Line 6 Pocket POD

e’ll admit to being disappointed
that 2007 isn’t going to be the
year of the Digital Modelling
Brain Implant after all. Still, you have
to admit that the Pocket POD is an
interesting development in the
miniaturisation of guitar technology.
Of course, there’s nothing new about
the concept of the pocket-sized effects
unit. Back in the 1970s, Dan Armstrong
produced a range of (now reissued)
tiny effects units that attached directly
to your guitar’s jack socket, and the
digital technology of the nineties saw
Zoom’s strap-mounted 9002 followed
by Korg’s feature-laden Pandora range.
What’s different about the Pocket
POD, though, is that it’s not a
pioneering stab in the dark: it’s another
clever twist on an already well-proven
and best-selling recipe. The POD range
already covers a wide spread of musical
needs and budgets, and the Pocket
POD applies the same tried-and-tested
approach to a new format.
Right out of the box, one of the main
differences between Pocket POD and
previous pocket-sized processors is
immediately apparent. Where other
products have been quite fi ddly to use
(especially in a pressurised stage,
rehearsal or studio situation) all of
Pocket POD’s controls are large
enough to grab easily
and there are no
superfl uous knobs or buttons.
Patch navigation involves a four-way
button, like you’d see on a mobile
phone, next to the LCD display. The
navigation system is different from
other PODs with the facility to browse
patches by style or band as well as by
bank. The style method is useful,
splitting the patches into such
categories as ‘clean’, ‘crunch’ and
‘heavy’. Intriguingly, there’s also a style
subsection called ‘song’, where the
patches are named after specifi c songs.
Plenty of effects units have sported
thinly disguised references to songs
and artists in their patch names for
years, but there are no riddles here.
This doesn’t seem out of place, though,
considering the way Pocket POD is
being marketed as a fun practice tool:
“Pocket POD lets you sound like a rock
star wherever you go.” But it’s not just
marketing-speak. In the ‘by band’
section, over 100 presets have been
created by the artists themselves,
including Bumblefoot, Ash,
Hoobastank and Killswitch Engage. All
in all, there are over 300 presets, of
which 124 are user-tweakable.
For instant gratifi cation, all you have
to do is insert four AAA batteries and
plug in. The Pocket
POD can also be
powered via a 9V DC
adaptor, but this would restrict the
portability; you could always use
rechargeable batteries for extra
fl exibility. To help save battery power,
the unit only works when a guitar lead
is plugged into the input jack.
In standard operation, the four easily
grabbable controls cover drive, effect
level, delay level and channel volume.
The gain staging is like all the other
PODs, with the channel volume
controlling the overall level for the
patch selected. We found the default
volume level a bit high for headphone
use, but rather than having to adjust
the level for each patch, you can adjust
the master level by holding down the
save and tap buttons while pressing the
four-way controller up or down.
In a similar fashion, lots of other
functions can be adjusted by holding
down the save or tap buttons. This
means they’re not as instantly
accessible as they might be on larger
units, but it’s not too awkward and
ensures that the main control panel
isn’t too cluttered. For instance, with
the save button depressed, the four
main controls now cover bass, mid,
treble and reverb level, up/down
W
LINE 6 POCKET POD
PRICE: £81
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Miniature
modelling and
effects unit
FEATURES: Wide range
of Line 6 modelling
sounds with fl exible
patch navigation system
EFFECTS: 17 amp
models, 15 cabinet
models, 16 effect models
plus reverb and noise
gate
PATCHES: 300+
MIDI: No
CONNECTIONS: Guitar
input, amp output, direct/
headphone output, CD/
mp3 input, USB
connection (data only,
no audio)
POWER: Four AAA
batteries (supplied) or 9V
DC adaptor (not supplied)
EXT CONTROLLERS: No
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: The
original POD, now in
version 2.0, costs £116;
the expanded and
upgraded PODxt costs
£257
Line 6
01327 302700
www.line6.com
PHOTOGRAPHY GAVIN ROBERTS
122 SUMMER 2007
Line 6
Pocket POD
£81
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on us. Is nano a no-no? by Adrian Clark
GIT293.rev_pod 122 16/7/07 11:52:59