Line6 POD or VG-8 or VG-88

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FUNKSTICK

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For the longest time I've been trying to get a VG-8. Now they've come out with the VG-88 that appears even better. I want it. BUT I also just got hipped to the POD. Which is better?
 
I know nothing of the VG-8 or 88, but tonight I was able to download tons of patches from the web and instantly load them into my POD and save which ever ones I wanted, and edit further if I wanted. I have also downloaded software upgrades and replaced the chip with a newer version, and there is yet an even newer chip upgrade available. If you want all these options in a direct recording tool, I don't see how anything could possibly beat it. Unless you are interested in other than guitar sounds and you want a guitar synth. Even in that respect, I was getting sounds tonight that sounded like horns and other things. There is also a peddle attachment available. I read where people don't think it is good for live performances, but it seems like it would be convenient to load up whatever sounds you want and take them to a gig in the POD. Or to a recording gig and just plug it in with all the exact sounds already to go.
 
I hear you. Sounds like the Pod has got it goin' on. It has effects and Amp modeling. That you are not alone in saying is killer. I haven't tried either one yet. But according to the specs the VG-8 and 88 do the same for ANY guitar. Not the amp. The guitar. I got a Parker and I wanna be able to acheive the Fender sound, old soul, funk, chunk distortion and a killer wail whenever I choose. I thought that was more in the guitar and the effect rather than the amp. Which is what I thought the Pod specialized in. Forgive my ignorance for this stuff. I'm actually just starting out and trying to make a sound choice.
 
I have Strats and Fender tube amps, and from my experience those sounds you mentioned come first from the player :), then the guitar AND the amp.

A good guitar is important, even with the POD. Far as I know Parkers are high quality, so you should be able to get some very good sounds out of the POD and your guitar. Will you get a Strat sound? Maybe, with all the options you should have a fun time trying if nothing else. Only thing is, it's designed to model certain amps and not guitars, and to me it does just an ok job at that. However, where the POD blows away other units I've used is for getting great sounds recorded direct. For that the POD is incredible. I recently did a POD experiment with default settings ran direct into the recorder, if you want to hear it check out the thread here: https://homerecording.com/ubb/Forum15/HTML/000391.html. There's also a couple of links in the thread to POD tone libraries and stuff. Like monty said, being able to download all the patches out there is really cool, and something I just learned about myself from other people on the BBS.

monty, where can I get more info on those chip upgrades?
 
Ok, so I can't come up with the obvious link, lol. Thanks monty.
 
Jon X - just to confirm: you can record guitar > pod > direct box > etc?
 
FYI... The VG-8 and POD are like apples and oranges, you really cannot compare the two. The POD simulates guitar cabinets and is limited to the guitar that is being played. The VG-8 is a guitar simulator. With this unit you can play ANY guitar using the special pick-up and make it sound like a whole other instrument. For instance, you can be playing a Fender Strat and make it sound like a banjo or a 12-string acoustic guitar.
So which is better? All depends on what you are trying to do.
 
Fishmed... Thanks. Thats what I was looking for. I've had the opportunity to try these things out and it sounds like for distortion the POD wins hands down. Unless I'm missing something the VG-88 does not do a "rip your guts out" distortion. Theirs all tend to sound a little overproduced. Now if there is some program somewhere that cures that or a patch someone wrote thats does it, I don't know. I might just have to get both.
 
dobro, maybe I misunderstand your question, but what I do with the POD is go directly into whatever I'm using to record. For the last thing I did (the song I posted) I went right from the output of the POD into the input on my VS880. I have also ran from the POD directly into the input on my SBLive with decent results. I just have to watch the level closer when doing that. I don't have any kind of direct box. I use the POD as my direct box. I don't know how others do it, but this works for me.
 
So the pod operates at line level straight into the recorder. Hmm... That's awful useful and interesting, and this might turn out to be expensive. Fun, mind. :)
 
The Johnson J-Station seems like it gives the POD a run for the money. The J-Station has several effect on board. It also has three bass amp patches, so that would reduce the need for buying the additional Bass Pod. Last but not least, the J-Station has a stereo digital out.
 
Okay, I'm ignorant. What are digital outs, and what can you do with them? I've never used one, seen one, and probably don't need one, but I'd like to know all the same.

People keep t a l k i n g about them.
 
Hi people. My first post here.

I just spent most of the day comparing the Johnson J Station with the Line 6 Pod. I bought the J.

I thought the sounds were better, though the Pod sounds damn good too. In fact I had intended to buy a Pod today, but asked to hear a J Station first. I like the J's user interface better and the digital out is great for use in my VS880EX. The effects are a step above the Pod, and it was the same price, more or less.

BTW, the VG's models amps, speakers, guitars, pickups, mics, position of mics, position of pickups, and much more. If I could afford one, I'd go for it, but at an eighth of the cost, the J will do me fine.

Dan
 
I had a J-Station on layaway, but I caved-in and got a POD, but I got the POD Pro. Bottom line I let a friend talk me into it. He is a guitar player, so I trust his opinion. I will let you all know how good it is once I become comfortable with it.
 
I own both (vg-8 and Pod)....The POD is definitely cool. It sounds a little to compressed at times. The vg-8 / 88 are incredible. You can be playing a fender strat front pickup emulation trough a vibro-king amp...then step on your expression pedal click your foot switch and no your playing a fender strat rear pickup through 5150 maxed out. Don't beleive the hype as far as the vg-8 not having Rip-your-heart out distortion. I have been able to dial in any tone. And remember, the vg8/88 is not a guitar synth. There is zero tracking. It does not track. The gk2a is the same as a regular pickup except it is hexaphonic which allows you to sweep right into alternate tunings without touching your tuners.

And...there is the web-site vg-8.com which is dedicated to users of the 8. There are over 3700 patches to download which have been created by users all around the globe (its free)....The pod is cool. The VG-8 is fucking amazing. Go to VG-8.com and download some mp3's of the units sounds from the multimedia section.
The features of the vg series totally outweigh the pod.
 
Well since the cost of living and finding myself out of a job has made it so I couldn't buy either one of these I did more investigation and was also hipped to the Johnson J-Station, which I haven't tried. Harmony Central has user reviews of the stuff just in case anyone gives a sh!t here ya' go...
Johnson J Station http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/Johnson_Amplification/J_Station-01.html

Roland VG-88 http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/Roland/VG_88-01.html

Line 6 POD http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/Line_6/POD2-01.html

I also put a post on the VG-8 website http://www.VG-8.com

Subject: Can someone show me V Guitars balls???

This is what I got back from a fellow by the name of Lindon

I own both a VG-88 and a Line 6 POD, and that's not as stupid as it sounds.

Whilst both are aimed at "sonic diversity" for the guitarest they diverge
pretty quickly from the start.

The POD is firmly aimed at amplification modelling with some reasonable FX
added on the side. Wihtin this criteria I feel it succeeds admirably, I wanted
a VOX AC 30 sound to go with my Rick 360, and got it straight out of the box,
BUT I had to work just as hard at getting THE Vox AC 30 I wanted as I would
have to if it was a real AC30 I was plugging in to. The same is true when I set
out to get that Husker Du:Bob Mould sound, it can be done but like Bob had to
you have to work at it.

As to a funk wah sound, well having no pedal is a limter for the POD, but you
can plug in a midi pedal and set the POD up(via MIDI) to get access to the wah
settings, but my experience says you'll need to work at it like you can't do in
demo mode in the shop.

As to the VG-88 its another ball game,(amp and guitar modelling with some
sophisticated FX thrown in) it too produces some of the most breathtaking
sounds I've ever heard, I stated laughing in the shop when the Danelectro I'd
brought in sounded just like a rick 330/12 string....I wanted one right there.
But many of the sounds are not what I want, and my only gripe about the VG-88
is that the amount of preset slots and user should be the other way around,
still do I think I can get a "proper funk wah"? You betcha, now which guitar
did you want me to sound like I'm playing...

I guess the answer in short is neither has a "proper funk wah" in a preset you
can press in the shop, but both demonstrate(at least to me) that I can get ANY
sound I want out of a guitar with the VG-88 and just about any amp sound I want
with the POD.

Here in Aus there's about $1,000 price difference, so you takes your
choice...but the POD's been on the studio shelf here for the last 3 weeks since
the VG-88 arrived....tell you something?

Just FYI
 
Heres another response from www.VG-8.com

walter responded to
Subject: Can someone show me V Guitars balls???

The VG-88 polydistortion mode is absolutely wonderful for generating a fat ballsy sound.You can also tailor the wah effect using the EQ in the effects chain. Dont count on the factory presets to give you the sounds you want. You have to create your own. I've had my VG-88 abot three weeks now. I,ve done about 15 gigs, and have spent at least 100
hours learning to program it. My wife refers to it as my new mistress. In my 36 years playing the guitar I have had almost every type of guitar processor around, and the VG-88 blows them all away, but you have to take the time to learn it. The factory programs dont begin to utilize all the wonderful functions available to you.
After every gig I go back and tweek my programs while the gig is fresh in my
mind. Then I re-read the manual, and try to create a new patch using a function I haven't used before. I now have 28 excellent custom programs that I will still continue to improve.
 
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