Pod 2.0

[hippietim]

Ok, I never really owned a POD 2.0 bean. I was using Roland VG gear when they came out and did not find the POD very appealing. When the XT came out I got one and still use the XT Pro in my rack - great unit.

Someone offered me a POD 2.0 for one of my Epiphone Valve Junior heads so I went for it. I've just spent an hour or so fucking around with it into a VHT 2502 and a pair of V30 loaded Boogie Thiele cabs. This thing sounds pretty fucking cool!

The Soldano X88 is very cool as is the Brit Blues and the Tweed - I really haven't tried too many other amps yet but so far those sound really good. I haven't loaded the PC software yet so I've not tweaked effects much.

I may have to hang on to this for more than a couple weeks

[Twisteramps]

The 2.0 was always in my opinion easier to dial in than the XT, but it can't do as much. For some people, the XT is more than enough rope to hang themselves with tonally. The old 2.0 bean is a great buy on the used market right now. I've been messing with a Johnson J-Station and it's surprising me as well.

Pete

[jacksonaxes]

My rig at home now is a 2.0 pod into older 200 watt kenwood poweramp into two cerwin vega speakers, it sounds outstanding, and it's loud enough to kill !!!

[LesPaulCustom]

I may have to hang on to this for more than a couple weeks

Wow..you must REALLY be impressed to have it for that duration of time:ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF:

[nor]

The J-Station is one of the best natural sounding modellers, IMO. Too bad it'll never be more than it is.

[Spivonious]

I have a POD 2.0 too. Definitely load the software. There's some settings (like Presence) that you just can't get to with the knobs. You also get to see actual values for delay and such rather than just guessing with the knob position. The online library isn't the greatest, but it provides some okay starting points. I suggest playing around with the Treadplate #2 model (hold TAP and choose Treadplate). Sounds good to my ears through the Greenbacks 4x12 cab model.

[mm2002]

The J-Station is one of the best natural sounding modellers, IMO. Too bad it'll never be more than it is.

I loved my J Station too. If they built it in a rack mount, I'd still own it.

[Fragle]

i prefer the modern highgain and jcm800 models, although the plexi isn't too shabby either, just needs a LOT of tweaking.
with the 2.0 i found that you need to scoop out some of that excessive bass it produces. especially the marshalls are so friggin dark it's frightening. right now i'm running a ge-7 in front of the pod with a severe low mid scoop and a high mid boost (all the way) as well as a slight level boost. works nicely for those tight iced earth like rhythm tones, plus it really brightens up the marshalls.
as for the cab, the really bright one on the top left side (i think it's the flanger 2 position) is my fave...i don't know what it's supposed to be though. the 410 bassman cab is nice, too.

as for the rectifier models, the recto 2 is rather shitty imho. compressed to hell and congested sounding no matter what. the normal recto is OK i guess, i got some good sounds out of it with some minor EQ tweakage on the cubase, but it's hard to find a good balance...too much highs gets fuzzy fast, and the bass gets overwhelming even faster. sounds best with with mids high up, treble just past halfway, and the bass way down. ymmv, though

[Spivonious]

as for the rectifier models, the recto 2 is rather shitty imho. compressed to hell and congested sounding no matter what. the normal recto is OK i guess, i got some good sounds out of it with some minor EQ tweakage on the cubase, but it's hard to find a good balance...too much highs gets fuzzy fast, and the bass gets overwhelming even faster. sounds best with with mids high up, treble just past halfway, and the bass way down. ymmv, though

To each his own I guess

I have mine with the bass aroud 10 o'clock, mids around 2 o'clock, and treble all the way up. Gain is around 3 o'clock. The greenback 4x12 does a nice job of boosting mids and softening treble.

For a nice sparkly clean, I use the tube preamp model with no cab sim. Just keep the gain low or it starts to break up.

Of course I'm running all of these through my old set of computer speakers (Altec Lansing ACS48 I think) so YMM definitely V.

[hippietim]

I think the Recto sims on the POD are excellent! They sound like shit just like the real thing

[chrisolson]

Mine fell off my amp - the drive knob broke off. Got it with a Floorboard off eBay for $250 about a week ago (really just needed the Floorboard, but what the heck...) Looking at about $75 to fix...GREAT! All the sudden the deal isn't so good...oh well.

With that said, you can't help but love the bean. It's one of the best "bang for the buck" pieces of equipment I've ever owned. Be careful of the newer ones that are compatible with the newer FBV's and the like though - you CANNOT shut the cab sims off and keep them off.

[bloodandtears]

Be careful of the newer ones that are compatible with the newer FBV's and the like though - you CANNOT shut the cab sims off and keep them off.

are you referring to the XT model?

[chrisolson]

No. There is a 2.0 (2.3 actually) that is now compatible. I had the XT as well though. Nice piece of gear, but WAAAYYYY too much tweaking to be done. I'd rather just play. The old POD gives me everything I need and then some.

[bloodandtears]

ditto

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i love the 2.0
especially when i can use balanced cables into the board.