POD XT or 2.0?

[zyx345]

I tried out the Line 6 POD XT today using headphones in a music store. I got some great sounds out of it.

Can anyone offer opinions on how the XT compares to the 2.0?

Also is there anything comparable to the XT in a lower price range?

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

I haven't tried them but the Johnson J-Station & Behringer V-Amp are cheaper and similar. Behringer offers a rack version of the V-Amp that's regularly sold new for $170 BIN on the 'bay. Tough to go wrong with a price like that.

I had a POD XT for a while and really liked it (enough that I have a Vetta on the way). I only have two complaints about the XT: 1) there aren't enough choices for distortion/overdrive stompboxes and 2) there aren't enough high gain models. What's there is very good but I'd like to have seen just a bit more in each of those categories. Of course whether or not that's a drawback depends on the style of music you play.

[ February 21, 2004, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: YetAnotherOne ]

[Twisteramps]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

Similar isn't better imho... try them all out, and see what you prefer. Another good sounding modelling preamp is the yamaha DG stomp.

On the 2.0 vs XT - I owned em both at the same time, kept the XT (until I bought a vetta).

Pete

[quiksilver]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

The Behringer V-Amp Pro has many great high gain sounds, and for $199 new, you can't go wrong. If you end up getting a Pod XT, consider the V-Amp your backup.

[terrax]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

if you are wanting crunchy tight high gain tones... 2.0.. if you are into more of the clean bluesy type amps.. the xt. I could not get the same tight chunky sound out of the xt as i could the 2.0.

I eventually sold them all and got a vetta.. might pick up a 2.0 sometime for trips.

dave

[Bringer of Chaos]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

I love my XT for recording. It also sounds great through headphones. I play death/black metal and it has a lot of decent options for crunch when you tweak some of the stock setting. I can also get a good warm mid-range lead tone with the soldano setting. The only issue I have with it is that it doesn’t sound very good as a preamp for my Mesa MKII, Marshall 4x12 combo. If I could get my recording sound or the headphone sound out of it with an amp I would be all set.

[pro-fusion]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

To me, the XT is definitely the best of the modelers. You have to do some strange tweaks to get really good hi-gain sounds (putting the 'tube screamer' module in front of the amp module, basically), but the sounds are there.

My main complaint about the XT is that they didn't include pre or post parametric EQs, which really would have helped for creating aggressive metal sounds, as the low-end on many of the hi-gain models is a bit squishy--as it is on many real-world hi-gain tube amps. That's why you need the EQ!

The POD 2.0 has tighter hi-gain models, but the sound overall is much thinner and less pleasing to my ears--sounds much more 'two dimentional' than the XT, even on the hi-gain models. And the 2.0 clean sounds aren't even in the same ballpark as those on the XT. Disclaimer here--while I've played through a 2.0 many times, I've never actually owned one. Perhaps longtime 2.0 owners have a different view.

I also owned a V-Amp2, and while I thought it was brighter and more pleasing than the POD 2.0, I don't think it comes close in sound quality to the XT--but of course, it IS a lot cheaper, if that's an important consideration.

[pro-fusion]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

Another thought--has anyone here tried that new Vox modeler? Supposedly it is pretty cool (more realistic than the XT), but lacks low-end response.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

i own and use the 2.0 to record with and am a very happy pod user. it is more simple to tweek than the xt, and cheaper. i love the fact that it has TRS/phono output jacks. the sound quality is so much better when you can have a balanced signal going into the board. with a regular patch cable/guitar cord i could only turn the output up half way and the sound was a bit noisy, but with a balanced cable, i can crank it all the way and its all tone no noise. i just demo'd a freinds band ( www.twistedtowerdire.com )this way and i didn't have to use any post eq at all on the guitars. it came out great!

~JW

[Fragle]

Re: POD XT or 2.0?

hi

well, two days ago i A/B'd those two, and these are my impressions:

the 2.0 shines on the rectifier and modern highgain models. the fx are nice, too, but not in the same league as lexicon, of course. the marshalls are more or less crap, the fenders almost unusuable, the jc120 was alright (no more no less). the overall sound charakter was kinda muddy and not as defined as i want it to be. the recti and modern highgain are the best models of this one (as stated above)..can get somewhat muddy, but it's possible to eq that out (unlike the marshalls)

the xt has the better interface imo. its a bit complicated because the unit is VERY deep - surely the right unit for all you tweakheads out there - but once you know how it works it just flows better than the 2.0 - to me, at least [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
the fx are better than the 2.0, they are VERY usable. the 2.0 is alright for very fx loaded sounds but doesn't do the slight fx thing very well. the xt can do it both at better quality.
i agree, the xt is somewhat lacking on the high gain amps, but because of the immense tweakability you can use some of the marshalls as highgain amps - i managed to make a plexi sound like a metal machine! (don't know how, i just turned knobs and all of a sudden i had a very nice metal lead sound). the rectifier isnt as bad as everyone says. i agree, the rectifier patch is shit - line6, what were you thinking?! - but once you start turning knobs you get pretty nice rythm sounds out of it (without adding a stomp box what most of the xt users seem to do). actually i liked the xt's rectifier better than the 2.0, because it had more of a "amp in the same room" feel than the 2.0 . the spinal puppet is nice for 80's metal imo, the jc120 is metallica-sanitarium at its best (never heard a closer sim to that sound!), the fenders are usable and sound good "at the edge", too, which means that you can push the fender models hard and get a nice slightly breaking up sound that doesn't sound digitally like the 2.0 .

do i sound biased? yes, i do. just because i like the xt way better than the 2.0 . the xt is more "in the face" than the 2.0 which seems to be like an amp standing in the next room.

don't get me wrong, i REALLY wanted to like the 2.0 better - just because that would save money [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] but the xt is a huge improvement to my ears, so if decided to get a pod it would be the xt.

maybe my impressions don't do justice to those two units because i played them for about 1 1/2 h each, but as stated above, the xt seems to be the deeper unit, and if i am able to get the xt sound that good without tweaking that much it should really be the better sounding unit


just my .02$ [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

greets
fragle

ps: exuse me for writing whole books [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]