Why is the Pod XT Live so cheap ?

[Silverburst]

Compared to the Vetta combo's/tops and the Pod XT pro 19" if it's the exact same "XT" technology. No "lite" components etc. The XT pro 19" is almost twice the price of it's XT Live brother, and then you still need a footcontroller (that costs as much as an XT Live) to go "live" with the XT pro 19" decently. Is it a question of inputs/outputs that are more basic on the XT Live ? (that still wouldn't justify the price tag difference for me anyway), Or am I just missing something. I know the Vetta has all the upgrade-packs, dual amp blending and is another product way out of the XT Live's pricerange. If I'm correct the Live and the 19" have the same start-package right ?

(I have a Mesa 50/50 poweramp, and since my Guitarport surprises me sometimes, I was considering a line6 product that could give me these sounds in a live situation)

[Polaris20]

You've already covered why the Live is cheaper. Inputs/Outputs in the case of the Pro, and dual amp blending and included models in the Vetta.

That's why a lot of guys just run a Live into a power amp of some sort. Best bang for the buck.

[S-man]

+1

[Silverburst]

Still huge price differences, it's almost fishy Where is the catch on the XT Live... lesser a/d converstors, anything else... ?

[al.]

its made from cheese

[The Euphor]

That would be a good thing.

Actually it's because they make them eight at a time. So it's a line8 product. Less work for the buck...

[buddroyce]

It's all about marketing. If they can convince people that the Vetta and the PRO is much better they'll sell it for much more. That and most people strangely enough have a thing in their mind that makes them believe that a rackmount unit or a head is still better than a floorboard.

I should note however that you also have to take in consideration that since the Vetta is an amp you also pay for the power section.

[S-man]

And the speaker, and cabinet, etc.

[JiMoSiTY]

I own the Pod XT Pro and the Vetta Head; and I had an XT Live.
I still own the XT Pro and Vetta...if that tells ya anything.
It did sound and feel different than the XT Pro.

[SpikeSocietySucks]

does anyone have a general guide to what combinations of gear yeild the best results with the live, cos I picked one up the other day and I'm still having a hard time figuring out what it sounds good though

[Silverburst]

Originally Posted by buddroyce

It's all about marketing. If they can convince people that the Vetta and the PRO is much better they'll sell it for much more. That and most people strangely enough have a thing in their mind that makes them believe that a rackmount unit or a head is still better than a floorboard.

I should note however that you also have to take in consideration that since the Vetta is an amp you also pay for the power section.

Yes, that's why I say it's a different product, but for the price difference you pay between a Vetta combo+floorboard you can easily buy a tube poweramp and something like a 2x12 vintage30cab.

[Silverburst]

Originally Posted by JiMoSiTY

I own the Pod XT Pro and the Vetta Head; and I had an XT Live.
I still own the XT Pro and Vetta...if that tells ya anything.
It did sound and feel different than the XT Pro.

Ah... could you be more specific on this one ?

And what poweramp you've been running the Live and the XT trough ?

[540s]

Originally Posted by SpikeSocietySucks

does anyone have a general guide to what combinations of gear yeild the best results with the live, cos I picked one up the other day and I'm still having a hard time figuring out what it sounds good though

It can sound good in a variety of situations.

In my experience the key to getting good sounds is totally ignoring all but one or two of the factory presets. Seriously... erase 'em all & start over. lol

The first couple weeks I had it I was convinced it was total crap & was planning on returning it for absolutely anything else. Before doing that I decided to mess around with the USER uploaded online sounds available on the L6 website & after downloading about 50 presets I found one or two that were pretty good & that gave me some hope. After that I started experimenting making changes to the sounds I liked & I figured out it can sound pretty darn good once I knew how to use it (again putting much of the manuals suggestions in the same catagory as the factory presets.

Tips..

Hook it to your PC with the USB jack & you can navigate the controls on your PC super easy compared to using the controls on the panel. This makes life sooo much easier with this thing. It can save hours if youre determined to get sounds out of this.


Experiment with the microphone & speaker cabinet settings... previously crappy sounds can come alive with just these simple changes.

Once you hook it up to your PC go to the L6 website & get into the presets users have uploaded. 95% of them are junk but when you find some goods ones you like, make note of who uploaded it & search their other files.

Especially delete the presets that had any of the "synth" or "octave" features enabled. For some reason those preset locations that had it always have the synth sounds in the background even when disabled until all the data has been cleared & rebuilt.

I bought all the upgrage model packs for it but find myself using just a few of the amp models.. but I did end up with some nice sounding combinations.

[S-man]

A few things I've noticed....

Using a full range keybaord/PA amp allows you to use the cab sims more accurately. The output mode needs to be studio direct in this case.

If you are using it with a guitar amp and cab, plug into the return of a serial fx loop and disable the cab sims. Plugging into the front end of a guitar amp and cab usually sounds bad, or inconsistant at least.

Use the software to create patches, as 540S said. It is infinitely easier.

Create patches at volume. Creating them at low volumes or with headphones usually results in crap sound when you crank it up.

Disable everything and play through your amp to make sure you are not overdriving it with the input signal level.

Start making patches with the dials at 12 o'clock. Make small changes. One "notch" can be the differance between crap and something that sounds decent. One parameter can affect another, so you may have to go back and forth a little.

Read the manual. I wouldn't take everything in the manual as gospel, but you need to familiarize yourself with all the functions.

The presets pretty much suck. Most other peoples patches, pretty much suck. Like 540S said, maybe 5% are decent.

The upgrades are hardly worth the extra money.

Upgrade the firmware and software on the L6 site.

A tube power amp warms up the sound and helps get rid of "fizz" at higher volumes.

Be patient. It WILL take time to get the settings right. It's not Plug and Play.

Will it sound exactly like the modeled amp? NO. But you can get some good sounds out of it.

Will it replace tube amps? NO.

Is it a decent tool? YES.

I've had the boss GT-8, Vox ToneLab, POD, Valvetronix amps and the Toneport. I had the Toneport and GT-8 at the same time. Once I plugged my guitar into the TonePort I took the GT-8 back and got the PODXTL. The GT-8 is great for effects into a nice amp. The 3 cable method works well too. The Vox sounds nice, but forget higher gain settings. The effects on the Vox are so-so. The effects on the POD are just ok.

Mine competes with the Vetta for a fraction of the price.

That is just some of my thoughts.