Line 6 trying again

I'd go with #1 is the Real amp has more Dynamics and more Sparkle in the top end,but I could be wrong #2 seemed a little dull sounding
 
Xavi Garci said:
I never understood all the jokes about Line 6 on this fórum, I have direct experience of both Fractal and Line 6 products (and of course many "real" great amps), and as much as I like Fractal products, I think Pod HD sounds really good and does the job. It doesn't have as many possibilities as Fractal, and some of the effects (pitch, reverb) just can't be compared, but there are many prejudices here.

Here is a little game, I recorded a short loop, with no effects, one is pod HD500, Divided by 13 9/15 emulation, straight to PC, no pre or post processing of any kind; the other is my "real" Divided by 13 9/15, with a condenser mic, straight to PC, no pre or post processing either. There is an obvious difference to me, but nothing to laugh about, in fact I think they sound close enough for many applications, what do you think? It could be even closer, I just used exactly the same settings on both the real and the emulated amp, didn't try to match the sound by ear.

https://soundcloud.com/xavigarci29/sample-1
https://soundcloud.com/xavigarci29/sample-2
Click to expand...


Hmmm... I think they are BOTH the pod...
They sound kinda artificially compressed.
If this is not the case please forgive... they both sound good!
I have heard your recordings before. you are a Monster player and a Tone hound!
 
Right when I wanted to get a AXE FX, I found a POD 2 (the red ones) rackmount preamp used and bought it. Maybe it was just my sheer ignorance in how to operate it but I was mainly only impressed by the effects (marginally). The amp modeling was that of my Zoom GT something pedal. I know a guy who plays solely out of a floor Pod HD direct to the PA and it sounds good, but to my ears...sounds a little meh on anything but super high gain and super clean. I always felt like you couldnt get that good overdriven tube crunch out of them.
 
The sound wasn't so much of a problem for me with the Line 6 stuff. The axe sounds far better overall in IMHO, but I could always get a decent sound out of my POD. The problem for me was the FEEL!
 
my exposure to line6 was limited to the 4-button stompers (still have them!), the toneport, until i got the pod hd500. i was prepared to stick with it if not for the user interface driving me crazy. having come from the boss gt series, which i took to like a fish in the water, the buttons and hidden menus on the hd500 were not intuitive to me at all. i then stuck with the boss gt100 for a while until one fateful day when the missus had a momentary lapse of sanity and allowed me to get the axe fx2. not too long ago I took out the hd500 to update its firmware and was reminded again how good it sounded. rather than keeping it in cold storage, i gave it to my nephew who had begun taking an interest in the electric guitar. matter of taste I guess but to me the new pro x seems like a great candidate as an inexpensive backup.
 
Xavi Garci said:
Which one of my 2 little samples sounds like a toy to you, t0aj15? the other is in my opinion a real Ferrari, a Divided by 13 9/15
Click to expand...

Both sound good to me. I have an HD500 as well and though it's not in league with the AxeFx it's definitely not a toy and has many great sounds in it (as mentioned above: the feel/dynamics is the biggest challenge). For 500$, it's a lot of modeller for the money and a really good compact all-in-one unit with solid companion software. It's also a good midi controller that can be used to control the Axe + makes a good backup unit.

As for L6 cust support - well most large company support is poor - that's not an L6 phenomenon.


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Xavi Garci said:
Which one of my 2 little samples sounds like a toy to you, t0aj15? the other is in my opinion a real Ferrari, a Divided by 13 9/15
Click to expand...

Despite the sound clips, It is unfortunately a skewed and far too incomplete test IMO. 'Skewed' because there is no documentation, no video. Sure we are on the 'honor' system, but that doesn't count in testing. But even so the 'clip' is far too short, there are not enough dynamics to gauge anything (meaning the clip is one dimensional in terms of pick dynamics, attack, playing, bends, feel, tonal variation and technique etc.)

Also, it is hard to know a persons recording chain, converters, monitor chain, room, recording environment and their ability or skill level to capture guitar sound accurately.
So to say a POD sounds as good as XX amp in this instance leaves too many holes and for me has no relevance. That is not personal, just a physical reality for me.

I think for a better example, look at a couple of Pete Thorn vids where he puts the AXE against his own recording chain using entire songs. The live sound is always a bit 'livlier' at least back in the 10 x days. Who knows now with 11.3?
I have similar gear as Pete and my own recorded micd amps are many steps above a POD.

That said, the POD is no toy. It is an awesome little unit, always has been. The AXE is just on a new level of technology. And is priced accordingly. Cheers.
 
If we're going down the POD is Rodney Dangerfield and gets no respect route, I'd offer the Tech21 Sansamp GT2 as the real value king for aspiring and bedroom/desk scenes.
I own a POD HD as a backup, but it gets used less than GT2 at my desk by a large margin. I'm going to sell it now that I think about it.

The GT2 is just an amp sim and doesn't do 1/5th of what the POD does, but it feels GREAT. For when I don't need or want to lug the AF2 the GT2 and a pedal for delay is what I've been taking. (My iPhone has a good enough tuner and metronome)

-P
 
L6 made me a digital convert many many years ago (POD) and I gigged with a Vetta II combo for a long time. I bought the axe because it had a 15-day trial period and from the moment I plugged it in I never went back to the vetta. Now, that being said, if I had never bought the axe, I probably wouldn't have known any better as I was pretty darned happy with L6. I've received phenomenal support from them on a number of issues over the years and they were always super-responsive. Back in the day, it was the same few dudes answering the phones. My handle on my Vetta II pulled out of the threads one time and the guy sent me a new handle and a couple of threaded flush mount nuts (I forgot what they were called) and a new handle... arriving in 2 days. For free. My wife had a similar experience with them last year when she lost the clip on her X2 belt pack (which is the company L6 bought and re-branded as their G90 wireless). The guy said he had a whole box of them, but they don't make them anymore so just to be safe sent her a handful.

I have no ill will towards L6. They do what they do and they do it really well. Fractal is a different market. Chevy isn't competing with McLaren or Ferrari, but that doesn't make it a bad product.
 
When the first HD product came out its main problem was unusable cabs. They've done nothing to fix this issue. They don't listen to customers.

CUSTOM CABS!!!!! Do they even read what people are saying about their product? No because they'll sell anyways so why bother.
 
t0aj15 said:
And even if you wired up all five of them at once you'd still be playing with five toy cars as opposed to driving a real Ferrari.
Click to expand...

Silly statement. Youve never tried one so how can you say it's a toy? How does it merit a bunch of slams? Not fair. Then again, if I go on the ferrari website im sure I'll find ferrari snobs slamming corvettes.....
Its not an Axe Fx clearly based on the specs and feature list but its truley not priced like a ferrari.
 
I've come across a lot of line 6 users over the last few years and never had good thing to say about their tone or effects. maybe I just have bad luck, but that's been my experience. I won't "slam" the product, but I'm not going to lie and say it sounded great. I jammed with one guy recently who had one of the line 6 combo amps and what a nightmare, all noise.... that said, in this day and age, the technology has come to the point where IMO bad tone or effects application is pretty much due to user error.

I use the Relay G50 wireless, but that's all for line 6.
 
I have the dream rig of Tyler guitar pod hd500 and dt25 amp and cabinet.
The line 6 guitar is one of my favorite guitars and does some amazing sounds ( I do have vintage les paul costum and strats)
The 500 does some great sounds but the feel is somewhat missing
The bogner designed amp sounds great and can be switched to different classes.
Updates are slow and often disappointing .
I also have a roland vg99 ,sounds great for some things like bass
No real sound changes since the vg 8 from 10 years ago. I have both.
I also have some nice Marshall combo amps
The axe fx has the best feel. Turn the volume on the guitar down and the reaction from the amp sound changes like a real amp.
Emulators have always been good with heavy distorted sound but don't clean up when the volume on the guitar is rolled back.
I like the James Tyler guitar with the axe fx as the guitar can get good tones emulating strats and les Paul's.
I have just received my atomic clr and have jet to try the acoustic emulation throug the axe fx and clr
Axe fx is the only equipment that comes with regular meaningful updates.
Rob
 
I have gotten into the habit of bringing my HD500 to rehearsal and using 3-4 basic sounds. We record rehearsal and we sometimes get pretty good stereo recordings. I have caught myself saying "dang, that sounds pretty good". But on the other hand, I've then compared those rehearsal tracks to the real performance where I've painstakingly programmed awesome sounds with the Axe II and it exposes the HD500's tone for what it really is. The same thing the HD500 can reveal in my old BOSS GT-6. LOL.
 
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