Bass Players Perspective on the POD Go

[ppiluk]

I have had my POD Go for about 2 weeks and I have decided to share my thoughts. I am a digital modeling junkie and currently have a Fender Rumble Studio, a Zoom B3n, a BOSS GT-10B and an IK Multimedia Stomp I/O (which I use with Amplitube, BIAS and Guitar Rig Pro). I am firmly in the digital world.

 

I have owned several other products over the years including a bunch of Line 6 products.

 

Firstly, withing minutes of playing the first patch I decided to move solely into the world of digital amps and effects. I have recently purchased a nice KRK Rokit 5 G4 studio monitor and will be picking up a PA speaker soon. This epiphany was mostly because even though I could setup my Fender Rumble Studio 40 to play flat enough for most situations, it still had its limits and I believe I had reached them. Let's get this out of the way first, the monitor speaker made an immediate improvement. It made all my modeling pedals sound so much better.

 

*NOTE: I have crafted this thread over a few days and have just sold my Fender Studio Rumble 40 and picked up a used FRFR speaker. Made an enormous difference! *

 

PROS of The POD Go

1. Within 5 minutes of turning the thing on I had created my first usable patch right on the unit. It sounded rough and, in all honesty, it wasn't quite stage worthy, but it was extremely easy to create. I can see that as I continue to learn the ins and outs of this thing, I will soon be able to create usable patches right on the unit in 5 minutes. The POD Go Edit makes creating patches even easier than creating them on the unit. The app also has the added benefit of being able to see all the block's parameters and adjust them, accordingly, updating the unit in real time. The included "Cheat Sheet" is really all you need to know to start using the unit out of the box. Of course, investing the time in reading the "whopping" 40-page manual will fill in many vital operational details, reading the manual is especially important if you want to create your own usable patches. So, make sure you download it and read it.
2. The amp choice is excellent. There are a wide variety of models to choose from, not as many as there are guitar amps but it does include most of the must haves. Line 6 has done a wonderful job emulating the tube amps. The amps react exactly like a tube should. This is one of my favorite things about the POD Go. It is especially well done in the Ampeg models (I am wondering if this is due to the recent acquisition of Ampeg by Line 6's parent company Yamaha or if it was simply due to their process, either way well done Line 6!)
3. The ability to add your own IRs is awesome and I recommend you finding and purchasing a couple of good ones. Most Third-party IRs will be better than the included Cab Sims line 6 provides. The best place to get started is this incredible and free pack from Dr Bonkers. You can find it here: Dr Bonkers In This Together Cab Pack IR Collection. Surprisingly, this free pack included several amazing bass IRs. Thank you Dr Bonkers! 
4. There is an effect for every conceivable situation. 
5. I haven't gigged with this yet, but it is easily rugged enough for this and the size makes it easier to play in places that my venerable BOSS GT-10B couldn't, or the old POD HDs or a HELIX for that matter. 
6. The big screen is great!

 

CONS of the POD Go

1. The biggest and most glaring weakness of the POD Go for me was the almost total lack of patches for bass. There are 8 and they do not even come close to providing an overview of what the unit can do. Say what you want about the usability of factory patches, but there is no denying that they are often used by many people, myself included, as launching pads for their own ideas. The eight patches do not even cover all the amps. Yes, I could substitute amps easily but that is not really the point. Even the marketplace is a wasteland for the POD Go bass player containing a few patch offerings. I did purchase the Alex Guitars POD GO SVT Bass patch and it is well worth the money. It can be found here: Alex Guitars POD Go SVT Bass Patch.
2. I think not including the Clawthorn Drive is a mistake. It should be included with the understanding it will limit your other pedal choices. According to the DPS chart here: Helix DPS Allocations, it seems to require only slightly more DPS power than the Ampeg Scrambler so there is really no reason for it not to be included. It would add more options for the average bass player.
3.  I love the screen. The problem is it really is underused. I would love to see some additional detail in the amps and effects rather than the generic pictures and colors of each category. Of course, there should be an option for people who prefer the current generic version.

 

I hope the unit continues to get updates with new amps and pedals being added. For me, my number one requested Amp would be an Orange AD200 followed closely by a MarkBass amp Sim. These are my favorite bass amps and ones that would get a lot of use on my POD Go. I use the Orange AD200 sim all the time in Amplitube. The fact that Line 6 just released a new POD Go Wireless edition is encouraging as it means they will be adding at least a couple updates in the future.

 

My observations are still rudimentary, and I still must test the Octave pedals and Wah effects but overall, the POD Go does a lot right. There are missing features for some bass players, most notably the POD Go only has a single chain and not the dual chain many bass players prefer, but I rarely use the dual chain so for me this was not an issue. Saying that, I can do that with my BOSS GT-10B anyway if I ever find myself needing that functionality. The bottom line is I would highly recommend the POD Go to most bass players but only if your needs require a single chain. If you require a dual chain, you will have to look at one of the Helix units.

 

 

[luca5x]

Take any guitar patch and swap out the IR's and Cabs and presto it's a killer bass patch.