Today’s article is not a review like the previous articles I’ve done in regards to the iPhone apps that allow you to play and (sometimes) record guitar. The main reason being I do not have a couple of the requirements this app has deemed necessary for it to function—iPhone 4 and the Mobile In adapter.
I have looked over the app though so I can let you know it looks awesome. I can also let you know I wish my iPhone wasn’t a 3GS. I can then say with some certainty that I wish I had the Mobile In adapter. Because the Mobile POD app looks cool and if my wishes came true I’d be playing with it.
I bet it makes good metal sounds too. Damn it …
So the first screen I see when I turn the app on—remember the real world is in colour unlike this website—is a sad reminder that my experience is going to suck when compared to those people whose systems meet the requirements. It’s a pleasant looking sad message though.
Luckily for me and any other user with either an older iOS or alternate—not supported—interface, you can still explore the app to see what is on offer (which is awesome for a free app). This is a free app by the way.
So what is hidden behind the big warning sign?
What you see is one awesome looking collection of pedals surrounding a miniature but impressive looking amplifier. By default the amplifier settings are at the top of the screen for you to edit. Assuming you could hear things, you’d make changes to improve or enhance the sound to your liking. Clicking on any of the pedals brings it into focus so you can edit its settings in the top half of the screen space. You need to make sure you click the top of the pedal as the bottom of the pedal turns the effect on or off. Just like a real effect pedal strangely enough.
Each category of pedal has an option to change the pedal that sits in its place in your effect chain. To see what options you have, you click the refresh icon on the right of the pedal in the top half of the screen. Once in the selection screen you’ll notice there are plenty of effects to choose from.
The same system is used to change the amplifiers. On the top half of the screen when you are focused on the amplifier, the refresh icon allows you to peruse your amplifier options. You can see that on the second screenshot in this article and on the screenshot that follows.
Once in the options screen, you have quite a selection to scroll through. Luckily each amplifier comes complete with its own description of sound. This came in handy for me as I couldn’t hear anything.
As you can see from the limited imagery below, there are plenty of amplifier options to choose from. I really wish I could hear some of them for myself. On my own iPhone that is.
Having said that, I do know what sounds this app is capable of because Line 6 share quite a few samples on their official site for the app. Lucky me. Lucky you. You get to hear samples with real guitar playing in them.
Enjoy. I’d like to.