Hi, I too have experienced tone suck from POD Go, and I have mentioned it to one person at Line6 and they didn't have a response. I have tried everything, and found LA Comp helps the most to restore enough tone to make it acceptable, but it's still way less than the real deal. I expected some of their amp models not to play nice with my amps, but I did not expect going bypass- effects only to also dull up the tone. But it does. When I A-B an old PODXT on bypass, effects only, the difference is very obvious. The 15 year old XT is brighter, has more sparkle, leaves my amps' tone undiminished. I have tried A-B test through four different amps (Suhr Badger 30, 66 Supro TBolt, 66 Fender Tremolux, and a BillM Blues Jr. I never used the models in the XT (after a last firmware update) because they sounded fizzy and harshly unmusical. The effects and programmability though, made that old XT useful and versatile enough for most things I do.
POD Go has a lot of neat stuff in it for the price, was far cheaper than the Helix with the same engine (same as 500HD I guess), so I went for it. It's a useful tool, but it will never be as lively sounding as a quality tube amp with minimal signal chain devices.
POD GO likes flat response amps. The Powercab is probably best. POD GO sounds killer through headphones, recording direct, going stereo direct into the PA (although losing the amp behind you leaves much to be desired, and a wedge doesn't cut it.) The stereo effects are to die for. If you are eating to lighten the load, this is a good tool and super versatile. But it isn't the multi-effects unit I intended to buy, simply because it diminishes the tone of quality tube amps. I'll keep it, but if I were on a tighter budget, I'd be unhappy.
