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The lower section of Pod Farm 2's interface shows the signal path.

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• Review

Pod Farm launched a couple of years back as a replacement for Line 6's GearBox software. There are two versions - Pod Farm 2, which has 87 amps, cabs, stompboxes and studio effects, and Pod Farm 2 Platinum, which has a whopping 255. Both cater for guitar and bass players, and work in exactly the same way.

It's a download-only product that requires either an iLok dongle or compatible Line 6 hardware such as a TonePort or Pod Studio. Of note is that the iLok version does not work as a standalone program, unlike most competing products.

We tested Pod Farm 2 Platinum with an iLok, and once installed, you can either load up the full plug-in with its 'virtual room' of gear, or select from the list of 'Elements' plug-ins. The latter each offer a category of modules from the main plug-in (for example, amps, distortion, filters and so on) with a stripped down interface, to use like any other insert effect in your DAW.

The interface of the main plug-in is ergonomically neat, with two main sections. The upper can contain a carousel of amps, preamps, cabs and effects (the Gear View); the chosen amp with virtual knobs for editing; the two-channel output mixer; a presets browser; MIDI/ automation assignments setup; or the excellent tuner.

You can tab easily through these views using the buttons beside the Line 6 logo. The lower section shows the signal path of the modelled components you've selected. You can click on each component to enable/disable it, and edit its parameters in the upper section.

Apart from the two main sections, there's a drop-down menu for presets, a noise gate, and level pots for both input and output. There are around 40 cab configurations available too.

No tone unturned

Pod Farm 2's strengths are wide-ranging, which is perhaps not surprising given the enormous quantity of gear that's been (unofficially) modelled, including amps from Fender, Vox, Marshall and Orange, and effects from Electro-Harmonix, MXR and Ibanez. All the usual suspects are here.

The blues/rock tones are gritty and fairly realistic, as with many current amp sim plug-ins. Some presets are on the noisy side, with an undesirable yet authentic hiss like many real amps - luckily, the noise gate is efficient and takes care of the worst of it. The more saturated tones were still good but less convincing, and we preferred AmpliTube 3 for this.

Of particular note are the modulation effects - the choruses are some of the best we've heard in software, with lots of high-end sparkle. While Guitar Rig 4 might be your first choice for way-out processing setups, Pod Farm 2 does 'workhorse' effects superbly.