The ONLY sound I've heard from pod that was decent was the high gain RYTHM tones. For low gain and clean tones, tonelab gives WAY better results. A tube amp will always be better, but the price and noise is an issue. Before totally giving up, I suggest you to try the tonelab. If high gain is your game, don't bother listening to it- its kinda cool for other sounds though, IMO ofcourse!