Line 6 POD xt

The Line 6 POD xt is an amp and effects modeling processor from Line 6. Instead of one sound, it holds models of amplifiers, speaker cabinets, microphones and effects, so a player can dial in a modeled amp and cab, add modeled effects, and send the result to an amp, a mixer or a pair of headphones. It is part of the long-running POD line of multi-effects units that Line 6 built its modeling reputation on¹.

The POD xt is no longer made; Line 6 lists it on its legacy pages¹. It remains a unit players encounter secondhand, and its feature set still reads well against later Line 6 modelers like the POD X3 and the Helix family that followed it.

What it models

Line 6 describes the POD xt as an amp and effects modeling processor built around amp models, cabinet models, microphone models and effect models¹. The amp model list includes models carried over from the earlier POD 2.0, among them a Dumble Clean model and a Soldano SP88 model, both of which Line 6 marks as coming from the POD 2.0¹. That continuity matters to players comparing units: the POD xt was not a clean break from the POD 2.0 but an extension of its model set.

The effect models include a compressor based on the LA-2A, a studio compressor design familiar to players from standalone compressor pedals¹. Line 6 also publishes a preset chart for the unit, which lists its factory presets¹.

The unit includes precision chromatic tuning, so a player can tune without adding a separate tuner to the chain¹.

Inputs, outputs and connections

The POD xt is a desktop-format unit rather than a floorboard. Its connections cover the main ways a player would want to use it:

The RJ-45 foot controller connector lets a player run the desktop unit from the floor, the same way Line 6's dedicated controllers such as the FBV 3 drive other units in the range¹.

The 24-bit A/D and D/A converters handle the conversion between the guitar's analog signal and the digital modeling engine¹.

From the POD 2.0 to the POD xt Live and Bass POD xt

The POD xt name covers a family of related units, all now discontinued¹²³.

POD xt Live is the floorboard version. Line 6 lists it as no longer made³. It keeps the modeling engine but adds the controls a live player needs:

• Full MIDI support³
• Combination wah/volume/tweak pedal³
• Tap tempo/tuner switch³
• Expression pedal input³
• Aux input for CD/MP3 players, drum machines and similar sources³
• Routing options³
• 128 channel memories³
• Stereo 1/4-inch analog amp/line outs³

Bass POD xt is the bass version, with a bass input instead of a guitar input, discrete processed and DI outputs, a headphone output, USB for digital I/O, MIDI In/Out/Thru, and the same 24-bit converters². Its model set is aimed at bass players: Line 6 lists amp models including an Eden Traveler WT-300 model and an Acoustic 360 model, and cabinet models including a 1x18 Acoustic 360 model and a 4x10 Fender Bassman combo model with new speakers². It is also no longer made².

Bass POD xt Live combines the two ideas into a bass amp modeling and effects floor unit⁴. Line 6 lists it as no longer made⁴. Its features include:

• Discrete outputs for modeled and direct sound⁴
• Full MIDI support³
• Variax Bass digital connection⁴
• Input for an additional expression pedal⁴
• Tap tempo/tuner footswitch⁴

Who used it

Players kept the POD XT in service long after it left the lineup. Writing at Gearnews, Jef noted that it still had a place alongside much newer gear⁵:

Gearnews writer Jef is one player who kept his POD XT in regular service. In his own words⁵:

That is a common pattern with the POD line: units like the POD HD, the POD HD500X and the later POD Go each replaced what came before, without making the older units unusable.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load