Line6 Pod pro vs. Line6 Pod XT Pro

[shredmaster]

wondering who has experience with both. i love my pod pro, which i got when it first came out. never tried the in-depth software editing via pc midi cable. for those of you who know....would it be worth it to sell it and upgrade to the pod xt? also thought of just getting the line6 150W head. that way there is no rack stuff to lug around and i can just plug in and play. might be cool. but then i lose the use of my mesa 50/50 tube power amp with my pod pro when i'm using just the head. i kind of miss just having a head and 4X12. just wondering on opinions.

[JiMoSiTY]

I've had both, still use my XT Pro...
To be honest with you; I felt the Pod Pro was a joke compared to the XT Pro.
They shouldn't even bear the same name since the XT Pro is so much better.

I also own the Vetta head and I still prefer my XT Pro over the Vetta.

[shredmaster]

thanks for the info. i thought of selling the pod pro to get the XT. i will try the XT first. i also have the pod pro pedal board which is also mint, which won't work on the XT...that is holding me back as well.
steve

[JiMoSiTY]

I'd say a good comparison of the two would be to compare a GIO series Ibanez to a Jem.
It's that big of a difference.

[mfergel]

You guys seriously underestimate the pod pro. The increased bit rate over the POD bean makes a big difference. Is it as powerful as the XT PRO? NO.

The Pod Pro can be brought to life buy doing one of two things (both if you wish). An external EQ (15 band or better) and a BBE Sonic Maximizer. Run the Pod Pro through a tube power amp and it roars to life. The best thing about the POD Pro is it doesn't suffer from the horrible fizz of the Pod XT series.

[JiMoSiTY]

If I hadn't owned both units; I wouldn't disregard the Pod Pro so quickly.

Tell ya this though; I wouldn't trade my used Behringer V-Amp Pro for a brand new Pod Pro....and my Pod Pro was $650 when I got it, compared to the $150 for the V-Amp Pro.

The XT Pro does have more settings and tones available than the Pod Pro; thus giving you more tools to use if you should desire --- meaning if you're unsure of how to set up your tone, it's easy to get a bad tone.

Like most modeling units; if you don't know what you're doing, you can have a crap tone easily...

I remember one problem I always had with my Pod Pro is that the clean channels never seemed to have enough volume available...
I used to have to crank the hell out of my clean tones, then crank the preamp as well -- then back my distortion patches way down...

I know that's a standard thing, but with the Pod Pro; there was very little ass behind any of the clean tones, so it made it a pain to deal with.

[shredmaster]

interesting. i actually do run my pod pro through a BBE and then to my mesa 50/50 (tube) power amp. it screams! killer tone! it is quite insane. but if i could get more insane with an XT, i would gladly welcome that.

If there are just more tones available in the XT or more options, i don't think i would be too interested. i'm just looking at quality of tone. if it is better i would take it. i only use maybe 3 tones anyway....pretty much just the insane setting and a clean channel. i HATE how the presets are only numbers. would love to see a name to a tone.
Steve

[mfergel]

You can get more insane with the XT Pro.......but.......not without the fizz.

I've got the V-AMP Pro as well. Yes, I think the V-AMP Pro is better than the POD Pro......in some ways. I think for live use the POD Pro is better. It has a less compressed sound too it. The V-AMP Pro is better at direct recording. I think the reason is that the V-AMP Pro has a very finished/mastered sound to it. It sounds like a tone that has been pulled off a cd/record, which is great....if you are recording. It lacks dynamics for live use.

[mfergel]

Oh, in case anyone is interested, I've owned a lot of modelers. So far, and after going around in circles, the most realistic (and what I'm using now) is the Tonelab (SE). It does the best job of sounding like a real tube preamp.

[Silverburst]

Do you guys use the Pod Xt pro 19" live ? Sometimes its profiled as merely a recording tool. At a certain point I was interested in a Vetta, but didn't really trust the quality of the power amp, and in the combo version the speakers.

Now I have a mesa 50/50, a 4x12 Vintage 30 cab (BBE 462 and Replifex as well), But I 'm regulary impressed by what my guitar toneport trows out, so it would be great to have these kind of tones at hand in a live situation if the overal sound quality is up to it.

[Polaris20]

Originally Posted by mfergel

You can get more insane with the XT Pro.......but.......not without the fizz.

I've got the V-AMP Pro as well. Yes, I think the V-AMP Pro is better than the POD Pro......in some ways. I think for live use the POD Pro is better. It has a less compressed sound too it. The V-AMP Pro is better at direct recording. I think the reason is that the V-AMP Pro has a very finished/mastered sound to it. It sounds like a tone that has been pulled off a cd/record, which is great....if you are recording. It lacks dynamics for live use.

Have you upgraded the firmware on the XT? I've got the latest version....no fizz to speak of, and it's definitely a better sounding modeler than the POD Pro or bean.

[shredmaster]

what i wound up doing is getting the pod xt...the bean unit. haven't experimented with it yet. i love my original pod pro and i have the pedalboard for it already. couldn't see dropping $1100 or so more. the pedalboard for the pro won't work for the xt pro. so i got the pod xt since the tones are the same. it's much cheaper and portable. for live stuff i will use my original pod pro. if i really need the tones in the new pod i will drop the cash on the XT Pro for my rack case.