V-amp OR Pod for live??

Melb_shredder

Melb_shredder

Orpheus: Melodic Death
Mar 9, 2008
2,852
1
36
Melbourne
Hey guys! I figure as my band will be embarking on some touring early next year, and me being the tonal pain in the A that I am, I probably will find myself in many lack lustre situations revolving around the gear we get to use...

So, I figure I'd buy a Pod or a V-amp and use that live when we tour, I can tweak around etc but have my staple sounds settled on before we go!

Your thoughts on either the V-Amp or Pod would be great. The V-amp is shitty to a degree, but I figure it works well enough for Dark Tranquillity so I'm not sure. The pod is great too, but I always find the Line 6 gear just never cuts through a mix live.

Your help would be appreciated!

Cheers guys,
Chris
 
Which V-Amp are you talking about?
The latest V-Amp 3 actually does sound pretty good and for the money, you can't find anything better, but if you can afford it, step up to the POD X3 Live or POD X3 Pro
 
V-Amp 2, like most of the Behringer stuff, doesn´t even have on/off switch, so I can´t recommend it for gigs. Yeah, you´ve read it right, if it´s plugged, it´s on, you can´t turn it off. Unbelievable. I´ve never tested V-Amp 3 or the X V-Amp, but from the pics I´ve checked they also doesn´t seen to have a power switch. I´m the only one that think this is beyond ridiculous?

PODxt is amazing for gigs. I´ve owned one in the past and I may buy a X3 in the future.
 
I have a mate who owns the V-Amp 3, and I own the V-Amp 2, and I also own a POD X3 Live, so I know how all of them sound.
The POD is better than both V-Amps, but obviously it's a lot more expensive too.
Also bear in mind the V-Amp 3 doesn't come in rackmount form (yet) while the V-Amp 2 is available in a rackmount version
 
narcossintese said:
V-Amp 2, like most of the Behringer stuff, doesn´t even have on/off switch, so I can´t recommend it for gigs. Yeah, you´ve read it right, if it´s plugged, it´s on, you can´t turn it off. Unbelievable. I´ve never tested V-Amp 3 or the X V-Amp, but from the pics I´ve checked they also doesn´t seen to have a power switch. I´m the only one that think this is beyond ridiculous?

PODxt is amazing for gigs. I´ve owned one in the past and I may buy a X3 in the future.
Click to expand...

I don't like the fact it has no power switch, but honestly when I compared a POD 2.0 with the V-Amp 2 (which at the same, the V-Amp 2 was made to compete with the POD 2.0), I didn't even care that the V-Amp 2 didn't have an on/off switch, because it did everything the POD 2.0 did for half the price, and the amp models actually sounded superior to the POD 2.0, so to me, the V-Amp 2 was an absolute steal at the time.
 
Interesting... Well price is definitely a contributor, but at the same time, i want the tone to sound good. I've actually realised Dark Tranquillity have tonal presets designed for the V-Amp as they use it as their live rig. The V-amp into the power amp of any amp in the house at the time. So hmmm.. The power on/off doesn't particularly kill the sale for me. But yeh, I totally can see the negative of that :S

Dilema dilema dilema...
 
I had a V-Amp Pro years ago, then a Pod XT Pro.
Both plugged to a 100 Watts Tube Poweramp and a Marshall AV1960 cab.

I used them live and sounde pretty well but Pod XT has better tones, better FX and everything.


Anyway my recommendation, use them only as FX units and get a tube preamp.
 
I went back to my Marshall for gigs after pissing around with my XTLive, but I've been using it for band practices (just goin into the power section of whatever amp they've got down there - usually a Laney or a DFX 100!!!), sounds good after some tweaking, plus i couldn't be arsed carting tons of gear for a 3 hour practice!
If you're touring you will have to tweak whatever modeller you get for every gig IMO, just so it sounds right, but +1 for the Pod from me.

BTW are you taking your own power amp so you can just hook up to any cab they've got in house?? You'll get a far more consistant sound every show that way.
 
Cheers guys! Let's see how we go! The pod isn't THAT much more. But do you all suggest a CERTAIN pod? The V-amp2 doesn't seem to be short of the V-amp 3 in terms of live use. And the pods.. well I was thinking a pod 2.0.

As for what I'm taking with me. We have a 20kg limit each person. So really, guitar + pod etc, doesn't leave much for a power amp. I'd just take my RACK if I was not limited by the weight, cause I have my entire gear in a rack hehe! But yeah, this is to cause convenience, at least for the first leg of touring :)
 
A Digitech GSP1101 is your best bet.
http://www.digitech.com/products/Multi-Effects/GSP1101.php
Recently used on tour by Carcass and Megadeth etc.
I have one and use it regularly as a front end for my amps or into the return when using it as a preamp. Sounds great when used for tubescreamer, gate, comp and eq before hitting the amp.
The amp sims on it are very good but the beta update provides lots of extra stuff including a good 5150 sim.
If you get one, make sure to get the beta update here:
http://www.mustbebeta.com/gsp1101vc48.html
 
I used have a V-amp pro years ago and from what i remember that did have an on/off button on the left hand side. I sold it for about $50
 
Savo said:
I used have a V-amp pro years ago and from what i remember that did have an on/off button on the left hand side. I sold it for about $50
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the rack mount version. The "les-paul" shaped version doesn't have an on-off switch. For what it's worth, I've had mine permanently on for about... 5 years, damn thing still works! I used it direct into the PA for rehearsals... meh.
 
Organise before tour. I've toured for 5 years around Australia using both my own gear and borrowed through the good will of others. After you get through your first tour and networked through every city it'll get easier. Being a metal band
I assume you'll be flying? Take a leaf from the hc scene and drive. Works out cheaper usually.
 
narcossintese said:
V-Amp 2, like most of the Behringer stuff, doesn´t even have on/off switch, so I can´t recommend it for gigs. Yeah, you´ve read it right, if it´s plugged, it´s on, you can´t turn it off. Unbelievable. I´ve never tested V-Amp 3 or the X V-Amp, but from the pics I´ve checked they also doesn´t seen to have a power switch. I´m the only one that think this is beyond ridiculous?

PODxt is amazing for gigs. I´ve owned one in the past and I may buy a X3 in the future.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling he was talking about the V-Amp Pro for touring which most certainly does have an on/off switch as seen in the picture below.

EM_BHR-V-AMP-PRO_front.jpg


For a live sound the V-Amp Pro can have a nice pretty workable tone. Add a MIDI footswitch like the FCB101 and you would have total control on stage.

Despite all the Behringer hating, the V-Amp 2 was a lot of fun when I had one when they first came out (the funny looking guitar shaped personal unit) - this was a long time ago mind you, but I experimented the hell out of that thing way back when. This was when the original POD bean was out too.
 
Pod xt
because:
a) upgradeable/expandable
b) excellent effects

I've owned both the v-amp pro and the podxt pro and I prefer the pod's sounds a bit more (purely my own opinion, of course). Sometimes I wish I would have kept the v-amp pro to mess around with the sounds more and see just how good I could get it to sound but ultimately I'm happier with the podxt pro.
 
I would take some time to seriously look at the GSP1101 and the RP500/RP1000 if you need a floorboard version. The GSP1101 will need the C48 Beta from mustbebeta.com

POD's I have never been happy with after trying the original and the XT. The core engine doesn't seem to have changed at all besides a few new models and the dual amp chains.

The V-Amps aren't bad, for high gain I think they are better and cut through better than POD's. I still have a Pro and Bass V-Amp Pro in my studio for idea tracking and scratch tracks. They have limited FX and slow patch switching.

But lately I have been using a GSP1101 with a Carvin BX500 (just the FX return) as my live rig and an RP500 for traveling and scratch tracks. They blow the V-Amp's away. Faster switching, better sounding and more FX, and much better cut live. The GSP1101 has spillover too which is sweet. Much more realistic and real feeling amp models as well. A/B'ing even with tube amps (cab modeling off), it is more about taste like comparing tube amps, no sign of digital-ness. The cab models aren't the greatest, about the same as the POD or V-Amp. Gets the job done, but pretty crappy compared to real cabs or even impulses.

I haven't tried Eleven or the Axe-Fx because they are out of my price range. But I am a total tube guy, and have switched to the GSP1101 for live use. With the Carvin BX500, I have 10lb 500Watt rack rig that slays and has tons of versatility with the post-FX-Return EQ and tube switch. Then it doubles as my bass rig too. Sweet.
 
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