Line 6 POD HD (Bean Version)

General Information

Original Author: Todd Simpson

Weapon: Sound Processor

Make: Line 6

Model: POD HD (Bean Version)

Price: Around $150 second hand

The HELIX is the latest thing from line 6, but the venerable POD HD is still kicking around. You can get them VERY cheap on the used market and they are great value for money. I recently bought one off Ebay for $150!! Here are the quick pros and cons.

PROS

-Fully functional as an Audio Interface/Soundcard with XLR input.
-Can be the centerpiece of your entire home studio for recording/playback/processing.
-Presets for VOCALS, BASS, GUITAR, etc.
-WADS of FX, umpteen different kinds of each effect. E.G. Umpteen overdrives, delays, compressors, chorus, heads/cabs etc.
-Software Patch Editor! (Thank God)
-CHEAP! (For the cost of one pedal you can have a full on processor and audio interface)

CONS

FIZZ!!!! Yup, despite being "HD" and having new models on deck, my experience was the same as previous Line 6 devices when going for high gain tones. There was that unmistakable "Line 6 Fizz" that was very hard to dial out.

That's about it. Mostly, it's a great little unit that is very cheap for everything it does and if you don't have an interface yet, it will work as that and be a very portable full on guitar rig. Just plug in to a P.A. and bam. You are ready to rock. You can add the foot switch to get patch control and a wah/volume pedal.

The only thing that hinders it IMHO is that same problem of high gain fizz. If you are a "Metal Guy" this can be very frustrating. However, for nearly every other genre, it's a near perfect unit imho. Even for Metal, it's good, just not great. That about sums up my experience. I ended up selling it back to ebay to fund whatever is next for my gear collection I still have my 11 Rack and my 3 Ibanez guitars. Ready for new gear in 2017 to try

Video Review

Here is a video with some patches to give you an idea of how the unit really sounds. (Video by Iuri Rodrigues)

Here is a video with some good sound comparisons using the POD HD BEAN a REVV 120 amp and POSITIVE GRID BIAS. Gives a good example of why I just didn't like this unit. Great on cleans, great on fx, but for me the High Gain channel is a yes or no button for any bit of kit. (Video by SpectreSoundStudios)