Marcus Curtis
 
Podfarm is not free. You can purchase a license for your computer or use an ilok device. You don't need a dongle but it is just one way to unlock Pod Farm

However, there is a free version with a limited number of amps and effects. Between that and the free versions of AmpliTube and Guitar Rig, you can make some pretty decent noises.

Anderton

Marcus Curtis
 
Podfarm is not free. You can purchase a license for your computer or use an ilok device. You don't need a dongle but it is just one way to unlock Pod Farm

However, there is a free version with a limited number of amps and effects. Between that and the free versions of AmpliTube and Guitar Rig, you can make some pretty decent noises.

True, but the free version pf Pod Farm only has 2 amps, and these are not their best amps. I think I would just use TH2 Producer before I waste time on their Pod free addition, but that is just my opinion.
 
If someone is low on funds then the free editions of Guitar Rig, AmpliTube, and Pod Farm would be a great option. If this is the case then people should also consider Shred and everything else AcmeBarGig has to offer for free. 

Johannes H
Hi again Marcus.
 
The Line 6 soundcard is my main audio interface, but it`s getting a bit old, it`s USB 1.1.
On the other hand it works fine and I don`t feel limited by it.

Hi Johannes
 
I sold my UX2 on Craigslist when USB 3.0 came out. I saw the hand writing on the wall with USB 1.1. When I sold my unit I already owned a Pod 3 pro. It probably is time to upgrade your audio interface, but I would hang on to the your line 6 sound card just to keep the full version of Pod Farm.
 
I replaced my UX2 with the VS-100. The preamps are much better and it is USB 2.0. There are a lot more options these days.

Well, I spent a bunch of time investigating this one and as I suspected the issue is cloudy. I thought I'd share some  technical details about this, because it makes a good "case study" of how fragile some of this stuff is and why plugin compatibility tends to be such a complex issue. 
 
As mentioned earlier in this thread, X3 actually deals with plugin level interleave much better than X2 or earlier in order to properly support mono only VST2 plugins, esp those that support mono sidechains such as Fabfilter and Waves stuff. In X3, SONAR specifically validates plugins for mono and stereo compatibility when the plugin is loaded. As part of this process it calls a VST2 API (called effSetSpeakerArrangement) to configure the plugin interleave. Since we test for mono and stereo, the API is called once for mono and then again subsequently for stereo. What appears to happen with PodFarm is that the call to set it to mono appears to *permanently* lock the plugin into a mono state. i.e. despite SONAR setting it to stereo subsequently it stays locked in mono. As a result the right channel is unprocessed after that point.
 
Now whats even more interesting is that the same behavior can even be observed in X2 and earlier :)
To repro it in X2 do this:
Load  your project with a mono track feeding PodFarm on a track. Notice that the track interleave is stereo.
Now toggle the track interleave to mono and then back to stereo. 
After you do this the PodPro is stuck in mono processing mode the same way as in X3. 
 
The only reason you see this behavior permanently in X3 is because we started calling this API at the time the plugin is loaded, to check for supported interleaves. This exposes this issue earlier on and more visibly.
 
Anyway I am in touch with Line6 now and one way or another I'm sure we'll figure out a resolution.
 

 
Thanks for the update Noel.
 
And I can confirm the X2 behaviour you mention happens here exactly as you describe.
 
 

Thanks, Noel! Meanwhile, Force Stereo Operation solves the problem for me so it's not a big deal.

Thanks a million Noel.
 
Noel Borthwick:
"Now whats even more interesting is that the same behavior can even be observed in X2 and earlier :)
To repro it in X2 do this:
Load  your project with a mono track feeding PodFarm on a track. Notice that the track interleave is stereo.
Now toggle the track interleave to mono and then back to stereo.
After you do this the PodPro is stuck in mono processing mode the same way as in X3."
 
I can repro this too.

Thank You Noel for your research and your hard work into this matter. It is much appreciated! 

Has this been fixed in Sonar X3c? I just upgraded from X2 and now have X3c Pro and the POD Farm 2.5 plugins. I don't run into this problem. Toggling the track's Interleave between Mono/Stereo numerous times causes no problem for me - the output of the effect is mono or stereo as expected.
 
It also works fine regardless if the Cakewalk Plug-In Mgr - "Enable Mono Processing" is checked or not for these Plug ins. I used to leave this box UNchecked in X2 to avoid the issue, but apparently I no longer need to.

Yes this was fixed in X3C. We made a fix from the application side to address it.