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goodbyebluesky
Published on 03/27/08 at 07:44
The POD Pro is basically the same amp modeling technology and effects contained in the POD unit but contained in a rackmount unit with actual knobs so editing presets on the fly is much easier. It has the capability to be controlled by a floor footswitch, though I never forked out the money for it and I don't play out so I don't require that kind of control.
On the rear of the unit it has stereo outputs to go to power amp, footswitch jack, effects loop input and output, and a single guitar input on the front.
Its pretty sharp looking, sitting in a rack all lit up.
UTILIZATION
Editing the presets is super easy, its as simple as twirling knobs to dial in the desired amp model, gain, eq, and effects. Fine tuning the paremeters on some of the effects would probably require the foot controller but the stock settings aren't bad and satisfied me. I actually did read the manual which is unusual for me, it was very informative and saved me some time tinkering with it.
SOUND QUALITY
I played a couple of humbucker equipped Les Paul style guitars through it, while running it into a samson 120 watt power amp, then into a crate 2x12 combo amp I turned into a speaker cab.
The amp models are the typical Line 6 stuff, sometimes you are suprised at how close they get capturing the "essence" of a particular tube amps sound like the Dual and Triple Rectifier models, but since modeling technology is not quite capable of emulating the dynamics and behaviour of tube amps- some models don't stand up to the amps they seek to imitate at all. I LIKED the sound of the "blackface" model but it doesn't actually sound like a Fender.
If you are into heavy riffing, you will LOVE the "Insane" model. Think of a Boss metal zone morphed with a typical Marshall hi gain sound, and there you go.
The effects are quite good, not as good as the Flextone III I had owned previous but the POD Pro was of an older generation so it shows Line 6 is contantly improving their products. Playing in true stereo makes a real difference here though, the effects don't come alive nearly as much otherwise.
OVERALL OPINION
The thing I like the most is its versatility, but the thing I hate the most is that out of all the things it does.... it doesn't do any of them stellar enough to warrant buying this unit just for those sounds. If you love the original Line 6 amp models like Insane then you could just buy the standalone stompbox and run it through a tube amp. You will probably enjoy the dynamics and not miss the "sterileness" of the POD Pro.
I got this unit pretty cheap used, especially compared to my Flextone III amp I owned previous so I wasn't disapointed. It was far superior to multi-fx units I have owned before. I've just come to learn, not to put all my eggs in one basket. When you buy something expecting it to do everything you need, then you will likely be let down for end up settling for mediocre sounds in and of themselves just for the sake of versatility.
On the rear of the unit it has stereo outputs to go to power amp, footswitch jack, effects loop input and output, and a single guitar input on the front.
Its pretty sharp looking, sitting in a rack all lit up.
UTILIZATION
Editing the presets is super easy, its as simple as twirling knobs to dial in the desired amp model, gain, eq, and effects. Fine tuning the paremeters on some of the effects would probably require the foot controller but the stock settings aren't bad and satisfied me. I actually did read the manual which is unusual for me, it was very informative and saved me some time tinkering with it.
SOUND QUALITY
I played a couple of humbucker equipped Les Paul style guitars through it, while running it into a samson 120 watt power amp, then into a crate 2x12 combo amp I turned into a speaker cab.
The amp models are the typical Line 6 stuff, sometimes you are suprised at how close they get capturing the "essence" of a particular tube amps sound like the Dual and Triple Rectifier models, but since modeling technology is not quite capable of emulating the dynamics and behaviour of tube amps- some models don't stand up to the amps they seek to imitate at all. I LIKED the sound of the "blackface" model but it doesn't actually sound like a Fender.
If you are into heavy riffing, you will LOVE the "Insane" model. Think of a Boss metal zone morphed with a typical Marshall hi gain sound, and there you go.
The effects are quite good, not as good as the Flextone III I had owned previous but the POD Pro was of an older generation so it shows Line 6 is contantly improving their products. Playing in true stereo makes a real difference here though, the effects don't come alive nearly as much otherwise.
OVERALL OPINION
The thing I like the most is its versatility, but the thing I hate the most is that out of all the things it does.... it doesn't do any of them stellar enough to warrant buying this unit just for those sounds. If you love the original Line 6 amp models like Insane then you could just buy the standalone stompbox and run it through a tube amp. You will probably enjoy the dynamics and not miss the "sterileness" of the POD Pro.
I got this unit pretty cheap used, especially compared to my Flextone III amp I owned previous so I wasn't disapointed. It was far superior to multi-fx units I have owned before. I've just come to learn, not to put all my eggs in one basket. When you buy something expecting it to do everything you need, then you will likely be let down for end up settling for mediocre sounds in and of themselves just for the sake of versatility.