civictiger Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 This has raised a question for me for a while back now, are they even good effects units? They seem to be the most popular effects unit, if not the most popular item, that sells in the For Sale section. What is bad about them that people seem to sell them off all the time? I was planning on getting one for uni, I am taking a 3 year course at a Bass Academy in Guildford and its not a requirement to have a POD unit, but its useful to have one for masterclasses and lectures and such.. would it be worth investing in this unit or a different Line 6 model? Quote
Grand Wazoo Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 I used to have the POD XT Live and I've found to be good only if you own on of their Variax basses otherwise to me none of the simulated effects were really up to the task, a bit like the Cosm effect on Roland micro amps, not here nor there. Best to save your money on individually designed effects, like a proper compressor, chorus, flanger etc. Quote
LiamPodmore Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 (edited) Not in my opinion, but i never got to use one live, personally i would go with a Boss GT-10B or a Line 6 POD X3 Pro or Live, as that POD seemed pretty useable when i tried it. Liam Edited February 3, 2011 by LiamPodmore Quote
DanOwens Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 If you're using it as a headphone amp with amp modelling and effects rather than a stompable bit of gigging kit, I'd get a kidney-bean POD or POD XT. They're cheap and definitely usable. If you want loads of effects, there are many, many more choices out there. Dan Quote
woodster Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 I use one in the studio AND live and i get some great results. I don't tend to use the amp modelling but the modulation effects (chorus, flanger and phaser) are definitely usable with a little patience and tweaking. Although 'out of the box' it can be a little generic sounding, some time, patience and experimentation can result in a really great, compact and usable system. Quote
Wilco Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 I liked mine at first, but during the process of checking out a couple new amp heads, i realised that it was noticeably reducing the output of the amps (& yes, i had read the manual & was aware of the level controls etc!). After a bit more investigation, I noticed my sound was also lacking in dynamics & that it was a bit dull/flat That might have been the compressor working but whatever, I didn't like the end result so I sold it. Ironically, I wouldn't recommend it for live use. I can see how it mught be useful on your course though - if you are going to cover many styles of music , the range of sounds on offer from one box will be useful. So will having the tuner & effects pedals all in one unit too. imo , individual true bypass stomp boxes are a better quality sound option, but for a bass course, it'll sound fine & probably will be quite convenient. Quote
civictiger Posted February 4, 2011 Author Posted February 4, 2011 Yeahh I have quite a few pedals anyways, but it says in my enrolement letter its getter to have a POD than not have one.. I may just go there without one for the start and then get one out of my grant money, that would seem the most logical thing I think Quote
thumperbob 2002 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 I have one and think it is terrific. The main point of this is not really the effects but the amp modelling which is great. Presets are awful. If you invest time in it you will get the best out of it. I do mean hrs and hrs. Didn't think anything could be as good as my sans amp but this is the real deal. Quote
LukeFRC Posted February 5, 2011 Posted February 5, 2011 I had one and sold it.... What it was good for.... recording, or live without an amp. The amp models are pretty good, with a range of sounds and fully programmeable and the effects are pretty good too, I found a nice range of stuff to use and play with. As someone said both need a bit of editing to get the best out of them. What is it not good at.... changing on the fly, I found each time i used it live (with amp modeling) i had to spend ages tweaking all the patches I had made for the room/set up.... not massive fun. The parametric eq- brilliant if editing via PC, crap if using the unit! and ultimatly with all the compression off as wilco said, I found it sucked the life out of my playing, all the dynamics were dulled and it sounded compressed. I found the best tone i could get with it live was turning it off! in conclusion: trying out effects - great recorded sound - good different sounds - good an ampless setup - great SVT model (with the cab model off) - good, but catalinbreat SFT better live sound - awful if you get one get one of the bean ones as it will be cheaper. Quote
xilddx Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Interesting opinions. I love my X3 LIVE. But you need to play with it a lot to get the good stuff out. But I use mine in pro studios, in my own studio and onstage with all my bands. I wouldn't be without it. Has your Bass Academy got some sort of sponsorship deal with Line 6 or something ? Quote
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