Music Gear Discussion

[Anthony]

VS a mic'ed amp, the POD always loses. I can understand people that are in situations where doing a mic'ed amp setup isn't possible (home studio that would piss off the neighbors, etc.) having one, or for making demos etc, but given the option, I would always choose a mic'ed amp. I've heard some terrible, terrible guitar tones come out of those things that people insisted sounded ok. Of course, the cost of a good amp (not to mention multiple amps if you are going for a wide variety of sounds), nice mic pres, and nice mics is far greater than that of a POD, but there ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby.

I've never been fond of Line 6 stuff myself. I once did an A/B comparison of a Line 6 Flextone next to the counterpart it was trying to model, a Marshall JCM 800 combo, and me and my friend both said "wow, that does a pretty good job of sounding like it...it's actually sort of close." But it defenitely sounded like an amp modeler, lifeless and sterile compared to the Marshall.

Verdict = Hate em'

Digital loses the life of it, and grates on my very soul.

[jyoung]

Pods are great for practicing and demoing, not so much for official recordings and live performances.

If you're going to be recording/gigging at all, just save the cash for a real amp.

[Mykozo]

Pods are great for practicing...

This is an application I think would actually be cool. Plug in, throw on some headphones and you have some versatile tones and effects to play with.

[Jason]

VS a mic'ed amp, the POD always loses. I can understand people that are in situations where doing a mic'ed amp setup isn't possible (home studio that would piss off the neighbors, etc.) having one, or for making demos etc, but given the option, I would always choose a mic'ed amp. I've heard some terrible, terrible guitar tones come out of those things that people insisted sounded ok. Of course, the cost of a good amp (not to mention multiple amps if you are going for a wide variety of sounds), nice mic pres, and nice mics is far greater than that of a POD, but there ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby.

I've never been fond of Line 6 stuff myself. I once did an A/B comparison of a Line 6 Flextone next to the counterpart it was trying to model, a Marshall JCM 800 combo, and me and my friend both said "wow, that does a pretty good job of sounding like it...it's actually sort of close." But it defenitely sounded like an amp modeler, lifeless and sterile compared to the Marshall.

Verdict = Hate em'

Yeah I agree, my friend swears by them yet he has his own studio (lazy bastard). A bit off topic but you mentioned the Marshall JCM 800 combo amp... I actually found one of those where I was dorming in college. Somebody was using it as a door stopper and it was there for like 2-3 weeks. I decided if it was there for another week I was gonna take it. Had it all checked out and was told it was in good condition but I wasn't crazy about it so I sold it for $300. I like my Vox AC-15 much better, the Marshall was too dirty for me.

Pods are great for practicing and demoing, not so much for official recordings and live performances.

If you're going to be recording/gigging at all, just save the cash for a real amp.

yeah, I was practicing with it last night (set to a distorted solo tone)... it was perfect for the quick sound I needed but after hearing you guys I think I'm going to stick to using my amp for actual recording.

[Jed]

I think I'm going to stick to using my amp for actual recording.

You've got an AC-15, you should never need anything else to record, that is THE amp in my opinion.

[Jason]

Yeah I love it... sounds (to me) as an amp should sound. Clean and bright until you want it to sound otherwise.

[Mykozo]

Yeah I agree, my friend swears by them yet he has his own studio (lazy bastard).

THAT, I will give the POD, it really is a time saver. My last big guitar recording took 2 hours to set up (5 mics), check, etc. With a POD you just plug that fucker in, get a level on your line in and go.

A bit off topic but you mentioned the Marshall JCM 800 combo amp...I like my Vox AC-15 much better, the Marshall was too dirty for me.

This is Music Gear Discussion, you are certainly not off topic

Yeah, I've never been the biggest fan of Marshall amps either...they are great, mind you, but for the type of sound I like I'm much more into Orange, Mesa, Sovtek, etc. Marshalls have a "fuzzier" tone rather than a "crunchy" tone, if you can get what I'm saying.

...it was perfect for the quick sound I needed but after hearing you guys I think I'm going to stick to using my amp for actual recording.

There are things you just can't recreate with a POD, like mic selection and placement, room characteristics, the different tones you get from recording cabs at different levels and mic placements, etc.

You've got an AC-15, you should never need anything else to record, that is THE amp in my opinion.

They sound like a Vox. If you don't want the Vox sound then you, um, won't record with a Vox. Great amps, of course, but there is no "THE" amp for recording.

[Jason]

Yeah, I've never been the biggest fan of Marshall amps either...they are great, mind you, but for the type of sound I like I'm much more into Orange, Mesa, Sovtek, etc. Marshalls have a "fuzzier" tone rather than a "crunchy" tone, if you can get what I'm saying.

They sound like a Vox. If you don't want the Vox sound then you, um, won't record with a Vox. Great amps, of course, but there is no "THE" amp for recording.

Totally get what you're saying on the Marshall sound being a "fuzzy" (which was why I sold it)... and yeah I think the Vox is more the sound I am going for which is why it works for me but to each their own, all depends on the style you are working with.

I do want to eventually record totally using the POD just to experiment a bit... for my own shits and giggles I suppose.

[Jed]

They sound like a Vox. If you don't want the Vox sound then you, um, won't record with a Vox. Great amps, of course, but there is no "THE" amp for recording.

I completely agree, but I think Vox has the most perfect clean tone, it's just flawless in my opinion. Instead of blowin a ton of money on an Orange (I LOVE Orange amps, I'm just furiously jealous I can't afford one), get a Vox and a couple of fuzz boxes and the variety of tones you can get is realllllly broad.

[Jason]

I completely agree, but I think Vox has the most perfect clean tone, it's just flawless in my opinion. Instead of blowin a ton of money on an Orange (I LOVE Orange amps, I'm just furiously jealous I can't afford one), get a Vox and a couple of fuzz boxes and the variety of tones you can get is realllllly broad.

add the Brian May model guitar to the mix and you have even more tones to play with... although the Burns model is so so, would much rather have a Guild (just don't have the 2-3k at the moment).