Owners of POD HD. Share the pros and cons.

[Jkater]

Like the title says. Especially regarding how it records direct into the computer and how you do it for best results.(what kind of connections, cable, settings,etc.)

 

 

I suggest we share our thoughts before reading others' but everyone has their own way to go about that one.

 

Thanks all!

[Jkater]

Bump for the american continent's evening crowd.

[kit_strong]

Pros: sounds great and is a phenomenal value

Cons: not quite as easy as just plugging straight into an amp.

 

IMO it's a great unit that provides a lot of very usable tones at an attractive price point. As for recording, I just use the USB and go straight into my Mac and then either use iMovie or GarageBand to record. I'm no seasoned pro and have no experience with vintage tube amps and therefore am not trying to compare it to said gear. To me all that matters is whether or not I can dia up some usable tones and to that the answer is a definitive yes.

I say get one from somewhere with a good return policy and just hold off on registering it unti you are sure it meets your needs.

[Will Chen]

You can read my in depth thoughts here (based on 1.2 firmware, need to update the article), but in a nutshell:

Pros: Good to great amp modeling/effects, flexible internal routing/programming architecture.

Cons: Poor rotary/univibe emulation (perhaps poor is too strong a word, I'd simply say not the best), the effects mix parameter is often very wet even at minimal settings, complex to program with some none intuitive signal stereo routing (HD500 only), cabinet modeling could be improved.

[BryanMichael]

I will concur with Will's statements and only add that I still think you need some kind of tube preamp to get the best out of it. IMO, the amp models and distortion models still have something going on that I don't dig. I also miss some of the effects capabilities of the GT-10. But it has many advantages over the GT-10 as well. IMO it's one of the best things going for the price and it's growing on me more each day.


PS- big omission: There is no off/on switch

[Will Chen]

I will concur with Will's statements and only add that I still think you need some kind of tube preamp to get the best out of it. IMO, the amp models and distortion models still have something going on that I don't dig. I also miss some of the effects capabilities of the GT-10. But it has many advantages over the GT-10 as well. IMO it's one of the best things going for the price and it's growing on me more each day. PS- big omission: There is no off/on switch

 

Ack yes, no power switch is irksome. Tube preamp is non-essential for me.

 

Also the drive section is hit or miss. I actually like a bunch of the drives when used with real amps, Tube Driver and/or Screamer (often in combination with a compressor model) for blues though hard rock and the Line 6 Drive for heavier stuff. But internally for some reason I don't like many of the drive/amp pairings at all and much prefer using a compressor with a low compression ratio and the volume cranked as a boost.

[cratz2]

In my opinion:

 

Pro: Very, very versatile and incredibly convenient after a fairly easy learning curve.

 

Con: Doesn't sound as good as a decent tube amp and any single tone.

 

Basically if you value versatility and convenience over having access to one or two great tones via amp and a dirt pedal, the HD is amazing. The amp models on the HD were very impressive to me... roughly on part with the AxeFX. Never used an Eleven Rack but for the very limited range for tones I like to use, it's simply not on par with my Carmen Ghia or AC15H1TV but the HD is obviously radically more versatile than both of those amps put together and the 3 dirt pedals I use with them.

[scolfax]

For recording I'd say the pro is that it's super easy to dial in a tone and hit record in your DAW.

 

As far as the con above: "Doesn't sound as good as a decent tube amp and any single tone.", I'd disagree for me because I've only tried recording a real amp with a mic once, great amp and great mic, and couldn't get as good a sound. I'm sure a big part of that was I was doing it at home and didn't have the amp loud enough.

[chqtarzan]

Many thanks to Will Chen.

I got the HD500 and a Behringer K1800FX, at a total of $800, it's the most versatile and affordable setup for me.

 

Pro: sounds good enough, easy to play and record.

Con: managing patches consumes quite some time.

[Will Chen]

Many thanks to Will Chen. I got the HD500 and a Behringer K1800FX, at a total of $800, it's the most versatile and affordable setup for me. Pro: sounds good enough, easy to play and record. Con: managing patches consumes quite some time.

Glad to be of service!

[BryanMichael]

Expanding on Will's statement, I will again agree - I think the Screamer and Tube Driver models are probably the best of the "dirt" models and for some reason, pairing them with the "tube compressor" model actually makes them sound more like...well, their analog counterparts. I say this having had an analog TS clone and a rack mounted tube driver when I got the POD to compare it to. The Tube Compressor is fast becoming something of a staple for me in the POD, even dialed down low it seems to do something for the tone.

Another PRO is the software editor for the POD HD is ABSOLUTELY TOP NOTCH IMO, and having a STEREO effects loop means that you can run pretty much any external processing device the way you want to and not lose anything.

In the end it was the stereo FX loop, software editor, and better amp modeling that made me switch from the BOSS/Roland camp to Line 6.
Although I do think the build quality on the BOSS stuff is much better and the effects are better in variety and in SOME cases tone on the Boss/Roland. But the effects loop on the POD makes up for that in many ways.

[RaVenCAD]

I still haven't upgraded from my POD X3, and I'm not seeing much in this thread to convince me to make a change. What am I missing out on?

[BryanMichael]

I still haven't upgraded from my POD X3, and I'm not seeing much in this thread to convince me to make a change. What am I missing out on?

I think the big "sell" on the HD versions are the improved amp modeling and the flexibility of the effects blocks, for example if you want three delays in a patch, you can have them as long as you have the processing power available and you can put them in any order you like, other than that...?

[yzfou]

I have the the XT, the X3 and now the HD500, I tried them side by side with pretty much the same settings using the Mesa model, and the HD does sound a lot better through my amp, I use a JSX head as a power amp in the amp return into a 412 cab. For recording though the difference between the X3 and the HD when plugged directly into a PC or with headphones, is very subtle IMO. But the HD is way easier to tweak directly on the unit, still IMO.

[scolfax]

 

I still haven't upgraded from my POD X3, and I'm not seeing much in this thread to convince me to make a change. What am I missing out on?

 

 

I think you need to hear them side by side to make that judgement. They say that with 10 times the processing power the models sound more realistic.

[Will Chen]

 

I still haven't upgraded from my POD X3, and I'm not seeing much in this thread to convince me to make a change. What am I missing out on?

 

 

 

Nothing. If you have to ask, I'd say stay with what you got. There are feature benefits to both and if the X3 serves you well tonally, you'd be better off saving the dough.

[Tommy Gun]

The updated firmware is awesome...especially for mid to high gain tones. Dropping the master volume to the 30s or so (it was set at a ridiculous default of 100% on the JCM) and keeping the sag low makes for very good tones.

[scolfax]

 

Nothing. If you have to ask, I'd say stay with what you got. There are feature benefits to both and if the X3 serves you well tonally, you'd be better off saving the dough.

 

 

Can the X3 get anywhere close to the sounds of the HD Dr. Z model? As far as I'm concerned that's worth the price of admission. Since the X3 doesn't have that model I'd love to hear, say, Bassman models side-by-side.

[Selsaral]

I had good success recording with it, but I couldn't get it sounding great amplified in a band context. I got it sounding good a few times. We just ran the XLR into a pre-amp, then into the DAW.

 

Just the standard settings, direct. Nothing special. I use feedback a fair amount and it was a bit frustrating trying to produce it on the studio monitors we were using, I had to bring some big monitors into the booth and crank them.

[Will Chen]

 

I had good success recording with it, but I couldn't get it sounding great amplified in a band context. I got it sounding good a few times. We just ran the XLR into a pre-amp, then into the DAW. Just the standard settings, direct. Nothing special. I use feedback a fair amount and it was a bit frustrating trying to produce it on the studio monitors we were using, I had to bring some big monitors into the booth and crank them.

 

 

Speaking of the Dr Z model, here it is in all its glory recorded direct straight up for the versus and boosted for the solo (forgot what with exactly, but all in the box). Granted we're a trio so there's not a whole bunch to compete with. Feedback can be an issue, but this has to do more with playback target than a fault of the HD. You've gotta get some air moving to generate feedback which can be tricky when going direct.