live pod xt or analog pedals?

hello i'm new here !

I'm thinking of buying a pod xt live just for the use of the effects... I heard you can use this together with your amp.
and only just use the effects, is this so? does anyone have expirience with that?

i have a peavey 50 head want to use effects like phase, tremolo, univibe, delay when i'm playing lead,
can i only use the effects... without amp or cab settings...
can i use 3 effects together at once? or do i have to preset this?

does the effects sound great?

or should i buy just all the pedals ?

i want a podxt live because all of my gear is in the studio and not at home.

thank you verry much !!
greetings

[Ryan]

Pedals, definately pedals.

[Thelonius]

I think Line6 did a nice job with the XT, I've played through a few of them, and i own a guitarport which basically does the same functions of the XT live without the hardware.

The one complaint I have about all-in-one units in general is a lack of flexibility in the order, and as a result types of effects. Don't get me wrong I think there are a decent number of effects in the POD and I think they do a pretty good job with the models, but for example what if you want 2 different distorion/overdrive type effects in your loop, and you want to move your distortion before the wah instead of after. You can't do all these things with an all-in-one like you can with pedals. You are able to at least with the POD move a couple things, but it is very limited. For a lot of people it will probably never be an issue and the points I raised will seem nit-picky.

I guess another strike against it for me is I don't use a lot of pedals so I look at it like the money I would spend on a POD or the like, I could have bought a couple of the short list of specific pedals I really want. I'd rather have a great wah and a dozen different and unique distortion/overdrive/fuzz type pedals to mix and match than 3 wahs, 4 distortions, 1 delay, 1 compressor, 1 volume, 2 vibes, and a flanger that are all just ok.

[aleclee]

I use an XTL just for FX.

The one drawback I experience is that FX that belong in front of the amp (wah & compression) don't sound so good in the loop.

Originally posted by aleclee
I use an XTL just for FX.

The one drawback I experience is that FX that belong in front of the amp (wah & compression) don't sound so good in the loop.

so does your sound stay more or less the same if you play a solo with only the phase (xt live ) or do you have loss in db?

thanks for all reply's

[cuttooth21]

I use a podxt in my FX loop right now and the effects are decent. I agree that the main drawback is the limitation on the order of effects. Another limitiation is you can only use one modulation effect at a time, and one stomp box effect at a time, which for some people might not be a big deal.

I'm slowly trying to purchase real pedals to replace the podxt because I'm getting more and more dissatisfied with the sound quality of the pod.

[cuttooth21]

Originally posted by yielder
so does your sound stay more or less the same if you play a solo with only the phase (xt live ) or do you have loss in db?

thanks for all reply's

There's no loss of db with the pod in the loop.

[aleclee]

Originally posted by yielder
so does your sound stay more or less the same if you play a solo with only the phase (xt live ) or do you have loss in db?

No probs with volume drops turning FX on and off. As far as "sound staying more or less the same" I'm not so picky about the tone being identical to a bypassed unit as long as I can get the uneffected tone I want with all FX turned off.

I like the ability to call up combinations of FX without having to tap dance around the pedalboard. I like that it weighs about 2/3 of my "real" pedalboard and has a slightly smaller footprint. I like the fact that if my amp takes a crap, I can run it into a clean amp (or FOH) and still get a wide range of tones without having to worry about dialing in an unfamiliar amp. I like the way I can use its USB interface for silent recording straight into a PC. Before I got my GuitarPort, I used it with my GuitarPort.com subscription.

Does it absolute nail the amps/FX that it models? Not IMO. Does it sound more than good enough? It does for me. YMMV but that's not going to get me to go back to pedals anytime soon. . .but I'm not getting rid of 'em, either.

[Anje]

I had a PODxt for a few weeks, I was really interested in the "all in one small unit" feature for a small portable setup, but ended solding it.

Can't compare to the sound of the real pedals for me

[aarondavis]

What effects do you need?

A pod XT wld cost you $350. Thats 2-3 real cool pedals.

[JohnLutz]

I recently switched from modeling to pedals. I really miss the ability to dial in a couple of radically different sounds per song. For example:

Verse: delay 1 - clean
chorus: tremelo - fuzz
solo: delay 2 - overdrive

I still haven't gotten the tapdance down and have a gig coming up where I'm going to be in trouble if I don't figure something out.

Might have to get a combinator. Even with that though, you only get one setting per pedal.

John

[Moe45673]

just take the limitations as a challenge for you to be more creative!

For example (this isn't very original nor mindblowing, but it's easy to describe), I was playing with my band and wanted to do some single note volume swells for ambience. Sadly, I own a les paul (not very conducive to this kinda thing as opposed to a strat) and don't have a volume pedal, so I just used my wah as if it was a volume pedal, and the effect was really cool!

My point being, endless possibilities no matter what you have (or don't have)

[cuttooth21]

Originally posted by JohnLutz

I still haven't gotten the tapdance down and have a gig coming up where I'm going to be in trouble if I don't figure something out.


John

This was definitely a problem for me too when I first started my switch, but you quickly get over it.

I sill have my pod hooked up, but I mainly use it for reverb, volume pedal, and its tuner.

[aarondavis]

stomping on a bunch of different pedals is part of the fun if you ask me... it takes a little practice. I don't like that with a multi effect unit, I can't simply lean down and twist a knob. You have to put it in edit mode, find the parameter then save it, etc.

Knobs are cool:AOK

[GreenTea]

If you're looking to use just the effects, might consider the Boss ME 50. I don't have one but for kicks I played through one yesterday at the store. Pretty neat but not for me.

http://www.bossus.com/index.asp?pg=1&tmp=123