Anyone using POD/pro LIVE through Amp? - and not direct to P

[ashlock]

Here's the story; I have a POD and love it for recording and practice and learning songs along with MP3's.

I recently started playing in *church every week (think modern alt-rock, funky jazz and Latin styles) with mostly clean tones and the occasional lead toned-solo.

I tried the POD to PA thing and did not like the feel at all. *So I bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe(HRD) and found the magic feeling that I was missing (i.e. moving air). *Then I was faced with the prospect of dropping $$$ on a tuner, volume pedal, chorus, delay, tremolo, etc.. *

Then I heard of people using the POD as a preamp (turn cab emulation off, AIR off) into the power amp in of the HRD (which bypasses the preamp of the HRD). *Doing this I can get some pretty good tones and definitely get sounds that I could not get from the HRD alone (like Boogie MarkIV/Recitifier, Soldano, JCM etc..) plus I have a tuner, killer wha (that beats my Crybaby 535Q), volume, and fx all in one single floorboard.

I kind of flip flop between using just the amp some weeks and the POD some weeks and I am contemplating going to a pedalboard. *I don't consider myself a great judge of tone, but the tube snobs keep telling me that I am missing out on the "real tube tone and feeling of the HRD". *Are they just blowing smoke up my *ss? *I can't really feel or hear a huge improvement in using the HRD preamp over the POD as preamp, and besides, I still get a tube power stage when using the POD. *So, the preamp is the only part that I have "gone digital" with, isn't the tube preamp stage *the easy part to emulate and the tube power amp stage the hard part?

I am just wondering if I will someday be smart enought to really hear/feel the difference between the real Fender preamp and the POD as a preamp?

[ryan]

Being smart has nothing to do with it.

I've been flipping back and forth on the Pod/Amp question since sometime in November...

I love the flexibility of the Pod. *I love the way it sounds on the Sodano setting thru my 5150 head's power section. *I love the floorboard more than just about any other piece of guitar gear I've ever owned.

However, I felt it was kinda "not there" especially after the 2nd show I played with my new band. *I plugged back into the input of the 5150 at practice and turned it on... Our rhythm guitar player said, "What the HELL is that?"

I said, "5150." *The look on his face told me it was time to put the Pod away. *So, now I've re-re-re-re-done my rig and I'm very happy. *The things I didn't like about the 5150 before (hiss, feedback, no lead boost) have been taken care of by recent purchases or borrowings (Hush IIC, DOD Gate, Boss GE-7...) and I knew it was all right when we played last Saturday and I didn't get that "empty" feeling like I had a knob which needed to be tweaked to 12...

In the end, it came down to what -I- wanted. *I listened to the people here both for and against the Pod. *I made the decision for me, and me alone. *I still believe the Pod sounds better than most of the real tube amps out there. *I dunno what yours sounds like, so I can't make the call for you, but I know it blew the MP2/Triaxis/Simul 2:90 rig on the other side of the room away... *(which is why his TriAxis is on a truck to Mesa/Boogie for an upgrade...) *It does not, however, give me the same sound as the 5150, and I'm one of the people who really like the way that amp sounds.

[pri0531]

Ryan:
I also have a 5150 and I put the Eurotubes in it. *The difference is incredible. *There is a great deal less hiss and the tone is much warmer. *The sine line is very round. *It does not spike out like it did with the Sovteks. *I am going for more of a sustain sound verses a gravelly distortion sound.
Gregory *

[dwswift]

I use the POD Pro as my main Pre-amp. *It's versitility to quality ratio is unmatched in my opinion. *I use it strictly as a pre-amp and have a seperate fx unit. *The only fx I use on the POD is the compressor. I simultaneously run the POD direct to the board and through a tube power amp for onstage monitoring when playing live (one of the benefits of the pro version, you cannot do that with the bean model). *This sound is unbelievable to me, at any price range. *

With all that said, I'll be cliche and say: Do what sounds good to YOU because your technique and playing style will really make the big difference. *Anyone who tells you your tone sucks simply because it's not all tube isn't worth listening to. *IMO you have to have a more open mind than that. *I've owned many tube amps (marshalls, legacy, 5150, ect.) and all tube heads just don't 'do it' for me. *The versitility just isn't there *to me*. *Lots of stuff sounds great nowadays... don't use something just because it's whats been done before! Innovate don't stagnate! :biggrin:

Good luck! *...and check out a POD Pro if you dig the bean pod but still want to feel the amp onstage. *It just might do it for ya.