Axe Fx vs. Line6 Pod HD

[yngzaklynch]

I thought the HD sounded better to my ears on everything except the Fireball. Maybe my ears hear dollar signs, too.

I agree 100%...saved me from typing it...

I'm with these guys.

 

[loudgtr]

I thought the HD sounded better to my ears on everything except the Fireball. Maybe my ears hear dollar signs, too.

+1 You just beat me to it. I thought the POD HD sounded better on all the clips except for the Engl amps.
Axe Fx sounded dark/blanketed and lacking dynamics of the HD.

How could you possibly comment on dynamics based on those clips??? There's absolutely nothing going on there to even hint at either units dynamics.

Ummm...ok. I thought the HD sounded more...dynamic. Clearer, defined etc. Less Blanket over the speaker that the Axe clips had going on in these clips imho. I'm sure the Snax is a great unit; loved Mark Day's lastest Marsha sim demo...just not the winner for me in this demo.

 

[zerohawk]

I'm gonna have to go with the Axe on this one. I have first hand experience playing all 3 of the amps modeled in real life , and they sound much more realistic in the Axe clips. I believe the character that would make the pod seem better in these clips is that they sounded a little more up front than the Axe.

Maybe you can chime in on this Ola, maybe it is not just me... Imo, the most important thing the pod was lacking to me was harmonic overtones. No matter how loud I turned up the power amp when using the pod, it just never felt like the pod was kicking me in the gut like when I played the amps they were modeling. It seemed like it did not have very much depth in the character of the notes when playing chords.

 

[ejecta]

Like with all high priced gear the thing you have to ask yourself is...... "Did the the Axe sound $1500 better?"

And IMHO if you said yes..... then to be perfectly frank you are hearing dollar signs. Again I repeat this is all just MY OPINION before someone gets their panties in a wad.

 

[Audioholic]

I think it would be a way better test to do a non compressed audio demo, or at least a high res compression. Youtube vids will take out alot of the nuances that may be picked up with a better medium.

In these clips imo, the axe does not sound 1000 better. But with personal use, I know that I can get a much better sound out of the axe then as demonstrated here, at least for my taste

 

[Digital Jams]

I do not get the dollar sign stuff here, he just posted 2% of what each can do.

Like taking a mustang and ferrari around the block never going past 30 mph, well yeah you are not going to get much information

 

[mortega76]

I thought the HD sounded better to my ears on everything except the Fireball. Maybe my ears hear dollar signs, too.

I agree 100%...saved me from typing it...

+1

What I would really like to hear is both amp sims dialed exactly alike and then into an IR within a DAW so that we can compare only the amp sims...

 

[JakeAC5253]

I listened through three times and I've got to say, I've either got tin ears or something because I'm not hearing what everyone else is hearing. The only clip that sounded good on the POD side was the Recto clip and the only clip that sounded good on the Axe side was the Powerball clip, all the rest sounded oversaturated and processed and at times scooped. I didn't think any of them really did your playing justice Ola.

As far as album tones go, Meshuggah uses a POD, Periphery uses Axe, they're pretty much the fore-runners for both sides in my mind. I choose Meshuggah/Pod personally. Their guitar tones have a powerful quality to them that I've yet to hear from an Axe-cording. This is not meant to hurt Misha, anyone in Periphery, or anyone who owns an Axe, I'm just saying that tone for tone I've yet to be really impressed with that particular piece of gear.

 

[Ola Englund]

I'm gonna have to go with the Axe on this one. I have first hand experience playing all 3 of the amps modeled in real life , and they sound much more realistic in the Axe clips. I believe the character that would make the pod seem better in these clips is that they sounded a little more up front than the Axe.

Maybe you can chime in on this Ola, maybe it is not just me... Imo, the most important thing the pod was lacking to me was harmonic overtones. No matter how loud I turned up the power amp when using the pod, it just never felt like the pod was kicking me in the gut like when I played the amps they were modeling. It seemed like it did not have very much depth in the character of the notes when playing chords.

To be honest I still like the Axe more and it sounds much more real than the Line6. This video has stirred up quite a shitstorm over at harmony central and I reccon I probably have to do a video where I concentrate on doing ONE good metal tone and put it into a song and mix. And with doing that I feel obligated to do one with Axe Fx as well.

And as I mentioned earlier. The feel when playing the units differs alot. The Axe Fx has super tight response while the Pod has a little slower. That really affects my playing at least.

 

[dfrattaroli]

To me it seems that they were not dialed in to sound like each other

I agree. They both sound great. They also sound like they were not EQ'ed the same. The POD is clearly brighter than the Axe.

 

[dfrattaroli]

Like with all high priced gear the thing you have to ask yourself is...... "Did the the Axe sound $1500 better?"

Why does the Axe have to sound "$1500 better"? It does a thousand things the HD does not. That said, the HD sounds great. Don't we then have to ask, does the Cameron sound "$5000 better"? The Fortin?

 

[Chubtone]

Like with all high priced gear the thing you have to ask yourself is...... "Did the the Axe sound $1500 better?"

Why does the Axe have to sound "$1500 better"? It does a thousand things the HD does not. That said, the HD sounds great. Don't we then have to ask, does the Cameron sound "$5000 better"? The Fortin?

I think we do have to ask that question. We're talking about buying an Axe FX Ultra or a POD HD500 AND a new computer AND interface. Or a new Pod HD500 AND a used Marshall 4x12 AND used JCM800 head. Or a new HD500 AND a used Charvel Custom Shop OR Suhr Pro Series. Or JUST the Axe FX.

To me a totally convincing, direct recorded tone from a modeler that would allow me to put my tube amps in the closet and not miss them for rrecording would be EASILY worth $2k. But my amps are still stacked up here, right next to me instead of in the closet.

 

[ejecta]

Exactly.

Like with all high priced gear the thing you have to ask yourself is...... "Did the the Axe sound $1500 better?"

Why does the Axe have to sound "$1500 better"? It does a thousand things the HD does not. That said, the HD sounds great. Don't we then have to ask, does the Cameron sound "$5000 better"? The Fortin?

I think we do have to ask that question. We're talking about buying an Axe FX Ultra or a POD HD500 AND a new computer AND interface. Or a new Pod HD500 AND a used Marshall 4x12 AND used JCM800 head. Or a new HD500 AND a used Charvel Custom Shop OR Suhr Pro Series. Or JUST the Axe FX.

To me a totally convincing, direct recorded tone from a modeler that would allow me to put my tube amps in the closet and not miss them for rrecording would be EASILY worth $2k. But my amps are still stacked up here, right next to me instead of in the closet.

 

[dfrattaroli]

I think we do have to ask that question. We're talking about buying an Axe FX Ultra or a POD HD500 AND a new computer AND interface. Or a new Pod HD500 AND a used Marshall 4x12 AND used JCM800 head. Or a new HD500 AND a used Charvel Custom Shop OR Suhr Pro Series. Or JUST the Axe FX.

To me a totally convincing, direct recorded tone from a modeler that would allow me to put my tube amps in the closet and not miss them for rrecording would be EASILY worth $2k. But my amps are still stacked up here, right next to me instead of in the closet.

That's fine. I can respect that. But the same can be "asked" about any expenditure of money for gear. Do I spend $5k on a Cameron or buy a whole bunch of other stuff? Is the Axe good enough for me or not? Like any other piece of gear, it's based on opinion. There's always different sides to the story.

The guy who bought a cab and head and guitar and xyz might also be saying "Shit, I could have just bought an Axe". And then sells all that gear to do just that. It has happened.

Rock on.

 

[Rogue]

That's fine. I can respect that. But the same can be "asked" about any expenditure of money for gear. Do I spend $5k on a Cameron or buy a whole bunch of other stuff? Is the Axe good enough for me or not? Like any other piece of gear, it's based on opinion. There's always different sides to the story.

The guy who bought a cab and head and guitar and xyz might also be saying "Shit, I could have just bought an Axe". And then sells all that gear to do just that. It has happened.

Rock on.

If people have the money to buy a $5k amp and that's what they want to do, go for it. I understand people looking for great tone.

That said, more cool music and hit songs have been recorded with a run of the mill amplifier than will ever be recorded by a $5k amp. 100s of 1000s of dollars have been spent to get the tone of a $500 dollar amp bought at a pawn shop. 99% of an audience won't pick up on the difference between a $1k and a $5k amp. A good player can make a $1k amp smoke, and a $5k amp isn't going to make him sound 5 times better.

On a personal level is a $5k amp worth it? Maybe, that would be up to the buyer, I suppose. In musical terms is a $5k amp worth it? No. No amount of 0000s behind a dollar sign and whole number is going to make music cool. It is either cool or it isn't.

 

[Digital Jams]

Like with all high priced gear the thing you have to ask yourself is...... "Did the the Axe sound $1500 better?"

Why does the Axe have to sound "$1500 better"? It does a thousand things the HD does not. That said, the HD sounds great. Don't we then have to ask, does the Cameron sound "$5000 better"? The Fortin?

I think we do have to ask that question. We're talking about buying an Axe FX Ultra or a POD HD500 AND a new computer AND interface. Or a new Pod HD500 AND a used Marshall 4x12 AND used JCM800 head. Or a new HD500 AND a used Charvel Custom Shop OR Suhr Pro Series. Or JUST the Axe FX.

To me a totally convincing, direct recorded tone from a modeler that would allow me to put my tube amps in the closet and not miss them for rrecording would be EASILY worth $2k. But my amps are still stacked up here, right next to me instead of in the closet.

But can your pile-o-tube heads create every tone from every miami vice sound track????


Yeah that's right son, I did not think so.


..........I don't need a gun...........

 

[dfrattaroli]

If people have the money to buy a $5k amp and that's what they want to do, go for it. I understand people looking for great tone.

That said, more cool music and hit songs have been recorded with a run of the mill amplifier than will ever be recorded by a $5k amp. 100s of 1000s of dollars have been spent to get the tone of a $500 dollar amp bought at a pawn shop. 99% of an audience won't pick up on the difference between a $1k and a $5k amp. A good player can make a $1k amp smoke, and a $5k amp isn't going to make him sound 5 times better.

On a personal level is a $5k amp worth it? Maybe, that would be up to the buyer, I suppose. In musical terms is a $5k amp worth it? No. No amount of 0000s behind a dollar sign and whole number is going to make music cool. It is either cool or it isn't.

I don't disagree. My point was, that if the Axe is obligated to be "$1500 better" than the POD, as has been suggested, than why not put that same burden on an amp like a Cameron or some other high-dollar Marshall clone?

 

[Digital Jams]

If people have the money to buy a $5k amp and that's what they want to do, go for it. I understand people looking for great tone.

That said, more cool music and hit songs have been recorded with a run of the mill amplifier than will ever be recorded by a $5k amp. 100s of 1000s of dollars have been spent to get the tone of a $500 dollar amp bought at a pawn shop. 99% of an audience won't pick up on the difference between a $1k and a $5k amp. A good player can make a $1k amp smoke, and a $5k amp isn't going to make him sound 5 times better.

On a personal level is a $5k amp worth it? Maybe, that would be up to the buyer, I suppose. In musical terms is a $5k amp worth it? No. No amount of 0000s behind a dollar sign and whole number is going to make music cool. It is either cool or it isn't.

I don't disagree. My point was, that if the Axe is obligated to be "$1500 better" than the POD, as has been suggested, than why not put that same burden on an amp like a Cameron or some other high-dollar Marshall clone?

oh it happens. I get my balls busted weekly about my $900 fortin mod

Thing is it does not bother me, love the amp regardless and that is that

 

[dfrattaroli]

oh it happens. I get my balls busted weekly about my $900 fortin mod

Thing is it does not bother me, love the amp regardless and that is that

And it shouldn't bother you. People blow money out the ass on gear on this forum all the time. Shit gets flipped here by the hour. But when it comes to the Axe...

 

[ejecta]

If people have the money to buy a $5k amp and that's what they want to do, go for it. I understand people looking for great tone.

That said, more cool music and hit songs have been recorded with a run of the mill amplifier than will ever be recorded by a $5k amp. 100s of 1000s of dollars have been spent to get the tone of a $500 dollar amp bought at a pawn shop. 99% of an audience won't pick up on the difference between a $1k and a $5k amp. A good player can make a $1k amp smoke, and a $5k amp isn't going to make him sound 5 times better.

On a personal level is a $5k amp worth it? Maybe, that would be up to the buyer, I suppose. In musical terms is a $5k amp worth it? No. No amount of 0000s behind a dollar sign and whole number is going to make music cool. It is either cool or it isn't.

I don't disagree. My point was, that if the Axe is obligated to be "$1500 better" than the POD, as has been suggested, than why not put that same burden on an amp like a Cameron or some other high-dollar Marshall clone?

Oh I do that and if you dont IMHO you haring dolor signs and not listening objectively. I've never played a Comeron, Bogner, Diezel, Elmwood, /13, etc that sounded $1000+ better than amps that I paid $1000 - $1300 for. Hence why I said in my original post "all high end gear". Reading is fundamental.

Shit gets flipped here by the hour. But when it comes to the Axe...

Those get flipped as much as any piece of gear out there. Your point?