Pod Pro 2nd impressions

  • Thread starter Thread starter cerealchamp2000
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Here's what I can offer...

We will never see eye to eye on this, apparently, and that's OK. It would be a boring place if we all agreed on everything.

I'm a guitarist of 20 or so years, and I have played on a lot of radio jingles and ID's for stations all over the place, and done quite a bit of session work here in Seattle. I'm a pretty critical listener. I find it really hard to believe that if I recorded a song that had 6 different guitar tones in it (not unreasonable at all), you could listen and pick out the parts that were played with a POD.
Say I had two different guitar/ amp combos playing clean tones on the verses, and two different guitar/amp combos playing distorted tones of the choruses, and a couple more doing leads and special effects and such. Do you think you could pick out which were played with the POD?
Man, if you can, you deserve a grammy.
You also have to remember that we're (or at least I'm) not writing songs that will be closely scrutinized by people with trained ears. Most people don't even sit between the speakers while listening to your music, and could care less about your guitar tone, as long as the song works. I suppose if your target audience is nothing but guitarists.....
But then again, Joe Satriani used a ZOOM on many parts of the Flying in a Blue Dream album. Can you pick out which lines are the ZOOM, and which are not?
To some people, tone is what it's all about. That's great. Make Eric Johnson proud. To others, it's about songs, and tone is secondary. That's where I see myself.

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Now we're changing the subject somewhat. To me it's about the song as well..but you said:

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY Aaron Cheney: "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. "

I say yes to both counts. I can hear it. Just like I can hear solid state amps vs. tube amps. I just can. I'm no audiophile by any means, but there are just certian nuances that you hear with a miced cabinet as opposed to fake guitar. We will never see eye to eye on this, but I respectfully disagree.

Now if I had to choose between the energy of a song well played but with shitty tone between a song with great sounds but the energy is not there, guess which one I would choose to release? The one with shitty tone. There are albums that I love that sound like total shit (Modest Mouse, Pixies)..then there are other albums that are played perfectly with great tone, but they have no feeling or energy, go figure.

Anyway, we'll agree to disagree.
 
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I think we do agree that POD does not replace a well-mic'ed tube amp. Given that, I guess it's just a matter of wether you can live with what it does sound like or not. Some can and some can't.

And what a great topice idea!

Albums that you love that are horribly produced, and vise versa.

And paradoxically enough, Van Halen I would be right up there. Sounds like it was recorded in Carlsbad Cavern, but what a guitar tone!

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Aaron Cheney said:
And paradoxically enough, Van Halen I would be right up there. Sounds like it was recorded in Carlsbad Cavern, but what a guitar tone!
Click to expand...

That's a case where the fingers were more important than the amp in creating the tone.
 
Case in point for great album with terrible guitar tone is Beatles White. On Helter Skelter John goes direct from preamp and it's cellophane city. Do you care?

Neil Young had some very thin sounding stuff on his 60's & 70's albums but that became his signature tone.

When that inspiration hits it's good to be able to quickly print your music.
 
"Inspiration" is how Line6 should market the POD; being able to bounce between different soundscapes is probably the best cure for writer's block.
 
Pod's lack in the realism department compared to actual amps, but the difference shrinks a bit when you record it, especially if you layer tracks. otoh, if your trying for unique tone that's way out front, ala Eric Johnson leads or Satriani, with all their toneful inflections you aren't gonna get quite there with a pod.
 
Elco- On Joe Satriani's album Engines of Creation that was released last year, all of the guitar sounds were recorded DI using a Parker Speaker Simulator or a Sansamp PSA-1. I never bought the CD, but it would be interesting to compare the sounds he achieved on it compared to his other albums.

You can read the interview of Satriani and the making of that album at www.guitarplayer.com/archive/artists/satriani.shtml
 
Understandably. The PSA-1 ROCKS! It emulates the classic configurations (Marshall, Boogie, Fender) and often ends up sounding better. Espcially because you can tweak subtle aspects of your tone.

Thus, when you have a day when your rig isn't sounding right, just tweak it to sound perfect.
 
overall . . .

I consider myself to be an imitator.



I do not use pod to sound better or worse than the next guy.
I use it cause it fits my plan.
I got me a beefed up rockman for the new millennium.

The Marshalls, Boogies, and Fenders - I will lug to someone's
garage. Not the pod . . . it stays . . .

I can't record without it.
 
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