cactuseskimo
New member
So, this was me. Pretty much a tube snob who thought Line6 was totally gay, and that never in a million years would I be playing anything other than my Laney VC30 class A tube amp and my Les Paul goldtop, Junior, and other assorted guitars. Oh yeah, throw in a Vox Cooltron Tube distortion pedal. That was my setup, and I swore by it.
THEN . . . I started playing guitar with a band called Jon Adams ( jonadamsmusic.com ) and all of a sudden, I needed an effects processor. I had used the Boss Gt-3 in the past and although the Boss processors are so unbelievably tweakable in their functions, I just found it uninspiring. I thought I would give the Line 6 POD XT Live a try STRICTLY for the effects.
Well, it came, I played, I tweaked, I wasted a buttload of time sitting in my boxers playing, and pretty soon, I was hooked. What a useful tool. I would say it doesn't quite trump the analog effects equivalents, but I love it nonetheless. So many tools. And really great sounds too.
THEN . . . I decided to hook it up to my computer for some really hassle free recording. DAMN. I thought I was just going to lay down scratch tracks with it. I'm not so sure anymore. And this is using medium gain clipping settings like the Vox Top Boost. Not the heavey rectifier sounds that were generally esier to emulate.
(On a side note. I also took the POD XT Live to a gig once and went right to the PA. It was passable. Not bad actually, but this is one area I don't think a modeller can ever be used to replace an amp -straight to a PA)
So, with this new found enlightenment about the ACTUALLY good tones of the POD, my interest in Line 6 was peaked, and I decided I wanted to try out a Variax Guitar for myself (instead of reading the reviews that are either 10/10 or 1/10 on HC). So I went down to a music store and gave the 500 model a whirl fully expecting to be dissapointed and agree with the 1/10 guys on HC.
Let me just say this first off. IN NO WAY, does this sound like a fake or digital , or synthesized guitar. Those people who say that are listening to what their brain wants to tell them, not their ears. This sounds AND PLAYS just like any other guitar (palm muting, harmonics, pinch harmonics, etc.) And yes, the models are very good. Do they sound exactly alike. Well, yes they remind you of the guitars (and I did some A/B testing of the actual guitars while I was there) quite closely. And no, it doesn't sound like 80% of the modelled guitar, But rather it sounds like 100% of a similar sounding guitar that sounds good in its own right. Maybe like comparing a Jap Strat to an American Strat or something. I even went to a different store and tried a different model the next day (the 300) thinking I must of been fooled before (from reading a lot of negative hype from people), but once again, I was totally blown away.
So, Where does this leave me know?
Well, I'm not going to go out and sell my gold top, but I am planning on ordering a a variax for a second guitar. And also, I'm going to be ordering an Atomic reactor 112 amp for my modeller and be doing some serious testing with that as well. We shall see.
So In conclusion. Please consider this. I was a genuine ALL analog, ALL tube guy who was all about vintage medium break-up tones, and Line 6 stuff has impressed me. I feel some people who bash the stuff just plug-in, flick through preset by preset and aren't impressed when they don't sound like SRV with the strat model, or Jimmy page with the marshall or Les paul model. And I also think people are listening with an extreme internal bias. I would encourage everyone to go try out some of the stuff for themselves and give it a solid runthrough.
So, with the exception of going straight to a PA . . . I'm giving Line 6 a second chance.
THEN . . . I started playing guitar with a band called Jon Adams ( jonadamsmusic.com ) and all of a sudden, I needed an effects processor. I had used the Boss Gt-3 in the past and although the Boss processors are so unbelievably tweakable in their functions, I just found it uninspiring. I thought I would give the Line 6 POD XT Live a try STRICTLY for the effects.
Well, it came, I played, I tweaked, I wasted a buttload of time sitting in my boxers playing, and pretty soon, I was hooked. What a useful tool. I would say it doesn't quite trump the analog effects equivalents, but I love it nonetheless. So many tools. And really great sounds too.
THEN . . . I decided to hook it up to my computer for some really hassle free recording. DAMN. I thought I was just going to lay down scratch tracks with it. I'm not so sure anymore. And this is using medium gain clipping settings like the Vox Top Boost. Not the heavey rectifier sounds that were generally esier to emulate.
(On a side note. I also took the POD XT Live to a gig once and went right to the PA. It was passable. Not bad actually, but this is one area I don't think a modeller can ever be used to replace an amp -straight to a PA)
So, with this new found enlightenment about the ACTUALLY good tones of the POD, my interest in Line 6 was peaked, and I decided I wanted to try out a Variax Guitar for myself (instead of reading the reviews that are either 10/10 or 1/10 on HC). So I went down to a music store and gave the 500 model a whirl fully expecting to be dissapointed and agree with the 1/10 guys on HC.
Let me just say this first off. IN NO WAY, does this sound like a fake or digital , or synthesized guitar. Those people who say that are listening to what their brain wants to tell them, not their ears. This sounds AND PLAYS just like any other guitar (palm muting, harmonics, pinch harmonics, etc.) And yes, the models are very good. Do they sound exactly alike. Well, yes they remind you of the guitars (and I did some A/B testing of the actual guitars while I was there) quite closely. And no, it doesn't sound like 80% of the modelled guitar, But rather it sounds like 100% of a similar sounding guitar that sounds good in its own right. Maybe like comparing a Jap Strat to an American Strat or something. I even went to a different store and tried a different model the next day (the 300) thinking I must of been fooled before (from reading a lot of negative hype from people), but once again, I was totally blown away.
So, Where does this leave me know?
Well, I'm not going to go out and sell my gold top, but I am planning on ordering a a variax for a second guitar. And also, I'm going to be ordering an Atomic reactor 112 amp for my modeller and be doing some serious testing with that as well. We shall see.
So In conclusion. Please consider this. I was a genuine ALL analog, ALL tube guy who was all about vintage medium break-up tones, and Line 6 stuff has impressed me. I feel some people who bash the stuff just plug-in, flick through preset by preset and aren't impressed when they don't sound like SRV with the strat model, or Jimmy page with the marshall or Les paul model. And I also think people are listening with an extreme internal bias. I would encourage everyone to go try out some of the stuff for themselves and give it a solid runthrough.
So, with the exception of going straight to a PA . . . I'm giving Line 6 a second chance.
