can you get a decent bass sound out of a pocket pod?

Nah, not a fan of that at all. I don't use a pocket pod so I don't know what you could do to improve it on there, (except for buying a sansamp).
 
i could do some for you if you like. I have the pocket pod for playing along to our band's songs before a gig. it's cool because i can attach it to my cell and play allong without any dc adapter attached + it has a decent tuner build-in
 
would love to hear it plugged directly into your DAW, without impulses and stuff; just the real thing- I'm gonna use it the same way as you are probably, just for warming up before a gig; maybe demo with it when I'm not home :)

thanks in advance man!