The EM Poll

This is not a scientific poll but a tabulation of readers responses and is purely just for fun!

See Past Poll Results

LINE 6 PodXT

Oct 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Jon Chappell

Line 6 was one of the first manufacturers to practically apply the principles of modeling to guitar-amp simulation. Though not the only company to produce modeling devices, Line 6 distinguishes itself by creating only products whose core technology is modeling. Its products continue to improve in design, features, and sound quality, proving that modeling can keep up with the evolving tastes and increasing demands of recordists. Enter the PodXT.

Though similar to its predecessor in look and feel, the PodXT leaves the original Pod in a trail of digital dust in terms of its sound, editing capabilities, and interface. The PodXT is a complete top-to-bottom redesign that takes advantage of 32-bit floating-point processing and offers a host of useful new features.

THIS YEAR'S MODEL

FIG. 1: The PodXT's front panel includes a four-line backlit graphiucal display. Tuner, Tap, rotary controllers, and data switches occupy the middle and bottom portion of the front panel.

The PodXT may be a drastic improvement on the original Pod (now in version 2.0 and still in production), but the bold-red color and kidney shape are much the same. The PodXT's cutaway is more gradual, and its front panel provides more controls (see Fig. 1). Except for the addition of a USB port, the PodXT's I/O is the same, making it familiar to anyone who has programmed the original device.

The PodXT's top-panel layout also resembles its predecessor's: the “amp” knobs, including the new dedicated Presence control, form a semicircle around the outer edge of the upper two-thirds of the panel. The assignable Effects Tweak now resides in the front panel's interior. This central area has been expanded slightly to accommodate the enhanced display and additional controls. The rear panel has ¼-inch unbalanced jacks for left and right outputs; a jack for the optional FBV foot controller (it's an RJ-45 port that also supplies power to the pedal); a USB port for bidirectional transfer of MIDI data and 16- and 24-bit audio (with drivers for ASIO, Sound Manager, WDM, and DirectSound); MIDI In and Out/Thru ports; an unbalanced ¼-inch instrument input; and a ¼-inch stereo headphone jack.

A NEW FACE

The biggest change in the front panel is the addition of a four-line, 122 × 32-pixel backlit LCD. That's not merely a cosmetic improvement; one of the limitations of the Pod was that it had a numerical display, which was not great for remembering what you had programmed. It also didn't tell you anything about the present state of your preset's parameters as you called them up.

The new display shows the preset's name and a graphic depiction of the position of seven of the eight amp knobs. That lets you quickly assess the saved values and takes the guesswork out of making adjustments. A graphical dot shows the saved position and remains in view even after you start twiddling the knobs, allowing you to keep a bead on your parameter's starting position.

That is handy, but it's not quite as good as a Compare function, which the PodXT lacks. It's quite easy to get lost in the fun of editing, only to have to dial your parameters back to their saved positions one by one for a comparison.

The only amp knob not under microprocessor control and therefore not included as part of the saved preset is Output. That's because this control is meant to adjust the electrical level of the output, not the volume. If you wish to balance the overall sound of your saved preset against others, you must raise or lower the channel volume, which is programmable and savable.

Editing in the PodXT is as simple as pressing the Edit button and using the Select knob to scroll through the pages, which follow a logical source-to-destination progression. This method is best for building sounds from scratch, as the effects are presented in order, from start to finish, in a predictable sequence.

The other way to edit involves simply double-tapping any of the five stompbox-style buttons (Comp/Gate, Stomp, Mod, Delay, Cab/A.I.R.), which pulls up the appropriate page. I preferred that method for editing specific parameters on the fly.

MODEL PERFORMANCE

I own a Pod 2.0 and a Pod Pro, so I'm intimately familiar with the Pod's operation as well as its sounds. After two months with the PodXT, I can say that while the original Pod possesses a raw charm that bests its modeling competitors, the PodXT provides a whole new level of subtlety — and it can still serve up in-your-face sounds with a mean attitude.

The new amp models in the PodXT are derived from Line 6's flagship amp, the Vetta. They boast 32-bit floating-point processing — a significant power boost over the original's 24-bit capabilities. Whereas the Pod's sounds were impressive and uncanny, the PodXT's sounds are strikingly realistic, complex, and musical. I found virtually every one of the models usable, even when the tones didn't suit my taste. But the heart of the PodXT's sounds — modeled classic amps by Fender, Marshall, Matchless, Mesa/Boogie, Soldano, and Vox, among others — show the true power of this generation of modeling devices.

Over several weeks I ran side-by-side recorded comparisons, with assistants alternately performing and listening, of the PodXT's models against my collection of amps: late-'60s and modern Marshalls and Fenders, a mid-'60s Vox AC30, and a '90s Matchless Chieftain. What I was looking for in the models was not an exact tone-clone (which would be hard to create, even if you matched up the year and model), but the general characteristics and behavior of the amps the PodXT models.

The PodXT did not disappoint. One standout was the Blackface Lux — modeled after a '64 Fender Deluxe Reverb — which exhibited the signature glassy sheen when run at clean levels and became appropriately furry when overdriven. Another outstanding model was the Plexi Lead 100 — modeled after the '68 Marshall Plexi Super Lead — which was remarkable for its raw realism in distorted mode and for its tubelike behavior. Much like the original, the Plexi Lead 100 actually sags after you hit a hard power chord and continue to play. Amazing.

The preset names are quite specific, often invoking song titles, such as “Won't Get Fooled,” “Sultans of Swing,” and “Eruption.” That is much more helpful than naming, say, an artist or style, like “Clapton Woman-tone,” which could sound like many different things. The naming scheme virtually taunts you into playing the lick with the presets bearing their namesake's sound. Assuming you use the pickup setting recommended in the manual, you can produce dead-to-rights versions of classic riffs and get a feel for the PodXT's imitative power.

STOMPIN'

The addition of modeled effects, taken from classic stompboxes, also adds new dimensions to the PodXT. So if the amps aren't quite nasty enough by themselves, you can add a virtual distortion box in front of them — something you couldn't do with the original Pod. The PodXT's distortion options model a ProCo Rat, an Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Tycobrake Octavia, an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, and an Ibanez Tube Screamer (the TS-808 version).

Similarly, the compressor and modulation effects offer not generic parameters to tweak, but a choice of models of classic devices. You can select a Boss CS-1 (my favorite for spanky country Tele licks) or the supersquashed MXR Dynacomp. The modulation models run from stompboxes like the Sine Chorus (modeled on the Boss CE-1) to the Bias Trem (after the old brown Fender amps that produced their tremolo pulse by varying the bias of the power tubes).

I was further impressed when I placed these models in an ambient context. In addition to the improved amp models, Line 6 has enhanced its cabinet-and-mic-modeling technology, called A.I.R. for Acoustically Integrated Recording. This part of the tone-shaping process models the interaction of a speaker moving air in a room and the mic that captures its sound.

Many of my tonal whims were satisfied not by changing amp models but by switching mic modes (for example, from an SM57 off axis to an SM57 on axis) or by changing the cabinet (from a 4×12 Celestion V30 to a 2×12 Blackface). These are all the adjustments you'd attempt with a real amp in a studio before scrapping the amp altogether and trying another (especially if you've just spent 20 minutes lugging the thing into the live room and miking it up). More often than not, you'd find the right settings by varying your miking approach and sticking with your original amp choice.

For subtle changes, I almost never had to resort to external processing (EQ, ambience, or compression) to enhance the core amp sound; the full sonic character came as a package from the amp, cabinet, and mic models. For instance, after listening back and deciding I wanted more highs, all I had to do was change the SM57 model to the U 67 for a fuller frequency response. At least that was my first move, which allowed me to retain some sense of reference. If that wasn't pronounced enough, I'd simply boost the treble or the presence.

TWEAK DEEPLY

The original Pod let you tweak only some of its parameters from the front panel, giving you access to more esoteric functions through a MIDI editor-librarian. With the PodXT, you can adjust any parameter using the front-panel controls alone. Entering Edit mode on the PodXT is as simple as double-tapping the effect switches and using the cursor buttons to navigate and the rotary controls to make adjustments. This is especially handy with the modulation effects, where you can, for example, set the speed of the LFO in hundredths of a hertz, from 0.10 Hz to 15.00 Hz. If you're thinking in musical time, you can set the LFO to a multiple of the current tap tempo, such as 16th notes or eighth-note triplets.

FIG. 2: You can change the order of the PodXT's effexcts by, for example, putting the volume pedal at the front of the chain or at the end. Modulation and delay can appear either in front of the amp stage or after the preamp.

The PodXT allows you to vary the placement of certain effects. You can place the volume pedal up front or at the very end, and you can place the modulation and delay effects before the amp (the stompbox way) or after the amp (the effects-loop way). Fig. 2 shows how the PodXT places its effects in the virtual chain, and the optional positions for the volume pedal, delay, and modulation effects.

For those who prefer to edit and organize patches using a computer, Line 6 offers PodXT Edit (Mac/Win), a downloadable editor-librarian that allows you to view your patches onscreen and edit the parameters using your computer's graphical interface. PodXT Edit also features backup and organizational utilities for grouping your patches according to type and sequence.

X-TRAS

The PodXT produces great sounds and gives you powerful editing options, but its features go beyond tone production. Live musicians will want to check out the FBV and FBV Shortboard, two footpedal devices that attach to the PodXT with an RJ-45 cable (see the sidebar “A Shortboard That's Long on Features”). If you want to take advantage of any of the PodXT's continuous-controller features, you'll need an FBV board or a MIDI footpedal, because there is no back-panel CV jack on the PodXT itself.

Recordists will appreciate the USB I/O, which transports digital audio as well as MIDI and provides the means for installing the firmware and driver updates available from Line 6's Web site. Line 6 will soon offer GuitarPort compatibility, which means PodXT owners can benefit from the company's ambitious online educational efforts.

MODELS AND SUPERMODELS

There's nothing in the world like miking up a vintage guitar amp and spending time tweaking the dials, varying the mic position, and swapping out different effects pedals. And on the best of days, this will yield superior results. But if you want to quickly capture the essence of a vintage setup — in terms of sound production and behavior — the PodXT does an outstanding job, with all the advantages of virtual technology.

If you're a working recordist operating under the real-world strictures of a budget and a schedule, you'll savor the PodXT's ability to deliver predictable, consistent, and excellent results. I'd have no problem using the PodXT as my single-solution guitar device — especially in a situation where direct recording is an option. Your personal tastes might lead you to another multi-effects processor for a particular fuzz sound or modulation patch, but as a single unit delivering realism and versatility with great sound, the PodXT gives you an all-inclusive sound-production environment for start-to-finish guitar processing.

---

Jon Chappell is the author of Rock Guitar for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, 2001) and Build Your Own PC Recording Studio (McGraw-Hill, 2003).

A SHORTBOARD THAT'S LONG ON FEATURES

FIG. A: So that you can take advantage of the PodXT's continuous controller features, Line 6 offers the FBV Shortboard, which includes a single pedal.

The PodXT is a tabletop device that is not designed to be operated with the feet. So for hands-free control, Line 6 offers the FBV ($599.99) and FBV Shortboard ($369.99; see Fig. A). My review unit was an FBV Shortboard. It has fewer dedicated switches than the larger FBV and one pedal instead of two. To compensate, the FBV Shortboard has an expression pedal input, and some of the switches perform double duty.

You can assign any function to the pedal — volume, wah, modulation depth — and save that assignment as part of the preset. In addition, a dedicated switch toggles the pedal between wah and volume modes.

The FBV Shortboard is a thing of beauty in terms of design, construction, and ease of use. The high-quality footswitches give a satisfying and unambiguous ker-chunk when you step on them. The pedal's action has a nice throw to it — not too shallow and not too long, but just right for a multitude of uses. The large LCD shows the patch name that appears on the PodXT's front panel.

Communication between the tabletop device and the pedalboard is bidirectional and instantaneous, so moves made on the PodXT's front panel are reflected on the FBV Shortboard's display and status lights. The two devices are connected with a single network-style Cat. 5 cable with RJ-45 plugs, which handle data communications and power.

Features include tap tempo, a tuner, Manual and Stompbox modes, an effects-loop toggle switch, and the ability to edit program names from the footswitches. The Shortboard is expensive and works only with the PodXT and Line 6 Vetta- and Duoverb-series amps, and it can't integrate with your other MIDI gear. But with its hot-linked connection to the PodXT and its bulletproof construction, you're not likely to need anything else for a well-appointed live rig.

PodXT Specifications

Inputs	(1) ¼" unbalanced
Outputs	(2) ¼" balanced; (1) ¼" stereo headphone
Maximum Input Level	+5 dBV
Additional I/O	MIDI In, Out/Thru; USB
Maximum Output Level	+20 dBu
Dynamic Range	>90 dB
Guitar In to Analog Out S/N	stereo: -107.5 dB; mono: -110.2 dB
Presets	64
Amp Models	32
Effect Models	49
Mic/Cabinet Models	22
A/D Converters	24-bit; multistage hybrid; 64× oversampling
D/A Converters	24-bit; 128× oversampling
Control	MIDI In; MIDI Out; RJ-45 for self-powering optional Line 6 floor controller; USB MIDI
Digital I/O	USB; 16- and 24-bit, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz
Display	122 × 32-pixel backlit LCD
Power Supply	9 VAC; 2,000 mA line-lump
Dimensions	11.5" (W) × 3.0" (H) × 7.5" (D)
Weight	3 lb.

 

PRODUCT SUMMARY

Line 6
PodXT
guitar direct box
$569.99

FEATURES	4.5
EASE OF USE	4.0
AUDIO QUALITY	4.5
VALUE	4.0
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5

PROS: Stellar sound. Realistic models of amps and effects. Solid construction. Flexible I/O and routing options. Powerful and easy-to-use editing interface.

CONS: No compare function. No CV jack. FBV Floorboards are expensive.

Manufacturer

Line 6
tel. (818) 575-3600
e-mail info@line6.com
Web www.line6.com