Line 6 POD - Awesome? Or 20 Year Old Pile Of Crap?

During the early 2000s, The Line 6 POD was my recording guitar gear or choice. Not only did this little kidney shape amp sound great at the time it was used on hundreds if not thousands of top records. In this video, I see if this unit still holds up or if it's just nostalgia. The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.

[Dreyno]

I saw gig one night 20 years ago where a guy was trying out a Gary Moore tribute act. He was a well known musician and producer here in Ireland (Paul Gurney). It sounded absolutely epic. After the gig I wandered up to ask him how he got the tone. He pointed at a pod. A Les Paul into the pod into a big old Peavey. And that was it. I couldn’t believe it. In the end he didn’t tour the act but that night was fantastic.

[skirwan]

there's nothing that makes me happier than when someone shows how to get use out of old gear instead of always promoting people go buy the newest gadgets. Great video, thanks for doing this and would love to see more tips on getting use out of gear we already own or have laying around or that we can find cheap on ebay to keep them out of landfills!

PS. I had the dual 12" cabinet that pretty much had this build into it circa 2000 forget the amp name, from that I moved onto the large XT or pro pedal board forget what the model was on it but I loved it and it was great and SO versatile and saved me from having a cluttered pedal board and a heavy amp to move around. (it was the Flextone XL and the PODXT Live)

[Levelity]

I sold my TSL Marshall and got a pod for when I moved to Hawaii. I lived in a tent and all I had was headphones, my strat and my pod. I had so many good times and made a lot of progress.

[nicgray]

I still have mine, manly through nostalgia, as I used it on recording sessions about 20 years ago. The artist I was doing the sessions for at the time could not believe how easy it was to get a great sound recorded without the hassle of cabs. It appeared on 5 albums all in all.

[Stashmanfpv]

I still have my original POD 2.0 and because of this video I took it out and I was shocked that it still sounds pretty darn good!
I still have all my tube amps (too many to list…) along with my FractalAXE FXIII, AX8, and Line 6 Helix (flagship) and my HD500, and they all have their place, but being able to mix and match models is simply fantastic! 🔥

Thanks for the trip down memory lane…
Best! ✌🏼

[sergioghiotto]

20 years ago I recorded all the guitar parts with the same POD for a cd and it came out great. 😊

[styrenebuilds]

They were designed for line direct recording . Also were great for people who lived in an apartment .

[scottpeters]

In a mix you probably can’t tell a difference between the Bean and a Kemper…..but sitting in the room with it, I dug out my old Pod Rack unit, and compared it side by side with my AxeFXIII…..There was a big difference, and you can appreciate how far modeling has come..

[AndrewAHayes]

This video inspired me to dust off my Pod and plug into it again, it still sounds as great as the day I bought it and so quick switching between models, there is a lot to be said for printed display and leds

[chusssMusic]

It is a great unit, I have used Line 6 KB37 with pod farm for more than 10 years. Worked like magic for me as bedroom guitar producer.

[benharris]

I had the opportunity of checking out the XT Pro rackmount and was impressed with how well the sounds hold up. Saw waves of people selling off these kidney bean shaped PODs in the late noughties/early 2010s, but tbh there isn't many amp modellers out there even now that sound much better and usually for hundreds of pounds more.

[DaveWestGuitar]

Was pleasantly surprised when these first came out. I still much prefer a tube Marshall. The price difference is astronomical, so it may be perfect for someone on a very tight budget. The point of how it’s sounds sit in a mix is important. Sometimes the sounds you need in a mix occupy a fairly narrow frequency band. I did not want to like this device to be honest, having spent a fortune on a JCM800 full stack in 1986. For 50$ on the used market, you really can’t go wrong here. Don’t expect it to compare to a Kemper, Fractal, or Neural Quad Cortex, though. The technology now is very realistic; like Pepsi challenge realistic. Then again, The punch and air movement of a 100 watt Marshall through a 1960 cab interacts with your playing in a unique way. I could always tell Coke classic from Pepsi blindfolded anyway. Besides, a lot of people prefer Pepsi.

[johnherdt]

I still have the POD that I bought when they were first released. They were made in the USA then. I like that the amp knob feels like it has mechanical contacts, like military spec. I've had the continuous knobs wear out on later PODS I went through. That first one is the only one that I've held on to and I rotate it into sessions occasionally.

[milesskoog]

Sounds killer. Still use my XT often. I think it's challenging for any tech to leap forward when they're constantly emulating vintage gear. Law of diminishing returns. Tons of players still have those old line 6 four button delays or mod pedals on their board.

[diaryofamedman]

The best clean sound in my opinion is holding the tap Button and selecting (i think ) Brit High Gain - it's a Dumble style model! Sounds really nice
Holding the tap button allows the selection of a second group of amps , try it out and keep up the great work!

[DazzleRebel]

I've still got mine and still use it in the studio sometimes.

[brunolevasseur]

Owning the 2.0 version, I see that the first version sounds good!
I've been using POD 2.0 for 20 years, recordings and on stage, rehearsals and so on, never deceived.
Some sounds not very interesting, like " Fuzz box", but all "Brit" sounds were my preferences for crunches or leads, "Black panel" or "Pod clean" for clean sounds.
Have recently changed for Nux Cerberus which is pretty awesome.

[MildredStain]

I still use mine from time to time. Glad to see someone else still find it useful and holding tonal quality. I have the Bass version too.

[mikormichele]

A great classic, I have done a bunch of records with this. And it has been very usefull to understand which were my favourite amps ( I bought my Ac30 because of the pod)

[GySgt_USMC_Ret.]

I've been using my Line6 Pod Pro rack mount for almost 20 years. Still sounds great and is more than enough for my humble talent. Paired with a QSC Amp, a Hughes&Kettner 4x12 slant cab w/metal grill, and a 1990 Gibson LP Standard Heritage Cherry Burst.

Fair winds and following seas to all.