Re: POD XT (regular) and VAMP
As I have said elsewhere, I used the POD 2.0 for about 4 1/2 years, and I am currently using the POD xt Live!
I play almost exlusively in church, but not in a setting that most of you envision when I say that. We have a professional sound system with a separate monitor mixer (Mackie 24.4.2), probably at least 10,000W of power amps, 8 PA cabs, 2 folded subs, etc. The building seats about 1200-1500. We play with a full band on Sundays: drums (V-Drums), bass, keyboard (Triton), acoustic guitar, 2 electric guitars, six front singers (in mics), choir with 2 choir mics, 2 wireless mics, plus the pastor's mic (ear-piece w/ clear tube?).
I play a Parker Nitefly-->Dynacomp-->POD xt Live!-->direct box-->to PA
I use the direct out of the DI box to run into a Hartke B30 bass combo for a monitor.
Someone referenced another thread about what to amplify a POD through...in a nutshell, this is what the thread says:
Run the POD into a keyboard amp or a bass amp. You want a full range speaker that DOES NOT color your tone (all electric guitar amps/speakers color the tone). Another option is an acoustic guitar amp combo.
The bass amp I use is not perfect, but it's certainly close enough to what goes into the PA for my monitor. I run the volume between 4-5. We try to keep our stage volume relatively low to simplify the sound-tech's job, and it also allows us to hear each other better.
For your purposes, it would probably work well. Here is the
B30 new.
Also, a small keyboard combo can be had relatively cheaply, such as the low-end
Peavey.
Trust me, although you can turn off amp models and speakers and use the POD as an effects unit into your amp, the true value of the POD will be lost if you don't run it through a PA of some type. The small amp combos (keyboard or bass) will serve your purpose.
ASIDE: The V-Amp is a great bang for the buck unit. However, it has a plastic housing and unreinforced plastic jacks that I do not trust for extended use or live applications. Go with the POD if you can.