Pocket Pod Review

In recent years amplifier and effects modelling has made great progress so much so, that is it now commonplace on the stages and studios of musicians, both in the professional and amateur domain.

One of the companies that have spearheaded this invasion is Line 6. Based in California they have provided us with products such as the original Pod 2.0 on which our review item the Pocket Pod is based.

This recent addition to the Line 6 family of PODs is a “kidney-bean” shaped guitar processor albeit reduced in size and battery powered for “Tone on the Go” as the Line 6 advertising puts it.

Specifications and Usability

Based on the POD 2.0 sound engine this unit provides 32 amp and 16 cab models for guitar, bass and vocals, plus a selection of the most popular effects such as chorus, delay etc.

Furthermore, editor software and a USB cable is provided so the user may edit tones on a PC or MAC and also download sounds from the customtone website as with other POD products.

Out the box the unit feels pretty solid with its hard plastic case and chromed knobs. The LCD display is clearly legible and backlit. The backlight times out after a few seconds of non-use to avoid draining the battery.

Starting to use the device I notice that, with the layered menus this is a bit tricky at first, but one soon gets used to the different options available.

The sounds are organised into styles such as clean, crunch etc... Which then display each patch.

Strangely however the patches are not numbered, so one has to remember the sounds by name.

Quality of Sounds

In comparison to newer PODs the sounds are adequate if slightly harsh especially on the overdriven tones. At this price point however and for its main intended use as a practice tool one cannot really describe this as fault.

More importantly I find the unit quiet to operate with no usual hisses or artefacts within the patches; this I have found is quite common in lower end processors and is a big positive for this device.

Connectivity

The Pocket Pod sports an array of connectors including the usual ¼” jack for instrument input and output to an amplifier, plus mini-jacks for headphones output and input from an external device such as an mp3 player. A mini-usb connector is also supplied for use with a computer as mentioned before.  The unit can also be powered by a 9 volt power supply which is sold as an option.

Summary.

Overall a good device. However improvements on a few of the points mentioned could have resulted in a better, more usable unit. I still find it perfectly adequate for practice with headphones or as a backup in case of problems at a gig.

By Ernest H Slade

For further information please visit the line 6 website - http://line6.com/pocketpod/