Opinions on POD XT Live

[Starcross]

I play mostly acoustic guitar, but often use electric for composing/trying out new ideas which I then hand over to our electric guitarist. My old Digitech processor, which I really liiked, finally died, and I got a really good deal on a slightly used POD XT Live. I haven't had much time to mess with it yet, but so far I'm a little disappointed in the sounds I've been able to get out of it. My question is this: Does it live up to the POD hype? Has anyone been able to get some awesome sounds out of it? Any opinions or experiences good or bad?

[Crandles]

i had one at one point
i found the amp modeling to be quite lacking for most of the models
the effects were pretty good but you could probably find another effects unit that sounds better for the same price

[Starcross]

Thanks for the info. That's pretty much what I expected to hear. I know I just need to make time to really delve into it, but just haven't had the time yet. However I did get it at a really good price, so I guess I did OK for my purposes.

[crematia]

I have the PodXT, and I too was disappointed at it when I got it. After 1st night I had the feeling I've wasted my money on a piece of c**p...But then I fiddled with it more and more, bought the expansion packs, later on the bass pack, I was blown away And you have to remember, Pod is an amp modeler, not multieffect. Allthough imho Pod is more directed to distortions than clean sounds, it has various delightfull clean tones too. It all depends what you need it for. Rock and more metallish tunes -> Pod. Rock and cleaner guitar tunes -> Boss GT-8 fex. But I'd say keep the Pod, it's so worth every penny once you get the hand of it (and the model pack, thay are a MUST)

[brandondrury]

thay are a MUST

I don't have one.

While I have not sat down in a while to really mess with any direct recording devices (except maybe Native Instruments Guitar Rig which also sucks) in a long time, I just hate these damn things!

They never sound good on anything I've heard. Now I'm sure a guy here or there may be able to squeeze something pretty good out of them, but overall they just don't sound as good to me when you are going for a rock guitar sound. They sound too "lifeless". You can try to compensate for this with high end, but then you usually end up with nothing but fizz.

Does it live up to the POD hype?

That depends on what hype you listen to. The guitar magazine hype is almost always bullshit. You may as well watch MTV if you are going to listen to those jokers. The recording forum hype that says the POD is only semi-good at being a paperweight...terrible at everything else. I guess you could throw it at someone if you wanted to inflict pain.
But for tone, you can't beat a real amp. They are expensive and they are loud. You'll have to figure out how that effects your situation.


One more thing on direct guitars. The Def Leopard "Pour Some Sugar On Me" guitars are direct. They wanted that tone so girls wouldn't get ran off by the "crunch" of real amps. So, if done right, it's totally possible to make a classic sound with a direct guitar. It just won't be the same as a real amp.

Brandon

[Chingas]

I have the Bass POD XT. I didn't buy it, per say, it kind of came with a collection of gear I bought at the same time. If you are into experimental types of music or just clowning around for ideas, then it's fine to use. If you are going for a solid Studio production then nothing beats the real thing.

For those that simply can't get there hands on or do not have the recording capabilities (live in a condo, have parents, girlfriend, etc...) there are alternatives. The POD is just one. There is also GuitarRig and Amplitude and Eleven. All software emulating amp modeling plug-ins available for most formats. They aren't exactly cheap but certainly cheaper than picking up a few heads and cabs.

---Chingas---

[Metaltyme]

Originally Posted by Chingas

I have the Bass POD XT. I didn't buy it, per say, it kind of came with a collection of gear I bought at the same time. If you are into experimental types of music or just clowning around for ideas, then it's fine to use. If you are going for a solid Studio production then nothing beats the real thing.

For those that simply can't get there hands on or do not have the recording capabilities (live in a condo, have parents, girlfriend, etc...) there are alternatives. The POD is just one. There is also GuitarRig and Amplitude and Eleven. All software emulating amp modeling plug-ins available for most formats. They aren't exactly cheap but certainly cheaper than picking up a few heads and cabs.

---Chingas---

It's hilarious how some of these threads get brought back to life nearly three years later. Point noted though Chingas! And welcome!

[Chingas]

Metaltyme...

Sorry Brother. I didn't even notice the date. I just saw the content and the question and threw in a reply to help out. Never even thought to check the last post date. Thanks for the welcome! I appreciate that.

Is it ok to respond to old posts like I did? Or is all the relevance gone?

[Metaltyme]

Sorry Brother. I didn't even notice the date. I just saw the content and the question and threw in a reply to help out. Never even thought to check the last post date.

No sweat in the least man! I do it all the time! Hah! I hope you didn't take it like an insult or anything. I ended up here too out of chance. I was reading the posts, and read some comments that couldn't possibly be true to 'today' and then saw your post...that's all Brother.

Is it ok to respond to old posts like I did? Or is all the relevance gone?

Totally man! The sky's the limit here. Anything you want to add to any of these threads, old or new, is perfectly relevant. There's bound to be members here who are still subscribed to such threads. So, say what you want, when you want, and where you want Chingas.

Thanks for the welcome! I appreciate that.

I'm always glad to see new people join. This is a great site to hang out, learn, shoot the bull, and talk shop. So, we'll see you around then Chingas! Again, welcome, welcome.

Cheers,

[Chingas]

Thanks again Brother. I didn't take it as an insult, just felt warned. Every forum has there own rules and so and and so forth. From what I've seen so far on this forum is everyone is mad chill. Super relaxed and very helpful. So I appreciate the long and short of it. Definitely catch you around the forums Brother.

And Cheers to you too!