I don't like the POD Pro!

[64Firebird]

I know that a lot of you use the POD, and I'm not trying to start a fight. I just didn't care for it.

Today, I went to a friends house to do some recording. I took my J-Station, but I forgot to bring the power supply for it. Sence it was a long drive back I thought I'd just use his POD Pro. I'd played through it before and liked it, but this was the first time I'd tried to really dial in a sound I wanted to use.

The amps sounded good, but I didn't care for the effects at all. On my J-Station, I can use compression, reverb, delay and chorus all at the same time. With the POD, I could use the chorus with reverb, or I could use the delay & compressor with reverb. There just wasn't any way to use them all at once, or even just the dealy with the chorus. Also, I wasn't impressed with the chorus, I couldn't get it to work slowly enough. I wanted a long, slow, combing effect and it just wouldn't do it. The J has a lot more control over the effects.

After screwing with it, I decided to add the chorus after I'd done the recording, but I'll most likely I'll just redo the whole thing with my J next week.

 

[M.Brane]

Interesting

I saw King's X last week and Ty was playing through 2 POD pros and a couple of their modulation/delay units. His tones were great. Maybe that's why he was using the external effects. He was pushing them through an old Mesa 290 power amp into 4 rectifier cabs.

 

[Fangar]

Firebird,

I agree that some of the FX are hard to get at. Unfortunately you would need to use the deep edit software for your desires. Then you would like it better. I do see your point however. I personally use very little FX other than a little verb and delay which are accesible via the Knobs. Also, a hint if you get in the same bind in the future... Hold down the edit knob when tweeking the FX adjust Knobs, and you will be able to control different aspects of the FX that you could not reach before.

Fangar

 

[Krystof01]

I have a POD pro but I don't use the effects at all; I use a TC Electronics G major in the effects loop of the POD pro.

I have a floorboard set up to change the two together.

 

[Phildo]

Got to admit that I love my PODs but (and this is true of the Bass POD also), I very rarely use the FX. The tremolo's nice, and teh Leslie's not too bad, but the chorus and flangers stink. I've got the Line 6 MM4 and various other pedals, and they're much better.

Can't vouch for the POD Pro, but on my POD, there's an FX algorithm for Chorus/Delay...

 

[B.SABBATH]

Re: Interesting

I saw King's X last week and Ty was playing through 2 POD pros

That's cool to hear! I love King's X..

I have a Pod Pro and a J-Station and I like both for different things.. I also have a Sansamp GT-2 and a Digitech 2112 and a Korg G-1 distortion processor.. Each one is cool for something different.. Pod pro is great for solos..

 

[64Firebird]

Firebird,

Also, a hint if you get in the same bind in the future... Hold down the edit knob when tweeking the FX adjust Knobs, and you will be able to control different aspects of the FX that you could not reach before.

Fangar

I tried that and it still wasn't slow enough. When using a chorus, I like to set the speed at 0, the depth at 100%, the pre-delay at about 10% and the mix at about 35 or 40%. Set this way, you don't really hear the chorus effect, but it still adds a "shimmer" to the overall sound that I like.

With the POD, I could set the speed, but I couldn't turn it all the way down the way I wanted. And I found no way to adjust the depth or the pre-delay.

I do use a lot of effects, but I'm very suttle with them. Most of my tone comes from the amp (or in this case from the amp simulater) and the guitar.

The amp sims on the POD Pro sound very good, but I don't think they sound any better than the ones on My J.

 

[Track Rat]

I'm with Sami on this. I have a shit load of guitar processors (POD, J Station, Rockman, ART SGX-2000, etc..) and they all have a strong point and do something I really like that its brother processors can't do. I will say I like the J Station the least (I still don't know how you get so much milage out of yours Sami ).

 

[64Firebird]

Ya know, I'm sure that the POD Pro rocks at doing some kinds of music (speed metal for example) but for the music I like to play (blues) I found it lacking.

In all fairness, I've been using my J-Station for over a year now and it took me a long time to learn how to use it. I didn't think that the POD would be that much differant, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe if I spent as much time with the POD I'd like it more.

 

[mixmkr]

firebird...you don't like the fender settings..(like the blackface, etc) on the pod? I think that is where the pod excels...on those sounds...not the crunchy, effected stuff. I think the "black panel" setting is one of the best sounds of all the "foot stompers"

 

[Badger]

I think perhaps

I should hook up the midi cables to it so we could use the editing software...I havent really looked into the settings available through edit(since Im a keyboard player, I dont jack with it much), so I dont know it as well as I should. I have heard some kick ass blues sounds out of it, though, when other folk have played with it.

 

[64Firebird]

firebird...you don't like the fender settings..(like the blackface, etc) on the pod? I think that is where the pod excels...on those sounds...not the crunchy, effected stuff. I think the "black panel" setting is one of the best sounds of all the "foot stompers"

I do like the amp sounds, it's mainly the chorus that I thought was lacking (wouldn't slow down enough for me) and that I couldn't use chours, delay, compression and reverb all at the same time the way I can on my J-Station.

 

[64Firebird]

Re: I think perhaps

I should hook up the midi cables to it so we could use the editing software...I havent really looked into the settings available through edit(since Im a keyboard player, I dont jack with it much), so I dont know it as well as I should. I have heard some kick ass blues sounds out of it, though, when other folk have played with it.

I agree, I've heard some great blues sounds out the the POD as well. It just wouldn't give me the sound I was looking for (that's why I bought a J instead of a POD when I went out and compaired them last year).

I don't think that hooking up the midi will make the chorus go any slower or let me chain all the effects together that I wanted to use.

 

[Badger]

Re: Re: I think perhaps

I agree, I've heard some great blues sounds out the the POD as well. It just wouldn't give me the sound I was looking for (that's why I bought a J instead of a POD when I went out and compaired them last year).

I don't think that hooking up the midi will make the chorus go any slower or let me chain all the effects together that I wanted to use.

It might. Often there are settings you can get to with a patch editor that you cant get to from the front panel. I havent looked at it because I never use the thing.

 

[Badger]

Re: Re: I think perhaps

I agree, I've heard some great blues sounds out the the POD as well. It just wouldn't give me the sound I was looking for (that's why I bought a J instead of a POD when I went out and compaired them last year).

I don't think that hooking up the midi will make the chorus go any slower or let me chain all the effects together that I wanted to use.

It might. Often there are settings you can get to with a patch editor that you cant get to from the front panel. I havent looked at it because I never use the thing.

 

[keilson]

not a fan of direct guitar recording. nothin beats a miced nice tube amp

 

[64Firebird]

not a fan of direct guitar recording. nothin beats a miced nice tube amp

You're right, nothing sounds better than a well miced tube amp. However, if you ever have to go back and fix something it's damn near impossable to get the same sound again. That's the advantage of going derect, it always sounds the same. And 90% of the people that hear it won't know the differance anyway.

Satch recorded his last album without the use of speakers and mics and I didn't know it until I read about it. If it's good enough for Joe is good enough for me.

 

[keilson]

yes but there's a difference between pluggin into a pod and then a board with an average guitar, and pluggin into a high quality tube preamp with an amaing guitar. I have a POD. It's good for some things, like scratch guitar tracks. In the end I always end up micing an amp. I can usually punch in and recreate a part of a song that I have messed up. If you can't it may be part of how you play. Consistency is the key.

 

[64Firebird]

I'm sure that you can, as long as nothing has changed, but if you've taking everything down or if someone wondered in and kicked your mic over, then you find that you have to go back and do something differantly, that's when you're going to have real problems getting the same sound again.

I've talked to guys that put tape on the floor to mark the position of mics and speakers and still couldn't get the same sound again (and these were pros).

The POD or the J-Station is just a tool like anything else. I do most of my recording in my tattoo shop. At the end of the day, I have to take everything down and put it up so it's not in the way of the guys that work for me. Going derect, I always get the same sound.

Consistency is the key and something like the POD or J is MUCH more consistent than a mic'd amp.

BTW I have a 1964 blonde 50w Fender Bassman 2x12 piggyback amp and a 1964 Gibson Firebird Guitar. I think I've got the high quality tube preamp thing covered as well as an ass kicking guitar.

 

[keilson]

I understand what you mean. I usually can keep my setup because it is my studio. But if someone came in and moved the mics it'd be very difficult and a pain. I assumed nobody was interfering with your recording.