Heya gang

Just asking for opinions and experiences on these Pod devices.
Was in the studio the other day, and its got an awesome room for my JC120 
amp.
But for guide tracks to play along with the bass and drums as they recorded, 
he plugged me into a POD 2.0 to save time (its the red one that looks like 
that thing from the film Existenz).
Anyway was shocked how good it instantly sounded, and how easy it was 
twisting the buttons to affect the effects on there.

I would never record properly with it, but as a time saver it certainly was 
fantastic.
Anyways, my plan is to be travelling quite a bit (Africa, Phillipennes) in 
the New Year and wanted something I could practice with. Trawling the JC120 
around really isnt an option I think you can understand, so was wanting 
something I could plug headphones in with and practice, then link up to the 
laptop and record.

One issue - I go online to find these PODs and find a whole bunch of 
things - pocket pod, some silver USB interface thing, as well as Pod 2.0 and 
3.0 and many many options (Im sure theres Pod XP if you look for it!).

So does anyone here use these things, and what would one reccomend for the 
travel around/headphones/quick demo needs?

Thanks in advance

Mr.Will
www.mr-will-music.co.uk

"Mr.Will"  wrote in message 
news:JapCm.7123$D95.1597@newsfe22.ams2...
> Heya gang
>
> Just asking for opinions and experiences on these Pod devices.

> So does anyone here use these things, and what would one reccomend for the 
> travel around/headphones/quick demo needs?

I've had a Pod 2.0 ever since they wr just plain Pods and sent out a chip 
upgrade. I use it all the time for practice and have used it live several 
times into a PA system, particularly when a full "amp sound" is needed but 
not at full amp volume.

The old Pods require an extra  adapter to connect to a USB port, but the 
later models (XT, X3) support audio over a direct USB connection.

"Mark Williams" <spam.me@your.peril> wrote in message 
news:mpOdnftu_LAit0fXnZ2dnUVZ8m-dnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "Mr.Will"  wrote in message 
> news:JapCm.7123$D95.1597@newsfe22.ams2...
>> Heya gang
>>
>> Just asking for opinions and experiences on these Pod devices.
>
>> So does anyone here use these things, and what would one reccomend for 
>> the travel around/headphones/quick demo needs?
>
> I've had a Pod 2.0 ever since they wr just plain Pods and sent out a chip 
> upgrade.


Which country are you in!  In the UK they didn't send it out to users, you 
had to buy the replacement ROM, for £45 IIRC.


 I use it all the time for practice and have used it live several
> times into a PA system, particularly when a full "amp sound" is needed but 
> not at full amp volume.
>
> The old Pods require an extra  adapter to connect to a USB port, but the 
> later models (XT, X3) support audio over a direct USB connection.


For headphone use, and amped, I can recommend trying out the Pocket Pod.  I 
use one with a Sessionette amp and have received compliments on the 
resulting sound many times.  It makes very nice sounds on headphones too, 
although you'd probably want to store different variations of patches for 
the two different applications.

Chris

The Line 6 POD range are great in my opinion when you need to model a close 
approximation of a real amp plus a bunch of effects without having to cart 
the real thing around with you.  I have a POD 2.0 which I bought in about 
2001 (I think) and I still use it occasionally.   I have used a POD XT Live 
and I also own a POD X3 Live.  The XTL and X3L are floor based units and are 
capable of a lot more than the POD 2.0 in terms of being both a USB 
recording interface and being an interface for the Variax range of guitars. 
With most modeling units like those in the POD range, they tend to work best 
when fed into full range amp/speaker combinations, powered PA cabs or direct 
to mixing desk because they are designed to provide the 'voicing' that you'd 
normally get from a traditional guitar amp/speaker combination.  I have used 
the POD 2.0 and the POD XT Live live by going direct to the power amp 
section of a traditional guitar amp and got a good sound.  The X3 Live is in 
my opinion more difficult to get to sound good with a standard guitar rig, 
but is relatively easy to get a good sound from when going direct to desk - 
works well with the Variax too.

The POD XT Live and X3 Live floor units are quite big and bulky when 
compared to the POD 2.0 and even more so when compared to the Pocket POD.

Some people swear they can tell when a POD has been used on a recording - 
maybe they can - but nevertheless you can still get a pretty close 
approximation of a real Marshall, Boogie or whatever by using one and 
changing between amp models and FX chains is as simple as stepping on a 
switch.  All Line 6's amp modeling is based on real amps but often when 
listening to two amps of the same type they can sound quite a bit different, 
so like most things it is always going to be subjective :-)  If using with a 
Variax guitar you can get the POD to switch the guitar presets too say from 
Les Paul to Jumbo Acoustic and with the right amp and FX models too which 
can be really useful in certain situations.  You obviously don't have to use 
a Variax with the XT Live or X3 Live - just pointing out that there are 
options that will control the guitar if you did want to use a Variax.

As for recommendations - depends what you want to carry around in terms of 
bulk.  The Pocket POD may be all you need - its modeling is based on the POD 
2.0.

As you say a POD is a quick solution, but if you like the sound of a 
particular traditional amp and you just want the FX, you may want to look at 
the Line 6 M13 or the new M9.

"christofire"  wrote in message 
news:KeWdneCy_ZVg0UfXnZ2dnUVZ8hWdnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "Mark Williams" <spam.me@your.peril> wrote in message 
> news:mpOdnftu_LAit0fXnZ2dnUVZ8m-dnZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> "Mr.Will"  wrote in message 
>> news:JapCm.7123$D95.1597@newsfe22.ams2...
>>> Heya gang
>>>
>>> Just asking for opinions and experiences on these Pod devices.
>>
>>> So does anyone here use these things, and what would one reccomend for 
>>> the travel around/headphones/quick demo needs?
>>
>> I've had a Pod 2.0 ever since they wr just plain Pods and sent out a chip 
>> upgrade.
>
>
> Which country are you in!  In the UK they didn't send it out to users, you 
> had to buy the replacement ROM, for £45 IIRC.

Don't remember paying for it, but it was a long time ago.