Line 6 Pod XT Live

Maybe there is a difference in quality coming off the line but I find it REALLY difficult to get anymore than one note playing to sound good. If I hit two or more notes they clash and provide a mushy output. I have tweaked and twonked the full range of the unit and tried several different guitars (6 or 7). When I use ANY of my other pedals I get great clear clean sound and beautiful separation when using effects like distortion. I have spent WAY too many hours trying to make this thing sound even ok to use. Maybe I got the lemon out of many good ones. I hate it.

Can't really use it due to poor output, even worse than a broken clock.

Not as easy to use as (say) a Fender Twin...but this has a hell of a lot more flexibility than any non-modeling amp. Quite easy to use if you invest a little time in learning how it works and experimenting with it.

I've been gigging and recording with amps from Fender, Marshall, Peavey, Mesa/Boogie, you name it since the 70s. I've been gigging and recording with Line 6 since 2002. According to sound engineers, audience members, and fellow musicians, I get a great sound out of it. I had one musician--a guy who is a total tone snob, analog/tube all the way--express shock when he came up to the stage after the gig and saw my Line 6 setup. "I had no idea that Line 6 gear could sound so good."

But at the same time, I've heard lots of guys get horrible tones out of Line 6 gear. What's the difference? Here's how to dial this sucker in:

1. Listen. Turn off all the effects and just listen to the raw guitar tone. Play some simple stuff, hold notes, don't just rip scales. Get a friend to listen with you.

It's best to listen in the setting where you will be playing. Best: while you're rehearsing with your band. Second best: play along with your iPod or the radio. See how that ******** high-gain tone with scooped midrange disappears? The bass takes your low end--the hi hat and cymbals take your high end--you're left with...nothing.
Record yourself rehearsing and gigging. Ask people how it sounds. Get a wireless and walk out front while you're soundchecking.
Then, go back and tweak. Lather, rinse, repeat. Keep tweaking.

2. Tweak carefully. This thing has very powerful controls. Make small changes and listen again. This is especially true for the gain control. Unless you want to turn your guitar into an unrecognizable mess, never crank the gain to full on the high-gain models. Start out around noon, or better yet, 10:00. Go with about 20 percent less gain than you think you need, and you'll hear your tone start to come out. This is a good guideline for normal amps too. About 75 percent of crappy tone comes from using too much gain.

3. Tweak everything, Make sure you tweak the cabinet models, mike models and placement. These make a huge difference in the sound. I've settled in on 2 or 3 mike and cab combinations that work for me.

4. If you have a decent PA and sound guy, run direct for live work. This thing is made to be played that way. If you don't have a decent PA and sound guy, nothing will make your guitar sound good out front. It may sound great on stage, but that doesn't really cut it.
If you really want an "amp" on stage, get an Atomic Reactor amp. I have the 50 watt 1x12 and it's great. Great for that amp feel, feedback, etc and for filling out the first row or two in small clubs. Loud as hell. If you really need to be louder than that, you'd better be wearing earplugs, in which case, you can't hear the amp anyway so why are you worried about the tone? But still, better to run direct than mike the Atomic. Fewer variables--is the mic broken? Is it the right kind of mic? Is it placed correctly? Will it get knocked out of place during the show? etc etc.

5. Be objective. There is a certain religious fervor among musicians about tube amps. I've heard people rave about my "tube tone" only to be told that the tube amp (the Atomic) is just for monitoring and I run direct from-oh my GOD--a digital amp simulator.

Let me tell you from over three decades of experience. I've played through every legendary amp there is. I've gigged actively with an original blackface Deluxe, a plexi Marshall, a Boogie Mark III, and God knows how many other amps. I've had a basement full of vintage gear. And I've concluded: there is really nothing special about tube amps. Don't buy the hype--you don't need to use 1950s radio technology to get good tone.

People ask, does this sound like the real (say) Marshall? What does that mean? I used to have two JCM800s in my basement. They sounded radically different. Same models, made around the same time...read interviews with major players, they'll search and search for a "good" JCM800. All I can say is--the JCM800 patch sounds very, very good when dialed in.

Never had a problem with Line 6 gear in 7 years of gigging. I've had lots of problems with tube gear though, blowing up, smoldering, loose tubes, shorts, etc.

Never had a problem, so never had to deal with them.

Installed several model packs, downloaded patches without a hitch though.

I play everything from country to blues to metal to reggae to industrial noise. Whatever they're paying for.

Been playing since 1973. For money since 1976.

If it were stolen, I'd probably get the X3 Live, but I'd be very happy with another XT Live.

What I most love about this is walking into a gig with this, two guitars, and a bag over my shoulder. Load-in: 45 seconds. Setup: 3 minutes.

I had messed around with similar units, so it wasn't that hard to get into. Reading the manual is essential if you're editing patches on the unit itself; there are button combos for certain features that you just wouldn't figure out on your own, and things are all buried in menus, and you only have two knobs to navigate them with, so it can get tedious. But it isn't really difficult to understand, aside from a few menus that are a little cluttered.

Editing patches using the software interface, however, is a snap. Plug the thing in via USB after installing GearBox or Line 6 Edit, and you'll be tweaking up patches within a couple minutes. The GUI mimics the front panels of the amps and effects, so there's literally no learning curve if you already know how to dial in an amp.

I play an Ernie Ball Music Man JP6 with the stock DiMarzio pickups (modified Air Norton and Steve's Special in the neck and bridge, respectively). My rig goes guitar > PODxt Live > BBE Sonic Stomp > Tech 21 Power Engine 60 212. I've been able to get some amazing tones with this setup.

I find that the POD really excels at everything from sparkling cleans to crunchy high gain, but its shortcomings start to stand out a bit more when you're after a brutal, saturated metal distortion ?? la a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. These sounds are possible with the POD, they just take a bit more work to dial in. You'll have to figure out how to EQ around the pronounced hiss you'll hear with most of the stock high-gain settings.

All the amp models are very usable, but I gravitated toward just a handful. I bought all of Line 6's extra model packs (they had a special, $99 for every single model they make), and most of the amp models I really like are part of the Metal Shop pack. For cleans, I use the Blackface (Fender Twin model), and for most of my distortions I use the variac'd '68 Marshall (Plexi Variac on the POD). For high gain, I love the Mississippi Criminal (Peavey 5150 model) and their ENGL and Diezel models (from the Metal Shop pack).

I use a stomp box model on just about every patch, usually the Tubescreamer and Pro Co RAT models. They're all pretty dead-on, so whatever you like in real life, you'll probably like on the POD. They have all the classics, like the Tubescreamer, RAT, Fuzz Face, Chandler Tube Driver, and lots more. Some of them are part of the FX Junkie model pack, which is included with the PODxt Live.

The other stuff I use sparingly, but what I do use always sounds great. I only use reverb on my clean patches, and I mostly just leave the knobs at their default settings except for the mix knob, and then scroll through the different flavors until I like the sound of one. The digital delay is the only delay I use, and it's fantastic. In addition to adjusting the time, number of repeats, and volume, you can also adjust the bass and treble for the repeats, which is an option I never knew I'd love until I got this unit. I also like their model of the MXR Phase 90, but that's about the extent of the effects I use. Less is more, if you ask me.

There are a couple settings that mimic rack pieces: a compressor, a noise gate, and a semi-parametric EQ. They all work well and allow for a little more flexibility in shaping your tone, but I can't really compare them to the real deal because I never used them. They've come in handy, though, and their absence would've meant a much lower rating for this category. You simply can't be without the noise gate (the POD would be too noisy on high-gain settings), and the EQ is great for punching up your tone or knocking back annoying hiss or boom.

The most important factor in getting a good sound of this (or any modeling unit, really) is running it through the right amp. Remember, this is not just an effects box; it's a modeler. It's emulating the sound of a mic'd amp, the same as you'd hear on a recording or through a PA system. If you run it in front of a regular guitar amp, you're hearing the fully modeled amp and effects chain through another amp, which might sound good, but probably not. The POD has a few different settings to tell it what you're running it through, so be sure to pick the one that matches your setup.

The best solution is to run it straight into a PA system (the equivalent of a mic'd amp through a PA), or into a keyboard amp or studio monitor. I use a Tech 21 Power Engine, which is just a power amp and speaker combo, no preamp. The POD acts as a preamp, and the amp itself doesn't color the tone from the POD. Something like this is the only way to hear your POD or other modeling unit as it was meant to sound -- and the PODxt Live sounds absolutely killer with my setup.

The casing is all steel and feels pretty sturdy. The expression pedal is squeaky, and I haven't taken the thing apart to adjust it (I don't think this should be necessary, but I hear it can be done easily). The tone control knobs are plastic, but there's a metal bar in front of them to keep you from accidentally kicking them.

The unit I got was used but in really good shape. I take it to practice and gigs with no backup, though I guess it's always smart to have a backup no matter how reliable you think your equipment is. I've experienced no issues with it after about a month of heavy use. In fact, I bought the XT version instead of the X3 precisely because it's built sturdier (the X3 is all plastic, and I heard horror stories about faulty switches and dying units).

Haven't had to deal with them, but Line 6 has a good web site with an extensive knowledge base and support forum. Reading through the discussions you'll see lots of posts by Line 6 employees, so I assume they're pretty on the ball.

I've been playing about 17 years, mostly rock. I play in various cover bands, plus I like to jam with friends or just play by myself whenever I can. For me, the PODxt Live is a perfect match. I always liked the idea of an amp with everything built in, which is why I usually bought amps with onboard effects (never had any interest in a giant rack-based rig, or a huge pedal board). They were never quite as tweakable as I'd have liked, and they were always missing a few things that I really didn't want to do without. I've owned mostly small practice amps, a couple of tube combos, but I was never as happy with any of them as I am with the POD. This thing is a tweaker's dream -- there are far more options than most people would ever use -- and the amp and effects models are mostly spot-on. If you use it correctly, you can get pretty much any sound you want with a rig that costs hundreds instead of thousands of dollars.

However, I didn't appreciate the upselling on the model packs. Purchased separately, all the additional model packs would run you another couple hundred bucks, and even if you take advantage of one of their bundles, you're still paying extra to get the most out of the unit. This just seems a little dishonest to me, kind of like selling a razor for five bucks and then charging 20 bucks a pack for blade refills. Yeah, it's several dozen amps and dozens more effects and stomp boxes in one unit for under $400 (and as low as $200 or so if you buy used), but at $399 I'd expect to get more than what comes with it.

And even after ponying up for the extra model packs, you're extremely limited in how you can use them if you own other Line 6 products. I also own a POD Studio UX2 (formerly TonePort), which comes with the POD Farm software. I love using that as a plug-in when recording, but I can only use it with the UX2. My model packs are installed on my XT Live, so unless I want to buy them again (I don't), I have to go to the trouble of transferring them from one device to the other. It's not a huge deal -- it only takes a couple minutes -- but it's pointless. I can use the model packs on both products anyway, so why put customers through that hassle? Just let us buy the packs once and use them on whatever devices we want.

But that's a beef with Line 6 and not really the PODxt Live in particular. This unit does exactly what I want it to do, it sounds great, and I'm extremely happy with it. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably buy it again. I might be tempted to try out another modeler -- maybe the Vox ToneLab, or the units made by DigiTech, BOSS, Zoom, etc., which I hear are all good -- but I'd probably end up sticking with the POD because I already know how to use it.

I have had a Boss GT6 before and found the POD xt live seriously easy to use in comparisson. Tones are easy to dial in from scratch especially in conjuction with the "gearbox" software and editing presets is also a breeze. The manual is easy to understand - it has not been translated into english from japanese by a french student with a speech impediment, unlike most "multi-language" instruction manuals. All together a fine experience.

I play a USA 60th anniversary Srat and a PRS single cut SE, both of which sound fine through the POD. I send the POD output to the effects return on my Laney LC 30 (valve) and set the output to "combo pwramp" to get the best tone. I have also put the POD through my Fender Deluxe 90 (tranny) amp on the power amp input and got good results also with the same set-up.
I cannot pretend to have played my modest selection of guitars through any of the real Amps that are modelled on the POD, only the Laney comes close to being a representation of true valve performance and the POD seems to replicate the character of valve tone and dynamic response quite accurately.
As far as effects are concerned, I can only rate the ProCo RAT simulation as I have the real thing to test against. After setting the POD to a similar amp as my Laney and A-B-ing between the model and the real thing, there seems to be no discernable differance in tone, even the virtual RAT controls respond in a very similar fashion to the real thing apart from the fact that they do not have "crackly" pots as my original does!
There are certain effects I doubt I would ever use, my set-up before the POD was just guitar, Dunlop Wah, RAT, Laney and that was all, but to have all those Amps on tap is the whole point of this purchase and I have not been disapointed so far.

I cannot offer a response as it has not been tested in the field as yet, but it seems to be well manufactured and robust.

Website seems OK and the updates via Line 6 Monkey should keep everything in order

From what I have found so far, the POD appears to cover any base I would like to throw at it. I do not expect to use all of the features of the POD, but the features I have encountered tick all of the boxes I require. I can only compare with the Boss GT6 and find the POD so much easier to use and a far better tonal experience. The Boss sounded either thin or over the top, without too much middle ground, whereas the POD is much more subtle and controllable. I have recorded with the POD onto a digital 8 track, as well as played "live" and have found, if the POD is set up correctly some very useable and pleasant tones on offer. The on-line tone library and "guitar port" also offer some exceptional presets well worth experimenting with.
In all, an enjoyable piece of kit, with much to offer.

The XT live is pretty easy to use for the most part, and I've found the manual helpful - the biggest problem is that it doesn't really explain everything and misses out some of the XT Live's shortcomings.

I'm really happy with the sound quality, I bought this to use as a silent recording device - basically so me and a drummer(with an electric kit) could jam witout annoying the neighbours. The worst sound that comes out of it is the loud squeak the volume/wah pedal makes! That said I've had to make my own presets to get a sound I like, the presets seem pretty tacky for the most part.

Never had a problem with it (other than the squeeky pedal)

Never had to deal with them.

I really like the xt live though I have some reservations. The things I don't like are: All the effects are divided into five groups and you can only use one effect from each group. This means you can't use a two distortions in the same patch or you cant use a synth and a fuzz together or a chorus and a phaser. I would have liked each pedal to be able to have controlled any effect. I also like it to have an effects loop. You also don't seem to be able to turn the reverbs on and off. I could be wrong about these thing (I hope I am!) but because of them I've been a bit disappointed in the xt live.

Once you get into it, it's not bad at as far as set up goes, but on the fly tweeking is nearly impossible. Once you have a preset saved I would recommend using the remaining B-D banks to save various tweeks on the A. Live it kills me not to be able to reach down and take my delay, phaser, or______ (insert effect) down a bit in the mix from a lead to a rhythm section. It's all or nothing pretty much.

HUGE DEAL-- You can't use more than one effect at time!! for instance on the mod pedal, you have various settings from chorus to flange, phaser, and various (to be honest nearly useless) other fx, and you can only set one at a time, with no potential of mixing and matching at all. This was very disappointing to me, it takes the creativity out of creating, for lack of a better phrase, as far as sounds are concerned.

I play professionally, and have a guitar in hand about 40-50 hours a week. 2-5 gigs a week, plus teaching and studio session work. Guitar is literally all I do for a living. So my tone is my life, and I trust that when writing this review, there has been literally hundreds of hours over the past few months that I have put in with this pedal. I put it to the test the 2nd day I had it. I got it on a Thursday, went home, dialed it in, and played it live Friday, Sat and Sunday, with a recording session on Wednesday. I play jazz, funk, rock, soul, R&B; so I need a lot of versatility from Grant Green to Journey, to James Brown, and everywhere in between. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville, and have a Gretch Falcon hollowbody, American Tele, and a JV strat. All of them have the same issue through the pedal. The distortion just doesn't cut it.

I have a Variax 600 on order for the past 2 months, and I am trying to hold out for that to see if it makes a difference, but if a real strat and a real tele don't get it done, I'm not sure what will.


When practicing at the studio, things sound great. But live, I just can't get the tones I need. My boss is always telling me that my leads just aren't "cutting through" as he explains it. We use in ear monitors with a personal 16 channel mix (13 piece band) and when I solo, I can't even hear myself cutting through my own mix. And the delay and other effects seem to really muddy up the distortion instead of adding color to it.

In STUDIO-
I have used it in about 20 hour so of album recording for various projects in the past month, and again, I end up using amp farm in portools to get the sound to cut through (which is also ironically made by Line 6)

If you are a freak about tones, be advised, this is advertised to be more than it's cracked up to be.

I've had mine for 3 months, played close to 30 gigs with it, and never had a problem.

I play professionally, and have a guitar in hand about 40-50 hours a week. 2-5 gigs a week, plus teaching and studio session work. Guitar is literally all I do for a living. So my tone is my life, so please trust that when writing this review, there has been literally hundreds of hours over the past few months that I have put in with this pedal. I put it to the test the 2nd day I had it. I got it on a Thursday, went home, dialed it in (generally), and played it live Friday, Sat and Sunday, with a recording session on Wednesday. At first I was kind of blinded by the fact that I didn't have to carry my pedal in a 88-key keyboard case, and the sound seemed to be pretty cool.

I originally bought this unit, because my 4ft pedal board of hand selected effects just didn't fit on stage anymore, so I needed to downsize. From what I read this seemed to be it for me but...
-No flexibility live
-The sounds (through a tube amp at least) don't translate well on stage. I can tell that they are there, but they just don't come out of the damn box!! In a studio setting when you can sit there with protools plug ins and eqs to get what you want, I guess ti works fine.

This week I finally had to break out my Keely Modified RAT distortion pedal, and my old Lexicon MPX 110 rack unit effects processor and ahhh... I finally sounded like me again. I put it in front of the pod and had it go straight to the amp, using only the modelling, phaser and delay from the pod, but if you put the pod last in the chain, pretty much everything is going to compress from it (yes even with the compressors off).

Basically I feel like I took a really big gamble with this piece of eqiupment and kind of got burned. I had only read one review before I bought this that said the same thing I am, and thought that he was probably the one that didn't know what he was talking about, but what he said is true at least for me.

My sound is everything, and I feel like I am very shortly going to sell it and buy organic (actual stomp boxes). If you only need delay chorus, flange, phaser, and distortion, you're better off researching your fav guitarist, finding out what they use, and buy the stomps. That's my opinion at least. It's a great idea, but it just doesn't make the grade in my book. Definitely not a piece for the hardcore pros.

Read the manual!!! Easy after that.

Have to turn down the treble on almost all amp models, but I am running it into the power amp input of a m-80 combo. I love that it has given me the chance to try "amps" that I never would have plugged into. Love the Citrus-30 program. I know that the programs are probably idealized reproductions and not exact copies, but who cares as long as you get really good sounds. Even the feedback has a musical quality like a tube amp.
I use a Heritage LP copy w/PearlyGates pups;Gibson LPjr;Fernandes LP;
Fernandes Strat;Squier Strat; Fernandes Tele; Fender m-8o combo amp;
Marshall combo amp; and numerous stompboxes.

Had it less than two months with no problem.

Never used, but I really like the sound library they have.I

I play rock, blues, and some country. Been playing for about 20 years, but have never had a lot of money to put into equipment. This thing has really opened my options as far as diversity of sounds. Also my LesPaul w/Pearly Gates sounds different than my Strat, which sounds different than my Tele. The quality of each guitar comes through.
If stolen or lost I would definitly replace or upgrade to X3live.
Wish it had a bigger screen.

There's a lot of technology here, and a lot of options in terms of getting the right set-up for your circumstances. Assuming you're smart enough to get thing configured right then getting some decent tones out from the off is pretty straightforward.

They've managed to make the editing interface very intuitive considering just how much "tweakability" is on offer. Essentially, you've got standard pots for the amp controls, then a simple "select and spin" edit system for all the extras (stomps, mods, reverbs etc etc)

As many have commented the manual is a little cheesy, but that's Line 6 for you. I've used their stuff on and off for years (mainly off, as I've never been a fan before), and the general tone of the guide is just like my first ever POD 1.0 pilots handbook all those years ago.

I'm running a Variax 500 into the XTL, then direct out to a powered monitor (sadly not using the Variax digital link as the guitar's connector is stuffed).

Sound quality is where I'm frankly amazed. Like I said, I've used a range of Line 6 stuff in the past, from the very first incarnation of POD, to various stomp boxes, and the FloorPOD. The sounds have always been lacklustre. The XTL uses the newer Vetta modelling and the difference is amazing. I've been a died in the wool Vox Tonelab user for the last 4-5 years, and really didn't think I'd ever be swayed, but I fancied a change and wanted to see how the Variax and XTL married up.

I'm a blues/rootsy player (unlike, it seems 90% of XTL users who are into the heavier side that Line 6 is famous for). I've got a great set of fairly simply Fender and Marshall tones on tap that sound terrific and while they're not quite as "organic" feeling as the Vox tones, aren't far enough away to worry.

The great thing with the XTL is the sheer flexibility. Within a single patch I can set up a basic amp tone, a compressor for a clean boost, an overdrive pedal for a lead sound, some modulation, some delay, and a wah, and it's ALL controllable from the footswitches. One of the big limitations with the Vox was that you had to select compression/od/wah from the same "bank" so you could only use one in any given patch - no such probs here!

And if you want to get wacky, the pre-loaded FX Junkie package gives you access to a range of filthy synth sounds and mental delays to make your guitar sound like... well, not a guitar! They're fun to mess around with, but for me, I've got 2 banks of 4 presets each that give me a complete cross section from Fender Twin to full tilt Marshall, plus an acoustic option.

Still a relatively new user. There's some reliability issues on other reviews here, but at the end of the day, this is basically a hi-tech computer. If you treat it like a laptop, instead of like a brick, it should last.

Line 6 have a great website with a busy and useful user forum. I've had a couple of questions that needed a direct answer and the Customer Support Team came back within 24 hours both times.

I'm a simple player that likes simple music. The biggest thing I have to contend with is remembering that just because I can have a gazillion different sounds doesn't mean I should!

After an initial muck about with the unit I'm gradually settling on some nice, organic, amp sounds that sit well and offer me a variety of tones for different settings. The great thing is that I know if I need more, it's always there.

I've played guitar since I was 8, I'm now 36. I've gigged, recorded, and sat up late playing at home. I've used decent valve amps (still miss my Fender Hotrod Deville), and modelling options from Line 6, Vox, Korg, Digitech and Zoom.

This is the first offering from Line 6 that's really got me smiling (apart from my Variax, which I love!).

lost or stolen? Yes, I'd get another.
Anything I wish it had? To be honest, not really.
Does it help make music? Absolutely.

It has almost everything you need except combining two amp models simultaneiously.. Get the X3 for that.. This pedal is very easy to tweak, dont go by the presets, their all screwed up.. Get your EQ's and cab's sims to your liking and you'll get the sound you want

OK here's the deal, if your comparing each simulated amp model to the real amp, for example a dual treadplate (AKA dual rectifier) to a real Mesa dual rectifier its not go to sound as good.. or a Soldano SLO model model to are real Soldano SLO, its a no contest, the tube amps have more dynamics and are just better period. However, the true measure of this Pedal is the variety of tones it provides.. Suppose you have a Soldano SLO or a Bogner, Engl or what ever type of High Priced amp out there and have the urge to play metallica Master of puppets, neither of those amps are going to get you that tone since only a dual rectifier will nail that and thats where this pedal comes into play. It provides that variety and flexibility.. Try playing along to an MP3/CD of one of your favorite bands and hear how similar the tones coming out of the PODXT sound.. It nails it.. For home practice or if your a musician covering a wide range of bands, the XT is ideal.. If your a serious musician who writes originals and plays live, then you would get yourself a high priced amp head with a 4x12.. The key to the XT's sound is to turn off the cab simulations, it sounds to compressed.. Run everything direct and EQ everything to your liking..

I like to play along to Metal and I've had everysingle tube amp from a triple rectifier, Engl, 5150, Marshall Mode 4 and what I found is that I needed a pedal chain to go along with those amps in order to sound like Metallica, Killswitch, Lamb of GOD, Etc.. In addition those amps only sound great when cranked so if your practicing, the POD XT is what you want, it will dial up the exact tone your trying to emulate.. If your gigging get your self a high priced tube amp

yes its easy

it sucks the life out of your tube amp

dont know or care

??

shop around.