Gear Curiosities: Line 6 POD X3 - The Bean Gets Serious!
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2024
- Today in Plague Scythe Studios, the PODxt hits the gym and comes back with some major upgrades as the POD X3!
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Get yer Timestamps hea!
00:00 - Intro
04:25 - PODxt & POD X3 Compatability
05:38 - PODxt VS POD X3 Demo
07:02 - POD X3 Changes and Overview
10:30 - IO & Physical Tour
15:02 - The Problem with Stock Presets
17:19 - Stock Presets Demo
24:04 - Stock Presets Analysis
25:38 - Custom Presets Demo
27:56 - Custom Presets Analysis
29:21 - Power Amp Discussion
30:33 - POD X3 Through Power Amp & 4x12 Demo
31:23 - Power Amp Results Analysis
32:31 - Impulse Response Discussion
33:38 - Impulse Response Demo
34:27 - Impulse Response Results Analysis
37:21 - Vocal Processing Discussion
38:28 - Vocals Demo
39:02 - Conclusion - Hudba
I used the X3 Live with working band for like 4 years straight going as a DI to mixers. I used the "stereo" feature as double mono to make up for those bad cabinet models. It worked tremendously well; you could layer cabinets sounds and mask limitations of one another. When I was in big venues with orange amps I would just go with 4 cables routing the signal with effects going before and after the expensive amps through effects loop, so I pretty much had the same FX signal but turning off the amp and cab modeling and just using all the effects in the same spot they would be with the amp model. They're pretty usable in live.
The converter is pretty cheap but usable. The DSP is useless for recording, though. It's pretty cool for direct monitoring.
Great video. But I gotta be honest, I preferred the stock 4x12 cab sound to the custom IR + poweramp simulation tone!
Who know that Guthrie Govan had a younger brother???
As someone who owns a X3 Live since 2011 or so and has done several recordings with it, I thought I was getting some good sounds from the thing until I started using some cab IRs with it about a year ago or so. Huge difference indeed
As much as I'd like to get my hands on something Fractal, I like what I've been getting with the X3
I've got the X3 Live as well and I agree. I did the same thing, bought some great IRs from Rosen Digital and been getting incredible tones that fit well with in a mix. I was turned on to it because I wanted to get Monuments tones.
I picked up a Mooer Radar and just feed the output of the X3 into that, disable the internal 'cab sim' and it improves the sound 100%.
For the time this was released it was by far the best i still think it holds up pretty well overall especially for the used price. When i got my x3 live it was a game changer for me and my band we eventually upgraded to the hd500 and recently to the hx fx and we have never been happier.
Just bought the X3 pro rack unit a little over a week ago. I owned the HD500x a few years ago but just couldn't get into it and traded it for a Jackson COW 7. I just preferred the real amp sound I had at the time with Randall but I had a chance to buy a brand new never used x3pro for 200 bucks and couldn't pass it up. I wanted to do some Meshuggah nothing,(I),and catch 33 era riffage and maybe a cover or 2. Thanks for posting this though. I'm gonna dial in that Meshuggah patch you showed and see how it sounds. I have a 27" scale Ibanez 7 with lundgrens and I can imagine it's gonna sound pretty sick.
I'm a simple man and only own an XT for the Master of Puppet preset. Haven't played with it in awhile but thanks to you pulled it out and it still sounds great! I think my Axe Fx II sounds better, BUT.....for the 100 some dollars I paid for the XT its a really good buy for anyone getting started. You can still make good music with these things, you just have to not limit yourself to thinking $$ absolutely is required to make your music happen. I wrote a lot of cool songs I'm planning to record later with live gear. If I hadn't had my XT I would have forgotten them forever.
Great video, as always. It honestly sounded much better than I expected with the custom presets and IRs. They should just make those stupid expansion packs free, they're ridiculously expensive and they still sound like crap.
Great video.
Nice review.
Really really good video, thank you.
Dug my Boss GT-5, L6 Pod XTLive board, and X3 Bean out recently. The Boss and the floor L6 are in critical condition, but the X3 bean is still 100% there. I'd forgot how fun these are to jack with, and the X3 even has several guitar synths. They were damn progressive imo. I admire Line 6's experimental attitude. One setting has something that someone who knows nothing about amps might do, which is to simply have a fuzz pedal going straight into a power amp, lol. I love it. I think I'm going to start using it again, even though I have Amplitube and a couple of Nembrini things. Imo, I like the bright red finish and the toy-like thing it's got going on; adds to the fun. I guess I'm trying to mean I think I like hardware better than a 2-D screen, lol. And I'd forgot how good it can sound, I was almost shocked. One fuzz, the Bassmaster, is pretty damn great, for all-LSD sounding Jefferson Airplane wannabe type feel, lol.
One of the best modern metal albums ever, AAL was recorded with this. That treadplate lead sound is iconic
I never really managed to get the same Modern High Gain I had in my XTL through my X3 but I used it a lot gigging and never disappointed. I have to say that nowadays I still use my HD and the more I learn about EQ and all about frequencies, the more I can get satisfying tones. Of course, my tube Marshall is my choice for stage but these tools are useful and necessary.
X3 Live owner here - i bought it for the variax io at the time. Poweramp sim tip is much appreciated - noodled around with it as a vocal processor last week. Lots of fun. Would not pay more than 75 euro for it now. A Mooer GE200 would be my amp sim of choice for a beginner now.
GE 300
@@turkeytrailhoneybeefarmgeo6292 GE 300 for a beginner? Bit too complex and expensive I think.
Turkey trail honey bee farm Georgia - too expensive, plus the sound engine is highly likely still the same as the GE-200 from what i have gathered. So no - GE-300 is not a budget alternative
kingpossie I guess you could always upgrade to the 300 or find a used one but I suspect the 200 to take a sharp dive in price as retailers try to get rid of the units. As such I’ll probably be picking one or two up soon!
You have more positive things to say on this unit than the POD HD's. Glad I still have my POD X3 Live from late 2009s. Just repaired the broken footswitches and adding a MOOER RADAR on the FX loop soon. It's gonna be rockin'!
Footswitches are legendary flawed in X3 live. It's not funny.
@@reav3rtm legendary repairable too
@@Valdenoyo I wouldn't say so. They are fairly non-standard (with those plastic parts mechanically squeezed into pcb). Just because that part of pcb is fairly accessible does not warrant calling it good repairability to me.
it's a simple desolder and soldering a new one in. how simple is that? Maybe to people who are not inclined to using a soldering machine I say.
@@Valdenoyo In my case not switch itself was the problem but that plastic part. It appeared to be hot glued to pcb and it's the only thing that keeps pcb from bending (and getting loose causing insufficient to register key press) when switch is pressed. All my footswitch problems (one within warranty period and one after) were on left-side switches, where there is no sufficient support to keep pcb in place. I hope it makes sense what I wrote.
Neither of these problems would happen if switches were screwed to the case instead of soldered to pcb. Legendary flawed, not legendary repairable:p
I "upgraded" to the hd500x from the x3 live and damn... There are so many things i miss from the X3.. The tone of the plexi lead being one of them... I spent hours upon hours on the hd500x to get my tone anything close to the X3 live but i failed... Then there's the tone1/tone2 switch... Being able to have 2 tones that both remember their on the go settings you did is crucial... Saying for going from crunch with delay to drive for the refrain and then coming back to the tone1 and having it remember that delay is on and the tap tempo being what you tapped during the verse... I really miss that thing :( There's only one thing it doesn't have compared to the hd500x and that's the high-gain stuff... I'm waiting for a good bargain to grab one back :P Most of my shows don't even require high gain stuff lately so...
The modern equivalent of this today is the GE200/300. Cheap but sounds good when dialed in properly, and recorded with the right IRs if not using an amp.
Excellent review, thank you so much. I think many of the amp modelling multieffects units of that era went by almost silently, as for the most part,imho, they kept being under-used, under-rated, and under-loved, under-appreciated, under-valued, everyting with -under in front, lol. It was a shame, because despite their sometimes not over-inviting UI, they were actually decent machines, fairly priced.
Could we expect in the future reviews from ZOOM units of that era, like ZOOM G2.1NU, and DIGITECH, like RP-355? Again, thank you, this review almost brought fond memories of a pretty much romanticised era, one reason being that we were all considerably younger and more wild and free, in lots of ways, hah.
I have a ZOOM G2 I plan to get to after this POD spree is over!
WAW 🙌🙌🙌 EXCELLENT REVIEW !! 🤩🤩🤩VERY USEFUL COZ I JUST GOT ONE THX !! 🙏😅
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I definitely like the physical design of the X3 significantly better. I never realized how similar the two models are otherwise though, although that does explain why I felt so confused by the different versions back in the day.
That thing sounds just like my old rp1000 did. The to was made to Integrate 4 cable though, so it was in my opinion in another category.
FamilyJules7x used this on his early stuff (2010-2012), he later switched to the HD in 2013 and now uses axe fx.
I never realized he used this tbh.
Hey, thank you for uploading this very informative video. I have to ask you if you could shear your preset. sounds good. I was going to buy an axe FX, but after seeing your preset demonstration, I think I should just buy myself a pod X3.
I still love my pod 2.0. I played on XT and it sounded too synthetic and thin, may be something is wrong with mine.
Back in the day when I got my xt all it really did was give me major GAS for amps. Now I have a bunch of heads and a Kemper. Line 6 probably sold more used amps than any other marketing lol
Same, although I have downsized now to a helix and a power amp, that little bean gave me some serious gas and made me spend a LOT of money
Excellent video!! I have a quick question.... Have you ever tried the Avid Eleven Rack? I had an opportunity to get one cheap, but wasn't able to try it out at the time and passed on it. But now that I've had a bit to research up on it, I'm kind of kicking myself.
Never in person, but it too suffers from no impulse response compatibility, which the Headrush unit successors resolve. For the right price, I'm sure either can be a good buy, as I've heard some nice sounding demos of both.
Ok cool! I’m sooo glad I passed on it!! Thank you for the very helpful info!! Looking forward to your next video buddy!!!
The headrush pedalboard is actually pretty badass and VERY easy to use. I enjoyed some of the sounds I got. I got the closest fear factory demanufacture tone I've ever heard with it.
I wish I'd known these things sounded so good back in the day.
Nothing to write home about now but in '07 this would've been amazing.
I feel like I must have heard it on shitty speakers or headphones and drew the wrong conclusion.
Dual Tone FTW!!! nothing compares, not even the HD series.
Let's clarify something. Plague is wrong on the preamp modelling. The pod XT/X3 etc "emulate" the whole amp doing it's thing. It's NOT preamp only based models unless state as such (like, JMP preamplifier).
But they are not adjustable or with the ability to be switched off like in 11R or pod HD.
So amp/model volume is not a power amp control.
But what the power amp does in a system, is there. I can prove it really easily.
The pressence control works on a power amp only guitar amp system. I am talking about a real pressence control not just an eq treble knob like the modern mode on a rectifier.
The pressence control works only when there is available gain on a system so, in a fully cranked amplifier it doesn't work (...dime it in your amp and you'll see, it does next to nothing) and works differentlly/very little in lower volumes (because it is affected dynamically or you could say produced, by the speaker magnet moving).
That is why an amp through attenuator to an IR is never the exact same with a real amp miced. Most studios know that.
The stock SLO 100 amp model on the pod reacts/is eq adjusted in the pressence department like my soldano...
They modelled every amps pressence control pretty spot on.
While you can argue that as the amp master volume is not there in any amp model on the XT/X3 lineage you can't say they didn't take into account power amp coloration/modelling.
In fact just take a pod HD and compare similar models with the X3. The X3 models are pretty much closer to a full amp model on the HD rather than just the preamp one (which the HD allows for to chose from).
Now when you throw that signal (fromt the pod X3) into an IR that has power amp (extra...) built into it (eq wise) or even add that ignite power amp model plugin, you pretty much get something that doesn't exist, a gear chain that is analogus to preamp -power amp -power amp- cab.
Which is something that can also be said if you switch to the HD, select a rectifier, preamp only and have it drive the cab sim. It's preamp to cab directly. Doesn't exist in real life, many people liked it on the HD.
It's also interesting by throwing the X3 signal into a real power amp because you still there get something new. And very good sounding I might add. But there, the pod does have target output modes, does some correction. Doesn't really differentiate between solid state hi damping factor no pressence and tube low damping factor, pressence controls etc. In the end the ears are the judge.
By the way, it was a lot easier to iclude the power amp coloration on the pods...It just makes the sound rounder, less detail on the hi end and middier-sweeter sounding. To me, easier to sit good in a mix, add to cutting live but muddier on its own and WAY way less heavy on the midget cpu. I mean just check the frequencies it let's you play with on post eq...Doesn't really go beyond 8khz if I remember, a motif continued in the HD as well, aside from some eq models...
Throw this signal to a post eq in the DAW and see it unmuddy with a good post eq plugin...IR's are overrated and a digital photograph of muliple eq points describing a cab/space eq interaction. Not always the saviors they are heralded to be and undynamic! Wait for more cpu power and dynamic IRs that are studied now!
Yes, the X generation "model" the power amp insofar as negative feedback (presence) and a touch of power tube coloration, but its pales in comparison to their preamp algorithms to the point of negligibility. Plenty of free VST plugins fake those parameters as well without actually modeling the power amp (and even the POD HD Pre models retain the presence control, yet dont use power amp modelling). Like you said, the push/pull, reactivity, master power scaling, and other properties are basically audibly non existent on this POD generation, which is why it benefits from an external sim or real tubes.
And I completely disagree in regards to impulse responses - they are the solution for direct recording. They are linear EQ profiles as well, just more accurate. The "air" and reactivity of a real amp setup can be modeled elsewhere, like Fractal has done in the amp block to stellar results. I would prefer amp modeling get better in that regard, or even have an "in between" block to handle those aspects than give up my library of thousands of IRs.
@@PlagueScytheStudios As I said, the sound you get with IRs, is unparallaled in capturing micro-details with eq. That is a fact. I agree and I agree that what they bring to recorded sound is nothing short of a miracle.
In fact, to me, the only thing that comes in mind is IR (where IR there is infra red) phasmatoscopy (can't really know if this is term or spectroscopy in english). There, it's pretty much the basic character of a chemical mollecule and then, there are a lot of weird micro details with peaks and curves that, are unique to each system. That reminds me of an IR. An IR is the response of the whole system. It's great, the sounds are great but it is still a well, still eq photograph, unique.
Now in the mix, for me a lot of the micro details seem nowhere near as crucial as the frequencies that survive the fight with the other instruments but when playing alone, yeah going from the pod to the fractal was a game changer.
I then bitched about the fractal being 44,1 khz (yack...lol ok there is v-amp at 33,2 I guess) because when playing alone, switching any decent system/amp sim to 96khz on the pc, pretty much eliminated any aliasing and that weird chorus sound under distortion the fractal had back then and no one mentioned but a few...For me it allowed for the IRs to...sound better you know? That and the fact that instead of 32KB eq the fractal did (truncated, shortened) the IRs to 1024 bytes. Well the digitech GSP cpu no2 when hacked did 128 or 256 only !!! and it was still enough...imagine the pod XT/XR pretty much at 64...still a good number vs a graphic eq pedal to do the sim or whatever analog speaker simulators do.
Then mr Cliff fuck or what is his name pretty much tried to talk down the importance of long IRs, air etc, saying that pretty much, what the mic captures in front of the cone is more than captured to the short IR...
Anyway, even if you take all of those into account and how they revolutionized amp modelling (did you know that cliff used some IRs from guitarampmodelling forum members stock in the axe-fx mk 1 without consent? lol) they still don't provide an electrical, real electro magnetic link between power amp and eq response. That is why, amp modelling for me is NEVER completed. But this another chapter...
The sag etc you hear or elasticity or how you manage to compress the sound by altering pick attack...it is there even in most undynamic tube amps and negative feedback is part of that.
There is no negative feedback between your rectifier (in vintage mode) and the attenuator and the IR when you play. By the way, in modern mode, there is NO negative feedback. Same with the mark IV and mark V with other names (extreme etc) so yeah there, you are accurate lol.
There is also a very different response by feeding a modeller to a tube amp with power amp modelling enabled and a modeller without power amp modelling, and so on feeding a solid state amp. My tech 21 largely prefers solid state motherfucker behemoths and puts to shame normal amps lol!!! It even states it in the manual, avoid tube amps lol.
Next generation of IRs may take into account more dynamic states of a system and pretty much morph dynamically between stages who knows...
Don't forget that a guitar cabinet, the woods etc, baffle, elasticity on the cone surround change as well depending on loudness and power handling and how they are placed in a room is a baffling mathematical variable and the only linear input is your fingers and guitar so to speak...So again, we have a lot to see as cpus become better. I can't wait.
Oh by the way the undisputed champion up until now as a preamp going into my soldano fx loop is the pod HD bar none. I haven't tried the axe fx but anything else hi end or not is not as good as that little piece of shit lol, love it. However, if you divide the whole chain into pieces...man, it's guitar, maybe pedal/booster, preamp, power amp and cabinet...now what you hear by feeding any digital preamp to that system? 2/3s are pretty much power amp and cabinet in loud volume. So yeah even the pod X3 will suffice!!! (for me). Still like it after all these years.
Do a video with the pod HD into IRs preamp mode only, full amp and if you can try to find IRs that have "baked" power amp characteristics in their eq curve as well, it would be interesting. There are some of them around. I think I may have some on an old pc.
@@81giorikas what a masterclass. Thank you.
Unrelated, but I know you will have the answer. Any synth/ vst packs you would reccomend to get the Devvy style synth sounds? stuff from ziltoid, addicted, strapping etc.
The stock Helion samples in Cubase are ridiculously capable. I generally stick with that and tweak the mix with EQ and echo in an FX bus. Anything else I mess with is through Kontakt, so I'm not sure what's quality as far as free plugins go.
How about the new flash memory update? is secure to update?
Impressive!!!
I still use mine for lower volume noodling around and writing on my daw , I can’t jam out my 6505 with my wife and kids watching tv
Hola sabes con que voltaje de cargador se puede cargar? Yo compre 2 veces el producto pero no carga, enciende todo con cargador pero sin esa fuente no enciende.
No sé si pudiste arreglar el problema. Tengo una XT live y una X3...eso me pasa en la xt con el adaptador equivocado, el problema era que usaba uno de corriente continua y el aparato funciona con uno de corriente alterna.
I've been enjoying this series of yours, I was wondering if you'd do a similar thing with the Digitech RP series. There's a lot of content there to cover. And Bad Monkeys are popular now thanks to Josh Scott lol
I know I’ve gotta be in the minority but I liked the stock sound better than the sound paired with IRs...however I do recognize that my opinion would likely change once I start double/triple tracking and doing post eq and mixing.
I have a POD X3 lying around and I'm going to try using it as an audio interface to get some dry guitar tracks into my DAW... too bad the Gearbox editor is discontinued, I wished someone would have made a decent third-party editor for the POD (X3 in my case).
If you're on Windows, GearBox still works flawlessly on Windows 10! You can find the latest release from the Line 6 website under the Downloads section. You just have to select "- All OS -" in the third drop-down menu, otherwise it doesn't show up.
I bought the x3 literally only for the 'Big Bottom' & 'Boost EQ'.
The Flextone heads, I & II on a decent 4x12 were actually really good.
There are a lot Line 6 original amps and effects that are gems ignored by most users who only concentrate on comparing the sims with the actual amps
Does the pod x3 connect to the pod x3 live pedal?
I’m a little late to answer for you lol but the live pedal board is actually the same exact software as the x3. It’s just built into a floorboard form with extra foot switches
Is the Johnson Millennium next? as a sort of a prequel?
Empire Light one of the best forgotten pieces of gear ever. I had one years ago and loved it. There are a lot of time I wish I still had that head.
My current scenario.... Do I spend the $100 to upgrade the model packs or $200 for a used X3?
If it's not too late, I suggest you get the X3. So many more input and output options. Plus you get all the model packs.
for the record, the cabs on the HD kinda suck too. they didn't get their shit together in that regard until helix.
I'm working on that video now, and you are definitely correct. So disappointing too, as otherwise a used POD HD or X3 Pro would be a great backup unit.
Does this have the same models/firmware as the X3 pro? Looking to pick an X3 up due the price.
It does have the same firmware, only difference is the lack of IO.
Rhitosparsha Baishya So It really wouldn’t make a difference which one I get?
@@TheJMan1K Sound-wise, no.
Rhitosparsha Baishya would I still be able to gig using the regular X3 with a power amp or would the Pro be better? I just want an X3 for Monuments tone and other “Djenty” Metal stuff.
@@TheJMan1K If gigging is your goal, I'd recommend you get the X3 Live, i.e. the floor version, simply because you wouldn't require a foot controller to control the unit, which you would require if you get the X3 Bean/Desktop or the Pro. Unless of course, the price difference is so much that you can get the Bean and a foot controller for less than the price for a Live, or you already own a foot controller.
I really like that Monuments Djent tone too, along with the older Tesseract clean tone, which is one of the reasons why I got the X3 Live. You'd be able to achieve that with any of the three units.
you had my like on Devin Townsend Truth licks … !!!
25:38 Point to Point
and then you really busted out all those 2000s djent riffs. awesome
Still love my pod hd bean lol.The cabs are a buzzkill though.
hook it up to your computer and use Impulse responses
No editor for Pod X3 at least in the Mac world.
i'll be damned if my original POD bean does not produce a superior tone than my POD XT live. go figure.
Fuck it . sub AANNDD tell allll my friend .
Would you guys still recommend this pedal in 2023 ?
Have a same question too
I just got the x3 live (in 2024) and I am just using it through a real tube amp and cab. I think the effects sound good and some of the amp models sound good for getting different drive tones. I don’t play metal though I’m using it to do light gain rock tones
Saying that these are practically identical is asinine.
I'm pretty sure it's pronounced-"SEE-RIA TONE, or SARE-REA TONE. you make it sound like Cheerios. Cheeriotone... Lol.
I highly doubt they named theyr product to sound like a cheerio. For real. Cheeriotone.... Lol.
LOL 30 seconds of Google searching would have saved you typing out this whole comment. It IS pronounced with a "Ch" sound. Ceria means happy in Malay.
That's not Guthrie's little brother. That's Jesus's little brother
If you bought this in 2010 you never changed it xD
It's just really useful... at least the Live version...
I assume you can add one of those IR pedals and make it a current thing... It's a good modeler...
Absolute true,I have X3 and record with it at home in room almost all my covers with no extra Irs- I go from Pod direct to Pc and nothing makes me more happy...Have Nux mg-30,Valeton gp200 and still best results i have from Old X3- the 4x12 greenbacks have some magic there and i love it,I buy one from ebay for 80£ with new case...😊