Big leaps forward in terms of usability outside the studio and software to customize, though I don't hear an equally large jump in terms of quality. Not a bad thing. I believe even as recently as a few years ago monster player Pete Anderson's main rig is two POD 2.0 beans into a pair of 1x12 cabinets. I think one of the Fender combo amp models in the POD 2.0 is actually a model of one of his amps. Heck, Steve Howe was quoted earlier this week that most of the tones on the upcoming Yes album are from a Line 6 Spider combo. Whatever floats your boat, just shut up and play the damn thing. :)
I've just bought my first gadget for my guitar. I'm a 49 years old very beginner on guitar. I can say that I am sooo happy with my POD 2.0 coz it makes me keep the motivation since it's fun to test different tones. I can't say nothing about giging or playing live concerts, but in terms of affordability to play at home without buying dozens of pedals and amps, the POD 2.0 is perfect. Just one gadget, an earphone, a pick and the guitar - I'm ok with those and having fun.
I've got one of those Red Bean suckers with a footswitch too! It was my first serious piece of gear. I haven't plugged it in for a long time now and I loved what it did! You make everything sing, my friend! Cheers!
I absolutely still love the 2.0, you can put an EQ and drive in front of it and it sounds more analog. the stereo image of the reverb is really beautiful, and what I like most is the simplicity of the knobs with no menu diving. I use it for recording though not live, but if you are not primarily a guitarist and most of your cash is spent on synths and studio, you can get the 2.0 for $50 now and a drive and EQ pedal in front sounds grand.
Major props for this video - I think you did a great job comparing the two. I think it's fashionable to bash the Pod 2 but I don't see why - I think it has a lot of very usable sounds in it still. As of a few years ago I was still using a Floor Pod Plus for gigs and it sounded fine. I got an HX Stomp a year ago, though, and yeah, it's flat out better. But I think part of it is that the cabs have gotten better, and the HX Stomp (and all current Helix based stuff) allows for IR files. I did a video where I put a Floor Pod Plus into the HX Stomp with just the IR file active, and it made the old Plus sound a lot better.
I giggled with the POD 2.0 and a floorboard, worked great back in the day. Loved being able to make changes with my hands with the pod on stand and also having foot control
I don't suppose many people would tolerate using a 1999 PC today, or a mobile phone. The fact that it can still more or less hold its own 22 years later is pretty amazing. And its not like it was super expensive either - *everyone* had one.
Did a function gig last night and the dep bass player was using the bass version of the POD in his rig. I didn't look at how he used it, or what he used it for, but I think it was just in the loop of his amp. So they are still being used, albeit, on a limited basis.
We are blessed/spoilt for choice and the democratisation of great tones at reasonable prices and guarantees the disinterested sound guy just has to turn you up and not worry about them messing with your tone. We've come leaps and bounds with modeling.
@@johnnathancordy He he Indeed! The trick is to buy 'em a pint before and point to the mixing board then pointing upwards ( wurdz iz 2 hard for them ) 😆
I “gigged” all the time in church with the POD but I definitely had the separate foot controller for saving presets. Outside or church I used the Flextone II amp plus the foot controller. Went to the POD HD 500 for awhile (vast improvement) and then on to real mic’d amp with pedals and now mainly just Iridium with pedals. Professional IR’s are an absolute game changer.
My old Boss GT-6 still sounds pretty good, and had a bunch of useful features, but it is talking apart. The sound quality of my HX Stomp is significantly better, but the GT-6 is still quite good. We now have access to a huge array of sounds, options, and emulations in new Modelers. That's great, but it presents a management problem and can be very time consuming to audition and edit the different Effects, IRs, Amps, Cabs, Mics, etc. available inside these units. I don't really need 30 types of Distortion/Overdrive pedals, but I do want access to the different sounds they can make. The same is true with other "Core Effects" like Reverb, Delay, Modulations, EQ, etc. I'd welcome an efficient way of dialing in a type of that "generic" Effect, instead of a specific model of that Effect. I think that would be faster, easier, more fun, unique, creative, rewarding, and far easier to manage. I'm also a big fan of "tone matching" as a strategy as well. Thanks
Very balanced review John If you had available the Floorboard to test with the Pod 2.0 , you would see that you can switch between presets and within presets switch on /off delay drive reverb etc on the fly plus you also have a wah and volume pedal. For sure , gigging guys will go for the current stuff but home enthusiasts should not underestimate how good sounds you can get linking the Pod to your DAW with additional reverb / eq plugins :) Keep up the vids. Excellent content 👍
I would tend to agree. Even one step farther, you can bypass the cabinet model in the POD 2.0 and use an IR loader in your DAW (so you're really only using the amp modeling) and things really open up and the gap narrows even more. As weak as people claim the stock Line6 IRs are comparted to third party, the IRs (if that's even a reasonable thing to call them in the POD2.0) are even more limited. As a guy who is currently using a POD 2.0 and drooling over the Helix family, I have a hard time justifying spending the money when you factor in the sound improvement that plugins bring. The HUGE difference is in usability. It's a big enough pain to fire up the computer, fire up the DAW, make sure all the routing is right, all the plugins are there, etc, that I've lost some of the spark to play. It must be really nice to just fire up the POD Go, HX Stomp, or Floor Helix and rip.
@@brandonmoore7797 We are on the same page methinks :) Personally l think the key is whether you are gigging or a home user. Myself , l have Reaper permanently "on" Ambience and ReaComp engaged - and don't laugh , it all goes through my Arcam Hifi Amp into Bose Speakers via Line 6 UX2 and it sounds more than decent. I do post regularly in defence of POD 2.0 as we are all conscious that so many cannot afford or justify the cost of the new wave of modellers and that for a fraction of the price we can all enjoy decent - if not perfect - sounds from the POD with a basic set up. 20 Years ago , POD 2.0 Floorboard & PA was my rig. No complaints from punters unless l hit a bum note :)
I remember the first time I saw a Pod - was watching a live outdoor performance on TV by Christopher Cross around 1999/2000 - I think it was this show, but not this particular song - there was a close up of the bean you can see behind him here >> th-cam.com/video/2hetvRQTMG8/w-d-xo.html At the time I thought - wow that thing looks really cool.
Big leaps forward in terms of usability outside the studio and software to customize, though I don't hear an equally large jump in terms of quality. Not a bad thing.
I believe even as recently as a few years ago monster player Pete Anderson's main rig is two POD 2.0 beans into a pair of 1x12 cabinets. I think one of the Fender combo amp models in the POD 2.0 is actually a model of one of his amps. Heck, Steve Howe was quoted earlier this week that most of the tones on the upcoming Yes album are from a Line 6 Spider combo. Whatever floats your boat, just shut up and play the damn thing. :)
Yeh! I saw that Steve Howe article!!
I've just bought my first gadget for my guitar. I'm a 49 years old very beginner on guitar. I can say that I am sooo happy with my POD 2.0 coz it makes me keep the motivation since it's fun to test different tones. I can't say nothing about giging or playing live concerts, but in terms of affordability to play at home without buying dozens of pedals and amps, the POD 2.0 is perfect. Just one gadget, an earphone, a pick and the guitar - I'm ok with those and having fun.
I've got one of those Red Bean suckers with a footswitch too! It was my first serious piece of gear. I haven't plugged it in for a long time now and I loved what it did! You make everything sing, my friend! Cheers!
I absolutely still love the 2.0, you can put an EQ and drive in front of it and it sounds more analog. the stereo image of the reverb is really beautiful, and what I like most is the simplicity of the knobs with no menu diving. I use it for recording though not live, but if you are not primarily a guitarist and most of your cash is spent on synths and studio, you can get the 2.0 for $50 now and a drive and EQ pedal in front sounds grand.
Major props for this video - I think you did a great job comparing the two. I think it's fashionable to bash the Pod 2 but I don't see why - I think it has a lot of very usable sounds in it still. As of a few years ago I was still using a Floor Pod Plus for gigs and it sounded fine. I got an HX Stomp a year ago, though, and yeah, it's flat out better. But I think part of it is that the cabs have gotten better, and the HX Stomp (and all current Helix based stuff) allows for IR files. I did a video where I put a Floor Pod Plus into the HX Stomp with just the IR file active, and it made the old Plus sound a lot better.
I second this. I run my POD 2.0 into Ableton, then use an IR loader and it's pretty impressive how well the amp modelling holds up.
Beautiful progressions - I think your expressiveness is fantastic. I appreciate all that you share as a musician and as a person.
I giggled with the POD 2.0 and a floorboard, worked great back in the day. Loved being able to make changes with my hands with the pod on stand and also having foot control
I don't suppose many people would tolerate using a 1999 PC today, or a mobile phone. The fact that it can still more or less hold its own 22 years later is pretty amazing. And its not like it was super expensive either - *everyone* had one.
Ahead of its time.
Did a function gig last night and the dep bass player was using the bass version of the POD in his rig. I didn't look at how he used it, or what he used it for, but I think it was just in the loop of his amp. So they are still being used, albeit, on a limited basis.
We are blessed/spoilt for choice and the democratisation of great tones at reasonable prices and guarantees the disinterested sound guy just has to turn you up and not worry about them messing with your tone. We've come leaps and bounds with modeling.
Ah man I'm waiting to meet that sound guy...
@@johnnathancordy He he Indeed! The trick is to buy 'em a pint before and point to the mixing board then pointing upwards ( wurdz iz 2 hard for them ) 😆
I “gigged” all the time in church with the POD but I definitely had the separate foot controller for saving presets. Outside or church I used the Flextone II amp plus the foot controller. Went to the POD HD 500 for awhile (vast improvement) and then on to real mic’d amp with pedals and now mainly just Iridium with pedals. Professional IR’s are an absolute game changer.
My old Boss GT-6 still sounds pretty good, and had a bunch of useful features, but it is talking apart. The sound quality of my HX Stomp is significantly better, but the GT-6 is still quite good.
We now have access to a huge array of sounds, options, and emulations in new Modelers. That's great, but it presents a management problem and can be very time consuming to audition and edit the different Effects, IRs, Amps, Cabs, Mics, etc. available inside these units.
I don't really need 30 types of Distortion/Overdrive pedals, but I do want access to the different sounds they can make. The same is true with other "Core Effects" like Reverb, Delay, Modulations, EQ, etc. I'd welcome an efficient way of dialing in a type of that "generic" Effect, instead of a specific model of that Effect. I think that would be faster, easier, more fun, unique, creative, rewarding, and far easier to manage. I'm also a big fan of "tone matching" as a strategy as well. Thanks
Another thing is their use. Sure the pod can be used live, but I believe at the time, they must have been envisioning the future of the home studio
Very balanced review John
If you had available the Floorboard to test with the Pod 2.0 , you would see that you can switch between presets and within presets switch on /off delay drive reverb etc on the fly plus you also have a wah and volume pedal. For sure , gigging guys will go for the current stuff but home enthusiasts should not underestimate how good sounds you can get linking the Pod to your DAW with additional reverb / eq plugins :)
Keep up the vids. Excellent content 👍
I would tend to agree. Even one step farther, you can bypass the cabinet model in the POD 2.0 and use an IR loader in your DAW (so you're really only using the amp modeling) and things really open up and the gap narrows even more. As weak as people claim the stock Line6 IRs are comparted to third party, the IRs (if that's even a reasonable thing to call them in the POD2.0) are even more limited. As a guy who is currently using a POD 2.0 and drooling over the Helix family, I have a hard time justifying spending the money when you factor in the sound improvement that plugins bring. The HUGE difference is in usability. It's a big enough pain to fire up the computer, fire up the DAW, make sure all the routing is right, all the plugins are there, etc, that I've lost some of the spark to play. It must be really nice to just fire up the POD Go, HX Stomp, or Floor Helix and rip.
@@brandonmoore7797 We are on the same page methinks :)
Personally l think the key is whether you are gigging or a home user.
Myself , l have Reaper permanently "on" Ambience and ReaComp engaged - and don't laugh , it all goes through my Arcam Hifi Amp into Bose Speakers via Line 6 UX2 and it sounds more than decent.
I do post regularly in defence of POD 2.0 as we are all conscious that so many cannot afford or justify the cost of the new wave of modellers and that for a fraction of the price we can all enjoy decent - if not perfect - sounds from the POD with a basic set up.
20 Years ago , POD 2.0 Floorboard & PA was my rig. No complaints from punters unless l hit a bum note :)
Great color! Is that a new-ish acquisition? Best Regards man!
For me, what's been greatly improved over the years is the "feel" which is something that's not going to translate in a video. Beautiful playing, btw
I remember the first time I saw a Pod - was watching a live outdoor performance on TV by Christopher Cross around 1999/2000 - I think it was this show, but not this particular song - there was a close up of the bean you can see behind him here >>
th-cam.com/video/2hetvRQTMG8/w-d-xo.html
At the time I thought - wow that thing looks really cool.