boss gt8 vs line 6 podxt live
- Thread starter daveymul
- Start date
boss vs line6
I just went through that whole decision process myself. Ended up buying a gt8. A couple years back everyone was a Line6 fanatic, myself included... had a POD 2. I was thinking of the POD XT, then my thoughts turned to the XT floor pedal. I bought the gt8 instead and have this to say....
It is very flexible and (regardless of what you hear and read on some of these posts) not too tough to figure out. I don't like some of the factory presets, but they are so easy to tweak that if you can't find a tone/sound you like, then you might as well become a bass player. Plenty of room for your own creations.
The pre amp is not the best, so I run my gt through a nice old tube amp ('66 fender bassman) and it sounds GREAT!
I just went through that whole decision process myself. Ended up buying a gt8. A couple years back everyone was a Line6 fanatic, myself included... had a POD 2. I was thinking of the POD XT, then my thoughts turned to the XT floor pedal. I bought the gt8 instead and have this to say....
It is very flexible and (regardless of what you hear and read on some of these posts) not too tough to figure out. I don't like some of the factory presets, but they are so easy to tweak that if you can't find a tone/sound you like, then you might as well become a bass player. Plenty of room for your own creations.
The pre amp is not the best, so I run my gt through a nice old tube amp ('66 fender bassman) and it sounds GREAT!
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
vendros said:
If the preamp sux then it defeats the point of using that type of unit. I'm not really a big fan of Line6 but I played a friends Podxt live through a PA last week and it sounded pretty good. The noise gate killed every bit of hum from my single coil pickups which surprised me.
line 6 vs gt9
The effects are more than enough to justify the unit (IMHO). The flexibility of this unit allows you to use your own amps pre amp if you prefer. My bassman, for example, has no reverb, vibrato, etc., so to add some sparkle or other kinds of effects (octaves,etc.) the gt8 blows the pod away. The tones are much more "real" than the line 6 stuff. Again, that's just my opinion.
ocnor said:
The effects are more than enough to justify the unit (IMHO). The flexibility of this unit allows you to use your own amps pre amp if you prefer. My bassman, for example, has no reverb, vibrato, etc., so to add some sparkle or other kinds of effects (octaves,etc.) the gt8 blows the pod away. The tones are much more "real" than the line 6 stuff. Again, that's just my opinion.
pikingrin
what is this?
Well, are you buying the unit for effects or for the different amp emulations? If you're looking for amp emulations,IMO it would be better to go with the Line6, just my opinion. I have both the podxt, the podXT floor, and a GT-6. The GT-6 is better for effects, it's loaded, but the amp emulations all have that 'digital' sound to them moreso than the line6 stuff. It helps a little to run them through a tube amp, but to my ears, there's still that digital sound. Just another working class fools opinion... 
mixmkr
we don't need rest!!
the GT-8 is a pretty significant upgrade from the GT-6.
One new aspect is the dynamic mode allowing you to switch between preamps by pick attack and/or volume. Pretty usuable going from clean to dirty if you continue to use the same preamp sounds from channel to channel. Simulates overdriving a real amp pretty good.
It also has more effects, and the abiltiy to completely change the effect chain order in any sequence.
Another new feature is the "solo" mode, which in effect turns your patch up to "11" ..complete with the extra dynamics...not just a volume increase.... great for just that little extra boost when needed like a solo, etc.
overall, if you want the extra flexibilty, the GT-8 wins without a contest imo.
if you have a GT-6, the learning curve should be fairly easy. I have no problems with the GT-8 figuring out what to do, and the BossGT forums are helpful too.
if you prefer the line6 sound, then you might towards the xtlive.
btw, I use a GT-8 and a Roland GR33 direct in to the board in a live context and it works great. I just use a pair of nuetral sounding ss amps for monitors(stereo of course!!)...as the real volume comes out of the FOH speakers.
One new aspect is the dynamic mode allowing you to switch between preamps by pick attack and/or volume. Pretty usuable going from clean to dirty if you continue to use the same preamp sounds from channel to channel. Simulates overdriving a real amp pretty good.
It also has more effects, and the abiltiy to completely change the effect chain order in any sequence.
Another new feature is the "solo" mode, which in effect turns your patch up to "11" ..complete with the extra dynamics...not just a volume increase.... great for just that little extra boost when needed like a solo, etc.
overall, if you want the extra flexibilty, the GT-8 wins without a contest imo.
if you have a GT-6, the learning curve should be fairly easy. I have no problems with the GT-8 figuring out what to do, and the BossGT forums are helpful too.
if you prefer the line6 sound, then you might towards the xtlive.
btw, I use a GT-8 and a Roland GR33 direct in to the board in a live context and it works great. I just use a pair of nuetral sounding ss amps for monitors(stereo of course!!)...as the real volume comes out of the FOH speakers.
pikingrin
what is this?
Dumby, first and foremost, this is only my opinion... my 2 cents per say.Dumby said:
I use my GT-6 for effects in my live setup, usually running through my tech21 trademark head. I don't really like the preamps, to me they are too digital. (again, my opinion...)
For my studio, I use pods. I have a PodXT, a PodXT live, and a Bass PodXT. To me (my opinion) the amp emulations sound better, with less work. I admit, there are not as many effects as in the GT series floor pedals, but the ones in the line6 are enough to keep you busy for a while, and definitely enough, IMO, to keep you satisfied.
So, my advice to you is to find a music store where you can try them out, because this is just one musicians opinion, and YMMV...
Good luck!
Daveg62
New member
I use a Gt8, and am quite happy with the sound I get running it into a set of 12" active speakers. Another thing to think about would be a Digitech GNX3000. I have never used one myself but overall opinion is that the pre-amps in this new Digitech are very good. Check out www.thestompbox.net for some great reviews on all the modellers.
mixmkr
we don't need rest!!
One think I think worth consideration is that the GT-8 DOES require a little bit of a learning curve and isn't as easily suited to just "plugging in" and getting a GREAT sound. It requires tweaking, and without being familiar with the unit and without the manual, you will NEVER be able to accomplish this. Thus, this is the scenario in the store to the first time user, almost all the time. So, much of the time you are relegated to hearing the factory presets, and we all know what we think of "factory presets"!!
This is the one "downfall" I think of the Boss unit, but once you dive into it and actually KNOW what you are doing, you can get just about any type of sound you might imagine. I mean you have mic type, placement, speaker type, output type selection, dual amps, basically unlimited effects, etc.. Sometimes overwhelming at first because there are so many selections. But if you have a grip on it, the unit screams.
This is the one "downfall" I think of the Boss unit, but once you dive into it and actually KNOW what you are doing, you can get just about any type of sound you might imagine. I mean you have mic type, placement, speaker type, output type selection, dual amps, basically unlimited effects, etc.. Sometimes overwhelming at first because there are so many selections. But if you have a grip on it, the unit screams.
mamm7215
Member
Well, I did the comparisons and ended up buying the GT-8, which I don't regret a bit but the manual BLOWS! Thank goodness for www.bossgtcentral.com
Dumby
Bummed Spammer
I bought the Podxt live last thursday...the next day I returned it for the GT-8...It's a crazy crazy world to live in let me tell ya.
I couldn't even get a whammy effect not even available for download on the podlive
I couldn't even get a whammy effect not even available for download on the podlive
gibson59neck
Villiage Idiot Keeper
By my GT8 and like it!
Hey - wanna buy my GT8 for 350? It'll save you about 100 with tax and stuff. Mine is like new, has power and manual, and I'll reset it for you if you want before I send it. It rocks, has any available sound and combo of sounds you'll ever need, and is not hard to use. I am going back to using 4 individual pedals - a metal zone, a gigadelay, a bad horsie wah, and a noise gate. It's all I need, and I'm just wasting this GT8 cause I don't use 90% of it. Send me a message if you want to talk about it more! I'm not sure about the line 6 stuff, but played with a guy that had a pod and a randall half stack and it sounded like crizzapp. Boss has always been my choice for good build and great sounds. Manuals are usually annoying, and Boss is no exception, but give it some time and effort and you'll be happy.
Hey - wanna buy my GT8 for 350? It'll save you about 100 with tax and stuff. Mine is like new, has power and manual, and I'll reset it for you if you want before I send it. It rocks, has any available sound and combo of sounds you'll ever need, and is not hard to use. I am going back to using 4 individual pedals - a metal zone, a gigadelay, a bad horsie wah, and a noise gate. It's all I need, and I'm just wasting this GT8 cause I don't use 90% of it. Send me a message if you want to talk about it more! I'm not sure about the line 6 stuff, but played with a guy that had a pod and a randall half stack and it sounded like crizzapp. Boss has always been my choice for good build and great sounds. Manuals are usually annoying, and Boss is no exception, but give it some time and effort and you'll be happy.