What do you think of the PodXT for home recording?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SilverSurfer
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HangDawg said:
The guy asked our opinions of the POD sound. I said it sounds like ass. I asked for a sample with someone using a POD preferably attempting something on the heavy side. I'd like to hear it and find out how they got decent results. No takers. I also never said my sound was unbeatable. That was you spouting off crap. I also didn't resort to making funny alterations to people screen names.

Grow the fuck up.
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Line6 POD forums has some really good samples on their site. There's one that has some Mesuggah patches and 5150 patches that are just outstanding.

I think getting good tone from a PodXT is more about how good you are with using it than the device itself. From what I have heard, the Pod will work fine for what I am doing.
 
SilverSurfer said:
Line6 POD forums has some really good samples on their site. There's one that has some Mesuggah patches and 5150 patches that are just outstanding.

I think getting good tone from a PodXT is more about how good you are with using it than the device itself. From what I have heard, the Pod will work fine for what I am doing.
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Are they just guitar or are the tracks mixed in a song? That's where the problem is. It just doesn't mix well as Ronan said. I still think you'd be better off tracking with your amp at lower volume levels.
 
HangDawg said:
Are they just guitar or are the tracks mixed in a song? That's where the problem is. It just doesn't mix well as Ronan said. I still think you'd be better off tracking with your amp at lower volume levels.
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Some are with songs, some without.

I would track with my amp but even with a brake, I have only a 4x12 cab from a 100W 6100 head. I could not get the volume low enough to record without losing tone and I'd still wake the neighbors.
 
I agree that just because we do "home recording" it shouldnt be an excuse to not get the best results we can. As close to pro quality recordings that is possible with a realistic budget should be every home recording engineers goal. With my Mbox I am making MUCH better quality recordings at home compared to a demo tape my old band recorded in the early 80s made at a local 16 track studio. i am always looking to improve.
 
Got a chance to fiddle with my PodXT today. I will try and lay some tracks on Sunday so yoooz guys can hear what it sounds like. The 5150 patch I found is sa-weeeeeeet!
 
I have probably said enough on this thread about how badly the Pod screws up records and I am not sure there is much to add, but to chime in on the concept of home recording qualtity etc.

Its always a little depressing to hear people come to the defense of something by saying its not THAT bad, or to operate on the principle that this is home recording and for some reason its is of less value or importance than recordings made in traditional recording environments. Bottom line is we are talking about music here and my hope is that we are talking about how to make those recordings as amazing as possible.

I have made recordings in multi-million dollar pro studios, grungy home basements, 15th century villas, and everything in between and the intent of those recordings has always been the same. We are trying to make great records that will mean something to us and the people that listen to them. The only difference is each of those recording situations gave us a different set of tools to work with. Some of the best records I have ever made have been done in homes with minimal gear, and some of my favorite recordings by other people are sometimes demos made my unknown artists with cheap gear.

The idea of making recordings that do not matter, I think is kind of sad, and its always strange for me to see people on these boards operating with that assumtion. If its just about the gear, it seems that these guys could have as much fun hooking up new printers to their computer as getting a new compressor. If its not about trying to make the best possible records and jumping through hoops to do it, what is the fun in that?

A good freind of mine recorded some cheapo demos for this broke no name guy in his tiny studio he set up in the back of his welding shop about 2 years ago. It became my buddies first platinum album.
 
Wow, there is definately some heat in this thread.

For me (and I'm sure lots of people out there) it's not about home recording vs. pro recording (well, it is kinda) - but it's money. Recording is a hobby for me, and a hobby that generates 0 income. I use a behringer v-amp 2, which sounds comparable to the pod 2.0 in my opinion. I know it's a behringer, so rag on me all you want, but it was also $100. I'm at a time in my life where I can't afford to spend even $250 on a used mesa head to get a better sound. It was pretty much 100 or less for electric guitar sounds (and I'm borrowing the guitar from my roommate). I just have other more pressing financial obligations at this time.

I know the sounds from the v-amp aren't the best I can get out of my house (which would make it home recording), but I think they are the best I can get for $100. After all, I truely am trying to get the best possible recording I can for my music. I would agree that a real amp sounds better. My roommate (who is lending me his SRV custom strat) plays it through a mesa boogie dual rectifier blue angel 4X10, and for distortion runs through an all-tube overdrive pedal (forget the name - some custom thing ordered). I recorded several songs - one with the v-amp and one with the real amp (the real amp was recorded with a 57 into a dmp-3). If you go to the link in my signature, or here: http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=261004&T=5863, you can hear them. "The Way It Has To Be" uses the v-amp 2, and "Something Better" uses the mesa. Judge for yourself. In my opinion, the mesa sounds warmer, smoother, and fuller, but "muddier", for lack of a better word. The v-amp sounds thinner, but "cleaner". After reading these posts about how some very much more experienced people than I feel that the other tracks suffer from these POD-esque sounds, it's no wonder that I'm never satisified with the vocal track in the song that uses the v-amp, while the vocals in "Something Better" are much better to my ears. Always thought it was a mic placement/vocal performance/eq type of thing, but maybe it's the v-amp. It's obvious that with better recording techniques, the mesa could sound much, much better--but if you add up costs of amps, mic's, mic pre's, etc, the v-amp is about $1500+ cheaper.

For me, it's like everything else in our materialistic society - it's all about money (or rather, lack of money, haha).

Anyway, I'm not trying to throw gasoline on the fire, just giving my 2 cents. In a perfect world I'd record the real amp, but my budget, and anybody who is in the house when I'm doing it won't allow it.

p.s. - I'm sorry this post didn't have much to do with the POD xt.
 
That's just it. I can't record in the house with my Marshall, so I am relegated to the Pod. I am sorry some people don't understand that, it's just the best I can do given the circumstances. I am not trying to make any money at this. It's a hobby. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
to record with a pod does it take any other equipment, or can you just use it with a guitar and a computer and save it to the comp?

not actually owning a good amp, or having any money, I wouldn't even begin to think about the micing option at this time, just wondering how exactly the pod works for recording.
 
Ibenez,

Yeah, you just go like this:
Guitar -> POD -> Computer. You've got to have a sound card that will accept it. Depending on which model you get the inputs vary. To record it you've got to have some sort of recording program.

Click on the link to hear some songs done with the behringer v-amp 2 (like the pod, but half the price).

The songs done with the v-amp are "Better This Way", "The Way It Has To Be", and "Something Better", though the lead guitar on something better sounds like total crap. Tried to go with something different - I need to re-do it.
 
if you cant record loud gtrz than a pod is good. you could check out a palmer audio pga 04 also.
 
After reading this rather heated thread, I felt I must put my $.02 in. I am a HOME RECORDIST who also needs to record guitar tracks direct. 2 weeks ago, I went out and tried the POD and V-Amp. I took home the POD and began playing around with it. 4 hours later I had 1 sound I was happy with after fiddling with it. I layed down a track on an existing song I'm working on to test what Ronan (I think it was him) said about it screwing up the mix. And you know what, HE'S RIGHT. I could definitely hear a negative effect on the overall mix. This tune already had a track I did with my Fender Deville, and there was just no comparison. So, I took it back. A few days ago, I picked up a Sansamp GT-2 and started over with the same process. It took me 20 minutes to get a sound that was much nicer than the POD!!! It sits better in the mix, and I'm gonna stick with it. Now, I realize I don't have all the fx available on the POD, but I'd rather have decent tone over crappy fx anyday. Is the track as good as the Fender track?? No. But its a hell of alot better than the POD sound and took me 1/12 the time to achieve better results. So, after real life testing........

POD= POO POO

SANSAMP= Acceptable

REAL AMP= Real Deal
 
mplnckstrat said:
After reading this rather heated thread, I felt I must put my $.02 in. I am a HOME RECORDIST who also needs to record guitar tracks direct. 2 weeks ago, I went out and tried the POD and V-Amp. I took home the POD and began playing around with it. 4 hours later I had 1 sound I was happy with after fiddling with it. I layed down a track on an existing song I'm working on to test what Ronan (I think it was him) said about it screwing up the mix. And you know what, HE'S RIGHT. I could definitely hear a negative effect on the overall mix. This tune already had a track I did with my Fender Deville, and there was just no comparison. So, I took it back. A few days ago, I picked up a Sansamp GT-2 and started over with the same process. It took me 20 minutes to get a sound that was much nicer than the POD!!! It sits better in the mix, and I'm gonna stick with it. Now, I realize I don't have all the fx available on the POD, but I'd rather have decent tone over crappy fx anyday. Is the track as good as the Fender track?? No. But its a hell of alot better than the POD sound and took me 1/12 the time to achieve better results. So, after real life testing........

POD= POO POO

SANSAMP= Acceptable

REAL AMP= Real Deal
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Can you post up samples using both emulators? (Pod and GT?).
 
I thought the Sansamp GT-2 was the ticket until I heard the Vox Tonelab. That is the closest thing to an amp IMHO. There's something about the POD that you either love it or hate it; there's no middle ground.
 
Hey you all, remember, we all love to make music, right!

The test with the POD and the Sansamp GT2. Very constructive info, BTW.

I use a POD 2.0 and have been fairly happy with it, especially when doing instrumentals. On my songs with vocals I have always been happy when listening to them on headphones but have always hated them out of monitors or loudspeakers. Makes me go UMMMMM! Of course, I don't think I'm a great singer so maybe its just the fact I have to hear my voice out loud. I remember about 15 years ago when I first started looking at "headphone" amps, you know, the old Rockmans and such. At that time everybody talked about the original Sansamp and I did try it out. It was awesome. But I could get a Rockman for under $100. Well, my recordings never sounded like Boston (Third Stage album was recorded using the Rockman almost exclusively on Tom Scholz' guitars). I later traded it for a Rolls Playboy which had chorus and delay. I guess those bells and whistles can get all us to try something out. So now, in my old age, I have a POD 2.0 and a Boss GT-6. I also have a DSP module built right into my Digital Recorder and wish I had that Sansamp (I still live in an apartment so I can't use a big amp). I do have a Fender Pro Junior, but, alas, even at 15 watts it is too loud for home recording. My point? I guess it is just to say, we do what we need to do to make music. There are those on this board who have money AND make money making music so they can have stuff that others of us can't. I wish I had that kind of money so I'm not going to pretend to be pissy and say they don't have a right to speak up. They do. And I learn from it. Just wish some of it didn't come with too much "better than you" attitude. As for me. I have stuff I wouldn't have dreamed of 30 years ago when I first started. I mean I paid $1300 for a 4-track cassete recorder when I started. Two years ago I paid $900 for a 16 track digital recorder that can burn its own CDs. And when I have more money, I might get a Vox Tone Lab or maybe even a Sansamp. And if I do, I hope my playing is good enough to warrant the purchase. But hell, even the joy of buying new gear might be enough.

Peace all, Jim
 
Lambo said:
I thought the Sansamp GT-2 was the ticket until I heard the Vox Tonelab. That is the closest thing to an amp IMHO. There's something about the POD that you either love it or hate it; there's no middle ground.
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Are there any comparisions on the net between these two things tone wise? If this one is better, I'll send the Pod back and get it!
 
I have looked on-line but couldn't find any side by side comparisons of the PODxt and the Vox Tonelab; I really wish there were. But having said that, even that is a subjective comparison with all the inherent tweaking capabilities each processor has. At this point in time if I were to purchase another processor (I need another one like I need a hole in my head) I'd probably go with the Tonelab, but that's just me. That is not to say I wouldn't be happy with a PODxt, it's just that I can't have both. For the most part all of us have multiple guitars because each one of them has it's own unique characteristics that deemed them a 'must have.' I see the processors in the same light and therefore finding the perfect one aint gonna happen. For the independently wealthy which I am not, I say buy 'em all and have a blast. For my humble means I try to find the one or two that best suit my pocketbook and needs and call it a day. Point being; whichever one YOU find that offers the best tone, features and fits within your budget IS the best!
 
Ah, it's good to see that no matter how many years go by, the same dumb arguments appear on this forum over and over. Mac Vs. PC anyone?:)

By the way, NI's Guitar Rig absolutely SMOKES all the Line6 stuff for clean and bluesy/rock-ish tones.

It's been my experience that the people who are the most enraged by modeling devices are metalhead types. Maybe modelers have a harder time appriximating really heavy guitar sounds (I stopped listening to metal when I hit puberty, so I can't really speak to that). For clean/bluesy kinda stuff it's not the same as a well-mic'd amp sure (no one in their right mind would argue otherwise) but it's close enough to be worth the added convenience.

Chris
 
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