Line 6 Pod Pro XT, XT Live, Pod XT. differences?

[Stevepage]

So I've sold my Laney. Now I'm looking into line 6's stuff. At the moment I have my eyes on a used Pod Pro XT. But, what can the XT Pro do that the XT (bean shaped thing) and the XT Live can't?

What I want is something that I can use for recording direct, plug direct into the PA for rehearsals and maybe gigs and just general use at home.

Btw, sold my Laney because I have problems with my back and I want a more 'modern' metal tone as well as an array of effects.

[sgmypod]

Think best looking on line6 site at specs...pro has more recording..better recording options..but 24bit....podxt is 24bit and 32bit floating..so maybe slightly better sounds on xt
Live is what it says think is the xt but with footpedals also has the link for the line6 guitars(also has extra model pack than xt)

[MDV]

The XTs metal tones sound like a kick drum filled with angry bees

The Pros metal tones sound like a kick drum filled with angry killer bees.

The best standalone unit I've had for DI recording metal, bear in mind I'm not a big effects guy at all (I hardly ever use any) is the lineout on the Vox valvetronix XL (30W, specifically).

[sgmypod]

would say had the xt fully loaded..was versatile, lots of tones....but the tonelab le I have now has far better usable sounds and great for recording(no were as many sounds as the pods though)

[MDV]

Tru dat. The tonelab is superior in every single way. Its got less stuff, but its all better, its FAR easier to use, theres much less fat on the available options, sound quality in it is way better, and it responds and plays more like an amp (as opposed to the pods remarkably undynamic feel of notes basically being 'on' or 'off').

Oh, I have both a tonelab LE and a pod XT by the way.

[sgmypod]

yeah had both but sold podxt..even once made mistake and bought a variax...traded it for my Guild

[AndyR]

I can concur with both these fine chaps :D

I still use my XTLive for bass work (I got the bass expansion packs) and when I want to use my Variax guitars/bass.

I use my VOX Tonelab LE for all other things electric guitar related - I prefer its tones for the vintage, bluesy type amps. Although I'm not big on metal tones, I have heard that some feel the Pod XT tones are better for that end of things if you're recording... but I can't really tell.

I did prefer the guitar effects modelling on the XTLive, but that might just be cos I'm crazy!! :lol: (and like MDV I tend not to use effects a lot...)

My use is entirely living-room related (playing through studio monitors, and direct recording).

[crispsandwich]

Have you looked at the X3/X3 Live? It's a lot better than the XT. For a start you can run two rigs at once (makes for some very interesting amp and effects combinations). It has all 74 guitar amp models, 28 bass amp models, mic preamp models and all the effects too. It also sounds better than the XT. The upgraded hardware and slightly improved amp models are really good IMO.

I've got an X3 Live and it's an amazing bit of kit IMO. It does great metal tones. It's not as good as the TL for breaking up tones (nothing is in this price range) but it does everything very well IMO. I have a Variax, a Pod X3L and a set of studio heaphones and I can get any sound I want. The only bad point is the Whammy simulation. Apparently it's not based on a whammy as it uses a different kind of sound wave or something, but it has the same intended application. It doesn't track brilliantly. For playing single notes it's fine but it struggles with anything else.

I think it's a cracking bit of kit.

Just my thoughts. 

[AndyR]

^ I was wondering that actually - why look at XT when X3 is available now? If I was buying a POD now, I'd be looking straight at the X3 range...

(Mind you, I'm the bloke who bought a POD 2.0 after the XT series was established, only to get an XT 12 months later!! :lol:)

[Stevepage]

I ended up getting the XT Live today. I was chuffed with the tones I could get from it with a bit of tinkering and does everything I could want it too. I went with the XT because the X3 was too expensive. I only had £300 to spend max, so the XT fell into the price range nicely.

I did look for a Vox tonelab but every where I called near me, didn't have one in stock. But I'm more than satisfied with the XT Live.

[dheim]

damage is already done  :)
anyway i want to add a word...
i never tried a tonelab, and i can't afford an axe-fx. i bought my pod-xt some 5 years ago (i can't remember precisely but it's close to the truth) and i still find it simply unsubstituible for recording... not only it's very simple and fast to record. you know exactly how guitars will sound like, and that's a very nice thing... modeling is not like the real deal, of course, but anyway recordings never sound like native amp tones, so there's no loss at all. i used it live many times, and later switched to a valve amp. sounds are really nice, indeed, but completely lack the bass and punch of a real amp head...
i have to disagree with MDV... metal tones suck just if you don't program them very well... i'm quite satisfied with my metal tones (the ones i use mostly, of course), i wouldn't call them perfect, but they're actually the best i ever had! and they sound no way like buzzy transistor distortions or other cheap emulation i've heard... maybe you can't get every damn sound on earth from those things, but for my needs i don't think i'll change my rig very soon...
you can check my recordings

[MDV]

Not to be combatative mate, but if you think I cant program metal tones you should listen to some of my recordings. Not great by ANY measure, but hardly the incompetence you suggest. Check Jonnys sticky with all the BKPs - C-Pig and Painkiller. Ones on the frontpage now actually (but its not the best sound).

I stand by my statements.

[AndyR]

Nice one Steve :D - I think you'll get a lot of pleasure out of it, I did, and I'm still very fond of mine.

The reason I got a VOX was because a) after a year or so's use and experience, some of the tones I was leaning towards just weren't quite doing it on the XT, and the VOX did it out of the box, b) I had the GAS :oops:

I don't use my POD 2.0 at all now, I find it a bit "muddy" - but some people prefer the modelling to the XT (in fact the pocket POD models are POD 2.0).

But in general, I think all these beasts do a job, if you accept the one you've got and get to know how it works for you. I must admit, when recording, once the tone has been sorted to fit the track/mix, I'm very hard pressed to tell which of my recordings were done with POD, POD XT, or VOX Tonelab!!

For just playing on my own though, at the moment, the VOX has my undivided attention...


Anyway, mind you don't spend all your time fiddling rather than playing! :lol:

[MDV]

I know I say the TLs better, and it is, but I really dont actually LIKE either

I've just setup the following in my studio
- Pod XT
- Tonelab LE
- Award session JD10
- Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem
- Vox valvetronix XL, 30
- 4 way signal splitter
- Radial X-Amp
- Fireface 800

And I'm hunting for a good sound with a combination of the above gear, what with none of it being "there" on its own. That said, the best for metal, by a considerable margin, is the valvetronix XLs lineout.

[dheim]

Not to be combatative mate, but if you think I cant program metal tones you should listen to some of my recordings. Not great by ANY measure, but hardly the incompetence you suggest. Check Jonnys sticky with all the BKPs - C-Pig and Painkiller. Ones on the frontpage now actually (but its not the best sound).

I stand by my statements.

it seems there's been a little misunderstanding, here... i wasn't saying at all that you're incompetent in getting good metal tones! i was just saying that many harsh critics i read and heard about the POD being unable to play metal usually come from people that don't own any line6 equipment and just tried a couple of riffs in a store using factory presets (that are a good starting point but, as they are, suck quite a lot...).
my comment wasn't related with you and your playing and recording skills, that judging from a sound clip of painkillers i heard are quite impressive!
anyway i don't know if those brutal death tones can be achieved with a POD, because it's definitely not my kind of metal and never tried to obtain them... someone else can say more, i think...