Bass pod pro

[ashevans09]

Heya,

I've been playing bass for around 10 years now (god that's a long time now I think about it) and anyhoo, effects are something I've never really used that much.

I remember playing around with a bass pod pro (the old rackmount one) a while back in a store, and quite enjoyed playing with it, however I never went through with buying one because at that time bass -> amp -> sound was all I needed. So, with that little preamble, sorry for the absolute ignorance that's going to follow...

So basically, I kind of have a few questions:

I was wondering what the advantages of one was? Both generally and over using a load of pedals. Indeed, would there be an argument for both in a rig?

Where in the line would you put it? I tend to go bass -> compressor -> amp input, would it go before or after the compressor (or indeed would it act as one?) or in the FX loop?

Sorry for my lack of knowledge on the subject, this kind of a line I'd like to investigate - I'm getting more opportunities to play more diverse types of music (it's been mostly rock and jazz up to this point) and really I'd just like an excuse to play with my tones a bit and have some interesting stuff going on! Also, I'm beginning to play bigger venues, so I was wondering if there would be any inherent advantages if I got one.

Thanks for any help

[Mog]

The best thing about a POD is that it allows you to go straight into a house system. As long as you've got monitors you'll be fine without backline.
The Fx are mostly usable but many find the synths to be very poor.
TBH I'd suggest a x3 live. They go for very little second hand. The live series floor units are basically a combined fbv controller and the processor in a neat package. It can be run as an amp sim/D.I. or front of an amp or both.

If you want to get used to using Fx they're a great place to start.