Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects 

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

GIVE ME ONE REASON OF DOUBT IN YOU GETTNG THIS. This thing is incredible, especially for the price! You CANNOT beat it! You want metal? You want deathcore? You want djent? You want blues? Country? ANYTHING. It will give it to you! Yes, it will take you a good minute to figure out, but once you do, you will be glad you bought it! If you can get an Axe Fx, go for it, if you can't, or want to spend your money wisely, GET THIS! I promise that you will NOT be disappointed!

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

upgraded to this unit from xt live, only had it a few weeks but I love the way hd pro edit allows you to program the signal chain. easy to use , does require time to tweak in the sound you want per individual taste. options seem unlimited, getting some great tones out of this. I considered an axe fx 2 but for 4 times the price and the fact that there is no place to get my hands on one to see if it is THAT much better, I think I'll be very happy with this unit, besides unless your a touring , professional musician who wants 3k tied up in an effects processor.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

Sorry for the long review but wanted to let everyone know looking at this unit what I discovered.

I almost wrote this review the week I got this unit and I'm glad I didn't. I've been using a Pod X3 Pro for two years and have some great tones for all the different music styles I play. I'm a die hard tube guy (hell I repair tube amp for a living. Having played a 72 Marshall 50w JMP for 30+ years and doing the stomp box dance to change sounds the Pods were great. Well I had read all about the new HD Pods a year after I bought my X3 Pro. I couldn't wait to get one. I finally saved up enough and went with the HD Pro to put in my rack. I had read all the reviews saying not to even use the presets (they are all correct, why would they pick those for examples of this unit). I went to the custometone.com site to download tones, and I made the mistake of searching on HD Pro and had the compatible tone box checked(but it still only showed 10 pages or tone). I tried those tones and with my Schecter C-7 all the tones sounded brittle and harsh. I tried the pad button to cut back the active pickups a bit without luck. I tried to duplicate the settings I had on my X3 Pro but they didn't sound at all like they did. I was about to return the unit, but I decided to get on the forum and do some reading and post some questions. I found that the typical setting I used on my X3 with inputs set both for guitar they said would make the input hit harder to the unit and make it sound bad. I tried like they set the input 1 guitar, input 2 variax and it sure did clean up the sound, but not enough. I got out my old Ibanez AR50 with Seymour JB's in it and it sounded good through the HD Pro. So I did some more reading and others talking about how sensitive the input of the HD series are (part of the changes with the touch sensitivity I'm sure). I had a great guy from the forum email me and went back and forth he wanted me to send my old patches since he also had both units and was going to see what he could do to help. Well a couple of weeks went by got busy with work and couldn't play. This last week I got back on and went to custometone.com again for tones and didn't change it to HD PRO but went with the HD-500. This time it brought up like 340 pages of tones not the 10 I saw before. I've found so many good tone. I've spent the last two nights sorting them out and trying them all(well the 100 or so I've downloaded so far, started with the 5 star ones).

The problem is there are almost too many settings to tweak with the amp, power amp if you use the full amp setting and not just the preamp, then you have the speaker cabinet you can tweak settings on. I found that many patch have the master volume on the power amp section cranked full, when I dial that back it cleans up and sounds like the tones I'm used to.

This is one sweat unit, couldn't afford one of those axe-fx units (already had a FBV foot controller for the Pod unit, which I wish they would of done a better job implementing with the HD series but oh well still works well).

Next I've got to finish the 50w/50w tube power amp and get away from the solidstate unit I'm using.

Don't get overwhelmed like I did with all the choice of settings, find some good patches on the site and tweak from there, just watch how you search the comparable or compatible check box doesn't seem to work.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

The POD HD Pro has been a life saver for me in my studio. No more writing down eq settings and mic positions. I can easily swtich back and forth between any sounds I want with ease. For the money you cannot go wrong. If it were stolen.. I would find who did it and take it back.. But if I couldn't find the theif... Then I would buy another. It's that good.

One last note to any potential buyers.. If you are trying the HD Pro at your local music store.. Do yourself a favor and don't use the factory presets. They are garbage. Just make a blank patch and flip through the amp models till you find what you want, then add pedals and such till you have YOUR tone. Line 6 makes a great product, but can't make a good tone with it for heck.
Amazing amp models and effects. There are so many options, you get ANY tone you want. I use this mainly for direct recording and I have been able to get any tone I've wanted. I mainly play rock/metal (As I Lay Dying, TDWP, etc.) But I also have other bands in my studio, Everything from adult contempary to punk to metalcore. This wonderful guitar processor has been the "go to" for everyone. I own a couple of nice tube amps as well, but they cannot compete with the versatility of the POD. ALSO, The specs listed on MF are outdated. Since the HD PRO's release they have had several firmware updates that have included a couple of new british amp models (which sound amazingly warm) and also... A BASS AMP MODEL. Yes! That was one of the features I was sorly missing, but in the latest patch they included one. Sounds pretty tight I might add. The main complaint with the HD line is that there are far fewer amp models than the previous Line 6 processor... BUT.. EACH one of the HD's amp models are extremely high quality. They sound much closer to the real thing than anything else. Warm, dynamic, clear, and the best part. NO signiature Line 6 buzz that has always killed thier products in a mix previously.
This thing is built like a rock. Solid metal caseing. all knobs and buttons seem solid. Jacks are tight. no wiggle, perfect fit. The display is bright enough to see no matter the lighting situation. All the ins and outs you could ever want.
I have played all of the other processors in the price rage (Boss GT, Digitech, etc.) And this wins each time hands down... And if you ever want to use this live (which I plan on doing when I hit the road) you can always buy the external footswitch for complete control. I've never personally played the Ax Fx.. But I have seen hours of footage of other guitartists using it in their studios and know guitarists who all own it.. They all love it. It's no doubt the best guitar processor to date.. However, for the price it is out of most guitarists price range.. If you watch comparison videos between the POD HD PRO and the Axe Fx II you will be amazed how well the POD competes. In some cases it actually sounds better (call me crazy). So for 1/4 the price it's safe to say you can't go wrong with a processor of this quality.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

I would totally recommend this unit to other's who play Djent, Shred, or anyone basically into rock or metal genres.
In this price range, I can't believe the # of features available. I'm referring not only to the diversity of effects, but the included POD HD Pro Edit software as well as the multitude of input/output options. I also love the the online updates, support, and community. You can upload your sounds to Line 6's community to share with others, or download theirs. The only reason I gave this a 9 is because I know that it lacks some sounds and options of other slightly more expensive rackmount units, such as the Rocktron Prophecy II, Avid Eleven, etc. Then again, those units are more expensive, and therefore in a slightly higher category, so it's not really a fair comparison.
Again, for this price, excellent quality. One disclaimer: right out of the box, you won't be immediately impressed with the factory presets. They're mediocre at best. YOU NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME TWEAKING. I can't stress this enough. You need to read the manual(s), and spend some time online reading tutorials that others have created for this unit. There are so many parameters that you can manipulate, there are sounds in this thing for every style--but you do need to spend time tweaking. I've had it for 2 weeks now, and after much experimentation, reading, watching YouTube tuts, and downloading and dissecting other people's patches, that I'm finally getting some sounds that I'm really happy with. I love this unit.
For $700, I feel this is an incredible value. When I originally began my search for a new rack effects unit, I was looking more at the Rocktron Prophecy II and even the Axe-Fx II. However, after listening to numerous sound clips and watching demos on YouTube, I chose the POD HD Pro over both of those (the Axe-fx was overkill for me anyway). I don't regret it one bit.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

The POD is used as my system for recording and I am very happy with it. Shipping time was excellent. Talking with your personnel and email communication is excellent. Your business is my first choice. Everything I receive from you is just as advertised. Thank you for being there and for the excellent service I always receive. Thanks again, very much.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

I have a Pod x3 and I totaly love it's diversity for guitar and bass, and its ability to drive my power amp.And when I saw the new HD Pro I was thinking "SWEET!!!" so I went out and snatched one up.Needless to say I was heartbrokenly disappointed in it.This units sound quality is about the same as a Pod X3, but only has half the effects and half the output power, and does a very poor job driving my power amp.
Not worth the money investment.
Lacking
Mediocre
Horrable

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

Overall I rate this product very highly. There are few products like this on the market and the others are great also but cost quite a bit more. If you record, play as a hobby, or tour, this is a great product. Wonderful tones at any volume. I highley recoment this product.
I have owned this unit for about a week and there is still a lot of untapped ground. As far as features go it has more than I will ever need. It will accomidate for any musical style with FX from subtle to ridiculous.
This thing is built very well. Made of metal and is pretty heavy. It sits in a studio but it is road worthy.
It is a great value but you really need to invest time into it. There are tons of great tones to be had but you will have to work at it. The factory presets aren't my bag so all of my tones are either custom made or downloaded from custom tone then taylored to my liking.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

I was looking into purchasing an Axe-FX II but for a quarter of the price, it's hard to beat the POD HD Pro. I've only had the unit for a week so I'm still quite new to it but what I can tell you is that the amp models are vastly superior to those of the XT Pro, X3 Pro, and POD Farm (all of which I have owned). Also, dialing in a decent custom tone seems easier on the POD HD than previous PODs. I'm loving the Engl Fireball model and with Pitch Slide I can acheive ultra-low tunings without sacrificing string tension.

Comments about Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Multi Effects:

This POD is great. I replaced my full tube head with this and a rack tube power amp and have been very satisfied so far. I think Line6 has really had a break through with their modeling technology here because I have owned some of their other products and never thought they were very good....at-home practice tools at best.
This new POD sounds just as good as the tube heads I've used and responds just as well to playing dynamic and use of the guitar's volume knob in most cases. I've been able to get the tones I've had in my head for so long but could never quite acheive with normal tube amps.
I won't say whether it can nail the sound of a Mesa or a Bogner dead on because I haven't had the chance to use most of the amps that the models are designed on. But then again I've heard that some amps sound better than others of the same type depending on when and where they are made, tubes, transformers, speakers, etc.So my approach with this POD is not to try to get a particular amp sound but rather to get a sound that I've always wanted from an amp but couldn't. It's almost better to not look at the display when selecting amp/cab/mic models and just explore by ear alone.You might be surprised what you get.
My two main sounds are the rectifier model for distortion and the Blackface Deluxe for clean. I use the bi-amp feature with a clone of each amp just to get a bit more volume on each channel. I turn off the cab models and use the 421 and 409 mics; one on each side per channel. The POD goes out to my 100w rack tube power amp and into my 4x12. The POD's effects are great but I only use the reverb. For delay and chorus I have my analog MXR pedals going through the FX loop(paid for 'em so I may as well use 'em). For me, this set up works really well. Bassically it's like having a traditional amp setup with a preamp that can shaped to just about any tone you can think of. The one issue I have is that the FX loop's mix level does something strange to the tone if you don't have it all the way up at 100%...sounds like a weird mid-boost that makes everything sound boxy. Not a huge deal but a little strange. I may consider getting Line6's larger foot controller so I can use the on-board effects but right now I just have the 4-button for channel switching.
This thing has just about everything you'd ever need for playing live or recording. All the abilities of the bean version but with the usage capabilities of a rack unit (ins/outs). I especially like the dedicated tone knobs on the front panel. The only thing I'd like to see is and auto-save feature so you don't have to remember to save your changes after every little tweak.
Very good build quality. Haven't had any issues with operation.