Line 6 Pocket POD

Nice Variety of sounds only bad thing is power

This thing is great for practicing with head phones. The wide variety of sounds make for a more authentic practice session (so when you're playing U2 songs you don't sound like ACDC and vice versa) and makes practicing more fun.



The only big downside is that it sucks down power like nobody's business. I bought four high-end AAA batteries and the Pod ate them in a about a week of playing for less than 2 hours a night. Furthermore the manual states that only non-rechargeable batteries (or the optional AC adapter) should be used. I now plan to buy the Line 6 DC1 which is line 6's 9 volt adapter from Amazon soon.



Another much smaller downside is that the real manual is only available in PDF format from Line 6's web site. But if you're at Amazon you probably have an internet connection.



While getting the manual you should probably also download Vyzex which is Line 6's software for editing the tones from the Pocket Pod. This software isn't absolutely necessary for using the Pocket pod but it does make editing tones somewhat easier and it also allows the use of download tones (which work somewhat like synthesizer patches.) I also think the software could be better designed.



Still I'm very pleased with the product. When you consider it's cost versus the cost of an amp head plus stomp boxes etc. the variety of amps and effects modeled and the fact that the Pocket Pod doesn't take up much space at all it's a great deal especially someone like me who practices in an apartment.

More detail ...