Developer Aurora DSP has released Liver 6, a free VST plugin simulating the early Line6 POD 2.0.
I will readily admit I groan audibly for most of April Fools Day. It used to be more inventive, or perhaps I was more tolerant of things as a kid. These days, though, it’s like folks are just trying to be outlandish on social media for a cheap joke.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. BPB tried to make April 1st epic by offering a free copy of Limiter by Mastering The Mix, and Aurora DSP released a surprisingly cool guitar amp sim.
Liver 6 is an interesting offering, certainly made to tickle that nostalgic part of any guitarist’s brain that remembers early amp sims and better April Fools’ Day jokes.
If you were a guitar player during the 2000s, you remember the Line 6 POD. It was kind of ugly, it sounded bad, and it was cheap. It was a perfect storm of elements if you were after moderately terrible high-gain guitar tones in an affordable package.
Liver 6 calls to mind the nostalgic awful tones of the Pod, albeit with a twist.
There are a fair few funny amp model names given on the rotary dial. To my ears, they all sound pretty much the same, like digital distortion.
This might be by design or some bug, I have no clue. I do know that it makes my Ibanez and Les Pauls sound absolutely terrible like I’m 21 and broke again.
Liver 6 isn’t without its utilities, however. I could definitely see this putting in some work if you’re trying to capture that 2000s MySpace metalcore demo song that you swear will be a hit vibe.
At any rate, it’ll certainly be better produced than whatever we were churning out almost 20 years ago.
Liver 6 isn’t going to wow you like Aurora’s Rhino or Mr Laboga, but it is worth a look if only to see that someone modelled one of the most infamous pieces of guitar gear to crawl out of the 2000s.
You’ll need an account to download Liver 6 from Aurora DSP’s website and the plugin works just fine on Windows and Mac.
At the very least, it’ll give you a good laugh for an afternoon as you try to remember all those Converge riffs you pilfered from Ultimate Guitar back in the day. The page also has an autoplay sample when you load it, so just a heads up.
Download: Liver 6 (FREE)
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11 Comments
pedroc
onFun writeup for a fun-looking FX – thanks for sharing!
I learned the other day that the French version of April Fools is “April Fish,” complete with fish-related shenanigans. Maybe a developer could make a fish-themed plugin for the occasion next year – maybe something “bass” related ;)
Animus
on“It was kind of ugly, it sounded bad, and it was cheap” is a spot-on description of the Line6 POD.
frozenjaZz
onWow, the demo is insane!! And thanks to this, I discover the excellent drive pedal “Shoeless Drive” by Wavemind!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_0H5v2_f-Q
Michael Jackson
onI have Line 6 UX1 with PodFarm. love it. I can use it as an effects VST as long as the UX1 is plugged into the computer (which is all the time).
I hate free software where you have to create an account to get it. I’m burned out on this. I’ll pass.
PedroC
onI made a new burner email address specifically to download this plugin and a bunch of others from another vendor who required an account. I definitely get the exhaustion you’re talking about, but making a new burner email ended up giving me a new sense of freedom somehow, lol.
Brenny C
onYou HATE it? Hmm. Not sure it’s worth any hatred, just move along. Or do like PEDROC suggested and create a burner address for free software. It’s really not worth getting worked up over. Lol
Bthelick
onthe POD did NOT sound bad at all. Not for certain tones. people presumed it did because Line6 wasn’t famous back then and couldn’t charge the earth for stuff so it was cheap. But it punched well above its weight unless you could afford a real mesa boogie.
the follow up, the PodXT, not that one did sound bad. the OG pod was always a lil special I think. Like the fluked it.
Bruno de Souza Lino
onThe XT didn’t sound bad at all either and can still sound good if you know how to make your own presets for it. Though the X3 is better because you have all amps from the XT and all model packs along with being able to use two amps at the same time. There are people that still use the X3 live for giggling.
Mark
onYou’re right, the POD did not sound bad. Here’s a fact the tone snobs will never acknowledge: the POD was used on hit records from day one, even with the POD v.1.0 in the late 90’s. Those tones were good enough that the golden-eared gods never noticed.
Wiley Purchase
onI just bought a Pod 2.0 for $40 including the power supply. I got a brand new 4 button footswitch for another $40. This thing has limitations for sure but I can adjust it right in front of me while I play and some of the amp models work well for my style. But bear in mind that I have been playing electric guitar since 1964. I may have some experience with a crap load of gear.
L
onSounds like s#|t !!!