Line 6 is going to turn the mic world upside down

[witzendoz]

I think what we need is a studio modelling box, stick any old $10 mic in front of any old $10 instrument, select studio: Abbey Road, Sun Studios, etc etc. Out pops the sound of the studio.

In fact we could take it further, dial up the engineer you want it to sound like, the producer, the musician, than any old talentless anyone can sound like:

Eric Clapton, on a classic Les Paul, through a vintage fender twin.
Recorded at Abbey Road with a C12 microphone.
Engineered by Alan Parsons and produced by George Martin.

Perfect world.

Alan

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yeah, it clearly is a live rig. Friends don't let friends use wireless mics. The ad clearly states that it models a whole bank of mics intended for *live* use. There is no mention of studio use or models of studio mics. Why different live mic models? It might be useful for tribute and cover bands that want to dup a sound, but most singers just have favorite mics, and they'll set it for whatever works for them and forget about it. It's potentially very useful for tweaking a mic to work for a given vocalist. I agree that this is in its infancy as a technology. Like most electronic/digital music technologies, it will suck- in the beginning. And it will get better. Right now, it's "bleeding edge".-Richie

 

[matttheaxe]

This will fall into the realm of amp modelers. No fooling the pro's.
Of course I doubt any pro would buy this or even try it out.
It's meant for the novice, I'm sure. I've used the Anteres mic modeler and it does resemble the mic being modeled, but in NO WAY does the Nuemann U47 modeler actually make your mic behave like a $3500 tube mic.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Clapton on a Les Paul? Burn the heretic.

 

[miroslav]

You seriously can't think of any reason that a pod might be convenient? none?

Mmmmmm....maybe if all my amps broke at the same time and I absolutely needed to track some guitar...and there was a pod in the room...and I was on bad drugs at the time.
But then again...I think on that day, I would just track acoustic guitar instead...or maybe keyboards!

i can't think of any reason why anyone would need something like that for a live performance. otoh, it's just the first wave of a new technology. it won't work live.

Digital wireless mics are nothing new for live/stage work...been around awhile.
All they are now doing is adding mic modeling to that...though I just don't see much need to have different mic flavors for live.
Like...it's not the same as in a studio where you really can hone in on the different tonal nuances of different mics.

 

[witzendoz]

Clapton on a Les Paul? Burn the heretic.

Oh Dear, history lesson required.

Alan.

 

[miroslav]

Ahhhhh yes...the days when Clapton had good guitar tone!

 

[Richard Monroe]

My God- Ginger Baker's Air Force. I feel old, because I remember that. Yeah, John Lennon used a telecaster quite a bit too. In reality, most guitar gods have played every guitar they could get their hands on. And why would I want that Abbey Road sound when I've already got the sound of Big Pink? Just another grubby basement. -Richie

 

[ez_willis]

Mmmmmm....maybe if all my amps broke at the same time and I absolutely needed to track some guitar...and there was a pod in the room...and I was on bad drugs at the time.
But then again...I think on that day, I would just track acoustic guitar instead...or maybe keyboards! .

holy crap, dude. i thought it was obvious:

this will serve its purpose, much like the amp modellers do.

You seriously can't think of any reason that a pod might be convenient? none?

not you personally, ANYONE IN THE WORLD THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE A SELECTION OF AMPS TO PLAY IN THEIR APARTMENT!!!!

I get it, YOU ARE BEYOND AMP MODELLERS, THEREFORE EVERYONE SHOULD BE!!!

 

[TAE]

This might be a fun thread to come back to next year when it gets out and used a bit..

There are two models and only one has the multiple mic models..

The proprietary wireless system is probably the biggest deal because it's "proprietary"

No way you are going to get interference unless someone else within 100 feet of you is using another line 6 unit on one of the 6 channels available.

 

[moresound]

You would think that there would have been more hype in the trade mags. I don't think I've seen this microphone in any of them!.!

 

[TAE]

You would think that there would have been more hype in the trade mags. I don't think I've seen this microphone in any of them!.!

Summer Namm is this weekend. The video above is from an industry only show that took place last week. The official release will be early July.

 

[miroslav]

I get it, YOU ARE BEYOND AMP MODELLERS, THEREFORE EVERYONE SHOULD BE!!!

I'm not "beyond" modelers...they were never even a consideration.

Look...you can couch it any way you like, but modelers are nothing more than an "it'll do" alternative driven by things other than their sound quality.
And that's the only point I'm making...

I agree...for a lot of folks, sound quality ends up giving way to budget and lifestyle/environment concerns...but that ain't my concern, therefore I will never be sold on digital modelers, 'cuz they just don't sound like the real thing.

 

[ez_willis]

I agree...for a lot of folks, sound quality ends up giving way to budget and lifestyle/environment concerns...but that ain't my concern, therefore I will never be sold on digital modelers, 'cuz they just don't sound like the real thing.

but since we're talking about there being a market for it and not you personally, your point is moot.

and i can't remember who did it, but one of the regulars here did a shootout between amps and modelers and it was funny how many people were wrong on which was which.

 

[miroslav]

but since we're talking about there being a market for it and not you personally, your point is moot.

and i can't remember who did it, but one of the regulars here did a shootout between amps and modelers and it was funny how many people were wrong on which was which.

No...my point is my point...so it's not moot for me and others who think alike.
Besides, I already said earlier that there will be a newb market for that kind of stuff.
However, what often happens is people who buy into that type of "it'll do" gear...after awhile convince themselves (and try to convince others) that it IS the same as the real deal (mainly 'cuz of their own, personal limitations that prevent them from going with the real deal).

Listening to samples of a modeler VS amp shoot out means nothing.
When you are in the room playing through an amp VS a modeler THAT'S when you hear and feel the difference, and if you can't notice the difference...then don't worry about it...use the modeler.

 

[TAE]

Listening to samples of a modeler VS amp shoot out means nothing.
When you are in the room playing through an amp VS a modeler THAT'S when you hear and feel the difference, and if you can't notice the difference...then don't worry about it...use the modeler.

I know and understand the "Feel it live" analogy because I have experienced it with a Leslie speaker in a live environment.. so I would agree with you if all you're ever going to do is play live and never record.

I would say just the opposite in the recording environment...If you ( or a group of "pro's") can't tell the difference "listening" to samples of a modeler VS the boutique amp or mic, with both the modeler and the real deal recorded under the same conditions, why in the world it would matter which you use in a recording environment? Like you say in your signature... "if it sounds right, it's right... right?

 

[DrewPeterson7]

not you personally, ANYONE IN THE WORLD THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE A SELECTION OF AMPS TO PLAY IN THEIR APARTMENT!!!!

I get it, YOU ARE BEYOND AMP MODELLERS, THEREFORE EVERYONE SHOULD BE!!!

I'm no fan of amp modelers myself, but I think they make a lot of sense for those 3AM apartment recording sessions, where you're up late, you just want to get an idea down, and turning on your tube rig is just not an option.

That said... This just strikes me as a bad idea. They're modeling the "sound" of classic mics? Are they modeling the response too? Proximity effect, polar patterns, diaphram sensitivity, off-axis reproduction, mic output, and the way it interacts with a preamp? I mean, it sounds great on paper, but so much of the character (and usefulness) of a mic is HOW it picks up sound, not just the frequencies it emphasizes.

 

[mattr]

Listening to samples of a modeler VS amp shoot out means nothing.
When you are in the room playing through an amp VS a modeler THAT'S when you hear and feel the difference, and if you can't notice the difference...then don't worry about it...use the modeler.

I was going to pick up on this, but he said it for me...

I know and understand the "Feel it live" analogy because I have experienced it with a Leslie speaker in a live environment.. so I would agree with you if all you're ever going to do is play live and never record.

I would say just the opposite in the recording environment...If you ( or a group of "pro's") can't tell the difference "listening" to samples of a modeler VS the boutique amp or mic, with both the modeler and the real deal recorded under the same conditions, why in the world it would matter which you use in a recording environment? Like you say in your signature... "if it sounds right, it's right... right?

Of course hearing an amp in the room is gonna sound better than modellers through your monitors, but that isn't a fair or remotely scientific comparison. Move the amp out of your room into isolation, and listen to it mic'd up through the monitors, then make your comparison.

Though, this has given me an idea which I think will revolutionise the world of audio and make me millions; there will be one in every home by 2015. Basically, its called 5.1.10 sound, where you have your normal 5.1 surround sound plus 10 extra channels which can be used for DI guitar recordings. These extra channels are reamped live through expensive, boutique amps in your living room - you have to buy the correct amps for all the songs you own and set them up correctly how the artist would have wanted it (or you can be creative and come up with your own rigs to use on each song). I can see this really taking off, though the cost of the amps might be a bit prohibitive for the lower socio-economic sector of the market. Alternatively, just hire some musicians to play live in your house all the time FFS. Or, alternatively to the aforementioned alternative, GET OVER IT.

And why does a shootout of audio samples mean nothing? Surely that's what matters in the final recording... how it sounds when its recorded?

 

[stevieb]

Actually, this mic, and in fact ALL Line 6 products, accomplish their designed purpose quite well.

They are designed and built to get people to buy them. Some folks "want it all," but lack the mountains of money that would be needed to buy "it all." So, they settle for a reasonable facsimile.

Modeling works, but only to a point (this is a well-established fact, I know I am not reporting anything new, here.) It has it's place- for example, I do quite well with my Fender Super Champ XD, and had the pleasure of comparing it to a vintage Fender Champ Reverb. With a reasonable amount of knob-fiddling, I was able to make the two almost indistinguishable to my ears. That made me quite happy- I recorded the settings, and gave my friend Robb his amp back, with my thanks. The SCXD serves me well in most of my jam and rehearsal sessions. Would I take it into the studio? I might, but I'd probably bring my vintage Deluxe Reverb along, too, in case the SCXD didn't quite cut it. Actually, I'd probably start with the DR, and use the SCXD if I needed something the DR could not deliver- which illustrates my point, I think:

Modeling gear can get you close, but if you want to REALLY get "that sound," you gotta go back to the original.

But frankly, for 99.9% of all live settings, "close" is plenty "close enough." I've said it before, and I will say it again: No one really needs to gig or tour with a valuable, pricy, touchy, damage-prone vintage tube amp, when the amp is FAR from the limiting factor in a live setting. Even the gear-head/tone-questing guitarist in the freakin' FIRST ROW won't be able to discern a Peavey TransTube Bandit 112 from a Princeton Reverb, in 99.9% of the live venues and shows he might go to, by sound. And yeah, that includes YOU, no matter HOW discriminating you THINK you are.

But saying Line 6 is "going to turn the mic world upside down...?" Come on, hyperbole is both not needed, and very off-putting. It will do no such thing.

 

[miroslav]

I would say just the opposite in the recording environment...If you ( or a group of "pro's") can't tell the difference "listening" to samples of a modeler VS the boutique amp or mic, with both the modeler and the real deal recorded under the same conditions, why in the world it would matter which you use in a recording environment? Like you say in your signature... "if it sounds right, it's right... right?

Actually...it's just as valid in the recording environment, and maybe even more so, as tonal nuances are often key in recording environments even more than for live playing.

See...you're just looking at it from an "end product" perspective...and I agree, that for *some types* of music/mixes...a guitar's sound can become quite buried within the whole mix, and subtle tonal nuances can get lost, but that isn't always the case.
Have you seen how many threads pop up about guys having a tough time getting their guitar to sound right in a recording...and then you see that they are NOT using an amp, and are instead using some “pod”...?

Also...who's playing AND recording in the studio...?
Well…I am...and as a guitar player, I can't stand the idea of playing through a modeler as much as I couldn't for playing live...'cuz even in the studio, I'm still *playing* the amp....it responds to what/how I play...it has an organic, living/breathing kind of quality to it.
You can't *play* a modeler...all you can do is put your guitar signal into it...and out comes a homogenized, algorithmically programmed sound.
Which to me doesn't sound right...and therefore it isn't right.
(See my sig).