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Line 6 Pod XT Price Paid / New : £259 + $99 for all three model packs Year Manufactured: 2005 Specs: From (http://www.music123.com/Line-6-POD-XT-Amp-Modeler-with-Effects-i85016.music?t=1) The incredible sonic flexibility and quality of the original POD is now super-charged. The PODXT features Line 6's newest generation amp and cab models. Combine that with more than 45 classic stompbox and effect models, including hand-picked selections from Line 6's award-winning stompbox modeler series. AC adaptor included. Sound: 4.5 / 5 When I bought the Pod XT, I was seriously impressed with the sounds - but reading on the Line 6 site about the addon packs being 3 for 2 I decided I had to have them. The Metal pack adds some seriously heavy distortions and the FX Junkie pack adds some nice odd sounds and weird fx - so getting the Classic pack as a bonus was sweet. It adds some nice twangy type amps. Although they're listed as "Classic" amps, they also can deliver some thick distortions with some of the stomp boxes. In fact, one of the new stomp models with the packs is a simulation of a Chandler Tube Driver. Its not exact, but add this model to some of the classic amps and turn up the drive and you can get some stunningly thick rhythm tones. I've played for around 20 years now (feeling old!) and I've had a Spider II HD+Cab for a few years - I went for this as the portability was important. Years of humping round rack gear and amps means I know want portability. I (half) jokingly tell people I'll be after a Gallien-Krueger and a Steinberger next.....! However I felt that although the Spider had some nice sounds it was limited. I already had the Shortboard and so it was cool to add this to the Pod. I think its essential to get with the Pod to get the most out of it. The Wah's for example aren't Crybaby's but they add some great tone. The .5 I've knocked off is because I feel to get the most out of the Pod you have to write your patches at a reasonable volume. As its digital its sometimes a little too easily to get naff sounds, but tweaking the tones does yield some excellent results if you're willing to put in the time. However just relying on the headphone socket means that you will be disappointed by the sounds, which end up fizzy at high volume. Take the time, dial down some of the fx and crank it - your ears will love you. I didn't buy it for modelling "name" amps, I bought it for the wide range of sounds. Plus its excellent headphone output makes it a spectacular headphone amp as well! I'm currently using it with an iMic and my iBook to do some rough demo's with Garageband of idea's for songs my band will develop. Quality: 4/5 The Pod is a lot more resilient then it looks, but the odd shape means its a little precarious on top of an amp. I'm constantly worrying whether the vibrations from the amp will shake it off! However I know use and AKG wireless so I don't have to worry about pulling it off the amp in mid solo! Its a good weight for its size, and the AC adapter has a useful amount of lead with it. It feels solid and I hope I don't get to drop test it too much yet! Usefulness: 5/5 I always used to swear by my old Fender Pro Reverbs, and yet this Pod gets a great sound out of almost any amp I've stuck it into. Part of me would love to get another Pro Reverb to use with this tho, as I've found the Pro's distort in such a sweet manner. Adding the model packs to it took this from 4 to 5 for usefulness. Although some of the FX Junkie addon's are a little ... weird, they are useful sometimes to add synth like textures to recordings providing they're used sparingly. Some of the new amp models in the Metal Pack have a nice tone to it, and with some tweaking its easy to get away from the scooped nu-metal sound and get some good brutal tones. I'm using it with a Schecter 7 string and two Washburn 6 strings, and its fair to say it adds a ot of its tone to the sound, but the guitar's tone still shines through. Adding all the packs apparently gives you all the sounds from the Vetta II and the HD147 - and although I lust after the Vetta I can't afford it yet - so this is the next best thing. Overall Value: 5/5 Ok the packs are an extra expense - but the Pod alone is still sweet value. Using customtone.com to get extra tones is a great way to get some base tones to fine tune and strive towards your own sound. It packs a usable range of sounds and effects into a small portable package, and allows you to get some cool tones. The headphone output allows for neat late night sessions without risking a visit from the police as well.
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Aug 21, 2005 22:10
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 20:41 |
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