Guitarists: Line 6 POD XT vs. Guitar Rig vs. ?

[SHC]

Note: This is a follow-up to a previous post

For direct recording into a DAW, what guitar set-up would you choose: a Line 6 POD XT, one of the guitar amp plugins like Guitar Rig or something else? I live in a very rural area and can't demo these items so any comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[keithl]

just happen to surf on this post from the Windows forum...
I have been using Pod XT with revised firmware and I think it sounds incredible...
I can't afford to have all these amps, but this does simulate some nice ones (especially the Vox ACs!)

I also have Amplitude 1.0 and was not real fond of it, but I hear the new version coming out (2.0) is supposed to be a vast improvement.

Hope that helps a little!

[Slim Shady]

If you're looking for an amp substitute I would also recommend the POD. The reason being that you can monitor your playing through a mixer etc. with a POD while playing and not have to deal with any latency. Any software-based amp modeler is going to have some latency involved (unless you're on a HD system) which can really throw off the timing of your playing if you're trying to listen to what you're recording through the plug-in.

[mobilemac'nstrat]

I agree with the above two posts. The PodXT with the updated firmware is hard to beat, and the latency issues with software options such as NI guitar rig make it my favourite option.

(Although if you have a fast internet connection a free download of Guitar Rig is available even in rural areas!)

[SHC]

I guess I should have mentioned my out in the boonies internet connection is a whopping 33.6.

[mobilemac'nstrat]

I guess I should have mentioned my out in the boonies internet connection is a whopping 33.6.

OK, if you have to buy on recommendations here, the Line 6 PodXT gets my vote.

[SHC]

By the way, are those of you who like the POD XT talking about the Regular XT, the XT Live or the XT Pro? Quite a price difference ($299, $399 and $699 respectively). Thanks much!

[mobilemac'nstrat]

By the way, are those of you who like the POD XT talking about the Regular XT, the XT Live or the XT Pro? Quite a price difference ($299, $399 and $699 respectively). Thanks much!

PodXT with version 2 firmware update. (not Live or Pro in my case)

[rpatterson38]

I'm going to disagree with the POD XT. I've never liked the sound of POD's for recording, although they are fun to practice with. Guitar Rig sounds much better than a POD IMHO, although I will concede the latency issue. I use real amps when I make permanent recordings, but for writting, and practicing Guitar Rig is great, and the tonal possibilites are amazing. It is just a bit of a CPU hog...
I have nothing against PODs, but I have yet to hear a POD track that actually sounds as good as even a poorly recorded guitar track through a modest amp!!

[Slim Shady]

When was the last time you tried one? The original POD's were pretty weak I agree, but the new XT versions can sound pretty good if you know how to tweak them. I haven't used Guitar Rig before, but after dealing with Amplitube's latency i wouldn't go the plug-in route again.

If we're really going to compare though, Amp Farm for TDM/HD is my all-time favorite, although it doesn't have quite as many options for sounds as the POD.