Line 6 has announced the PODxt Live, now the wait begins for shipping and availability.

This looks like a great piece of gear!

Cheers,
Steve Z

The scoop that I heard yesterday was that it will be shipping by October 22, with a street price of $400.
I'm alrerady on the pre-order list!

An alternative view...

One of the things I hated about my old pedalboard was all of the cables snaking to it (I don't like using batteries AT ALL, and one of the gadgets on the board ran on 4.5v...so I had a minimum of two wall warts to deal with, plus the extension cord, plus the cable to the amp, plus the cable to the board...).

I'm a bass player with a Bass PodXT and the small floorboard. A MAJOR plus with this rig for me is the fact that there is ONE and only one wire leading to the floorboard.

The new gadget will require a power lead (think about treading on the wire from a wall wart...or, alternatively, think about having the wall wart sitting next to the pedal with an extension cord...messy, no?), plus the lead to your amp to deal with.

Cool idea otherwise, though.

Be sure to consider the logistics involved with actually using the thing before you buy it.

Just picked up a pod XT live today (had to travel an hour to get it.I cant wait to try out to night in my PAS with my variax. I'll keep ya posted

I posted the following on andy z's institute of noise the best line 6 website (sorry George)

Picked it up yesterday, had to drive an hour to Sam Ash in Cherry Hill to get it. They only had the floor model left (every thing but the box)I think I did well $369.00(expensive box)

Well here's my take so far- please note that I didn't have much time to mess with it because of practice- so here was my set up:VAX into XT into Bose PAS. well off the bat it didn't seem to have the volume that the original xt has, I'm not sure if its the VAX or just some setting, but AB'd against the original XT I had to significantly increase the volume on the PAS. The sound was great as expected but the real benefit is the VAX interface(the main reason I bought it) the ability to change guitars with patches is unbelievable. yes I have this same feature in my Vetta but the Bose really livens up the acoustic patches and the set up and portability is alot easier

Now,I do miss having the ole bean next to me it was real easy to tweak. sitting cross legged on the floor last nite reminded my of using my old GT-5 and the cramps in my legs every time I got up. Another thing I'm not to crazy about is the display on the XT live its small compared to the FVB. I know ,I know, I'm getting old.

one other thing I need to mention is the owners manual seemed a bit rushed. there were a couple misspellings (probably like my post) and most importantly, I couldn't find anything in there on how to reset the XT to the original factory settings Its kinda like they were up all night on coffee writing it.

all in all I thrilled with my purchase. And hopefully tonite I can really get my hands dirty. Hopefully line6 edit is working with this puppy. I'll keep ya posted.

Whiteknuckle,

Thanks for your initial impressions of the xt Live. Please do keep us posted on your comparisons of the bean xt vs the Live.

Cheers,
Steve Z

For all you folks who got, or are thinking of getting the PodXT Live...If you're like me, you were very disappointed to find that it didn't come with any kind of case. On the Line 6 web site it has a soft gig bag case that says it is "coming soon". It looks very similar to the floorboard bag, so I can assume it's going to be in the same $49.99 neighborhood.

Well that got me looking around for options. I stumbled upon these guys on Ebay. For $35.99 plus a very reasonable $7 for shipping, I got a beautiful aluminum hard case that fits the XT Live perfectly. I just removed the bottom layer of egg crate foam - there is still another thinner foam layer under it - and it's tight as a drum. There's even just enough room left for the power supply and a couple of guitar cables.

The best part is, for a measly $10 more, I can get the double rifle case - which looks like it would fit the two L1 sections, my tripod mic stand, and various other sundries - and have a cool matching set.

Thanks for the lead on a good case.
I also heard, but have not seen first hand, that the Gator Case, GK2110, which is selling for around $25.00 US.

Picture is from www.sweetwater.com


On a different note, be sure to sign up for guitarport... most excellent, very usable tones.

Cheers,
Steve Z

GJ,

Which case is that???? What a deal!! Can you tell me the size? I have a PODxt Live coming but no case ... and I like that one.

Thanks,
Steve

I have the Gator case that Steve Z posted (in fact I got mine from sweetwater.com). It works really well with my xt Live and seems to be well made, however, those hardshell aluminum cases look great! I wish I had found them when I was looking for cases.

Hi Steve - If you hit the link in my post, it brings you right to the page for that case. It's specially made for the company Sportsman's Guide, and it's called the Guide Gear® Aluminum 6-pistol Case, and measures 25 x 13 x 4".

They have an Ebay store, which is a little cheaper, or you can order direct from them. I just did a quick search for you and there's one up now - but they'll put another one up on Ebay as soon as this one goes - they always have one on there.

I looked around quite a bit, and you won't find a better case for that kind of $$ - it's lightweight, sturdy, looks great, and it really does fit the XT Live perfectly.

Steve Z - What is the guitarport that you mentioned? I can tell you almost anything you want to know about vintage tube amps, but I'm a newbie to this Line 6 stuff.

gj,

Here is a link for information on GuitarPort.

It can be used to control the settings of the PODxt Live and other equipment through the computer. Connection is with a USB cable. I have mine set up to record directly to Adobe Audition using the USB port! Hook up your xtLive to the computer and see a whole new world of editing appear!

There is also an online subscription that has lessons, tone settings, etc which I find useful... and at $7.99 a month it is worth it to me. I believe there is a limited free trial period.

(picture from GuitarPort)



Cheers,
Steve Z

G-J,

Thanks man ... I'm on it.

Have you tried the AC-30 amp model yet? I loooove that model and you old tube dawgs will too. Run it a little dirty and noodle with your guitar's volume control ... just like you'd expect, huh.

Cool stuff,
Steve

PS Hey tube guy, what's the diff between 6L6's and EL84's in your opinion (besides output).

Steve Z - Thanks for the link, that GuitarPort looks really cool - but I'm a Mac guy, and unfortunately it's only available for Windows users at the moment...we always have to wait.

The other Steve - I really haven't had the opportunity to dig deep in to the Pod yet, but I've got a handful of sounds ready - enough to get me through my first gig with it tomorrow night - and the AC30 is one of them. I've still got a lot of work to do with the XT Live, but I really think it's going to work for me - I am adamantly determined to get my rig down to as few pieces as possible.

As for the tube question - there are people much more qualified than me to explain the "technical" differences. But as players, we all have tonal preferences, and most people equate certain power tube tones with certain amps - the 6L6 is a "Fender" sound, and the EL84 is a "Vox" sound (and the EL34 is a "Marshall" sound). The big bottled 6L6 has more headroom and tighter tone with less breakup that gives you that piano-like quality to your low strings. The small bottled EL84 is "squishier" with a more rapid breakup that gives you that smooth compression and glassy chime in the upper mids.

Based on how much you like that AC30 model, I'm going to guess that you are an EL84 guy (like me - that's what my Matchless is) - but you gotta love 'em all...no guitarist can resist going for that SRV or Hendrix tone, or Carlos' Boogie, or Gilmour's HiWatt, or even a full out cranked Marshall every now and then, regardless of your "preference".

quote:

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Originally posted by Whiteknuckle:
I posted the following on andy z's institute of noise the best line 6 website (sorry George)

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Could you send me the link that thread you posted at AZ's site?

I have 2 Vettas and could let one go to get the xt Live just to use with the PAS. I'm having a hard time getting a PAS here...

thnx,
qs

I just bought two of these and they arrived yesterday. My other guitarist and I both use XTLs, and they fit perfectly. We're even toying with the idea of drilling holes and installing grommits and lift-off hinges to make them completely stage ready, but even without modifications these things are perfect. And I owe it all to you. Thanks!