Line 6 PODxt

this is a great unit and has tons of features esepcially with the model packs and software. unlimited quality sounds. I have recorded over 100 albums using this pup. I dont record direct though becasue ofr distorted things it still sounds better whn you have the miked sound of a cabinet and amp. but, it works great a a preamp!!! OK, the real story is this: the line 6 models guitar preamps even from amps but it cant get the tube power amp sound. Its like if you took the preamp out of a marshall amp and ignored the power amp section and cabinet. so you dont get the bass of a cab and the "thud " of a tube power amp.

incredible, it really can immitate most amps and effects, th delay is really clean and it lacks double stereo delays, I always found that adding a little reverb and delay to each preset with an f/x unit gives it a pro sound, without it its a bit too thin and brittle and dont go direct for distorted sounds, it jsut sounds like poop.but for a guitar preamp this thing is really great. I run it into 2 tube amps and sometiems 2 solid state amps, sounds better with the solid state amps and i keep the amps clean preamp at 5 neutral. It sucks though a power amp into pa speakers /i think, you still need that guitar amp sound so a clean power amp into some 12" guitar cabs is awesome. going direct is cool for clean sounds only for me anyway.

yeah its tough,,but i found its weak spot, it is actually the little volume level knob on th3e back which is mounted right to the circuit board, if that goes your screwed. it cuts in and out. oh and the cheeswy plastic parts that make the volume/wah sqweak when first used.

as long as they keep the software upto date its cool

only a schmuck would not dig these sounds and I mean a total puts who still thinks that a $5 1932 sears n roebuck with a 3 1/2" speaker is going to be the holy grail of guitar tone becasue its "vintage". If you cant max out a tube amp volume wise ,this is the next best thing and in fact, its fun to try out what diffferent amsp would sound like and for recording its brilliant. I also had a blast with the vaxriax guit for a time until line 6 pulled the 300 which was cheap and only offered the $700 model yeah right.....anyway, show me something better for $399.00-$499.00 I bought a cheapo crate tube amp to play and I did find that the power amp section was what is missing from theline 6 but as a preamp it was easy to get an identical sound. So its no the 12ax7's it cant emulate its the big tubes, the power tubes.......

My podxt is a 2005 model. Versatile, beyond, gang if you want to use this with your tube amp you can friends! And she sounds ungodly, here is how? Line out from your amp to a seperate Eq to the podxt to a seperate power amp! The effects sound awesome. I don't mess with any amp modeling don't need it. However, I use them for practicing with a headset and other tweaking features. I have bought and sold these pods many times. However, I always return to Line6.

I have two Strats, style of music rock,fusion,blues. The pedal works for all features. Zero noise flawless sound and effects. As I stated line out from your amp to Eq to Podxt to seperate power amp to your 4/12 there is your wet cab. The podxt sounds awesome! When I'm not using her on the line out fx cab. I practice with the cans on, and rock out! Its a tool to use for your craft its as simple as that!

(Can you depend on it? Would you use it on a gig without a backup)?

Beyond. Zero complaint's here at all! Like I said I have purchased and sold many of these went to lexicon, tc, boss, on and on. However, I will remain with the podxt for my effects. I have never owned one that went bad. They are build road rugged and dependable.

Never needed them, sorry.. Im sure they are on top of all issues, as line6 products speaks for the company loud and clear!!With crunch compression phase delay verb with a sm57 off center axis cab greenback 20s ;-) Honestly tho gang, best bang for the buck by far!!

I been jammin forever. I own marshalls heads and marshall cabs 4/12s vintage celestions with proper cones. I would buy again as I have many of times. I will always rely on line6 for the goods! These can not be beat for the price/product= awesome tonage! Best Bang for the buck out there! You can find these on ebay all day long folks. My last one I got for 127.00 shipped, Gang thats the price of one delay pedal??

My particular Pod XT was bought used from ebay for $150.
It is one of the earlier releases of this product as the line6 logo is still the old design on the front face of the pod. I'm guessing probably 2003-2004-ish

If you want options, you will like the pod. It has options. Almost too many. In fact, I'm still learning how to full tweak this thing because there are so many different possible combinations. Just within the Pod itself, there are gazillion possibilities. Then you also get the software with it which allows you to combine tones and do some deep editing with EQ and whatnot.
Throw in a shortboard and it totally rocks.

Before you read ANY FURTHER, I need you to understand this. If you read anyone else's review talking about how horrible this amp is, don't listen to them. Decide for yourself. Here's why most of those people don't know what they're talking about --- they're used to using old school tube amps which HAVE TO be cranked to get the best tone. So they go to the pod with the same mindset and they get disappointed because they think they're supposed to be able to crank it to 10 and "watch it all come to life". Pods don't work that way! They're not analog in the least bit. They give plenty of volume, but you won't get any major tonal improvements with volume. If you like to crank your amps, don't get this.
If you want to get something with great tones that is also easy on the sound man, totally get this. This unit is VERY easy to control the volume and tone on PAs. You just have to treat it differently. You have to find the tone you want and then keep the volume on your unit relatively low...let the PA do the work for your stage/house volume. This will give you the best tonal results. YOU CANNOT CRANK THIS THING and expect it to sound as good as a 1960s fender! This thing is a computer, not a tube amp!

My setup -- I play a Gibson SG standard or a Cort Fender-type(with P90 soapbars). My pedal board -- Ernie ball volume, Boss Super OD, Seymore Duncan Pickup Booster, Line6 DL4 delay stomp. The tones that I get are FANTASTIC. My favorite amp models depend on what I'm doing. For recording, I really love the AC30 model. For live performance, the HiWatt 100 models totally kill. But you HAVE TO tweak it. You have to find the right mic models, the right reverb, the right eq settings, the right cab models, the right reverb, the right stomps, delays, etc...and it is different for every amp tone that you might select, so you really have to play with it to find your tone. When you find it, SAVE IT. Right away. Because you might never get it back, as complicated as this thing can be(although it's quite fun.)

Some have said that Line6 amps are not transparent enough, that every guitar sounds the same to them when plugged into a line 6.
Either I just have the chosen remnant of line 6, or their ears are poor. I notice a VERY noticeable difference between my gibson and my cort. My cort is very fender-esque, very bright, bluesy, chunky, aggresive, almost SRV-like, growling mid range and highs. My SG(due to the humbuckers) is very noticeably smoother, deeper, crunchier.
Some amp settings might be more transparent than others in this thing, but you just have to find what works for you.

This little unit has become my friend. Recording on my PC using Cakewalk GTP3 was EXTRAORDINARILY easy. The only thing I had to do was download some ASIO drivers to tweak the latency for my Pod...which wasn't hard at all. The direct recording tone, even without effects, is actually very very good, extremely useable...and I don't even have the 3.0 software upgrade! The 3.0 upgrade is supposed to improve the amp tones even more.

I normally play with mild overdrive with the HiWatt model. When I want extra oomph, I kick on my pickup booster. When I want to back off for a glassier tone, I lean back on my volume pedal to decrease the amount of gain sent to the unit. Works like a charm.

This is my ONLY complaint. The amp models can sometimes be noisy. This can be dialed out with the noise gate feature. Works great, still keeps the tone largely in tact. But if you are playing clean/relatively clean, it will mutilate your signal with interference. Try it and you'll know what I'm talking about. I wish I had a footswitchable "gate on/off" toggle. That would make me very happy.

I give it an 8 because of the noise gate issue.

There is a WIDE range of styles that can be covered in this unit. I play blues/rock/fusiony-jazz/ambient the most. I regularly gig live and I also record.

No problems with it yet. I used to have a pod 2.0. Never had a problem out of it either.

I have also owned several other line 6 floor controllers and also a line 6 duoverb head. Knobs break off easily, so be careful with it.

Never dealt with them.

Once again, don't listen to the old-timers who only think ultra-loud means good tone. Their amps sound incredible, yes. And they have a very dear place in my heart. I want to one day own a Vox AC30 as well as a some other classics. But this POD just rocks...it can give you great tones, it's super easy to use once you find them...and if you have the shortboard(which I don't just yet), it makes it even simpler because you can perform many of the functions with your feet.

I've played about 9 years. I have a lot of gigging/road experience. Tube amps are fantastic, but sound guys hate them because they're hard to control volume-wise without sacrificing their tone. Tube amps do have an incrementally better tone than line 6, but line 6 has made a product that delivers and doesn't cost a small fortune. The tones are really good and they keep getting better with every update and every new line6 product. It is worth checking out.

Tons of features! Especially with the amp/FX add on packs. You've read about them all if you're reading this.

Sound quality is pretty good to very good in some cases. I am a TUBE AMP guy. I love vintage tube amps. The POD XT does not replace them. It offers a good facsimile of most of them.

Seems well made. I would prefer metal knobs...

Bought mine used...

The good:
1. Practice Amp. Very portable.
2. GREAT Tuner
3. Scratch Guitar tool (it has a TON of sounds, although you may be able to get higher quality sounds from a miked tube amp. Jeff Beck used a Vetta as a demo tool, and KEPT a lot of those tracks because they sounded great:)
4. Good FX modeling. Bang for the buck. FX quality is generally great, even though you MAY be able to find individual pedals that might beat it.
5. Back Up rig. Can mostly copy the sound of any rig to 80% or so...just EQ it good and boom...backup city!

The Not So good:
1. The Amp models have a slight "canned" feel, especially with the mic simulation on. It doesn't feel like a cranked Princeton.
2. The A/D converters have a slight tone to them, as most digital devices do. It is remarkably FLAT when compared to Digitech stuff though.
3. Compressors aren't great. Parametric EQ is lacks Q adjustment.
4. No Global EQ.

Lots of features -- especially hooked up to Guitarport online. I use it to practice and then jam -- loud -- without waking the neighbors.

I use a 72 Les Paul w/Duncans, a stock 57 strat (yes really) and a hot rodded Pacifica.
The sounds are apporoximations OK -- no they're now the real deal and yes the presets are muddy or thin -- but a little tweaking always gets me into something that sounds good and that I can have fun with. I agree with the detractors that they tend to neutralise the guitar -- but so what? Great for practice or loud headphone/quiet living room jamming with a friend and his pod
I don't use it through speakers -- if I'm going to play in front of people or with a band I've got a BadCat BlackCat 30 that will kick ass or get all class "A" for me -- really brings the strat to life.
Been playing close to 40 years -- mainly rock -- nu and old.
The pod is a GREAT tool -- wish I had it when I first started out!

Rock solid -- no complaints or issues. Had it for 5 or 6 years

Never had an issue -- I've contacted Line 6 re: Guitarport online and they were very helpful.

Playing about 40 years -- 6 guitars -- best is the 57 strat and a 70 Martin D-35. Old reliable is the 72 LP Deluxe player routed to fit full size Duncan humbuckers (OK, OK -- I know the value went down like a zillion percent -- but I did it 25 years ago! Guitars werent so sacred then!) :o)
Bad Cat Black Cat (best amp ever owned -- love it! I've owned Fenders, Marshalls, Boogies and a Musicman -- Bad Cat does it better -- for me.) Marshall 2-12 cab (hardly used) - pedals galore. When not in the Pod, I use a Real McCoy wah, an old 808 Tube Screamer and a Boss OS-2 -- mainly use the effects very subtly though so as not to overpower the tone.

Truely sad to see all the dinosaurs who are enslaved by their "vintage" tube amps continuously slam this great little unit - which is really the wave of the future.

If you're looking for a device that can simulate literally hundreds of different "vintage" amps with all the effects pedals, reverb, cabinet options, and microphone options ...

If you're looking for a unit that will seamlessly integrate with your computer for home recording...

If you're looking for a unit that you stash in your backpack and take on a business trip for quiet hotel practices where you don't have to sacrifice creamy distortion...

If you're looking for a unit to dial in tones and then instantly select those tones on stage in seconds ...

Well if you're looking for all that ... don't look at a Blackface Fender Twin Reverb (LOL)...

But you CAN look at the PodXT to do all that for you. :)

Gets a "10" for features ... the PodXT DEFINES the benchmark for features. No unit has more.

Sound Quality I'll rate at about an eight. No, the Double Verb doesn't sound exactly like a Double Verb - but it's not bad - and a REAL Double Verb is a one trick pony - it only sounds like a verb.

On a PodXT - you dial in a Double Verb, a Budda, a Tweed, a Plexi, whatever - there's hundreds to choose from with all the combination of effects and cabinets.

You CAN make this baby sound REAL to most people's ears though. You first have to experiment with all aspects of your setup. Here's what I do with my signal chain (very simple) ...

First - people complain a lot that the PodXT tone has a hard or brittle tone to it. This is usually overstated grossly - but it IS there. It's not so much a problem with Humbucker pickups - it's usually the single coil guys that complain. So the first thing I do is insert a RADIAL TONEBONE DRAGSTER between my guitar and the PodXT guitar input. The Dragster is a load corrector - and simulates the load your pickups would see if they were connected to a real amplifier. There's a dial on it - you simply set it for the best tone. It's a $49 unit - and if you plug your guitar into a wireless transmitter on stage - you'll need this anyway for that (even if you don't use a PodXT).

Once that's done - you can then dial in the tone you'd like on the PodXT. This takes a lot of experimentation that I consider to be quite fun. What I usually do though - to save time - is download tones from the Line 6 tone library at their website and just load them into my PodXT's memory. Those tones will be close to what I'm looking for - but not quite. It only takes minor tweaking of those tones and I have what I'm looking for - I just save it and forget it - and call it up whenever I need it ... in seconds. :)

Now - what to do for an output device? Well Headphones work great for on the road business trips. In those situations where I want to actually play so that others can hear - I plug my PodXT output into the Alesis Transactive 50 Amplifier. It's a Powered PA system that is very lightweight - it's about the size of a very small stereo speaker. I've tried plugging the PodXT into a tube guitar amp - and I've just had no luck. The guitar amp "colors" the sound you've worked so hard to produce with your Pod. What you need imo is a amp that won't "color" the sound and this is why a powered solid state PA amp is great.

Also - you get all the distortion and effects you want at low volume - or high volume. The amount of distortion you hear is NOT dependent on how hard you're driving your PodXT.

Try that with a tube amp. ;)

Gets a 10.

Well it's made out of steel. And I've drug mine ALL over the world several times. It's been scanned in airport terminals, dropped, you name it. It almost bought me a body cavity search in Narita Airport when the nice Japanese security lady couldn't figure out what in the heck it was!

But I was spared the body cavity search when I made an "air guitar" motion with my hands and she recognized what I was saying. Darn! I was looking forward to that search!! :)

Never had to call them - but I'll give them a "10" just based on their online support - which I've used extensively. Everything you need is online. Tones, Software Downloads, User Forums ... you name it.

I've been playing now for about 20 years and I WOULD BE A MUCH BETTER PLAYER TODAY IF I HAD OWNED A PODXT BACK WHEN I FIRST STARTED LEARNING.

Why? Are you kidding? The mobility that this unit gives you is astonishing. I used to be in the Navy - on submarines - there was no way I could load a real amp down on the boat during underways - I had to play my electric guitar without an amp if I wanted to practice - or use one of the old POS headphone amps (like a Rockman) ... bleeeh!

Really this thing is awesome - I love it as much as my IPOD. It's one of those things you buy - that you actually USE all the time. I have vintage amps (Blackface Champ / Blackface Princeton). I have a Marshall Half-stack too. But heck man - I use the PODXT plugged into my Alesis Transactive 50 about 80% of the time when I'm just playing around the house - and usually when I'm jamming with my buddies too.

loads of features

better than i thought it would be

wont break

amazing little box that produces loads of diffrent sounds

Covered well by others

This device renders your guitar totally anonomyous. My guitar has five pick-up selections, all of which sound the same through this thing. It does not matter what kind of pick you use or what gauge your strings are. Left hand touch is irrelevant. Highly condomized.

The designers made some strange choices in which amp properties to emulate. Why would they choose to accurately represent horrid hum levels from some famous amps and ignore the responsiveness of this same boxes?


I read the flippin manual. Tried it through a variety of speaker systems, including through a Mackie Mixer, Mackie amp and good speakers.

Been playing 34 years. Music Man HD130, Mesa Subway Rocket Reverb and Lonestar Special.

Maybe useful for experimenting with some stompbox sounds before going to the store to check out the real thing.

Okay. It's a toy. It's got lots of toy-like bells and whistles.

Utterly diabolical. I own more than a dozen vintage tube amps. This is a piece of garbage in comparison. I actually have a couple of cheap solid state modelling amps that blow this thing away. The tone is devastatingly brittle. There is not a hint of tube warmth or harmonic distortion. In fact, the distortion appears to be not of the 3rd harmonic but of the 7th - ie. not pleasing to the ear. Clips easily. Oh yeah, it sucks tone. Anyone serious about tone should avoid this. It seems there are thousands of satisfied customers. Most of them I guess have never played real amps. If you are on a budget there are far far better choices. Even Behringer's VAmp sounds more realistic.

I sent mine back after spending a week trying to coax something useable out of the box. The presets are that bad.

Meantime - a friend of mine who bought his Pod new only a few months has been having terrible trouble with it. The unit keeps dying on him and it's not a faulty power unit.

I wouldn't gig with this, period.

They actually get other Line 6 users to answer other users queries because they haven't got a decent support set up. A bunch of jokers.

Line 6 Is Killing Music

The PODxt has 32 amps models, something like 20 cabinet emulations,
a lots of effects, and so on. You can get model packs on line6 website to get more amps and effects.

You can use it with an amp or with a computer for recording.

With line6 monkey program you can update the sounds of the POD.

I first bought it to play on my amp(randall stack). I could get some cool sounds but some sounds sounded very digital and I had to turn off the cabinet emulation to not influence too much my speaker's sound.
I give a 6 for use with an amp.. It is better when using it with a power amp I guess.

Disapointed with the sounds on my amp, I decided to use it to play on my computer and use it for recording.(Decided to do that because anyway I prefer to use the distortion of my amp rather of something else on it, and cause i'm living in an apartment I can use only my stack at low volumes in the afternoon, that means theres some days I can't even play so I used it with headphones.

With the Gearbox program by line6, which its easy to set your sounds, I finally could make some really good sounds, the effects sounds great, I've made some really good sounds as for rythm as for leads.

I play metal (death metal) and with the metal shop model pack I could get some brutal distortions good enough for death metal! If you want to play metal with the PODxt you must get the metal shop, otherwise the choice of amps is limited, some of my favourites are the Modern hi gain,line 6 lunatic,line6 big bottom,engl powerball,...

It sounds much better when using it for direct recording.

seems solid. can't tell much more it just stays near my computer all day.

Never had really to deal with them.

Theres a lot of support on their website, with line6 monkey you get updates and stuff, so when theres something you want to know the line6 website got almost all the answers

I've been playing for a year now.. if stolen I would buy one right away, its a very good device, I can now play with headphones during the night with an awesome sound! And I'm intending to buy some speakers to use with it, when my I will start to jamm with my band currently in project.

I'm very pleased with it,I couldn't have anything better than that to create some crazy sounds and record my songs on my computer.