To POD, or not to POD..?

[MrBump]

OK, having spent the last year or so ditching my modelling/DSP type kit, and getting back to REAL amps and effects, I'm now again hankering after some modelling tools for recording...

I've consciously been avoiding any Line 6 stuff, but have recently heard some demos and they were amazing.

What else is good out there?  I've heard that the ToneLab stuff by Vox is pretty authentic.

Thoughts?

Mark.

[gwEm]

you could try an analogue modeler like a tech21 sansamp - they're gwem favourites ;)

[Lew]

I prefer GR3 to Line6, you could always get an Axefx  :D

[ailean]

We've got a POD XT Pro and to be honest I'm not that impressed. Now it does say in the manual that you have to spend time figuring it out and we haven't yet so it may well be our fault, but when played into our Rockerverb 50 it lost tone, kinda flattened it, lost some of the sparkle. I suspect any digital gear will do the same unless it's recording studio standard (the Pro is supposed to be, but that seems to be hype)

One day I'll spend some time figuring the sucker out, but for now it's just gathering dust.

[Stevepage]

Vox Tonelab seems to be another favourite for modelling. I've not played one but I've heard good clips.

I'm over the moon about the XT Live I have and to be honest, I much prefer it over the Laney combo I had. Not just because it's more versatile, but because I can get the tone I want out of it and not have to struggle.

The only 'fizz' and 'dead tone' I've heard from it, is from when I haven't spent time dialing it in right.

[mikey5]

Dude the good old amp pedal way is the way of the righteous (michael 1:1)

You might check out the Boss GT 10 though. Its a great pedalboard.

[Denim n Leather]

I love my Roland VG-88, but I think it may be too OTT for you. It takes ages to tweak, as well.

What are you looking to do with it?

Nothing wrong with Line6 for convenience/ease of use, tho.

[MrBump]

Recording.

I get a pretty decent "natural" sound, but life and family gets in the way, when the kids are in bed I'd still like to lay down some tracks.

I quite like the idea of the POD studio devices, but I'm sure that there must be alternatives.

Mark.

[hamfist]

I'm looking into getting a modeller in the £300-£450 range at the moment. The new RP1000 (or RP500 - same tones but less functionality) by Digitech is looking very nice at the moment. My experience of Digitech modellers in the past is that they are rather more realistic than Line 6 across the whole gain range.  Line 6 have got their act together for clean tones and higher gain, but are sadly lacking in most of the tones inbetween IMHO.
  IN honesty, I have yet to play one either the RP500 or 1000, but definately one to look at I would say.

Tonelabs are great if you are not interested in anything high gain, BTW. Anything up to about JCM800 levels of gain, they are hard to beat IMO.

[dheim]

We've got a POD XT Pro and to be honest I'm not that impressed. Now it does say in the manual that you have to spend time figuring it out and we haven't yet so it may well be our fault, but when played into our Rockerverb 50 it lost tone, kinda flattened it, lost some of the sparkle. I suspect any digital gear will do the same unless it's recording studio standard (the Pro is supposed to be, but that seems to be hype)

One day I'll spend some time figuring the sucker out, but for now it's just gathering dust.

if you want to use POD as a preamp i think you'll never get rid of that "flat" sound... i hadn't in more or less 5 years of extensive use! you MUST use it directly in the mixer or PC or whatever you use for recording, and only then you'll get some nice "pro" tone (with a bit of tweaking, of course).

[MDV]

Its been my experience recently that youre way better off using a preamp or line out from an amp and impulses and DAW effects.

Or thats my 2p anyway.

[ailean]

We've got a POD XT Pro and to be honest I'm not that impressed. Now it does say in the manual that you have to spend time figuring it out and we haven't yet so it may well be our fault, but when played into our Rockerverb 50 it lost tone, kinda flattened it, lost some of the sparkle. I suspect any digital gear will do the same unless it's recording studio standard (the Pro is supposed to be, but that seems to be hype)

One day I'll spend some time figuring the sucker out, but for now it's just gathering dust.

if you want to use POD as a preamp i think you'll never get rid of that "flat" sound... i hadn't in more or less 5 years of extensive use! you MUST use it directly in the mixer or PC or whatever you use for recording, and only then you'll get some nice "pro" tone (with a bit of tweaking, of course).

Ahh.. That's really useful to know. Many thanks!

[Davey]

i've had many different pods over the years.. stuck now with a pocket pod.. and first things first. if you're looking for amazing tone, dont bother. yes you can tweak it on the computer for hours on end, but in the end everything'll sound the same to you anyway.
i usually play on the presets that are in the pod and even then it's like playing a generic nu metal recording..

that aside, for demos, late night and apartment recording it's great cos it's got the same tone across the volume range (give or take bass due to air displacement, which you dont get with having stuff on very silent).

really depends on how you use it and for what you use it. for recording (if you havent got microphones and all that jazz) it's good. be prepared to tweak it. for silent practice and home use, cant beat it with anything that has a speaker IMO.

but do get something that has a computer interface, it will make tweaking a LOT easier

[Transcend]

Recording.

I get a pretty decent "natural" sound, but life and family gets in the way, when the kids are in bed I'd still like to lay down some tracks.

I quite like the idea of the POD studio devices, but I'm sure that there must be alternatives.

Mark.

the pod studios are exactly the same as the toneport series.

You can probably pick up a toneport gx for about £25-30 new now and the new pod farm software makes it a lot better asyou can run two rigs simultaneously and rumours on the line6 boards are that on the next update theyre adding the capability to use cab impulses rather than line6s cabs which is what i find cause the majority of the digital sound.

[Alex]

Depending on the budget there is also the Hughes & Kettner Tubeman. I had one, it was quite usable but has it's own sound, kinda...