pod vs. j-station vs. yamaha dg-definitive thread

R

robert jaybird

New member
i own the pod.at first i didnt like it, but after i played with it awhile ive found it to be extremely useful.

so beyond the little features what sounds "work" off your guys little pedals...

for instance ive been told that the j-station only sounded good for heavy metal type sounds-is this true?

and what about the yamaha dg?-some people swear that one sounds the best-

if theres anyone who owns any or all of these pedals please do chime in cause im curious to see what you guys like-

also please say what types of sounds youve found effective-metal cruch,srv style,cramy blues,spanky twin,
ac 30 etc....

im just curious if i should start saving up for a yamaha dg or j-station to comliment the pod......
 
Do you use the Floorboard? If so, I don't think the others are going to help you much. The POD models more amps but the J-Station actually models an acoustic.

I use the Floorboard so I'm sticking with the POD.
 
I only have experience with the Yamaha DG Stomp out of those. I had it for 3 days. It's probably the coldest, most processed, confusing processor I've ever seen or used. 2 hours to get a decent overdrive sound out of it, and even then it wasn't that great. The controls are very confusing, you can't bypass it, and the presets make no sense whatsoever. In 3 words: I hated it.
 
supercharged said:
I only have experience with the Yamaha DG Stomp out of those. I had it for 3 days. It's probably the coldest, most processed, confusing processor I've ever seen or used. 2 hours to get a decent overdrive sound out of it, and even then it wasn't that great. The controls are very confusing, you can't bypass it, and the presets make no sense whatsoever. In 3 words: I hated it.
Click to expand...

Just wondering what you found confusing about the 6 chicken-head knobs labeled: Gain, Master, Treble, Middle, Bass, Presence.

The only "confusing" controls are accessing the parameters to change the expression pedal settings. Everything else is right there with a knob.

I've had the Stomp for about a month and use it for direct recording. Most of the sounds are really good IMHO. I don't have any idea how someone would take 2 hours to dial in a "decent overdrive sound." I haven't tried running the Stomp through my amp yet, but I suppose I will one of these days.

Some people won't like it, and that's fine. I compared all 3 of them side by side in the store. I thought the J-Stationas awful, and the POD and Stomp were pretty close. The Stomp's big sound quality plus was that it really cleans up and responds to pick attack, volume, and pickup selection.

The one thing I miss, and this would be the case with any processor like this, is the interaction between guitar and amp - i.e. feedback.
 
I like pod cuz you've got two different paramaters for each knob (these are accessed by holding the 'hold' button and turning knobs if you didn't know... took me a while!). Mesa sounds are good, and some of the clean sounds are soooo nice.... the blackface is especially cool.

Haven't tried the J-station, but it looks like crap. The Yamaha looks nice, but I wanted something for nothing but studio use, so I went with POD.
 
They make apples and oranges so everybody gets to choose!The Pod and the J-Station are a little different in the jobs they do, so a straight heads-up comparison is a little unfair.How you come down on which one is "better" has a lot to do with what you want the unit to do to start with.
Home hobbiests who have another unit for effects and want only an amp modeller with the most amps for mainly recording in mind will jump on the pod.
I have the J-Station,and I gig locally in bars.The amp models I have found to be the most useful are;
Marshall JCM900 ('69 Plexi)
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
'65 Fender Twin Reverb
'63 Vox AC30 Top Boost

There are a doxen others as well.The only signature sound I missed was the '59 Bassman tone Clapton got on Blues Breakers with Mayall.
caio baby
Tom
 
I don't quite get what supercharged found "cold" and "confusing" about the DG Stomp. Control-wise, it's pretty straightforward _ can't imagine how much more easy it could be. The description of it being "cold" and "processed" leads to believe that you played through it without turning on the speaker simulator.

Although I didn't do a thorough three way evaluation between the POD, J-Station and Yamaha, I love my DG Stomp and I get great sounds out of it - everything from metal to blues to jazz to country. It does everything I expect it to do without a lot of fuss.
 
Can a J-Station user tell us about the acoustic modeling? Is it credible?

I saw Dream Theater about this time last year and Petrucci opened the show with the acoustic part that starts the Metropolis Pt. II Scenes from a Memory CD playing an Ibanez electric. Sounded 100% acoustic.

That first chord progression D, F/D, G/D, D. I don't know about you guys but I gotta use my thumb to make that F/D chord. ;-]
 
I played it through my amp, with the speaker sim and without. Not much difference really. What confused me was that even though all effects were off, there was still reverb on. Also, the presets on these are usually supposed to sell you on it, or at least give some insight on what it does. In my opinion, there weren't any I could ever remotely use, or use as a starting point. The big turn off was no bypass switch, as I was trying it to use for effects, not as a preamp. I've heard the amp version of these, and they're not too bad, but I wasn't sold on the stomp. By "cold" I mean digital. I just couldn't get it to work for me.
I didn't want this unit to use as a direct application, where it may be better used, but for a processor, I'll stick with my old spx90 for now.
 
The acoustic sound on the j-station is quite good.I sounds like an acoustic with a piezo in the bridge.
Tom
 
About 6 months ago I had some extra cash in my pocket and went in and auditioned the pod and the j-station . I loved them both but at that time and place the j-station was $75 cheaper . Guess what I chose . After living with it I am in love with the Tweed and J-solo & J-crunch ,boutique , and more 1&2. I can get any sound I want and by varying the gain I can get just enough edge or way too much when I want it . The clean sounds are amazing also , the blackface model is so country rock ,(do you remember Loggins and Mesina ? )I have to say that I found the acoustic sounds wanting .
The real power and flexability of the unit isn't seen until you install the J-Edit software and control it from your computer . Then you have control over speaker models and infinite control over reverbs and all other effects , 24 bit effects that is . I wish this was on the market when I was a kid , I coulda been a contender .
 
as a rule of thumb factory presets suck.it wasnt until i started manually adjusting the pods tones that i figured what was up,and thats when i started really digging it.

if you miss getting feedback all you have to do is reamplify.so your recording direct ,but the guitar tone coming out your monitors can then get picked up by your guitar creating feedback.i have yet to try this btw, but it should work.

ive found most of the pods sounds extremely usable.and for my recoring purposes ive found it works brilliantly.i still prefer an unruly bassman or bluesbraker(and the pod comes close, but not the real thing).but just the other day listening to the classic rock station it just killed me how crappy most guitar tones are.with the pod its possible to get such a good sound.

and im sure the same is true with the dg, or j station...

but there are beautiful tube sounds that are of a dynamic richness that make them impossible to emulate with current technology.

also for direct recording sticking different pre, and eq's and compressors in the signal chain can really change things.

often ive heard these devices called too clean, and i agree.so to remedy this experimenting with pre amps is useful.
and never underestimate the signifigance a good old eq stompbox plays in getting a good sound.
 
Well, I gotta tell you. The POD is just so flexible and offers so many models that I couldn't go with the J-Station. I'm sure it's a good unit but the POD is it for me. I actually like the Line 6 sounds better than the models although the Rectifier sound is great. And, I love the Floorboard. The wah is just like I remember the Crybaby being.

Thank God for the POD and computer home recording. ;-]
 
I just bought a DG Stomp last night and I agree with the above post from kabudokan so far. Even though it's not the real thing it comes pretty close. I used my ES335 through my Mackie and found that the tone controls and switches on the guitar were pretty responsive depending on the patch. Once you read the first page of the manual and realize that those are buttons not just lights on the top rows it couldn't be easier to use. Just like an amp. By tweeking the controls I can get pretty close to what I'm looking for. Which is every thing from some fat fusion tones to an L5 through a twin ala Joe Pass, Jim Hall(it did this fairly well), some blues breaker type sounds and maybe a country lick(time to break out the tele)or two. Its not perfect but man its only one box. All in all I'm real happy with it for home recording. Has anybody used the digital out? I havn't had a chance to run it through my Echo Gina yet.
 
POD & J-Station

I've played on both the POD, POD Pro and J-Station. I settled on the POD Pro w/ Floorboard. Digitech has yet to impress me with quality equipment. I will say that at first glance, the POD is overwhelming. All the knobs serve 2 functions (2nd function is labled on the POD Pro only); after some time, I realized that I don't need my Lexicon, Virtulizer and Modulizer for effect processing. IT'S ALL IN THE POD. I only keep my GT-3 for the acoustic pickup simulator. The POD is based on technology no other piece of equipment has achieved. It isn't solid state and it isn't tubes. It's deadly silent yet extremely warm. It DOB accurately reproduces most amps and cabinets. The POD Pro also has a built in effects loop and digital outputs. The Pro is a must for live apps because you can send 2 signals, one with cab modeling to a board and another w/o cab modeling to your stage monitor. In my book there is no comparison.
 
I disagree that POD has achieved anything unique....physical modeling was around long before they were in business.

I bought the Bass Pod last week and I love the sound although the interface is confusing for such a simple device. I generally don't use effects on bass but the overdrive-distortion effects work for me.
 
I use the Pod, with the floorboard. I never tried J-Station, or stomp. But am extemelly satisfied with the Pod. It seems to give me that never want to stop playing sound.

Also floorboard wah is great, plus no batteries, or wall wart. I'm not a gear whore, and so I allways try to spend my money wisely. I really think I did. I have a feeling that as equiptment comes and goes, the Pod will remain a clasic.

Big problem with the Yamaha, all controls are on the floor.
 
POD IS unique

I really, honestly believe the POD is unique. I was playing through it and notice that the sound actually got "hotter" about 10-15 minutes into playing on one preset. I tried this several times and after the sound got "hotter" I switched down one preset and then back to the first preset. The sound was still "hotter". I had another guy experiement with this and only told him to listen for variations in the sound. He experienced the same thing. We talked to Line 6 and they have actually modeled the "warming up" of the tubes. No other modeler does this. Also, modeling isn't new, but the line 6 technology IS. Previous modelers are using EQ and solid state electronics to alter tone...line 6 uses software algorithms that provide a smother waveform that more closely matches the waveform from the original amps. It's alegedly been proven using an ocilliscope. All I know is that I can hear the difference.
 
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