Message 5/8
Date: 08-Jan-03 @ 03:59 PM -
RE: Recording guitar
there's plenty of rack gear for recording that has tubes in it... i like my H&K blues master for instance (though i'm not a very good guitar player)... there are lots of these types. POD will probably work OK, but i tried it once and it didn't feel right, not enough dynamics or something. might have been how it was set it, i just plugged in on a friend's guitar.
the different reviews could be just differences in tone preferences, or for real tube gear, different tubes (i always replace tubes in my tube gear with either JJ/Tesla or Ei for guitar stuff, and sovtek 12ax7LPS for pro-audio stuff like my pro vla) can make a huge difference in the sound (i couldn't believe when i swapped out the cheap and apparently-well-used H&K-branded tubes with the JJs... amazing difference). so if you play one with bad tubes, you'll get a bad impression (it can make a good unit sound BAD!).
also there's the impression factor... even a POD sounds a heck of a lot better than a cheap solid state practice amp...
i haven't tried this one personally, but a confessed tone-freak friend (though i wasn't sure about his choices all the time!) passed on the POD for a rocktron voodu valve, said it sounded better. also heard recommendations for the rocktron piranha, and i like most of the 1/2 rack H&K boxes (the tubeman too, though it's not quite as nice as the 1/2 racks). they might not be quite as nice as an amp, but they're easier to record, and they take up a lot less room
maybe someone else has some other ideas?