I've been looking for a multi-effect pedal for a while and this seems to be at the top of my list, but is it good or cheesy?
I played a Line 6 Spider a while back and found it to be utterly terrible, i need a flanger, chorus, and maybe tremolo so this would be better than buying the individual pedals and having to carry them around...anybody have one?
Some like them. I thought it sounded pretty one-dimensional.
Proteus said: I thought it sounded pretty one-dimensional.+1
After demoing a POD XT in the store, I was pretty happy with it, but once I got it home, it got harder and harder to get the sounds I wanted out of it. Things sounded pretty good on the default settings of the presets, but once you start to vary from those presets, the quality seemed to go down pretty quick.
Some folks love their Line 6 gear, but to me it all just seems like you need to use it straight out of the box without expecting to change anything to get a good sound.
+1.... the line 6 stuff is good at what it does but for live sound its a bit digital... one dimensional is a good way to describe the tone.
I have a podxt and tone port. I think line 6 stuff is great for recording ideas direct to pc and playing at home with headphones. I prefer the tone I get from effects pedals through my amps.
I also have a PodXT, which i sometimes use in jamming situations as a multi-effects unit by turning off the cab model and setting the box to "No Amp." it works pretty well, but the effect simulations are noticeably less variable and rich in a live situation than the original stompboxes...it's like a digital photo of the actual effect. conversely, it sounds rather better with an amp model run into the computer than a mic'ed amplifier does.
my particular peeve about the PodXT (other than the octave divider, which is horrible) is the flanger settings, which are a little cardboardy. i spent weeks tweaking with the flanger settings to find the effect i was looking for. the chorus is better, and the amplifier tremolos are pretty convincing. so i don't know if the pedal is going to give you what you want.
one other thing to consider...i have been a big supporter of multieffects units, but several efx gurus (e.g. Roger Mayer) said in the most recent Guitar Player that they don't like multi-efx because if the unit dies, your whole effects chain dies, while one dead pedal can be pulled out of the circuit without wrecking the whole setup. i think they have a point. mostly i'm using the Pod outside of the house because it's easier to schlep and set up, and because i really can't afford to go out and buy two fuzzes, a chorus, a flanger, a MuTron, a Univibe, an Echoplex, a Space Echo, a digital delay, a multi-reverb unit, and a wah.
and i sure wouldn't want to have all that stuff in a signal chain...you'd be picking up radio stations from Uzbekistan.
I have three Line 6 modelers: DL4 Delay, DM4 Distortion and MM4 Modulation, and I love them! The modeled sounds may not be perfect, but it sure beats carrying around a whole bunch of noisy vintage pedals! The convenience factor cannot be understated.
I play my Gretsches, Fenders and Rickenbackers through the pedals into my Vox AC30 or '64 Fender Super Reverb and they sound great to me. The key is using them with vintage tube gear. The Pods and amp modelers sound very thin and lifeless to me, but with a real amp, the pedals sound fine.
The distortion and modulation modelers probably don't sound as "rich" as the real thing - almost like the difference between a real analog synth and a digital sampler, but in a live situation, they definitely work for me. My only worry is that one day the digital components will break down and they'll start freaking out on me!
