Right - (2)Korg DRV3000, Yamaha FX900, (2)Korg SDD2000, (2)Yamaha D1500, Ibanez SDR1000, Pod E return, Pod Pro out to Alesis Midiverb II.
Amps Setup: (Left)Roland JC120 w/2X12 Vintage JBL. (Right)Fender Super Twin Reverb w/2X12 Purple Label Jensen. (Center)Custom Leslie Tremolo (Vibratone)

Yes I like to goof with effects. I setup the amps left and right turned in @ 30deg with the Vibratone spinning in the middle. The Doppler Effect is awesome because of the frequency cancelation as the rotary fires directly at the Amps.

What I am not going to miss is the Tube dilemma. No more tubes that sound like crap and having to pay crazy cash for NOS ones.

I'm not touring anymore so I ditched my Marshall and was looking for a simple digital/solidstate replacement that I could use in the house without waking the kids up. The amp was everything I wanted it to be, but now it's just going bad on me. Keep reading.

Again this thing sounded great, the effects were okay and a few of the simulated amps were really nice, especially the l6 crunch and the plexi emulator. I was very happy with the sound until it started falling apart.

I don't know what's wrong with my Pod Pro. I bought the amp used, it worked perfect when I got it. First the FX loop crapped out, just stopped working cold, no warnings nothing. Next the guitar input on the face of the amp started sounding distorted and weird. I just flipped my guitar to send a line level signal and sent it to the line level input at the back of the amp, I thought that solved the problem. I was still bummed out that the guitar input and the FX Loop where dead but at least I thought the amp was salvagable. Now last week the digital delay just stopped working. When I put it on Digital Delay it just makes a scratchy sound while I'm playing and no delay. Then yesterday all the rest of the fx started sounding the same way. No trem, no chorus, all of them sounded horrible and screechy, sort of like really bad digital cliiping plus nails on a chalk board and no effects. Today the distortion is sounding messed up too and so I switched to the clean channel and was playing on that for about an hour using a ProCo Rat for distortion and guess what? That just crapped out too so I guess that's the end of my Pod. Well I've had it for almost a year now and practice about two hours a day but I didn't expect it to wear out that fast. Seriously, I have a little Gretsch Artist practice amp made in 1948 and it still plays great but this pod isn't that old why is it going sour so soon?

Yes I have it on a surge protector, no I'm not doing anything stupid to it like running power amps into the guitar input or taking ot apart with power tools. I'm just plugging a stratocaster into a rat pedal into som rack mounted reverbs and than right to the amp, that's it.

Their okay, nice people to talk at but they aren't fixing anything so what does it matter.

Last time I buy anything from Line 6. Very disappointed with this product. I don't tour anymore and I have this thing sitting stationary in a nice rack and it's basically tuned into a paper weight on me.

This review is for the POD Pro with the V1.3 chip. I've had this unit for several years...probably 5 years...and I also bought the Line6 Floor Board with it. I did it out of curiosity because I wanted to see how a modeling amp worked. I also bought a little Mesa Boogie Dyan Watt 20/20 power amp (stereo, 2xEL84s a side) and have a THD 2x12 cabinet that I use with other heads in my arsenal - Bassman, Marshall 50 watt, etc. With the original v1.1 chip, I didn't like it. It would record some rhythm parts to tape nicely with the speaker emulation, but anything else had a buzzy digital sound to it - especially when you had an overdrive patch. Reverbs weren't very good, chorus was barely "OK", other effects were tolerable - compression, rotary, chorus, flange. My opinion has changed more positively with version 1.3.
The POD Pro also has some nice real time performance controls which make it suitable for a live setting. YOu can tweak the tome controls, bump up the drive control, controlthe reverb mix, etc wasily in real time. It has an XLR out that you can run to the board (which I never do), has MIDI in/out which I use extensively to edit patches from my laptop using a free downloadable Line6 utility. That works nicely.
There are no phaser effects. Why?

I play a variety of styles - but I don't do anything that has a heavy distortion to it. Mostly classic rock and R&B, blues, etc. My other amps are high qaulity tube amps - Matchless, Victoria, Carr, Fender Deluxe Reverb, 1965 Fender Pro Reverb, Cage, Dr Z, Marshall. Yes I love amps...yes I do.
But with the V1.3 chip, it actually sounds like a pretty good amp - especially coupled with the Mesa Dyna Watt and the THD cabinet. Now, you have to work to get the sound you want so that it will react dynamically to your playing in a live situation. But by golly, it actually works.
The effects didn't improve much with the v1.3 upgrade. The spring reverb is just not good. The rotary sound has improved with v1.3, however. But the distorions are much improved. I usually add a little drive to it, the distortion is not that over-the-top metal distortion. It actually is pretty good. You can roll your guitar volume back and although it is not as dynamic as a good tube amp, it does a pretty good job. Better than most solid state amps, I would say.
I play mostly single coil guitars - Tom Andersons, Fender, etc.
There is a good variety of amp sounds. I have nice models of a Fender Deluxe, a Marshall JTM45, a Vox AC30 Top Boost. They sound pretty good. It's nice in a live situation to bounce between certain amp types - which is where this device shines. The cabinet emulations aren't great. But the POD Pro gives you the option of disabling cabinet sounds if you need to.

It seems to be built well. I've not pushed it too much, but if you put it in a nice rack case and plug the power into a good Furman Power conditioner, it should last a while. I've seen some build-quality complaints about newer Line6 gear, but the POD Pro has a nice metal chassis that seems solid.

My one dealing with customer support was very positive. It was to get the V1.1 to V1.3 upgrade chip. No hassle. It was free. It arrived in about a week. Very friendly people. Probably better customer support than most.

POD Pro v1.3 improved the sound and features of POD Pro. Even the sample tones that come out of the box with v1.3 were more geared towards tube amp variety - as opposed to over the top compressed fuzzed out distorted sounds that were with v1.1. That's nice because it gives you a good launching point to tweak your own tones.
It would be nice if it had a USB or ethernet port, but I'm sure newer models now have that. I'd say this compares favorably to other modeling pre amps. If I had to have only one guitar amp, this wouldn't be it. It does a variety of amp sounds with decent quality. It's not like a good tube amp, however. I may replace it if lost or stolen...but I'm not sure. It takes me a while to form an opinion. Let me gig with it for 10 more jobs, and I may have a better opinion.

I got my PODpro in '04. Let's just say it has lots of different tones available. I like the tone of the line6 units when recording direct but felt it lacking something in the power section so I decided to get a Line6 preamp to run with a real tube power amp. I agree that 36 memory banks is pretty funny, considering the processing power available today.

I must admit that I don't have much use for most of the tones available
from the PODpro. Not because they sound bad but because I only need a hand full of them. My main tone comes from the "Modern Hi-Gain 1", the Soldano preamp patch NOT the SLO patch. I use the "Roland JC-120" patch for my cleans and I use the Line6 "Layer" patch when I want to blend a clean and dirty tone together. This is a patch that I fell in love with on my Line6 Flextone HD head and was happy to see in the PODpro. My only
complaint is that all the presets seem to have a mid-scoop which I hate even though I'm a Metal guitarist. I actually boost my mids and I now use a DBX 131 graphic EQ to turn my mids up around 800HZ. This unit is my secret weapon in making the PODpro sound like the end of the world. I use a Mesa Recto 2:100 power amp in the "Modern" switch engaged and it kills all the boutique amps I A/B'd it to.

I had a problem with the output of the PODpro where the volume was going in and out, so I took it back and the unit was replaced with the last one they had. All they had then were the PODxt units which I didn't like. When I played through the unit, it's tone was way better than the original one which led me to believe there was something else wrong with the first unit besides the output stage and since I didn't have anything to compare it to, didn't realize it.

Never dealt with them directly.

When used with a good graphic EQ and a great tube power amp like the Mesa 2:100, this makes for the finest Metal rig in existence.
Haven't heard anything better and I've heard everything from Diezel amps
Engl amps, VHT, Mesa, Peavey, Krank, Carvin etc. and my rig with the PODpro sounded much better without that saggy, spongy effect that I hate from most all-tube amps.

I know absolutly nothing about when the POD Pro was made but I can definitely say that I met someone who owned it and uses it to record as well as live gigs. Their music has been broadcasted on the MTV network as well as soundtracks. I believe it was one of those horrible reality shows that everyone is obsessed with. honestly, what the hell?
I wish the POD Pro had a teleporting feature without any type of identity mechanism so that I could make one appear right in front of me on my computer desk for which I would then plug my guitar into and connect a few patch cables, experiment with the sound settings and continue writing and recording the great music that I enjoy listening to. I love music aside from not being able to appreciate many other people's style, ability, effort, creativity, or genre, etc.... I need not say more for I find human communication borish and lacking a certain value of entertainment quality much desired by me.
I like creating a wide-spread stereo depth, plunging my axe right between those lucious waves of ecstacy and shredding with precision.
oh, and I do so while recording in private settings as well as public.

The POD Pro sounds exactly how I make it sound.
I control the combinations. I control the volumes. I control the compensation ratio for volume/distortion irritants. I am the man.
And now on a more personal note:
"Anyone who lacks the ability to create should NOT be allowed to call themselves a musician. If there were a penalty for ignorance and idiocy perhaps the majority would think twice."
POD Pro RAWKS baby!!! woooooooo!!!!!!!!
*cough*

I'm still waiting for the teleportation mechanism to trigger this beautiful machine into my hands.
I cross my fingers right...............NOW

Every moron thinks they're a professional and I laugh.
The ONLY (and I stress) ONLY reason anyone should or would need customer support is if they LOST the manual or they were just too lazy to read it.
Get real people.

I've never played through a POD Pro. I have no rating for this product.
I'd LOVE to own one and I am currently in the market for such a thing.
I'm interested in the POD XT Pro but I was recently introduced to a mint condition POD Pro for under 1/2 the price.
My only question so far is if I'm able to add plug-ins or "patches" to the POD Pro like I've read about for the POD XT Pro.
Overall I love this thing unconditionally as if it were my own child you silly grunt mongers.

Just purchased Pod Pro 2.0... had regular Pod and 2.0 upgrade prior. Preferred the rack set up with pedal. just easier to use. Did not buy to use primarialy sa modeler or effects... but rather for a little of each as needed and not need to have a bunch of pedals all around.... though I still use a few because you cannot combine more than 2 effects and only certain ones. But that said it has enough to please me for recording and gigging. Using with a marshall FCM100 head and 4-12 Marshall bottom... sometimes with Fender Ultimate chorus... both amps have excellent clean channels so it can be used more to it's potential.

Primarily Classic Rock and new age rock

good so far... prior POd lasted with zero probelms and resold for 74% what I paid after 2 years,,... not bad!

To expect an amp modeler to work in every amp and truly recreate a particular amp or cabinet is just plain stupid.... add chocolate to milk you get one thing... add it to beer you get something completely different.... your amp dtermines how well anything can sound through it and what the flavoring will do to it. I happen to really like it the way it works with the Marshall and with the fender. My POD 2.o suckeds through my Tube Peavy Classic 50 head w/ Peavy 4-10 bottom... just sucked.. but that was the amp... not the pod.. pod was fine in other amps.. the peavey amp on it's own was great so it's not because the amp was bad... just not a good combo.. I love the POD PRO

Let me begin by saying that this is definately not a 1 trick pony. I have played guitar for over 20 years in hard rock/metal bands and this is a great versatile unit though it does have its drawbacks. I will explain. Control surfaces are intuitive and easy to use. The fact that they mimick the simulated amplifiers in tonal sweep is great. (some of the featured amps never had mid controls like a Vox AC/30 but allow you to add a mid boost or cut because the mid knob is there. Channel switching is seamless and effect carryover is also nice. Total control is achieved with the 300 floorboard though I own the $75 FB-4 model which is a scaled down version for basic control of 4 presets within a particular bank.
I currently am using a solid state (YOU HEARD RIGHT) Crown Microtech PA amplifier with an Avatar 2-12 open back cabinet with (1)Vintage 30 / and (1) G12H speaker. I have also used a Mesa 20/20 dyna AND a Simul-Class Two Ninety in a traditional guitar rack set-up. I have also used this rig with a Gibson/Norlin Lab series L5 combo amp with the live /studio switch set to studio. (no cabinet simulation or mic AIR properties). The mesa's or any other tube amplifier for that matter are strange with respect to the extra coloring of the guitar tone. If you are going to use this unit the way the manual tells you to, do it with a PA type amplifier and boy will you see what everyone is talking about in prior reviews. It is best to use this preamp live with no cabinet simulation if you insist on a Tube type amplifier of your liking like my 2/90 or similar. This thing sounds absolutely monsterous through headphones or a recording console though. splendid.

I generally use a PRS custon 22 birds as my main axe, though I also use a Zion Ty Tabor signature model strat fasioned after the Fender Strat elite switching system of the 80's with the Joe Barden single coil pickups. These pickups are truely the cleanest sounding units of modern time. The bring out the best AND worst playing. They are very unforgiving when you make mistakes. A drawback if you are a crappy player. The POD PRO is a great friend if you need that versatiity factor. It is very quiet, especially with the noise gate built in. With 32 amps and 32 effects theres enough to keep you busy though a lot of the presets are a little too busy, they are a great starting point for your custom tones. They group effects or reverbs commonly found with that particular amp model to help showcase its sound. Nice. In a nutshell this unit can growl with the best of them and go until the cows come home and then some, or be meek as a kitten when necessary. I will say this though, there is still and never will be a perfect match for any of the amplifiers they emulate though they come sort of close in a lot of attempts. You must have real good ears to really get what you are after.

I have had only one problem with the POD PRO which turned out to be such a simple but aggrivating problem. The unit would re-boot onstage in the middle of high level performance! Yikes !! The problem turned out to be a simple fuse holder that was a little loose and allowed the unit to lose power by vibration long enough to turn it off and back on real fast. BUMMER. The good thing was I found the problem after bringing it to a so-called CERTIFIED line 6 repair center. The jerk-job who was the tech said he could not reproduce the problem I was having. I embarrased this guy severely buy simply playing a chord and lightly, yes LIGHTLY tapping the top of the POD, and 'zip' it turned off and on. The boobs eyes got wide as saucers as I whipped it off his bench and brought it home determined to fix it myself. Which turned out to be a simple clip on the main fuse. Thus proving that this 'tech' never really looked at it in the first place, and costed me 2 weeks worth of rentals on a floor model. DOH!!! It has not faulted since that day and after 6 years of touring in a rack, being stored in a cold garage and fired up on weekend warrior excursions. Basically being treated like the red headed stepchild she is. So reliability is a solid 8

Dont bother, they are nice to you but they didnt help me in the least, see above comment. posers..

I own 2 Gibson Lab Series L5's, A Marshall JCM800, Matchless Chieftain, Buddah Twinmaster, Peavey 5150 combo, a Fender princeton and a 52 Fender Deluxe, these are the real things, the POD comes sort of close to the ones they simulate but with a lot less back ache so it makes it worth the sacrifice. I like 8's so it gets an 8.
King's X rules!!

hey i need to say this because everyone is not realizing something those individuals running this with a guitar power amp are the ones have the bad sound your not suppose to run it with a guitar power amp it has color to it you want to run it with a power amp with out color. that is why the sound is weak and odd but sounds great through head phones. try running it with a crown solid state power amp or something it will be great then.

Bought it used in early 2003. POD PRO. Already had the old POD 1.0.
Very versatile. Already covered in other reviews.
Used it with a Digitech MiDi controller.
A lot of tweaking possible. Nicest feature: on-the-fly cabinet emulator selection.

I used POD PRO as a preamp+FX unit for a Mesa 20/20 (EL-84) poweramp.
Guitars: Epiphone Slash Signature w/ Duncan Jeff Beck (bridge); Jackson Soloist w/ Duncan SH-8 (bridge) + 2 custom handwired strat single coil pickups (neck & middle).
Mostly play hard rock, rock, blues, R'n'B.
Overall nice sound, but with some major issues.
It sounds AWESOME driving a Brunetti Silver Bullet all-tube poweramp.
It sounds weak with the Mesa one; after about 2 years I just sold it for my VH100R.
IMHO POD lacks dynamics; yes, fair for recording, but tones just aren't "alive". It might be as well a guitar synth.
And this is sad, because no preamp should sound this bad, connected to a Mesa poweramp.
I'd say: good for beginners or as a recording tool; just don't expect to sound like a SLO live.
Just don't understand if one of the above reviewer, speaking about SLO, Mesa Mark IV and so on, ever played through a real tube amp.
Any owner of a SLO or JCM800 will tell you the difference between this and the original. And it's a BIG BIG difference in tone & response.

Excellent.

IMO, it is much better to have one or two REAL GOOD sounds, even without FX, rather than thousands of crappy and mediocre sound combinations.
But, if you just cant wait to have some preamp-fx-recording multi-purpose rack unit, sacrificing sound quality for some "versatility", then it might be for you.

The features have been covered enough already. Most of the effects are OK but nothing to brag about. Gives me some really loud pops when switching between settings. I bought the floor board ($300 extra to make it usable on stage) to go with it as well because I thought I would use it on stage but it will never happen....

I bought it after listening to it through headphones, like a fool. The unit sounds OK through a PA set up but sounds like crap with my Mesa Boogie TriAxis and 2:90 power amp. I play an ESP KH with active EMG 81's. A few of the amp simulators sound good but not much like the real thing I have found.

The midi quit working on the unit after a couple of months of fighting with it to get some good tone out of it.

I haven't bothered getting repaired because it is junk in my humble opinion. I have contacted support a couple of times with other issues I had with the software and they were polite but not very helpful.

This unit is fine. If all you want to do is play through headphones! It has been sitting out of my rack for a long time now and has become a very expensive paper weight. It will be sold on ebay or at a local pawn shop very soon. Unless somebody on hear wants to buy it!

EASY to get amazing sound
editing is not easy
manual is good

You definately need to buy the best floorboard and that is about $300 if I remember correctly

Strat and Les Paul
No noise
Always sound great
all effects are great

I can depend on it.
Too expensive to buy another for backup

Telephone support is great
web support is horrendous

I play tastey music
Ive been playing forever
I would buy another if it was stolen. I would never loose it
POD XT Pro Version 2

There should be Blank banks at the beginning 1-64 for storing new user created banks so that you can keep the original presets (unchangeable) in banks 65 through 70 (which don't currently exist). I still believe in POD and when Line 6 makes the unit like I have described (and I believe they will someday) I will replace my POD Pro unit. No Question.
Why oh WHY did you do away with the
*Dumble Overdrive Special Drive?!?!?!?

Hopefully you will keep the:
*1989 Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive***
*Modern Class A ? modeled after 1996 Matchless Chieftain,
*Line 6 Clean with Compression,
*line 6 Twang, with Slapback Echo?modeled after Fender Deluxe meets Bassman
*1995 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Head
*Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ Drive Channel,
*Line 6 Crunch #2 with Room Reverb ? modeled after Plexi + more tone range.
I dont think I can live without them anymore!
If anyone has input about this item and can give me some feedback on my issues please feel free to email...please do!

Line 6 Should give you the 36 (or whatever it is now) Factory presets Channels that can NEVER change as banks 37-72 and then repeat these "presets" as user changeable channels 1 through 36 where you can change and tweak the sounds...shuffle the order around do whatever, without worrying about loosing the 37 through 72 bank factory presents. Yes there is a reset button for complete factory reset (Who the F#*k wants to do that?!?) The way it is designed, in order to shuffle banks around to your liking,you HAVE to sacrifice one of the presets. Line 6, please check out how Digitech did it with their GSP21 and pro units. The layout is much better, much more user friendly. Only thing is the POD Sounds WAAAAAY better.
I want to move on knowing the original is still in one of the 37 -72 factory presets.
With the POD XT: can you line up any of the Stomp boxes on Any of the amp models at any time or are you restricted to what is ?preset? for that particular amp like in POD Pro?
I want to buy a new PODXT Rack unit but these issues are addressed but PLEASE bring back the Dumble Overdrive Special Drive!!!! And leave these:
*1989 Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive***
*Modern Class A ? modeled after 1996 Matchless Chieftain,
*Line 6 Clean with Compression,
*line 6 Twang, with Slapback Echo?modeled after Fender Deluxe meets Bassman
*1995 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Head
*Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ Drive Channel,
*Line 6 Crunch #2 with Room Reverb ? modeled after Plexi + more tone range.

POD is definitely the best by FAR.

Seaside Jimmy

Amazing! I cant begin to describe how handy this thing is, Its not alot of money for the things you can do with it. The effects are lacking a little though.

Well, I hated it when I first got it, I didnt have the time to sit down and work it out. Once I did, it was a whole different ball park!
I use the Recto, JCM 800, AC-30, Insane, tweed, well, all of them really. I use a 62 strat and a les paul through a JCM 2000 DSL 100, with a 1960A and an original 1968 4x12 with 20watt green backs, the POD is infromt of the amp. No shit, it is amazing! No noise, just tone, I dont know why people say they sound like shit. Personal taste maybe. I myself cant afford all those amps or even 2 of them. Wake up. This is the new way of getting tone!

Ive had it 6 months and its never fucked up on me

Ive been playing along time and gone through many different styles, this thing can keep up with you as you change. Its good for when you change guitars mid-set coz you dont need to change settings, just patches. You dont need to crank it to get a good sound either.
The question everyone asks me is always the same, "does it sound like the real thing?" NO! it doesnt, but when the band is going off you lose a certain quality of sound anyway, I have never seen half of the amps in real life anyway. If you are working in the studio, its alot easier technically and physically too. Time to stop being tube snobs I think!!!!!

I bought this amp recently only because I ws under the impression that I could plug it into my power amp and it would sound heavy as hell. I was wrong. I was going into a Mesa Boogie 2:90 power amp and a Marshall 1960a cab. The POD was ment to be used with uncolored power amps and cabs. The factory presets are ok, some suck ass, some rule. If you have the patience to work with the POD and have a good PA power amp and a Line6 Cab or a PA cab it sounds amazing. Better then any other amp I have played. It is indeed for the tone bitchy guitarist like myself, if you can't find the amp you are looking for something to get that special tone you are looking for. Then this is the amp, but beware, you are gonna have to invest in PA type power amps and speakers, unless you like the sound of your current power amp and cab.

I use an Ibanez RG7620 tuned a half step down and a custom made ESP tuned to F Bb Eb Ab Db Fb Bb. All in all I wouldn't trade this amp for anything. It is capable of playing any type of music possible, your imagination is the limit. There is a lot of variety in the amp sounds. Some people complain how the sounds are fake. But as I said before you can't sue coloring equipment to power your sound. I used to have a Dual Rectifier and this sounds exactly like it, sustains better to. The clean channel you really have to work with. Some people like there REALLY REALLY clean almost like an acoustic, just add some chorus and compressor to it it sounds dead on. But i like mine with a tiny amount of gain. It can do cleans and distortion sounds well you just have to work with them and have patience.

I would recommend that if you are using a POD for direct recording get the XT or the XT Pro. Though this one sounds good you can get more out of the XT. I use this live and I just mic my cab when I record.

The only one problem I did have with it is on my old Mesa Boogie, and 5150 2, I didn't have the pinch harmonix problem. It is just a matter of re-finding the sweet spot on your guitar. I have noticed this problem occurs more on my B.C. Rich Warlock with EMG 81s. But I just re-found the hot spot for the harmonix and it works again. SO no worries.

I have only had it for about 5 months now, It hasn't broken down or anything. I haven't gigged with it yet but am looking forward to it.
I haven't broken any knobs or any of the switches. It is like any piece of equipment, the more you take care of it the more reliable it is.

The really shitty thing about it isthis is the little delay between patch switching. For me it is a real pain in the ass. But I have a Morley ABY switch so I wam just gonna buy another one and put it in my rack.

I have only dealt with thier customer support and they wre kind of stupid. They couldn't answer any of my questions. Since it was just the person I talked to I will give them a 5.

I have played guitar for about 11 years now and I have the worst trouble trying to get a nice tight tone on any other amp. This one does it, but like I said be ready to invest in PA equipment to run it. If it were stolen I would definately buy another one. I love that I can make my own amp tones on it. I compared it to the Behringer V-Amp pro thingy and since this one is Industry standard I figured I would get this one. The only thing I wish it did have was a better editing program. I had to download the one from line6.com. I would say buy this if you want to creat your own tone. Your own custom tone... IT is a great model for someone with patience. It has some killer distortion, killer effects, killer clean sounds. Everything you want but you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to know how to use it. The manual doesn't tell you shit. You have to have good tone ears.

This unit really rocks. I am very impressed with the overall sound quality. Having only paid #199 for this unit though Sound Control, I really can't fault it.

I'm suing this mainly in my studio running the unit directly into a Motu 2408 MK3 for DI recording. I have used both a semi accoustic guitar a Gibson Electric through this unit using the AMP Farm (hardware) effect i.e. processed guitar recorded clean. Which has given me loads of options at mix down stage regarding getting the right cap sound ect. Very impressive.

No problems at-all. Just check out the price. #199. It was almost a gift. Rock solid build.

Never used them. However, I understand that this unit will soon be discontinued. Pity. Hope the support online doesn't dry up.

Overall I have to say that this was an excellant buy. Remember that you will have to download the latest software version from line 6 to swap sounds etc. Pity Line 6 have taken the decision to discontinue this unit moving on the the XT version. Having tried both. I really can't tell the difference appart from the obvious LCD screen and more buttons. Anyone got an opinion on this?

The main feature that makes this thing better than the POD is 24 bit conversion rate (vs. the POD's 20 bit), and more output options. All the other features should be obvious to anyone interested in this thing.

Unfortunately I have to make this review quick. It would take a long time to do an in-depth review of every amp model on this thing.

I use the POD pro for metal sounds. I use mostly the Insane and clean settings. I know that sounds bad, but honestly the Insane setting is the only one with enough distortion for me. I don't run it full out, only about 6 or 7. Other amp models just don't have enough crunch or buzz for me when I'm going for a massive Fear Factory-type tone (which is odd, because I've heard Dino used the Rectifier settings..then again, he had a Mesa power amp to help). The gain boost (simulates a distortion pedal set Gain 0, Level 10 to overdrive a tad) just doesn't sound that good. It adds a transistor distortion type sound that I don't like.

Okay, this thing obviously doesn't sound like a real tube amp, but its a lot more convenient. You don't have to play at massive volumes to get a good sound, you can have dozens of setting saved (which, even if you stick to one or two amp models, you can have a lot of variety).

THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! I run the POD pro in front of my amp. I use a Marshall 80 watt solid state combo amp. I originally had the Marshall preamp tone controls even at 5 for treble, mids and bass. I didn't really like the sound, and I was getting really disappointed that I spent so much money on the thing. But I reread the owner's manual before just trying to sell it, and I discovered something odd. Flat EQ for most amps is Treble 0, Mids 10, Bass 0. This seems counter-intuitive, but I tried it anyway, and what an amazing difference. This is what its supposed to sound like.

Also important! I turn off the cabinet simulation. It might sound better for recording or direct to a PA, but I run the Pod pro into a combo amp, and that colors the sound enough without cab modeling. Plus, its one more option you'd have to worry about, and there are already enough options on this. I also have the live/studio switch set to studio. The manual mentions that this sometimes sounds better for combo amps.

I really can't comment on most of the amp models because I'm trying to relearn the POD a little at a time. I'm writing metal songs at home, so I'm just using Insane and a few different cleans. The Insane has very sensitive Treble and Bass controls. The mids aren't that sensitive, because I think its already a pretty scooped mid type sound. I keep everything at about 5, with minor treble adjustments for a brighter or darker tone. Lower gain sounds like Metallica, more gain sounds like modern obscene distortion. Scooping the mids and adding the distortion boost makes it sound like Dimebag Darrel trendkill-era.

The effects aren't anything spectacular. The chorus and flanger have that hollow sound. It could really use a mix control for most of the effects. I love Zakk Wylde, and I can't get a good chorus sound out of this to sound like him. The delays are really cool though. The wah (from the footboard) sounds like a Vox--I prefer the sweep range on a Crybaby, so I don't use the wah too much.

Basically, this thing can't nail real tube tone, but who cares? Lots of people use solid state or distortion pedals, its just a matter of personal taste. I prefer versatility over one perfect sound, because the truth is there is no perfect sound. With this thing you could pick one or two amp models and save settings for every song you do. If you prefer a simpler setup, go with that.

As always, try it out before you buy! I shouldn't really be talking because I bought a POD pro off of ebay, but at least I played a Flextone in a music store to check out the models (its the same software).

No problems yet, but I've heard horror stories, and the fact that's its digital is a little scary. Then again, its better than having 36 different tube amps.

Again, I've heard Line6 sucks in this area, but I've never had to contact them. You can download a manual off their website (a great way to check out the features before you buy).

I've been playing for 6 years. I've had a ehx Big Muff for a few years, which is cool for vintage fuzz, but I also love heavy metal, and this is good for that.

The biggest problem I have with this thing is setup time. I run it into a combo amp, so I have to just set the Pod pro on top of the combo and hook up a lot of cables. Pedals are just easier sometimes. I'll get a small rack soon, so that'll make things easier.

The Pod pro sounds very close to the Flextone II amps, better than the Spider amps. Those are the only other modeling amps I checked out. It definitely sounds better than any solid state distortion I've heard.

One final thing--current modeling amps may not be perfect, but they'll get better in years to come. Getting into modeling now is like getting a jump on the future of guitar technology. Tube amps aren't going anywhere, but modeling will only grow.

Bought new around 2000. Many features. See other listings that have already covered the features. How many of the features are usable? Now that is the question with this thing. Lets rate this a solid 2 and I will explain more as we go on.

Use a strat and les paul. Mostly classic rock. This is a hyped up piece of junk. Yes it has many amp models and many connections. All but a couple of the models sound like crap! They sound NOTHING like a real plexi or a real blackface Fender. Bring a real plexi with you when you go to try one of these out and you won't buy this junk. It is buzy and toneless and that is when it is working!!

This worked for about a week but I couldn't stand the sounds. It sat there for a couple of years until I decided to give it a second chance but it developed a problem while it was resting and now only works once in a while. PURE JUNK!

HA< HA< HA. That is the best joke I have heard today!

Crap with candy apple red paint on it! I would never buy anything by Line 6 again. Buy a small good quality tube amp and a couple of pedals and you will be much better off. I hope someone steals it! I don't really feel right about selling something this bad to someone.

The only feature I wish this amp had was the ability to play 2 amps at once like the vetta, and dual inputs w/ an acoustic model for piezo systems and acoustic guitars.

I play everything really, but mainly heavier anymore. The reason I got this unit is because I knew some professional buddies of mine were using them and I loved their sound and have played their rigs. I went to the store ran it through a tube power amp and switched between it and a rectifier. The POD PRO sustained longer and didn't have the head noise. SOLD

This thing will take a beating and lives on. If you had tubes and dropped your amp you're out of luck and broke on the wallet. I had mine drop and the digital synch snapped (which you don't use anyway) line 6 just sent me one out the next day.

Customer support is A plus, they send you the parts you need and upgrades next day and usually charge nothing or very little. They also respond via email within 48 hours so you don't have to sit on hold or pay long distance, or wait forever like some other companies.

I"ve been playing for 11years and I would for sure get another one or beat down whoever stole mine and take it back. I love the sound and flexability of the amp. I choose the line 6 because it's the only modeling amp that counts out there Johnson's sound like garbage and the new XT series don't sound reall, plus they are muddy sounding. People are fooled into buying them cause there's more effects but don't buy into it. The big Line 6 endorsee's use the original POD PRO, the HD147, or the Vetta I/II.

A lot of Death Metal Bands use them for the Insane mode such as mortician, but they use crown solid state poweramps.
Bands such as fear Factory and Deftones use Mesa Boogie simul 290 power amps or Marshall tsl poweramps to give it a nice tube tone. The Mesa is by far the superior one giving you an amazing warm tone where as the TSL is thin sounding.

Don't listen to the peopel complaining it doesn't sound right cause they are wrong. When you get a tube amp for the sound it comes from the power section. That's why you run tube poweramps on the unit and get incredible live sound.

Digital Modeler, Claims it has it all, but it doesn't really, s/pdif, AES/EBU,stereo XLR, and Phono balanced/unbalanced I/O, many Knobs and buttons. I got this in 2001.

I use a Stock Ibanez S470. I play Original Heavy Rock, with lots of variety from anywhere from metallica to foofighters. As for the sound quality i feel after trying and trying to make it sound right, that it sucks. Its a glorified guitar tuner now. When i got it, all i had experienced before was owning a 2x10 solid state Fender Princeton stereo chorus. I was disapointed that i couldn't get heavy metal or good distortion sounds out of that, and i wanted to start making home recordings... So off to the music shop i went to get conned.

Being told you'll have a library of many vintage amps, rectifiers, and marshalls, is very enticing, and not having heard those amps before, i took a listen to the settings with no reference to the originals and decided that they were pretty good...well pretty good isn't nearly good enough, and now i know what the real things sound like, and side by side this thing doesn't even rank.

I recorded a bunch of stuff with this junk direct, and never could understand why my recordings didn't sound like the guitars off of my favorite albums... Try and Tweak and try as i might....Now i know why.

Since then i've grown up, i still try to keep things inexpensive (I can't just go and buy Mesa/Boogie Rectifiers) I have a Peavey XXX head and 4x12 cabinet now, and i mic my amp in recording situations, and guess what it sounds great, just like the albums!! I even mic my princeton with great results! I even came across and restored an old unbranded tube amp 2x12 combo that sounds similar to what the pod says sounds like an AC30, and its really awesome, the line 6 version of the AC30 doesn't even compete, and it only cost me $60 off of some guy. Bottom line is buy 3 good amplifiers and you're set for most of what you want to do as an aspiring musician or an armchair warior with a weekend coverband.

Here is the only usefull tip i have about the unit. Take off the Cabinet emulation, it makes everything sound like mud...mud covered #$@%. The best you can do with this is take of the cabinet emulation and either run it in direct, or run it through your real amplifier with A.I.R. turned off. Mic it and well thats as good as you can do... It still sucks.

Mostly i've been talking about the distortion sounds above, While the vintage tube tones are not much better, they are at least more convincing and possibly usefull in a recording situation. The FX are pretty decent, no real complaints there.

I'm not going to sell mine...for 2 reasons. First as an everpresent reminder of my mistake,and the 3 years wasted with it, and second, because its crapiness may become usefull in a recording situation sometime in the future, as a production element of crappy sounding guitars...

Take what you want out of that, best bet is to do an A/B comparison to a real amp and let your ears judge. Could be usefull for you just wasn't for me, the way i intended it...All i wanted was 1 good heavy sound, not 40 half decent and crapy ones.

Seems pretty reliable... who knows no problems yet, one note though, I have the FBV floor board, and one of the switches malfunctioned and wouldn't switch, i ended up fixing it my self by screwing in a loose screw... who knows.

Some times they respond sometimes they do not, by email of course.

It just isn't there yet, Line 6 keeps coming closer and closer to achieving their aim in terms of digital modeling, and i believe that one day they will do it. In the meantime however stay away, don't be pulled in... you don't need 70 amplifiers you need 3 or 4, a solid state amplifier like a princeton, or a roland; a tube amp (you can get a good sounding one for 400-600$, like a traynor, or pay more acordingly), and a good high gain tube amplifier, a Peavy XXX, or a 5150 II is a good place to start. Of course you could go and buy a Fender Bassman, a Mesa Dual rectifier and a Marshall JCM 2000, if you have the money please do it, and save yourself the pain.

On a side note I would recomend looking into the Tech21 SANSAMP PSA-1 and or the SANSAMP GT2, these are pretty useful (and good sounding) tools, and would have been a better purchase than the POD pro in my opinion

Good luck in your adventures!!

The pod pro is basically an all in one box that features alot of things that may be very useful to many people....but not me. I wanted a good live preamp and the POD PRO SUCKS live but is proabbly great in the studio. I give it a 5 because it has so many features NOT because it does them well.

I play hard rock/ heavy metal and classical. I use a Jackson RR-1 and a Ibanez UV777. I bought it for use as a preamp infront of my Mesa 290 power amp. It sounds like CRAP. IF you are looking for a realistic sounding, living, breathing tone...stay FAR away from the pod. If you are out to not really impress anyone or play in a cover band and just need something to get you through so you can return home to the wife and kids...then this will be ok. But if you are serious and need pro sound..its no good. A good METAL sound is completely unatainable. I read other reviews that say the same thing but thought..."Im really good at getting good tone from my stuff, those people dont know what they are doing...". They are true, if you like Metal of heavy hard rock...dont buy this. My favorite player Jeff Loomis from nevermore uses one, so that inluenced my choice to buy it. The pod has no....personality. If you want a replica tone then fine but if you need a signature tone the pod sucks. Im either going to try the Tech 21 PSA-1 or go back to my Rocktron Voodu.

dont know sounds like crap, would be EMBARASSED to use it live.

IF you play metal, or need a good heavy thick living tone...stay far away. Im sure for the average weekend warrior it will do the job but not for someone who is serious. Again if you play metal or hard rock (Nevermore, In Flames, Machine Head) stay far far away

I sought out the Pod Pro for the simple acomplishment of my mission to eliminate the setting up of wires when playing live.. Used to DOD grunge pedal and chorus as my main staple of effects, I guess it pretty cool that all of a sudden I have like boocuu stuff to choose from..

I also like the in's and out's; I record my sound using a reamping technuiqe made available by a combination of the outputs. I use a Dual-15 Band Graphic EQ (dual for stereo) but I don't use the Effects Loop- the Pod tends to attenuate and "digitize" the extra frequencies
throught the bandwidths.

Once I wanted to jam at an Open Mic event, and brought the Pod & board with me. Plugged in power, guitar , and to the mixxer and that was that on the fly. I've also used it by itself on numerous gigs, and it's served me well, as well as sparked many inquisitions among the patrons.

I DO wish however that the A.I.R./speaker emulation was assignable to each output while In either live or studio mode. Also the the Stereo effects would play out over into another selected sound If I so desired. I also wish the switching between effects were more... what's that word.. *Instant*... algorythms arn't THAT Complex to warrent a gap in the loading time.. especially with circuit speeds today!

I use an Ibanez S470 with the factory pickups(2-1-2);when Distorting, pickup is at bridge position... depending on the song, I use various config with my clean tones. I practice in a 30x15 sound-boarded room with a window unit AC and a single 6' florescent light on the cieling, with bands playing in all compass direction (vertical)beside,below and above, in adjoining rooms. The hum usually is due to the light, 'puter monitor, and/or the neighbors' magnet fields if I stand a certain way, and to solar flares when they're in season.

I play loud, heavy, melodic, and often fast, usually with the insane modeling. I've tweEeked the sounds, but the software reports the it doesn't exist as a device, but if I ignore it, and use some of the commands in the software, it'll read the pod anyway. I've got my noise gate set just perfect, with the exeption that It doesn't allow me much sustain. I hope to eliminate this by scalloping my neck, but I don't want added stomp boxies (I hate wires, and work with them daily, and I'm not gonna gaft wires at a gig if I gotta do it at work.. that's why God made groupies).
The distortion is great when used in combination with an external EQ. I like the direct sound, but for live shows coming out of my cabinet, I want it to be more ballsy and agressive. Also, much of the "digitalness" of the sound can be eliminated using this method... on that note, at high db NO ONE CAN TELL what amount of digital signatures are there, and would even less so if a very simple and cost effective solution be made: use a graphic Q. Between the pod Out and amp In, use a third-party Q.

I've bought this unit used, and havn't had a problem with it.. the floorboard however tends to lose spring tension in the switches, and can be an irritant to go in and stretch them out. For some reason the floorboard also gets... "dizzy".. : I would push & hold the tuner button, and the thing would flash to the edit stompbox mode and turn my wah on... Now it's getting "stuck" in a certain sound mode. When I reboot the Pod, it usually clears it.
Oh, yeah, also the sample rate switch broke off when toteing it one night (was in a bag, not on a rack at the time).. For the most part my Pod Pro has been my sole relyment for the past 2&1/2 years

Being that I bought this unit USED, there was no warrenty.. I have submitted various questions to the costomer support, and have received NOT EVEN A SINGLE REPLY. Bad business. I suppose that they think their "Knowledge Base"(which Is extensive) covers every topic conceivable already exept mine (related to time clock/midi control issues).
I usually NEVER stay on the phone if it is a computer menu talking to me. They are mere deterants and "runaround generators".

Overall I'm pleased with the Pod Pro. I does what I need it to do, and is really versatile live & in studio. If it were lost or stolen, I would get the upgrade to the Pod XT Pro. Major deciding factors were usability and getting rid of birds' nests behind and beside my stack, while maintaining control on all details of my sound. effect loop is a little useless when looping anything but a digital devices' signal (The A/D converter cuts frequencies)

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.

I bought my POD 12/2000. It has enought amp models to keep me happy. The effects are almost enough. I would like to have more control over the delay (I can't get to create a particular delay effect that I need which is critical to a song that we do). I use it live and in the studio. It is a killer direct box in the studio where I have used it for a range of sounds from crystal clean to insanely over driven. I like the fact that I can run it into a PA live so I don't have to carry an amp around any more. Just that fact makes this a great product.

Good sounds, not exactly like a tube amp but close enough. The effects are good as far as they go. It is really quiet and I love the noise gate. I play a varity of Stratacasters and they are really noisy guitars. This is the first setup that I have had that eliminates all the noise. I have noticed that some of the destorted amp models tend to be overly boomy on the lower notes. I like the fact that I can get a great varity of sounds because I play all sorts of music styles including rock, folk, reggie, blues, fusion etc.
I also use it as a preamp for my acoustic guitar and it does a fine job of that.

I have used it a great deal without any problems. It is a delicate unit and needs to be protected when moving it around. I dropped it once getting it out of my studio rack and the metal pole like switches snapped right off. Rack it and it should be ok.

No problems that I need to call them for. I never even read the manual.

I have been playing for about 30 years. I have used most of the stuff that is out there and I think I'll keep this one for a while for the following reasons:
1- It is great in the studio (a greate number of great sounds without having to play really loud)
2- It is a really easy and remarkable versital live setup. I use it with the floor board and pumping it through the PA. I will never lug around a standard guitar amp again.
3 - It is easy to use. It takes no time to get a sound that you are looking for.
I give it a nine because nothing is perfect.

This is a very versatile preamp. I don't care if it doesn't sound exactly like whatever amp it's supposed to be modelling, I just like the fact that there's a huge range of amps to choose from. The only bad thing is that you'll find you won't use too many of the amp models. I only use about 5, maybe a few more in the long run. Also the effects are a bit weak (no phaser) but then if you're serious you'll pick up a good rack multi fx (Rocktron Intelliflex or TC Electronics G major).

I play a Parker Fly Classic and I run the POD pro through a Stageline 500W PA power amp and a pair of PA speakers. I was going to buy a Marshall 20/20 and a Flextone II 2x12 cab but the PA gave me a cleaner sound and just seemed much better overall. I play progressive metal/rock (Dream Theater, Opeth, Spock's Beard, Pain of Salvation etc.) and I also play in a jazz band and some more basic metal stuff (Metallica). I thought I would be using the Boogie amps mainly (due to actually being in love with John Petrucci's sound) but after fiddling with the Dual Rectifier and Mark IIC+ sounds I have based my main distortion on the Marshall JCM-800 model and it sounds perfect. It sounds like a cross between Metallica's Justice and Black albums and Dream Theater's Scene from a memory. I'm still working on a lead sound but I swap between the Dual Rectifier, the Mark IIC+ and the JCM-800. My clean sound is the MarkIIC+ clean channel.

Never had any trouble at all. I've owned it for about a month. I'm looking for a nice rack case to put my stuff in now to protect it.

Never dealt with them directly but the message board is great.

I sold my Laney GH100L, Marshall 4x10 and Boss GT3 to buy this.

My only gripe is really that some of the models sound ok but sound a bit messy. It's hard to describe but the Mark IIC+ sound isn't really as clear as it could be. If it was stolen I would either buy a Vetta head or save up for much longer and get my ideal rack (Mesa 50/50 and Quad, Marshall JMP-1 and some fx).

Basically, everything except a power section and speakers.

Suffice it to say that while there's a tremedous amount of tones in this thing, none of them are as good as an actual amplifier. Not that they're bad, but none of them are exact, and none of them are quite good enough. It's a great toy, but I quickly found it to be uninspiring. Not one note I played through this thing made me stop and think, damn, that was sweet! Chorus effects are ok, flange is not that good, the wah on the floorboard sucks. I guess the wah is the only thing that sucks, the rest of it is just ok and no better. I'm not recording, but if I was I wouldn't want to record what I'm hearing from this thing. My review is based on live sound.

The best way to use this device is through a transparent power amp and excellent PA speakers. Allow the POD to be the only thing affecting tone, and it's at its best. I used various power amps, and tried various pa speakers and guitar cabs. Guitar speakers are difficult with this thing. I found this to be a very difficult thing to use playing live, as switching from clean to dirty involves amp model changes, maybe cab model changes, all the tone knobs have to be changed, etc. Just not a viable live sound device. I need and want to love my tone, and so I'd rather have one I love than several million I don't.

It's really good .There are many good sounds one could get out of this thing!There are numerous parametres to play with and the amp simulations semm convincing to me .I think that we should not get into the process if the simulations offered nail the original sounds but I can say for sure that it sounds damn good!The manual seems convincing and quite precise.

As i said above it's really a good quality sound product .My setup is a Gibson Nightwahk->pod pro -> into a smaal Marshall amp. I can't hardly hear any noise and as far as the effects are concerned they are good sounding although this is not it's primary function or should i say this is not why it was built.

Even though it has not been tested extensively it looks sturdy and rigid and yes probably i would use it without a backup.

I have not dealt with them yet but as any update can be found via the company's site , there won't be any problem i presume.

I play a mixture of all different kinds of rock and this thing has the versatility needed : From at the drive in,fugazi and sonic youth guitars to bone crushing tool or heavier sounds.It can also create dark-atmospheric sounds quite easily.I have been playing guitar for 7 years I own an other ulti effect processor ,many individual stomp boxes and three other guitars.Compared to Roctron's Voodo Valve pod pro leads the way .As i said it sounds really good!Fantastic for it's price!It certainly inspires you to create!

I bought my PODPRO new about a year ago. I intended to use the PODPRO as a backup to another unit that was being repaired, but I was so surprised with the qaulity of sound from the unit that I've continued to use it.

I run the PODPRO into a "spare" audiophile high constant current power amplifer. I use a Marshall 1922 2x12 stereo cabinet. It seemed like the older VLSI digital effect rack I once had between the PODPRO and the power amp just degraded the overall sound.

It is very important to make sure the PODPRO is adjusted for the type of power amp and cabinet you plan to use, because it can make a big difference in sound. This is the most common mistake I've seen.

I haven't been in a band for a long time. So, my Line6 is almost a trailer queen.

I find the process for progressing through the pre-programmed setting to be less helpful than say my old ADA MP-1. Plus, it seemed like it was easier to create secondary banks of my favorite settings on the ADA for quick use when required.

I'm hoping I've found at least one setting where I can control volume AND tone for a useful range of tones with just the knobs on the guitar. We old people think that is kewl and handy at times.

I enjoy the variety of sounds on the PODPRO including harder to find vintage amps like the JTM45 and other speciality makes like Budda. I also like how they create virtual mixes of amps such as the JTM45/Roland jazz similation or add virtual features such as reverb and operational midrange tone controls to amps like Plexis.

It took some adjusting and playing, but it appears my main distortion sound is a modified Van Halen patch. On a real Plexi, it could take a long time to find the right head and tube combination to nail this sound. (Generally, I was mixing Mullard and NOS Rayethon preamp tubes on my ADA.)

The effects could be better, but maybe its a "user error", LOL. I don't use effects all the time, and I usually want very specific ones at certain times. (Yeah, batteries can make some analog stuff sound different often due actual voltages and decay rates.)

I've only had one amp I trusted enough for no backup. Its too soon to tell on this one, but I suspect it could get weird if the voltage sagged too much or if the enviroment was too wet. I mean, it is a computer after all.

I suspect I'd carry my Korg P1 or P4 in the guitar case and use it though the power amp as backup.

My Line6 Synth is OK so far too.

The web site is impressive at giving demos, such as their new guitar, and the FAQ is huge. However, I've noticed some questions seem to go unanswered.

I had trouble the times I've tried to submit a question through the web site. Last time, the web site wanted me to login. Fine, but the web site seemed to indicate I was not a valid user, yet I was already in the system (Which is correct).

I've sent several direct emails to artist relations, but I've got no reponse.

I've tried calling several times. On one occation, I did get a response, but it was while I wasn't at home and the guy didn't understand the question I left him at all.

With the understanding I've always found it better to go through a big dealer on Fender stuff, I found Line6 to be about the most frustrating group to deal with outside the cats at Gibson in the 1970s. I find Gibson is OK now.

I've actually helped a few other frustrated Line6 owners myself.

I've been playing since 1969.

All I have left is the PROPOD, my original ADA, a Korg P1 and P4 (very kewl). I could see buying another, but it would depend on what all was "lost", the money, and what else is on the market. (Actually, electic stuff gets trashed and the acoustics get stolen!!!)

I'm pretty brand loyal to Gibson electics and Marshall cabs, but I'm pretty open minded on everything else.

everyone knows the features. if not, check out the web site. the only reason that i give this thing a 9 is because the i believe that Line6 should have allowed you to choose the combinations of effects. Sometimes i have a "wet" guitar tone (lots of effects running simultaneously), and i would have loved to combine more than two effects.

my main guitar setup is a 93 SG with Dimarzio pickups running to the POD then through a lexicon MPX 500, which feeds a peavey 260 solid state power amp and finally to a Genz Benz 2x12 (george lynch's signature model). i'm primarily a blues/ rock/ metal guy. i've had this thing for about two years now and i have a few opinions.

the POD really does have some great sounds to it. usually, you have to do some tweaking but there is an amazing range of tones available to you. from the heaviest distortion to the smoothest jazz tones, it's in there somewhere.

the amp models are quite good but not perfect. after spending over two years with this thing, there are slight differences between the actual amps and the POD. it seems that actual tube amps have more punch and attack to them. also, the clean channels, although good, still do not approach the quality of a good fender tube amp. this is to be expected. remember the price you pay and versatility you recieve. also, on some of the high gain settings, i reccomend turning the bass down a bit, otherwise you get a very strange, for lack of a better term, "farting" sound from the speakers, when you do palm muted rythm parts. i find that certain cabinets are more prone to it than others, but be aware.

generally, the sounds are quite convincing. if the knob says it's set to sound like a Marshall, it's pretty damn close. it also responds rather well to rolling off the volume and cleaning up a distorted channel.

my one real complaint is that the onboard effects are really not that great. i reccomend using your favorite pedals or investing in an effects processor.

overall, for the price paid, i can't complain. an amazing piece of equipment.

i had a few problems when i first bought it. after a few days of playing, the tuner went crazy on me, along with some of the front panel controls. i returned it to the place of purchase and they couldn't find anything physically wrong with it. i was told it was a software problem, and that the Line6 guys knew that some of the early pros had problems. so, i was given another one. within two months, the power jack was loose and working intermittently. i sent it in again and it turned out to be a loose fuse holder. after those beginning problems, this thing has been rock solid. i'm hoping that Line6 has finally got their quality control working.

anyways, i've used this thing live many times, with no problems. if you treat your gear well, it will treat you well.

i've only e-mailed them once and they were reasonably quick to respond, however their answer for everything is to just do a hard re-boot of the pro.

i've been playing 9 years, and to me, for the price, you really can't beat the wide range of tones available to you. if you're in a cover band, or an original band, you should really take the time to investigate this as an option. however, if you've got thousands of dollars to throw around, and roadies to move all the amps, maybe you should purchase the real amps. most of us aren't that fortuante.

Bought in 2001? Amp is more versatile than anything else I have played. Its perfect for me because its got the features of a basic amp, and the control of a midi preamp, and enough basic effects to be the only thing I need. Especially with the Line 6 Floorboard which I dont have yet. Built in tuner works great. The Noise get is so awesome. DEAD SILENT AT THE HIGHEST VOLUMES. AND NO NOTICEABLE GATES OPENING OR CLOSING. Direct Recording XLR outs. Headphones. And More. Sure it has all these Amp Models, but who cares, its the ability to have those and tweak your own sound that Matters! Otherwise you sound just like the next guy with that amp right?

Bought this to replace my Peavey 5150 and ADA-MP1.

Sounds are pretty much some of the best I could ask for. I have played Gibson Les Paul Customs, Schecter A7-Elite, Ibanez RG570, Jem and Universe guitars through it and they all sound great. I mainly love this for its Distortions. I use the Insane setting, and sometimes the Recto. For anyone into Metal, its amazing, I throw in a Bellari Sonic Exciter and no one can touch my sound. Ultra Fear Factory, etc. Clean Channel stays nice and clean at loud volumes. Anything could sound great if you actually took the time to tweak with it. The stock presets are not very useful for my tastes. Another thing I love is that sometimes I like to work on leads, little shredding. And this thing makes it so much easier, just the tone, harmonics, etc. Tube Amp lovers??? Put this thing on Insane, Switch the effects to Delay/Chorus 1, slight reverb, and You got Zakk Wylde nailed. I played a Les Paul Custom at Guitar Center and the false harmonics just jump out everytime. And so many people always ask how to do his harmonics. Same for Legato playing. I am not all that great in my legato playing yet, but the notes just come right out without the need of my DS-1 Distortion pedal or anything. I think the versatility and sounds of this amp can help any player get so much better alot faster. And its rack mounted!!! I used a Mesa Boogie Coliseum 300 6L6 Tube Poweramp with it at first. BRUTAL!!!

Then I got scared of having to replace 12 tubes in it at $300 a pop. So I bought a QSC RMX850 for $299 and it sounds almost the same after a few adjustments on the Prescense and Highs on the POD PRO.

Love it, though I think the Flextone II HD has more balls and sounds less processed. Only complaint is a popular one. When switching between presets with effects you can get this repeating echo/boom sound. Only way to make it go away is to switch to a few other channels with no effects.

This only happens to me rarely, and always when I use the manual buttons.

I never have problems when I use the midi pedal or Floorboard between presets.

As far as I said before, the only complain is with the Effects/Boom repeating delay that happens when switching manually between presets....

It hasnt happened many times, but is a known probably with their gear. But as far as reliablity, it works great and I have never had a problem in over a year. No backup.

Line Six has been fine for me. I did call once and only got a recording, but they called me back shortly after. I have worked with Artist Relations as well and they were very cool.

I have heard horror stories, but no complaints by me. NEver had a problem with gear requiring support anyway, only had a question about a feature.

I have been playing for 10 years, pretty much tryed every amp I could find in any stores. Also gig 2 times a week. And my setup sounds better than anything else I have ever heard, and most people agree that have heard me. Of course I am in a Metal band so that may not apply to others. But the line 6 sounds better than Mesa Dual or Tripple Recs, Marshalls, Peaveys, and anything else I have heard or played. Try em out, if ya can, play them next to the real amps. Like I said though, its about making it sound the way you want it, not using the models. If you want a killer metal amp, Tweak it up in the same room with a Mesa Recto and see for your self...

The Mesa will squeel and hiss, and give ya a nice heavy mud.

Or you can turn up the Line 6 and be dead quiet, even with the guitar volume all the way up, and have all the crunch and tone that the Mesa cant adjust too...

Just my results..

Made in 2000/2001, not quite sure.For ease of use i would give a rating of 7 since there's a lot of "secondary" functions in the POD PRO and thats not really user friendly. Have to give it a 10 though, since there's a connector for almost anything in this thing:balanced,stereo/mono,s/pdif,unbalanced,unprocessed,MIDI,headphones,analog etc. etc. etc. 36 channels,16 digital effects,16 speaker cab emulations.

BRUTAL AND BEATIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Anything you want, you can tweak from the POD PRO.I play death metal but sometimes i feel an urge to play blues.No problem with this device since it has 32 different amp models.I use this with a Marshall EL 50/50 stereo tube power amp and a Marshall 4x12 cab(i always run the hole setup in stereo)BRUTAL METAL TONES!!!!!!!I USE MAINLY THE LINE6 INSANE CHANNEL WHICH IS SHARP AND DISTORTED AND AT LEAST WITH MY GEAR GIVE AN ENORMOUS LOW END "THUD" WITHOUT BEING MUDDY AT ALL.A DREAM COME TRUE FOR A METAL GUITARIST.REALLY NICE FOR PLAYING SIX FEET UNDER ETC..THE CLEAN SOUNDS ARE REALLY BEAUTIFUL TOO: I USED A BLACK PANEL AMP MODEL WITH SOME CHORUS TO PLAY METALLICA'S ONE AND WELCOME HOME(SANITARIUM) AND IT WAS SOOOOO BEATIFUL SOUNDING!!!!!Name a music style: you can definetely get a sound for it from the POD PRO:)!!!!!!!my guitars:2x JACKSON RANDY RHOADS',THE OTHER(MY MAIN GUITAR)HAS A REVERSED HEADSTOCK AND SEYMOUR DUNCANS.THE OTHER HAS DIMARZIO'S(SAME ONES THAT JOHN PETRUCCI FROM DREAM THEATER USES).

IT looks sturdy enough and since the thing doesn't actually have (sounds like it has lots of though)tubes i think it's reliable.There's not a lot to break in it u'know.

Haven't had to deal with them but their net site is pretty cool and frienly.

Only thing that i'd like to change in it is to have double the amount of controls so you wouldn't have to use the "secondary" functions.But even that's not too complicated so have to give it a total 10.!!!

I believe this amp was made in 2000. Has many great features and an easy to use interface. The different amp models make it great for any musician. I especially love the ease of recording.

I mainly use an Ibanez RG 7-string with stock pickups. I run the POD into a Mesa/Boogie 20/20 poweramp and out to a Marshall 4x12. The amp models sound very realistic. The Brit Hi Gain setting sounds just like a real Marshall JCM 800. The clean channels can be a little distorted, but if you mess with the settings you can get a good sound.

This pre-amp is very dependable. I gig with it all the time. It's not tube, nor is it solid state, so it won't really break down. I wouldn't gig with a backup because I wouldn't really have to.

never dealt with the company

I've been playing for 6 years. This is the only amp you'll ever need, since it has many amp sounds. If it were stolen, I would buy another. I only wish it had a phaser effect since it has every other effect. If you use it in combination with a tube power amp, you will have one helluva rig!!

I like the many features the unit offers. It's not the best thing in the world but for the in-house and club musician, it's fine.... just read the manual !!!

I am using Jackson and Charvels. I am a Metal guitarist that shares leads with a 2nd player for the past 10 years I refused to give up on my Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp combined with a Peavey 60/60 Tube Power amp. I have demanded to only use tubes all the time. but the bottom line is I was not happy with my live tone, I had the preamp Hot Rodded by a guy who has his own line of amps now and has done mods for some of the big boys in the Metal Business. He told me that thi sis the first mod he done on a boogie preamp, so it was like a test experiment. I got more gain out of the Boogie at the expense of taking the reverb tube out completely and being informed that I never get a true "Clean Tone" but like I said ... I play metal... so I dealt with it all these years never 100% satisfied. So 3 days before my first show with my new band I decided to buy the Pod Pro knowing full well that I won't have another practice before the show. so this Line 6 was up to the ultimate test..... And It Passed !!! I just set the setting to Rectified and let it rip. I didn't have enough time to dig in a tweek the sound in a live enviroment, but under the circumstances I was very pleased I had the boogie tone but with that little bit of more "mush" in the distortion and the "beef" my other amp didn't have.

I had my Bpoogie preamp in the rack pluged in and ready to be switched in case of emergency. but I didn't need it. The Pod is very light and naturally I felt like "It's a toy" and it can be broken under a little pressure, but it survived my show and I will go without a backup the next show.

I bought the Pod Pro 4 days ago and I found it used so I have not had to get any service yet.

I read every review on this page before I made my decision, paying extra attention to people who have used it live. All I can stress is that I play heavy music and if that's what you do, you won't be let down in the studio or live. I can't comment on the other tones in this unit. Other important points to remember..... BOOST THE MIDS.... I run into so many people who kill the mids but when it's showtime the crowd wont hear you or say it sounds too "High" or "Tin Sounding". And don't forget to Read the Manual !!!

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