Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

[Erlend_G]

Well... since my uncle is taking home the Marshall combo i've been borrowing from him for 6 years, i've been looking for something to suit my needs for a guitar amp.

After some research, i've decided on getting a "all-in-one" floorboard preamp. The Line6 Pod XT Live and the Vox ToneLab SE seems the most interesting, but i can't decide which one i should get. I do not have any chance of getting to try before i buy, so i'll have to trust other people's opinions.

Anyway, here's what i need:

-I'm gonna be using the floorboard\preamp with a guitar cab and my Peavey 130w solid state head (very clean and transparent) for live playing and band rehersal. I need something that is easy to use on stage- i must be able to switch between sounds and turn wah\wah on and off without tap dancing on the board.

-I'm also going to use it for recording, straight into soundcard. It's important that it has a "natural" tone and doesn't sound too digital and harsh.

-I'd rather have two damn good tones than a thousand terrible ones. Though, i need to have a selection of good clean\mid gain tones, so that i can find the right one for the song.

-Cleans and mid\high gain is more important than ultra high gain.

So, sorry for the messy post... i'm feeling kinda ill today . Vote on the poll, guys!

-Erlend

 

[JeffB]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

I dididnt find the TONELAB SE to be any easier to use at all than my XTL. In fact, I found it less inutitive to use. The POD XTL xclearly shows you what you are tweaking. The Tonelab has a a bunch of lighted LEDs you have to cross ref with whatever you are tweaking.

IN general the effects and clean models are much more realistic and organic on the Tonelab.

If you want accurate higher gain models, the POD XTL is better, especially for Marshalls.

The POD Is much more versatile, you have many more amps and cabs to fool with. I can take the 800 model and with creative use of all the diff cabs and mic placements/types I can go from plexi to DSL tones with it. The Tonelab marshall voicings, barring the JTM, quite frankly , are terrible. I never could dial them in to my satisfaction, with or without the OD models. Maybe as Joe and JOhn use them, through a real speaker cab ,they are much better, but as is...they suck. And there is no onboard extra EQ to help dial them in.

The POD *is* more digital sounding and less warm than the Vox. So if the accuracy in voicing is not paramount (as it is to me), then with that SS power amp the Tonelab will probably be the better choice.

If you could combine the warmth of the Tonelab and it's more organic effects with the voicing accuracy and versatility of the XTL, you'd have the perfect modeller...and it would definitely put a dent in real tube amp sales.

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

Well... if the ToneLab's marshall models are really bad, then it's out of the question for me.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

Well... if the ToneLab's marshall models are really bad, then it's out of the question for me.

As I said..just like they are, they are not terribly authentic. The Fender and Vox amp models are much better. If you are going to run a parametric or other EQ and add in the missing mid frequencies or wanna go with a Valvetronix head through a 4x12 w/ some good celestions then people seem to be happy with them.

On their own they are poor.

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

I see . Thanks for the advice!

Seeing that i can get a used Pod Xt Live for around $300 less than a used Vox ToneLab SE, i think i'll get the Pod. It looks more "compact" too, just a fraction of the knobs and switches on the Vox.

How does the Pod XT handle clean\breakup tones? And does it go smoothly from clean to full gain? I think that i'm only gonna be using one patch\4 sounds if i get it (i'm a traditionalist), so atleast i need four good tones .

1. Glassy\brilliant clean with some balls and breakup when pushed... like my uncle's marshall sounded on the clean channel with gain cranked. Hard to find a description of the tone.
2. Chimey crunch with "glass", Vox'ish mixed with AC\DC
3. Big, roaring Marshall type sound... more in the JCM800 vein than a "plexi".
4. Thinner, singing lead tone

Do you think the Pod would be able to do these sounds for me?

 

[MBreinin]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

I have the Tonelab desktop model. I run mine through the loop of my Peavey Studio Pro 112 that I have owned since 1996. For some reason this little amp works well with modelers.

OK, I find the JTM45 model and the Plexi model to be very tasty on the Tonelab. I can get Eddie and Eric Johnson tones out of these amp models. I am not a big fan of the JCM800-900-2000 models, but I don't really mess with them that much because you can get a killer hotrodded Marshall sound from the Soldano model. The Recto is a good model too..lots of thump to be had with that. I find the Vox to be very warm, much of which can be attributed to the use of a real tube as the power section. For cleans I usually rely on the AC15 model, it can really do quite a bit and is very warm and lively. I have never used a PODXT, but I have heard plenty of clips made with them..some are outstanding, and some suck complete ass...much like clips I have heard made with all modelers.

I also a V-Amp Pro and the Vox crushes it for everything except a few distorted tones where the V-Amp is different, but not necessarily better.

Mike

 

[Dirt123]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

On the Tonelab, you can get a good Marshall tone out of the Bassman model with a 4x12.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

I haven't tried the Vox, but I own the bean PodXT. I kind of have a moody relationship with it; sometimes it's outstanding, sometimes it's digital and lacks dynamics. But I think that I'm a bit moody with all gear so take it with a grain of salt.

I think that the PodXT Live would be great for you. I think that a PodXT has all the tones that you specified and even more. I seem to find more good tones every time I mess around with it. Line6 seems to upgrade the XT too, they just recently released a free patch with new amp modules and upgraded software. I don't know if Vox does this, but I really like it that Line6 does.

I honestly don't think that there's a better piece of musical equipment for the price than a PodXT Live. It's great for home use and recording, not to say it doesn't sound good with an amp too. I still prefer my Koch for band practice. It costs three times more, it better sound that good!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

Some of the best XT models IMO are the ones that are talked about the least on this forum. If you're looking for medium gain stuff, I like:

Match Chief (Matchless Chieftain)
Match 30 (Matchless DC-30)
Hiway 100 (Hiwatt)

 

[LesStrat]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

I like those, and I really like the Vox clones...but that's because I'm not looking for hi-gain most times.

I use the XTL almost exclusively.

 

[lp_gem]

Re: Help me out! Pod XT Live or Vox ToneLab SE?

The XTL has way better high-gain tones in my opinion, it's got a few really nice cleans in there too. Overall in terms of versatility it beats the tonelab, it can do everything great aslong as you tweak it right.

but for someone not looking for hi-gain at all, maybe just needing ONE decent sounding mid-high gain sound then I think the tonelab is better because it sounds more "real" and definately feels more like a real tube amp when youre playing through it, definately has a warmer vibe than the POD

i found the soldano model useless and only one of the marshall models on the tonelab satisfactory, but cleans and dirty break-up type tones were awesome

effects were pretty spot-on too, but maybe slightly better on the POD.

all depends what you're looking for!