** Boss GT-8 .vs. Pod XT (or live)**

[alex2zulu]

Hey guys,

 

i been throwing this idea around in my hear for a while - basicly about the Boss GT-8 and the Pod XT. i might get one but i dont know which is better or what to play them through e.g speakers or a insainly clean amp.

 

I intent to try them both at the shop some time in the next week or so but i wanted some opinions on things like how much variety they offer oposed to eachother and what one sounds better if theres a realy big differnce. also what would the wah effects be like with the expression pedal and the whammy if there is one

( i would get a floor controler with the podxt or just get the xt live).

 

there both more or less the same price (GT-8 vs Pod live)

 

now, what to play them through. i am of the opinion that it would be better through speakers rather than an MG or a TSL - am i wrong. what sort of speakers would be best - im talking not the massive 350 watters but something a little more

"more than one perosn in the house friendly" and i dont know what speakers would use the standard jack inputs.

 

so:

POD (xt or live) vs Boss GT-8?

 

expression effects ?

 

Speakers ?

 

i play rock/metal/some clean stuff

 

 

thanx for any help guys

[Darklava]

I tried my hardest to like these type of do it all

pedals but to me they all sound the same.At bedroom levels they are great but in a live situation they blow.But if i had to choose it would be the line6 for the fact is they semm to be the only ones to make a fair sounding distortion.The boss was thin and too much going on

but not enough quilty tones.Wha is just ok,i would only use the vol.I would run it in front of the tsl....better yet buy some used boss pedals

MetalZone,DD3 delay,ce1 chorus,crybaby oh and a ds-1

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

I was talking to one of the guys from Oar a couple of weeks ago, and he said to me that he has a couple of kids, and they are just starting to get interested in music, and that it is a shame that there are now three generations who have grown up not caring about quality sound, just caring about convenience.

 

To some people, it won't matter.

 

Bill

[J. Robert Rennix]

I've been practicing through a PODxt bean exclusively for the past two years or more. I love the sounds I get through my headphones. I am also satisfied with the PODxt sounds on recordings. I did not like the sounds I got playing the PODxt bean through amps or the PA (the PODxt Live may be better for these applications, I don't know).

 

The latest PODxt update included about seven new wah models and a pitch shifter, which can be used as a Whammy pedal if assigned to a foot controller (note: I have the Shortboard controller pedal). The wah models are very good. Not as good as a real Cry Baby, but very close and much better than any other multi-effect that I have ever played. The Whammy effects are not very good-it sounds decent when you actually sweep the pedal, but the Whammy effect never fully shuts off at the heel or toe positions. The other effects are very good (e.g. chorus, phase, flange, tremolo, delays, etc.).

 

I can't speak for the BOSS GT8. I like the PODxt. The sounds are very good IMO. Obviously, they're not as good as the sounds other guys get with nice tube amps and expensive effects pedals, but it gets the job done for me. If you're looking for small amplification with modeling and effects, why not look at modeling amps? If you need a separate modeller/multi-effect and amp, look at the Atomic amp, the Tech 21 Power Engine or the Crate Taxi/Limo amplifiers. They're small, more or less transparent, and designed specifically for use with modellers/multi-effects.

[AeroG33k]

What about the GuitarPort?

[alex2zulu]

ok , so has anybody got any ideas on speakers, runing it through an amp would be a bad idea. i dont gig this would be basicly for bedroom use and jaming with friends (no drums) and if i did need the volume i have a 100 watter and a pedal or 2.

 

so:

speakers e.g inputs and outputs

Cost: nomore than £100

running them in stereo is a must

 

 

thanx guys

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

For bedroom jamming, I used a Brian May Model Vox, or a 1952 Fender 600. The Brian May is about $100 used, about $150 new. I've moved over to a Reverend Goblin, 5 or 15 watts, switchable.

 

But I tend not to play plugged in in the house... not from any volume concerns, I'm just lazy.

 

Bill

[alex2zulu]

do u think i might be better to just get a cheap valve amp like a laney lc15r and get like an overdrive and delay or something ?

 

thanx for opinions

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

There is no 'one size fits all' answer to your question.

 

A lot of us like the natural sound of better guitars through tube amps and fewer pedals in the middle. I can give you an example... in the 80s, lead guitarists were very generic. They all had various pointy headstock axes, going through piles of pedals and into usually some crap Marshall hybrid solid state-tube buzzy monstrosity. They all sounded the same.

 

Then Slash showed up with his Les Paul (actually a counterfit burst)playing through a tube Marshall with a minimum of crap between him and you, and suddenly the concept of TONE was back. Guys like me started paying attention again... yeah, that is the sound that we loved and missed so much.

 

Right now in pop music there are a ton of popular people using solid state replicas of real devices. They claim that there is no difference. Probably many of your favorite players do this. It sure is convenient. But they all sound basically the same, with a generic buzz and a veil or shound over their sound. Is that bad? Not to them, they like what they are doing, and that is all that is important.

 

But I'll tell you this... once you venture into the world of boutique amos and pedals and either vintage or boutique guitars, it really opens your eyes. (Or ears, as the case may be.)

 

So you have to figure, you've got X amount of money to spend, what best suits your requirements and your budget? What do you really need? Your options are open, from the cheap GTPlayer pile of software stomp boxes that you can put into your computer (and combined with software like Band in a Box, you can have an instant band to jam with...) or a couple of real pedals and a cheap amp, or a box like a POD etc, or some really esoteric and expensive gear. What YOU need? I don't know. I've been through most of the options and I stopped at the mid to low end esoteric stuff. Just sounds so rich and pretty to me, and the other offerings pale in comparision. But that may not be the answer for you. Were I looking to get better than I am, I'd probably explore the Band in a Box idea, with Amplitude or DSounds GTPlayer. If I just wanted a cools sound at a low price, the Brian May amp is the ticket. Or maybe I'd just buy a Digitech product for $100-$150 and listen with headphones. There is also always the Tascam GT1 CD trainer...another very cool option, that may not sound like Keeley/Fiulltone/Divided by13/Two Rock, but offers a lot of fucntionality for a small price.

 

 

Bill

[picker]

Frankly, I have become disillusioned with multieffects gadgets for guitar. They always seem like a very practical idea, and wind up being unworkable or unsatisfactory. I much prefer working with individual pedals for quality of effect sound, flexibility of adjustment. If I want a combo of effects, I can turn them on and off rather than having to program that particular combination, along with four dozen others for every other concieveable combination of effects.Now, I do have a POD XT for Bass that I have become very happy with. I got it mostly because I wanted a little bit of flanging or chorus for my fretless bass, and the Bass POD allows me to put the effects on the high frequencies of the signal and keep it out of the low frequencies, which makes it sparkle and keeps it from becoming muddy. But I have found a lot of the preprogrammed sounds very useable as is. To me, that is the way a guitar mutieffects unit ought to work, but never does.

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

Originally posted by Picker:

Frankly, I have become disillusioned with multieffects gadgets for guitar. ...rather than having to program that particular combination, along with four dozen others for every other concieveable combination of effects....

It is a matter of approach. The sheer numbers of options and combos is staggering. MY approach? Screw that. I use four basic settings plus a bypass. So I grab four basic patches or combos of patch components, drop them into four user-prorammable slots, and forget about the rest. I don't spend weeks auditioning the possible options.... I just pick the ones that seem closest to what I hear in my head and move on. Then I have four patches available at the press of four buttons, plus the tuner and bypass. This works for me, because I know what I want. Chances are, so do you. A newer player might not yet know what they are looking for, or a more complex player may need more options. But four is enough for me. (That said, I have't even plugged in a multieffects device for over a year and a half. Gave one to my nephew, and the other one is still sitting in the studio.)

 

Bill