Line 6 POD

By the mid-1990s, Line 6 feared that digital modeling was beyond the reach of ordinary guitarists and sought to design an affordable, simple, standalone amp and effects modeler with a unique look.

[1] This resulted in the company's breakthrough product, the 1998 POD, a famously red, kidney bean-shaped desktop processor that emulated 15 classic amplifier models with multiple speaker cabinet options and onboard effects.

Premier Guitar described the original POD as instigating "a long-overdue liberation" from cheap practice amps and expensive vintage amps.

This increased to 42 amps with 60 onboard effects for the 2002 POD XT, which had a companion model for bass, the Bass POD XT.

They are similar in appearance to an effects pedal combined with a simplified mixing console.