Digitech Genesis - POD killer?

Scoff X · #1 09-27-2001, 01:41 AM

Just read up on it... some say it is equal to the sound of a pod.. and guitar center sells them for $99. Anyone know more?

May want to get one. PODs are too expensive for my taste.

Scoff X · #2 09-27-2001, 05:35 PM

Also...anyone know about the Johnson J-station?

I will be runnign this through an amp.....for practice and live.

Any info is greatly needed

bduersch · #3 09-27-2001, 06:24 PM

I know there are a couple different Genesis models. I believe the base Genesis is the one you're talking about for $99. There's also a Genesis 3, which offers some pretty advanced amp morphing and effects, but I believe it costs $300-400. I started a thread several weeks ago to see if anybody had played a Genesis 3 and got no responses (which I assume to mean that nobody has played one, since people around here are generally more than willing to share their opinions on gear). *

I'm considering picking up a J-Station for recording, since they're available for $150 at many places. I know they don't have as many models or effects as the Genesis 3 (don't know how they compare to the base Genesis, though). People seem to be 50/50 on whether the POD or J-Station is better. I'm going with the J-Station mostly because of the digital outs (which are only available on the POD pro) and the cheaper price. Plus, I'm a certified Johnson fanatic... my main amp is a Johnson Millennium JM150 and my backup amp is a Johnson JM120. At the end of the day, I don't really know or care how much the models sound like the real thing, but with a little tweaking, the tones are pretty good. What can I say... I love my Johnson! *:love: *Some people think the tone is sterile, but when I run it through my tube recording preamps it warms the tone up quite a bit.

If you do try to use the J-Station in front of an amp, you probably will want to budget for a foot controller if you plan on doing any fancy FX work or using lots of patches. Same goes for the POD, I guess.

There are lots of reviews of the POD and J-Station on Harmony Central... a lot of people there don't know what they're talking about, but occasionally someone will have a nugget of wisdom. There may even be a few comments on the Genesis processors by now.

Hope this helps! Whatever you get, be sure to return to the forum and share your experiences with the rest of us! I'll probably pick up that J-Station in the next few weeks and I'll return to post a few comments then.

--Brent

Shane Regal · #4 10-02-2001, 01:06 AM

Hey guys,
Check this out: *http://www.dthraco.com/competition.htm
This may help. *I've played the Genesis 3 and wasn't impressed with the models either. *The POD still Rules IMHO. *However, it did have nice fx.

toshiro · #5 10-02-2001, 01:45 AM

The Genesis1 is like a stripped down J-Station.. It's got most of the same models (substituting the 3 'Johnson' models for 3 'Genetix' ones), and sounds about the same, give or take.. What you sacrifice is the ability to save presets, and it has very little control over the effects..

IMO you're better off with spending the extra $50 for a J-Station..

To the POD killer thing: Each of these units (Genesis1-3, POD, J-Station) has a slightly different sound(not much in the Genesis/J-Station comparison), so it's best to go to a store and check them out. To my ears, the J-Station has better clean tones, and a much better Recto model, than the POD, but that's me.. I also prefer the cabinet modeling on Johnson/Digitech's stuff, more choices, and they just sound more like the cabinets they're supposed to..

The other thing to take into account is the editing software. The J-station's software only runs right on Win98, that's it.. The POD has both PC/Mac support, and the software for each of these units make them much easier to use..

Then there's upgrading, Line 6 wanted something like $50 to take a POD up to 2.0, Johnson offered the 2.0 upgrade for the J-Station as a free download.. I don't use much of their upgrade(J-Station), except the VHT 4-12 cabinet, but I have to give them kuddos for adding 6 models and 7 cabinets for nothing. (though I wish they had added a Soldano model, or a VHT head to go with the cab.

)

In the end, it's all up to your own ears.. Go out and try them all, and see what works for you..

Doink · #6 10-02-2001, 04:22 PM

It makes perfect sense that the J-Station and Genesis sound similar. Both Johnson and Digitech are owned by the same company, Harmon. They probly have the same people working on both of them.
Harmon also owns DOD, JBL, dbx, and a few other companys.