Question:
Hi everyone, first off thanks for any help in advance, I'm new to these effect processors and things. I'm looking for something along the lines of the podXT live or Boss gt-8. Something I could just hook up to a pa and go (as I can't afford a good stack, this is my alternative) I would be using it for recording as well. My friends have podxt's and they're nice (recently we hooked one up to a bose system for a show and it sounded great), so my first inclination is towards the xt live (I like having it on the floor) but I've seen several others from the leading effect companies that look nice too, I don't need any recording capabilities like the digitech one has, though a metronome and or drum machine would be nice.

I play a little bit of everything but lean on the heavy side, I was thinking of getting the metal upgrade if I got the pod, but the Boss gt-8 looks great too ... like I said in the title, help! ... any suggestions, recommendations, ideas etc would be appreciated, thanks.

http://line6.com/podxtlive/
http://bossus.com/index.asp?pg=1&tmp=147
Answer:
I'm partial to Line6, and have owned a POD, so I would reccomend the XT Live. I'm not partial to amp modeling, but Line6 is your best bet in my opinion. Anathema has an XT live, (s)he will probably be along within a few hours to fill you in.
-Nick
Answer:
POD XTlive is awesome. I have also heard good thngs about some of the higher-quality Digitech multi-fx.
Answer:
Yeah, I love my XTL. I find Line 6's amp modeling technology to only be possibly beaten by Vox. But Vox doesn't seem to have made an amp model leaning more towards a heavy style of music.
Answer:
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/to...tonelab_se.htm

This vox one looks very nice, it's also a lot more expensive, but you say vox isn't good for heavy stuff right?

Prices at musiciansfriend.com

Vox tonelab se $600
Boss gt-8 $445
Pod xt live $400









Answer:
From the reviews that I've read and the experience that I've had with a friend that owns one at the moment, the Vox doesn't seem to be the best option for a heavier style of music. It's more classic rock, alternative....blah blah blah...
Answer:
i can vouch for the vox's overall greatness... although i'm not quite sure what you mean by 'heavier'. its got some nice high-gain amps:
UK '80S = Marshall JCM-800
UK '90S = Marshall JCM-900
UK MODERN = Marshall DSL-2000
RECTO=Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
US HIGAIN = Soldano
BOUTIQUE OD = Dumble Overdrive Special
and the rest of the clean/rock amps are great as well.
UK '70S = Marshall Plexi
UK BLUES = Marshall JTM-45
AC15 = VOX AC15
AC15TB = VOX AC15TB
AC30 = VOX AC30
AC30TB = VOX AC30TB Top Boost
BOUTIQUE CL = Dumble other model
BLACK 2x12 = Fender Twin Reverb
TWEED 1x12 = Fender Princeton
TWEED 4x10 = Fender Bassman
overall, warm tone, authentic distortions; very nice. i have one of the lower end valvetronix amps (AD30VT) and i've been very pleased with the results. i'm not too big into modeling stuff, but the vox has it nailed for tone. i havn't played through a POD, but from the recordings i've heard, they seem 'cold', though technically accurate modeling. and digitech? i started with one of their low-end RP line. yuck. digital, digital, digital. thats what you heard.
if you want a taste of what the valvetronix can do, check out vox's website. they have plenty of samples.
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/va...vtOverview.htm
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/va...t_audition.htm
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/va...view_movie.htm
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/support/list_demos.asp
and this site has some good information about the valvetronix, although specifically talking about the amps, the brain behind the modeling is the same.
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/support/list_demos.asp
Answer:
although i'm not quite sure what you mean by 'heavier'

I need something for high gain rhythm and lead work, which makes up the majority of my playing on dirty channels, I really like the heavy tone on Dream Theater's "Train of Thought" album where JP used a Mesa Road King, short clip of one of the tracks from the album here, displaying rhythm and lead tone http://www.megiloth.com/sounds/dream...dying_soul.mp3 sound quality could be better but you get the idea ... for clean I like a nice pristine, jazzy tone.

Harmony central ratings

Vox tonelab se - 9.1
Boss gt-8 - 8.6
Pod xt live - 8.5

Musicians friend ratings

Boss gt-8 - 9.7
Vox tonelab se - 8.8
Pod xt live - 8.6
Answer:
Go for the GT-8. I play one through my Church and it can kick out some sweet tones. It can be made totally custom to what you want and the possibilities are endless.
Answer:
I would prolly have to recomend the line 6 unit. Or the boss...
Answer:
Due to my experience with the GT-3, i'd vote for the GT-8 but how do the prices compare? (They're both great)
Answer:
Originally Posted by DarylB Due to my experience with the GT-3, i'd vote for the GT-8 but how do the prices compare? (They're both great)
From what I've found the boss is about $50 more on average.

Ok, so far four votes for the pod, two votes for the Boss, and one for the vox. I'm starting to lean towards the xt more than the others too ... I guess the best thing to do is see if I can try them out, music stores aren't the greatest around here but I'll see what I can find and then report back here.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Dream_Theater From what I've found the boss is about $50 more on average.

Ok, so far four votes for the pod, two votes for the Boss, and one for the vox. I'm starting to lean towards the xt more than the others too ... I guess the best thing to do is see if I can try them out, music stores aren't the greatest around here but I'll see what I can find and then report back here. I wouldn't take the votes into too much consideration (I'm not saying that because they don't go my way!! ) but you really do need to try them out and see which one is better suited to your style of playing and playing situation needs.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Dream_Theater I need something for high gain rhythm and lead work, which makes up the majority of my playing on dirty channels, I really like the heavy tone on Dream Theater's "Train of Thought" album where JP used a Mesa Road King, short clip of one of the tracks from the album here, displaying rhythm and lead tone http://www.megiloth.com/sounds/dream...dying_soul.mp3 sound quality could be better but you get the idea ... for clean I like a nice pristine, jazzy tone.
i'm not sure that you could nail the sound you posted on the clip... the valvetronix doesn't have any problems getting up to that level of distortion... although the highest levels of distortion is its weaker side.
for the 'pristine, jazzy', the valvetronix is great. no problem there.
i'd go with the tonelab or the boss. i'm not much of a line6 fan.
Answer:
with such modeling power of these boxes, it's possible to get almost any tone you want. it just takes lots of time to really explore all of its dark corners.
i'd go for the valvetronix but i've heard some really good stuff with a POD through a PA