Thoughts on Line 6 pods?

[Sixbender]

Not a fan of Line 6. I've got three of them in the house (girlfriends gear). A Flextone combo, an old pod, and the rack XT Pro.
None of them work properly for various technical reasons, and I wont be boring everyone with the whole latency issues that make me feel a little "disconnected" from the amp somehow...but now my girlfirend is using my old Rocktron Voodu Valve for all her live gigs and recording, as it sounds better in every way and has been perfectly reliable for 10 years running on live gigs every weekend.

The best new modeling unit is probably the Digitech GSP 1101. The pros that I work with are raving about the tone and ease of this unit.

 

[Superlizard]

This reminds me too...

I have an old ADA MP1 MIDI tube preamp that I bought new in '89.  At the time, it was one of the most advanced preamps for guitar
around... and fully MIDI capable (still have the footswitch controller too).  You could tweak and tweak to your heart's delight,
and have 128 different presets available at the touch of a button.  2 12AX7's, EQ loop, analog chorus etc etc etc...

To make a long story short, I haven't used it regularly in over a decade.  Why?  Cuz the base tone sucks @$$.  It's sterile.. no dynamics whatsoever.

So, to further illustrate my previous point, what's the point of having a bazillion parameters to tweak if the base tone sucks?

Doesn't matter one bit if you can take "this" turd here, adjust the saturation, and move it over there next to "that" turd and EQ 'em both and pan the turds in stereo... still can't polish a turd.

 

[nofenderetele]

no line 6 unless u like the sound of a synth playing guitar

their sound is over processed and digital go analog or if u have to with a boss gt series

 

[Rick]

Actually, the line 6 pod sounds are pretty good.  I've used them, and pedals, and rack effects .... For those who think they are "processed" try it thru a better amp.  This over processed comment is a canard repeated by the misinformed.

 

[nofenderetele]

Actually, the line 6 pod sounds are pretty good.  I've used them, and pedals, and rack effects .... For those who think they are "processed" try it thru a better amp.  This over processed comment is a canard repeated by the misinformed.

but its horrible to use digital effect through a tube amp

 

[GearBoxTy]

To me, the POD should go direct into a mixing console or recording device.  I would never consider plugging it into an amp either inline or in the effects loop.  But, that's me.

 

[mayfly]

Actually, the line 6 pod sounds are pretty good.  I've used them, and pedals, and rack effects .... For those who think they are "processed" try it thru a better amp.  This over processed comment is a canard repeated by the misinformed.

but its horrible to use digital effect through a tube amp

Why is that horrible?  The rule of tone is that if it sounds good - use it!

 

[shanejw]

I like my pod for playing at church and practicing and recording.  For my real gigs there is nothing like pushing a tube amp.  For my effects I have a few stompboxes in a SKB pedalboard that is rediculously heavy and continually tries to make my right arm longer than my left.  I only have the pod 2.0 and haven't tried the XT or the X3, although I'd like to check them out.  I like my pod.  Worth the money, I think.

 

[Mapleg4]

Yeah, it's perfect for recording.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

To me, the POD should go direct into a mixing console or recording device.  I would never consider plugging it into an amp either inline or in the effects loop.  But, that's me.

Mine goes direct into a Radial D.I., then to FOH.  We monitor with an Aviom in ear system.

 

[mayfly]

So my drummer wanted to borrow my VOX tonelab during the Christmas break.  He usually plays a fender cyber twin in his other band as was getting tired of lugging the thing.

I said no problem and handed it to him road case and all.

Now I've been playing my teles pugged straight into my '66 super reverb...

... and hating it!  It takes so much volume for good tone to come out of it!  and it weighs about 65 pounds!  :-\

Looking forward to getting my tonelab back.  :icon_thumright:

 

[T.L.]

I think the Line6 stuff has pretty cool features and sounds pretty dang good, but personally I have no use for any of it. I'm "old school". I think they are best for studio applications, or if you play lots of cover tunes and need a wide range of versatility. I just find 3 good tones I like and stick with that, so I don't need the digital modeling stuff. I say use whatever sounds good to you, and helps you produce the music and sounds you are after...

 

[probot]

I've got a POD XTlive with a Tech 21 Power engine which is OK for recording with 'cause its so easy with the riffworks, but compare it to my Marshall JVM with a few decent Fulltone pedals and its not in the same league. Saying that, put in a context with a band and there is nothing wrong with it, at the end of the day you only need a couple of sounds anyway to cover most stuff.
Put another way if it got nicked i'm not sure i'd buy another which probably sums it up.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I seem to recall doing a blindfold test a year or so back, & out of a dozen or so clips, only one or two people could tell a difference on one or two clips, & even those were guesses.

 

[Rick]

I have to agree that you can't tell ... unless you're told that's a line 6 digital sound.  When am I told, then I say, oh yeah, you're right.

 

[tfarny]

It is impossible for me to compare the tones while playing, since I only hear the line6 tones through headphones, while my amps go through a celestion.
I've been playing my line6 thing (toneport) more lately because I've been practicing slide while the wife sleeps. I've noticed that I can get a model to sound ok (just ok) using one guitar, but change guitars and the same preset is suddenly just awful. While on my little 'killer ant' one knob amp, they all sound good yet different. I actually think the line6 stuff is great for practicing, I like the toneport setup a lot, but I don't get the guys who prefer it to a nice tube amp. And especially the clean Fender sounds - they are terrible.

 

[r750mrk]

I have the first edition of the pod.
I've been using it for more then 10 years now.
I think it is a great tool to have, good for Practicing and recording at home.
I used it on a daily basis and I still do.
I learned a lot from using it, so when I wanted to buy the real thing I knew what I wanted.
you can also use it as a preamp for mic's.
one of the best things about it that its very reliable, used it for more then 10 years and it never failed me.
but I wont use it in front of an amp, rather have a couple of great sounds then a 100 of o.k ones ....

 

[kboman]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but tfarny makes a good point. Listening to modelers through headphones has always sounded more or less like sh*t to me, and I have pretty good headphones. My GT-8 never sounded better than through a ~15-20 year old solid state bass amp with a single 15" speaker and treble/bass/volume controls. Serious oomph!
That thing was way too heavy to bother moving every week though so I started playing through the PA at practice instead. Sure it was stereo and had good fidelity, but it was not the same... So to +1 what mayfly said - if it sounds good, it is good!