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Looper's Delight
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Thanks, I enjoyed the review. I'm a line6 fan, and I've switched from the TonePort UX2 to the GearBox Gold Plug-in. While I'm happy with the Gearbox tones, I'm even more happy with having my tone in the plug-in, making it easy to swap one amp model for another. On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 3:34 PM, Rainer Thelonius Balthasar Straschill <rs@moinlabs.de> wrote: > Ok, this is it: a little more in-depth review of Line6's biggest >floorboard babe, the Line6 POD X3 Live. > > > CONCEPT: > Line6 has been known for their amp modeling know-how for a long time. >In fact, I believe they somehow invented it (at least to do it properly). >Following up on the success of their first POD, they supplied a big line >of products, including effects modellers (the DL4 is well known in these >parts), guitar amps with modelling functions and finally even >instruments. However, the center of their product catalogue remains the >POD - and it's now in generation three. Europeam retail prices for the >POD X3 Live are in the just below €500 region. > > > PACKAGE: > The "live" variant of this thing (in the first generation, there had >only been the stupid kidney-shaped thing and the rackmount "Pro" version) >is a sturdy, black device. Twelve footswitches, a heavy-duty style >expression pedal and a total of eight big metal knobs are the eyecatchers >here (together with two strange handlebars which may serve some >protective or rather some aesthetic function?) > From the more electronic interface side, this is rounded off by a >something like 5x3cm orange-backlit LCD, five softknobs, a four-way >navigator and four buttons. > While the footswitches, the pedal and also the metal knobs look really >made for eternity, the small soft knobs do much less so - definitely >something that may fail under heavy road use. > It immediately catches the eye that the metal knobs have position >indicators of the mechanical kind. No rotary encoders here, and what >disturbs me most is that the values controlled by these "jump" if you >turn those knobs - meaning that if you're in the midst of a quite passage >with a clean sound and want to edge up drive just a bit and the knob >happens to be at full blast, then you're instantly in death metal hell. > > Connection-wise, you get the full ballbark: two inputs for guitars (or >basses, 1/4''), two independent pairs of outputs (1/4'' and XLR), phones, >aux input (1/8'' stereo), Variax guitar connection, microphone in (XLR, >but why no phantom power???) effects loop (mono send/stereo return), >SPDIF out, MIDI in and out/thru, USB and connection for the power supply >(which is a non-SPS one). > The phones output hasn't got a separate volume knob - but you can at >least disconnect the XLR outs from the volume knob. > > All in all nice looking - except for the following: > * crappy looking soft knobs > * big knobs not rotary encoder, no snap function > * effects loop only with mono send > > > FUNCTIONALITY: > Two things jump out here, both in comparison to other products and to >earlier versions of the POD. > First, the X3 got two completely independent processing paths in >stereo. You can even use separate inputs and outputs for these, or do the >in/out configuration any way you like. Also editing and control is >completely independent. The only limitation here is that the effects loop >can only be applied to two of these processing paths (which are called >"Tones" here). > Second, the X3 offers a full complement of models (amps, cabs and >effects) both for guitar and bass. This is I believe a first (and >currently only) in class - even with Roland/Boss' latest products, you >still have to get two devices to have both. This is also what made me >choose this product over competitors. > > These two items might make this the perfect companion for Warr guitar >players (or for players of any instrument with two outputs and huge tonal >range from bass to guitar register). > > Each tone is built up of a sequence of processing blocks. Basically, it >goes like >Input->Gate->Wah->Stomp->(Loop->Mod->Delay->Verb->)Amp+Cab->Comp->EQ->(Loop->Mod->Delay->Verb->)Output. > The blocks in parantheses can be placed either pre or post amp, but not >both at the same time in the same tone. > This already shows another big weakness of the X3: there is only >minimum flexibility in signal routing. You may not have the delay in >front of the mod block (unless you put the delay before and the mod after >the amp), and you also can't have the compressor after the EQ - or, more >importantly, the EQ before the stomp box for some tone shaping before the >spectrum hits a distortion pedal. > > The sheer number of independent processing blocks really screams >powerful here - but what it has to offer in power, it lacks in >flexibility. It's some like a 1000bhp car without steering to that >respect. > > > MODELS: > I personally always liked the Line6 amp models much better than those >of any other modeling thing builder, period. And that hasn't changed. New >is that there are really tons of those. A total of 42 amp (divided into >guitar, bass, and preamp sections), which can be freely combined with 24 >cabinet models (in guitar and bass section). A pity that you have a >choice of four microphones each for guitar and bass cabs, but can't mix >those (e.g. mike a guitar cabinet with an EV RE20 mike). > Like I said before, those amp models are - great. They work equally >well for clean and super-meltdown sounds and, more importantly, anything >in between. Playing with those will have you experiment for hours, only >that in comparison to earlier incarnations of the POD the number of >models has vastly increased, AND now you can have two sounds at the same >time (meaning your experimentation time to the power of two). > > The effects models are an assortment of their models mainly from the >DL4, MM4 and DM4 modelers, plus some reverbs from the Vetta amps, Wahs >from the Vetta, plus some new creations. What is really strange, however, >is that some extremely important effects have been left out for no >obvious reason - in the case of the delay effects, the dynamic delay >model (ducking delay). > There's only one compressor (except for those available in the "stomp" >section), but I don't care. I know that LA-2A model from the Bass POD >which I used to own and it's wonderful. > > With that focus (and also centre of expertise) on guitarist/stompbox >stuff come some big limitations. First, I still have to find a convincing >reverb effect in this unit, which sounds good and has more controls than >"predelay", "decay", "tone" and "mix". Second, there is not a single >pitch shifter effect in the whole unit. There's not even a whammy bar. My >cheap Zoom G2 has both. > > Another thing I noticed is that the documentation doesn't go on as >deeply about the different models as it used to. Again referring to the >Bass POD, there was about half a page for each bass amp and cabinet >model. Now, there's like four lines of fine print per amp model, and only >a table of available cabinet models without any description. > > > COMPUTER AND MIDI INTEGRATION: > MIDI support is nearly nonexistent. You can react to program changes >and can also send them. They don't even mention that in detail in the >documentation. There's no possibility to control parameters via MIDI or >to send or receive MIDI clock. > > For the computer connection, we get a USB2.0 interface which is used to >interface with the editor software "Monkey" and also act as a direct >eight-channel audio input. Pity only that there are no drivers for 64-bit >Windows systems, no are there any concrete plans for that. A big letdown. > > > PLAYING IT: > It's got sooo many flaws - and yet, it's great fun to play it, and even >to edit sounds on it. It's a huuge amount of fun to just create tones, to >discover the beauty in the sound of your guitar, to combine guitar and >bass amps for some outstanding sound... > > > SUMMARY: > There are so many flaws in this unit I don't even remember all of them. >Whimpy soft knobs, stupid concept for the big knobs, no phantom power on >the mic in, no separate volume knob for the phones, completely inadequate >routing structure, important effect models missing, lame reverbs, no x64 >drivers, no stereo send for effects loop, crappy power supply...yet >judging it for what is in the centre of it, it deserves nothing but >praise: its amp modeling is outstanding (and better sounding than >anything I have heard, including both all kinds of expensive plugins and >other hardware solutions). So if you just try to see it as a combined POD >and Bass POD and see the other functions as some added gimmick, you may >be happy with it. However, if you're looking for a guitar floorboard with >great multi-effects capabilities, go look somewhere else (note of the >editor: where? G-system?) > > > Rainer > > -- Art Simon simart@null.net art.simon.tripod.com myspace [dot] com/artsimon