#944309 - 05/17/00 02:24 AM
Pod vs. J-Station
|
dkhetrick@cs.com
Member
Registered: 05/16/00
Posts: 1
Loc: Indianapolis,IN,UNITED STATES
|
Offline
|
|
I am considering buying one or the other. Any suggestions?
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944310 - 05/26/00 02:43 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Got the Pod. Havn't heard the J-Station.
Pod is great by itself but gets waaaay better when you add the Floor Board and MIDI programming from the computer.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944311 - 05/26/00 05:26 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
lwilliam
Senior Member
Registered: 03/17/00
Posts: 497
Loc: Canyon Country, CA, USA
|
|
Offline
|
|
I have a POD and use it a lot. I haven't see the J-station - it MAY not be in stores yet. If it sounds good, it has an advantage of having S/PDIF outputs.
------------------
Larry W.
_________________________
Larry W.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944312 - 05/26/00 05:33 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
Originally posted by lwilliam:
I have a POD and use it a lot. I haven't see the J-station - it MAY not be in stores yet. If it sounds good, it has an advantage of having S/PDIF outputs.
Also note that the POD 2.0 update is available, which adds some new amp types, and brings more functions to the front panel. Program changes are less glitchy, as only changed parameters are changed (it used to flush the whole preset and load in a new one). Also you can save a particular "personality" for each amp that includes your favorite tone settings and such. The update costs about $60, and you'll be seeing a review of it on this site sometime next week!
BTW the rack mount POD Pro has digital outs. I haven't played with the J-Station yet, but it will be interesting to see the reactions from those who have.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944313 - 06/05/00 02:02 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
gap2@bellsouth.net
Member
Registered: 06/04/00
Posts: 7
Loc: ,,UNITED STATES
|
|
Offline
|
|
I have and use both units. I have written a comparative review that I will send to any interested party who emails me at gap2@bellsouth.net.
My summary was that they sound different, so you should get the one that you think sounds the best.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944314 - 06/06/00 06:30 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
hanszy7@aol.com
Member
Registered: 06/06/00
Posts: 2
Loc: ,,UNITED STATES
|
|
Offline
|
|
Hi there, I've tried the POD a few month ago
and although it sounded pretty good, I kept getting this short delay when I picked a note (almost like latency with a digital mixer). I think I was using the AIR setting and
thought it was a biproduct of that to create some sort of depth.My question is do you guys use it (the AIR) when you record direct or not? Also what does the floor unit do, is it just to change patches ? Thanks in advance.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944315 - 06/06/00 06:56 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Dembones_dup1
Member
Registered: 02/11/01
Posts: 11
Loc: Medford,OR,UNITED STATES
|
|
Offline
|
|
Hi hanszy7,
I commented on the latency I was sensing on the POD on another thread titled, "The direct vs. Amp thingy," or something like that. Anderton had some interesting comments you should read...
My understanding of the "air" setting is that it's not so much of a delay, but rather it adds a slight ambience, and I think it adjusts the overall eq curve as well. Personally, I don't notice a difference in latency with various air settings... I use the "air" setting all the time, just as you would use different mic positions. It also makes semi-clean sounds a little more convincing in my opinion.
Overall, I am very happy with my POD, and although I am convinced that I sense a latency, I happily live with it and get great results.
------------------
Demian Norvell
AppleSeed Studios
Ruch, OR
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944316 - 06/07/00 08:20 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Regarding POD and J-Station I have tried both extensively over a period of time and I find them very different. I will give my thoughts in parts.
Basic sound.
This is obviously up to your individual taste but in my book POD wins hands down when it comes to sounding what it says it wants to sound like, i.e. the Marshall simulation actually sounds like a Marshall. The J-Station's simulations need some heavy surgery to sound authentic. Having said that the J-Station has three sounds called J-solo, J-clean and J-crunch that, in my ears, doesn't really sound like any other amp but sound good in their own way.
Feel.
To me this is very important as this factor decides the way I play. If it feels good/natural to play then I will play with more inspiration with a more pleasingly musical result.
I prefer POD. Generally it responds better to my playing including picking dynamics and changes made in volume and tone on the guitar. Yes folks, there are actually some of us that uses those controls ;-)
The only J-Station amp models that I get to react to my playing is the aforementioned models.
Effects
J-Station all the way. Smoother and more authentic reverb. Sweeter chorus with better stereo spread. Stereo delays. More effects at the same time. Best of all is that you can decide for yourself what type of reverb you want to use no matter what amp model you have chosen to work with. On the POD the models with originally had spring reverb has spring reverb and the rest has "digital" reverb. As I don't like the spring reverb on the POD this obviously bothers me a lot. Version 2 on the POD software may have changed all of that. The compressor on the POD is really a winner it gives me all the attack and spank I need for c&w, funk and 70's lead sounds.
Editing
Both are easy to use and easy to program. With the J-Station you can edit anything from the front panel in a fairly easy way. With the original POD this was not possible. Again, with version 2 this has changed but to what extent I don't know.
Software support
The is a special version of E-Magic's Sound Diver supplied with the POD. This installed easily and I was up and running in no time. I had a somewhat hard time trying to find of how it worked but once I got to what I wanted it was a pleasure working this way.
The editing software for the J-Station was another story altogether. Without any aim to feed the (often immature) debate of Mac versus PC the software is not available for the Macintosh platform. I tried to install it on two different PC's but failed both times. This is obviously not good at all. It should install the first time so after the second try I gave up and thus I can give you no educated opinion. I have seen screen dumps of it and if looks quite nice.
Looks
Yes ladies and gentlemen. I must admit I'm vain. I want my equipment to look cool, extraordinary and tempting. POD fulfills my needs. Here the J-Station fails miserably. It looks too plain and boring. I'm aware of the fact that this is has absolutely nothing to do with how they sound or how people will react to the way I'm playing but if my wife wasn't beautiful and tempting I probably wouldn't have started talking to her at that party all those years ago.
Personal recommendation:
Note that the operative word here is personal. I would choose the POD because to me the basic sound is so important. POD gives me a great compressor followed by a great "amp" of my choise. The rest I have in my studio rack and/or my harddsik recording system as plug-ins. You just need a good sound to start with.
Hope my view were interesting. If you managed to read this far they probably were ;-)
Mats Nermark
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944317 - 06/07/00 08:40 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
As I don't like the spring reverb on the POD this obviously bothers me a lot. Version 2 on the POD software may have changed all of that.
With the J-Station you can edit anything from the front panel in a fairly easy way. With the original POD this was not possible. Again, with version 2 this has changed but to what extent I don't know.
With MIDI control or Sound Diver, you can put either reverb on the amp of your choice. Also in version 2, you can choose all the different amp types and the cabinet from the front panel. Another cool thing is that you can save an amp model with your favorite "preferences" so that when you call up the amp, it has some of the tweaks you like. But one of the most important features that people don't seem to be picking up on is smoother preset changes.
I just finished recording some examples of the new amp models to go along with the POD 2.0 review that will be appearing on the site any day now.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944318 - 06/07/00 08:41 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
One more thing...in case you wonder how difficult it is to change the EPROM in the POD to V2.0, the "How to Replace an EPROM" article on this site uses the POD as its example.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944319 - 06/07/00 01:23 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Originally posted by Anderton:
[b]
I just finished recording some examples of the new amp models to go along with the POD 2.0 review that will be appearing on the site any day now.
Dear Craig,
Can you please just post the new models here? I tried to find out about the new POD 2.0 from Line 6's web site but they had nothing that was easy to get to stating the differences between the new and the old.
Thanks!
Best regards,
Mats Nermark
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944320 - 06/07/00 01:49 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
If you go to the Support section of the Line 6 website and look in the Reference Desk area, you can find the POD 2.0 manual, upgrade manual, and "What's New in POD 2.0" documents all in pdf.
George
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944321 - 06/07/00 05:07 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
Originally posted by mats.nermark@swipnet.se:
Can you please just post the new models here? I tried to find out about the new POD 2.0 from Line 6's web site but they had nothing that was easy to get to stating the differences between the new and the old.
The original 28 models haven't changed, at least to my ears. What's different is the four new models, which are called Line 6 Twang, Line 6 Crunch #2, Line 6 Blues, and Line 6 Insane.
Twang is what you'd expect. The factory patch is surprisingly mild-mannered, the patch I'll be posting on the site is much more aggressive. Kind of a 60s/Telecaster/Yardbirds sound, if they had been a country band...
Crunch #2 is basically a Marshall Plexi sound but the tone controls are more effective than the original. A nice rhythm guitar chugga-chugga sound.
Line 6 Blues seems to break up a little differently when you push it, going to a smoother sound than what you'd expect from really pushing an amp to the max.
Line 6 Insane is a total overdrive type sound. The sound I'm posting drenches this in reverb and long echo to give really trippy, ambient effects.
Line 6 is an extremely hip company but they really seem unaware about how great the Line 6 is for electronica/DJ applications. But I'm trying to educate them .
Some of the examples I'll be posting are more in that genre.
Also, each of the examples will show a screen shot of the SoundDiver settings in case someone really likes the sounds and wants to dial them up.
I definitely recommend the 2.0 upgrade, it's well worth the $60. And once again, Mats, it's great to have you in here!! Your connoisseur's knowledge of distortion-related matters is now getting much greater exposure!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944322 - 06/07/00 06:10 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Originally posted by Anderton:
The original 28 models haven't changed, at least to my ears. What's different is the four new models, which are called Line 6 Twang, Line 6 Crunch #2, Line 6 Blues, and Line 6 Insane.
...
Line 6 is an extremely hip company but they really seem unaware about how great the Line 6 is for electronica/DJ applications. But I'm trying to educate them .
Hey Craig!
There are actually a couple of small differences in the modeling, with the most noticeable being in the Small Tweed model (or more specifically, the cabinet for the Small Tweed). The tweaks are basically to improve accuracy, and pretty trivial mostly.
Not all of us here at Line 6 are unaware of it's electronica/trip-hop/DJ and other more esoteric applications. For any members in the LA area, Reeves Gabrels is doing regular Sunday nights at the Viper Room this month with bassist Paul Ill (among others), and the stage is pretty well loaded up with Line 6 gear. I'll probably be down there this Sunday, myself.
George
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944323 - 06/08/00 01:35 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
Originally posted by vanwag@earthlink.net:
There are actually a couple of small differences in the modeling, with the most noticeable being in the Small Tweed model (or more specifically, the cabinet for the Small Tweed). The tweaks are basically to improve accuracy, and pretty trivial mostly.
Not all of us here at Line 6 are unaware of it's electronica/trip-hop/DJ and other more esoteric applications. For any members in the LA area, Reeves Gabrels is doing regular Sunday nights at the Viper Room this month with bassist Paul Ill (among others), and the stage is pretty well loaded up with Line 6 gear. I'll probably be down there this Sunday, myself.
George
Now I want to go back and A-B the new models against the old, but of course, when you have to change EPROMs it's no fun....
BTW I do know some people at Line 6 are hip to the POD's non-traditional options, I'm just giving you a hard time! My latest thing is processing drum parts by putting the PODded tracks in parallel with the straight tracks...but that's another story for some other time.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944324 - 06/08/00 10:58 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Originally posted by Anderton:
The original 28 models haven't changed, at least to my ears. What's different is the four new models, which are called Line 6 Twang, Line 6 Crunch #2, Line 6 Blues, and Line 6 Insane.
Thanks Craig,
This is good news indeed. I did a review of the Line 6 Spider in FUZZ magazine and found the Twang, Crunch, Blues and Insane models to be among the best sounds I have played direct.
I do hope these are the same in the POD as in the Spider.
Best regards,
Mats Nermark
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#944325 - 06/08/00 09:55 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
dave.aston@beer.com
Member
Registered: 06/08/00
Posts: 5
Loc: ,,CANADA
|
|
Offline
|
|
Originally posted by hanszy7@aol.com:
Hi there, I've tried the POD a few month ago
and although it sounded pretty good, I kept getting this short delay when I picked a note (almost like latency with a digital mixer). I think I was using the AIR setting and
thought it was a biproduct of that to create some sort of depth.My question is do you guys use it (the AIR) when you record direct or not? Also what does the floor unit do, is it just to change patches ? Thanks in advance.
There actually is a delay that that is programmed as part of the AIR function. It is about 7 to 10 ms if I remember correctly. The POD gurus figured they would put this in to give a stereo separation between the right and left channels. Here's the good news... you can go into the Sound Diver software and adjust the effective level of this delay. It's actually a slider that is labelled "AIR" and I believe the default setting is 32. If you bring the slider down to 0, the delay effect is eliminated. Here's the bad news... if you don't have a computer, you're screwed.
[This message has been edited by dave.aston@beer.com (edited 06-08-2000).]
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944326 - 06/09/00 12:37 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
I guess we can assume that anybody reading this last essage.... has a computer??
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944327 - 06/09/00 03:40 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
alphajerk
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 03/06/00
Posts: 7950
Loc: asheville nc usa
|
|
Offline
|
|
hows the rack pod compared to the desktop?
_________________________
alphajerk FATcompilation "if god is truly just, i tremble for the fate of my country" -thomas jefferson
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944328 - 06/09/00 05:41 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
Okay POD fans, the POD 2.0 review is now live, with a short MP3 file for each of the four amp types. Go to Reviews, and scroll down the alphabetical listing to "Line 6 POD 2.0 Update." There's also a SoundDriver graphic of the parameters used for the audio files in case you want to use the sounds yourself. This article is also kind of a feasibility study for doing this type of review on MusicPlayer.com, so I'd be interested in your reactions as to whether you found it useful, interesting, or whatever.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944329 - 06/11/00 04:58 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
Anybody check out the POD 2.0 review yet?
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944330 - 06/11/00 06:54 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Originally posted by Anderton:
Anybody check out the POD 2.0 review yet?
Craig,
I read it with pleasure and I will probably try it out for myself.
Regarding test like that I find them both educational and entertaining. A main advantage over magazine artcles is that now we can get to hear the stuff as well and that really is what this is all about. Hearing good/nice/beautiful/engaging sounds of all kinds.
Keep it up!
Mats N
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944331 - 06/11/00 11:43 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
I second that - very informative review, the Eprom chamge discussion is pretty good, too. I've got a 2.0 eprom on the way....
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944332 - 06/16/00 08:02 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
A lot of people have said they can't find the free upgrade offer mentioned in the review on the Line 6 site. It's there, really it is! Go to the new products page and you'll find it.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944333 - 06/27/00 08:04 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Salyphus
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 03/03/00
Posts: 6401
|
|
Offline
|
|
Nice review Craig. I got the 2.0 upgrade recently and also noticed that the 'crackling' sound I was noticing with high-gain sounds seems to have been minimized, which is nice. Also, the factory presets are a lot more usable than the 1.0 versions.
Now I am trying to decide if I should sell/trade in my POD for a rackmount version. Anyone compared the two yet? Is the Pod Pro equivalent to Pod 2.0? I also want to get a Bass Pod---too bad the Pro doesn't incoporate the Bass pod as well...
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944334 - 06/28/00 03:30 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Bill V
Senior Member
Registered: 03/28/00
Posts: 54
Loc: Atlanta, GA U.S.A. .
|
|
Offline
|
|
Originally posted by Anderton:
Anybody check out the POD 2.0 review yet?
Where is the review?
I clicked on reviews and it was'nt listed.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944335 - 06/28/00 04:46 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
Originally posted by Bill V:
Where is the review?
I clicked on reviews and it was'nt listed.
FYI, reviews in the main Reviews channel are listed alphabetically by manufacturer, so you would need to look for Line 6 V2.0 Upgrade. In the individual instrument channels (guitar, bass, drums, etc.), reviews are listed according to which was either uploaded or edited most recently. Meanwhile, you can just go to the following URL:
http://www.musicplayer.com/Miller_Freema...-Review,00.html
[This message has been edited by Anderton (edited 06-28-2000).]
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944336 - 06/29/00 04:21 PM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Bill V
Senior Member
Registered: 03/28/00
Posts: 54
Loc: Atlanta, GA U.S.A. .
|
|
Offline
|
|
Thanks Craig I just found it. I'm kind of new to all this computer stuff. I was clicking on the reviews at the EQ mag homepage. I did'nt realize there were two sites linked to this forum!
[This message has been edited by Bill V (edited 06-29-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Bill V (edited 06-29-2000).]
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944337 - 07/13/00 08:33 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anonymous
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Originally posted by dkhetrick@cs.com:
I am considering buying one or the other. Any suggestions?
Hi,
Depending on what sounds you're after you really should consider the BOSS VF-1 (half rack) or the Boss GT-3. Both are excellent units capable of very many different sounds. Of course, they both beat the J-Station and the POD hands down when it comes to effects.
If you can wait there's a rumour flying around about another big japanese company coming out with a unit I'm very interested in.
I tried the new ZOOM direct recording unit at the Frankfurt Trade Show and I wasn't too impressed. It was cheap but sounded likewise.
Best regards,
Mats Nermark
[This message has been edited by mats.nermark@swipnet.se (edited 07-13-2000).]
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#944338 - 07/14/00 05:27 AM
Re: Pod vs. J-Station
|
Anderton
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/28/00
Posts: 7346
|
|
Offline
|
|
>>Depending on what sounds you're after you really should consider the BOSS VF-1 (half rack) or the Boss GT-3. Both are excellent units capable of very many different sounds. Of course, they both beat the J-Station and the POD hands down when it comes to effects.<<
That's a good reminder that amp modelling is not the only signal processing technology on the planet. You can think of modelling as a sampler, while conventional multieffects units are more like synths. Like synths and samplers, it helps to have both.
POD is great for quick direct recording and live performance that sounds great in seconds. But for setting up truly complex and weird effects, the Peavey TubeFex is still an important part of my sonic arsenal. It can create sounds I guarantee you'll never get out of a Fender Twin, much less something that models a Fender Twin .
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
