Line 6 POD HD


create a virtually limitless scope for exciting new sounds. Of particular interest to tone-hounds is that Line6 has clearly kept a close eye on prevailing trends and a handful of the Pod HD’s new amp models reflect the current popularity of so-called ‘boutique’ hand-wired amplifiers. Nestling among the Marshall, Fender, Gibson, Park, Vox and other vintage beauties lurking in the Pod HD’s virtual amp warehouse you’ll also find three new models based on the Divided by 13 JRT 9/15, Bogner Uberschall and Dr. Z Route 66. Another unique factor is the POD HDs XLR microphone input,


notwithstanding, as a live unit guitarists still felt missed that vital ‘feel’ factor. Having seen and used Line6 gear – including various versions of POD on occasion – in my live rig for many years I personally have never found an issue with the ‘realism’ of any of its products. However, I can appreciate that a lot of how a guitarist interprets POD depends a lot on what style of music they play and how the POD is hooked up in their rig. There are some great processors with some excellent tones out there but the POD still stands alone, not merely due to the high quality of its tones


POD HD’s XLR microphone input lets you record guitar and vocals without needing to hook up any extra outboard gear.


which makes the POD HD a very comprehensive – and highly portable – one stop shop for recording guitar and vocals without needing to hook up any extra outboard gear.


Inputs and outputs If that’s not enough to get you salivating then consider what the POD offers when used as a recording interface. Its self-contained design means that the POD HD will handle the important signal processing on guitar and vocal without placing any extra demands on your computer processor, which is welcome even taking into account the more efficient power of modern PCs and Macs. Using the POD to divert the burden of dealing with the effects and amp sounds from your DAW does help to make the process feel smoother. Stereo 1/4-inch balanced jack


outputs send the signal out directly to a pair of studio monitors, USB.20 and S/PDIF 24-bit digital outputs take care of business as far as connecting directly to your computer goes. A standard 1/4-inch headphone out guarantees that you can play without disturbing – or being disturbed by – anyone else and an FBV footswitch output lets the POD interface with an external footswitch and expression pedal for hands-free control, something which often comes in equally as handy in the studio as onstage, funnily enough.


In Use


Line6 claim that the motivation for developing its new HD software was driven by the common complaint that, POD’s studio supremacy


but for its easy editing. Like most complex gadgets, some time spent with the manual will speed up some of the familiarization process but the POD’s highly intuitive user-friendly encourages experimentation, its easy to mix and match different combinations of amps and effects and if you don’t like what you’ve done you can simply undo it or move on to another patch. How close the digital models are to their target amps is sometimes subjective but when dealing with industry standard tones like the crushingly powerful Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, numerous Fender models and the superb Marshall simulations then you instantly feel in familiar and very comfortable territory. Used in isolation (in headphones, for example) there is always a slightly discombobulated sensation which feels a bit like being in a bubble. However, once the POD HD is used in context - in a track - then the feeling that you are playing through something artificial quickly disappears, replaced with a contentment and reassurance that results from having such a superb resource of killer tones on tap. However, hooking up the POD HD to Garageband via an Apple Mac raised a couple of issues that I think it’s important to mention. Firstly, the POD HD sounds


great, with virtually no detectable latency issues and – once we had figured out how to set it up correctly – it is pretty straightforward to connect and get going. However some of Line6 instructions regarding how easy it is to connect the POD HD to a


The new XLR mic input allows POD HD to process vocals as well as guitar.


sort of understandable given that a CD bundle will be rendered obsolete if new drivers become available online).


My point is this: I don’t think that


it would do any harm for Line6 to include a very simple step-by-step guide (call it an ‘Trainee Pilot’s Guide’ if you like) with the POD HD and


finer points of setting up a home computer for recording. There are still plenty of musicians – and potentially loyal customers – who would appreciate a bit of gentle guidance just to help them to get going. Just a thought, but this was my only major gripe regarding my experience with the POD HD. PM


computer and get going straight away were slightly misleading, at least from a beginner’s perspective. These days most experienced users will automatically assume that you download the necessary software drivers but what about recording newbies who need some gentle guidance through the procedure? The POD HD doesn’t come


bundled with a CD containing the necessary drivers and instructions explaining how to interface the POD HD with your computer (which is


maybe some if its other computer- related products too, explaining exactly which line6 software is compatible with the Line6 hardware that you want to use with your computer and – more importantly - demonstrating exactly how to download it and patch it in using the utilities function on your Mac or PC. Line6 is not the only manufacturer guilty of this oversight, there just seems to be a common assumption among manufacturers that everyone is instantly fully conversant with the


SHOULD I BUY ONE?


OK, maybe the needs of beginners could be catered for a little better but considering what a phenomenally complex task it must have been to design the new tones for the POD HD, Line6 has still done a fantastic job. The tones are very good indeed – highly dynamic, detailed and extremely realistic sounding - and with such an enormous resource of new sounds on tap from Line6. com, seemingly almost on a daily basis, the user should never feel like they’ve outgrown it. We particularly like the facility to record guitar and vocals via POD HD, which saves a lot of strain on your computer, plus the new-look ‘Darth Vader’ colour scheme also looks great! Line6 is still very much at the cutting edge of the digital modeling revolution that they started almost 20 years ago and the POD HD proves beyond any doubt that digital modeling can be a credible alternative to a conventional guitar amplifier and effects setup when used in the correct context. For sheer convenience it is difficult to beat and its excellent abilities as a recording unit notwithstanding, gigging guitarists could do a lot worse than have one of these in their equipment bag ready to fall back on in the case of an emergency.


pickup415


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68