Line 6 Pod XT Live

Easy enough to use. Good manual even if it's cutesy. Becomes a real doddle when connected by USB to Line 6 Edit on your PC. Could hardly be simpler.

I'm only writing this review because of all the cloth-eared wombats who seem to think the Boss GT-8 sounds better. I can't speak for the GT-10 but if it's in the Boss tradition then it'll be flawed in a similar way.

The XT Live is better. Much better. It's somewhat different in character from Native Instruments' Guitar Rig (which is top-notch too) but both of those make the Boss amp sims sound silly. Which they are. I'm a Roland fan in many ways but, alas, the company hasn't cracked the art of digital modelling. Not yet.

I've spent close to 30 years on a personal tone quest and I've been through everything from vintage Marshalls and Fenders to the latest Mesa Boogie Express 5:25 (a great amp, btw). I've had boutique and vintage pedals and just about every company's stab at a multieffects unit since the old Ibanez analogue ones.

I've had my second-hand XT Live for more than a year now and I must say, now that the honeymoon is over, that it's surprisingly good. The modelling is quite something. Obviously any simulation must fall short of the real thing, at least in theory, but the point is that the sims are every bit as usable as the modelled gear for most practical purposes. Not identical necessarily, but imbued with the same sonic character.

I disagree with those who say that the XT Live lacks playing feel or sounds fizzy/lifeless/synthetic. Many of the presets have problems, yes, but if you spend the time rolling your own (and simplicity is a virtue in creating patches) then you should be pleasantly surprised.

I might add that it's pointless trying to put this thing in front of a tube amp, even into the effects return jack. Sure, you can use it as a stomp/delay/mod kind of effects unit with reasonable success, but I've had only unsatisfactory experiences trying to get the amp sims to sound decent through a guitar amp.

No, this unit shines when you run it through a full-range system. I'm having good luck with a Yamaha/EV PA system and a Roland KC keyboard amp. For a snobby old tone hound like me, what I'm about to say is shocking: I'm more than idly considering getting rid of my tube amps. They're finicky to use, they have maintenance needs and they don't always sound quite the same from one month to the next. Sure, they have a certain subtle something about them that the Pod lacks; but is it worth all the hassle and inflexibility? I'm starting to think maybe not.

Does the XT Live sound as good as a real cranked tube amp? Er, yes, actually. Certainly in a noisy live situation where the tube amp is miked through the PA. In such a case, you'd be crazy to think that anybody could hear any difference worth mentioning. Even you, if your stage monitor is good enough.

Well, I dunno. Mine's been fine and it's had a fair share of abusive outings.

Never contacted Line 6 but I do think their helpful website is something that others should aspire to.

I play what is laughably called "classic rock", power pop and retro funk and soul. I've been at it for just over 30 years. My guitars include a nice Gibson LP and Fender Tele, plus oddities like the Danelectro reissue and a tasty Strat copy by Tokai.

I must say that I'm glad I picked up this used XT Live on a whim a year ago. I'd got fed up with multi units after a string of Boss disappointments and an experience with the original kidney-bean Pod that was tantalising but ultimately not quite satisfying.

This thing answers almost all of my objections to digital fakery. You, of course, may have higher standards.

When tweaking sounds, it's not overly hard to use. If you have anything with this many features, tweaking does take time, so I wouldn't worry about it. Let's say an 8.

Playing live - real easy, and flexible! I love the Pod's control layout, it feels really intuitive to me. To break it down, you have dedicated buttons for switching between banks of 4 presets each. Then, for each bank, you have a button for each of the presets (A to D.) In addition to that, you have 4 separate buttons for switching on/off the following effects within the preset: amp (the actual simulation), stomp (various stompbox simulations), mod (chorus, tremolo etc) and delay (duh). The only thing missing is a separate button for reverb, basically. In addition to these, you have the tap tempo switch which, when pressed down, activates the tuner. The expression pedal controls different things, such as the wah or the bender.

As a testament to the flexibility of having separate switches for the presets and then the effects, here's how I use the Pod: I play in a cover band with stuff ranging from tango to 50s rock to hard rock, so I need a ton of flexibility. But still, I basically only have like 4 presets that I use regularly, all in the same bank. Each of the presets gives me a basic sound, such as "Clean with reverb". Then, for each of the presets, I activate or deactivate effects based on the kind of sound I need at that moment. For the basic clean patch, for example, I can add some tremolo by pressing "Mod", analog delay by pressing "Delay" and a touch of grind by pressing "stompbox". This really gives me a lot of possibilities and combinations without having to have a separate patch for every sound!

I do still have some special single-purpose presets (think a Muse patch, and a U2 one) but mostly I get along with the aforementioned setup.

So, for playing live, ease of use gets a 10! Call it a 9 overall.

I have the Metal Pack installed. Honestly, I mostly use the stock amp sims. If you take the time to tweak, you can get some very decent sounds out of the Pod. Then again, I find it hard to re-create some sounds I need, such as a really kick-ass heavy rhythm with many layers of harmonic content, or a truly searing lead sound. But, the sounds get you 80% there compared to real tube amps etc, IMHO!

For my metal band, I use an Engl Invader head, the Pod's no match for it for brutal heavy sounds, really. But for flexibility (cover band stuff), it's basically one of the best options out there!

As for the effects, some of them are excellent, some useless (such as the bender, I think it sounds like crap.)

So, a strong 8 for the sounds, most things are definitely usable.

My setup with the Pod XT live is simple: I have a basic Washburn guitar (BT-8) that I've equipped with an LR Baggs tune-o-matic Piezo bridge, so I get a stereo output from the guitar. The magnetic pups go to the Pod and from there straight to the P.A. The piezo signal (passive) goes to a LR Baggs DI first, and from there straight to the P.A. So, the guitar, Pod and DI are all the junk I carry around. With the Piezo, I can get quite a good acoustic sound that's also easy to mix with the Pod signal. Recommended!

Had it for 3 years now. Played some 60-70 gigs in that time, mostly cover gigs where the set is usually 3 hours long, with a bunch of drunken people partying around the stage area, drinks spilling and all that... And I haven't had a single problem with the thing! It's gotten a generous pint of lager all over the controls more than once, and this has never caused problems. All the switches still work as good as they did when I first got it. The construction is rock solid. And I'm carrying it around in a really stuffed soft bag, so it's taken its share of bumps during the years!

Haven't dealt with them (see above, haven't had problems!) other than using their website for updates and buying the metal pack. Seems fine!

Been playing for something like 12 years now (I'm 27.) I'm really happy with the Pod. Nothing to add here to the previous answers really. If you're looking for flexibility and portability with good sounds, the Pod does the trick! For my cover band, the Pod's great. For the metal band, it stays on the shelf while the Engl takes the stage. If it were stolen, I'd probably buy a newer version of the Pod.

once you sit down with the pedal and figure out
how to program it ..you can get great sounds out of this pedal
manual is big but it will help
it was a little overwhelming at first

I have all the expansion packs installed

the stock settings aren't the best - don't give up though
after some tweaking you'll wish you bought one a long time ago

I use this with a Fender M80 head and Fender 412 (not the M80 one)
sometimes with my Fender Bullet or Sidekick practice amps

93 Gibson Les Paul Studio or 07 Les Paul Supreme Goldtop
1967 Gibson Les Paul SG

when I play bass I use it with a GK 400RB head
or a Ampeg svt 3 pro head or a GK 700 rb head
Ampeg 410 HLF cab or Hartke 15 cabs re loaded with Carvin 15's

2 Fender P Bass Deluxe's or a Fender Highway one Jazz bass

I can get exactly the sounds I want for guitar or bass

love the Soladano , AC 30 , Marshall , Orange , Mesa sounds

for bass I use the one that sounds like my GK

I have all the expansion packs installed
not all these come stock with the pedal

software works great - line 6 monkey - amp farm is cool so is gear box
I've used it usb and plugged into a
Presonus Firepod to record into Sonar 8pe

I've had mine for 2+ years never a problem with it
I use it for recording or practice
sometimes for shows - mostly I use my amp maybe a pedal or two
and leave this at home - I don't want someone walking off with it

I think its very dependable - I'd gig without a backup

never dealt with them
other than to get my extra expansion packs
via the line 6 monkey software - easy

I play punk rock in my bands
and I don't use it for bass live - my main instrument
the band I play guitar in rarley plays out
so its more a recording toy for me

I have the POD X3 on the way too
the kidney bean not the pedal

I love this pedal it really helps me make music
new sounds inspire me - especially good ones

this is in response the the absolutely glowing report on the POD XT live i made back in November last year.

loads of you have been checking out my youtube videos and leaving nice comments asking me if that was the POD XT LIVE i was using on them.. IT WASNT.. shortly after these videos were made and posted up on there i got one.. and it was the biggest mistake ever..


Ive since SOLD the unit, as after spending MANY MANY months trying to tweak it.. it is BASICALLY a piece of crap folks and i sold it on eBay.

They sound great for studio use, but in a live setting, forget it.. unless you have really forgiving ears, youll simply never be happy with the sound.

not bad sound quality, if youre going to record with it. for live use 0/10. no matter what i tried, my JMP-1 and even DRP-1 came MUCH closer to giving me a good direct overdrive tone.

i liked the van halen emulation, i actually thought it was quite close.. but when i used it live, it sounded crap.

i know youre supposed to "tweak" these patches for live use, so i tried that too.. AFTER two months of tweaking, one day i plugged my JMP-1 back into the mixing desk, and BANG! a good sound was back !.. i was totally DESTROYED.. lol ..

Ive used it on 3 gigs, and at first thought, yeah its ok-ish.. but throughout the evening it felt like i was playing through a 15-20 ms latencied computer.. plus there was "something" in the way of the sound. no matter what i did.. Eq, tweak settings, patch downloads, NOTHING got rid of this "hidden" frequency..

the POD XT LIVE ( and ALL PODS ) have 10,000,000 sounds in them.. but i was only after TWO. a good clean sound and a good warm overdrive sound. It disappointed.

useless.. after about 20 phone calls to the company ( on my mobile ! ) trying to get some person to person help on what the heck i was doing wrong.. forget it..

in the words of Alan Sugar .. " these products arent for looking at.. theyre for selling.. "

The Pod's are ok for studio, but please dont believe the hype.. after many hours of forum asking and searching and trying i bought one.. it is very well made, looks the business, and i am now totally gutted that it simply DOESNT cut it for live use..

it seems that businesses today spin and market almost ANYTHING to make YOU think that its what you need.. as i was playing through the POD..

more and more i was reminded of when i was a kid at those london music shows..

filled with loads of middle-aged men aimlessly walking round with their day-jobber faces on, their credit cards burning a hole in their pockets just WANTING to BUY ANYTHING that a market seller type guy says .." THIS IS IT>.... THIS IS THE ULTIMATE MULTI-EFFECT ".. the guys eyes light up at the thought of getting pure tone at wife-friendly levels...

anyways, thats my 10pence worth....

im sure theres like millions of you out there that dont believe me, its just my opinion, i think the unit looks great, but it really DOESNT deliver LIVE folks.. my 90's Marshall DRP-1 sounds better.. MILES better.. and theres no delay..

do yourself a favour, if you are going to buy a POD of any description, try one out on a gig/rehearsal FIRST.. most gear sounds great in a music shop or recording at home.. but live its a whole different ball game.


so i went from being a genuine convert to absolutely no faith in pod gear.. and it appears that im not the only one..


i think the only reason id go back to one, was if LINE 6 phoned me up and said.. " ok, heres our live room.. here is a POD Live unit.. here is a drummer, and bass player, tell us WHY you CANT get a good sound out of it.. " ..

.. id love to be proved wrong as the POD XT LIVE had it all, an onboard tuner, great idea, neat features... but just COULDNT get the sounds..

.. oh and i also googled to the ends of the earth, and quite a few people made it work for them.. Lincoln Brewster.. and a great guy on youtube called extremevideopro.. hes a great guy and he tried to help me loads...


Peace.

I traded my vox tonelab le for the pod xt live a few days ago.
I am VERY glad I made the trade. Long story short - vox = classic rock, and pod = heavy rock. I found the pod to be a lot easier to program, while still having lots of cool effects and things that will never leave you bored. This thing has some great sounds. (and a couple ****** ones, but nothing is perfect)

I am using an ibanez RG prestige guitar with the pod through a PA.
I sometimes run it just for effects through my fx loop on my mesa boogie dual rectifier. Either way, the pod sounds very clear and has little noise. I like using the jcm 800 setting for rhytm and soldano with a little bit of delay for leads.

This is my backup for my dual rectifier. The pod seems to be built like a tank, and I have had no issues with it so far.

All my line 6 products have been working great and never needed customer support.

I play mostly prog. rock/ metal and this thing does exactly what I want it to do, and I can achieve great tonez out of it. It is amazing for direct recording, and totally beats micing up a 100 watt tube amp and pissing off your neighbors all of the time. If this were lost or stolen I would probably save up for either the pod X3 or the m13.
This is a great product, and I didn't know what I was missing until I got one. It was deffinetly worth trading my vox tonelab le for. I give the pod xt live a 9 / 10. It is a great pedal board for the money, but not many products quite deserve a 10/10.. while this one comes close.

I have had this board for almost three years. I have spent hours tweaking. The manual is mandatory to understand what is in there and how to operate it. Depending on what type of rig you have, you have to tweak as this thing reacts fifferently, rig to rig.

If you are looking for straight plug and play, this type of thing is not for you.

If you want to eliminate purchasing more gear and don't mind taking the time to find what is in there, this unit will save you thousands.

Since purchasing this unit and a line 6 variax I have stopped buying gear

I play this with a line 6 variax and either a mesa 5:25 express or a peavey prowler, both tube amps.

I use it as an effects board only. The board through the effects loop and the variax straight into the amp. I find the signal gets pre amped too high (noisy) if the board goes into the front of the amp.

I have a very simple set up, I only use one bank and have each patch set up for the same gain boost (Whichever stomp box is currently in fashion for me) and delay (digital) and then have a patch each for slow tremolo, fast tremolo, chorus and flange.

I use the pedal for volume and wah as necessary

Again, give yourself time to find settings that work for you.

One caveat, a little goes a long ways. Try your pedal settings at gig level before suggesting it's crap. The pre amp gain stages take a small signal and transfer it into something else at volume so give yourself time to tweak at practice.

Never had any problems

Never had any problems

I play classic rock/blues in a four piece cover band

Been playing for 40 years and own a telecaster, wah and two boss DS 1's

If lost or stolen I would buy another one.

Through months of tweaking, I have finally figured out how to find the tone I hear in my head and have allowed it to replace years of buying and selling gear

Once you go through the manual with the XT next to you, the entire setup is very simple. Getting a perfect sound is fairly strenuous but that is because there are so many things that you can edit. It is easy to get junk sounds if you aren't careful.

The manual was helpful although a little bit unclear at times. Once you are familiar with the product you won't have a problem.

I use this for recording and live through either a fendor amp or straight into the PA system. This is great for recording because there are infinite possibilities for sounds and feels. You can edit everything from amp/cabinet to mic placement and a million other presence/filter/compression/etc... sounds. You really have to work with the specifics or you will get a really fake sounding tone.

The presets stink. They really do. Only buy this if you are willing to make the sounds you want or else you will be stuck with a bunch of sounds that you will never use. (Bohemian Rhapsody Solo effect is cool, but you can really only use it if you are playing that solo....)

The effects are great. It would be nice to have a reverb stomp and another Mod stomp in addition to what they have but that doesn't bother me.

I haven't had it for too long but it has performed perfectly in every situation I've come across.

-I play technical metal/jazz fusion but I also play Christian worship music at my church. It is perfect for both of them.

-I've used many other pedals, effects, processors, amps... this beats them all.

-It would be nice if it had more stompbox options in addition to the Amp, Stomp, Mod, and Delay. It just means you have to play with the the abcd channel presets to get more options on the same sound.

-One of the only bad things i have to say about the XT live is that all of the options can get in the way. Too many times I have found myself playing a song and thinking to myself, "this minor setting should be tweaked" 20 minutes later i'm more unhappy with the sound that before and wish that i had just left it.

Ive been playing for over 10 years now in loads of bands.. I have always been a proud JMP_1 user.. check out my videos . www.steveforward.com thats all the JMP-1 going direct to the mixing desk ..

since ive been solo everyone has been raving about how fanstastic line6 gear is..


well, to be honest i thought it was a crock of **** and never thought in a million years that they would be able to get real amp sounds in a solid-state unit..

how wrong was I ..

ive had the thing for like 4 days now, and this morning tried it out against my regular JMP-1 .. i honestly cant tell the difference and to be frank ( if you can be shirley ! ) it even sounds a little tighter and less fizzy.

when ive played in bands ive always used 1 or 2 Marshall 1978 Master Volumes with Marshalls POWER AMP INPUT mod which goes straight into the PHASE SPLITTER of the EL34's .. this then went to one cab that had Vintage 30's in and the other that had Greenback 25's in.. SUPERB tone.. AND THIS POD has beaten it .. HANDS DOWN..

Ive backed up all my patches ( all 2 of them !!! ) using gearbox no problem.. so if the unit went wrong id just get it repaired or replaced and them dump the patches straight back on..

looks well built, but will be making a case for it with plexi front to protect the dials etc.. not that it would need it..

never had to use them, im sure you could just pick up the phone and get things sorted though..

what more can i say..

ive been reading these comments on here for like 3 years and whenever im after a new piece of gear i always google review and use Harmony Central..

I really do believe that the sound is largely coming from what you, as a player, are generating.. i see so many guitarists slate new equipment when theyve only been playing a few years..

more often than not its your settings on the amp that are to blame..

the POD XT LIVE has literally saved my a*s from a lifetime of using out-dated and un-supported gear.. PERIOD..

I play almost every week, and for a living, and i cannot wait to get this out in front of people to hear..

to all the VALVE AMP enthusiasts.. i still Rave about valve amps, but .. really.. COME ON.. can you REALLY tell a difference ??

the original pods were horrendous to me.. but this thing is in a different league..

to quote a famous musician friend of mine..

" Steve has been playing through my POD XT LIVE all day and ive never heard anything quite like it.. hes now got exactly the same sound as my Vintage Marshall has but going through the PA !! "

im not a wonder-genius or world famous musician, just someone that makes their living writing and performing music on a regular basis..

my conclusion :

you are absolutely NUTS if you dont give this thing a FAIR SHAKE !! as for me, its BYE-BYE valve amps and hello direct sound leaving me to concentrate on the most important part of being a musician.. making music.

Well done Line 6.. youve cracked it.. now i have to get the X3 as well !!!

www.steveforward.com
www.youtube.com/steveforwarduk
www.myspace.com/steveforwardguitarist

well, you need to learn how to handle it... but you do the same with a guitar, its not only the hardware, its the fingers... and using the usb connect on the computer, makes it very easy.
the manual is quite simple and explains a lot how to get sounds and how the sound is working inside, so it is usefull.
I had a flash memory upgrade...

great sounding with all of my guitars.

IF I HAD TO USE ANALOGIC PEDALBOARD I WOULD NOT GET THE SOUND I GOT WITH THIS UNIT!!! I've tried!!! I would need 10 great single pedals with a good valve amp and good speakers, to get a better tone!

allways working... anytime, anywhere...

on the website, also the forum is very helpfull and there are lots of users allways helping each other

i play rock covers, jazz standards, fusion, and a lill bit of shred...
I play only from 6years, but I cant live without the PODxt Live...
PODxt live and PODx3 live are the best pedalboards I ever heard...
any boss pedalboard sounds like plastic... oh, and zoom too... and digitech... behringer isnt for music, only for crap...
only expensive rack units would give me a better sound...
this unit has tons of effects and its very stimulating to create new sounds / music... and to just get 'that tone' I was searching for...

well, you need to learn how to handle it... but you do the same with a guitar, its not only the hardware, its the fingers... and using the usb connect on the computer, makes it very easy.
the manual is quite simple and explains a lot how to get sounds and how the sound is working inside, so it is usefull.
I had a flash memory upgrade...

great sounding with all of my guitars.

IF I HAD TO USE ANALOGIC PEDALBOARD I WOULD NOT GET THE SOUND I GOT WITH THIS UNIT!!! I've tried!!! I would need 10 great single pedals with a good valve amp and good speakers, to get a better tone!

allways working... anytime, anywhere...

on the website, also the forum is very helpfull and there are lots of users allways helping each other

i play rock covers, jazz standards, fusion, and a lill bit of shred...
I play only from 6years, but I cant live without the PODxt Live...
PODxt live and PODx3 live are the best pedalboards I ever heard...
any boss pedalboard sounds like plastic... oh, and zoom too... and digitech... behringer isnt for music, only for crap...
only expensive rack units would give me a better sound...
this unit has tons of effects and its very stimulating to create new sounds / music... and to just get 'that tone' I was searching for...