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Buyer's Guide

What ZDNet UK's editors want for Christmas

ZDNet UK ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 16 Dec 2004

Line6 is an interesting company, as it represents the convergence between two contrasting worlds of nerd-dom: on the one (slow) hand, we have vintage guitar amplifiers, speaker cabinets and classic effects pedals (or 'stomp boxes'); on the other (sleight-of) hand, we have up-to-the-minute digital signal processing technology and software modelling.

So what exactly do these sonic wizards at Line6 do? Basically, they have meticulously analysed how the venerable valve (a.k.a. 'tube' to our US cousins) behaves within every conceivable type of amplifier design -- ironically, solid-state (or transistor) amps lack the essential warmth and tonal quality that musicians require. They have then modelled the whole lot in software, combining this effort with a similar job on speaker cabinets and effects pedals. This 'PODxt' technology has been packaged in a number of ways: kidney-shaped gizmo, rack-mountable unit, software, within a number of Line6 amps, and most recently as a rugged stage-ready pedal board, the PODxt Live.

Want to recreate that 'Hendrix at Woodstock' sound, or give it some Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd psychedelia, or have a crack at the solo in Steely Dan's 'Reeling in the Years' with just the right sound? (OK, I've given away my vintage.) A bit of tap-dancing on the PODxt Live, and you're there. It comes with lots of presets, and you can create and save your own, or download other peoples' from Line6's Custom Tone Web site. You don't even need a guitar amp any more: on-stage you can plug straight into the PA, and it'll connect to a PC for recording too.

As someone who has spent far too much time window-shopping in Charing Cross Road and Denmark Street over the years, this 'mother of all effects pedals' was the final straw. Having written up this article, I had to go out and buy one right away! Santa will just have to think of something else to give me...

Line6

Price
£399 (inc. VAT)

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