Advice wanted: Line6 X3 Live Pod

Matt-White

Hi Guys,
A mate of mine is a rock bassist who occasionally also plays rhythm guitar in a church band. He used a Line6 Pod in studio recently and now has his eye on the X3 Live - to use it in studio, for direct inputs to his PC for guide track recordings, on stage for guitar (directly into the PA) and as effect in his live bass signal chain.
He asked me for advice, but I dont really know the Line6 gear.

Is the X3 the right choice? Are there better alternatives?
What price is reasonable? Marshall Music wants R8438, whilst there is someone else that can get it for him, from the official importers, for R6K.

Tx dudes!

mattyd

For what you are describing, the X3 Live is perfect.

I own one myself and my bassist friend owns one too.
We've both used the X3 Live in the studio, at church, with an acoustic, with a bass, with various electrics, I've personally recorded 5 albums with it and it's been a champion every time.

The only thing to remember with it in a live situation is that you need a full range monitor to monitor off (i.e. NOT a guitar amp).
Take the XLR out to the PA and then use the 1/4" output for the monitor.
The Yamaha MXR4000 (I think that's the name) was a good choice, although quite pricey.

That's my only problem with the modelling stuff:
It sounds fantastic and really works well, it just seems to lack that "moving air" thing of a real amp.
If you can live without that (even a real amp at low volumes will have that effect) then I personally think it's an excellent choice.

If you have any specific questions about the unit then please give me a shout.

Double check with Marshall on that price because the dollar is changing prices all the time AND I know for a fact that they give great deals.
They also tend to have a "beat all other prices" attitude so tell them the quote that you got and ask if they're willing to beat it.

Matt-White

Tx M! Will pass the info, and your offer of advice, on to him.

cain

With multi effects pedals you will never go wrong with Line6. They are the industry standard in digital effects, well you get better like t.c. electronics but that does not include amps etc. I recently went back to a PODXT live. Well 8k isn't a bad price, if you can get it at 6k thats an awesum price!

Shredder3211

Dude i imported mine from www.sweetwater.com - they are super professional and fedex had it here in sa in 2days (although customs in sa is a bitch) i paid R3000 then, and import tax was R1000 so all R4000...u obviously get a tracking number and all that.

Will i pay R8000 for a x3.....no freakin way, i have had it for about 2 years but think u can get the x3 for cheaper somewhere else. Just went to check the price on sweetwater, it`s 499 dollars (about R4500) plus the one grand import tax...R5500 sounds a lot better that R8000. Just remember to get a wattage converter at a place like brights.(they will help with the calculation)

Shredder3211

And if u worry about the moving air sound u don`t get from modelling, get a atomic reactor amp or something like that, it`s got a valve and if micd up would take care of most of the digital sound.http://www.atomicamps.com/products-212-50.html

AlanRatcliffe

Quinus wrote: Dude i imported mine from www.sweetwater.com...

Another consideration - if something goes wrong (as happens with even the best gear), you would end up having to pay to ship both ways and will pay duties on it again when it comes back in. So usually cheaper to pay to have it repaired locally.

Buy from Europe and you won't have the power problem. Works out more expensive, but cheaper in the long run than making a mistake and plugging a US unit into 220V.

mattyd

Quinus wrote: And if u worry about the moving air sound u don`t get from modelling, get a atomic reactor amp or something like that, it`s got a valve and if micd up would take care of most of the digital sound.http://www.atomicamps.com/products-212-50.html

I looked into those as well. The only problem is that you're gonna be spending about R8000 on this glorified monitor.
Sure it'll prob help with the "feel" on stage but don't forget that it's also a full range monitor, which means that the cabinet and speaker modelling will have to be engaged on you POD.
That means that you'll have a speaker and mic emulation going through a real speaker and then being miced up AGAIN... doesn't make sense to me.

The only way for this to work properly is to still go direct to the PA with the XLR output and then going into the Atomic as a stage monitor.
In which case R8000 is a bit steep.

I don't know... this whole monitoring thing was and is a real issue for me. It's my main problem with the Line 6 stuff.

The proper way to do it would be to take the speaker emulation off and go into a tube power amp (usually costing about R12 000 and up) and then going into an actual guitar cabinet (usually costing R6 000 and up) and then you will have an awesome, versatile setup.

Shredder3211

Ya that`s true - but still, won`t u get a warmer better sound even if u mic it up again and then put it through ur PA instead of going to the PA with the balanced XLR outs.....the atomic amp`s eq is flat so shape of the sound would come from ur pod,or maybe u could just go into the fx return on a cheaper all valve amp like the randall tc 50. I don`t know much bout this but that`s what i would hav done, or just test it first and c what is better.

AlanRatcliffe

Why mic up what is basically a monitor? You DI to your desk.

Sure, the speaker sim is on - that's how amp modellers sound their best. The Atomic is an accurate system, just like the PA.

Yeah, they are steep - but they are more like a valve hifi amp than a guitar amp. Personally I'm happy with a good full-range monitor system.

mattyd

Quinus:

Yes the Atomic is a full range system but the sound that would come out of it would be an "already miced" sound.
Think about it this way:

What does it sound like if you put a microphone to a hifi speaker with guitar coming out of it? ???

Some guys I know have had good results going through the effects loop of their valve amp, but then just make sure that it's a series effects loop and not a parallel one. Also remember to turn the speaker sims off if you do this.
PODs actually have a "Combo power amp" option which is used for this.

Shredder3211

Or just buy a stack and be done with it...

cain

If i'm not mistaken, the the atomic amp uses normal POD's not the live versions cos you dock it into it. Im unsure if its a viable option tho, plugging strait into the PA should sound perfect ...

mattyd

Francis Viviers wrote: If i'm not mistaken, the the atomic amp uses normal POD's not the live versions cos you dock it into it. Im unsure if its a viable option tho, plugging strait into the PA should sound perfect ...

You can buy a docking station for the desktop POD but if you have the Live version then you can just plug into the Effects loop of the Atomic and it'll work the same. It's designed for both.
But you're right, PA is the way to go.