Pod Go Wireless impressions

[brooksjohnson]

I've had my Pod Go Wireless for a few weeks now and just did my first gig with it. Here are some thoughts that I thought might interest the community. Feedback is welcome, especially if I'm off base about anything ...

 

Note: I had been using Pod XT Live for the last dozen years or so. Really liked it, although it had its faults, but felt it was time to update. I kept expecting my XT Live to take its last breath in the middle of a big solo!

 

Pros of the Pod Go Wireless:

• Huge universe of sounds possible with a small portable box. Great for me, a guitarist in a cover band, since I try to mimic the original artist's sound. 
• Nice editor for the PC. I don't edit the sounds on the Pod directly ... seems tedious. I prefer to use the big screen on my PC. Easy to select different amps or effects boxes and drag/drop the order. 
• The color screen/buttons on the pod and large font are good during live shows. Easy to see and control. 
• Like the snapshot approach. Good to have different sections of songs and turn different effects on/off quickly
• Sounds fantastic in a live setting with the balanced output going directly to the PA

 

 

Cons:

• The wireless dongle only charges when the Pod is turned on and uses the input plug. So you can't recharge while you're playing with a patch cord. This is very frustrating. 
• There are no meters on the editor software. Would be very useful to see the signal levels at each stage of the preset. As it works now, I'm just guessing. 
• Very difficult to map presets from XT Live to Pod Go. Names of amps and effects have changed as well as functionality. Spent way too many hours trying get close to the sound I liked from the XT. 
• Using the foot switch to scroll through the banks is slow. It doesn't change immediately when you press the switch ... takes a second. This is frustrating when you're between songs and need to get to a preset right away. 
• In the editor, when I'm working on a preset and I switch to another preset without saving, my work is lost. No warning!
• The wireless range seems pretty limited. Walked to the other side of the stage and the guitar cut out. 
• The switch on the pedal too easily switches between wah and volume. I accidentally did that a couple of times during my gig without much pressure. 

 

Neutral: 

• People have complained about the limited processing of the Pod Go... can't have more than 4 effects and no parallel processing like in the Helix. This doesn't bother me since I'm just doing basic cover songs with a full band. I can get a "plenty good enough" sound with the Pod Go.

 

 

[voxman55]

16 hours ago, brooksjohnson said:

 

Cons:

• The wireless dongle only charges when the Pod is turned on and uses the input plug. So you can't recharge while you're playing with a patch cord. This is very frustrating. 

This is one of the biggest problems of the PGW,. The other is that it's useless if you wanted to use the wireless system with other gear eg guitar straight through to amp, other MFX or pedal board. For these reasons I would always use a separate wireless system that gave me control.  Currently I have two G10 Relays.  Although I'm not crazy about the receiver base, it does the job for now.

• There are no meters on the editor software. Would be very useful to see the signal levels at each stage of the preset. As it works now, I'm just guessing. 

A meter to help balance output volumes on the PG & PGE might have some utility for some, but at best it's a broad indicator & doesn't necessarily equate to real perceived volume levels in a band mix

• Very difficult to map presets from XT Live to Pod Go. Names of amps and effects have changed as well as functionality. Spent way too many hours trying get close to the sound I liked from the XT. 

Without being funny, you're not meant to - PG is an entirely different architecture & MFX generation. It's the same with any two different MFX and the same could be said of my Vox Tonelab SE.  The same make means nothing - the TLSE is totally different to the later TLST and TLEX (later units but vastly inferior in many areas).  Ditto the Zoom G5 and G5n etc.  

• Using the foot switch to scroll through the banks is slow. It doesn't change immediately when you press the switch ... takes a second. This is frustrating when you're between songs and need to get to a preset right away. 

That's odd - my unit changes pretty quickly.  There can be a slight lag when you switch patches (depends on the patch content) hence why snapshots are faster if you need a change mid song.  

• In the editor, when I'm working on a preset and I switch to another preset without saving, my work is lost. No warning!

You might want to check if there's any connection issue but there are two solutions:

1. just like on a computer 'save as' to create a new patch, and then save as you go.
2. In PG itself it can be set to 'autosave' to save changes automatically. Personally I'd never use that as I'd want control as to what to save & when. PGE replicates PG settings - it isn't separate to PG hence you can't use PGE without being connected to PG. So if you set PG to autosave, then PGE should autosave too. (But check the PGE manual to see if autosave can be activated from PGE)

• The wireless range seems pretty limited. Walked to the other side of the stage and the guitar cut out. 

That depends very much on environment, & whether there are any potential conflicting signals eg wifi, other wireless systems. You should be able to get at least 50 feet though provided there are no line of sight obstacles. 

• The switch on the pedal too easily switches between wah and volume. I accidentally did that a couple of times during my gig without much pressure. 

Mine seems quite acceptable here and needs a definite press to kick it in. I'm unclear whether the pressure setting is adjustable so I'd recommend a careful read of the manual here.

 

 

 

 

 

[brooksjohnson]

Thanks Voxman for your helpful feedback! Some comments below:

 

Cons:

• The wireless dongle only charges when the Pod is turned on and uses the input plug. So you can't recharge while you're playing with a patch cord. This is very frustrating. 

This is one of the biggest problems of the PGW,. The other is that it's useless if you wanted to use the wireless system with other gear eg guitar straight through to amp, other MFX or pedal board. For these reasons I would always use a separate wireless system that gave me control.  Currently I have two G10 Relays.  Although I'm not crazy about the receiver base, it does the job for now.

• There are no meters on the editor software. Would be very useful to see the signal levels at each stage of the preset. As it works now, I'm just guessing. 

A meter to help balance output volumes on the PG & PGE might have some utility for some, but at best it's a broad indicator & doesn't necessarily equate to real perceived volume levels in a band mix

 

A broad indicator would be a welcome improvement. Right now, to see output level, I need to connect the PGW to my mixer or DAW. I'd like to be able do some basic editing with just my laptop PC. I'd also like to know the signal levels between effects stages within the PGW signal chain.

• Very difficult to map presets from XT Live to Pod Go. Names of amps and effects have changed as well as functionality. Spent way too many hours trying get close to the sound I liked from the XT. 

Without being funny, you're not meant to - PG is an entirely different architecture & MFX generation. It's the same with any two different MFX and the same could be said of my Vox Tonelab SE.  The same make means nothing - the TLSE is totally different to the later TLST and TLEX (later units but vastly inferior in many areas).  Ditto the Zoom G5 and G5n etc. 

 

I get that I'm not meant to, but that doesn't mean it's not frustrating. Not only are the presets not transferable, many of the amp/effect names have changed and, once I do find the roughly equivalent piece of equipment, it behaves differently. It would be great if Line6 had created a mapping utility to get you as close as possible. I'm not saying that the PGW should not have new/better/different patches available ... I'm just saying transferring is a pain in the butt. Wish I had known that before I bought it. 

• Using the foot switch to scroll through the banks is slow. It doesn't change immediately when you press the switch ... takes a second. This is frustrating when you're between songs and need to get to a preset right away. 

That's odd - my unit changes pretty quickly.  There can be a slight lag when you switch patches (depends on the patch content) hence why snapshots are faster if you need a change mid song.  

 

Yes, the snapshots change quickly. Love that feature. It's going from preset to preset that's a little slow for my taste. The Pod XT Live was instant.

• In the editor, when I'm working on a preset and I switch to another preset without saving, my work is lost. No warning!

You might want to check if there's any connection issue but there are two solutions:

1. just like on a computer 'save as' to create a new patch, and then save as you go.
2. In PG itself it can be set to 'autosave' to save changes automatically. Personally I'd never use that as I'd want control as to what to save & when. PGE replicates PG settings - it isn't separate to PG hence you can't use PGE without being connected to PG. So if you set PG to autosave, then PGE should autosave too. (But check the PGE manual to see if autosave can be activated from PGE)

Thanks! Didn't know about the autosave feature.

• The wireless range seems pretty limited. Walked to the other side of the stage and the guitar cut out. 

That depends very much on environment, & whether there are any potential conflicting signals eg wifi, other wireless systems. You should be able to get at least 50 feet though provided there are no line of sight obstacles. 

 

My experience is that there are always conflicting signals. Everyone in the audience has a cell phone and wifi hotspots abound. I was able to get nowhere near 50 feet on a normal stage. I expect all my equipment to be built for real world conditions.

• The switch on the pedal too easily switches between wah and volume. I accidentally did that a couple of times during my gig without much pressure. 

Mine seems quite acceptable here and needs a definite press to kick it in. I'm unclear whether the pressure setting is adjustable so I'd recommend a careful read of the manual here.

 

Thanks ... I'll check the manual. Would be great if that pressure setting is adjustable.

 

[voxman55]

Hmm - My G10 Relay (you'll have the G10T II transmitter in PGW) easily gives me at least a 50 foot range in live gig conditions. Odd that your's doesn't - although to be fair, I think Line 6 say 'up to 50ft but conditions may vary'.  Unfortunately, although the G10 gives 14 'RF2' channels, I don't think there's any way to manually change the channel as it auto-selects this each time you redock the receiver.  Just a thought, are you redocking the transmitter in PGW for at least 15 seconds before you plug the G10T II into your guitar?  If not, then perhaps it's not having a chance to find the optimum channel?  

[silverhead]

Also make sure there is no wireless router nearby.

[brooksjohnson]

Thanks voxman ... great idea. I did dock the transmitter before the show, but I should do it again after the crowd arrives with their mobile phones. That's a great tip.

 

Hi silverhead, that's not an option for us. We use the XR18 mixer with a wireless router and a tablet. Need the PGW to deal with it :-)

[silverhead]

 

25 minutes ago, brooksjohnson said:

.....

Hi silverhead, that's not an option for us. We use the XR18 mixer with a wireless router and a tablet. Need the PGW to deal with it :-)

 

I should have been more specific. By 'nearby' I mean within several feet. Assuming your mixer/router is more than10 feet from your PGW you should be fine.

[brooksjohnson]

Thanks silverhead. That's a good suggestion.

[GeorgeKrizanovic]

Is everyone happy with the font?  

I need to see what preset I

am on when I'm on stage outside in the daytime. I'm a bit older and my eyesight is no longer

equal to Superman's. Seriously, it can't be that difficult to create a view that only shows

"2D" filling the screen. Call it Stage View. If the sun is shining, I don't stand a chance seeing what preset 

I am on without leaning over the screen. Especially in sunglasses. 

I have to return my unit for that reason alone. 

It's a shame because I love it. I'm a hardcore loyal believer of Line 6.

It was an awesome upgrade from my HD500.

[goosemonkey]

@GeorgeKrizanovic I agree.  My eyes are not as young as they once were I really appreciate when companies offer modes that increase visibility.

[voxman55]

On 10/3/2022 at 2:45 PM, goosemonkey said:

@GeorgeKrizanovic I agree.  My eyes are not as young as they once were I really appreciate when companies offer modes that increase visibility.

Yup, agree with you both and my eyes are not what they were either. Option for larger fonts would be a huge help.