Pod Pro 2nd impressions

  • Thread starter Thread starter cerealchamp2000
  • Start date Start date
C

cerealchamp2000

New member
I played it at GC today for 1 hour. Maybe it was a better guitar or headphones but I liked it much more this time. I think I could do most if not all my studio tracking on this thing.

At times it gets a little bright but the Gibson guys can use that.

As usual we always try to improve a good thing. I might run my strat through a tube direct box b4 it goes to the POD. Also, I might get a splitter to run a separate signal through a small tube combo and layer the sounds.

I couldn't see behind the unit but does it have effects loop?

Post up cd's that were done on POD. I want to hear some demos.
 
For me the strat sounds best on pod's clean tones and I prefer my Ibanez's humbucker's for full on dirt. Also, I have had a fair amount of success running it thru my Marshall.
 
Nobody likes listening to my endless rant....but the POD is 10000000 times more impressive in headphones than it is on tape.

If you want to hear it, just hop into the clinic because half the people in there use the POD, myself included. I think it's muddy and harsh but it's more decent than what a lot of folks can afford to do...like me.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slack,

If you never listen to another thing I say, listen to this.

Muddy and harsh, are two words that perfectly describe every two way speaker ever built.

Woofer=inherently muddy

Tweeter=inherently harsh.

Add a crossover and more problems arise.

Put the two together in a speaker box, and you get muddy and harsh. It's inescapable.

These truths I hold to be self evident.

Find yourself a good full range driver.

Sincerely,

GT
 
I am aware of my monitoring situation, but that's not why the POD sounds like shit. It sounds like shit through the monitors, it sounds like shit through the amp, it sounds like shit through headphones. It does not produce a nice present round tube sound, like most of the amps it tries to model do. It produces low end muck and brittle highs in comparison. It doesn't matter what kind of playback system you use, it's not going to reproduce the missing tone. "But slack, don't use your POD as a replacement for the amps it's trying to model, use it as a unique tool for creating new guitar tones." I am, and it still sounds like shit.

Yeah it's impressive and sounds cool by itself. I can't think of another gizmo in the history of gizmos that's sounded this impressive. But that's it. At best the bluesier models sound like somewhat-decent solid state amps, and the heavy models are pretty good, but lack real meat.

I'm beginning to think that we've all forgotten what a real guitar sounds like. I blame peavey, and crate, and zoom, and boss, and johnson, and line6. But I guess things are a lot easier now that we can cram 1,000,000 different guitar sounds into a little red box with blinking lights made by a company who's website features guitar virtuosos like Kid Rock and Nikki Sixx.

We could argue this all day you know....

Slackmaster 2000
 
This is a scary trend. It all ties to people thinking Mp3's sound ok. The Rode NT1 is a good mic, really. The ART preamp can stand up to any higher end preamp. The POD really sounds like a miced up tube amp. Mackie is a really great mixer, uh huh. It's really sad to see people accepting lower quality stuff these days and yelling till they're blue in the face preaching it's quality, that it "sounds just as good" when they have never heard quality. Slack, your about the only person I know who uses a POD that actually sees it for what it is. The battle rages on.
 
Slack,

I know you will think this is crazy.

Try to find yourself a good pair of five inch full range speakers, short throw with vented boxes (not guitar speakers) stereo speakers. Remember NO TWEETERS.

Go to Target, Kmart, whatever. I had to buy a cheap RCA stereo, just for the speakers. Best speakers I've ever had. I told you this would sound crazy.

It may take awhile to find some that sound right, but when you hear them you will know.

I trully believe that five inch, short throw, full range speakers in a shoebox sized vented box is as honest as a speaker can get.

I use them in a monitor fashon, on the floor angled up. This aims them at your ears, and the floor reinforces the bass. Angeling them up also removes boominess.

I wouldn't have gone all the trouble to tell you this, if I didn't really think you will love speakers like this if you can find some.

Good sound is where you find it, even if it's Target, no kidding.

GT
 
But the tone that I want to hear is not lacking due to the speakers GT. I honestly wouldn't keep replying if it weren't true.

I do however find your statements intriguing.

Slackmaster 2000
 
So go look at my first post. I'm saying that POD could use a little help. A little yankee ingenuity can incorporate the box into the construction of good tones.

You wanna hear a fake amp that kicks butt? Go play zentera and crank the volume. If I can somehow build a isolation box big enough for this thing then I'm getting it instead.
 
Please don't lose sight of the fact that speakers are ninty percent of the sound.

They can really make or break the sound of Pod, or anything else you run through them.

A system that may or may not be exactly what I was talking about, I haven't had a chance to give it a listen yet, is
the Hot Spot Powered 5" Monitor, this may be a very honest speaker. I will check it out at Sam Ash, and let you know. Also supposed to go pretty loud.

Slack,

Your homework asignment will be to check it out also. Remember it should be on the floor facing up for best results. Full range NO TWEETERS, I can't stress this enough!
 
Hmmm...well dude I'm just going to have to disagree with you there. If your speakers are 90% of your sound, then you need to get a better amplifier. You might be getting a big sound, but big isn't necessarily where it's at. Hence my dislike of the POD as a guitar recording tool.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slack,

Just trying to help, maybe show you another avenue.

Keep us posted, when you hear something you like.

Good luck,

GT
 
AWWWWWWW.... end of thread. Damn. I was having fun trying to guess which one of ya'll was gonna blow up at the next ("SpeakerGuy v. PessmisiticMan")...

:D

I just bought a POD. First impression?

"Great. More fucking knobs."

(that's BEFORE finding out there are actually TWO TIMES the amount of "twistables" than they appear in mirror. ugh.)

Oh, and it loves bass. Doesn't matter what you plug into it; you're gonna get boom.
 
I love my POD.

Let me clarify.

I live in a neighborhood where other people live. I do not have an immaculately soundproofed studio, though it's pretty nice for a garage. I do not have any amps that cost more than 300$. My favorite sound, the one I have recorded countless times in "real" studios, requires a really loud Ampeg V4 amp about halfway up, along with an assortment of pedals, through a 4x12 cabinet. This is a setup that is so loud that I have never actually heard it, since I am always wearing industrial-strength ear protection. But it sounds great on tape.

Yeah, I'd love to have a blackface deluxe and an ac30 and a matchless and a super reverb and a dual rectifier. And while I'm at it, those new Audis look pretty nice too. But I also care about my family, and I like having some nice guitars, and I like to keep my neighbors happy. In addition, in the fifteen years that I have been playing guitar, I have NEVER found the range of tones that can so inspire me to just play all day in ANY amp I have owned that I have found in the POD.

For those of us who really do "Home Recording," sometimes the little nuances get lost in the shuffle. But I do know that I get awesome sounds from my POD... and my Bass POD for that matter... and I really don't care if a tone purist can tell that it's not really 100 grand worth of amps. If that's all someone notices about my music, then it's probably time to work on my songwriting chops. I just do what sounds good to me... I must have missed my "tone snobbery" course back when I was taking guitar lessons when I was a kid. It was probably offered on the same day as "really expensive guitar snobbery," and I had to choose one or the other... which explains why I own a Les Paul... ;)


BTW, I used my POD for almost 2 years as a front end to my amp, a sort of glorious distortion pedal... tunred off all the cabinet models for this... I never got anything but compliments on my live guitar tone, and it always gave me plenty of crunch and warmth.
 
I must agree.

Right on Charger.
The question is not "can you tell the difference between POD and a real amp?". The question is: "can you tell the difference between POD and a real amp on tape, in an actual mix?" I say no.
Not any more than you can tell the difference between a real piano and a sampled piano on tape in a mix. 90% of all pianos recorded in popular music are sampled. Why? Because it's quick, it's consistant, and you don't have to worry about the jet that just flew over or the neighbor's dog barking.
With POD I con't have to worry about any of those things. I also don't have to worry about spending an hour trying to find the sweet spot on the speaker with my SM57, pissed off neighbors, humidity and temperature changes that change the tone of a tube amp. POD is simple, quick, consistant, and good enough that even trained ears can't tell the difference in a mix.
Of course, I like to mix up tones in any song I'm recording, and I'll use any amps/ guitars/ pedals/ etc available to arrive at a nice sound that compliments the song. I almost always end up with at least two different sounds in any song. Almost without fail, one of them is the POD.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Re: I must agree.

Aaron Cheney said:
The question is not "can you tell the difference between POD and a real amp?". The question is: "can you tell the difference between POD and a real amp on tape, in an actual mix?" I say no.
Click to expand...

Right. Or more particularly, "does it sound good in the final mix?"

Many subtle nuances are lost in the final mix. Also, a modeling amp can be tweaked for good placement in the mix.

While I have yet to hear the POD sound as good as a well recorded mic'ed tube amp, I have definitely heard professional recordings with mic'ed tube amps that do not sound as good as some POD recordings.


Matt
 
I posted this a few days ago and it got 50 looks, but no responses.... not even a negative one.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=29401

Anyway, a POD and a parametric EQ work just fine to get close to that natural "mic'd amp" sound, if you know how to tweak them properly.

The POD is just a convenient recording tool for those of us who have a limited budget.
It gives you "tonal options", not perfection.
Yeah, we'd all like to have 25 vintage amps at our disposal, but this is the real world.... and we're all just trying to make our songs sound good for an affordable price.
Does Line6 exagerate just a bit in their advertisement of the POD?
Sure... but name me one company who doesn't.
Otherwise, my car and my refridgerator should run forever and Tide would perfectly eliminate every stain known to man.
(Insert obligatory cum-stain comment here... :rolleyes: )

Now, go forth, ye... and POD-ify!

Buck
 
esp. for the expensive amps

I like the sound of the British Matchless amps, but can't come close to affording one.

but if I get 95% of the way there with a POD, I'll use it. In the future, though, I'm going to try micing a Flextone amp as well and see if the tone sounds a bit better.

RB
 
The Pod is like a Swiss army knife, a cool little tool but it cant replace a real screwdriver.
 
Listen closer.

Aaron Cheney said:
Right on Charger.
The question is not "can you tell the difference between POD and a real amp?". The question is: "can you tell the difference between POD and a real amp on tape, in an actual mix?" I say no.
Not any more than you can tell the difference between a real piano and a sampled piano on tape in a mix.
Click to expand...

Yes, and yes. Listen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top