pod xt vs tube amp - live?

[Fragle]

i'm thinking about selling my pod 2.0 as well as my marshall jcm800 (i never use the damn thing anyways....hell, i hardly use my "main" amps, 5150 and cobra) in favour of a pod xt pro + tube poweramp rack system for @ home and maybe even small gigs - you know, the kinda stuff where bringing the expensive stuff like framus cobra just isn't worth the effort.

as for the xt itself, i know that JF dagenais of kataklysm used it through the fx return of a marshall tsl head on the no mercy tour, and as i've said countless times, his sound was the best one of that night, hands down. he even kicked rob barrett's and pat o'brien's rectifier+mt2 setup all over the place, which is REALLY difficult as their rigs sound STELLAR.
but then again, JF is the only guitar player in that band, and i wonder if the xt + tube poweramp combo could cut through a properly dialed in marshall tsl100 head? my 5150 and the cobra surely can do the job.

in a nutshell, tell me whether i'm on the right track or if i'll just waste money.
btw, the marshall and pod should get me around 700-800 euro, and a 5 HE rack consisting of an used xt pro plus e.g. a peavey classic poweramp should be about the same.

[markD]

i wouldn't do it. i am not a tube snob, but, to me, the "feel" is lacking when you crank up a modeller. i want to embrace it. i like the flexability, but nothing, NOTHING, beats my tone when i crank up my rivera's through the EVM loaded cabinets.

others have had better experience with the modellers. i'll let them tell you the other side of it.

[Fragle]

yeah, sure, the pod xt will not have the *feel* of any of my tube amps. the 5150 is OK for lead playing, the cobra is actually pretty good, but the marshall with a boost is the best sounding lead amp i've ever had, no doubt about that.
but then again, those amps have to be CRANKED to get that sweet tube tone we love. i'm basically talking about recording and low volume bedroom practice here, with the possibility of using it for small (read: shitty) gigs. that's where the marshall vs. xt question kicks in

[markD]

OH!! yeah, that changes everything. i use POD's at home all the time. i think they are good for that.

[ZeroKelvin]

ah...

i think, the pod might be ok when you combine it with a regular tube amp, which can provide some power to the sound. since i was looking for new rack components i also tried out a couple of foot controllers/effects... the result was very disappointing (when you use them without i.e. a marshall or mesa tower). i tried the pod-things, zoom, digitechs, engl preamps... but all of them sounded like crap over p.a. or d.i. boxes on stage. today i bought a rocktron prophesy which provide me all the power and sounds (and hell distortions!) that i was looking for...

i think there are only few components that you can use without a regular tube amp. most of these rack components simply sound crappy and shitty without some real tube power. and even those which have tubes inside sound poor... if you have the possibility to try them with your equipment: do it! i bought some real bad stuff, just because it sounded great in the store, played through an marshall amp...

[fr0sty]

I never had any luck getting an amplified tone I like from any of my line 6 gear. I have tried it through tube power amps, atomic reactor and a mackie srm450. Tubes are easier for me.

I still love my line 6 gear for practice and direct recording.

[VanOsbourne]

Should'nt be long until JG is here with a Vetta post.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

don't get rid of the framus cobra!

[Shawn Lutz]

if it works for you that all that matters. Having said that, no way in hell I'd abandon my tube amps. I like modellers and I'm not a tube snob either but noting beats the real deal in my opinion.

[Fragle]

i'd rather get rid of my marshall, as i already said.

i definitely need something for low to medium volume playing at home, whether it's a line 6 head or a small modeler based rack system. right now, the pod 2.0 direct into my PC gets the most playing time of all my amps. during the past 6 months i only used the marshall once - as a poweramp for my pod 2.0 right now the 5150 is my main gigging amp, the cobra is reserved for decent sized gigs (mostly due to the fact that it sounds like shit when used with a shitty cab ) and that's it basically....

[sevser]

I have been gigging and jamming with my POD xt live into the FX Return of my XXX (As a power amp) for the passed few months and it sounds great.

I love the tube feel of my XXX by itself, but I tell ya running it through a tube power amp makes all the differance. My partner has a modeling amp through SS power and it is very harsh to my ears, drummers ears and bassists ears when turned to jamming level. Even running my V-Amp 2 through the XXX sounded good...The XTL sounds GREAT though.

I'm the first person in my neck of the woods to say SS amps suck at loud volume and I get flack for it so I just shut up now but running a modeling pre into valve power IS different...For the better. The attack and feel is all there to my hands and ears and how they respond to each other.

Then you take it home and run it through you CPU to practice and record. Fukkin handy tool.

YOU NEED TO TWEAK! I alsmost sent er back after two weeks.

[Fragle]

i think i'm gonna bring my pod 2.0 to the next band rehearsal, see how it performs at high volume. today i played it some more through the fx loop of my marshall, and it sounds pretty damn good. my faves are the modern higain, treadplate rectifier model, and the insane (mainly for leads)...so far.

[sevser]

Insane has been my main sound...I also found that live it's better if you don't use the comp or the post eq...At least with my rig. I had it all set up and sounding great with all the bells and whistles going, but when it came time to jam it was a different story. I just found it wasn't needed.

Last show we played they were a mic short, so I was the only one un miced and I cut right through just fine. I always get comps on my tone.