pod or other / amp

[pan60]

and for the record i swore i would never record digitally :( but things change and here i am no tape.

[doorknocker]

I think that a POD can sound pretty good, actually it can sound better than an average amp that's not recorded well. But a good amp in the right hands/room/studio is WAY better sounding. It's never easy and just like drums, minor adjustements can make a huge difference on the final tracks.

But what really bothers me about the POD is what I call the 'Heineken' syndrom. Heineken is not a bad beer, I prefer it over many other brands (say US Budweiser/Coors/Fosters/etc) but it's too mainstream, without character and ultimately a compromise to reach a global market by adressing a so-called and ultimately non-existant 'average taste'.

I often record guitars direct (especially for clean sounds/Danelectros/12-strings/etc) and I also use a Sans Amp PSA-1 sometimes (though mostly for bass). Often it's a good alternative to an amp, especially when stacking tracks in an arrangement. But the key word is 'alternative' , it's a way to get a different sound than what you get with an amp and NOT a simulation of it and to me that's the catch. With a POD you get 762 sounds that are mediocre to o.k sounding at best and I prefer a few amps that sound KILLER instead.

I got a great 1971 Marshall Super Lead half-stack and a Fender Custom Vibrolux. The only thing that's missing for me is a VOX and the new hand-wired AC15 looks very intereting so I might get that soon. Between those amps and all the direct options, stompboxes, different preamps, etc I can pretty much cover all the tones I need.

[malaclypse]

as a podXT owner, and tube amp collector, i never record with the pod(except to demo stuff really quick). way too muddy. however, it's damn fun to practice on and tweak, when late night volume is an issue. so i do think it can be a useful tool(tuner)! it can also help you get a rough idea of what a particular setup might sound like.
in short, i like my POD, but i'll always use a real tube amp to record with. real amps sound infinitely better, and feel infinitely better(you can feel each note as it leaves your fingers!)

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by pan60

in another thread started by rcm the subject of mixing distorted guitar amp sound is being discussed.

Bob Clearmountain talks about the Pod!


the thread has slightly varied but mainly strayed on course.
it was mentioned at one point,



well i have a fair number of vintage amps and i disagree.

the pod dose not have the same sound but instead a sound that sounds like a simulation to me, this is in no way not to say that it is not a very valuable tool.
the pod, ( as well as a few other digital tools i have tried ) lack the feel of a real amp.
so at the flip of a switch i do not get a amp that sounds like a this that or the other.
i hear something that is trying to sound like something, ( and i am just not sure what ) so i will say '' the feel is gone ''!
this is in no way meant to be a slam on a valuable tool, ( the pod ) so lets please not turn it into that
i just think anyone not using a goes tube amp is truly missing a lot.
their is no substitute for the feel of a great tube amp in your hands!

So are you saying you disagree with jp11's post? Because it sounds you you're agreeing with him. Did you miss the last couple of lines?

[travisbrown]

This is all sort of ********. One shouldn't use gear or not use gear based on what the popular consensus is.

Critique people on their final production, not from afar on their gear or methods of work. There are some really good engineers and producers putting out excellent stuff that use terribly unorthodox tools and methods.

Clearmountain doesn't like working the POD. Got it. I'm pretty sure he's been around long enough that he's going to critique his peers' work on the final product. He might say of someone elses mix, "the problem with that track is the guitars sound like they were tracked through a POD", but he's only going to say it if it's a problem.

Try it. If you can make it work, there is nothing wrong with using it. If it doesn't fit your need, or you don't like using it for whatever reason, don't use it. Don't matter what Bob Clearmountain, or anyone, says.

Apparently it only matters what I say.

Isn't the saying, "the proof is in the pudding"?

P.S. If you do use a POD, you don't have to tell anyone.

[Gregg Sartiano]

Originally Posted by doorknocker

But what really bothers me about the POD is what I call the 'Heineken' syndrom. Heineken is not a bad beer, I prefer it over many other brands (say US Budweiser/Coors/Fosters/etc) but it's too mainstream, without character and ultimately a compromise to reach a global market by adressing a so-called and ultimately non-existant 'average taste'.

Close, but no cigar (IMO).

My comment has to do with the current state of the consumer musical instrument industry vis-a-vis the culture at large:

Isn't it tragic that, in most (if not all) departments of MI production, the "holy grail" product is a) a repro of a vintage one, or b) something which gives the user of average means access to vintage sounds?

This applies to plug-ins, keyboards, guitars, amps/FX...you name it.

What you DON'T see enough of is musical, innovative application of technology -- a piece of gear that goes from "what the heck is THAT?!?" to "we NEED one of those" in the space of three or so years...

For the record, I think there are DAW and plug-in products which obviously buck this trend.

Think about any 7 to 10 year period in the last 50 years...then think about the MI landscape -- did recording gear change between '63 and '73? Were keyboards the same in '75 as in '85...what about '95?

Moreover (and back to topic), it wasn't that long ago that guitar & amp innovations were a positive driving force in the evolution of the music itself.

[malaclypse]

Originally Posted by Gregg Sartiano

Close, but no cigar (IMO).


Moreover (and back to topic), it wasn't that long ago that guitar & amp innovations were a positive driving force in the evolution of the music itself.

such as the evolution of metal being helped along by higher gain amps? perhaps a new musical style will evolve around the common availability of cheap digital music toys. wait! thats already the case! isn't it? maybe not?

[pan60]

Originally Posted by Jonboy79

So are you saying you disagree with jp11's post? Because it sounds you you're agreeing with him. Did you miss the last couple of lines?

well i do not want to say it sounds like dog shit, it is just not up my ally
i was primarily saying,
1 i disagree with the fact that you can get all those amp at the flip of a switch, to me you can not.
2 the feel and reaction is gone.
how dose it sound?
thats up to you to decide, i do not care for the pod.

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by pan60

well i do not want to say it sounds like dog shit, it is just not up my ally
i was primarily saying,
1 i disagree with the fact that you can get all those amp at the flip of a switch, to me you can not.
2 the feel and reaction is gone.
how dose it sound?
thats up to you to decide, i do not care for the pod.

Well I think almost everything the guy you quoted posted was a joke. Building the POD lovers up just to rip them apart at the end. I totally agree with you though, while I have used a POD before and bands I tracked with one thought it was great none of them kept the POD tones after running them through my xtc module on my Randall. It's very interesting what a lot of the bands I record would settle for if they never had a better option, weird huh?

[hangman]

I've really never needed ALL those different amp sounds. I think having 2-3 really nice tube amps is enough for me. and its worth the price. and the effects that are in the pod were never very impressive to me.

That being said, the pod is a neat little device, and I've certainly been surprised by friends, or artists, when I listen to a track they did, and say "wow that guitar sounds really rad" and they tell me it was recorded direct through a pod.

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by malaclypse

perhaps a new musical style will evolve around the common availability of cheap digital music toys. wait! thats already the case! isn't it? maybe not?

Well, Dancehall and Ragga in Jamaica was definitely influenced by early (cheap?) digital starting back in the mid-80ies.

[malaclypse]

Originally Posted by doorknocker

Well, Dancehall and Ragga in Jamaica was definitely influenced by early (cheap?) digital starting back in the mid-80ies.

hell yeah! Barrington Levy for instance. ? some of his recordings have these early digital beats and pads, and they sound cool to me. i guess its the musical context that they're in that makes those sounds appeal to me.