Line 6 GuitarPort

As far as ease of us goes , You simply plug it into your sound card, connect a guitar lead & play. Thats it!!

The sounds I got a nothing short of amazing, Clean and distorted, but why, oh why do companies like Line 6 & Behringer etc never give a thought those of us who love, & regularly use pitch shifters!!. That said, the amount of gain u get out of this box is un-fuckin-beleivable!!!. Being designed to be used with a PC normally means sitting in front of it, Hence, Monitor noise on high gain settings!!. A bit of a pain in the arse but the boffins at line 6 have included a nice little noise supressor. Some of the downloadable patches sound like they have been sampled from the record!..............nice!!

Theres no point in commenting on the reliabilty at a gig issue as you'd have 2 be really thick to try & take this to a gig. But as far as dependabilty goes , no worries so far!!

Dealt with them once regarding periferal software & upgrades..but the phase "Hold on i'll go & ask my supervisor" (not in the krusty burger teenagers voice in the simspons, however) Popped up a few times too often........well every time I asked a question actually!!

As Far as I am concerned this is a tool for practice & recording, and a bloody excellent one at that. You can import tracks to play along to & even slow them down if u want. I would def buy another one if I lost this one or broke it!!. The online guitar lesson thing is a little confusing as far as payment, but u can listen 2 them b4 u buy!

Nice one!

Easy enough...just follow the prompts on install.
editing is easy enough. NO manual...it's in the help menu. I see you can download it at Line's site. I have the 2.5 version...and the RiffTracker software...this is really what I am reviewing

The sound is very good. effects are Good. It is noisy if you are near the PC...back off a bit and it's pretty good. Has a hum cancel that learns...but it only partially effective.

The software: It has to coonect online to activate. This SUCKS...no mention of this in the product discription. I put it on my lap top which never goes on line. I don't want all the clutter that goes with the web on my primay music PC.

So far..it's ok. It is a hog as far as system resources go. The jury is out.

OK...I called and asked a bunch of questions and the guys was friendly and helpful.

This is not a Pro Tools replacement for recording. It is a good song writing tool however. The sound is good. The online drummer has to be updated via purchases on the line6 site. Another loss of points here. I'm alittle dissapointed by what seems to be an intentional ommission of little facts one would need to make a decision about buying this. There is a funny picture on the box...it looks like an old 70's rocker showing his mature friends his CD. What's up with that?..."Dudes...see I told you I could play...and you doubted me all these years. I told you I didn't have to go to college!"

It's fairly easy to use straight out the box. The upgrade to 2.5 is also easy from the website. No manual is strange, but Line 6 is based in California, so it probably has something to do with Tree's Rights or something like that. The only complaits I have is that I wish you could go true full screen. The lessons are a pain going thru in a screen about 75% of the screen. Not a deal breaker, just curious. I also wish that on the Tracks, you could set the loop tighter. The new Metronome is cool, and the tuner is nice.

I love the sound. I'm not going to go thru a long story about how the sound is not as good as the when I toured with Ozzy, but to someone who cannot tell the difference between a valve amp and a solid state amp on sight at 100 paces- the sound is incredible. I use to have a Digitech RP100. Didn't much like it. It had a tiny display screen. I would get a sound I like- (but I can make it better)- by the time I finished, it sounded like an unplugged bass in the bottom of an empty oil tanker. With the guitarport, it is very easy to tweak. And it is on the desktop, so you are not leaning over until you head becomes so full of blood that you pass-out.

I figured it was the luck of the draw that there may be a chance that I would get that popping and static sound that everybody mentioned. I hooked it up and got this weird sound. It was kind of a popping. It sounded like a rythmic muted string echo behind my playing. I said, "Well F**K Me!" But I found it can be fixed. Go into EDIT > Preferences > Hardware > GuitarPort Console. I think the Default is like 1. When I moved it up to 6, problem solved. This is USB latency or something like that. When I upgraded to 2.5, I had to go back and change it again.

I have not had any problems, but have only had it for about 2 weeks. One quirky thing is that you plug the guitar port into your line out jack on the computer. Then you plug your speakers into the Guitar Port. This means that it stays plugged up constantly. Don't know the long-term implications of that. I usually unplug it and reattach my speaker directly to the computer.

I'm not at the gigging level, but for playing in your underware at 3 A.M. with earphones, it has never let me down. People have commented how much I have improved. I really have not- the same stuff I have been playing just sound better. That is one of the trappings of effects. You can sit and play an rythmic E5 and A5 for days and sound great to a passerby.

Never had to use it. But the 10,000 previous posts say it sucks, and you can't argue with statistics.

I love it. Ordinarily I would just steel the software off line. But the hardware is worth the price of admission. I plan to keep the On-line service as well. It is like any pay site (and this is Musical Porn). All the cool stuff is overwhelming at first, but after you have rode all the rides, waiting for something new is like watching paint dry. But then again, it's only been 2 weeks.

I run an AMD XP3000 on a Windows Platform with 768MB of ram. Besides the RP100. I had a stomp box that had a british, fat, wet sound. It was cool for about an hour. I much prefer this.

The guitar port hardware is very basic and easy to use. The software is also pretty easy to tweak. I am using the latest guitar port software, which was designed to run on XP as well. One annoying thing that I don't like is that for some reason the software version I'm currently using will not retain the folder view to list ripped file names in the detail view. The view always comes up with the icons, so I can only see a few files before having to scroll, unless I manually change the folder view back to the detail view.

I plug the guitar port into my desktop with a good quality sound system and it sounds very good at a decent volume. I also use it with my laptop and from there I can run the guitar port output directly into my stereo system, which really sounds good. I have spent much money and time trying to make my two small Fender tube amps sound good at a low volume, but I could never get close to what I was looking for. The guitar port is hard to beat for a quick practice setup, if you don't mind having to play next to your computer. I have many custom sound files saved for each guitar, so I don't have to fool with pedals and amps just to get a decent sound for practice. I also save all my favorite play-along songs from my CDs, so they are right at my finger tips without having to search through CDs. The effects are pretty decent, especially with the newer XP version of the guitar port software.

I've used it an average of six hours a week for the last year and I have had no problems.

I think you are pretty much limited to their web site for help, but I have never had to contact them.

I play mostly Blues and Classic rock and I have been able to get close to the sounds I'm looking for on all of my guitars. I have been playing about 10 years. If it was lost or stolen, I would replace it as soon as possible, especially since it's only $99 now! The thing I like most about the guitar port is that it puts the effects, amps and music right at your finger tips. Last week I took my laptop, a $50 speaker system and my guitar port to the beach. I was able to have all of my amps, effect settings and all of my play/along music right there at the beach. All I had to do was boot up and plug in and it was just like being at home. I think it's a fantastic practice tool and I rarely use my amps to practice now. I spend more time practicing and much less time fooling with pedals, chords and amps. It took a while to get all of the settings I wanted, but now that everything is setup, I just plug in, select my settings and start playing.

I put a 7, but it's probably a little higher, taking in to
account I've been a software engineer for a few decades
(luckily, I've never had to write a professional line
of code for wintel). For a computer novice (say, my Mom),
this would probably be a 3.

Anyway, I've had the guitar port for three years plus.
The real issue, early on, was getting it to work at all.
I ended up installing it on a spare system/HDD, and
since then, it's worked fairly consistently. On occasion,
I have to unplug and reinsert the USB chord in order
to get it working.

As for basic operation, you can find and set things fairly well.
I have never used the guitar port on-line feature, becuase I
hate paying for services :) I do not like that you can't move
a setting between folders. Instead, it's the old save as and
the delete trick (or, go to the file system and do it over there --
never tried that one, but it seems like it would work).

So, basically, you pick a pull down list, then a diagram of the
unit appears, and you can just twiddle the knobs.

OK, I've had a day job for a few decades; I've had an old LP JR
copy played through a bass amp with zero effects for those
decades. I eventually got a Boss CS3, a FAB tone, and a
cheap chorus, all of which I love.

Then came along the guitar port (and, a small behringer mixer).
Very fun. So, I may be a little tone deaf (although, in hearing
tests, only one ear has a problem with the lowest of frequencies,
so, maybe I'm not that tone deaf after all).

I think I'll end up using the guitar port, effects, clean, or
otherwise, for direct digital recording, and that sure beats
spending 60 thousand dollars on turning my bedroom into a studio.

The biggest problem I have is with all the "over the top" presets
and amps (e.g., chem, insane, ...); I have to turn the master
volume almost to zero, and turn the amp volume down as well --
otherwise, it's feedback beyond anything tolerable (my ears
hurt!, so I guess I'm really not that tone deaf).

I have not experienced the Popping or doesn't work period
issues that others have experienced. I'm sorry for them.
Once this is up and running, which is usually first time
start up for me (although, I reboot all the time -- you
have to when you run Microsoft -- It's the law), I have a
lot of fun. I haven't had any reliability issues to speak of.

Line6 support? I'm laughing! You're own your own. :(

I like it and I have a lot of fun with it.
I even sold my bass amp and I only use my
stereo for volume these days. Headphone
usage is fairly representative. I am just
starting on the direct recording, and this
is where it will probably shine the most for me.

Take my numbering system with a grain of salt.

Piece of cake. Install the software, plug in the USB cable, plug in the guitar. ROCK!

I think it sounds best through headphones directly, or through a mixer. Most computer speakers will not sound all that good. This is for practicing, and learning. Not for gigging. Probably would sound ok plugged into a solid state amp.

The quality and the quantity of tones online is mind boggling. Having spent hours and hours trying to create a lot of these tones with rack processors, I can now simply download them at the click of a button.

If you can't find what you are looking for you have tons of amp models, stompboxes, and tweaks to find the sound you need.

Running it with Windows XP Home Edition and the Pro edition, no software or hardware issues. Had a popping sound when running on my laptop. Checked the support FAQ at line 6. They recommended changing the power settings from Laptop/Portable to Always on. Pop is gone.

Support FAQs are fairly helpful. There is also a forum. Never had to deal with Line 6 directly.

This is the best $99 I have ever spent. If you are a beginner, or an intermediate player that wants to build chops and play some great songs, this is for you. I love this box. There is a wide variety of tracks online to learn. From Pink Floyd to Hendrix to Sabbath to Chet Atkins to BB and everything in between. Tons of lessons on theory, scales, chord voicings, backing tracks. This had made practicing much more enjoyable. Crank up the Iron Man, then groove on Sultans of Swing, followed by some Cream, and cool down with some Pink Floyd. This is the single best learning tool I have ever seen for guitar.

The tones by themselves are worth the $99, and when you add on the lessons, online tablature with backing tracks, and all the other things like a tuner, chord charts, scale charts, etc. Major value!

The actual product is quite easy to use, IF YOU CAN GET IT TO WORK. There really is a major fundamental problem with the product and as there is NO manual and the on line support is worse than useless, you have to be prepared to get VERY frustrated and possibly fail in getting it to work in any satisfactory manner.

The sounds you can achieve are quite impressive, but again ONLY if you can get it to work without distortion or interference. I purchased this in part as I have a Pod, which for a Digital modeller is not bad at all.

After much grief, I finally managed to get it to work by numerous installs, uninstalls, changing computers and upgrading operating systems, especially media players, to the very latest versions. The potential for clashes with other programmes / hardware seems enormous. It is working now and I suppose unless I change some setting on my computer, it should be OK. This somewhat limits the thoughts of any system upgrades though. The thought of having to go through all this again is too much to contemplate

Totally and utterly useless. They did reply twice, but some days / weeks after the event. When you have no manual, because they do not supply one, and there are obvious installation problems, you do need timely and effect support. Line 6 fail miserably in this department

I?ve been playing about twenty five years and have a varied collection of gear. I travel quite a bit so bought this for mainly that purpose. However I could not recommend this product to ANYONE. I feel I was lucky to eventually to get it to work. I am VERY computer literate, but even so found this a problem, especially with no manual and completely useless support. If you do buy this, try and get a money back guarantee if you cannot get it to work and be prepared for problems.

Software installation was painless. The software is also very easy to use. Hardware installation is just as easy. Virtually plug and play. However, I cannot play any files from hard disk. The playback features work fine, amp modeling, effects ... etc. But the real reason I bought the Guitar Port was for learning licks, songs ... etc. This capability does not work for me. My computer conforms to all requirements. If I could playback downloaded tracks, mp3s and audio files I would be impressed with this product.

The sound quality does not match a real amplifier. However I bought this device as a learning tool and to better understand different tones. This device is not suitable for playing real time. Buy the POD series instead. However there are a great variety of amp models, cabs and effects. I have plugged the Guitar Port into a high quality amp and PA system. Still, not the same as the "real thing" but great for practice.

For amp modeling it is very reliable. I have not had any problems plugging in and playing. Again, it does not play downloaded tracks on my computer. There may be some software conflict issues which I am trying to resolve with no help from Line 6.

Customer support is terrible. I have to use the on-line services. It seems that they do not want to be bothered. I have tried to resolve my playback problems several times but only received "token effort" support. Eachtime Line6 closed by support requests as resolved when in fact the problems were not resolved. I am an engineer and can probably get downloaded files (mp3, audio and GP online) files to play but it will require a major effort.

Again, what I found up-setting and very un-professional is the fact that Line6 considered my problem resolved just because they responded to my problems via thier on-line site. I consider the the Line6 support as being technically in-competent.

Buy at your own risk...

Any company the market software, which Guitar Port basically is, should be prepared to support customer problems over the phone. Line 6 requires that you ask questions and request support via thier Web page. I can probably get this working, eventually. It would be nice to playback Guitar Port on-line lessons as advertised. I will have to resolve my problems without any support. Good software companies allow customers to call in and try hard to resolve problems. The GP hardware is a simple A/D and D/A converter. Very easy to build. The real value of GP is the software.

I was seriously considering an additional Line6 amplifier purchase but (such as a Vetta) but now consider it to be too risky.

BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!

Controls are imprecise and awkward to use.

There are random popping sounds that accure intermittantly no matter what your doing. This problem gets worse with every firmware upgrade.

I've never had it work without the popping sound problem.
Popping sounds are totally unacceptable.

They deny there's a popping sound problem and blame my computer, even though I've read guitarport message boards where users have experienced the same problem.

It's unusable until the address the popping sound problem

The interface took me a bit to get used to, honestly. Not having used any sort of PC-based guitar tools before, it took me a few days to get in the habit of clicking on effects to enable them. I had been right-clicking and then changing the parameters, but forgetting to left-click and enable the new chorus effect, for example.

Once you're past the ramp-up period, saving tones is a snap. It's a traditional Windows based "save as" system and you can place presets in their own unique folders if you'd like. The only caveat to this process is you have to use Windows Explorer to move tone presets around once they're saved to your hard drive. GuitarPort does not offer an interface to move tones around to various folders on the C: drive. If you don't create folders on your own, GuitarPort will create a default folder for you as well as a store a handful of the most recent tones so you can flip back and forth among various presets. But in a general sense, since everything is sorted by alpha, if you have an "Alex Lifeson" preset and a "Vernon Reid" preset in your arsenal, you're going to have to scroll through the entire list from A to V until you get to Alex or Vernon. It's not time consuming, just irritating. Line6 should've provided more innate options for tone storage and management.

The installation CD contains a wizard to get you through every stage of the setup process, and I was up and running in less than 15 minutes from what I recall. It's a no brainer.

Re: the online GuitarPort - I had the service for four months, thought it was OK, but it's certainly not made for dialup connections like mine. Most of the lessons and tracks are serviceable, but I've discovered more on my own than I have through instruction. The online service has great presentation and technology - it's amazing what you can do for the monthly service charge. It just wasn't for me.

Overall, I rate this product a 7/10 - bonuses for ease of installation and immediate "wow" factor, negatives for teeth gnashing preset management, which is big for me since I probably have some 200 user created tones. You'll find you have a multitude as well, probably created fairly quickly. You'll be asking for an easier way to store them all.

I find humbuckers have a distinct advantage with this product. Single coils need some help from one of the distortion/overdrive pedal models to get up to the output range of humbuckers. There are only a few amps that stand out on their own to use with single coils sans pedal, but in the real world I've always used some kind of boost or overdrive in front of an amp when plucking a single coil equipped axe. C'est la vie, there, I suppose.

The overall amp models, to my ears, are superb for a $99 product. The models are based on the PodXT software, and while not exactly like the XT, they offer an insane level of gritty detail. The typically dirty amps -Marshall, Soldano, Mesa - have only their lead channels modeled but you can get a nice, on the edge overdrive by backing off on the gain or guitar volume. The clean amps - are equally impressive, however they sound a bit flat until you add some compression.

With the exception of the Univibe, the effects are stellar. I simply cannot get a serviceable sound sound of the Uni, which is a bummer because I love that effect. Anyway, the other effects range from subtle to full out stereo wackiness. I was particularly impressed with the ability to put effects pre-preamp or post-preamp. The phaser is exceptionally convincing when put in front of the amp instead of the in the loop - think "Eruption" and you'll get the idea. Tape delays take on a fatter character when placed in front of an overdriven amp, which is cool in some contexts. The reverbs are serviceable, also, exceptional on some settings, but I also try to play and record as reverbless as possible and add it into the mix overall if necessary.

Due to CRT/60Hz hum, most guitars will need a noise gate - the Hum Reducer is pretty much ineffective at removing hum. The gate works like a charm, though you will have to adjust per axe depending on output or type.

Overall rating? 10, these sounds kick arse.

I've had it for almost six months and it has never wigged out on me. I'm running it on an XP machine with a 1.7GHz Celeron and 256MB RAM. No performance issues when running solo at all.

It also works flawlessly with just about every recording program out there. I've used it with Microsoft Sound Recorder, Nero Wave Editor, Kreatives' Kristal Audio, and Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro. It's not a resource hog by any stretch of the imagination, at least on my machine.

Line6's support is OK. Not great, just OK. The FAQ database is useful but seems to give duplicate answers to a simple question. I'm also surprised that the users' group aren't more active in suggesting best practices or easy fixes - the forums are unusally quiet for an entire company that prides itself on interactivity and customization.

This $99 has made my modest Yamaha DG60-112 combo and my significant investment in pedals and accessories all but null and void. I've used GuitarPort to record just about anything that will use a 1/4" input and it's performed and sounded fantastic in just about every situation except bass (the models just aren't made to reproduce those lower frequencies very well).

I highly recommend this product for anyone looking to get into the modeling game for a cheap upfront investment. $99 is not a lot of bread for some superb tones, effects, and fun. You will lose track of time while playing through this, you will wonder what else Line6 can do, and you will - and this is the bottom line - have a blast playing guitar while recording or noodling.

Bravo Line6!