New to me used Line6 POD X3 Live.

[Donny Osmond fan]

I Got used a Line 6 POD X3. So I have never owned a Line 6 product. Because I think most of their Spider and other products are junk. But I found this thing so cheap. So I thought it looked cool. Any users?

(image removed)

 

[codamedia]

I used one for many years before "upgrading" to an HD500 which was a terrible mistake on my part. I much preferred the options and functionality of the X3 over the HD500. FWIW, I am currently on a Helix.

The X3 is a great product... with a lot of I/O options, dual channel, etc... etc... The Modeling is NOT up to today's standards (Fractal, Kemper, Helix) but that doesn't mean there isn't some great sounds in there. Don't get hung up with how "exact" each model sounds, just enjoy some great sounds.

I have never owned a Line 6 product. Because I think most of their Spider and other products are junk.

Keep in mind... the X3 is still 15 year old technology... it's not fair to judge Line 6 by this product in 2021!

How you monitor a modeler is critical.... you can't just turn these on and get good sounds into the front of an amp unless you properly set them up to do so. Be prepared for a bit or a learning curve and a new way to do things or you will continue to think they all sound like junk.

 

[Donny Osmond fan]

I used one for many years before "upgrading" to an HD500 which was a terrible mistake on my part. I much preferred the options and functionality of the X3 over the HD500. FWIW, I am currently on a Helix.

The X3 is a great product... with a lot of I/O options, dual channel, etc... etc... The Modeling is NOT up to today's standards (Fractal, Kemper, Helix) but that doesn't mean there isn't some great sounds in there. Don't get hung up with how "exact" each model sounds, just enjoy some great sounds.



Keep in mind... the X3 is still 15 year old technology... it's not fair to judge Line 6 by this product in 2021!

How you monitor a modeler is critical.... you can't just turn these on and get good sounds into the front of an amp unless you properly set them up to do so. Be prepared for a bit or a learning curve and a new way to do things or you will continue to think they all sound like junk.

I just dislike the Spider crap. Vox, old Johnson modeling amps and others that I own and do not own are great. I still use them every day. My old Johnson amp rocks. My Facebook friend Scott Grove uses those amp a lot. I do not expect the amps models to sound just like the real ones. I love my Vox amps.

 

[mkdaws32]

It's an excellent piece of gear. Some pro players even used them to replace real amps live (Lincoln Brewster, for example - killer, killer tone. He played for Journey for a while and has an extremely successful solo career.) He used the POD X exclusively before that.

It's true that the modelling isn't technically as deep or precise as the current generation of models, but the amps and effects are all really good and the feel really good. Keep in mind that the more precise models in the Helix, Fractal, Kemper, Headrush, etc, etc, etc. doesn't equate to better - it just more closely emulates the subtleties of the particular amp they modelled at the time. The only think I wish they had had was and IR loader to load your own cabinets. The Achilles heal of a lot of the older units - even going back several generations, was poor cabinet modeling, IMHO, but I think you should be able to fins some good cabs in an X3. And if you are playing it through a real amp and cabinet, you want to disable the cabinet modelling anyway.

I'm using Helix products and a Tech21 FlyRig 5 these days, but I would have no problem getting along with an X3.

 

[mkdaws32]

Keep in mind... the X3 is still 15 year old technology... it's not fair to judge Line 6 by this product in 2021!

Time flies! the Kemper is 10 years old this year and still has little problem keeping up with the likes of Helix, Headrush, Neural DSP and Fractal, although Fractal's newer modelers allow a deeper level of amp model tweaking than any of the others, I think. If fact, I think Muse guitarist Matt Bellamy still uses a Kemper for live shows as an amp head and uses an Axe FX for his effects. The Kemper allows him to profile his own real amps he uses in the studio and take them on tour "virtually" as Kemper profiles.

 

[Blrfl]

Time flies! the Kemper is 10 years old this year and still has little problem keeping up with the likes of Helix, Headrush, Neural DSP and Fractal...

The Kemper isn't the same product it was a decade ago. They've made tons of improvements that don't require a new physical box because it's an all-software platform and upgrades are just downloaded and installed. Part of the high cost of entry funds that development.

The other platforms you named are the same, although they're a lot younger by comparison. The notable exception is the Axe-FX III, which added a lot more compute horsepower over the II. I'd imagine the II could run more-modern modeling at the expense of not having as many other effects going at the same time.

 

[mkdaws32]

The Kemper isn't the same product it was a decade ago. They've made tons of improvements that don't require a new physical box because it's an all-software platform and upgrades are just downloaded and installed. Part of the high cost of entry funds that development.

The other platforms you named are the same, although they're a lot younger by comparison. The notable exception is the Axe-FX III, which added a lot more compute horsepower over the II. I'd imagine the II could run more-modern modeling at the expense of not having as many other effects going at the same time.

Yes - the newer generation (including the Kemper) are basically 99% software now running on a highly optimized computer with a chassis and controls for use by guitarists. As such, models, effect algorithms, signal paths, control abilities can all be upgraded via software updates. The Helix has gotten some incredible algorithm and control updates, as of late, so that is no longer the same as when initially introduced, either. However, the processing power in a 10 year old Kemper will at some point be unable to compete with something newer like the AxeFX 9 or the recent NeuralDSP offerings with cutting edge processing that was not available 10 years ago. You simply will not be able to update a Kemper with algorithms as complex as some of these new units have. It's just progress and no platform will last forever. Now, I don't know much about Kempers from a technical standpoint (I've used one, though, and it's fantastic) - perhaps newer models have newer processors and more memory to cope with heavier updates? Even if that's true, there is a limit to how long the original units will be supported. But that is true of all of these devices.

 

[mkdaws32]

I do have to say, that for a 15 year old product, the X3 still looks bloody cool, too!

 

[Blrfl]

However, the processing power in a 10 year old Kemper will at some point be unable to compete with something newer like the AxeFX 9 or the recent NeuralDSP offerings with cutting edge processing that was not available 10 years ago. You simply will not be able to update a Kemper with algorithms as complex as some of these new units have.

Kemper saw that coming and planned for it: all of the processing is on a card that can be removed and replaced like you'd swap out a stick of memory in your computer. That means they'll be able to give it more oomph without having the replace the entire unit.

 

[getbent]

score! many great sounds in that unit.

 

[Preacher]

For a guitarist on a budget you could do a lot worse than the Line 6 boards. They have a ton of online resources still for these units, even LB has his settings and profiles on the Line 6 site.

It does take some time though to dial it in to get acceptable sounds. Keep in mind that it is going to sound different in a PA, than it will into an amp, or even a powered speaker cabinet.

 

[Preacher]

Here is a suggestion, if you have a looper (I can't remember if that unit has a looper built in it) get your settings like you want it, then play something on the looper and stand back and see how it sounds.

 

[mkdaws32]

Kemper saw that coming and planned for it: all of the processing is on a card that can be removed and replaced like you'd swap out a stick of memory in your computer. That means they'll be able to give it more oomph without having the replace the entire unit.

Okay - that is a very cool design feature that most companies would leave out intentionally to sell more gear down the road!

 

[Donny Osmond fan]

For a guitarist on a budget you could do a lot worse than the Line 6 boards. They have a ton of online resources still for these units, even LB has his settings and profiles on the Line 6 site.

It does take some time though to dial it in to get acceptable sounds. Keep in mind that it is going to sound different in a PA, than it will into an amp, or even a powered speaker cabinet.

I just found the unit. I had no budget in my head. It was a impulse buy.

 

[TX_Slinger]

I still use a POD HD based modeler, Firehawk FX, but with a Mooer Radar in the fx loop for IR's. Can you turn cab sims off in the X3 Live?

 

[codamedia]

Can you turn cab sims off in the X3 Live?

IIRC, you can choose "no cab" n the cab sim section ... essentially removing the cab sim.