Life after POD 2.0

Bob from Brooklyn · #1 01-26-2021, 07:13 AM

Hello, I usually post at the acoustic forum as I am 90% acoustic these days. However I do have a tasty selection of electric guitars that I use when doing some home recording. I mostly go direct and my POD 2.0 has served me well over the last 20 or so years. However, it is starting to behave strangely and I have fears that the end might be coming soon.

I am looking for a unit for direct recording. My preference would be more of a rack unit than a foot pedal thing. I don't need insane metal tones, just some nice clean & overdriven ones. It's been so long that I've been in this market that I don't know where to start. What are people using these days?

Bob Womack · #2 01-26-2021, 07:28 AM

I'm on Helix Floor and loving it. The rack unit's floorboard doesn't include a volume/expression pedal so I went with floor. I actually went from POD 2.0 to POD HD500X to Helix. The Helix costs some coin but rewards you with fantastic sounds, great processing, and what is admittedly the best user interface on the market. My review is HERE. I've got the backpack because the Helix commutes to the studio with me. I'm on the latest software (3.0). Line 6 is aggressively updating, adding new models and squashing bugs. Their customer service is second to none. There are a couple of very active Helix threads over on the Gear Page that keep up the latest happenings.

You might want to check the battery in the POD 2.0. They get wonky when it goes flat. I've still got mine.

Bob

Bob from Brooklyn · #3 01-26-2021, 07:54 AM

Thank you Brother Bob. There's a battery in the 2.0? I've been using the DC supply the whole time. Lately my unit has been changing settings at it's own whim.

MarkF_48 · #4 01-26-2021, 08:18 AM

I haven't used my POD 2.0 in a long time, but I seem to recall one or two of the control knobs were getting flaky and occasionally if moved slightly the settings would jump around erratically. I was assuming the potentiometers were getting dirty and the cause of the problem. If it isn't too difficult and I get a chance today, I'll pull the back off and see if I can see a coin type battery that would be used for the memory chip that retains the settings for the patches.

Bob Womack · #5 01-26-2021, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

Thank you Brother Bob. There's a battery in the 2.0? I've been using the DC supply the whole time. Lately my unit has been changing settings at it's own whim.

There is a battery to power the memory backup when the unit is disconnected. Sorry for the small pic but, if I remember correctly, the battery is circled in yellow:

From what I remember they are flat, quarter-sized coin batteries and I think there are two stacked? Anyhoo, they are supposed to just keep the user memories alive but I've been told that the unit malfunctions when they die.

Bob

Glennwillow · #6 01-26-2021, 09:49 AM

I recently purchased a Line 6 POD HD Pro X rack-mount unit and it is a big improvement over the Pod XT Pro rack-mount unit I had been using.

- Glenn

Bob Womack · #7 01-26-2021, 09:53 AM

Do you want some fun? I did a review of the POD 2.0 years ago and it is still up on my website, HERE. Oh, and by the way, I still have my POD 2.0 and Floorboard. There's something it can do that nothing else can: with the two pedals side by side you can do a really great combination of wah and volume pedal fading in and crying into delay and reverb. Nice!

Bob

MarkF_48 · #8 01-26-2021, 10:05 AM

I popped the back off mine and the battery is where shown in Bob's pic. Surprisingly it still appears good with a measured voltage of 3.26v after 21 years. It is a soldered in battery (CR2032) which would entail pulling the circuit board from the housing to replace. On battery changes like this I've been putting in battery holders so future battery changes are easier.
I did power it up and if I incremented a patch the display would be OK for a moment, but then would show 'Edited', so somethings thinking a knob or switch was changed. While I have the back off I think I'll give the rotary switches a shot of contact cleaner and the pots maybe a squirt of fader lube/cleaner.

Bob from Brooklyn · #9 01-26-2021, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkF_48

the display would be OK for a moment, but then would show 'Edited', so somethings thinking a knob or switch was changed.

This is the exact situation I am experiencing Mark.

Bob from Brooklyn · #10 01-26-2021, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Do you want some fun? I did a review of the POD 2.0 years ago and it is still up on my website, HERE. Oh, and by the way, I still have my POD 2.0 and Floorboard. There's something it can do that nothing else can: with the two pedals side by side you can do a really great combination of wah and volume pedal fading in and crying into delay and reverb. Nice!

Bob

Oh this is cool! I'll be checking it out this afternoon. It's actually pretty fun going back and re-discovering old pieces of gear I have lying around. Did the same thing with an old Zoom H2 recorder a few weeks ago.

Thanks!

MarkF_48 · #11 01-26-2021, 01:20 PM

I did some squirts of DeOxit Fader Lube Cleaner into the rotary switches and pots and worked them a bit and it's definitely better and only showed the 'edited' display once. Maybe a temporary 'fix', but I've had good luck on pots usually with the DeOxit stuff lasting a while. Plugged a Tele into it and through headphones sounds pretty much like it always did

While I had it open grabbed a pic. CR2032 battery at about 1:00 o'clock.

Bob from Brooklyn · #12 01-26-2021, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkF_48

I did some squirts of DeOxit Fader Lube Cleaner into the rotary switches and pots and worked them a bit and it's definitely better and only showed the 'edited' display once. Maybe a temporary 'fix', but I've had good luck on pots usually with the DeOxit stuff lasting a while. Plugged a Tele into it and through headphones sounds pretty much like it always did

While I had it open grabbed a pic. CR2032 battery at about 1:00 o'clock.

I appreciate the help. I'm going to dig into this a little deeper tonight.

Bob from Brooklyn · #13 01-26-2021, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I recently purchased a Line 6 POD HD Pro X rack-mount unit and it is a big improvement over the Pod XT Pro rack-mount unit I had been using.

- Glenn

Thanks Glenn. This might be a little rich for what I'm trying to do but I enjoy researching equipment. Is this what you did your Rick 12 demo with?

rule18 · #14 01-26-2021, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

Oh this is cool! I'll be checking it out this afternoon. It's actually pretty fun going back and re-discovering old pieces of gear I have lying around. Did the same thing with an old Zoom H2 recorder a few weeks ago.

Thanks!

HAH, Zoom H2! We still use ours to this day, works like a champ. They do build good stuff.

Bob Womack · #15 01-26-2021, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkF_48

While I had it open grabbed a pic. CR2032 battery at about 1:00 o'clock.

I want to say that I read a thang on the Internet (which makes it right, right?) that said you could gently pry up that top contact on the battery, tilt the unit, and it would drop right out. Held in by spring tension only. At least that's what I want to say they said.

Might not be true.

Bob