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moosers
Published on 04/08/10 at 18:16
The Line 6 POD XT is I believe the newest version of the POD, which is an amplifier modeling and effects unit. It is a digital piece of gear that has 1/4" connections stereo outputs and for a pedal controller, as well as a 1/4" connection for your input and an output for headphones. It also has a MIDI input and output and a USB port. The older version of the POD, the non XT version, doesn't have a USB port, so this is a major upgrade as you can now use it with your computer. It isn't rack mountable in any way, as it has it's own sort of shape.
UTILIZATION
I didn't find that using the Line 6 POD XT was a hard thing to do, but like any in depth piece of gear, it will take a little while to get used to it and to master it. The POD XT has both digital parameters on the LED screen, and hardware ones. The hardware knobs include those for drive, output level, bass, middle, treble, presence, channel volume, and reverb level. It then has two knobs for scrolling on the screen between the different amp models and effects. There are then a sequence of buttons to control the LED screen, which is the portion that really takes a bit of getting used to. It all works simply, but there is a lot that you can do with it. A manual is probably a good thing to have around for beginners.
SOUND QUALITY
While versatile and capable of getting all sorts of different sounds and effects, the Line 6 POD XT wouldn't be the first piece of gear that I would use to get great sounding guitar tracks. While I can certainly understand why people love the convenience of the POD, for me it isn't worth the trade off of sacrificing sound quality when compared to what a real amplifier and effects can bring to the table. Of course I understand that many users of the POD can't necessarily afford a big guitar rig, so in that sort of situation the POD is definitley a handy tool as you won't find too many units with this amount of versatility. However, if you can get your sounds from an amplifier, I'd definitley recommend doing so as they will blow away the sounds on the POD XT.
OVERALL OPINION
While the Line 6 POD XT is undoubtedly improved a great deal from the older POD, I still don't view this as a guitar solution. The sounds just aren't realistic enough - especially the amp modeling portion. The effects are good for what they are, but again it isn't like the real thing. However, the Line 6 POD XT is a great piece of gear to have in addition to a great amp and guitar for extra sounds when needed. I just don't think it is an adequate replacement for a real guitar rig.
UTILIZATION
I didn't find that using the Line 6 POD XT was a hard thing to do, but like any in depth piece of gear, it will take a little while to get used to it and to master it. The POD XT has both digital parameters on the LED screen, and hardware ones. The hardware knobs include those for drive, output level, bass, middle, treble, presence, channel volume, and reverb level. It then has two knobs for scrolling on the screen between the different amp models and effects. There are then a sequence of buttons to control the LED screen, which is the portion that really takes a bit of getting used to. It all works simply, but there is a lot that you can do with it. A manual is probably a good thing to have around for beginners.
SOUND QUALITY
While versatile and capable of getting all sorts of different sounds and effects, the Line 6 POD XT wouldn't be the first piece of gear that I would use to get great sounding guitar tracks. While I can certainly understand why people love the convenience of the POD, for me it isn't worth the trade off of sacrificing sound quality when compared to what a real amplifier and effects can bring to the table. Of course I understand that many users of the POD can't necessarily afford a big guitar rig, so in that sort of situation the POD is definitley a handy tool as you won't find too many units with this amount of versatility. However, if you can get your sounds from an amplifier, I'd definitley recommend doing so as they will blow away the sounds on the POD XT.
OVERALL OPINION
While the Line 6 POD XT is undoubtedly improved a great deal from the older POD, I still don't view this as a guitar solution. The sounds just aren't realistic enough - especially the amp modeling portion. The effects are good for what they are, but again it isn't like the real thing. However, the Line 6 POD XT is a great piece of gear to have in addition to a great amp and guitar for extra sounds when needed. I just don't think it is an adequate replacement for a real guitar rig.