I think that's where most people who diss the POD's are just not getting it. They expect it to sound like an amp would sound if you're in the same room as it is. This is not the case. It is giving you the tone you would get if the amp was being close mic'd in a separate room where you cannot hear it, and you are in the cotrol room listening back on the monitors. That is what the POD's are supposed to sound like, and from my experience, they do a damn good job at it too.