I am a fan of Line 6

[boomtap]

I bought a Fender Strat, and a Cyber Twin and liked it OK, but recently I messed with line 6 XT live and a variax 300, and I have to say for recording at home this stuff is great. My strat and Cyber are collecting dust.

I recorded this as a sample. Only drums and guitar in my basement using the Variax, and XT Live run direct with the USB cable with stock presets from the factory. I used acoustic preset on the intro, then a variax lester for the main distortion and the variax lester for the clean picking.

I see lots of potential for this gear. Might not be 100% authentic, but I did this without waking the neighbors. You could use this in an apartment for sure.

Sample Song

 

[foreverain4]

you'll be back...

 

[boomtap]

I keep hearing that they are un-reliable.

 

[pulaski]

They are great for demo-ing, but, they just have that fake/cover band sound...

BTW, that recording is really good.

 

[ewegogetemtiger]

they definately have their time and place

Check out the song called "Mohawk"

http://www.myspace.com/infiniteegosavioronasis

All the guitar sounds were done with a PODxt filled with all the latest upgrades and amp sims...

I couldn't have recorded this with my real amp (at 2am)...

Do I think it sounds "great"? No, but it got the job done...for a quicky little tune

 

[SHEPPARDB.]

Keep the strat,ditch the cyber and the line 6 bullshit,get a decent tube
amp,learn how to play,and then see if you feel as passionate about
garbage.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Line 6 gear is generally quite reliable and produces very good sounds. They are used by tens of thousands of folks, both amateur and pro, in both live and recording environments. However as many others have also said, the biggest factor in guitar sound is not the gear, but the player. A great player can make just about anything sound good.

The greatest source for BS are quotes from other folks claiming that somebody else's stuff is bull.

Ed

 

[ahuimanu]

This biggest thing I don't get is that this is a forum for HOME RECORDING. As such, when clever and useful solutions like Line 6 comes along why do other bag on it?

Yes, we ALL KNOW that vintage guit -> tube is Nirvana, but most home recordists just can't swing with this due to:

-cost
-space
-noice considerations

The Line 6 for and against topic is a well-flogged horse, but shit, if a guy has found a good avenue with the Line 6 gear, there's no point in crapping on him.

out.

 

[Toki987]

One of my guitar players uses a line6. It's loud and punchy as hell and don`t sound that bad, with a Fender tube setting. I just keep looking out the corner of my eye while we are picking and watching for smoke, sparks, and stink after hearing the horror stories about them..

 

[Halion]

I have gone a "best of both worlds" route, but still keeping it cheap, by getting a Line 6 Spider 30 modelling amp, but still micing it. That way, I get the advantages of modelling together with the advantages of micing an amp.
Pros:
- No tubes to you don't have to crank the shit out of it to get a good crunch.
- Couple of very usable sounds (not the hundreds of a pod but enough).
- Mic choice+placement is possible resulting in many different recording options.
Cons:
- Ain't no Rectifier/TwinReverb/JCM but gets close.
- Not dead silent (but won't move the ground either).
- One speaker, therefor one speaker sound.

That's 230 for the amp, 80 for an sm57 (or whatever you already have), and 150 for a dmp3. Adds up to around 450. Can't beat that with any tube amp.

 

[travelin travis]

I have gone a "best of both worlds" route, but still keeping it cheap, by getting a Line 6 Spider 30 modelling amp, but still micing it. That way, I get the advantages of modelling together with the advantages of micing an amp.
Pros:
- No tubes to you don't have to crank the shit out of it to get a good crunch.
- Couple of very usable sounds (not the hundreds of a pod but enough).
- Mic choice+placement is possible resulting in many different recording options.
Cons:
- Ain't no Rectifier/TwinReverb/JCM but gets close.
- Not dead silent (but won't move the ground either).
- One speaker, therefor one speaker sound.

That's 230 for the amp, 80 for an sm57 (or whatever you already have), and 150 for a dmp3. Adds up to around 450. Can't beat that with any tube amp.

sound wise, yes you can. money wise it would be hard.

 

[travelin travis]

I bought a Fender Strat, and a Cyber Twin and liked it OK, but recently I messed with line 6 XT live and a variax 300, and I have to say for recording at home this stuff is great. My strat and Cyber are collecting dust.

I recorded this as a sample. Only drums and guitar in my basement using the Variax, and XT Live run direct with the USB cable with stock presets from the factory. I used acoustic preset on the intro, then a variax lester for the main distortion and the variax lester for the clean picking.

I see lots of potential for this gear. Might not be 100% authentic, but I did this without waking the neighbors. You could use this in an apartment for sure.

Sample Song

The distorted guitar sounds pretty good. The acoustic sound has that cheesy direct sound, which I hate.

 

[philboyd studge]

Yeah I'd say I'm a fan also, even though I've gone through two Variax acoustics and a mother board on the second one. It's an invaluable tool for stage use and I can even get by using only the Variax. For recording I can knock out mulitrack work ups of songs using a variety of instruments 6/12 string, high string, bass, mandola, etc, as fast as the song can be repeated. Using on board compression and mic placement (againg saving more time) some instruments in certain applications are even better than what I can do with vintage gear.

 

[apl]

I got a Spider II 15 for Christmas, and really liked it. I'm going to be playing with some guys, so I've upgraded to the Spider II 112 (75 Watts). I'm really liking this, too.

 

[etnoziroh]

Keep the strat,ditch the cyber and the line 6 bullshit,get a decent tube
amp,learn how to play,and then see if you feel as passionate about
garbage.

You forgot to add......Convince the neighbors in your apartment building and your family to feel as passionate as you about your tube amp at 10:00pm, the only time you get a little time to yourself to play.

 

[boomtap]

The distorted guitar sounds pretty good. The acoustic sound has that cheesy direct sound, which I hate.

I agree, The acoustic is really only great for playing live so I don't have to carry an acoustic with me. Recorded it is fake, but great for being able to get an idea down without every changing guitars and laying down tracks quick. All I did was hit a diffrent preset and arm a track for record. It was the fastest way I have ever been able to just lay out an idea.

Bottom line is the acoustic was a nickle stringed electric.

 

[gumplunger]

I have gone a "best of both worlds" route, but still keeping it cheap, by getting a Line 6 Spider 30 modelling amp, but still micing it. That way, I get the advantages of modelling together with the advantages of micing an amp.
Pros:
- No tubes to you don't have to crank the shit out of it to get a good crunch.
- Couple of very usable sounds (not the hundreds of a pod but enough).
- Mic choice+placement is possible resulting in many different recording options.
Cons:
- Ain't no Rectifier/TwinReverb/JCM but gets close.
- Not dead silent (but won't move the ground either).
- One speaker, therefor one speaker sound.

That's 230 for the amp, 80 for an sm57 (or whatever you already have), and 150 for a dmp3. Adds up to around 450. Can't beat that with any tube amp.

Personally, I hate the Spider's sound. The pod's blow it out of the water.

 

[jeffree]

As a session guitarist in a pro studio, I amped my electrics for many years but now use a Johnson J-Station in my small home studio. I like this thing a lot. With some time and careful tweaking, I can produce a wonderful range of sounds that come darned close to anything my amps could produce. I never use it for anything acoustic, though--terrible results for me. But yeah, for serious hobbyists in a home studio with neighbors nearby, these little boxes are an excellent solution. They could save a marriage.

I have no personal experience of how the POD compares to the Johnson J for recording, but I've heard that there are key differences. In fact, I also like the J (now discontinued but still available for ridiculously low prices) because it includes some amp modeling for bass. A great all-in-one as long as you move beyond the presets to some deep editing.

J.

Link to "SOS" review of the J-Station, with some comparison to the POD:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug00/articles/jstation.htm

 

[seamus]

Not to hijack the thread, but I use a J-Station's spdif out to my Delta 66 for laying down guitar tracks as well, was thinking I was the only one left. Some of the models are decent too, though the acoustic ones are certainly weak. Still, it was good of them to include some acoustic and bass models in addition to electric guitar, which was the main focus of the product.

 

[dolecek1]

I have recently bought a line6 spider which im very pleased with.I chose this over the pod because i didnt have an amp.It has given me the exact sound i was looking for.I play metal, i dont use the clean channel but the clean channel is very high quality.I was looking for a mesa type sound and this was just wha the dr. ordered.