I just got one of these last night. My current band is a cover band that is pretty high-tech with in-ear monitors (with separate mixes for everybody) etc. The guitarist uses a PodXT Live to get all the necessary guitar tones. My Markbass rig was a little overkill for the first gig I played with them, so I've decided to try following what the guitarist does and picked up a Pod X3 Live.
The default sounds were total crap, but I installed that GearBox app, hooked the Pod up to my computer, and started with a completely blank user setup. The amp and cab models do a pretty darn good job. The Eden amp sounds like my Eden (and the knobs behave the same, even better), the GK sounds kind of like a GK, the Aguilar through a 1x12 sounds pretty darn good. All of this was tested through my recording monitor setup--tonight I'm hooking up my PA and tweaking for live sound.
It's not perfect, but it sure does a good job of faking it. I don't know if I'd use it for recording where you want to get a sound just exactly right, but it's an awesome live tool. The dual channels on each bank means I can get 8 bass sounds in a single bank. So far I've set up the first preset to be clean fingerstyle (Aguilar into 1x12) and slap (Eden with a scooped EQ) and the second preset to be gritty (slightly and heavily overdriven Ampeg). The third preset is going to be some version of their "dub" style amp (pure fundamental like a keyboard) and synth to use for dance songs. Not sure what I'm doing with the fourth yet.
It's fun setting everything up, assuming you actually know a thing or two about how to set up a rig. I'm starting with an amp set flat, picking a speaker that goes well with it, then adding compression and EQ as necessary. Effects go on last, and light. Finally I set the output level by watching the meter on my mixer. All the patches end up at about the same output level, so I won't be giving any sound guys heart attacks when I switch patches.
The default sounds were total crap, but I installed that GearBox app, hooked the Pod up to my computer, and started with a completely blank user setup. The amp and cab models do a pretty darn good job. The Eden amp sounds like my Eden (and the knobs behave the same, even better), the GK sounds kind of like a GK, the Aguilar through a 1x12 sounds pretty darn good. All of this was tested through my recording monitor setup--tonight I'm hooking up my PA and tweaking for live sound.
It's not perfect, but it sure does a good job of faking it. I don't know if I'd use it for recording where you want to get a sound just exactly right, but it's an awesome live tool. The dual channels on each bank means I can get 8 bass sounds in a single bank. So far I've set up the first preset to be clean fingerstyle (Aguilar into 1x12) and slap (Eden with a scooped EQ) and the second preset to be gritty (slightly and heavily overdriven Ampeg). The third preset is going to be some version of their "dub" style amp (pure fundamental like a keyboard) and synth to use for dance songs. Not sure what I'm doing with the fourth yet.
It's fun setting everything up, assuming you actually know a thing or two about how to set up a rig. I'm starting with an amp set flat, picking a speaker that goes well with it, then adding compression and EQ as necessary. Effects go on last, and light. Finally I set the output level by watching the meter on my mixer. All the patches end up at about the same output level, so I won't be giving any sound guys heart attacks when I switch patches.
