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Got a pair of reviews to toss up. First one: Line 6 Pod Studio UX2 Price Paid / Price New: $179 (on sale)/ $250 Year Manufactured: 2010 Specs: Ins and Outs: 1/4-inch guitar input (normal or pad) Two balanced XLR inputs with mic preamps Gain knobs Phantom power 1/4-inch stereo monitor input Two 1/4-inch line inputs Two balanced 1/4-inch line out S/PDIF digital out 1/4-inch stereo headphone out with level control Assignable VU meters Up to two inputs can be used at any time. Additional Features: USB bus-powered ASIO, WDM and OS X Drivers ToneDirect monitoring (supposed to reduce latency) Up to 24-bit/96 kHz recording POD Farm 2 Standalone and Plug-in (Windows RTAS/VST, Mac AU/RTAS/VST) Software Includes: 18 guitar amp models with 24 cab models 5 bass amp models with 5 bass cab models 29 effect models expnaded to 64 with the FX Junkie pack (included with purchase) 6 mic preamp models USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatible Sound: 4/5 Sound, in this case, can be measured in a few ways. The major ones that actually matter are the Mic Pres and the Modeling package. The Mic Pres seem pretty transparent to my ears. I'm not the most educated when it comes to mic pres and their quality, but these seem to do pretty well. It was a shock when I heard my SM57 through this thing, instead of the (awful) mic pre on my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum - that means just about anything else is going to sound amazing to me. The Modeling is well done. Sounds are mostly authentic and you can get the sounds you want with little effort. It's a little odd to listen to them from speakers or through headphones instead of a real amp, but I easily adjusted to the change. It's important to note that you can get a whole lot of distorted tones, but few clean tones are represented here. Equipment Quality: 4/5 It's intended to be set on your desk and have its knobs fiddled with - it's not meant to be used in a live environment. For its intended purpose, the build quality it just good enough, though it is mostly made of plastic. While it's on the lighter side, it is heavy enough to counterbalance the weight of all front inputs having cables plugged into them. So it has that going for it, I guess. Usefullness: 5/5 My intent when purchasing this was to fulfill the following roles: A better microphone interface for when I record my "live" guitar setup A way to record without my "live" guitar setup so I don't piss off my neighbors/girlfriend, especially late at night To be able to record 2 mics silumtaneously for a podcast I've used it for all of those so far and it works fantastically. The software package can be used standalone, or as a plugin to your favorite DAW. If you use it as a plugin, you actually record your unprocessed signal. That means if you change your mind about the tone later, you can completely tweak it without re-recording the part. It lets you focus on getting the best performance, THEN going back and making sure the tone is just right. Overall Value: 4/5 It's an extremely handy, well-made, effective unit. Other There is one thing to be aware of in regards to the models. Each amp model only has Gain, Hi, Mid, Low, and Volume controls. No on-board effects are represented within the models themselves. This means that when you load up an old Fender tone, you have to load up a separate Reverb effect into the chain. Same goes for the old Jazz Chorus - no chorus is present on the amp. You can also pair any amp with any cab. Ever wanted to hear what a little Vox sounds like through a 4-speaker Marshall cab? Have at it. Want to run a Mesa-boogie head through an old Fender amp's speaker? You're more than welcome to. You can run 2 separate amp/effect chains per instance, save entire rigs, and map switches and knobs to MIDI. You can also load up the "Pod Farm Elements" VSTs - these are separate plugins that allow you to load up a small family of effects (like distortions or mic preamps) without needing to have the full package open. In all, an excellent buy. I'm more than happy with it!
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Feb 11, 2011 00:48
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The second one! Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus Price Paid / Price New: $179/$179 Year Manufactured: 2010 Specs: Input IEC connector (the same type used for your computer's power supply: Output 5.5x2.1mm barrel connectors - center negative Included Cables 5.5x2.1mm right angle barrel connectors (6) 5.5x2.1mm straight barrel connectors (2) 5.5x2.5mm red barrel for L6 (1) 3.5mm mini plug for vintage MXR or Electro-Harmonix (1) 9V battery snap for pedals without a power jack (1) Power Output: Output | DC Voltage | Max current 1-4 (ACA) | 9V | 100mA 5-6 (L6) | 9V | 250mA 7-8 (SAG) | 9V | 100mA Physical Dimensions: 6" wide x 3.4" deep x 1.75" tall (152 x 86 x 45 mm) Weight: 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) Special Rear Courtesy Auxiliary AC outlet, 200 watts max Sound: 5/5 While a pedal powering unit isn't made to generate sounds, they can be noisy. This thing is supposed to stop any excess hum and electrical noise from coming into your signal chain. It does this very well. Equipment Quality: 5/5 This thing is built like a tank. It's surprisingly heavy for its size. I'd gig with it and not be afraid of hurting it, though the cables are a little flimsy - but that's normal for power cables. They do suggest that you mount the whole thing to a pedalboard for this reason. Usefullness: 4/5 You buy this once and never have to pay for batteries again. That alone makes it well worth it. It can also support Line 6 (higher milliamp requirements) and Boss Dual-Pedals (though you use up two spots for them). It's also got Sag knobs for outputs 7 and 8 so you can simulate dying batteries in old fuzz pedals. Nifty little trick. Overall Value: 4/5 The value here is somewhat self-explanatory: you don't need to buy 9 volts ever again. Though it takes some time, the unit will eventually pay for itself. And it comes bundled with enough to make it ready-to-use out of the box for most people.
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Feb 11, 2011 00:49
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