So the Line 6 pod... is it worth it?

Sceptical1 · #1 06-23-2010, 12:41 AM

My main question is does it really plug into the PA? I'm a Weezer fan and I read about them using only pods to plug into the PA in lots of live shows back in the early 2000's, will this model: http://www.amazon.com/Line-6-Bass-PO...pr_product_top do so? If this thing works right, it would save me months of saving for an extensive amp/ effect setup plus a lot of hassle which would be really great

. Anyone had any experience with them?

JimmyM · #2 06-23-2010, 12:56 AM

Digital emulation is getting better and better all the time. And Line 6, whom I've never been a big fan of before, has improved by leaps and bounds since they came out with the first Pod. I think Sansamp sounds a bit more "natural" than Line 6 (their emulation is analog, not digital), but I honestly wonder if I could tell the difference blindfolded.

And of course, there's plenty of top bands out there using them. In addition to Weezer, Rob DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots is using one as his only preamp and says he was able to nail the tone of his favorite vintage Fender/Marshall studio rig exactly. And Devo has gone ampless as well, and Bob Mothersbaugh, their lead guitarist, is using one. I've heard high quality recordings of a couple of Devo's recent shows, and honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between his sound now and back when he was using rented Marshall amps. Bob has said that it's not quite as good as using a good amp, but it's more consistent than the varying quality of the amps he's been supplied.

Still, ain't nothing like the real thing, so I still suck it up and bring my vintage Ampegs to gigs. For some of us, nothing will ever replace the feel of actual tube amps. But it does make me wonder sometimes if I'm just making things harder on myself than need be.

Sceptical1 · #3 06-23-2010, 01:29 AM

well yeah, I see what you mean. If i had been using a traditional amp setup and getting the results most people get, i probably wouldn't want to convert either (plus those ampegs at guitar center sound really cool). on the other hand though since it seems to work fairly decently it wouldn't hurt to use one until i get a lot more money lol. but thanks for letting me know about the stone temple pilots using the pods, I wasn't aware of that so i'll have to check that out

BgTckt · #4 06-23-2010, 01:31 AM

1) Jimmy has probably forgotten more than I know. So... what he said.

2) I have a first generation guitar Pod. (I have installed the 2.0 chip, but I kept the 1.0... I may put it back someday.)

I always liked the sound. I was in a band several years ago, to which my contribution was a little guitar, a little voice, a little keys, a little bass... I used the Pod because, with all that other crap to haul around, I didn't want to have an amp to drag around too.

The FT guitar player chose a Digitech pedal. He liked it; I always thought it sounded a little dry and artificial compared to the Pod, but he could play circles around me, so whatever.

One day a more experienced pro (think he played with the Neville bros at one point) visited our jam space in the guitar player's house. He played my guitar through the Pod for a while... put it down and played the GP's guitar through the Digitech for about 30 seconds... then put that back down and played my guitar for the rest of the afternoon, with the comment 'this one sounds a little warmer' or something like that.

That said... sorry, no experience with the Bass Pod. I use an amp. Go figure.

Sceptical1 · #5 06-23-2010, 01:37 AM

lol, that's pretty encouraging. I guess you can kinda compare using the pod as oppose to using an amp to digital vs vinyl recording. vinyl sounds more natural and alive, but at this day in age digital is prominent so it's kinda a win/ lose :/

BgTckt · #6 06-23-2010, 01:48 AM

Maybe not... I just wanted the backline power, and didn't see the point in having a Pod as a tone shaper when I'd still need a 'clean' amp to put the sound where I wanted it, and had some control over it. Especially since I primarily like a clean sound anyway. Your needs--and mileage--may vary. Go try out a Bass Pod at a music store. It might be just the thing for you. I just wanted to share my experience that the Line 6 folks seem to be pretty good at providing pleasing and useful sounds... at least in the guitar part of the spectrum. Good luck & have fun.

OldogNewTrick · #7 06-23-2010, 02:01 AM

For Live use and with sufficiently patient tweaking, it will do quit well.
Pretty flexible and if it sounds good to you, its good - your audience won't know the difference....

For the studio, less so.
As to tone and quality of the amp emulations, what Jimmy said.

1 - The Original
2 - Sansamp Character Series
3 - carefully tweaked L6 Bass Pod xt models (some are actually surprisingly good, but will NOT challenge #2)
4 - stock L6 models, some better, some a lot worse

If you are an effects lover, you can do a lot better. Most effects give you the general idea, but don't get anywhere near to The Original and are considerable worse than some other digital offerings and also worse than the quality of the current generation of the L6 stomp box modelers. Some stuff, especially effects depending on tracking, like octaver and synth stuff are rather awful. Also the range of combinations is pretty limited.

But they are priced pretty reasonable, and might offer you just exactly what you want from it.

All IME/IMHO from a 4 year owner of one.

Edit: oh, yeah, it really plugs into a PA.

Sceptical1 · #8 06-23-2010, 04:08 PM

ok great thanks for the info. I'm a lot more confident now that it should work pretty decently, thanks!

pasta4lnch · #9 06-23-2010, 04:28 PM

here's my experience w/ the modeling stuff. . . for bass it's a bit more forgiving than guitar. I play both.

when I started to do a lot of recording I got a pod - I researched what a good guitar set up would cost me (amps, mics, pre's etc) and said it can't be worth that much better sound. so I brushed it off. . . had an opportunity to do a session at a friends high end place so I rented an AC30, my plan was to A/B it to the pod. I did my tracks w/ the Vox and plugged the pod (into an avalon 737) got halfway through the 1st bar unplugged it and haven't used it since (except for practice).

bass isn't as extreme, but a b15 mic'd through a juicy pre completely crushes ANY modeler.

having said all that, I do use my SABDDI quite a bit, both live and in the studio. I think it's a better choice than the line 6 because it's all analog. just gets a bit more of the gooey analog warmth (not to go too far into buzz words)

hope this helps . . .

seamonkey · #10 06-23-2010, 09:24 PM

The key to modeling is a good full range cabinet and a clean amp.
It's like playing a recording through a bass amp - most are going to sound muffled or honk
My problem with Line6 is that their software is miles ahead of their hardware
Pods can sound great, but they're limited.
ipads and ipods solutions like this are looking good
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/MainPhp....ay.php&Id=2606

NoGraveConcern · #11 06-24-2010, 05:02 AM

I agree with pasta4lnch in that bass is more forgiving. With live guitar you might get away with a pod as long as you don't you follow a band that's playing through tubes. When you strum that first note through nothing but a red plastic box as the last band's guitarist is dragging his ENGL stack off stage...well, that's when the difference really slaps you in the face. Tubes just blend into the mix in a way that digital can't.

With bass the advantage of having your own backline setup is that you can hear yourself through a "monitor" that is made to reproduce bass guitar. Wedge monitors don't cut the bacon. Maybe if everyone in your band springs for in-ear monitors you could make it work...IDK.