Axe FX vs Pod HD part 2

[Ola Englund]

This time I used the song I did with the Fortin Natas

 

[drew_drummer]

Hmm. Interesting. I prefered the PodHD this time round. It sounds more like a 'real amp' to me.

 

[wyllie]

Decent tone with both units tbh. I'm seriously considering picking up one of those 500's...Seems like the ultimate in cheap/easy live rig.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

Thank you very much!

So, that's with the POD HD cab emulation right?

First I thought I liked the POD HD tone more, but the Axe Fx sound seemed less fatiguing over time.
Main sound difference seems to still be because of the different cab emulation of the units.

One thing is for sure, both of them don't hold a candle to the Fortin.
Which was to be expected.

In any case, I'm convinced the POD HD will definitely improve my practicing experience at home compared to the POD 2.3 I've used until now. And that is exactly what I am getting mine for.
And sometime I'll probably also try how the FX hold up against my Boss GT10 in 4cm method.

 

[Rogueleader]

Are you getting any job offers due to these comparisons Ola?

People on all manner of other gear sites are reposting this like five seconds after you put it up you're probably going to be responsible for a good deal of this units sales in the metal sector.

 

[xFkx]

My ears say axe fx, my wallet says pod hd

 

[Ola Englund]

Are you getting any job offers due to these comparisons Ola?

People on all manner of other gear sites are reposting this like five seconds after you put it up you're probably going to be responsible for a good deal of this units sales in the metal sector.

That's probably just me spamming the forums

 

[Charlez]

What cab and mic did you use on the POD HD?

 

[::XeS::]

I prefer the Fortin
Axe-fx is a little darker that the pod

 

[JeffTD]

AxeFX definitely winning on this for me, POD has this incredibly annoying fizz to it, the entire mix gets focused and wah-cocked when it switches over.

 

[narcossintese]

I think Axe-FX tone is better, but the POD is also very good. You don´t happen to have a PODxt/X3/POD Farm around to compare it with the HD, do you?

 

[HandsOfDespair]

AxeFX by miles, pod sounds like shit IMO, the difference between hd and the old pod is a lot smaller than I expected

 

[Benny H]

AxeFX definitely winning on this for me, POD has this incredibly annoying fizz to it, the entire mix gets focused and wah-cocked when it switches over.

It's like this static 'air' that I almost always hear with the Line 6 stuff. It seems less prominent here, but it's still there.

 

[MarkG]

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be honestly, but the Axe FX does win out. I do think that they could be closer with a but more EQing, the axe was a lot darker. I do think the POD sounded rather harsh and brittle at times, but one of those presets sounded rather good imo.

I'll go away now....


(BITCH!)

 

[guitarguru777]

I dunno this one is tough for me. While I agree the POD has a Fizz on top it kinda fits on certain models. The low end on the Axe is HUGE and gives it awesome depth. The Pod has a better crunch though. It would be interesting to hear them mixed.

Its a tie for me really. I can decide.

 

[Ermz]

I desperately want to EQ the nasal mids out of both, argh.

You weren't using Ryan's impulses with the Axe, yeah? It sounds like it's stuck mid-flanger when it switches on, and then back to the POD, sounding like mid-wah.

 

[Matthias King]

Honestly, in the context of being double tracked and in a mix, they both sound pretty beast.

 

[nwright]

AxeFx by miles in this one...Fortin is better all around though...

 

[UtopianCrux]

Honestly, in the context of being double tracked and in a mix, they both sound pretty beast.

I was gonna say the same thing. I dunno that one can "counter"-EQ them both to a flat point where a fair A/B comparison can be made just on the amp/speaker simulation dynamics. The Axe-Fx seemed to have a better dig on the low notes, and a more plastic-y upper midrange... while the HD seemed to have really good upper note saturation and dynamic cut, but with some unwanted frequencies here-and-there. That all could be where the knobs were turned, and either might be moved towards perfection with a nice parametric EQ insert and a little freq carving at the DAW... who knows?

I think were to a point of comparing something like the aforementioned Fortin and a 6505 here. Some will prefer the more expensive model, and some (like myself who still like a good ol' 5150/6505) might like the cheaper one a little better.

 

[Ola Englund]

I desperately want to EQ the nasal mids out of both, argh.

You weren't using Ryan's impulses with the Axe, yeah? It sounds like it's stuck mid-flanger when it switches on, and then back to the POD, sounding like mid-wah.

No these were stock impulses on both units. I could probably do a better sound using impulses in Logic but it wouldn't be fair to the test. Most people want to decide on the unit without having to use impulses or eq afterwards.