Line 6 Filter Pro

To me it's easy to use...a couple things i haven't figured out, but it is easy to get it to do what i want

a lot of people talk about noise and ground loop problems. I haven't tried this in the studio, but for playing live, I don't find them noisey -I run all 3, modulation, filter and delay Pro also with a Demeter real reverb into a clean Fender Showman (1968).
The Mutron copies suck, so I will use the real thing for that, but what these are cool for is just very way out there sounds that you would only use sparingly. The Growler is awesome and the other trippy stuff is cool. I own two REAL Oberheim Voltage Controled Filters and they sound WAY better than the Line 6. Still, those things are so rare, it's nice for people to have the opportunity to use this.
I just am worried about the noise people talk about..ground loop noise. I have yet to hear that, but maybe it's because I really haven't used these at extremely loud levels or in the studio.

very reliable so far. yes, i'd use it w/out backup

never tried.

play Grateful Dead and trippy jam music. This thing gives me sounds that turns heads! which is cool. You just have to be careful not to over-use it. Again, the Mutron stuff is sad, but it is definately worth the $$ for what it offers, if just for a minute out of a whole album, or one riff on a song.

Line6 in my experience have released excellent manuals to go along with their products. the Filter Pro was my first line6 until, and i grabbed the POD XT based on how impressed the Filter pro left me feeling.
Editing patches couldnt be more user friendly, although it is a 100% digital processor, except for the True Analogue Bypass mode, The parameter controls are rotary knobs on the front face of the 1U rackmount unit.
Out of the Box, Line6 has a number of preset patches that really help the first time user get a firm hold of the sonic potential of the filter pro.
I have used the vintage Seek Wah, and the modelled version on this processor left me speechless, and occupied for hours, running my guitar, synth, drum machines and anything else that i could through the seek wah patch, which i modified within minutes of first dialing up the factory preset.
So as far as ease of use, this sucker is as good as they get.

Set up, well right now, i have the Filter pro occupying the 2nd aux bus send/return on my mixing console.
Behringer UB2222FXpro->send-.filter pro->return to UB2222FXpro.
this is because i have been using the syncable filters with rhythm tracks and other rhythmic parts of the songs i have been producing lately.
Out of the console the stereo signal is going through a Behringer UltraCurvePro DEQ2496 Mastering Processor->then into the Roland CDX-1 Disc Lab Workstation->and finally the ART SLA-1 studio linear amplifier-> to be monitored through my Yorkville YSM1i passive monitor speakers.
I must note that the fact that Line6 have included a 100% analogue Bypass circuit, it has worked nicely for digital to analogue conversions that sound amazing(in this price range of course!!!) Although it isnt up there with a Benchmark DAC unit, it is sonically wonderful none the less.

I have used my filter pro daily, for nearly two years now, and it has yet to crash, or cause me any problems, I am not new to the world of electronic toys, and audiophile production, so i am definitly not a fool about this, and i wont be surprised if i do have to send it out to be serviced at some time, it just hasnt happened yet(touch wood)

No need to call Line6 yet, but i must say that the web site answered all my questions when i recently bought and started using the Pod XT .

I am hired out to record artists of nearly every genre, up until now, i have used the filter pro in my own form of Electronica, or ElectroniLogue/ plus i have used it while tracking live drums, vocals, but in my own music it fits in more since i am the artist and it is one of my tone mouling tools.
I have a fair collection of recording and audio production tools both hardware, and some computer based software programs and plug ins.
For effects i have : Korg KP2(kaoss pad 2), Behringer Virtualizer, Line6 pod XT, Korg AX1G, Peavey Spring Reverb, Roland CDX-1 disc lab(two 24 bit digital effects processors built in, as well as the 3rd; Mastering Tool kit)
Synths: Roland MKS7 SuperQuartet, Roland JX-3p, Roland D2 grooveBox, Roland EP-5,
*the first two synths, are true Analogue DCO synthesizers, MKS7 is a Rackmount unit with the Juno106 synth engine inside as well as the TR707 drum machine, and the JX-3p is a Polyphonic, Programmable synth with PreSets, hence the 3 P's in the name.
Because i love these DCO Analogue synthesizers i figure that i am drawn to the monophonic analogue synths that are modelled in the the LINE6 Filter Pro.

As with all Line6 products, you can go wild with this thing right out of the box. The interface is exceedingly simple, with all of the parameters clearly marked and at your fingertips. The flip-side of this is that the number of parameters is limited to the number of knobs on the face - a concern since this is a synth modeler, and simulates units with dozens of knobs. Still, you'll know everything you can do with every setting in under an hour, and programs are easy to save.

The only tricky part is going back and checking parameter values once they're set, as readout space is limited and, once a program is set, the numbers will no longer correspond to the knob position when you dial up a preset. But they take care of this, and the system's not bad once you get used to it.

The manual, and again this is a Line6 trademark, is breezy and conversational, one of the more readable ones I've come across. Also pretty in-depth if you need it - there's an excellent overview of MIDI for the uninitiated that I fould very helpful. It is as a direct result of this chapter that a MIDI controller has since become an integral part of my rig.

I run it in the effects loops of a pair of Marshall 9000 pre's, in front of an Alesis MidiVerb and a Behringer T1951 para just before the return, then a single MosValve 962 for the power.

It seems pretty transparent and, like all effects, claims true bypass, but I can't really judge because the Alesis provides my chain with a hum all its own. The only real negative I'd point out is that the high frequencies are ear-itchingly painful, even with the mix pretty dry. I keep a channel of my EQ rolling off the high end and just leave it on permanently; I can't imagine using this unit without something to attenuate it. Having said that, a simple EQ shelf does solve the problem quite handily.

The effects are divided into two broad categories: phasers/autowahs and synths. The former all sound pretty nice (though that's where the highs can get really bad if you don't watch it), but there's not really much variety. There are several variations on themes (three of them are just different Mutron settings) and not a lot you'd want to use regularly. But still enough to make it worthwhile. Biggest complaint: not enough stereo stuff. The alternating wahs on each channel are awesome! More of that please!

As for the synths, there are some really rad sounds if you're willing to take the time to find them, but they have their own subset of problems. For one thing, several of them have a barely-perceptible predelay which will throw off your rhythm just enough if you try to play fast. For another, if you let a note sustain too long the synth will sometimes begin reading the harmonics rather than the main note, so the sound will suddenly jump to another tone an octave or two up. A wierd effect if you can harness it, but frustrating if you want a consistent sound (I tried to use it in the studio as a faux string section and abandoned the idea after just a few takes). The trick is to keep your attack and decay as smooth as possible: switch to the neck pickup, turn your tone knob down, use compression/sustain if you've got it. That doesn't always eliminate the problem, but it helps. The trade-off is that if you've got the patience, you can get some pretty unique sounds out of these settings.

Now the most serious problem: I've had this thing for over six months and the software has crashed twice. The last time it happened it just stopped reading MIDI data for no apparent reason (signals could still go "thru" to other units, but the unit ignored comands intended for it). I tried everything before finally resorting to restoring factory presets, which is quite easy to do, by the way. It worked, but I lost all my user-defined presets. Now I keep a notebook and write down every parameter value for every program each time I create a new one. Serious flaw, and I don't know if it's just mine or a common problem with this model.

I would, however gig without a backup because a) I can't afford a backup, b) I'm not really that fussy and c) if it did crash onstage, it'ssimple enough that I could dial up a couple cool sounds and fake it. I mean, for all its drawbacks, this thing really is that simple.

Never tried. I suppose I ought to call them about this crashing thing one of these days, but I got it used, so I don't even know the warranty status.

I play very trippy psych-rock and am an effects freak (I almost never play clean). I've been playing for many years and recently upgraded my rig with a bunch of new gear. I've already got all the chorus and delays I need, and this unit gave me a whole bundle of brand-new, very far-out sounds. Would it sound better to have all the vintage guitar synths and phasers? Probably. Could I tour with all that stuff? Hell no, and this sounds plenty good enough if you're cranked up live. Recommended to anyone who gets excited when they turn the knobs so far that their guitar no longer sounds like a guitar.

I got it because my bass player has Line6's delay modeler stompbox and loves it; good brand, and their units always offer a ton of different sounds. Just reading the manual tells you they're designed by people who just love crazy sounds.

It's become an integral part of my sound very quickly, and I would replace immediately if lost.

Response to Tom from Germany below....

Apparently, Midi 00 is a bypass TOGGLE -- it doesn't load a bypass PROGRAM, it just turns bypass on and off. I run my MIDI controller with a CC switch dedicated to bypass on my echo pro -- the manual will tell you what CC number to call for bypass. This way, I can assign any PC switch to recall a program on the echo pro (if no echo needed, simply don't send a PC on that channel). Press a preset switch, and the proper program is recalled; then the stored CC switch value tells the Line 6 box whether to bypass or not. i hope this makes sense -- it may or may not work for you depending on your foot controller. Good luck!

The filter modeler has a very straighforward front panel layout. Lots of labeled knobs with a responsive led display. For all the strange sounds this thing produces there is qutie a bit of continuity when editing the range of effects. The manual is simple, to the point, and even provides some practical advice for live and studio applications with the unit. Getting used to the eccentric effects of this unit will vary from person to person, but any fool can learn very quickly how to control it.

I'm running this between my PRS hollowbody II, and a Mesa boogie Trem-o-verb head. It has an "analog" bypass which is convincing enough, I am picky and yet I am not having any real issues with tonal coloration. My signal is ever so slightly brighter when the filter pro is in the chain, but to complain about this would be nitpicking compared to so many other effects I've owned/sold over the years that were much worse.

The effects on this unit are over the top, this unit is for experimenting. Some of the mutron sounds modulate too brightly, but you can adjust the range of the effect. I wish that the synth tones were polyphonic, but I guess there's always room for improvement. The vowel sounds in the formant fitler could be a bit more distinct, it doesn't sound enough like human vowel sounds.

I have not had any problems with this unit, then again I've only been using it for a couple of months. I hear good things about Line 6's reliability.

Manufacturer's website is very informative, I was even able to view the manual for the unit so that when I tested it in the shop I knew how to run it more than the salesman. I have not had to deal with tech-support, hope I don't have to!

I play jazz and rock. This unit is great for my current band that is fond of Radiohead and other post rock music. I can get alot of really great "Johnny Greenwood'esqe" sounds, especially using the expression pedal option. More importantly I can get sounds that I have not heard other guitar players using and that is why bought the unit in the first place! I've never been an effects junkie, In fact before this unit I was only using a volume pedal. So there you have it!

I`m from Germany - so sorry about my terrible english skills... I`ve got a problem with the bypass option of my new Mod Pro Modulation Modeler. I use the Mod Pro in a guitar Midi-rack system (Marshall Midi Preamp, Rocktron Multieffect and Mod Pro)and I do all program changes of all 3 components via an exef midi foot controller is able to send programm change messages on 3 different Midichannels (Preamp=ch 1, Multieffect=Ch2, ModPro=Ch3) per one step at the same time.
The program changes 1-99 of the Mod Pro via midi are working perfectly. When I need the Bypass-Option of the Mod-Pro, I send the midi programm change message "00" on ch 3 via the midi foot controller, then the ModPro is working in the bypass mode. But then, even when I call up the next programm change with the foot controller with another program change messages for the Preamp and the multieffect but the same message (bypass=Program 00) for the ModPro, the modPro should be staying in the bypass mode. But what happens is: The ModPro is leaving the bypass mode and the last called 1-99 preset is working.

Only if I step two times on the controller (It means: only if the controller sends t w o (2) Program change messages bypass=00 to the ModPro), the ModPro will be working (staying)in the bypass mode.

But when I come from one of the 1-99 ModPro presets and want to change in the bypass-mode, it works all right.
So what can I do? On the stage I dont't have any time to send two Programm change messages (doing two steps on the footboard) for changing one program!!!
I hope you`ll understand me and my problem, so please help me fast as you can do it.

Special thanks and best greetings from Bavaria/Germany

Tom Petrick

Very easy to operate. I practically figured it all out without the manual, but the manual is basically dummy proof. As for how easy it is to get a good sound, you have to understand that this unit isn't exactly about pure GOOD sound as it is about weird sounds, and getting those is very easy to do.

My setup is Schecter C1 Classic->Digitech Whammy->Line 6 FM Pro->
Mesa Triaxis->Rocktron Intellifex->Mesa 50/50->Peavey 4x12. I LOVE some of the sounds in this unit. What people have to understand about this thing is that by buying it, you're moving in to uncharted territory. Most people(myself included) haven't had much experience with filter effects, and the strange sounds possible. This unit has very few normal sounds, and for the most part is useless for traditional rock and pop sounds. Sure the Q-filter is basically a parked wah, and good for those Brian May tones, but the rest of the effects are quite strange. It's usability can't be measured by reading reviews, because it comes down to how much YOU would use it. If you're playing blues or some other boring limited genre, then it's worthless to you. But me, I play experimental hard rock (www.thespecimen.net), and I love the psychadelic. I'm still playing around, but I am coming up with all kinds of new ideas for this thing. You'll never know how useful this thing is to you unless you own one and put a good amount of experimentation into it. I gave it an 8 instead of a 10 because some of the effects are kind of similar rather than each one being totally distinct.

I haven't had it long but it seems solid. I would use it without a backup.

I haven't had to deal with them yet thankfully.

All in all I'm very glad I bought this product. This unit is an excellent tool for creativity and innovation. If you play in a cover band, or just copy others, then this isn't for you. This is one persons perspective, but I think $299 is a small price to pay to expand your creative horizons. Heck the EH Micro-synth is not much less than this for about 1/16th of the sounds and no digital control. Kudos to Line 6 for having the guts to create such a unique and odd effects unit.

Relatively easy to use.. I bought this unit thinking that the pedal board version didn't have enough options, and the last thing i needed was more stuff on the floor in front of me. If your running it midi, you'll need to bypass or map out the settings you don't want.

I was not overly impressed by what it had to offer. There were some really cool effects, and some really retarted ones as well. you just have to dig through, and make your own. One problem i ran into is that it does not offer a true bypass when the effect is turned off. Whenever running through the unit, it WILL affect your sound with a more treblish (tinny sound if you will). It can screw a lot of things up especially in the studio unless you match the EQ with the rest of your gear to normalize the problem.

i've never had any problems with the unit. Most of the line 6 gear that i've owned in the past has never given me any problems, and i gig out about 90 shows a year all over the northeast.

no idea.. i've never had to call them.

I play in a new schooled hard rock band. With influences from Tool, stabbing westward, the pumpkins, and probly some machine head. This unit is a great experimental one, but don't kid yourself. make sure you spend HOURS trying one of these out because in all actuallity, you'll probly only ever use 1, 2, 3, maybe 4 effects at the most. not worth the 300$ i spent on it at guitar center.

two parameters. 'nuff said.

Somehow these filters sound dull, even with high resonance. Then, they just sound digital - which is what you get with a digital filter of course. Don't expect anything special here.

Another gripe: Audible clicking when you change parameters on some of the presets ("comet trails" particularly).

The Internal clock sucks. I have an echo pro and this filter pro. I set the same tempo on both of 'em, and they are NOT in sync. That's cheap workmanship right there. The MIDI implementation is poor, as the machines don't recognize timecode. For a user who sequences at set tempos, any time oriented effect is useless after ten seconds. Plus, I am convinced that the tap tempo button is just a button that randomizes a new tempo each time you press it...

I never bothered to call Line 6 - I just kicked myself in the ass for buying their products after only a minimal try at the store and then throwing away the boxes, so I couldn't return 'em. LESSON LEARNED.

I wouldn't wish this headache on an enemy. There's a reason Line 6 dropped the price, because their studio modellers are genuine garbage. This is one company that I sincerely hope goes out of business, leaving their (former) employees as jobless alcoholics. If there is any justice in the world, the investors/owners will have to sell their children to pimps in Bankok to pay musicians back for the money they stole. The designers and engineers need to be professionally censured and demoted to designing anatomically correct celebrity shaped vibrators. Their marketing department should be imprisoned for fraud and gang raped as punishment for the atrocities they inflicted on the average musician.

First off, I'm running a bass rig through this unit -- this will make a tremendous difference on the effects reviews below.

It's really easy to get a "cool" sound out of the unit right away. There's 99 presets to play with, and the first 16 are pretty much demo presets to show you what the unit can do. They're nice to start with, but it takes a lot of tweaking to get something "good" sounding that could actually be used in a song. Editing patches is also no problem; you've got four parameters that can be changed easily via the front panel. The interface is great when compared to the pedal version -- each knob has a row of small LEDs which correspond with what the knob does for that particular effect. This eliminates the need for having the manual on-hand when trying to find things, as is pretty much required for the FM4. Speaking of the manual, it's really good at explaining how to edit and set things, but the sounds this rack unit makes aren't able (for the most part) to be expressed in words accurately. It's more of a "try it and see if you like it" thing. MIDI programming is simple with a good controller, something that seems to be more and more rare these days.

I'm running an Ibanez EDA-900 bass through a Samson VHF-TD wireless, into a SansAmp RBI rack preamp. The effects loop goes out to the Filter Pro, then to a TC Electronic compressor, and a dual 31 band EQ (one channel for sound, the other for compression). From the SansAmp, the signal goes to a Yamaha CP2000 2000-watt poweramp, and out to an Ampeg PR410HLF 4x10 cabinet.

Many of the presets sound pretty off-colored for bass. For guitar, they're great, but things such as the synth which reproduces a lower tone than the fundamental, it's just too low for the unit to track when you're playing the low E string of the bass. If you tune down any lower, or play a 5-string, you might have trouble getting about 1/4 of the presets to track correctly.

Aside from that, it's great. The synth up effects work wonderful with it, and can be adjusted for the "ultimate bass distortion". Running stereo makes a huge difference with things. The voice box options don't enunciate enough on the low bass notes, but on the higher ones they work just fine with a little modification.

I hear zero AD/DA artifacts.

Sits in a rack with other fragile gear. It gets taken care of. I haven't had any problems in the month and a half I've owned it, but that's not an incredibly long time, either. It sees 3 gigs a week on average, and it's still standing. Does that mean anything?

Line 6 answered both of my questions to them in a matter of 24 hours -- one via email and one via telephone. I hear bad things about their customer support, but it's been great for me.

I'm playing alternative rock / radio rock type music. You don't hear anything like this in most songs, which is why I figured I'd give it a shot. I haven't found too many useful purposes for it yet, but I'm still trying. So far we've got two parts that the unit is being used on, and I think it sounds pretty good. Therefore, it's worth every penny. If it were stolen or lost I'd be screwed, because I'd have to lose a 130 pound rack along with it... but it'd be replaced. Probably last, because it's the least "necessary" (always nice to have an amp and stuff first), but it would definitely be back eventually.

The only thing I really wish it had was the ring modulator that the Mod Pro has. That's enough of an effect that it seems the Filter Pro could have been its home quite easily. At $499 I was iffy about buying it, and I'd probably give it a 7 for value. But for $299, it's impossible to pass up.