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Sounds to me like you're saying you'll sacrifice sound-quality for portability/convenience? Is the POD portable? "Yeah". Does a clav sound good through it? "No". I've got a PODxt Pro and have tried my D6 through it with a dozen settings. None of them usable. I even have the Bass add-on and tried that. It always sounds thin, harsh, and processed and when you "fatten" it up it just sounds even more processed. And I *really* tried because I *can* get a believable sound out of the POD with a guitar, it'd make my life a lot easier if I could use the POD for both... but with a clav it's not even good for recording "scratch" tracks. I own a POD so that's a testament to the fact that I'm not 100% against anything DSP, but the POD's just not made for this type of instrument. The clav is too "dirty" sounding to plug into a sterile dsp like the POD and it just sounds awful. Keep in mind that the POD's are "emulators" so they're expecting a "guitar-like" signal to do their voodoo. "On paper" the clav looks like "a guitar with keys" but it's really not. Can you touch your strings to lessen buzzing or feedback? No. Can you move the clav easily to avoid noise sources like you can with a guitar? No. You'll also get some "drone" from the cabinet that you don't get on a guitar (or can be controlled more easily)... And the ADSR of a clav is also different than a guitar.... All of these contribute to the incompatibility... A real tube amp "responds" to its input whereas en emulator has an a priori algorithm for what it's going to do with that incoming signal.

I'd imagine the Pocket POD might sound worse since the xt Pro is the better processor. I've heard the Pocket POD with a guitar and it sounds "good" for what it is. But I don't think you'll get the same results with a clav based on what I've seen with the PODxt Pro.

The "most portable" setup I've tried with success with my D6 is plugged it directly into the "Hi-Z" input on my LA-610. Really sounds great and it's all I use for studio work. I also use this same setup to do a lot of bass recording. This is a 2U rackmount unit and it has a balanced output that you can plug into a board or directly into your daw. UA also makes smaller, less expensive units with the same preamp front end called the "SOLO" 610 (tube) and 110 (solid state). I've tried the D6 with the 610 and it sounds great straight into a daw or board. There's also the Groove Tubes "Brick" which is a similar (and even less expensive) unit but I have no experience with it. Just my experience, hope it helps.